Last week I went to my first Eastern Orthodox service in well over a decade. I was struck once again by its unique hymnography, which doesn’t shy away from either theological sophistication or deep cuts of biblical allusions, and which delights in literary phenomena such as irony and paradox. In all of this, this tradition … Continue reading St. Ephrem the Syrian and the Way of Glorifying God in Challenging Times
Of all the commemorations of the Saints on the calendar, few are as well known among society at large as St. Patrick’s Day, which is of course, today, March 17. So, it felt too strange not to explore the way of St. Patrick of Ireland today. The problem is that, while few Saints are better … Continue reading St. Patrick and the Way of Trust in Christ’s Protection
Last Sunday, we saw how throughout the Scriptures, in the life of Jesus, and across Christian history, the desert or wilderness has been a major symbol for what I call ‘the arena’ — that place where we as individuals stand up, show up, and test our mettle. The term used in this context comes from … Continue reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Way of the Arena: A Reflection on Luke 13:31-35
There are some stories or ideas that are so powerful that they defy our normal rules of attribution. We don't really care where they come from; they're just true. We even have one such example in the New Testament in the story of Jesus and the Woman Caught in Adultery (which I prefer to call, … Continue reading Pseudo-Jean Pierre de Caussade and the Way of Being Present
[This post is adapted from content from my post “Beyond ‘I Have a Dream’ ," published in 2020.] Today in this series on the Ways of the Saints, ancient and modern, I want to hear the voice of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a towering figure in the history of American race relations and … Continue reading Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Way of Sharing God’s Dream
Matthew Root 