We discuss the similarities between II Corinthians, Galatians, and the Acts of the Apostles as it relates to Paul and his teaching. Paul’s experience, as described in II Corinthians, put him on parallel to the other apostles who were “eyewitnesses” of Jesus’ public ministry. We concluded by discussing the “thorn in the flesh” of Paul, highlighting the most important aspect of that story, Christ’s response to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”...
Jun 28, 2023•13 min•Ep. 156
Today we examined the book of Jude. Fr Aaron discussed the similarities between Jude and the epistles of Peter and James. He showed how these epistles served as a corrective to those who misunderstood Paul’s arguments about grace and freedom. Specifically, Jude notes that being free from the Mosaic Law does not mean we are lawless, but rather are freed from that Law to be enslaved to the Law of Christ, which itself brings about true freedom.
Jun 21, 2023•18 min•Ep. 155
In discussing Jesus' teaching that we will be judged using the same measure with which we judge others, we touched on the importance of understanding Jesus' teachings literally. For in the judgment, Jesus will not ask whether we "believe" certain biblical events happened, but rather if we lived by the lessons they taught. We concluded by discussing how we can properly help others who have a "speck" in their eye, once we have removed the "plank" from our own.
Jun 14, 2023•13 min•Ep. 154
We began the episode by explaining how children were viewed as an underclass in the 1st century Roman Empire. Jesus, therefore, makes the point that children are humble, as they do not put their trust in themselves, but rely on the help of others, just as we should rely on God and be careful not to put our trust in our own righteousness. We concluded by discussing Jesus’ parable of the shepherd leaving the 99 sheep to seek out the one who was lost. There, we highlighted how Jesus calls upon us t...
Jun 07, 2023•12 min•Ep. 153
We discussed how Jesus challenged the “insiders,” those “who believed in Him,” which is consistent with the entire Bible. This approach is different than what we so often hear today from Christians who are instead condemning those outside the Christian community. Fr Aaron stressed that we are only able to impact those outside of the community if we are willing to confront our own deficiencies and get our house in order. We concluded with a discussion of what it means to be a slave to sin and a p...
May 24, 2023•16 min•Ep. 152
We discussed the conversion of St Paul, previously named Saul, as told in Acts 9. We focused on the meaning of Saul's name change to Paul and its implication, which is underscored by the meaning of Ananias's name and function in the story. In short, Saul's conversion to Christianity and his name change to Paul encapsulates Paul's message to the nations, which is an invitation to set aside one's own righteousness to rely upon the righteousness of God found by grace through faith.
May 03, 2023•14 min•Ep. 151
We began by discussing the tragic tendency to “individualize” the Gospel, missing not only the fact that the Scriptures were written to a community, but also neglecting to share God’s forgiveness and mercy to others as part of our own salvation. We then moved on to show how this understanding is connected to Jesus giving His disciples the power to forgive sins, as well as the power to retain them. Finally, we stressed the importance of recognizing Jesus as the Christ in His crucifixion.
Apr 26, 2023•16 min•Ep. 150
Today we are republishing Episode 109, "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 discuss why this reading is selected at the beginning of the fasting season and discuss the true nature of biblical fasting.
Mar 08, 2023•14 min•Ep. 149
Today’s episode centered around the readings appointed just prior to the beginning of Great Lent on the Saturday of Souls and the Sunday of the Last Judgment. Fr Aaron showed how the placement of these texts within the liturgical cycle emphasize the importance of returning to the teachings of Jesus during the season of Lent. Moreover, Fr Aaron underscored this teaching is focused on how we should behave, rather than what we believe.
Feb 22, 2023•14 min•Ep. 148
We began today by examining the word translated as “lawful” (from the passage “all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful.”). Through this we see St. Paul demonstrating that while all humans have the authority to choose evil, we should instead use that power to submit to the way of Christ, recognizing that we are temples of the Holy Spirit.
Feb 15, 2023•10 min•Ep. 147
In lieu of a regular episode, this week we are offering Fr Aaron's sermon from Sunday, February 5, the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee in the Orthodox Church.
Feb 08, 2023•15 min•Ep. 146
In discussing the story of Zacchaeus, Fr Aaron pointed out the double strike against him as a Jewish tax collector, making him the worst kind of traitor among his fellow Jews. We then analyzed the story in light of Jesus’ teaching elsewhere on the difficulty of the rich man entering His kingdom. Zacchaeus, although rich, was ultimately commended by Jesus because he accepted the grace offered him and multiplied it by showing mercy on the poor and restoring to those from whom he had stolen.
Jan 25, 2023•13 min•Ep. 145
We began by discuss the significance of the Samaritan being the one leper returning to give thanks to Jesus for being healed. We then discussed how all ten lepers demonstrated faith in Jesus, even though the nine neglected to show thanks. We concluded by noting the implication of this; namely, that God heals us completely independently of our own “worthiness,” and simply because He is good.
Jan 18, 2023•11 min•Ep. 144
In Jesus’ refusal to answer the question of His authority posed by the Jewish authorities, Jesus shows these authorities care more about the praise of men than pursuing Scriptural truth. Fr Aaron discussed how this can also be true of today’s worldly authorities, including those within the Church. We concluded by recognizing St John the Forerunner as being despised by these authorities for the same reason as Jesus was despised: he was not bound by their earthly authority or allegiant to the reli...
Jan 11, 2023•9 min•Ep. 143
In lieu of a regular episode, we are sharing Fr Aaron's Christmas 2022 homily. In this homily, Fr Aaron emphasizes how we celebrate the birth of the King of Peace, and how we who are called by His name can bring peace upon earth.
Dec 28, 2022•12 min•Ep. 142
We discuss the readings for the Sunday before Christmas, from Hebrews 11 and Matthew 1 (the genealogy of Christ). We highlighted the similarities between the two readings, most specifically the fact that Christ is connected to a historical setting and community. Further, we noted that contrary to normal expectations of royalty, Matthew goes out of his way to point out Christ came from an impure line. As is so often the case in the Bible, this shows that God works through the weak and sinners of ...
Dec 21, 2022•11 min•Ep. 141
In discussing Jesus healing on the Sabbath, Fr Aaron explained why this was such a big deal to the Jewish leaders. He also highlighted how Jesus shows that the “law of mercy” supersedes all other laws in the Bible. We concluded by discussing the Bible’s systematic favoring of the weak and humble, and how this has impacted Western civilization, to the extent we often take this approach for granted.
Dec 14, 2022•12 min•Ep. 140
In today’s episode we began by discussing the apparent discrepancy between Jesus telling us in today’s passage to let our lamp shine, but elsewhere indicating our good works should be done in secret. Fr Aaron talked about how we should not seeking attention ourselves, but should rather attract people to the Gospel teaching. He then highlighted how we show the world the Gospel message primarily via our interactions with others and not through our own asceticism or our liturgical practices.
Dec 07, 2022•12 min•Ep. 139
We discuss the "Parable of the Unjust Steward." This parable often confuses readers because of the poor English translations. Fr Aaron noted the better translation of the "unjust steward" is the "steward of/to the unjust." Understood in this light, the parable makes complete sense with the rest of the New Testament and underscores how the Gospel was taken to the Gentiles/nations. While the mission to the Jews by and large failed, the Apostle Paul and others, the stewards of the unjust, found suc...
Nov 16, 2022•12 min•Ep. 138
In today’s episode we discussed how St. Paul urges the Colossians to avoid the temptations of external rituals that lead to self-righteousness, whether they be pagan or Jewish rituals. In these rituals, we cannot add to what God has already accomplished for us through Jesus Christ. Instead, we respond with thankfulness by loving our neighbors and uplifting the weak. We concluded by discussing our need to avoid the cancer of self-righteousness, which can affect us regardless of our denomination.
Nov 09, 2022•14 min•Ep. 137
Today’s episode began with a discussion about Jesus’ statement in Luke 12 relating to the Final Judgement. These verses follow Luke 11 in which Jesus’ conversation with the Pharisees included both the Beatitudes and the Woes (the latter of which is unique to Luke’s Gospel). From the Woes and Jesus’ continued discussion in Luke 12, we can understand that the Final Judgement will be about what we did when others were not looking and how we treated people who were despised by those with power and i...
Nov 02, 2022•12 min•Ep. 136
Today we discussed how we can become a “cheerful giver.” We first highlighted the need to re-orient ourselves around the biblical teaching of appreciating God’s gifts and of sharing them with others. Fr Aaron then suggested that even if we are not yet a cheerful giver, we should still give, even if somewhat begrudgingly. In this way, we allow Scripture to teach us the ideal, and over time as we move toward this ideal, we will begin to see how this way of life is superior to the way we are taught...
Oct 19, 2022•12 min•Ep. 135
In today’s episode, we began by examining the significance of the Ethiopian eunuch and his conversion to Christianity, which highlights the inclusiveness of the Gospel as he extends the geographical reach of the Roman Empire as well as the color of people who associated with Judaism. Moreover, as a eunuch, this early convert would have been entirely excluded from Temple worship. We concluded by discussing the Church’s role in interpreting Scripture vs. an individualist approach. Fr Aaron stresse...
Oct 12, 2022•15 min•Ep. 134
We discussed how the teaching of ‘judging not lest you be judged’ is not only Scriptural, but also deeply ingrained in our Orthodox tradition. This teaching of Jesus is at the heart of the Gospel. We explored, then, how it is not enough for us to say that we trust in God and believe in Him. We must also put our trust into practice by forgiving others and refraining from judging or condemning them.
Oct 05, 2022•12 min•Ep. 133
In today’s episode, we briefly discussed the background of the three epistles of John and then focused on the reading appointed for his feast day. John’s epistles may have served as a corrective to those who were improperly using his Gospel and equating it with Gnosticism. With John’s continual stressing of the importance of love and its connection to keeping God’s commandments, we can see that John takes an anti-Gnostic stance, as anyone can show love and follow God’s commandments, not just a s...
Sep 28, 2022•12 min•Ep. 132
Today we discussed Jesus' baptism and the presence of the Trinity. Fr Aaron explained how an important aspect of the Trinity for us to highlight in the community within the Godhead. We then discussed why that is so applicable, as it helps us to avoid the sin of individualism.
Sep 21, 2022•13 min•Ep. 131
Today’s episode focused primarily on how John’s Gospel differs from the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, & Luke). We stressed that the key difference is that John moves away from the historical aspects of Jesus and instead focuses on His teaching, a message that ultimately transformed not only the Jerusalem Jewish community, but the entire world. We concluded by discussing a passage from our reading today in John 8. Specifically, Fr Aaron highlighted how the concepts of sin, faith, and judgm...
Sep 14, 2022•14 min•Ep. 130
Today we focused on the urgency of accepting and living the Gospel message as emphasized in the epistle to the Hebrews. Further, we highlighted how in the Bible, one is never given an honor without a related responsibility. To that end, we discussed how as humans honored with the image of God we have the responsibility to show the same love Jesus showed through the Cross. We then closed by examining the authorship of Hebrews and the Pauline nature of the entire New Testament.
Sep 07, 2022•13 min•Ep. 129
This is our final week of re-posting some prior episodes before returning to new content. Today we examined the role of parables in Scripture. We began by stressing the importance of viewing the entirety of Scripture as parable, as well as the value of parables as guiding principles in our lives, since we are wired to better understand moral and spiritual lessons when they are told in story form. Christ Himself used parables to penetrate more deeply; to engrain the lesson on our heart. We also d...
Aug 31, 2022•15 min•Ep. 128
For the next two weeks we will be re-posting some prior episodes before returning to new content. Today, we discuss the tradition of fasting, dating back to pre-Christian Judaism. This helps us better understand why Jesus was questioned by the disciples of John as to His disciples not fasting. Jesus’ response, together with Isaiah 58, shows that the true purpose of fasting is not to make ourselves hungry, but to relieve the hunger in others and to relieve their burdens. Jesus shows how the most ...
Aug 24, 2022•15 min•Ep. 127
