Category Archives: Preaching

Praying for the Consuming Fire of Love

Posted on 13 March 2023 by Fr Aidan Kimel

It is a fantastical fantasy, I know. Even so, I fantasize: If every Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant pastor were to read the Unspoken Sermons of George MacDonald, the Church of Jesus Christ would experience an extraordinary revival in the Holy Spirit. … Continue reading →

Posted in George MacDonald, Justification & Theosis, Preaching | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Word Words the World: Robert W. Jenson on Preaching

Posted on 3 April 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

by Chris E.W. Green, Ph.D. Preaching is Jesus happening to us. For Robert Jenson, the life that the Father, Son, and Spirit share—that is, the “divine nature”—is lively and dramatic: “a going‐on, a sequentially palpable event, like a kiss or … Continue reading →

Posted in Preaching, Robert Jenson | 1 Comment

The Scandalous Injustice of Grace: St Isaac the Syrian and Pope John Paul II

Posted on 27 July 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Back in 2008, “60 Minutes” interviewed the Boston button man John Martorano. The inter­view is unsettling. In a quiet, detached, matter-of-fact tone, Martorano describes the twenty confessed murders he committed during his years as an enforcer for the Winter Hill … Continue reading →

Posted in Grace, Justification & Theosis, Isaac the Syrian, Preaching | 26 Comments

Preaching the Astonishing Love of God with St Isaac the Syrian

Posted on 12 July 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Who among the Eastern Fathers has written more eloquently, more profoundly about the astonishing love of God Almighty than St Isaac the Syrian? “In Isaac’s understanding,” states Met Hilarion Alfeyev, “God is above all immeasurable love. The conviction that God … Continue reading →

Posted in Isaac the Syrian, Preaching | 11 Comments

The Nothing of Grace and the Apokatastasis of Justification by Faith

Posted on 2 June 2021 by Fr Aidan Kimel

My adult Christian life, both pre- and post-seminary, has been marked by theological pas­sions. Holy Trinity, Incarnation, Eucharist, feminist language for divinity, ecclesial authority—at any given point in time these topics have captured and monopolized my intellect. I would buy … Continue reading →

Posted in Eschatology, Grace, Justification & Theosis, Preaching | Tagged , , , , , , | 62 Comments

Grace Ain’t Cheap–It’s Free!

Posted on 3 November 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

When pastors become troubled by the pre­sence of so many nominal believers in their congregations, they typically begin to preach Bonhoeffer’s distinction between cheap and costly grace: “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus … Continue reading →

Posted in Grace, Justification & Theosis, Preaching | 18 Comments

Preaching Good Good Very Good News: Proclamation, Liturgy, Kingdom

Posted on 1 October 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

Preach the gospel in the performative mode of uncondi­tional promise—let’s call this the proclamatory rule of the gospel. It comes into play when the gospel-speaker is declaring the good news of Jesus Christ to one or more individuals, with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Eschatology, Preaching | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Preaching Good Good Very Good News: The Grammar of Apokatastasis

Posted on 23 September 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

What difference does apokatastasis make to the churchly preaching of the gospel? All the difference in the world—and therefore all the difference to the world. How we understand the conclusion of the gospel story informs how we tell the story … Continue reading →

Posted in Eschatology, Preaching, Robert Jenson | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments