Be the Bee

We've spent the last two episodes exploring how the internet shifts our attention from Christ and makes it harder than ever to be holy. In this episode, we're going to say goodbye by pointing to three things that need to shape the future of our homes and communities. We need to encounter Christ, embody the Church, and engage the world in His name.

We're called to be holy as God is holy. And we do this by participating in God’s efforts to redeem the world and bring it into the eternal life of the Holy Trinity. St Maximos the Confessor identifies 5 Divisions we need to overcome along the way. But what if the internet has created a 6th Division we need to overcome? What if the internet is alienating us from ourselves and real

“Let us return, brethren, to ourselves...For we cannot be reconciled with God and assimilated to Him unless we first return, or rather, enter into ourselves... For the miracle consists in tearing ourselves away from the distraction and vain concerns of the world and in this way relentlessly seizing hold of the kingdom of heaven within us.” St Nikiphoros the Monk, On Watchfulnes

"You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8) Pascha is the start of a new liturgical year in the Church, with new readings from the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel according to John. It also shows us what it means to be made new in Christ: to find

“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (John 12: 13) The Saturday of Lazarus and Palm Sunday are a sort of bridge between Great Lent and Holy Week. These days also live in the tension between joy and betrayal. People are welcoming Jesus as the Messiah while others are preparing to put Him to death. Do who actually welcomed Jesus when He entered Jerusalem? It

“If you cross the Jordan, you will find glorious rest.” (Life of Saint Mary of Egypt) Jesus tells us that He came to shed His blood and "give His life as a ransom for many.” But what exactly does that mean? What does the Orthodox Church teach about atonement? We're going to learn about the redemption and atonement that Jesus offers us. And this redemption isn't simply *from*

“I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9: 24) We often think of faith as meaning either "certainty" (confidence that some idea is true) or "religiosity" (participation in a group's activities). But the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to Saint John Climacus, and the top rung of his "Ladder of Divine Ascent" describes faith. The Church presents faith in much deeper terms t

“The glory of God is a living human; and the life of humanity consists in beholding God.” (Saint Irenaus of Lyons) Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him. But what does that mean? On the Third Sunday of Great Lent, we may think that "bearing your cross" means patiently enduring burdens. Especially now, as we make our way through the struggle of Great Lent. But Chris

"O Gregory the Miracle Worker, light of Orthodoxy, support and teacher of the Church, comeliness of Monastics, invincible defender of theologians, the pride of Thessalonica, and preacher of grace, intercede forever that our souls may be saved." (Apolytikion for the Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas) Is it possible to know God? How could a perfect God have anything to do with His impe

"On this day, the first Sunday of Lent, we commemorate the restoration of the holy and venerable icons…” (Synaxarion for the Sunday of Orthodoxy) After weeks of learning about forgiveness and pride and judgment, we begin Great Lent with a Sunday dedicated to icons. Why? On one level, this is the anniversary of the triumph over Iconoclasm in 843 AD. But there's more to this triu