Author page: Fr. Barnabas Powell

Christ is risen! Most people confuse power and authority. They think power IS authority but they are mistaken. In fact, I'd say the modern obsession with power is precisely because we have lost the ability to appreciate real authority. Just look at any community in the aftermath of some event that turns that community upside down.…

Christ is risen! It seems there isn't a day goes by when a new "warning" about the "dangers" of something we've been eating for centuries crops up to grab our attention. Funny, I don't remember all these peanut allergies when I was a kid! Now, don't get me wrong; I don't doubt that there are some real…

Christ is risen! "You are what you eat!" That has always been a terrifying saying to me, especially as I constantly struggle with eating well rather than the "convenience eating" that always gets me in trouble. It seems we humans really do want to eat well. We create "food pyramids" and healthy eating tips and cauliflower…

Christ is risen! "Step right up Ladies and Gentlemen, see the most amazing sights you could ever imagine!" You've heard these words before. Carnival barkers trying to get you to spend the money to see the "amazing snake boy, half boy, half snake!" Or the "amazing Elephant Man." Curiosity, entertainment, something "different," something "tantalizing." And it works.…

Christ is risen! I come from a generation that was suspicious of tattoos! And the generation before me, forget about it! My grandfather, a lifelong police officer, always said that tattoos were degrading to a man. Wow, some pretty strong words, especially in light of today's generation that consider "body art" a form of expression and…

Christ is risen! What is it about close relationships that either blind you or enlighten you? What I mean is, I've known folks who were so close to someone else that they were absolutely blind to that other person's faults. I've seen it get so bad that the two people were so enmeshed with each other…

Christ is risen! When I was a police officer, we were trained on how to spot counterfeit money. But the interesting thing is we weren't trained to spot bad bills by studying the fake money. We were trained to spot the fake bills by being obsessively familiar with the real money! We knew each nook and…

When I was a boy, my little brother and I would sometimes sneak around the house before our parents woke up on a Saturday morning. One Saturday, before the sun was up, my brother and I decided we could get our own breakfast, pour our own milk, and generally do what we wanted without any…

Christ is risen! I have never found obedience particularly easy. In fact, being a head strong and prideful person, obedience has always made me uncomfortable and even fearful that I was "giving myself away." So, why is the notion of obedience so prominent in Orthodox Christian teachings and the wisdom of the fathers who have come before…

Christ is risen! "What would Jesus do?" That phrase was popular a few years ago, and I confess to being amused by this fad of "easy religion." One of the main reasons was that the life of Jesus is not easily categorized as the comfortable "Jesus" we moderns would prefer. You know the "Jesus" I'm talking…