Displaying episodes 61 - 90 of 171 in total
In The Beginning Was The Word
During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 28, in which we discuss why John 1 is read at Pascha rather than an ...
Why Does Jesus Teach In Parables?
During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 49, in which we examined the role of parables in Scripture. We began...
Food Does Not Commend Us To God
Right before we begin the Lenten fasting season, the Orthodox Church appoints a reading from St Paul that begins: "Brethren, food does not commend us to God." We discu...
Are We The Prodigal Son?
In analyzing the parable of the Prodigal Son, Fr Aaron argues that most of us should identify more with the faithful son. After explaining why this is the case, we dis...
The Publican & Pharisee
The parable of the Publican & Pharisee is appointed at a pivotal time in the Orthodox Church. By discussing the historical reputation of each of these characters and t...
The Meeting of the Lord in the Temple
The Orthodox Church today celebrates the great feast of The Meeting of the Lord in the Temple. The feast, on the 40th day of Christmas, commemorates Christ being prese...
Chief Among Sinners
We discuss St Paul's reference to himself as "chief among sinners," and how we each confess ourselves to be not only sinners, but the "chief" among them. How can this ...
Jesus Christ The Same Forever
In discussing Hebrews 13:7-16, we noted the importance of Jesus' teaching being of eternal value. We further highlighted how the traditions and practices under the Old...
The Beloved Disciple & Jesus' Napkin
In discussing our reading from John 20, we highlighted the importance of understanding Scripture as literature, and clarified this does not imply that Scripture is not...
Church Hierarchy as "Overseers"
Based on our reading from 1 Timothy 3:1-13, we discussed the qualifications of the clergy, and how their primarily role is as "overseers," who themselves have no autho...
The Importance of Endurance
Jesus said: "By your endurance you will gain your lives." We discussed the importance and value of endurance in the Christian spiritual life. We also highlighted what ...
The Importance of Thanksgiving
With most Americans celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, we discussed the central theme of thanksgiving as part of the Divine Liturgy. We then discussed the need for Chr...
Leave The Dead To Bury Their Own Dead
Today we discuss three different men who wish to follow Jesus and Jesus' comments to them. We note the similarities to the Parable of the Great Supper, and how the exc...
To Whom Much Is Given, Much Will Be Required
“Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required.” We discussed this passage from two angles. First, those who have been given much in this life have a gr...
No Pain, No Gain: Suffering for Christ
We discuss the implications of what it means to "have been granted for the sake of Christ to suffer." In short, if we never suffer, then we do not have the opportunity...
The Sending of the Seventy
In today’s episode we discussed the significance of the seventy apostles that are mentioned explicitly in Luke’s Gospel and how they also relate to the twelve disciple...
God's Commandments vs. Our Natural Instincts
We discuss the sharp contrasts between God's commandments as taught by Jesus and our natural human instincts. We explored how the acts of initiation (i.e. circumcision...
The Sermon on the Plain
We discuss several key aspects of the sermon on the plain, including the deeper meaning of the location of the sermon, the use of the term Son of Man, and the number (...
Galilee & The Great Commission
Jesus gave the "Great Commission" to go forth and baptize the nations from Galilee. Today, we discussed why it is significant that Jesus gave this command in the same ...
Godly Grief vs. Worldly Grief
Today’s episode briefly recounted I Corinthians, in which Paul attempts to deal with the notion that salvation has been fully received without recognizing that repenta...
What Is "The Acceptable Year of the Lord"?
Today we discuss Jesus' reading in the synagogue from Isaiah, proclaiming "the acceptable year of the Lord." We highlighted how this saying relates to the Year of Jubi...
The Hymn to the Philippians: Jesus Is A Different Type of King
We opened today’s episode with a brief background on the epistle to the Philippians and how Paul likely viewed it as his last will/testament, and how Philippi served a...
Is The Gospel Fair?
Today’s parable led us into a discussion surrounding fairness and justice. We are taught from an early age about the importance of these concepts, and often these idea...
What Is The Sign of Jonah?
We began our discussion today by reviewing the events of the three chapters leading up to Jesus’ statement about His only sign being the sign of Jonah. This review hel...
Faith & Science
Today’s reading from Mark 5 led us into a discussion of faith and science and how a Christian should understand the relationship between the two. While the relationshi...
Offering Meat to Idols & A Global Pandemic
Offering meat to idols and a global health pandemic: what on earth could these two things have in common? We discussed 1 Corinthians 8-9 today, where Paul highlights t...
The Problem With "Predestination"
Today we discussed a section of Romans 9 often used to support a theology called “predestination.” This erroneous theology applies Paul’s words to support the idea tha...
Paul's Internal Struggle With Sin
Today we discussed Paul’s conundrum regarding the struggle of sin vs. the will to do what is right. Ultimately, this internal battle, together with the revelation on t...
Simon? Peter? Son of Jonah? Why So Many Names?
In today’s episode we discussed the names that Christ uses for Peter and how an understanding of the meaning of these names helps us to understand more deeply these st...
Circumcision of the Heart
Today we discussed why Paul was so critical of the Jews in Romans 2. Fr Aaron provided context by reminding us the Jews had an advantage over the Gentiles, namely the ...