Mary in Orthodox teaching and piety

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While worship (latreia) belongs to God alone, Mary is reverenced and honoured as ‘the most exalted among God’s creatures’.

To give Mary her full title: ‘Our All-Holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorified Lady, Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary.’

Theotokos (‘Mother of God’, ‘God-bearer’) was assigned to Mary by the Council of Ephesus in 431.  She is venerated because of her relation to Christ.  It is precisely on account of the Son that we honour the Mother. …

The Eucharist in Orthodox teaching

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The Orthodox doctrine of the Eucharist differs somewhat from the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Mass, and even more from the Protestant doctrine of the Lord’s Supper/Eucharist/Holy Communion.

The Orthodox Study Bible outlines three interpretations of Christ’s Eucharistic words as they have been understood by the church down the ages:

(a) ‘For the first thousand years of Christian history, when the Church was visibly one and undivided, the holy gifts of the Body and Blood of Christ were received as just that: His Body and Blood.…

Urban legends of the Old Testament

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Urban Legends of the Old Testament: 40 Common Misconceptions.  By David A Croteau and Gary E. Yates.  Published by B&H Publishing Group (2019).

This book discussed 40 misinterpretations of Old Testament passages.

Here’s a list of contents.  Items marked with a *star are included in my own set of ‘legends’.

*1. In the “Gap” between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, Satan Fell.  This would require the reading, ‘And the earth became formless and empty’.  What would then follow would be an account of re-creation. …

Luke 22:44 – ‘His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground’

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Luke 22:44 And in his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

The first thing to note is that vv43-44 are text-critically disputed.  Garland, along with others, considers the debate finely balanced.  I shall proceed on the assumption of their authenticity.

1. ‘Bloody sweat’ affirmed

Some old writers, and some modern apologists, eager to squeeze the last drop(!) out of this passage, take it to mean that Jesus actually sweated drops of blood.…

Chrismation

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In the Eastern churches the sacrament of chrismation (Gr. chrismatis, ‘anointing’) is associated with that of baptism.  It involves anointing with oil by the bishop or priest.

Timothy Ware (The Orthodox Church) says that chrismation is equivalent to Confirmation in the Western churches.  Unlike Confirmation, however, it usually takes place immediately after Baptism:

The child, who has been incorporated into Christ at Baptism, now receives in Chrismation the gift of the Spirit, thereby becoming a laïkos (layperson), a full member of the people (laos) of God.

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Matthew 2:11 – ‘Gold, frankincense, and myrrh’

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2:11 As [the magi] came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Summary.  Rather than supposing that the gifts brought by the magi carry symbolic meaning, it is probably better to view them as gifts ‘fit for a king’.

Do the gifts have symbolic meaning?  I have some hesitation about this, but I’ll put this out as a gentle warning to my fellow-preachers anyway.…

The struggle for free speech in our universities

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This draws on an article with the above title from The Bulletin, produced by Affinity’s Social Issues Team.

In February 2021, the Dean of Students at Chicago University wrote to new students.  The letter included the following:

‘Once here you will discover that one of the University of Chicago’s defining characteristics is our commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression. Members of our community are encouraged to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn, without fear of censorship.

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Was Jesus destitute?

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It is often assumed (especially around Christmas-time – cue smelly stable) that Jesus was born and raised in poverty, and that his ministry focussed very much on the economically disadvantaged.

Ian Paul draws our attention to this homily:

‘This Christmas why not ask the gift to love the poor more deeply, with an abiding and deep affection? For poverty and neediness are an intrinsic aspect of the Infancy narratives. The first Christmas was anything but charming or sentimental.

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Hebrews 13:10 – ‘We have an altar’

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Heb 13:10-11 We have an altar that those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat from.  For the bodies of those animals whose blood the high priest brings into the sanctuary as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp.

The main contours of the author’s argument are clear enough: the readers are not to get ‘carried away’ by ‘strange teachings’, such as those involving ritual meals.  We are nourished spiritually by God’s grace, not by the foods we eat or abstain from. …

Liturgical worship in Eastern Orthodoxy

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Everyone agrees that the worship of God’s people in Old Testament times was liturgical in nature.

As the Orthodox Study Bible indicates:

‘Immediately after the giving of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1–17), instructions for building the altar were set forth (Ex 20:24–26). Then comes instruction concerning keeping the Sabbath (Ex 23:10–13), the annual feasts (Ex 23:14–19), and the various offerings and furnishings in the sanctuary (Ex 25:1–40). Following this, chapters 26—30 deal with such matters as the design of the tabernacle, the altar, and the outer court, the priests’ vestments and their consecration, and instructions for daily offerings.’

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