A common image runs through the Gospel readings for the upcoming Sunday of Great Lent: the Sunday of the Judge. Two stories show Jesus talking about the coming of God’s kingdom, and the way to pray to our Heavenly Father.
“Michink”: The Mid-point of Great Lent
If you’ve ever traveled with passengers via plane, train, or automobile—even by foot, skateboard, or bicycle—you’ve certainly heard these words at some point along the way: “Are we there yet?”
Steward or Swindler?
The steward is a figure who comes up in many of Jesus’ parables—a “stock character,” we might say, who would have been very recognizable to Christ’s listeners.
What did stewards do, in the time of Jesus? What made them so interesting to our Lord?
A Father’s Love
Perhaps the holiest moment in the Armenian Divine Liturgy is when the congregation fills the church with the singing of the Lord’s Prayer. We begin with the words Hayr Mer—“Our Father”; but what really do we mean by referring to God as a “father”?
Expulsion and Temptation
The Armenian Church lays special emphasis on the season of Great Lent as a “school” for personal spirituality. The faithful are guided on a kind of “pilgrimage of the soul,” with each Sunday of Lent dedicated to a story from Scripture, based in a parable of Jesus, or in prophecies concerning him.