Bible Love: A Scripture Podcast

Today Mary Balfour talks with Breanna Carter, Director of Racial Healing and Pilgrimage for the Diocese of Alabama. They talk about ministry, vocation, and how we’re all called to God’s work. Prayer for Mission (Morning Prayer, the Book of Common Prayer, pg 100) Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole  body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplicatio...

A woman stopped her in a hospital hallway and said: what you do is not a job. What you do is a ministry. CJ Van Slyke had been a nurse, a licensed counselor, a Red Cross mental health specialist deployed to flood zones, a Haiti mission worker, and a volunteer at a women's overnight shelter. She had been doing the work for years before she had a name for it. The name, it turned out, was deacon. Thi...

It started with a Presbyterian chaplain who had no agenda. Just an open door, sixty minutes a week, and the grace to let a despairing sophomore be exactly who he was. That gift, given freely in the early 1970s, set in motion forty-eight years of ordained ministry that Paul Roberts Abernathy has never once regretted. This week Alan and Mary welcome Paul to the Bible Love summer series on vocation f...

Today we talk about Jesus in the tomb in Mt 28.1-20; Mk 16.1-20; Lk 24.1-53; Jn 20.1-25. Five years ago, Alan and Mary Balfour started a podcast during a pandemic because what else were you going to do? This week they wrap up Season 5 with the day that makes everything else make sense. Easter is not just the happy ending after a hard week. It’s the whole point. The cross matters, but without the r...

Today we talk about Jesus in the tomb in Mt 27.57-66; Mk 15.42-47; Lk 23.50-56; Jn 19.38-42. The body has to go somewhere. Two men who kept their distance while Jesus was alive step forward when he is dead. Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council that condemned him, goes to Pilate and asks for the body. Nicodemus, the man who first came to Jesus by night in John 3, arrives with spices. Both o...

Today we’re joined by Dr. Tony as we talk about the central moment of the Christian faith. We talk about Jesus and the cross in Mt 27.15-56; Mk 15.6-41; Lk 23.13-49; Jn 18.38-19.37. All four gospels bring you to the same hill, the same cross, the same Friday. And then each one tells you something the others don't. This week Dr. Tony works through the crucifixion narratives, and the conversation ke...

Today we talk about denial, abandonment, and Jesus on trial in Mt 26.57-27.14;Mk 14.53-15.5; Lk 22.54-23.12; Jn 18.13-38. Jesus is handed from one authority to another. Religious leaders to Pilate. Pilate to Herod. Herod back to Pilate. The proceedings are chaotic, the charges keep shifting, and through all of it Jesus is almost entirely alone. This week Alan and Mary Balfour work through the tria...

Today we talk about Jesus, the disciples, and the Garden of Gesthemene in Mt 26.36-56; Mk 14.32-52; Lk 22.40-53; Jn 18.1-12. After the supper, Jesus goes to a garden. He asks his disciples to watch with him. They fall asleep. Three times. This week Alan and Mary sit with the Agony in the Garden and the arrest, one of the few sequences that appears in all four gospels, and when all four gospels agr...

Today we talk about feet washing, the last supper, and everything that happened on Maundy Thursday in Mt 26.17-30; Mk 14.12-26; Lk 22. 7-30; Jn 13.1-35. Three of the four gospels give you a table, bread, a cup, and the words that have echoed through Christian worship for two thousand years. John gives you a basin and a towel. This week Alan and Mary sit with all four accounts of the night before t...

Today we talk about the anointing of Jesus at Bethany in Mt 26.6-13; Mk 14.3-9; Jn 12.1-11. An unnamed woman walks into a dinner party in Bethany and pours a year's wages worth of perfume over Jesus's head. The disciples are furious. Jesus says what she has done will be remembered wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world. Matthew and Mark, who make that promise, never tell you her name....

Today we talk about the plot to kill Jesus in Mt 26.1-5, 14-16; Mk 14.1-2, 10-11; Lk 22.1-6. The Passion has begun, and Jesus isn't even in the room. This week's readings are short but loaded. The chief priests are plotting, Judas is making a deal, and the machinery of the crucifixion is quietly starting to turn. We look at how all three synoptic writers frame this opening moment of the Passion an...

Today we talk about wars, rumors of wars, and how we should live when we know we’re gonna die in Mt 24.1-51; Mk 13.1-37; Lk 21.5-38. Jesus leaves the temple for the last time, and his disciples point out the impressive stonework. His response stops them cold: not one stone will be left on another. From the Mount of Olives, they ask the obvious follow-up question, and Jesus answers with what schola...

Today we talk about dark humor, angry Jesus, and how we’re all a little bit of a Pharisee in Mt 22.41-23.36; Mk 12.35-40; Lk 20.41-47. And a bonus sermon on St. Joseph for his feast day! Readings for next week: Mt 24.1-51; Mk 13.1-37; Lk 21.5-38 Links mentioned in this episode: - Church of St. Joseph in Nazareth (https://www.liturgicalartsjournal.com/2024/01/romanesque-revival-in-holy-land-church....

Today we’re joined by Dr. Tony, as we talk about Jesus’ greatest commandments in Mt 22.34-40; Mk 12.28-34. The recording cut off a bit in the beginning, but it’s easy to catch up with what we are discussing! Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 22.41-23.36; Mk 12.35-40; Lk 20.41-47 Links mentioned in this episode: - Dr. Tony’s notes (http...

Today we’re joined by the Rev. Eric Holloway, Associate Rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas. We talk about Jesus, death, and taxes in Mt 22.15-33; Mk 12.13-27; Lk 20.20-40. Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 22.34-40; Mk 12.28-34 Links mentioned in this episode: - St. Luke’s, San Antonio (https://www.slecsa.org/c...

Today we talk about vineyards, prophets, and not being afraid to die. We look at the Parable of the Vineyard Owner in Mt 21.33-46; Mk 12.1-12; Lk 20.9-19. Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 22.15-33; Mk 12.13-27; Lk 20.20-40 Links mentioned in this episode: - Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner's Guide to Holy Week (https://a.co/d...

Today we are joined by the Rev. Marion Sprott, Canon for Transition Ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. Today we talk about baptism, authority, and Jesus’ presence in Mt 21.23-27; Mk 11.27-33; Lk 20.1-8 Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 21.33-46; Mk 12.1-12; Lk 20.9-19 Links mentioned in this episode: - The Rev. Marion...

Today we talk about fig trees, prophets, and real faith in Mt 21.18-22; Mk 11.1214, 20-26 Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 21.23-27; Mk 11.27-33; Lk 20.1-8 Links mentioned in this episode: - Theodora, Empress (https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/calendar/theodora) - Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner's Guide to Holy Week (https:...

Today we talk about disruption, honesty, a better reading of Scripture, and Jesus’ cleansing the temple in Mt 21.12-17; Mk 11.15-19; Lk 19.45-48 Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 21.18-22; Mk 11.1214, 20-26 Links mentioned in this episode: - Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner's Guide to Holy Week (https://a.co/d/89u4GX8) - Chris...

Today we talk about humility, courage, and Jesus’ triumphal entry in Mt 21.1-11; Mk 11.1-11; Lk 19.28-40; Jn 12.12-19 Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 21.12-17; Mk 11.15-19; Lk 19.45-48 Links mentioned in this episode: - Lili'okalani of Hawaii (http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Liliuokalani.html) - Christ Chronological Bible (https:/...

Today we’re joined by the Rev. Roger Speer. We look at Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus in Lk 19.1-10. Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 21.1-11; Mk 11.1-11; Lk 19.28-40; Jn 12.12-19 Links mentioned in this episode: - Roger Speer (https://rogerspeer.com/about/) - Christ Chronological Bible (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143364603X)...

Today we look at healing, blindness, and the times when Jesus shows up in our darkness. We look at the healing of the blind man (men?)  in Mt 20.29-34; Mk 10.46-52; 18.35-43. Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Lk 19.1-10 Links mentioned in this episode: - Christ Chronological Bible (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143364603X) - Check us...

Today we’re joined by Dr. Tony as we look at Jesus’ predictions of his death in Mt 20.17-19; Mk 10.32-34; Lk 18.31-34. Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 20.29-34; Mk 10.46-52; 18.35-43 Links mentioned in this episode: - Dr. Tony’s notes on the passion predictions (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_F46KLVsFRitzn0FRHqJA5pDnI7UMY1I/view?u...

Today we’re joined by the Rev. Gavin Tomlin, Associate Rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Waco, Texas. We look at Jesus and the workers in the vineyard in Mt 20.1-16. Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 20.17-19; Mk 10.32-34; Lk 18.31-34 Links mentioned in this episode: - Rober Farrar Capon’s book on the parables (https://a.co/d/9h...

Today we talk riches, sin, and our constant struggle to be perfect. We look at Jesus and the rich young ruler in Mt 19.16-30; Mk 10.17-31; Lk 18.18-30 Questions for reflection: - Where have you encountered God this week? Readings for next week: Mt 20.1-16 Links mentioned in this episode: - Christ Chronological Bible (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143364603X) - Check us out on YouTube (https://...