Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” (Mark 12: 41-44)

In the United States of America, we celebrate all the different cultures that exist. Then we change them into something anachronistic. For instance, when I went to Venice, I discovered that it in fact did not look like a Disney resort or the “tunnel of love” ride depicted in so many cartoons. It was in fact so much more and authentic. Nothing can replace authenticity.

“If there are devout and God-loving people here, let them enjoy this beautiful, radiant festival. If there are prudent servants, enter joyously into the Lord’s joy. Whoever may be spent from fasting, enjoy now your reward. Whoever has toiled from the first hour, receive today your just settlement. If any came after the third hour, celebrate gratefully. If any of you arrived after the sixth, have no misgivings, you have lost nothing. If some have been as late as the ninth, come forward, do not be at a loss. If any of you have arrived only at the eleventh hour, do not be dismayed for being late.

“Sorry”is a word often heard and said by all of us. The question is do we really mean it? Or has it become a word said out of habit, empty of all meaning? What got me thinking about this were a couple things, the first being that in my effort to partake in Lent and truly experience the beauty of this particular time of year, I have begun reading different writings from the Church Fathers, modern-day Orthodox authors, and random articles I can find on the internet. One of the major themes throughout everything I read is how much emphasis is placed on repentance and its importance. We’ll come back around to that shortly.

I could hear her singing from the other room. Oh, that’s nice, I thought. I love to hear my daughter sing as she kicks around the house. But as her voice continued to trail on, I found myself listening closer.

“Let’s go all the way tonight..no regrets, just love.”

My eyes widened as I walked into the room. “Where did you hear that song?” I asked. “At school, during recess,” she said.

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. “ (Matt. 16:18 NKJV) Read the statement closely, and I think you’ll find something that differs from today…the word "church" is singular. Jesus professed to Peter that He would establish His church, not churches. Going a few hundred years forward, at the Council of Nicea, the attendees would establish a creed that would summarize the Christian doctrine, and part of that profession includes the phrase “I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.”

There are over 300 million Orthodox Christians in the world, and we are the 2nd largest group of Christians behind Catholicism. But still nobody knows what you’re talking about when you say you’re Orthodox; the ones that think they do assume you’re Jewish.

“As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is the Father’s love…” My hands were raised in worship, along with the entire congregation. I looked around me. A lot of people had their eyes closed, caught up in deep, spiritual worship. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He taken our sins from us,” the hymn continued. I felt nothing. Was there something wrong with me?

Hidden away in the middle of the Book of Isaiah is an astounding prophecy. Many people miss it, because it is part of a long section of oracles about the various nations of that day, and not knowing the geography of the ancient near east very well, they tend to get bored and skip on ahead to “the good stuff”. I mean, come on: where are Assyria, Philistia, Moab and Cush anyway? This is too bad, because these few verses, coming at the end of an oracle about Egypt and before the oracle about Babylon, contain some mind-blowing stuff—especially if the mind in question is a Jewish mind in the centuries before Christ.

Breaking through the clouds to see the snow-capped mountains of Juneau, Alaska started this Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) mission trip. There was a team of 9 Orthodox Christian volunteers to help the communities of Juneau and Hoonah, Alaska (both churches are St. Nicholas), along with repairing the Hoonah church building. We ranged in age from 19 to 84, and traveled from Florida, Alabama, Indiana and Illinois.

One team member was on her 11th OCMC mission trip in 12 years. Another member was on her third OCMC trip in three years. For the rest of us, it was our first OCMC trip.