The Social Jesus Podcast

John 6:24-35 “There is no reason to pit the saving of souls against social justice work. Saving bodies is just as much a part of the Jesus tradition as savings souls is. In fact, in the synoptic gospels, social justice engagement is a requirement for genuinely following Jesus.” For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for infor...

John 6:1-21 “A focus on transcending this world comes from John’s gospel. But as Jesus followers, we must allow ourselves to be confronted by the fact that that focus has not always produced good fruit. The synoptic gospels admonish us as Jesus followers to engage our world, to transform it, to work alongside others working to shape our world into a home for everyone, a home where everyone has the...

Mark 6:14-29 “Rev. Dr. Emilie M. Townes states, ‘When you start with an understanding that God loves everyone, justice isn’t very far behind.’ For those endeavoring to follow Jesus’ teachings, not being concerned with matters of social justice is a failure. It’s a failure to love. It’s a failure in our Jesus-following. It may derided by those who have something to lose from making our world a more...

Mark 6:1-13 “Is our Christianity all about getting to heaven and saving our own individual soul? Or does following Jesus call us at the very first to be concerned with someone’s present material need? The very first test for someone who encountered one of these original twelve was not how they responded to a gospel presentation on Jesus’ death, heaven or hell, or whatever gospel topic is too often...

Mark 5:21-43 It initially looks like this story will affirm the social assumption that if we take care of those considered less than in our society then there won’t be enough for everyone else, assuming life is a zero-sum game. But then this story takes a sharp turn. This story ends up teaching us how to practice a preferential option for the marginalized of our society. Placing the synagogue lead...

Mark 4:35-41 It seems like, no matter what area of justice we are working for, whenever we take three steps forward the winds and waves push us two steps back. Working from of a place of love to make our world a more equitable place continues to mean facing winds and waves from those who benefit from an inequitable world. This week’s reading is for those presently facing winds and waves. It remind...

Mark 4:26-34 Just as we don’t have to understand how seeds work in order to plant the seeds, we don’t always have to understand how our world is going to be put right to take the first steps in reshaping it. Many times, the road to justice is made as we travel it. How justice is achieved from the modest beginnings of grassroots movements is often a path with twist and turns that surprise us and co...

Mark 3:20-24 “The Beelzebul controversy makes me think of how certain Christians have feared the women’s liberation movement, opposed the abolition of slavery, or are still opposed to making our world a safer place for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer/questioning. I think of how certain Christians are opposed to political movements attempting to make our worl...

Mark 2:23-3:6 “Are there times when we have interpreted our own Jesus following in ways that have become death dealing for our society? Is our practice of Christianity socially life-giving? Are we obstacles to those around us working toward a more just, safer, compassionate society with room for everyone or are we, like Mark’s Jesus, standing up to those obstacles and being conduits of love, life,...

John 3:1-17 “This division between the flesh and the spirit, between the physical, material world and the spiritual has born seriously destructive fruit throughout Christianity. The Jesus in the synoptic gospels did not separate the spiritual from the fleshly or material. He taught his followers how to navigate their material world by righting injustice, ending oppression, and offering healing alt...

John 15:26-27; 16:4-15; Acts 2:1-4 “In the synoptic Gospels and the book of Acts, we see a fruit of the Spirit included the restoration of social justice. In these stories, whether the Spirit is poured out on Jesus or his followers, it is evident in their profound concern for the suffering caused by societal structures.” For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz co...

John 17:6-19 “Although we may be different, we belong to each other. What affects one affects us all. We either thrive together or decline and wither together. Humanity is far from homogeneous, but we are all still part of each other. Like it or not, our shared humanity connects us all.” For more go to renewedheartministries.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com...

John 15:9-17 “Whatever we say about love, the Jesus of the gospels, and the Divine, these beliefs about love must transform us into more loving human beings. We can teach, preach, and believe in love, and still not let those beliefs become anything more than mental assent to ideas. We must choose to apply our beliefs about love not just to how we imagine God relates to us, but also to how we relat...

John 15:1-8 “Today, it is no secret that many kinds of Christianity are failing to produce the kind of fruit that makes this world a better place. We can, if we choose, be a part of shaping a world that is just and safe for everyone. It will require change for some types of Christianity. And this change, difficult as it may be, in the end, will be worth all the effort it takes.” For more go to ren...

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Luke 24:36-48 Whatever we make of the resurrection stories today, reading them through much more scientific lenses, we cannot ignore the fact that nowhere in these passages is Jesus’ death lifted up. The good news is that Jesus’ death had been undone! Whatever else we make of these stories today, their truth is that oppression and power don’t have to have the last words in our stories either. We c...