“God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” In Russian Orthodox circles, a “staretz” refers to a much-experienced spiritual advisor. One day it was reported to a certain staretz that a man had experienced seeing angels. Such a vision, it was thought, must mark great spiritual progress! But the staretz answered very wisely, “This is not […]
Stanza 1 is based on the first seven words, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13), and stanza 2 on the second seven, “Take heart, child, your sins are forgiven” (Matt. 9:2). In stanza 1 “O God, be merciful to me” is prayed three times. I had multiple things in mind. The Greek […]
O God, be merciful to me; The sinner knows no other plea. O God, be merciful to me. O God, be merciful to me. I am your God, your Father too, And through My Son I say to you, Dear child, your sins, they are forgiv’n; Take heart, look up: an open heav’n! Pastor Matt…
“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). Easter will be April 21 this year, or was it February 17? The earliest Easter can possibly be is March 22. It last happened in 1818, and won’t happen again until 2285. But I […]
“…and when Jesus also had been baptized” (Luke 3:21). The first question tends to be, Why? Why would Jesus, holy and without sin, undergo baptism? Good question. A good answer: “Through the Baptism in the Jordan of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, You sanctified and instituted all waters to be a blessed flood […]
“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matt. 2:10). Once again we have heard the story of the wise men and their gifts. I see a couple of new things this year. One is, the verse quoted above is, to my knowledge, the single strongest statement of joy in the New […]