A Psychologist looks at Scripture

Send us Fan Mail So, we overhear the prayers of two very different men.  One man, the Pharisees has done a lot and includes what he has done in a list expecting I guess to impress God.  He was doing okay until he compared himself to the tax collector.  The second man, the Tax collector has said little but admits to his wrongdoing and is truly sorry.  It must have come as a shock to the first liste...

Send us Fan Mail In the Gospel of Luke 18:6-8 Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray always.  He uses a short parable of a woman seeking justice from a corrupt judge.  The woman successfully hassles the judge, wearing him down to finally getting the justice she was seeking.  Jesus makes the interesting point that how much more will God grant what we ask if only we remain steadfast in our prayers....

Send us Fan Mail In today’s Gospel we read about a healing, specifically the healing of ten people with leprosy.  Although this account is about people getting healed of a dreaded disease it is  what happens after the healing that is most significant.  Let’s take a step back to help put this Gospel in perspective.  Leprosy or now known as Hansen’s Disease was a dreaded disease back in biblical tim...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s Gospel Jesus is asked by his disciples on how to increase their faith.  It looks like the disciples are finally understanding the ministry of Jesus.  Remember the story of the rich young man found in Matthew 19:16 who asks Jesus what does he need to do to inherit eternal life?  It was a fair question but where is the focus?   The rich young man was focussed on getting w...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares a profoundly interesting parable. I would like to examine it further and in detail.  In the parable, Jesus introduces the rich man, we do not know his name, but he wears purple, the color of royalty and feasts, not just on special holidays but every day.  We then learn about Lazarus, a poor man.  Unlike the rich man, Lazarus has a name.  We would ex...

Send us Fan Mail Today's Gospel highlights the importance of consistency and faithfulness, even in the small things. I find Jesus’ teaching about serving two masters particularly thought-provoking. Often, it feels like we have more than two masters competing for our time and energy. From my perspective, many people drift away from their faith not out of rejection of God, but because other res...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s Gospel from John focusses on a conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus.  To give you some important background information, Nicodemus was a Pharisee.  Scripture scholars remind us that despite the negative portrayal of Pharisees in the Gospels not all the Pharisees were against Jesus.  Yes, there was a small group that were against Jesus and looked for every opportunity to d...

Send us Fan Mail For someone not familiar with Jesus’ style of teaching this Gospel would be shocking.  I suspect the Gospel would be shocking for the first listeners. It completely contradicts the 5th commandment about honouring one’s parents Exodus 20:12.  While there are no actual scriptural references from Jesus there are Gospel references of Jesus showing love to his parents. In Luke 2:48-51,...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus accepting an invitation to dine with one of the leading Pharisees. During this gathering, Jesus shares a teaching inspired by His observations that challenges the conventional understanding of social status. He emphasizes a reversal of worldly status through humility. But what exactly did Jesus mean by humility? Complete our 1 Minute Survey

Send us Fan Mail Luke’s Gospel is very typical of Jesus style.  We have read events where Jesus takes an accepted view, custom, or perception and reinterprets into something different.  Often when Jesus is asked a question, he invites the questioner into a deeper meaning.  What exactly did Jesus mean when he talks about the narrow gate.  Let’s look further.  Jesus asks if many will be saved.  Like...

Send us Fan Mail This passage might seem surprising—even unsettling. Here, we don’t see the serene, peaceful Jesus, but instead a passionate figure intensely devoted to his mission and faith. I believe Jesus is speaking metaphorically when he refers to fire—using it to symbolize the fervor and intensity he expects in our faith lives. He was not passionate about a lukewarm faith. In Revelation 3:14...

Send us Fan Mail In this Gospel we learn that the Father is pleased to give you the kingdom, this is incredible!  The kingdom is given, not earned but a free gift.   This is not the only such reference,  in Luke 13:29 we read that "people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God,".  Jesus says this before his death a...

Send us Fan Mail We have someone asking Jesus to help settle his case, to judge the merits of an inheritance dispute.  Jesus does not take the bait and makes it clear to the individual that he is not here to judge.  This is a valuable reminder to people who so often see God as one who judges and punishes.  Jesus is very clear about his role.   Jesus tells a parable of a man with a bountiful harves...

Send us Fan Mail The disciples of Jesus note that John the Baptist has taught his disciples to pray.  They had likely seen Jesus pray or go off to a lonely place to pray so they are curious.  Jesus gives them direction and insight into prayer.  These “instructions” have become a prayer, the well know  Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father.  Prayer is very important for growth in our spiritual life.  Bef...

Send us Fan Mail Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus were friends of Jesus and they are frequently mentioned in the Gospels.  We don’t have any record of anythng that Lazarus said but he is one of the three people in the Gospels that Jesus raised from the dead. The biblical record identifies these three explicit resurrection miracles performed by Jesus before his own resurrection.  The story of...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s Gospel Jesus is asked by a lawyer what must he do to inherit eternal life.  The question is direct and honest, unlike many of the questions of the Pharisees and Sadducees that are often multi layered and are intended to trap Jesus rather learn from him.  Jesus answers directly by asking him about the Law.  This was understandable as the man was a lawyer.  The man goes f...

Send us Fan Mail This story is unusual because we have two distinct parts.  The first part focusses on the advice Jesus gives his disciples and the second part focusses upon their return.    When the 72 return,, they are rejoicing after what appears to be a most successful mission..  They are excited about what they saw.   It is noteworthy that the first thing the 72 disciples share is about their...

Send us Fan Mail Who is Jesus for you? Jesus asked this question to his disciples.  We all know by now that when Jesus asks a question, he already knows the answer and a teaching follows.  Today’s reading is no  exception.  Jesus asks his disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”   Jesus gets a variety of answers, most people think he is a prophet who has resurrected from the dead.  Je...

Send us Fan Mail Today, our podcast focusses on one of the multiplication of loaves miracles.  Luke begins describing the story with Jesus  healing those who needed to be cured.  It appears it’s the end of the day, so the disciples want to send the people into the villages to get something to eat and possibly seek lodging.  Rather than sending the people away Jesus suggests that the disciples feed...

Send us Fan Mail The opening section of this Gospel brings to mind 1 Corinthians 13:11, where Paul uses the metaphor of childhood to describe spiritual immaturity: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things.” Spiritual immaturity refers to a stage in which a believer has not yet developed a mature unde...

Send us Fan Mail To help us understand the Holy Spirit, the reading begins by emphasizing God’s love for us—a recurring and familiar theme in John’s Gospel. Love inherently involves vulnerability. The more deeply we love, the more at risk we are to being hurt. This vulnerability makes trust essential in any relationship. Trust can be given or earned, and violations of trust can sometimes be irrepa...

Send us Fan Mail Jesus makes some incredible claims, and provides  signs of God’s presence amongst his followers, driving out demons, speaking new languages, picking up serpents, drinking poison and miraculous healings, only to name a few.  This passage reminds me of the dramatic style of teaching Jesus used to introject passion into his teachings.  Remember the scripture passage that speaks of &q...

Send us Fan Mail Love is a central and recurring theme in John’s Gospel, and it has been a focus in previous episodes. Love lies at the core of Christian faith. However, I invite you to reflect on whether your image of God is one that is easy to love. Many identify as Christians out of a desire for salvation yet seeking salvation and loving God are not synonymous. Concerns about salvation often re...

Send us Fan Mail Jesus’ call to love is not easy, people are so afraid of being taken advantage of or they do not feel love for the person.  Is Jesus calling his followers to something they cannot achieve?  Are people who are loving more vulnerable to being taken advantage of?  Some people act as if they have a finite amount of love to give and so don’t love easily.  Rather than focussing on the c...

Send us Fan Mail Jesus portrays shepherds as protectors and guides for the sheep.  Likely they served as metaphors of God’s protective and guiding nature.  I wonder if there is more here.  Perhaps the shepherd has a role to play in our faith.  We don’t see many shepherds in most western towns and cities.   When I think of shepherds, I think of individuals who knew and protected their sheep.  They...