St. John of Shanghai Orthodox Church: Recent Episodes
Fr. Justin Hewlett
How to love and leave judgement to the One who is ultimately qualified to judge, while still staying committed to the Truth
As we unite ourselves to our head, the Messiah, by serving to one another in love, we participate in His sacrifice and are grafted into His body, the race of the people of God
God’s provision for us has always made salvation possible for all, so we can live in love as He calls us to.
God works in and through even our greatest evil and failures to bring about His resurrection life
How God, working with both those who are for us and those who are against us, teaches us not to fear, but to love
He who robes the setting sun in clouds of royal purple is robed by us in the purple of mockery; yet He prays from the cross for us, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’”
”At the end of all things, we will be with God in glory, but in the meantime, we’re waiting…”
How we tend to respond to the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, and what that teaches us about ourselves and about repentance
What we know about the Last Judgement is scary, but, considering what’s at stake, very good news!
How do we actually assist one another? A homily reflecting on a conversation prompted by my Doxacon presentation on The Deaths of Arthur: http://podcast.stjohnofshanghai.org/TheDeathsOfArthur.m4a
My poetry professor, Dr. Lee M. Johnson, had a tradition of writing Christmas poems. The following one struck me as particularly appropriate to share right now, as we find ourselves between Nativity and Theophany – or, in the Western Christian tradition, between Christmas and Epiphany – especially in light of my Christmas homily:
The magi and the shepherds who were there
Beheld a wonder that we cannot share;
Absent, as usual, will we never see
A revelation or epiphany?
When will it be our turn in Bethlehem?
Or is it all that wise to envy them?
They heard some angels sing and saw a light
And know of something special in that night,
But further into time they could not go;
They did not know what their descendants know:
That light is Light, that night is Night, that love
Is Love restored to Life by God above;
They knew of birth; we know of death, and more;
What happens after saves what goes before:
The gift of Christmas is a pledge of peace;
The gift of Easter shows it does not cease.
Our Creator’s care for the ordinary should inform our response to the cares and concerns of ordinary life
Understanding Paul’s defence of justification by faith as a discussion between Jewish Christians
Fr. John Behr will be at St. John of Shanghai Orthodox Church (195 E Windsor Rd, North Vancouver, BC V7N 1J9) on Sunday, September 17th, and will be giving a talk on encountering Christ entitled, “The Great Mystery: We Shall All Be Changed” at 3:30pm.
There is no charge for attending, nor any obligation to sign up beforehand, but it would be helpful, if you are planning to attend, if you would fill out this brief form so we have some idea of how many people might be coming: https://forms.gle/32WfUQywv7yb7fMM6
Today we honour that which our culture fails to appreciate: the world-changing significance of the humble faithfulness of Joachim and Anna in their respective roles.… Read on
Abba Isaac teaches us about prayer as a way of life with reference to the Transfiguration… Read on
Little children, love one another, for this is hard: this involves even your death, but this is the way of life.… Read on
Evil is real, present, and very powerful, and Christians confront it in a way that is unique to the followers of Jesus Christ… Read on
Reasons to believe the Scriptures are reliable witness to real, lived human experience that we ourselves can also live in and live out… Read on
A reflection, through the life of our patron, St. John of Shanghai, on two key “Orthodox” words: akriveia and oikonomia… Read on
Reader James tells two stories of the Celtic saints that teach us not to judge, to celebrate the gifts that God has given us, and to share them with others.… Read on
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”… Read on
On celebrating and honouring our imperfect parents – and our imperfect peers: balancing both ideals and brokenness
The “sermon after the sermon…”: a couple more implications of the Annunciation and the Incarnation.
My opening quote from C.S. Lewis here is more or less correct, but it’s actually C.S. Lewis quoting someone else. Here’s the full quote, with context, from C.S. Lewis’ spiritual autobiography, Surprised by Joy (with thanks to Rachel for the correction and the citation!):
‘Then I read Chesterton’s Everlasting Man and for the first time saw the whole Christian outline of history set out in a form that seemed to me to make sense. Somehow I contrived not to be too badly shaken. You will remember that I already thought Chesterton the most sensible man alive “apart from his Christianity”. Now, I veritably believe, I thought–I didn’t of course say; words would have revealed the nonsense–that Christianity itself was very sensible “apart from its Christianity”. But I hardly remember, for I had not long finished The Everlasting Man when something far more alarming happened to me. Early in 1926 the hardest boiled of all the atheists I ever knew sat in my room on the other side of the fire and remarked that the evidence for the historicity of the Gospels was really surprisingly good. “Rum thing,” he went on. “All that stuff of Frazer’s about the Dying God. Rum thing. It almost looks as if it had really happened once.” To understand the shattering impact of it, you would need to know the man (who has certainly never since shown any interest in Christianity). If he, the cynic of cynics, the toughest of the toughs, were not–as I would still have put it–“safe”, where could I turn? Was there then no escape?’
The three forms of forgiveness and how to manage them, especially when they seem impossible
An examination of the first two chapters of the General Epistle of the Apostle James, the Lord’s Brother, with a focus on parallels between the teachings of the Apostle James and the Apostle Paul… Read on
St. John of Shanghai Orthodox Church is moving to North Vancouver. Our new home is the beautiful Anglican church dedicated to Saint Martin, located at 195 East Windsor Road, North Vancouver, BC.… Read on
“Jesus marvelled and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!'”… Read on
What does the Ascension of Christ, God become man, mean for us in our brokenness?… Read on
Early Christian exercise of freedom of speech and religion before it really existed to put our current experiences into perspective… Read on
This homily, while mostly complete, lacks a conclusion due to a medical incident that occurred just before the final point was finished.… Read on
In which the pre-Lenten Gospel readings continue reminding us, “Do not judge,” and “Fasting does not save you,” while presenting the prodigal son as an example of the role that fasting and discernment can play in our salvation.… Read on
What St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom (and the Canaanite woman) have to teach us about the art of communication… Read on
The spiritual disciplines the rich young ruler sought were already embedded in the Law; our Lord simply clarified and amplified his calling for him, customizing it to address his deepest spiritual need.… Read on
Sign up for February services here: forms.gle/KT2FhmtqemGxZdtp7
Please note that, while we have not implemented a sign-up process for Vespers, as attendance at Vespers is typically much lower than the allowed maximum, in accordance with the new Provincial Health Order all services are now mask-mandatory. (Little Compline on Wednesdays is cancelled for the duration of this current PHO.) If you are unable to wear a mask, I am more than willing to arrange with you a time where I come and serve you communion in your own home – or, as we have done before in these emergency situations, at the church from the reserve gifts.
The parishioners of St. John of Shanghai and St. Nina of Georgia Orthodox Church are actively searching for a new church building to rent in the Vancouver/Burnaby area. Any ideas? Contact the Chair of the Building Search Committee, Bob Gobert, at bobgobert@hotmail.com… Read on
An argument could be made that I’m actually arguing for a more thoroughly binary understanding of gender here, just increasing the complexity of the application of that binary in orders of magnitude measured in powers of two.… Read on
Our Lord’s parable of the Good Samaritan tells us exactly what we need to do to live in such a way as to experience and inherit eternal life.… Read on
A Christian understanding of and approach to fear, focussing on the Gospel (the “pigs” again!) and the saint (Hieromartyr John Kochurov) of the day… Read on
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”… Read on
”I am a friend of all seekers of Truth,
and all men of pity, from Boaz to Ruth,
and so, in this pitiless world of ‘true lies’,
I rejoice to find friends who have opened their eyes.”… Read on
On this day, Great and Holy Thursday, we celebrate the very first Last Supper.… Read on
During this pandemic attendance at Divine Liturgy is by prior arrangement only (please contact us by e-mail if you want to be added to the roster) and only in smaller groups, so we are also live-streaming the liturgy.… Read on
Thoughts on St. Peter’s failure – and ours – offered following the reading of the Twelve Passion Gospels
… Read on
A short word from our video-service reflecting on the nature of the online service, on the significance of our isolation – our Lord’s and our own – and on the importance of the inherent risk in physically coming together for the Eucharist:
… Read on
Christ is in our midst!
While not the Liturgy, we are going to attempt to use technology on Sunday to meet together to pray and meditate on the Scriptures and fellowship with one another.… Read on
Vladyka Irénée has just sent out a letter directing that all church services be suspended until at least the end of March to support the nation’s “social distancing” efforts to slow down the spread of COVID-19.… Read on
Why are we here, helpless at Jesus’ feet? To receive true healing, enabling us to live as we were created to.… Read on
The Way of the Cross and the Resurrection finally make possible the Way of Love. … Read on
Be faithful. Do what is set before us to do, in all humility and love. And, as we have opportunity, share the goodness of God with those around us.… Read on
The cross reveals true self-sacrificial love – and the resurrection makes it possible.… Read on
What we can expect when we speak the Truth, especially when the world around us can’t handle the Truth.