Displaying episodes 61 - 90 of 91 in total
The Exaltation of the Poor (James 1:9-11)
Whereas Jesus may have literally flipped the tables in the Gospels, James flips the spiritual tables of our lives. And … he hits us where it hurts the most: our po...
Acting on Wisdom (James 1:5-8)
In today’s podcast we take a look at wisdom and faith. What does James mean when he says, “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God?” What does he mean by ...
Trials and Responsibility
Today the Way Podcast takes us to the Letter of James. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll take a look at this challenging, yet often overlooked letter. And ...
Opposing the Government Through Baptism
I had already recorded this week’s podcast when the unimaginable happened: domestic terrorists, at the encouragement of the U.S. president, stormed the U.S. Capitol in...
St. Stephen, Christmas, and the Old Testament
The lectionary readings around Christmas are fascinating, especially this year. Every year for the Sunday before Christmas, we read the genealogy from Matthew. Th...
The Mystery of Christmas: Is Jesus's Genealogy a Lie?
Christ is born! Glorify Him! On this special Christmas episode, we take a look at the mystery of the Christmas story. Am I referring to the virgin birth? No, n...
What's in a Name? The Genealogy of Christ
No matter how you spin it, you can’t avoid the fact that an English speaker is always one step removed from the the Bible—at least by one step. Translations are alw...
Preparing for Christmas, Part 2
In my parish, we recently celebrated the service of unction. This service is a sacrament of healing. Though this service can be celebrated at any time during the ...
Preparing for Christmas, Part One
We all had our favorite Christmas movies while growing up. One of mine favorites was, Home Alone. The movie opens with 8-year-old Kevin and his family preparing t...
Being a Servant Leader: Offering our First Fruits (part 5)
One American holiday you don’t want to forget about, or you may be in a lot of trouble, is Mothers’ Day! This holiday is a recognition of everything mothers do for...
Being a Servant Leader: Caring for the Least of These (part 4)
There’s a famous story about a young man who went to confession right before Pascha. Confession is an important part of our tradition, and Orthodox Christians try ...
Being a Servant Leader: One Under Authority (part 3)
After I had told my priest that I was thinking about seminary, he put me in the altar. He thought that this would be good experience if I was considering the priestho...
Being a Servant Leader: Cultivating Watchfulness (part 2)
If we were lucky, we all had a parent or grandparent who dispensed wise advice when we were kids. For me, one such person was my father. His advice: slow down! The...
Being a Servant Leader: A Scriptural Foundation (part 1)
As Americans, we’re looking toward the election of a president next week. So, the question on everybody’s mind is: what does it mean to be a good leader? But, this que...
A Conversation with Award-Winning Author Gary Neal Hansen
If you’re a Christian, and you’re going to walk the Way, it’s important that you have everything you need for your walk. Just as a hiker has his walking stick, the rig...
The Sower and the Three-Zoned Person
In the world today, we have the expression “body, mind, and soul,” which means the complete person. Sometimes, we shorten it to “body and soul.” But, Jesus didn’t thin...
The Godfather and the Sermon on the Plain
Sometimes, we forget that we live in a world that’s very different than the first-century. Not only did first-century folks live differently than we do, but they also ...
Pushing into the Deep
We don’t expect a plumber to tell an electrician how to wire a house. Nor do we expect a mechanic to tell a chef how to make a delicious meal. So, when a carpenter com...
Under the Authority of the Cross
We all know that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, died, and rose on the third day. And, most of us know that before his crucifixion, Jesus foretold of his hum...
My Interview with Fr. John: Binding Azazel
Have you ever wondered how a preacher understands the meaning of a passage in scripture or a parable of Jesus? Well, they seek to put that passage into context. For th...
New Testament Themes: Table-Fellowship
When we hear “communion” or “eucharist” or “the Lord’s Supper” we think of the Sunday sacrament. Today, it’s celebrated with a small morsel of bread and a bit of wine....
My Interview with Prof. Matthew J. Thomas
When Paul talks about “works of the law” in Galatians and Romans, what does he mean? Does he mean all human works, even good works as Martin Luther and John Calvin bel...
Old Testament Themes: The Nations
We live in a world that’s heavily commercialized. Everything is an opportunity for profit—including land and natural resources. In order to monetize such things, we ne...
Old Testament Themes: Syrian Wilderness
Most 21st-century Americans don’t have a good grasp of ancient middle-eastern geography. Yet, we can clearly see that most of the Old Testament stories take place in t...
The Big Picture: the Bible in One Go!
Many of us know several Bible stories from our Sunday school days—Noah’s flood, Sampson and the Philistines, David and Goliath—but, we may not know how they fit into t...
Old Testament Themes: Shepherdism
One of the Bible’s major objectives is to humble us so that we realize that we are under the care of God; we’re dependent on him for everything, including life. In oth...
The Roman Pedagogue and Violence
St. Paul says that the Law in the Old Testament was like a custodial guide (pedagogue), someone who sets boundaries around us to ensure that we live in peace with one ...
The Light of a Moveable City
On the Sunday of the Fathers of the 4th Council, we read about them being the “light” of the world, a city set on a hill. In our minds, we imagine that the theology of...
The "Scapepig"
5th Sunday of Matthew We live in a society where we are blessed to enjoy the modern convince of indoor plumbing. However, from time to time, something gets stuck in t...
Hamilton, the Temple, and Hagia Sophia
There’s a famous cartoon. In this cartoon two people are looking at a number written on the floor. For the first person, it looks like a six. But, to the other person,...