Category: Theology

  • Repetitious Believing – The Nicene Creed, Part 1

    I can believe a thousand different things by lunchtime on any given day. “I believe the world is round.” “I believe the sky is falling.” “I believe I’ll have the enchilada plate, thank you.” Some of my beliefs are grounded in facts and reality. Others are based on fears, wounds, and losses. And still others… Read more

  • Gregory of Nazianzus on the Three and the One

    No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the Splendor of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish Them than I am carried back to the One. When I think of any One of the Three I think of Him as the Whole, and my eyes are filled, and the greater… Read more

  • The Life of Jesus: God’s Extreme Consideration for Humanity

    He did not shun; he chose. He did not shun the virgin’s womb; he chose a mother. He did not shun the human body; he chose flesh and blood. He did not shun the angel’s name; he chose a destiny. He did not shun the circumciser’s knife; he chose purity. He did not shun God’s… Read more

  • Christmas – The Gift of Union

     The feast of Christmas is the feast of the mystical Body, for it is through the Incarnation that men have become members of Christ. Whatever theological interpretation we give to this great scriptural and patristic affirmation of our incorporation into Christ, we must believe that with the Incarnation, an ineffable union – that passes all… Read more

  • Nativity Scenes Here, There, Everywhere – A Sermon for Christmas Eve, Luke 2:1-20

    I probably need to begin with a disclaimer. My understanding of the nativity has changed. It is not what it used to be. I no longer see the birth of Jesus the way it is so often portrayed. The image of sweet baby Jesus asleep on the hay has given way to a vision of… Read more

  • Irenaeus and the Purpose of the Incarnation

    How could the human race go to God if God had not come to us? How should we free ourselves from our birth into death if we had not been born again according to faith by a new birth generously given by God, thanks to that which came about from the Virgin’s womb? – Irenaeus… Read more

  • Expectations, Baggage, and God

    Remember packing for the last trip you took? Suitcases, backpacks, bags. Sometimes packing can be the most stressful part of the journey. What did you take? What did you leave behind? Why did you take what you did? Most of us, I suspect, pack for our trips based on our expectations of where we are… Read more

  • As They Love Their Cow

    “Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow, and to love Him as they love their cow – for the milk and cheese and profit it brings them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not… Read more

  • Minted by God

      “If Caesar can require his image in a coin, cannot God require his image in a human being?” – St. Augustine, Sermon 308A.7 Read more