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 di...

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 mo...

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 di...

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 Jo...

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 r...

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 examini...

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....

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...

For the next three weeks we will be re-posting some prior episodes before returning to new content. Today, we are re-posting Episode 45, in which we discussed the significance of Jesus’ movement in and out of the great city of Jerusalem, and His spending the evenings in Bethany. We also highlighted a parable Jesus spoke while visiting the Temple, calling out the religious people of His time. In st...

To highlight the significance of Jesus telling His disciples to become like little children, we discussed the role of children in the Roman Empire of Jesus’ time. Children of that time did not have the same rights and protections we often take for granted in our own societies. We then touched on the significance of Jesus saying the greatest in the Kingdom will be like a child, and Jesus’ harsh wor...

In discussing Paul's admonition "Let him who thinks he stand take heed lest he fall," Fr Aaron pointed out the subtle, yet important, use of the Greek word "stasis" in the New Testament. We reviewed Paul's use of the word in today's reading, as well as the use of the word in relation to the story of Barabbas and of Christ's resurrection, and how it shows the way we should live our lives. We also d...

Today’s episode began with an explanation of how Paul sets up various metaphors to help make his point by using Jewish biblical teaching and well-known Roman concepts that would have been clearly understood by his readers. One specific example Fr Aaron gave relates to the structure of the Roman household, and how this can help us understand Paul’s teaching of God being the only judge, and why we s...

For today's episode, we are sharing Fr Aaron's sermon from June 26, 2022, the Sunday following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Fr Aaron encourages Christians to understand our true goal, which is not changing laws, but changing hearts. Furthermore, he emphasizes how the Church is a spiritual hospital, welcoming all who have fallen short of the Gospel's ideals. Finally, Fr Aaron highlights how Chri...

We began today by addressing the division among members of the church in Corinth. We then moved to where Paul speaks about spiritual gifts and emphasized that these gifts are from God, to be used for His glory alone. We discussed how all members of the church are needed for the church to function properly and, therefore, all should be respected and appreciated equally. We concluded with chapter 13...

Today’s reading led us into a discussion about anxiety in general, as well as anxiety disorders. Fr Aaron shared with us his own story of dealing with an anxiety disorder and what conclusions he has drawn from his own experience. Fr Aaron advocated for viewing anxiety disorders—and mental health issues more broadly—more holistically, recognizing that the body, as well as the soul, must be treated....

Today we discussed some practical implications of Jesus’ teaching to give and lend without expecting anything in return. We began by discussing the meaning of financial stewardship, balancing between ensuring accountability and not trying to control or micromanage in an unhealthy manner. We concluded by contemplating Jesus’ command to love our enemies and how we have the ability to do so because w...

Today we discussed Paul's defense of his faith at the Areopagus. We highlighted the radical nature of Paul's teaching, one that was at first both foreign and "foolish" to his hearers. Specifically, we noted the idea that the divine would suffer as a human, let alone exalt the poor and needy, was something radical to the Greeks, but also unique to the Judeo-Christian Scriptures. We concluded with a...

Today, in discussing the decisions made at the "Council of Jerusalem" in Acts 15, we highlighted the importance of the Old Testament to the early Christian community. We noted that while many Christians tend to minimize the Old Testament, we should learn to understand it and its powerful role in forming many values we hold dear in Western civilization. Finally, we discussed how and why the apostle...

Today we discuss Jesus talking about being "the bread of life" and instructing His disciples to "eat [His] flesh." We tried to discern what Jesus means by looking back to the story of Exodus and the manna in the wilderness. In doing so, we understand that the physical food in Scripture is always connected to the spiritual food, i.e. God's teaching. We then discussed the reception of the Eucharist...

Today’s discussion revolved around the passage from John 5 that is read at every Orthodox Christian funeral service, which distinguishes between those "who have done good" and those "who have done evil," and how the result of the resurrection will be different for each. We began by examining the apparent contradiction between faith and works, and how faith is not just an intellectual concept, but...

During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 53, in which we discussed the context of the Epistles to the Corinthians, noting the community was predominantly Gentile, one made up of Roman converts to the faith. We then discussed the similarities in the Bible of both Jews and Gentiles in that Scripture is critical of both communities. Later in t...

During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 51, in which we discuss what it means to be “justified.” Fr Aaron explained that the Greek word that is often translated as “justified” can also be translated as “declared righteous.” And so, we can understand that to be justified means that we have been declared righteous. With this legal terminolog...

This week we are sharing Fr Aaron's homily on the current war in Ukraine. Fr Aaron focuses on how we can often overlook or demonize those we see as enemies and invites us all to look inside ourselves to ensure during this Lenten season we seek to expunge all hatred from our own hearts.