Reflection Sometimes people say, I’d believe in God if he proved himself to me. But in fact the words of the Gospels show us that even if a miracle takes place in front of us if we do not have faith we will not believe. Faith is more than a bare belief, it is a […]
Reflection What makes an impression on us? We can spend our whole life looking and seeking and trying to become or own the wrong things, things that have no lasting value. Jesus asked the crowds who followed him what they were expecting in St John the Baptist. Why did they go out into the deserts […]
Reflection The Lord Jesus speaks about Discipleship when he says that a Disciple is not above his Teacher, and that the ambition of the Disciple is to be like his Teacher. To become like Jesus, in the Orthodox understanding, is not simply a matter of trying to act as he did, or to do what […]
Reflection It would be interesting for us, as Disciples who are beginning the journey of following the Lord Jesus Christ, or taking up the journey again, to look at the words of Jesus in this passage and listen carefully to them. When we are about to have the reading of the Gospel in the Coptic […]
Reflection It is worth remarking that in the Gospels, almost wherever the Lord Jesus was found there were miracles of healing. Nor do we read about just one or two examples, but of crowds of people flocking to see Jesus, and of multitudes being healed. We should not be so surprised. When the Lord Jesus […]
Reflection In the life of Discipleship, according to the Orthodox spiritual life, we need to focus on ourselves. Much of our time and attention can be taken up with looking at other people, judging their words and behaviour, comparing ourselves with them. This prevents us making progress ourselves. What stands in the way of our […]
Reflection The way of Discipleship requires that we put God first. The Lord Jesus makes this explicit in his own teaching. Seek first the Kingdom of God. It is always a danger when we take instructions like this in a negative way, as if God is saying, seek first or you will be in trouble. […]
Reflection The way of Discipleship turns everything upside down. In a world separated from God through self-centredness, self-indulgence, pride and every other sinful condition, it is easy to imagine that those who have succeeded in life are those who have some external and tangible reward. The ones with the best job, the best car, the […]
Reflection In about 385 A.D. a young monastic, St John Cassian, travelled with a friend from a monastery in Bethlehem into the Egyptian deserts. He was intending to visit the Desert Fathers and learn from them about the spiritual life. The conversations he recorded with these spiritual giants have been preserved to us and we […]
Reflection When the rich young ruler came to Jesus, he found that he was asked to let go of his possessions and take up his cross. He thought that he was rich, but in fact his possessions possessed him. He was a slave to them. He thought he had everything life could offer. But in […]