Fr. Joseph Allen

In the third and final lecture, Fr. Joseph investigates how the interface of our narrative story and that of Jesus Christ works, such that we can see the presence of God through that interaction. We all have a unique story we hold up to His, but we must be ready to hear what His story demands of ours through patterns centering on transformation, celebration, assumptions, and rebirth.

Fr. Joseph, in the second lecture, explains how we attempt to show God’s presence using narrative theology. The master narrative is that of Jesus Christ, but we must lift up our story to interface with it, whether through admiration, imitation, or explanation.

In the first lecture of the series, Fr. Joseph discusses how we experience God, who dwells at a summit always beyond our reach, and what is involved as we continually scale upward toward that height, in the transformative process of finding the Kingdom.

The Gospel according to St. John, as Fr. Joseph explains, is the most unique, powerful, and majestic of

the four. Jesus Christ’s actions in St. John are never simply acts but are always imbued with deeper

meaning. Fr. Joseph notes that this is the “cosmic Gospel”: all of life is involved, and when God

penetrates all of life, it is given a new dimension. The bond of faith between disciples and the Messiah

is key, and the command to love is the person of Jesus Christ.

Fr. Joseph explores “Luke-Acts” in the fourth lecture, noting the continuity of apostleship between the

two books. This structure aligns with the central point of St. Luke, who emphasized the deep connection

between Christology and Ecclesiology. Fr. Joseph discusses multiple distinctions of the Gospel according

to St. Luke and the Book of Acts, including the use of time and space, interesting character appearances,

focus on the Life of the Spirit, proclamation of universal salvation, emphasis on prophesy, and criticality

of the Eucharist.

In the third lecture, Fr. Joseph turns to the Gospel according to St. Matthew, describing him as the

biblical scribe that brings forth things old – Jewish tradition, i.e., Christ’s fulfillment of the Law and the

Prophets – and things new, in the historical context of the trauma of the destruction of the temple in

Jerusalem. Fr. Joseph explains that St. Matthew focuses on three ministries preached by Christ to His

disciples: bearing fruit; exercising discernment; and practicing reconciliation and forgiveness.

As Fr. Joseph explains in the second lecture, the Gospel according to St. Mark links discipleship with

the suffering and Cross of Christ. Discipleship in St. Mark is always “beginning”: His followers – including

us – constantly stumble and fall, but Jesus always enters into their pain, lifts them up anew, and

ultimately liberates them from death.

Fr. Joseph introduces us to the study of the Gospels. He delves into the remarkable features of Jesus

Christ’s ministry across the four Gospels; probes how each defines the relationship between the Lord

and His followers; and begins the exploration of why the writers chose different emphases in their works.

In the fourth and final lecture in the series Living by Trust, Fr. Joe delves deeply into what it means to have a trusting relationship with God and with one another: the line from the Prophecy of Habakkuk “The just shall live by faith” could just as easily have been written “The righteous shall live by trust.” Trust, Fr. Joe reminds us, is a risky venture; it requires struggle to grow in trust in God rather than leading a dark and suspicion-filled life. God is trustworthy, even as we ourselves must be - life is not about being “successful”

but being faithful and trustworthy. The definition of trust, and of living a Christian life, is to do what is just, to love loyally, and to walk humbly with your God

What part do we play, and what part does God play, in the repair of our broken relationship with Him—how are we justified before God’s face? This is the question Fr. Joe poses in the third lecture on Living by Trust. Fr. Joe reviews Martin Luther’s answer, its basis in St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and the history of the Protestant-Catholic divide. However, as Fr. Joe explains, even if we are justified by a righteousness that is not our own but that of Jesus, what the Protestant approach forgets is the role man must play in choosing to accept God’s grace. We are not justified by faith alone but by Christ alone; we are justified by grace through a living faith that issues forth in good works.