Jesus has some difficult-to-hear words about following him, including seemingly telling a man that he should not even return home to bury his father. In the ancient world, family may have been more important than it is today; there were no retirement homes, so family had to take care of their members as they aged. If someone ended up in prison, food was not provided. Family or friends had to bring it to them. It's into this ancient context that Jesus' words seem particularly difficult. But they're difficult today, too. What do we do when we encounter texts that seem to push against the grain we see in Scripture? Shouldn't we love and care for those who love and care for us, after all? Shouldn't we invest in our chosen or given families? Jonathan and Seth discuss how to approach and read tough texts.

We're glad you're with us! Seth returned from Greece the day before this episode was recorded, and his circadian rhythm had never been more off. It's better now, but he'd appreciate it if you gave him extra grace this episode.

When a man is purged of his many demons, it seems like cause for celebrating (Luke 8:26-39). The townspeople who knew the man, however, "asked Jesus to leave them, for they were seized with great fear" (Lk. 8:37). How do we let fear dictate how we see our future, how we see others, even how we see Jesus? Jonathan and Seth talk about this rather strange story that seems like a traditional healing, but has much more detail before and after the healing takes place in the narrative. What does this additional information help us learn about the healed, the healer, and the wider community they find themselves?

We're glad you're with us. Lately, our podcast statistics have been trending up! More people than ever are listening. If you're enjoying us or finding us helpful for your sermon preparation, we hope you'll share us with someone else, write us a review, or both.

After celebrating Pentecost, the Church turns its attention to the Triune God. This Sunday makes preaching, teaching, worship planning, and children's sermons particularly difficult because the danger of heresy seems to lurk everywhere. What if we didn't let that stop us from dreaming and exploring what God was like? Jonathan and Seth attempt to unpack what is dangerous about heresies related to the Trinity and whether there is anything we can learn from rigid rules defined in patriarchal councils convened by rulers intent on using the Church for their control. In other words, why does the Trinity still matter?

We're glad you're with us! Seth nerds out on this episode as early church history and the patristic period (from roughly 100-451 CE) piques his interest. We hope that excitment comes through.

As Target learned the hard way, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is the way forward. It's also the way of God in the world as evidenced at Pentecost. So, Seth and Jonathan talk about DEI. While we've occasionally spoken around it, referenced it, or advocated for an inclusive Church, this episode tackles DEI head-on. Why do we need DEI? What are its limits? How can we go further than DEI initiatives? And how does the multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual story of Pentecost inform diversity efforts today? This episode is not political charged, unless you find any mention of diversity inherently political. It is, however, faithful.

We're glad you're with us. This episode was particularly fun to record because we could confront an issue that has been widely politicized. We hope our joy and our commitment to inclusion shine through because if you have a problem with inclusion, your problem is not with, but with God.

Situated between Jesus' ascension and Pentecost, this is an odd Sunday. One of the oddities, at least for modern readers, is that a whole household is baptized together in the appointed Acts reading. When the patriarch of the family, a jailor, decides to be baptized, he decides for his entire family. Is this merely patriarchy at play? Could it tell us something about how households functioned in the ancient world and, perhaps, something about how people can walk along with us toward our baptism? Jonathan and Seth try to sort out what's happening in this story through a lens of grace.

We're glad you're with us! As the Easter season ends, we hope you'll continue living in the joy of Christ's resurrection.

When and how do we tell difficult-to-hear truths? In this Sunday's gospel text, Jesus heals on the Sabbath. In doing so, he does what isn't expected or accepted. Speaking difficult truths can be similar. Others may expect us to "toe the line" by parroting what others in authority have said. Likewise, our truths may not be accepted or could be viewed as harsh. Jonathan and Seth discuss how this applies to the war in Gaza. It also has applications in our personal lives. As we wrestle with these, we hope it stirs questions and insights into how to break the rules, just as the water in the pool of Beth-zatha is stirred up (John 5:7).

We're glad you're with us. In this episode, they reference the book One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad. I (Seth, here) would recommend it to anyone.

The seer John watches an entire city, a new Jerusalem, descend from heaven. While cities in the ancient world were much smaller than cities today, they were still hubs of economic and civic engagement. People lived closer to one another, interacted more frequently, and likely got into more spats. What do cities offer us that suburbs do not? What are some of their challenges? Can we develop a theology of cities? And what lessons might we take from cities to apply to our lives outside of them? After all, both Jonathan and Seth live in the suburbs now.

We're glad you're with us! As mentioned, cities were smaller in Jesus' time. Scholars estimated that roughly 20,000 people lived in Jerusalem. That's half the size of York City, so if you're unsure where or how large York is, you're close to understanding how small Jerusalem was then! Jerusalem's population, however, would swell for religious holidays.

Do you know that God cares about you? We hope so! We also hope that you'll reflect that care by caring for others. That's much easier said than done, however. What does that care look like? How can it be concrete? What is so enticing about online activism that keeps others at arm's length? What are a few concrete ways to care? In this episode, Jonathan and Seth discuss how we care for others "up close." We touch on all four appointed readings for this Sunday, too.

We're glad you're with us! This episode was recorded in person. We hope that joy is evident in the recording. It may also mean, unfortunately, the sound quality is a little different. Thanks for bearing with us. We'd love to hear about how someone concretely cared for you or how you've decided what your caring priorities are at [email protected]

Saul’s conversion, or maybe more accurately his call, is full of power imbalances and power reversals. Jonathan and Seth look at this well known story through this lens to ask: how does God use and confuse power? What might that say about who has power today? Who should we be listening to because they have power in God’s kin-don, but have been overlooked, drowned out, or outright disparaged? 

The same reading follows Easter Sunday each year, the story of "Doubting Thomas" (John 20:19-31). In previous episodes, we've discussed how Thomas' reputation suffers despite being logical. When has someone risen from the dead, after all? In this episode, we explore how we might react. Do we lean into change quickly? Are we resistant to change? What makes change easier to stomach? Easter changes how we think about death, the forces of evil, and how we can live in light of them, so this episode sets the stage for the rest of this Easter Season.

In this episode, Jonathan and Seth discuss the Change Adoption Continuum; it features prominently in their What Would You Do In This Particular Situation question. You can see the graphic here and read more about how to lead others through change.

We hope you had a joyous Easter filled with the power of Jesus' resurrection. As always, we're glad you're with us too.