Made to Be a Kingdom

We begin with the Beast of Revelation and his number etc., and with the concept of Antichrist and with the "not buy or sell" already being mentioned in the Gospels at the Temple with Christ overturning the money changers and those in the temple who would not take anything to purchase a sacrificial animal except a Tyrian Shekel which had the image of Heracles (Hercules) on it who was not a "hero" but rather a nephalim. So the final takeaway is that we have been given Solomon's dignity, let us not follow his path but rather heed his final warning and instructions. His heirs did not heed them, but they exist now so that we might heed them (the end of Ecclesiastes). This includes not joining any civil leaders in idolatry, since most of us won't personally multiply gold or horses (but maybe spouses).

Avoiding the sins against God’s definition of royalty in His Kingdom. More on avoiding the narcissism that our culture encourages. Here we look at Solomon, and the number of the beast! We also look at a divided Kingdom of Israel under Solomon and how Christ re-establishes and re-unites and expands it universally by His ministry on earth from conception to ascension, and how He is Christ both for the northern Kingdom and the southern Kingdom.

[Priestly Kingdom]: What it means for us to be chrismated Princes and Princesses of the Kingdom. Kill narcissism, and resurrect humility—from dust we are and to dust we must return. Here we discuss necessary aspects of being Royalty in God’s Kingdom. It is the opposite of being royalty in the world (Sts. Boris and Gleb, the Passionbearers; Sts. Katherine and Barbara of old who renounced Roman royalty; Sts. New Martyrs Elisabeth and Barbara who renounced Russian royalty to become full servants of God’s Kingdom).

Our hosts discuss what Orthodox phronema means and why it is important to understand it correctly.

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony finish their discussion of visiting the Holy Land, sharing the solemn joy of walking the way of suffering. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about visiting the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, the Tomb of the Theotokos and other sites. Enjoy the show!

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony continue talking about their visits to the Holy Land, sharing their experiences at Mount Temptation and the Jordan River. Enjoy the show!

In this episode our hosts further discuss the recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land as Fr. Harry and the group went from Nazareth in northern Israel, ancient Galilee, down through what was the region of Samaria, down to the ancient land of Judea in southern Israel, and all the biblical meanings that this entails. More pictures and a description of the tour are available at: https://uocofusa.org/news_230605_1

In this episode our hosts discuss Father Harry’s recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They discuss whether pilgrimages are even necessary, and how some saints emphasized how they are not necessary. In this episode they discuss the beginning of the pilgrimage which began a trip from southern Israel on the coast at the airport up to ancient Galilee (northern Israel). Discussed are the beginnings in the Annunciation and the ministry of Christ that took place in the region that in the Old Testament was called the “Northern Kingdom” (of Israel), and in New Testament was called Galilee. Pictures and a description of the tour are available at: https://uocofusa.org/news_230524_2.

In this episode our hosts further discuss the victory of Pascha that we celebrate for 40 days, and contrast this with the preparatory period of fasting for 40 days, and discuss the contrast of Christ’s 40 days of temptation and Christ’s 40 days of walking in triumphal victory until Ascension, and how we walk with Him. They also delve into the history of this victory, where the “chief of the demons,” Baal, Beel or Bel, Satan himself, has a long history of seducing the people of God and in Christ’s paschal victory is overthrown and cannot be allowed to take root even if only under influence while he is bound and has people doing his bidding. Also, other basic questions, like “why does the devil have horns” in many depictions of him are answered here.

Our hosts discuss what Pascha and the 40-day period of Paschaltide mean to us in terms of giving us victory over the dark things of this world, and how this is the basis of deliverance from despair and fear in the face of uncertainty and from anxiety in the face of turmoil.

Christ is Risen! In this episode, our hosts discuss the Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom as well as Holy Resurrection Bright Week as the continuation of the Paschal Feast of feasts, and how all are to enjoy and partake of the feast and continue it and not just leave it on Pascha itself.

Our hosts discuss Holy and Great Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Pascha itself. They discuss its meaning for us as we do not just remember but participate in the death and resurrection of Christ itself in the liturgical services, and how it was during these days that Christ makes the Church His Kingdom as the eternal Israel of God, as He gives us to partake of Him as the eternal Passover.

Our hosts discuss Holy Week and its meaning to us as God’s Kingdom. They begin by discussing the important meaning to us as children of the Lord’s Kingdom of the feasts of St. Lazarus and of Palm Sunday, the Triumphal Entrance of the King of kings into Jerusalem. They further talk about the meaning of the “Bridegroom Services of Holy Week,” and their meaning to us as we look forward to Pascha and His coming “in the middle of the night.”

Fr. Harry Linsinbigler answers a listener question about self-defense.

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about the ontology of the priestwife and provide some guidance on the propriety and boundaries that should result from it. Enjoy the show!

Reviewing Forgiveness Sunday Vespers & Pure Monday Matins, and the nature of forgiveness and its necessary tie to repentance, what forgiveness looks like in the face of negative emotions (hence the mention of the battling of the passions).

Reviewing Forgiveness Sunday Vespers & Pure Monday Matins, and the nature of forgiveness and its necessary tie to repentance, what forgiveness looks like in the face of negative emotions (hence the mention of the battling of the passions).

In this listener mail episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about whether it is possible to prove the existence of God to an unbeliever and evaluate some different approaches. Enjoy the show!

After talking about the preparatory Sundays and how they relate to repentance, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony answer a listener's question about whether it is worthwhile to keep confessing the same sin. Enjoy the show!

Fr. Anthony is again left without adult supervision. The result is an exploration of how the structure and performance of music grows us into The Kingdom. It includes variations on that theme by Lewis, Tolkien, and Dostoyevsky. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, recorded by without Fr. Harry's supervision, Fr. Anthony starts at the beginning to explain how God's deeper magic is worked through His royal priesthood. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Anthony and Fr. Harry address two more listener questions, the first about the Orthodox and patristic take on universal salvation, and the second on Calvinism and predestination. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony discuss the following listener question; 1. "In regards to humans being in the image/likeness of God: Does God have a ‘gender’? and 2. "If a priest is just a witness to confessions, could you use someone such as your spouse for confessions as well?" Enjoy the show!

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony finish up their series on the Baptismal service, discussion the scripture readings, the ablution, and tonsuring of the newly illumined. Enjoy the show!

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony continue going through the baptismal service. Today they discuss the actual immersion and chrismation of the believer. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Harry further explores the healthy and growing Church as properly and intentionally functioning as a body. He delves into Romans where it mentions ministry systems that also correspond to bodily systems in our own bodies, and how healthy outcomes depend upon faith-based structure and action.

Join Fr. Harry as he speaks about parish health and growth.

In this episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony finish of their discussion about the making of catechumens and go into the actual service of the baptism. Along the way, the talk about the limits of liturgical geography, the beauty of the Baptismal Liturgy, and the simple joy of being in Christ. Enjoy the show!

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony take a break from their series on the services of reception to offer a reflection on the relationship between Thanksgiving, gratitude, language, St. Peter's mother-in-law, and the Eucharist. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about exorcisms and go over the three exorcism prayers at the beginning of the rite of making a catechumen. They finish by reinforcing the need to take spiritual warfare seriously. Enjoy the show!

Our hosts talk about how they prepare inquirers for baptism/chrismation, the logistics of "making catechumens" a set period of time before chrismation/baptism, and some of what we've lost by sorting into parishes. Enjoy the show!

Today our hosts continue the conversation about lived ecclesiology, focusing on the need for cooperation and order in the local parish - none of which is possible without the grounding and graceful operation of Divine Liturgy, worship, and prayer. Enjoy the show!

Today our hosts use the updated version of Holy Protection's (Dover, FL; the parish Fr. Harry serves) statement of purpose, mission, vocation, vision, and values as grist for the mill of talking about lived ecclesiology. It includes talking about why repentance is necessary, how we should (and should not) minister to one another, and why proper perspective about the relative size and importance of Church and world is so important. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Harry talks tells us what the heresy he sees most commonly on the internet is (subhumanism) and manages to work in Ichabod Crane while doing so. They then segue into the need for a Eucharist and parish-based ecclesiology and to avoid the division of politics and jurisdictionalism. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, recorded in two parts before a live studio audience, Fr. Harry shares his experience at the recent meeting of canonists in Serbia. Fr. Anthony uses this as an opportunity to get Fr. Harry to explain what a canon isn't, why we could probably use more canons (and why Fr. Anthony can't write them), and the impropriety (but not non-canonicity) of using whole wheat flour for prosphora. Enjoy the show!

Today we wrap up our series of discussions about some of the findings from psychology that describe patterns of thought that incline us towards sin. We organize our discussion around the article from Aeon (12/5/2018), "The bad news on human nature, in 10 findings from psychology" by Christian Jarrettis, the deputy editor of Psyche, and edited by Pam Wintraub. Enjoy the show!

Today we continue to talk about some of the findings from psychology that describe patterns of thought that incline us towards sin, organizing our discussion around the article from Aeon (12/5/2018), "<a href="https://aeon.co/ideas/the-bad-news-on-human-nature-in-10-findings-from-psychology">The bad news on human nature, in 10 findings from psychology</a>" by Christian Jarrettis, the deputy editor of Psyche, and edited by Pam Wintraub.  Enjoy the show!

Today we begin a series about some of the findings from psychology that describe patterns of thought that incline us towards sin.  We organize our discussion around the article from Aeon (12/5/2018), <a href="https://aeon.co/ideas/the-bad-news-on-human-nature-in-10-findings-from-psychology">"The bad news on human nature, in 10 findings from psychology"</a> by Christian Jarrettis, the deputy editor of Psyche, and edited by Pam Wintraub.  Enjoy the show!!

Building on the last episode, today's episode is about sins that keep us out of the Kingdom unless repented of, namely sins unto death, and some distinctions that are pertinent to understand in our day. Some sins are so grievous that they require a longer "time to return" to communion, as St. Gregory of Nyssa informs us. In this episode, we learn about those sins and what forms we might find them in today.

What is sin? Do all sins have eternal consequences? [the railway echo continues on and on] Are all sins equal—do they have the same eternal consequence? If I have bad intentions, are my good actions still good? Do even our small sins have an eternal consequence? If we are innocent of the sins that we commit, are we still not affected by them? Sin and culpability. Our hosts tackle these questions and more. Enjoy the show!

Fr. Harry talks about the need to foster a healthy culture now and laments that we were not better at it sooner. Fr. Anthony agrees but notes that the previous century atrophied some of the institutions that make such an approach seem natural. They also note the way our weakness and the dire state of the world combine with social media to turn the usual Orthodox approach to discernment on its head. Enjoy the show!

This episode delves into the question of the relationship of culture to salvation. Items discussed include the Gospel message from St. Peter on the day of Pentecost and its relationship to our encounter with culture today.

How do we as the Kingdom “not of this world” deal with things in this world such as the culture wars? Our hosts discuss how to tackle the matter of our relationship to culture and in this case a culture “post-Christendom.” How do we deal with it in our homes, or in the workplace? How do we know when to “make a stand” and when not to do so? Whence do we get our barometer, from hierarchy or from monastic prophets? These and other topics are discussed.

Here our hosts discuss how our “worldly” jobs, be they one career or many different callings throughout life, are not worldly at all for the Orthodox Christian, but are part of our sacrificial and royal calling as members of the Royal Priesthood

The place of vacation and leisure in the lives of children of God’s Kingdom. How do we strike a balance? Often vacations are not restful. How do we fit in rest?

The Christian family is the primary way most of us grow the Kingdom of God. We are called to make disciples of all nations but that also means in all nations, in the place where we are. We fulfill this calling by reciprocally nurturing our spouses and raising children to be followers of the Creator and Redeemer of all. The hosts also discuss the role of the family in satisfying Christ's calling to minister to "the least of these" (St. Matthew 25:45). Enjoy the show!

The hosts talk about the logistics of family prayer and individual prayer and the role these prayers play in growing us in The Kingdom. The topics addressed include variations of prayer rules and the extent to which listening to recorded prayers are useful. Enjoy the show!

We often compartmentalize our lives. Last episode we talked about how just as your parish priest is a priest to the faithful, so also are the faithful priests to the world and its people. Just as the church functions as priests for the world and all its people—Orthodox Christians, other Christians, and even heathens, so also in our families, at least in our extended families, we have all these partitions, and we are called to be priests for them—intercessors before God. Today we talk about the act of eating together makes us into a priesthood. Eating is a religious act. Eating together even more so. At the center of the iconostasis above the holy doors are two images, both of which depict communal meals. Eating together is a royal act and a priestly act. We need to regularly eat together with our families and have it covered in prayer, asking God each time to bless us and the food which we are about to eat, and to thank him for these things. Enjoy the show!

Being part of the Kingdom requires repentance; today the hosts talk about some of the ways of thinking (even about Orthodoxy!) that have to change in order for us to better fulfill our calling as the Royal Priesthood. For example, we often think of ourselves as what we are not rather than what we are (i.e. we are “not them.”). That, however, is quite different from what God thinks of us and our calling. We are to be priests of “them,” other Christians and non-Christians, animals and the entire world, as the most basic level of human brotherhood mentioned by St. Gregory Palamas in his first homily. Enjoy the show!