A Psychologist looks at Scripture

Send us Fan Mail In the Gospel today we hear one of the most famous of parables.  Jesus uses a well-known event to describe people’s faith experience.  People would be familiar with gardens especially vegetable gardens.  Most people did not have the luxury of growing flowers for their beauty.  As I have mentioned in a previous podcast the gardener was quite generous in sowing the seed.   Likely pe...

Send us Fan Mail This passage is distinctive in that Matthew presents Jesus offering a prayer of thanksgiving. Jesus praises the Father because understanding has been revealed to the “little ones”—those without status or power—while remaining hidden from those who might be expected to possess knowledge. The message is clear: true knowledge of God is not achieved solely through human effort or inte...

Send us Fan Mail At first hearing, this Gospel may seem somewhat jarring. However, its central theme is not unfamiliar. It echoes the foundation of our faith. Jesus teaches that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and that the second is to love your neighbor as yourself, as found in Matthew 22:36–40. At the same time, Scripture also calls us t...

Send us Fan Mail The early Christian community lived with significant fear—fear of rejection, persecution, and uncertainty about God’s presence in their suffering. That experience remains familiar today. While Scripture frequently refers to the “fear of the Lord,” it is noteworthy that this exact expression does not appear in the Gospels. Traditionally, it has been understood as reverence rather t...

Send us Fan Mail In this Gospel, Jesus sends out his disciples to minister to the people.  We don’t know exactly at what point in Jesus ministry did he send out the disciples.  We have many references to Jesus sending out his disciples to evangelize people from different cultures.  I want to draw your attention to several points made in this reading.  Jesus instructs them not to go to pagan territ...

Send us Fan Mail Today's reading needs to be unpacked to grasp the full meaning of the Gospel. Likely, this Gospel is of the same caliber as many of Jesus' statements that were meant to challenge the people and focus on the passion of the teachings. Other examples of this model include Matthew 18:9: "It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown...

Send us Fan Mail Love is a defining theme throughout John’s Gospel. Not only does John emphasize God’s love for us, but he also stresses our call to love one another. In John 13:34–35, Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” Loving others becomes the visible sign of our faith....

Send us Fan Mail We have the disciples gathered behind lock doors.  There they are processing their experience of crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  That is all they can do.  Then God’s mysterious presence in the form of the Spirit moves these individuals to courageously share faith with anyone who will listen.  There is no indication that they gained insight into their experiences, and the S...

Send us Fan Mail Like many goodbyes, the Ascension is bittersweet.  Jesus has completed his ministry on Earth.  He can have a sense of accomplishment.  Yet he is saying goodbye to his disciples.  There were likely many positive memories of comradeship, caring and supporting each other.  He reassures them they will have help in their ministry in the form of the Spirit of Truth, the Advocate, or the...

Send us Fan Mail As Jesus introduces the spirit of Truth as part of our relationship with God. Truth is absolutely foundational for spiritual growth, not just an optional “nice‑to‑have” accessory. In Christian teaching, truth is what God uses to convert and set people free. Spiritual growth therefore depends on a willingness to hear teaching, examine one’s life, and reject self‑deception, which is...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s edition there is a lot going on in this Gospel which is typical in John’s Gospel.  The Gospel starts with Jesus trying to reassure his disciples.  He speaks about providing a place for them and returning to come and get them.  It is obvious that Jesus is feeling a connection and is being protective of them.  When people feel they belong—whether in a family, community, o...

Send us Fan Mail One of the techniques that Jesus used was using situations that the people would be familiar with.  The readings today are no exception.  The people would be familiar with the gate keeper for the sheep.  To give you some background, most villages had a walled in field where the local shepherds would bring their flocks for the night.  The shepherds would take their turn guarding th...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s edition from Luke 24  we hear about two disciples on a walk from Jerusalem to a village 7 miles away called Emmaus.   While it seems like an innocent walking excursion, there is so much going on.  We gain insight into the early days of the Church.  Two of his disciples are discussing what had happen in Jerusalem just a few days ago.  The situation suddenly became   very...

Send us Fan Mail Jesus greets his disciples with "Peace," the first words he speaks—signaling its central place in our spirituality. Amid world events and ongoing wars, this topic feels especially timely. Jesus frequently taught about peace: from the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Mt 5:9); to instructions for entering a house (Mt 10:13); and Zechariah's prophec...

Send us Fan Mail On April 5, 2026, we celebrate Easter, the radiant heart of Christianity, with joyful celebrations, family gatherings, and renewed hope. Yet in our familiarity, we risk missing its visceral intensity. We view  the full story through history's lens—what comes next is assured. But imagine the raw uncertainty: the searching, questioning, desperate hoping, and plunging despair of...

Send us Fan Mail There are many spiritual lessons in this seemly simple Gospel.  At the beginning of the Gospel Jesus gives very specific instructions.  I suspect Matthew is telling his listeners that Jesus knew what was going on and that this was a very deliberate act.  I wonder what Jesus was thinking about while he was on the colt entering the city.  He is listening to the people shout hosanna,...

Send us Fan Mail The Gospel for March 22, 2026, is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. This is one of three resurrection stories in the Gospels—the others involve Jairus's daughter and the son of the widow of Nain. What sets Lazarus's story apart? Jesus knew Lazarus, along with his sisters Mary and Martha, whom we've encountered before. The deepest lessons emerge befor...

Send us Fan Mail The Pharisees are fixated on the fact that Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath and missing the more significant and obvious miracle of a man being given the opportunity to see for the very first time.  The Pharisees clearly have an agenda and rigidly hold on to it despite the facts and that their perspective is literally missing the bigger picture.  .  The man who was once blind h...

Send us Fan Mail Jesus reveals he's the Messiah only three times in the Gospels (here, to a Samaritan woman; and twice at his trial). He sees her wounds but also her resilience and faith. Despite pain, she's tied to her community.  I wonder if these qualities made her a good candidate for Jesus to share his true identity with her. Unlike the sceptical Pharisees, she grasps who Jesus is—a...

Send us Fan Mail  The Transfiguration stands out from accounts of Jesus' healings and teachings. There's a group of miracles that feel different—perhaps even puzzling—but they're deeply spiritual. Consider Jesus walking on water and inviting Peter to join him (Matthew 14:22-33); calming the storm amid the disciples' pleas (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25); turning w...

Send us Fan Mail  In today’s podcast we focus on Matthew’s account of Jesus completing 40 days in the desert.  It is not clear whether Matthew is drawing a connection between Jesus’ time in the desert and the Israelites wandering around in the desert for 40 years.  What is noteworthy is that we have Jesus being tempted by the devil.  The temptations give us insight into the heart and mission of Je...

Send us Fan Mail As we develop our faith life our view of the law will change from following the letter of the law to the spirit of the law.  Jesus was often critical of the Pharisees who lived by the letter of the law and chose not to recognize the purpose of the law. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus accused them of meticulously paying tithes on tiny herbs like mint, anise and cummin but ignoring "we...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s Gospel Jesus describes living our faith in three metaphors that would be easily understood by the first listeners.  Also, I suspect the choice of the metaphors may have additional meaning too. The first metaphor that Jesus uses is comparing the impact of faith on others to the impact of salt on seasoning our food.  The use of salt today has changed radically.  We still...

Send us Fan Mail In the podcast today we are introduced to a segment of the teachings of Jesus known as the Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes gives us insight into the mind of Jesus.  There is some debate about what Jesus actually meant but let’s look more closely.  The Beatitudes are also found in Luke’s Gospel with some differences. For example, the first Beatitude  is “Blessed are  the poor in spirit...

Send us Fan Mail This Gospel describes the early beginnings of Jesus ministry.  The death of John the Baptist seems to be the trigger for Jesus, and he begins by inviting people to join him in his mission.  There are two points I want to draw your attention to.  In most cases one would expect the disciples to ask Jesus, but we have it the other way around.  Jesus is asking them.  It is noteworthy...