Transfiguration 2026

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Peter, James, and John see Him transfigured, changed, metamorphosed. His face shines like the sun; His clothes dazzle with uncreated light. The holy prophets Moses and Elijah appear.

Yet even this inner circle of the disciples does not understand. They see Jesus as one of these holy prophets. There are like a recent Uber driver of mine. He had a distinctly Islamic name, but he was listening to the local Christian radio station. So I asked him if he was a Christian. He said, “No, I’m Muslim, but we believe in Jesus too.”

He’s right….

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The Confession of Saint Peter 2026

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Churches with dramatic claims to antiquity or authority sometimes beckon. The ancient churches of Rome and Constantinople greatly appeal to some. Why? In many churches the worship is unstable, changing with every new hit song. Doctrines change as the culture shifts. Voting becomes the highest sacrament. In such an environment, people crave stability, order, tradition.

But the cure is worse than the disease. For both Rome and the East, it’s the continuity of the institution that ultimately matters. When you break it down, these churches are defined by their bureaucracy and their geography.

But the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church is not founded upon a pope….

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The Marriage of Benjamin Orris and Sophia Aini

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Let this be said of the Orris household: “They keep no record of sins. With them is forgiveness. With them is grace, the grace of YHWH, Haniyah.”

In the moment of crisis, though, can you really forgive? Can you really forget? Can transformation happen?

Only by the command of Jesus. In our Gospel, there is failure. The wedding is falling short. “They have no wine.” This symbolizes the collapse of joy. The problem is brought to Jesus. This is always the solution.

But He seems far away. He rebukes His mother. He seems cold, distant….

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Epiphany 1, 2026

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Christmas Eve at Immanuel always begins by singing Once in Royal David’s City. But in our 1982 hymnal, a stanza was missing. Thanks be to God, it was put back in our current hymnal. It starts like this: “For He is our childhood’s pattern.” Children are to imitate Jesus; He obeyed Joseph and Mary, and He’s our pattern. But we’re still missing a stanza! There’s one more the church doesn’t seem ready to sing. It goes like this…

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Second Sunday after Christmas 2026

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Today is the eleventh day of Christmas. But even the readings in these twelve days of joy don’t let us get too comfortable. The birth of Jesus causes Herod’s horrific malice to explode. This malice is a power at work in the world, malice which will never end and never weaken until the day of judgment [Schmemann].

The Epistle for the Second Sunday after Christmas prepares the disciple of Jesus to face this malice. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” St. Peter is writing to the newly baptized. He’s saying, “Don’t be surprised when trouble comes! The demons, and those captive to demonic desires, hate Jesus, and they hate those who follow Him.” …

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The Name of Jesus

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In Numbers 13, Moses lists the names of the twelve men he sent as spies into the land of Canaan. Each represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel. After each man is listed, and the name of his father, then we get this interesting detail. There is no explanation or elaboration, it’s just dropped there, like a little Easter egg waiting to be discovered:

“These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua” [Num 13:16]….

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The Feast of the Holy Innocents

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“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.” This day’s liturgy applies those words to the little children of Bethlehem cut down by Herod’s sword. “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.” The little children suffered the great tribulation. But it is not limited to them. The great tribulation is a vast span of terror, from the babies Pharaoh ordered thrown into the Nile, to today’s little children dismembered by the billion-dollar abortion business….

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Christmas Midnight 2025

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And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him….

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Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols 2025

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“If you do not like sentiment and symbolism, you do not like Christmas; go away and celebrate something else.” G.K. Chesterton wrote this in his 1908 essay Christmas. “If you do not like sentiment and symbolism, you do not like Christmas; go away and celebrate something else.”

Chesterton was responding to early twentieth-century rationalists, who wanted to celebrate a holiday without all the old “superstitions” of a virgin birth, angels, and wise men. I’ll admit, Christmas is something I’ve struggled with…

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