Roads From Emmaus

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick unpacks the preaching of Christ and John the Forerunner—'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand'—discussing what all of those terms really mean for everyday Christian life.

Springboarding off a blog post by Fr. Stephen De Young ('Theophany and the River Gods'), Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses what Theophany means in terms of God's defeat of false religion.

In Luke 13, Jesus heals a woman bent over for 18 years. Bringing in the commentary of St. Theophylact of Ohrid, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick talks about how this woman is an image of our own souls and how we perceive what is heavenly.

On the feast of St. Martin of Tours, Fr. Andrew uses his story as well as the Gospel of the Good Samaritan to show how what we do and what we give depends a great deal on how we perceive our lives.

With the teaching on the sacredness of icons of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick demonstrates how our theology about the blessedness of material reality also means that we have to dedicated what we own to God.

Speaking on 2 Cor. 9:6-11, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses why Christianity isn't a fair exchange and also why we often can't see what God is giving us.

Addressing alumni and seminarians at St. Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, during the year-opening retreat, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick challenges them to have conversations with the non-Orthodox and not to settle for falling into either polemic or compromise, showing how engagement is instead the traditional Orthodox patristic posture.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick meditates on one of the best-loved verses of the Bible, looking at it in the context of the full secret conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.

Using the image of the vineyard placed in a hedge by a householder, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick preaches on all the elements of the placing of that vineyard, and then expands his thoughts on what it means to be separate from the world and why that is a positive experience for Orthodox Christians.

The man who brings his son with seizures to Jesus tells Him that the boy is a lunatic, that he is being controlled by the moon. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick asks, do we act like lunatics ourselves? Do we have to?

With the feast of St. Olaf of Norway, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses the Gospel of Peter walking on the water and interprets both in the light of St. Paul's teachings on synergy with God.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Steven Christoforou take to the streets of Manhattan and ask people what they believe in. What they hear surprised them and might surprise you, too.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick tells us we use the word 'blessing' all the time in religious talk. But does it mean anything other than just good religious vibes? And what about 'blessing' God Himself?

St. Paul's famous Love Chapter in 1 Cor. 13 follows on the closing verses of 1 Cor. 12, which are about the gifts God gives the Church in her people. So what is love? Where do we get it? And how does that express itself in these gifts? What about love in daily life?

On the feast of All Saints, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses what it means to be a saint, both for us and for those we usually think of as 'saints,' as well as why saints are actually critical to Christianity.

Far from being a substitution at Pentecost, swapping Christ with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit makes Christ present to us for ever. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick meditates on this and related themes.

What do an exorcism and an earthquake have in common? What about attempted suicide and mud? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick connects all these together.

Jacob is invoked by the Samaritan Woman who encounters Jesus at the well. What does this father of the Old Testament mean in this conversation and for us who read it?

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick reflects on a major milestone in his own life—finally living in one home for more than 5 1/2 years—and uses that to explore how life on the go can actually be quite paralyzing.

Preaching on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick shows how both the encounter of Joseph and Nicodemus with the body of Jesus and the lack thereof with the myrrh-bearing women make a crucial point about Christianity.