Here's what may be a different way to look at the infancy narrative in Matthew (with and eye to Luke and John into the bargain), and a different way to conceive of "messianic prophecy.

Messianic Prophecy

Luke 13:10-17 is a simple passage with two major lessons for us.  First, the leader of the synagogue was wrong: healing and compassion are the hallmark of God, and they should not be withheld even on the Sabbath.  Secondly, the woman who had been infirm for 18 years was, in a sense, raised from the death of her condition to new life.  Listen in.

Raised on the Sabbath

In this tightly wrapped package from St. Paul we hear about the work of the Holy Trinity in the church, in our lives, and in the world.  In a few short sentences, St. Paul gives us a basic understanding that we can learn and see at work in our own lives.

The Holy Spirit

The Rich Fool is one of the pivotal parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, which is the only Gospel in which it occurs.  There is a clear turn in the parable which leads to the rich man as being called "fool," but the word itself means more than simply a nonsensical thinker.  It refers to someone who is not prudent, not wise, making judgment about the wrong things in his life.  Listen in as we move with this person through that change and why it is so important for our own lives.

The Rich Fool

The parable of the "Good Samaritan" needs a new look for our age. Specifically we have to look again at how the original audience would have heard this, and then we will be prepared to hear it for our time. Listen in.

The Good Samaritan

We remember the unmercenary saints in the proskomedia—Cosmas and Damian, especially, whom we commemorate this weekend—but I would draw your attention to the earliest of the unmercenaries, the sisters Zenaida and Philonella.  There are lessons for us here.  Please listen in for what we can learn from these wonderful unmercenary saints who practiced medicine in Thessaly in the first century.

Unmercenary Saints Zenaida and Philonella

In Luke 16, we find the only parable in which a name is given to a character: Lazarus - "God helps." The contrast with the rich man who remains unnamed is very important as we consider the meaning of this parable for our lives. We're called to not only help but to understand others in our midst and beyond. This is part of our mission as pointed out by this special parable.

Learn Their Names

In Luke 7:11-16, we have to look again at the recipient of the healing. Widows had an ambivalent place in society at this time: on one hand they were sidelined for a number of reasons, and yet the injunction to care for widows from the Old Testament pertains as well.  So in this case there is not only a physical and spiritual reason for the raising of the son, there is an economic one as well, which should teach us that there is more than one way to be "raised from death."

More Than One Way to be Raised from Death

We have to consider 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 together to get the full message St Paul has for us. The generosity he expects from the Corinthians is grounded in the emptying of Christ to which he has referred at 8:9 (and which we find also at Philippians 2:5-11). This movement beyond ego and selfishness is to be the reason for the generosity of the Corinthians, and it will eventually redound to the glory of God.

Generosity Grounded in the Emptying of Christ

Our Lord starts from the so-called "Golden Rule" but develops it in a way that clearly reflects how we as Christians need to respond to it: through emphasis upon an ethic of compassion and gregariousness, not based on reciprocity, which is the way of the world.  This is a hard saying, but we need to not only hear it but take it to heart.

The Golden Rule

Contemplations on Orthodox Christianity from Las Cruces, New Mexico - Fr. Gabriel Rochelle shares from his wide range of insights, imaginings, and interests.

Musings from the High Desert

This text is familiar because we hear it each year and it is so striking.  In it the young man rehearses the list of commandments that any convert might have followed (hence the text has an eye to the Gentile world), but more than this it shows how Jesus drives deeply to the heart of the separation between humanity and God, found in the distractions that make us focus on penultimate things.  Listen in.

The Rich Young Man

Fr. Gabriel considers the conclusion of II Corinthians 6, where Paul enjoins his hearers to thread a way through the culture that honors commitment to Christ without caving in to the Zeitgeist.The early Fathers of the Church stressed that we need to make individual decisions that will bring us into the light rather than into the darkness. Each cultural issue must be taken on its own merit, and we can enter into alliances with others for social good without knowing everything about their positions. We have to remain vigilant but at the same time we need to be open to alliances for the overall benefit of the culture in which we find ourselves.

Sermons from Saint Anthony of the Desert Mission: Part Six

Fr Gabriel looks at the communitarian spirit and life of the early church as depicted in Acts.  This sub-text in the book makes us ponder the meaning of community in this day and age, particularly as we confront the trials of negotiating a Christian path through an increasingly secularized world.  The book referred to in the homily is Rodney Stark's The Rise of Christianity.

Acts 11

Fr. Gabriel reflects on the Parable of the Talents in light of the society in which we live as Orthodox Christians.

Parable of the Talents

Fr Gabriel considers the "Orthodox mind" with special reference to Romans 8:5-9; the idea is in the Epistle for Pentecost 7, but usually not visible because of translation.  Paul's contrast between the carnal mind and the spiritual mind is apropos: the carnal mind is the whole person turned away from God, while the spiritual mind refers to the whole person turned toward God.  Fr Gabriel explores these two frames of mind in relation to recent violent random shootings in El Paso, Texas, and elsewhere.

The Orthodox Mind

Where was authority in the early Church, and what does it mean for us today? Fr. Gabriel answers these questions and more on a new Musings from the High Desert.

Power, Authority, and Leadership in the Early Church

Fr. Gabriel concludes his series on Christianity and Philosophy with a discussion of postmodernism.     

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Christianity as Philosophy?: Part 9

Today Fr Gabriel speaks about the current issue with sexual predators in high places, using the infancy gospels as a perhaps unexpected resource to discuss issues of sex, power, and the Nativity.

Sex, Power, and the Nativity

Gregory Palamas

This week Fr. Gabriel discusses the personal meaning of St. Gregory's work.  Far from being academically theological in a way we cannot understand, St. Gregory's ministry safeguarded our integrity as Christians by focusing on demonstrating our relationship to God.

St Gregory Palamas

Frt. Gabriel asks, "Could it be that you have placed the Resurrection of Christ in the past?"

The Meaning of the Resurrection

Fr Gabriel ties together Paul's note about "God's strength is made perfect (whole) in weakness" to his note about the sorrow or grief which is godly and worldly in Chapter 7. Together these make a whole thought for Paul, applicable to us today. (II Corinthians 12:9, 7:10-12)

God’s Strength and Our Weakness

In this series, Fr Gabriel will offer reviews of books from a wide range of interests that have touched him and which he believes either have touched or could touch you. The series will cover novels and poetry, as well as theology, New and Old Testament studies, and specifically Orthodox books. Stay tuned! We hope that you will enjoy these reviews.

Books That Touch Your Heart and Mind

So rarely do we get to commemorate the prophets on a Sunday that Fr Gabriel took the opportunity to give an overview of prophetic ministry and a look at the specific word of Obadiah, which happens to be the shortest book in the Old Testament.

Prophet Obadiah

Fr. Gabriel invites listeners to consider Christianity as a genuine and full philosophy of life.

Christianity as Philosophy?

Deacon Ted Brinegar pulls together all the themes on this important Sunday in the Church Year in his sermon for the day.

Sunday of the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council

Fr Gabriel offers a look at the trajectory—not always positive—of the interpretation of this parable, and goes on to explore the initial conversation between the lawyer and Jesus.  The final question is how can we respond to the message of this parable in our time? (Luke 10:25-37)

Who is My Neighbor?

Fr Gabriel Rochelle offers a meditation on the meaning of the Nativity for now and for all time.

The Mystery of the Nativity

The concept of justification so dominated western Christianity during the period of the Reformation that it is important for us to understand how this image drew lines between, and exaggerated the differences between, Catholics and Protestants, works and faith, that lasted into the 20th century.  This is an argument that by and large bypassed Orthodoxy and allowed us to perceive a unity between faith and works. (Romans 5:1-10)

Justification: Faith and Works

What if everybody in this parable got it wrong?  What if it's not only the person who is called "wicked and slothful" (a word we'll come back to) who misunderstands the generous donor?  Listen in as Fr Gabriel explores this angle on the parable of the talents.

The Wicked and Slothful Servant

Part of Advent in Orthodoxy is recollection of the minor prophets.  This past weekend and over it we commemorated Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah.  Fr Gabriel considers the message of Habakkuk, what it meant in context, how the Dead Sea Community used it, and its relevance for our time.

The Prophecy of Habakkuk

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