The Threshold of Joy – Eric H Janzen
The Threshold of Joy
It was night, but they dared not sleep In the starlit darkness, they watched The wind caught the sound of their sheep Resting as though the world were at peace
These soul-weary shepherds all wondered Would the blind ever see once more? Would the deaf ear ever open? Would a broken body ever leap with joy? Would the mute ever sing a song?
We wait like shepherds for heralds Watching for bright angels in the dark Whose voices our despair destroy We stand in the threshold of joy
—eric h Janzen
In Matthew 11, John the Baptist sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the One. John is part of a long tradition of prophets who have carried the burden of waiting for the Messiah’s arrival. It has been so long, and so agonizing, that while hopeful, Jesus is the One, he can’t allow himself the joy of fully believing it lest his heart be broken. Jesus, a fellow prophet, does not answer straightforwardly, such as: “Yep, tell him I am indeed the One.” That’s not the way prophets talk to each other.Instead, Jesus gives John a far more profound confirmation: he sends the message that he is the long-awaited One because he is fulfilling prophecy. read more…
Abp Lazar Puhalo – Social & Economic Trinity, Essence & Energies
Supplement by Abp. Lazar Perhaps at the root of the problem is a misunderstanding about ekonomia. The concept is that when "akrivia" [the strict application of a canon or doctrine] might actually hinder someone's salvation–or even emotional and...
Francis Bacon’s Five Holy Wars – Ron Dart
Ron Dart explores Francis Bacon's "An Advertisement Touching a Holy War" (edited with commentary by Laurence Lampert)
“Out the Embers” – OTC conversation (Jersak, Young, Fee, Murrell, MacMurray)
The Rich Man & Lazarus: Getting the Main Point – Fr Jonathan Tobias
Parables are stories The Parables of our Lord are the most beautiful and meaningful talks in history. They are matchless in their depth. While the great third-century theologian Origen and the fourteenth-century poet Dante said that there were four levels of...
Media Apartheid – From Ukraine to Iran to Palestine to Qatar – Ron Dart
The media has legitimately focused on the plight of women in the theocratic state of Iran and the aggressive nature of Russia in the tragic Russian-Ukrainian War over the last few months. I was on staff with Amnesty International in the 1980s (before I was hired at...
My Journey “Out of the Embers” – Nicky Martini
Bradley Jersak's Out of the Embers caught me by surprise. I thought my time to look back was done. At the beginning of this year, over a whole month, I experienced a creative miracle where, by the end, I knew God had healed my PTSD. Within the pages of...
Universal and Anti-universal Notes – Fr Jonathan Tobias
In the ongoing, too often overheated, discussion of Christian universalism, here are some notes that might be helpful, especially in avoiding unnecessary runs down the garden path. Universalism does not discount the possibility of hell -- just its co-eternity with...
Baby Hitler, Time Travel, and Retributive Justice – Jason Clark
Baby Hitler, Time Travel, and Retributive Justice(excerpt from Jason Clark, Leaving and Finding Jesus The other day, at a party, I played the time-travel game with friends, which eventually became an in-depth conversation about justice, as all time-travel games do....
Donald E. Wagner’s “Glory to God in the Lowest” – Review by Ron Dart
Journeys to an Unholy Land (Olive Branch Press, 2022). Review by Ron Dart The title of this timely, autobiographical, and not to be missed book tends to confront the reader with a challenge. There is a predictable tendency to think of “Glory to God in the Highest”...
Learning to Love as God Loves – Overcoming Fear & Racism – Felicia Murrell
Editor's Note: The following is a manuscript of Felicia Murrell's talk from the Open Table Event, in conversation with Wm. Paul Young. FELICIA MURRELL I want to begin by saying this is not an easy ask. For me, AND is the bridge to our re-turn, our homecoming,...