Our Life In Christ

We continue the series of interviews with Fr. Jonah Paffhausen. In this program Fr. Jonah discusses monasticism as a response to the Gospel. While monasticism is a specific calling, there is also a foundation of universal principles that all Christians are called to. Steve and Fr. Jonah also discuss the process of becoming a monk, some of the pitfalls of monasticism and some common misconceptions about monks and monasteries.

In part two of the discussion of the Jesus Prayer, Fr. Jonah talks about the context of the practice of the prayer and some of the spiritual pitfalls and dangers of entering a discipline of prayer without spiritual direction.

During a recent visit to St. John's Monastery, Steve recorded and interview with Abbot Jonah about the Jesus Prayer. In part one, Fr. Jonah discusses the Orthodox view of prayer that goes beyond "requests and praise." He also discusses the practice of the Jesus Prayer and the transformation of the human being which is a difficult and sometimes painful experience.

Steve and Bill offer indisputable evidence that they are still alive by breaking radio silence. Tune in and find out what has been going on for the last few weeks, and then join them in a discussion of "The Unseen Warfare," a Lenten discussion of the spiritual warfare.

This is hour two of the Andrew Tallman Show that Steve and Bill hosted during Andrew's Christmas vacation.

Steve and Bill got invited to fill in for the vacationing Andrew Tallman, the afternoon drive time talk show host on 1360 KPXQ, the Phoenix area SALEM evangelical radio station. It is a two-hour show from 5 to 7pm, so we are posting the first hour of the program this week and the second hour next week.

We're baaaack! After an unintended extended hiatus from the program, we were finally able to find an evening to record a special "Christmas edition" of Our Life in Christ. In this program we walk through the icon of the Nativity and look at the wholistic view of the ministry of Christ in His incarnation. The Nativity icon foreshadows the Passion of Christ and we see in the details of the icon commmon elements that show us that our salvation began from eternity. Blessed Nativity to all of our listeners!

In this episode, Steve and Bill discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing salvation to the human race through the person of Mary on whom the Holy Spirit descends to incarnate the second person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ. This is understood as the "economy" or the role of the Spirit as the one who does not manifest Himself, but reveals Christ. But then something happens during the second break and... well, don't reveal the suprise ending of this program to anyone.

We've gotten several requests over time to do a program on the Orthodox view of "speaking in tongues" and the charismatic movement within the Evangelical Churches. After avoiding the topic for a couple years we decided to do a series on the Orthodox Church's understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. With all the claims and experiences regarding the Holy Spirit today is there a way to discern what is real and what is perhaps a spiritual deception? We begin the series at the beginning: the role of the Holy Spirit in creation.

In the last program of the End Times series, Steve and Bill try to tag team wrestle "the Beast" and the "Antichrist." It was a tough match-up, and the they left some marks on them, but not the trademark "666." And just what does "666" mean anyway? Tune in and see who has been marked as the Beast and the Antichrist through history.

In part three on this series on the end times Steve and Bill discuss the Father's ancient wisdom of being silent on things that are difficult to interpret in the Bible then go on to discuss difficult topics about the end times. In this program they discuss the Rapture, dispensationalism and the place of the Church in God's plan of salvation, and Christian Zionism, all hinges on the door of many Protestant end time theories. They summarize how the Creed addresses all of these interpretations.

In the second part of a possible 144,000 part series on the End Times and the Revelation of St. John, Steve and Bill give some definitions of some of the views of the Tribulation and Rapture and where the second coming of Christ and judgment fits in the various scenarios. Then they take a romp through Church history and go through a list of prognostications about the second coming throughout the centuries.

In response to listener requests, Steve and Bill begin a new series on the Orthodox view of the end times and the book of Revelation. With the popularity of the "Left Behind" books, the recent developments in the Middle East, and the American Protestant theological hodge podge of end time scenarios, what does the Church have to say about all of the speculations about the immanent return of Christ? In this program Steve and Bill discuss the landscape of popular end time scenarios and laugh way too much.

In this final program of the series on the Divine Liturgy we discuss the dismissal prayers after communion. These are more than just a formality as they express the summation of all that we have experienced for the past hour or more: God is the lover of mankind. But the Christian's experience of the Eucharist does not end with the final doxology or the Liturgy. In many parishes there are "post communion prayers" that are read as the people come for the closing blessing and antidoron from the priest. These express in prayer the Orthodox experience of the Eucharist and its meaning to us as we commune and "go forth in peace."

The prayers are said, the clergy have commmuned and we finally come to the people's communion. The Eastern Rite Orthodox communion has no counterpart in Western Christian practice, so we discuss the mechanics of taking communion, the unusual "liturgical spoon", the different ways communion has been served over the centuries, and the minor variations of praxis among Orthodox Churches. The communion ends with several prayers that declare what the Church has been teaching, confessing and praying all through the liturgy: we have found the true faith, worshipping the undivided Trinity. Is this triumphalistic arrogance or something more?

The mystical change of the gifts of bread an wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Epiclesis is followed by a series of pre-communion prayers and hymns - given to continually focus us on the grace and unity of the Holy Spirit, for it is He who has been invited to come down upon us and abide in us. The closing prayer of the Epiclesis, which declares the unity of all saints made righteous by faith, is followed by the Megalynarion - the Magnification of Mary, for it was she who by virtue of her humility and purity and the power of the Holy Spirit provided the world with Christ's Body and Blood - the Incarnation itself. The litanies then lead us to the Lord's Prayer, the extolling of God's Holiness (not ours), and then a final declaration of of our own humility and allegiance before we partake of the Mystery of Mysteries. The now thoroughly inadequate Steve and Bill move through this part of the Divine Liturgy "as usual" - with their familiar, winsome klutziness.

We come to the most sacred and debated words of Christian worship in history: the Epiclesis, the calling down of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine to make them into the Body and Blood of Christ. Is the change "real" or is it symbolic? How does the change happen? When does it happen? Are the words just a "hocus pocus" incantation? Can it happen anywhere a priest just speaks the words? Steve and Bill take up the challenge of going three rounds with this theological giant. In the first round they come out hesitant and tentative, dancing around their opponent. In the second and third rounds they get bolder and grapple with the topic but in the end are no match for the great Mystery. The epiclesis wins by a unanimous decision and Steve and Bill go home and hope to recover from their wounds by next week's show.

The bread and wine, the gifts of the people, have been moved from the table of preparation (prothesis table) to the altar in the Great Entrance. In this program we further discuss the Cherubic Hymn in which we are admonished to "lay aside all earthly cares" as we confront the reality of the heavenly Kingdom and the unity of all believers both in heaven and on earth who confess "Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and undivided." We enter a liturgical dialogue with the priest as we contemplate the greatness of the grace of God who accepts from us sinners our gifts in order to return them to us as the Body and Blood of His Son. In this liturgical dialogue we acknowledge our life in the Trinity, the love and unity of the Church, the glory of God, our gratitude to God for His mercy and the awesome and fearful prospect of taking the "fire of divinity" into our human flesh in the Eucharist.

With the reading of the Gospel and the homily that often follows it, the Liturgy of the Catechumens is concluded, and we transition to the Liturgy of the Faithful - The Communion Service. The Eucharist has always been the central focus of the life and worship of the Church from the beginning. Here we try to convey, by way of the Cherubic Hymn and the priestly prayers, the meaning of the Great Entrance - the journey of the gifts from the Prothesis table to the Altar. This is the life-journey of Christ in the world on his way to His Life-Giving Death, and the faithful are eyewitnesses to this - as the lines between heaven and earth are blurred in the mysterious and sacred space of the Kingdom.

The priest is vested, the Gifts have been prepared for the celebration of the Eucharist, and now the Divine Liturgy begins. The first half of the Divine Liturgy is called "the Liturgy of the Word" or "the Liturgy of the Catechumens". In the Liturgy of the Word we hear the Church's teaching about the saints, feasts and events being commemorated that day, the Epistle is read and the Gospel is preached. We see it is not always easy to follow along, even with a service book in hand. Steve and Bill offer some insights into the structure and flow of the Liturgy of the Word that will help newcomers participate more fully in the service.