Category: Food for Thought
“In all godliness and reverence”

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all people, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” (I Timothy 2:1-2)
Many are familiar with St. Paul’s advice to the young bishop Timothy, and through him to all believers, concerning how Christians should regard civil authorities. Even the most rudimentary knowledge of Church history — or more broadly of world history — will reveal the significance of Paul’s words. St. Paul is exhorting believers to offer prayers and the “giving of thanks,” literally the Eucharist, for a regime that was intentionally and mercilessly targeting Christians for extinction.
The implication of these words is clear. We pray for our civil leaders, even remembering them in our most solemn celebration, the Liturgy, regardless of whether they like us or not. We can extrapolate from the Apostle’s words that, in a democracy, we should pray for our civil leaders whether we voted for them or not, whether they are from the party we support or not.
That’s the first half of the above passage. Let’s also pay attention to the second half. We pray for our civil authorities for a specific purpose: “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” Our prayer is that, in the administration of their duties, our civil leaders create an environment that is conducive to believers engaging in the daily task of being our Lord’s disciples. Again, though, we can do some extrapolating here.
If we are asking God to move the hearts of our civil authorities in ways that will allow us to live peaceful, godly lives, that means that we are identifying peaceful, godly lives as a priority. Regardless of who wins this election, may we always stay prayerful and peaceful, godly and reverent, including (and maybe these days especially) in our reaction to the winners and our response to the losers.
On forgiveness
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matthew 6:14)
“I will pour out my Spirit…”

Today is the feast day of the Holy Prophet Joel, who foretold of the descent of the Holy Spirit of God, fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.
“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” (Joel 2:28)
“But if you don’t have love…”

This quote is related to my sermon at #StNicholasFW last Sunday. If you want to hear it, look for my previous blog post on “The Cross of Christian Love.”
Faith and culture

A criticism of Eastern Orthodoxy in America has been that it is more focused on ethnic heritage than Christian identity. The understanding that this pitfall is not exclusive to the Orthodox is an important insight for believers everywhere.
A body at prayer

“…therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (I Corinthians 6:20)
John 3:17

Lots of people know John 3:16, but John 3:17 is equally important. When you read the two verse together, it’s clear that verse 17 completes the teaching:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17)
The availability heuristic

It’s true, you learn something new every day. Yesterday, I learned about the “availability heuristic.” As the definition above indicates, the availability heuristic says that people will make judgment calls based upon the data that is most available to them, regardless of what other data and relevant facts reveal.
Continue reading “The availability heuristic”And the light shines in the darkness…

“And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5)