Teach Me Thy Statutes

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.

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.

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 religious establishment.

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.

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 this world to accomplish His will.

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.

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.

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 success in offering God's mercy and leniency to the nations.

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.