The terrible mercy of seeing what is within “Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.” — Luke 11:35 There are sins we recognize as sins. And then there are the more dangerous things: the darkness we have learned to call light. Christ speaks today not merely about blindness, but about a blindness that believes it can see. “Be careful lest the light in you be darkness.” It may be one of the most frightening warnings in the Gospel. For the man who knows he is blin

The terrible distance between the person at our gate and the heart that refuses to behold him “And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus.” There is something terrifying about this Gospel because the rich man does not appear to do anything particularly monstrous. He does not strike Lazarus. He does not order him driven away. He does not mock him. He simply lives as though Lazarus were not there. And Christ tells us that this is enough to reveal the abyss already opening wit

The Terrible Comfort of the Familiar “Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear.” — Luke 8:37 There are passages in the Gospel whose terror lies almost hidden. This is one of them. We see the man among the tombs and imagine that he is the frightening figure in the story. He is naked. Violent. Possessed by a legion. He cannot live among men. Chains cannot hold him. He has become a strange

The Storm, the Cry of the Heart, and the Hand That Never Lets Go “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.” — Matthew 14:27 There is something extraordinarily beautiful about the way this Gospel begins. Before there is the storm, before Peter steps upon the water, before the disciples cry out in fear, there is Jesus alone upon the mountain in prayer. “After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray.” We can pass over those words too quickly because we kn

The Mountain Revealed Within the Heart Icon by Fr. Miron Kerul Kmec Jr. “It is indeed good to be here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here for ever.” — St. Anastasius of Sinai The Feast of the Transfiguration is not simply a remembrance of a moment that took place long ago upon Mount Tabor. It is the revelation of the destiny of every human heart. Christ does not ascend the mountain in order to escape the world but to reveal what the world,

Holy Trinity Sunday and the Mystery of Divine Love “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” — John 3:17 One of the deepest wounds carried by many Christians is the suspicion that God is disappointed in them. We may not say it aloud. We may recite the Creed faithfully. We may attend every service and keep every fast. Yet somewhere in the heart there remains the fear that God is standing over us with folded a

The Poverty of Our Faith and the Way We Refuse “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” — Mark 10:38 The Lord is on the road to Jerusalem. The Gospel tells us He is walking ahead of them. Not drifting. Not hesitating. He goes before them with a kind of terrible clarity. He knows where He is going. To suffering. To humiliation. To death. And behind Him walk the disciples, confused, afraid, and yet still thinking in the categories of power. James and John come

Christ’s Tears and the Shaking of Love Before the Cost of Sin “Jesus wept.” — John 11:35 We stand today before the tomb of Lazarus, and the Gospel does not rush us past it. It makes us linger. It makes us look. It makes us listen to something we would rather avoid. Our Lord comes to the place where His friend lies dead. He knows what He is about to do. He knows He will call Lazarus forth. He knows death will not have the final word. And yet, He does not pass by the tomb untou