Teach Me Thy Statutes

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 influence in society, and most especially, within religious institutions. We should be welcoming to all who come to our community and demonstrate mercy and justice for the oppressed, recognizing that the Church is not a place for the self-righteous; it is a hospital for sinners.

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 by society to continue to acquire more and more for our own benefit.

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 stressed that in order for us to safeguard the Scriptures, both clergy and laity must be actively reading and understanding Scripture.

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.

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 select few that possess a higher level of knowledge. In the end, John emphasizes that love, and most specifically, God’s love for us, leads to salvation.

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.

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 judgment are all connected in this passage through the overarching biblical concept of mercy.

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.

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 discussed the modern idea of the Bible as a scientific or historical book, pointing out the flaw in both positions that those of us living in the 21st century are at the center of the universe. By reducing the Bible to a science text or a history book, we cheapen its impact. As Christians, we are not allowed to define Scripture, for Scripture defines us. We are beneath Scripture and must submit to it.

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 religious people are too often focused on their own self-righteousness rather than this biblical meaning of fasting.