Even for ancient people, this week's story isn't anything they would've had a category for! Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy once again explore the story of "Doubting Thomas". How does this reading explain the slowness of understanding the resurrection in daily life, what are we to make of Jesus' body still showing his wounds, and what is the peace that Jesus promised?

Questions for Further Discussion

Themes and Application

1. What does it mean that resurrection begins behind locked doors rather than out in the open? 
2. Why do you think John emphasizes belief over “faith” language? What kind of belief is being invited here?
3. What does it look like to live as a “resurrection community” in a world described as addicted to violence or despair?

Personal Reflection

1. Do you resonate more with Thomas’ need to see and touch, or with those who came to believe without seeing? Why?
2. What does it mean for you personally to “know something in your knower” rather than just intellectually understand it?
3. How do you respond to the idea that Jesus returns still bearing wounds? What does that say to your own scars?

Broader Spiritual Considerations 

1. What might it mean for the Church today to take seriously that “belief unfolds slowly” rather than instantly?
2. In a culture drawn to spectacle and “signs,” how do we cultivate a faith that rests in relationship rather than proof?
3. If Easter is not just celebration but activation, what would it look like for churches to emphasize “living resurrection” as much as proclaiming it?

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

An empty tomb, confused disciples, and a grieving woman searching for her Lord. Diving into the Easter Gospel, Peter Walsh and John Kennedy explore how John’s Gospel frames the resurrection as the dawn of a new creation, how people then and now are looking for Jesus, and what is so important about recognizing Mary Magdalene as the first witness to the risen Christ. Plus, John shares his real-life story of a UFO sighting!

Questions for Further Discussion

Themes and Application

1. How does the idea of the resurrection as a “new creation” (a new Genesis week) reshape how we understand Easter beyond just a miracle story?
2. What do you make of the different ways the disciples “see” the empty tomb? Have you experienced moments where you saw something—but didn’t yet understand it?
3. How does Jesus being both “with the Father” and “with us” stretch or challenge your understanding of God’s presence?

Personal Reflection

1. When have you found yourself asking, “Where is Jesus?” What did that season feel like?
2. What does the moment where Jesus says “Do not hold on to me” stir in you? Is there something in your life you’re being invited to release?
3. Mary recognizes Jesus when he calls her by name. When have you felt personally “called” or known in your faith journey?

Broader Spiritual Considerations 

1. What does this passage suggest about the relationship between history and mystery in the Christian faith?
2. How do we hold together the uniqueness of Jesus with openness to truth and wisdom in other traditions?
3. How does the elevation of Mary Magdalene as the first witness challenge cultural or religious assumptions—both then and now?

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

We’re in the most intense stretch of the Christian story, moving from the table to the tomb! Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy unpack the shock of Maundy Thursday’s foot washing, the raw exposure of Good Friday, the silence of Holy Saturday, and the strange, luminous hope of Easter’s first light. Along the way, they wrestle with power and love, guilt and transformation, and what it really means to be human in the shadow of the cross.

Holy Land clips from this episode:
The Upper Room
Gethsemane

Questions for Further Discussion

Themes and Application

1. What does Jesus’ act of foot washing reveal about the nature of God and leadership in the Christian life? How does it challenge our assumptions about power and status? 
2. What does it mean to say that the crucifixion is both a revelation of God and a mirror held up to humanity? 
3. What role does silence play in the Triduum, especially on Holy Saturday? How might embracing silence deepen faith or awareness of God? 

Personal Reflection

1. When have you struggled to “stay awake” in a moment that required presence, courage, or faithfulness? What does that reveal about your own spiritual life? 
2. How do you personally respond to suffering—your own or others’? Does the cross offer you more consolation, challenge, or both? 
3. What does “It is finished” mean to you—completion, surrender, victory, or something else? 

Broader Spiritual Considerations 

1. The podcast suggests that Jesus came not to create a new religion but a new humanity. How do you respond to that idea? 
2. How can the cross function as both consolation (God with us in suffering) and challenge (calling us to transformation)? 
3. What is the significance of the resurrection being a real, historical claim versus a symbolic or spiritual truth? How does that affect belief and practice? 

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

Palm Sunday isn’t just a parade, it’s a collision! Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy unpack Jesus’ deliberate and deeply symbolic entry into Jerusalem, where every detail, from the borrowed donkey to the cloaks on the road, carries theological weight. As Holy Week begins, we're presented with a provocative question: What does it really mean to follow a king whose power looks nothing like the world’s?

Read "The Donkey" by G. K. Chesterton

Questions for Further Discussion

Themes & Application 

1. What does it mean that Jesus intentionally stages his entrance into Jerusalem rather than letting events unfold naturally? How does that shape your understanding of his identity? 
2. In what ways does Jesus redefine kingship through humility rather than power? How does this challenge our cultural assumptions about leadership and authority? 
3. The episode highlights how every detail (donkey, cloaks, branches, geography) carries meaning. How does paying attention to symbolism deepen your reading of scripture? 

Personal Reflection

1. Where in your life do you prefer a “strong” or controlling version of God rather than the humble, self-giving Christ?
2. Jesus refuses to be a “side dish” to our lives. What competes with your allegiance to him right now?
3. When have you felt caught between celebration and uncertainty, like the Palm Sunday crowd?

Broader Spiritual Considerations

1. The clergy suggest that Christianity can become more about “religion” than relationship with God. How do we guard against that? 
2. What does it mean for the Church to embody a different kind of kingdom in a world shaped by power, competition, and dominance?
3. How might Palm Sunday be more than a reenactment and instead become a transformative spiritual practice?

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

In this week's reading, Jesus is warned that his friend is close to death...and he waits two days to help?! Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy explore Jesus’ deep friendships, the meaning of resurrection, the place of grief and doubt in faith, and the powerful invitation to be “unbound” from the forces that keep us trapped in spiritual tombs.

Questions for Further Discussion:

Themes and Application

1. How does this story reveal Jesus not only as teacher or miracle worker, but as a friend?
2. Why might Jesus delay going to Lazarus, even though he knows his friend is sick? What could this teach about waiting, timing, and God’s purposes?
3. How do Jesus’ tears change the way we think about God and human suffering?

Personal Reflection

1. Have you ever experienced a moment where God seemed delayed or absent in a difficult situation? What did that experience teach you?
2. Where do you see yourself in this story — Martha, Mary, Thomas, Lazarus, or someone in the crowd? Why?
3. What doubts, griefs, or questions would you bring honestly to God the way the characters in this story do?

Broader Spiritual Considerations

1. How does this story challenge the way our culture thinks about death and grief?
2. Why do you think John places such strong emphasis on belief in this Gospel?
3. In what ways can the Christian community help “unbind” one another from spiritual or emotional tombs?

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

Buckle up! This week's scripture feels more like a play in 7 acts than a Sunday snippet! Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy dissect the story of Jesus healing a man born blind. Together, they muse about what this reveals about family systems and the effect of community, how this ties into baptism, and what it looks like to experience gradual enlightenment on our faith journey.

Questions for Further Discussion:

Themes and Application

1. What does the man’s journey from calling Jesus “the man Jesus” to “Lord” teach us about spiritual growth and discipleship?
2. In what ways do the reactions of the neighbors, parents, and Pharisees show how communities respond differently to transformation and truth?
3. How does this passage illustrate the difference between recognizing our need for grace and assuming we already see clearly?

Personal Reflection

1. Have you ever felt pressure to stay silent or avoid conflict in a situation where truth or justice was at stake?
2. Where might pride or certainty keep us from recognizing our own spiritual blindness?
3. What would it mean for you to let Christ reshape how you see other people, especially those society overlooks or excludes?

Broader Spiritual Considerations

1. The early church often described baptism as “illumination.” How does the imagery of washing in the pool of Siloam connect to baptism and spiritual awakening?
2. This passage explores the idea of progressive enlightenment. How does faith continue to grow even after a moment of transformation?
3. What does this story reveal about the relationship between individual faith journeys and the systems we inhabit(family, religion, culture)?

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

Thirsty? This week, Jesus offers a drink that quenches forever. Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy look at the story of the Samaritan woman at the well and discuss how Jesus satisfies our thirst, how he reaches across boundaries, and how this event mirrors some of the Bible's oldest stories.

Father Peter's Vlog 10.8.19 (Holy Land Pilgrimage Day 6):

Holy Land Pilgrimage Playlist

Themes and Application

1. Why do you think John places this story right after Nicodemus? What contrasts between Nicodemus and Photini stand out to you?
2. What boundaries does Jesus cross in this encounter? National? Ethnic? Religious? Gender? Moral? Social? Which of these feels most radical in our current context?
3. The woman becomes the first evangelist in John’s Gospel. What does her testimony teach us about how faith spreads?

Personal Reflection

1. Have you ever felt like an outsider to a community, system, or church? What does Jesus’ posture toward the Samaritan woman say into that experience?
2. Jesus names the truth of the woman’s life without condemnation. What would it be like to let Christ see your full story without defensiveness?
3. Leonard Cohen wrote, “There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Where are the cracks in your life through which grace might be entering?

Broader Spiritual Considerations

1. In the Orthodox tradition, the Samaritan woman is known as Saint Photini (The Enlightened One). How does viewing her as a saint change the way you read the story?
2. If Jesus is the true “well” from whom living water flows, what does that imply about Christian unity across divisions?
3. What would it look like for communities to reflect the ever-flowing nature of living water rather than building dams of exclusion?

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

Ever wonder why Nicodemus can't seem to understand the teachings of Jesus? Today, Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy come to his defense and explain why he is one of the most underrated men in the Bible. Plus, they discuss what it's like to encounter different beliefs that challenge our black and white thinking, why John 3:16 is more than "stadium theology", and how this story reminds us to walk alongside those who are wrestling with their faith.

Questions for Further Discussion:

Themes and Application

1. Why do you think Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night? Is it fear, curiosity, spiritual darkness, rabbinical custom, or all of the above?
2. How does this passage challenge “stadium theology” readings of John 3:16?
3. How might this passage reshape how we think about conversion as a process rather than a one-time event?

Personal Reflection

1. When have you felt like Nicodemus—curious but confused, drawn but uncertain?
2. What beliefs or frameworks have you had to release in order to deepen your faith?
3. What would it mean for you to “persist in your folly” long enough to grow wise?

Broader Spiritual Considerations

1. John’s Gospel moves Nicodemus from night (chapter 3), to public defense (chapter 7), to courageous devotion at the cross (chapter 19). What does this progression teach us about spiritual maturation?
2. How do different traditions interpret “born again”? Where have interpretations become weaponized?
3. If, as Karl Rahner suggested, “the Christian of the future will be a mystic or will not exist at all,” what might that mean for clergy and congregations today?

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

This week's lesson finds Jesus tempted in the wilderness. Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy discuss what things in the world tempt us to veer off the path Jesus laid out, what idols we're tempted by, and why we should unlearn what we've traditionally thought about the Devil.

Questions for Further Discussion:

Themes and Application

1. What does “one does not live by bread alone” reveal about spiritual hunger in a culture that appears materially full?
2. What does it mean to say there is a force opposed to God’s purposes in the world? How do we understand evil without excusing human responsibility?
3. How does this story prepare us for Lent as a season of testing, clarity, and spiritual realignment?

Personal Reflection

1. Where in your life do you hear the whisper, “If you are…”? What identity questions are you wrestling with?
2. Have you experienced a wilderness season—illness, recovery, grief, loneliness, pilgrimage, transition? What did it reveal about you?
3. What distracts you most easily? Where do small deviations slowly move you off course?

Broader Spiritual Considerations

1. How might Lent be an invitation to reclaim attention in an age of technological distraction?
2. How does the baptismal renunciation of “Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness” frame the Christian life as ongoing resistance?
3. If evil is often seductive rather than grotesque, how do we cultivate discernment?

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

On Ash Wednesday, we're forced to confront our mortality in a culture that is afraid to talk about death. Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, and John Kennedy discuss why this seemingly gloomy occasion is actually one of the most uplifting. Plus, they contemplate what we're attached to and detached from, what giving looks like despite our means, what kind of masks we wear, and how we can reclaim/rethink our reasons for fasting.

Questions for Further Discussion:

Themes and Application

1. Jesus warns against practicing righteousness “to be seen.” In what ways does our culture train us to live performatively?
2. Fasting was described as “detachment that leads to attachment.” What might fasting free you from? What might it open you toward?
3. What does it mean that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”? How does that statement function as both invitation and warning?

Personal Reflection

1. What reward are you secretly hoping for in your spiritual practices: recognition, reassurance, control, belonging?
2. Is there a form of fasting (from food, criticism, noise, distraction, self-judgment) that might deepen your attention to God?
3. If Lent is a season of spiritual medicine, what might God be inviting you to examine or release this year?

Broader Spiritual Considerations

1. Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving were historically communal practices. What would collective fasting look like in a modern parish or society?
2. Ash Wednesday paradoxically brings relief and joy. Why might naming mortality feel freeing rather than depressing?
3. What role does humility play in spiritual awakening? How does remembering we are dust clarify our priorities?

Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org