The Way

Finding Sin in Success

In a dog-eat-dog world, what do you do if you have unexpected success? Do you tell all your friends and family about it? Do you throw a party? Do you go out for a night on the town? In our world, we want to celebrate success. We give ribbons and trophies to our kids, and, at work, we have employee-of-the-month programs. Additionally, we expect raises and promotions for our career successes. Perhaps the last thing success does, is prompt us to see our own brokenness. But, this is what happens whe...

When We Side with King Charles Instead of King Jesus.

Today’s gospel reading is a hard one to digest. Jesus tells us, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The implication is that you have to be crucified with Christ. After all, that’s what happens when you pick up the cross. The last time I checked, there aren’t any appointments for crucifixion in Minnesota, so what does it mean for us today? Tune in to find out.

What's Your Credit ... er, I Mean ... Honor Score?

Credit scores mean everything to us. They allow us to buy homes, cars, and even work at particular jobs. If you have a bad credit score, though, functioning in society can be very difficult, if not impossible. The ancient world had credit scores too, though they called it “honor.” But, their scores weren’t determined through spending habits. Instead, they were born with their score. But, in today’s Gospel, Jesus offers them a way to get the best score possible. Tune in to find out how and whethe...

Protesting This World by Giving It All Up

Last week, we saw a vision of the Kingdom, a world in which the king grants forgiveness and commissions us to do likewise. This week, we get a deeper look into what it means to be a citizen of this Kingdom. As we’ll see, it means rejecting the values of this world and adopting the values of the Kingdom. It means reorienting out relationship to power and sticking it to the man! Tune in to find out how, exactly, Jesus calls us to do this.

To Forgive or Not to Forgive? That Is the Question.

Last week, the US government announced that they are going to forgive up to $20,000 worth of federal student loans for millions of people. Some people are overjoyed, but others are angry. They say, “It’s unfair. Why should their debts be forgiven when mine weren’t?” This goes to show that forgiveness is scandalous business, especially when judged by the values of our culture. But, as a preacher friend of mine wrote on Facebook, that’s the point the Bible is making. Forgiveness is what the Gospel...

How to Move a Mountain with a Mustard Seed

For the third week in a row, the disciples are challenged to teach the Gospel. But, we aren't surprised to see them strike for the third time. Their trust continues to waver and Jesus mocks them for it by telling them that if only they had the faith of a mustard seed, they could move mountains. Huh? I’ve never seen anyone’s faith move a mountain. What does Jesus mean? Well, if we properly understand what Jesus is saying, I think we’d all realize that we have, indeed, seen mountains move. Tune in...

Walking into the Storm with the Bread from Heaven

When we’re reading scripture, we have to learn to look beyond the surface meaning so that we can see the teaching embedded within the text. The disciples had to learn this the hard way. When Jesus told them to feed the people, they only thought of physical bread. And, when they were told to go out into the world, they became scarred of a storm. What they didn’t realize is that bread is more than bread, and storms can be faced when they put their trust in Christ. The question for us: will we be l...

Be the Salt

There’s an old joke that goes, “You can call me whatever you want, just don’t call me late for supper.” In my lifetime, I’ve been called a lot of things—some of them good, some of them bad. But, perhaps the strangest thing I’ve been called is salt, which is precisely what Jesus calls us in chapter 5 of Matthew. Why would he call us salt? What does he mean by it? And, how does it impact our journey of walking the Way? In today’s episode, we explore this strange name-calling incident and learn abo...

Calling Disciples in the Land of Death

As Americans, we like choice. We want to chose what we do, how we do it, and when to do it. Included in all of this is education. When it comes to college, we want to chose what to study and who’s going to teach us. But, as we’ll see in today’s Gospel lesson. Jesus bucks this tradition. He doesn’t let Simon, Andrew, James, and John chose him. Instead, he choses them. In today’s episode, we’ll see how Jesus’s calling of his disciples is a journey into death and exile. We’ll also see how the “Call...

Christ, the Splitter of Families

This past Sunday was Fathers’ Day in the United States. This is a day we set aside to recognize the important role that dads play in our lives. But, on this day of all days, we read this from the Gospel, “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” Yet, at the same time, the Bible also tells us to, “Honor our father and mother.” Is Jesus opposing Moses? Did Jesus really mean what he said? Today, on The Way, we look at how the gospel message disrupts our lives and forces us t...

Ascension: Backwards and Forwards

Encountering the Scriptural Christ

This week, we witnessed the tragedy of yet another school shooting. It’s clear that there’s evil in the world doing its worst. However, Jesus is working to birth “new creation”—one in which evil has been stamped out. The Good News is that we are all invited to be a part of this new world. The only requirement is that we must drink “living water” and be “born from above.” How does this happen? Through an encounter with the scriptural Christ. Tune in to hear about two different encounters, and fin...

The Paralytic as an Image of Systemic Oppression?

Sometimes, it feels like life is a battle for power. Unfortunately, it also feels like when someone gets power, it goes to their head and all sorts of bad things happen and people get hurt. Yet, Jesus challenges our human power with authority that was given to him by his Father. When Jesus does this, what happens to the paralytic? How does society react? Tune in to find out!

The "Obstinate" Joseph and the "Faithful" Myrrh-Bearers?

This past Sunday, we remembered both Joseph of Arimathea, who asked for the body of Christ, and the Myrrh-Bearing women, who went to the tomb to anoint the body. Both these stories are a test of sorts The real question is: did they pass the test, or did they fail miserably? In today’s episode, we find out who walked the Way and who didn’t.

The Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom

What does the Kingdom look like? How does it treat people. Have a listen to St. John's homily and find out!

Anchored in Place

Life, in general, is full of ups and downs. But, what happens when our spiritual life is also full of ups and downs? Is this normal? Should we expect this? Or should we be concerned? Today, we learn about the “desert” experience and how we are firmly anchored in place.

A Mistranslated Hymn and the Cross

At the midpoint of Lent, Orthodox Christians are reminded of the journey they’re on: the Way to resurrection by Way of the cross. As a part of this mid-Lent celebration, we sing a hymn about that cross which goes, in part, like this: “Save, O Lord, Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting victory to the faithful over the enemy …” But, if you know Greek and you’ve seen the original hymn, you know that this hymn is purposely mistranslated! There’s something hidden. Today, we’ll discover wh...

The Real God Before You

On the second Sunday of Lent, the Orthodox Church celebrates St. Gregory of Palamas, a 14th-century bishop of Thessaloniki. St. Gregory taught that God is truly present in the world, especially through silent prayer. Also on this Sunday, the Orthodox Church also reads the Gospel passage about the paralytic who is lowered through the roof of a house so that Jesus can forgive his sins. But, what does the celebration of St. Gregory have to do with this paralytic? As we’ll see in today’s episode, wa...

The True Image of Victory

On the Sunday of Orthodoxy, we remember the Triumph of Orthodoxy over Iconoclasm. Many of us like to celebrate this event by parading around the church holding our icons. We imagine we’ve won a great victory for truth over lies. But, how, exactly was this victory won? Does it look like other victories? Is is the same sort of victory that the Emperors won in battle? As we dig into this celebration, we may be surprised by our discovery, and how we’re supposed to walk the Way in light of this “triu...

An Acceptable Debt

Our world is built on credit, which is, essentially, building a life on a mountain of debt. We go to school and accumulate school debt. We graduate and buy a car. Now we have a car loan to pay off. If our job doesn’t support our lifestyle, we don’t hesitate to build debt on our credit card. When the time comes, we look to buy a house and we go deeper in the hole with a mortgage. And, if you’re like most Americans, you’re probably in debt due to medical costs. While there are ways out of debt, th...

The Freedom to Love

There’s an old saying, “You are what you eat.” But, during Lent, the Christian tradition is to fast from meat, wine, dairy, and oil. Is the Church worried we’re going to become chunks of meat and blobs of oil? Today, we learn about how fasting is connected to freedom and love.

When We Want to Be Treated Unfairly: The Story of the Fathers’ Unacceptable Behavior

If you’re like most kids, you probably had arguments with your parents when you were a kid, and I bet those arguments intensified when you became a teenager. As your blood boiled in frustration, I bet your teenaged-self wished your parents were dead; then you’d be free. Out of anger, you may have even vocalized this thought out loud. If you did say it out loud, how did your parents react? I bet it wasn’t pretty. When the prodigal son asked for his inheritance early, he was basically telling his ...

The Lie of the Boot Straps

In America, we have a saying, “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.” This saying encompasses the attitude that one will get ahead in life through education and a good hard day’s work. But, what if this saying was a complete outright lie? Our fallen world may work this way, but the reality of the Kingdom is very different. In order to walk the Way, we need to have a completely different understanding of how we become successful in the Kingdom.

A Woman's Faith and the Disciples' Shame

It’s one thing to be rejected by a stranger, but it’s another thing entirely to be rejected by a friend or a family member. It hurts. But what happens when you’re rejected by the Son of God! Is there any hope for you after that? In Sunday’s Gospel lesson, Jesus rejects the Canaanite woman. What happens next and what we’re supposed to learn from this passage will cause us to walk The Way in an entirely different way.

Christ and the Mask Challenge

Living according to the instruction of the gospel is always hard, especially when that instruction challenges our way of life or our perspective of the world.

"Thank you, O Lord!"

As many of you probably know, one of the most famous Orthodox theologians of the 20th century was Fr. Alexander Schmemann. He was dean of the seminary I went to (St. Vladimir's), and his life's work was to teach about the Eucharist (which means, "thanksgiving"). He died on December 13, 1983, but his last liturgy was on Thanksgiving Day. Since Thanksgiving was this week, I thought it'd be appropriate to recount his words here. It was entitled, "Thank you, O Lord!"

The Impossible Burger and the Fast

This week, the Nativity Fast began for Orthodox Christians around the world. This 40-day period, is a time in which we prepare for the Nativity of our Lord according to the flesh. But, as we watch our diets and take meat out of our lives, an important question comes up: is the impossible burger permissible? It’s not technically meat, but it looks, smells, and tastes like meat … So, does it fit the fast? The Bottom Line: when we fast, we have to be sure we don’t miss the forest for the trees....

Theophanies (Type-Scene 4)

If I were to ask you what feast Christians celebrate on January 6th, what would you say? It probably depends on which Christian tradition you were brought up in. If you are a western Christian, you’d probably say “Epiphany.” But, if you’re an eastern Christian, you will probably respond “Theophany” instead. Now, they are the same feast and, at the same time, they aren’t. There are some major theological differences in the emphasis between east and west, but, I’m much more interested in the diffe...

The Woman at the Well (Type-Scene 3)

In the Gospel of John, we hear the story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at a well. Most sermons focus on the foreignness of the Samaritan woman: her identity as a “Samaritan” is contrasted with Jesus’s identity as a “Judean.” This then leads the preacher to speak about the inclusive nature of the Gospel. However, this scene is a type-scene, one that goes back to Genesis. So, if it’s a type-scene, we must ask: what is the hearer supposed to recognize about this scene? Well, the answer is that...

The Barren Women in Scripture (Type-Scene 2)

One motif that appears over and over again in the Bible is the image of the barren woman. All the matriarchs of Genesis had problems having children: Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel; and the motif appears again in the New Testament: St. John’s mother had a hard to time having children too. Why would this motif appear so often in scripture? What literary purpose does it serve for the authors of scripture? What’s the spiritual meaning? The Bottom Line: The motif of the barren woman reminds us that it’s...