Barnabas Powell's Blog, page 41
June 7, 2022
The Work of The Spirit in You and Me
Sometimes what’s best for us isn’t really apparent in the middle of our journey. It’s only later we discover that an event, though difficult at the time, actually turned out to be the best thing for us. As the old country song says “They hindsight’s 20/20…” This coming Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost, the Descent of the Holy Spirit onto His Church. Today, we still live in the afterglow of the…
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June 6, 2022
Don’t Be Troubled; Don’t Be Afraid!
All too often we spend our lives waiting for that perfect moment when everything is going “right” and all around me is positive and affirming. And, the longer we live, the more disillusioned we become because that “moment” seems to never come! Oh, to be sure, there are flashes of “just right” in our lives. Those moments when all the traffic lights are green when you’re in a hurry to get someplace.…
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June 3, 2022
Show Us The Father
The tragic state of families today in our society is seen best in the absence of fathers. This epidemic of fatherlessness has huge implications for the formation of children into healthy adults. Missing dads cause deep problems for society! And good dads are even more difficult to find! But the key to being a healthy adult means dealing with and embracing The Father! Look at our Gospel Lesson this morning in John…
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June 2, 2022
The Cure For The Loss of Purpose
“To everything (turn turn turn), there is a season, (turn turn turn) and a time to every purpose under heaven.” I was 5 years old when that song was recorded and released by the Byrds. It was a song that was based on the verses in the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes. Here, Solomon struggles with the vanity of existence and the hope found in God’s ultimate will and wisdom for life. By…
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June 1, 2022
The Benefits of Being a Believer
Christ is risen! What does it mean to “believe in” something? I confess most of my life I’ve just taken for granted that I knew, and everyone around me knew, what that meant. I was wrong. The word “believe” means so much more than just agreeing that certain ideas are correct. The Greek word used in the New Testament for believe is πιστεύω (pistevo). It comes from the noun πίστη, which means…
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May 31, 2022
The Blindness of Blame – Sunday’s Homily
On this Sunday of the Blind Man, it’s time to confront our mistake in assigning blame. The tragedies of our society strike us in such a way that we are tempted to knee jerk blame this or that person, or group, or ideology. We insist we want justice or we want to make things better and yet we start that process by saying it’s “their” fault. Blaming others won’t solve the problems…
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The Son MUST Be Lifted Up!
Christ is risen! In our nihilistic age, with all the turmoil of our society from pandemics to politics to violence in the streets, we moderns seem to be having a crisis of purpose, a crisis of meaning! I was having a conversation the other day with a dear, educated man, who also happens to be an ordained clergyman in one of the many Protestant denominations in our fair city, and the conversation…
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May 30, 2022
To Remember – Memorial Day 2022
Jesus looked at His disciples gathered around the table at His Last Supper and told them “Do this in remembrance of me.” And so the unbroken Eucharistic Mystery begins as we “remember” the Lord Jesus in His salvific labor to redeem humanity and the whole Universe. But what does “remember” really mean? The original Greek word is “anamnesis” and it defies a simple meaning. In fact, I recall as a boy growing…
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Your Story Isn’t Over!
Christ is risen! Have you ever heard of the story of the donkey who saved a prophet’s life by talking to him? And you thought your dreams were strange! Seriously, this powerful story in the First Testament is worth your time! Read the whole story in Numbers 22. To make a long story short, Balaam is something of a prophet and some enemies of the Jews in the area want to hire…
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May 27, 2022
The Suspense Is Killing Me!
Christ is risen! The great American author Lewis B. Smedes once said “Seeing reality for what it is is what we call discernment. The work of discernment is very hard.” And the Orthodox Fathers would agree. In fact, it is the gift of discernment that we are constantly called to develop and embrace in the writings of the Orthodox Fathers. Being able to tell reality from delusion isn’t nearly as easy as…
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