All Episodes
Peter’s Household
The head of the household, in biblical terms, is the one responsible for leading with the teaching of Scripture. Where civil characterizations of this role emphasize ...
The Roman Household
Too often, students of Scripture dismiss difficult texts by separating the culture of the biblical era from what they consider the real ”message” of the biblical story...
Light and Darkness
Fr. Paul resumes his reading of Genesis with a discussion of light and darkness in 1:3-5. (Episode 54)
The Witness of the Leper
In the Gospel of Matthew, knowledge of Scripture determines the value of a Levitical priest. What are the specific rules of Leviticus and what do they mean? What is...
Grammatical Functionality
Fr. Paul concludes his discussion of functionality in Scripture. (Episode 53)
These Words
As teachers and students, we delude ourselves with abstraction. How many of us, instead of teaching the words of the Bible, offer a cheap summary or moral extraction t...
Biblical Function
Fr. Paul discusses the central importance of functionality in Scripture. (Episode 52)
Not Everyone Who Says, “Lord, Lord”
It’s unclear how or when the phrase “I love you” became the sacrosanct rubric of America’s devolving mating rituals, but it did. In the place of duty, honor, and comm...
Beware of False Prophets
Priorities control a person's speech. If a pastor’s goal is to share the words of the Bible, he will speak the words of the Bible. If his goal is to grow his parish, h...
Tohu wa-bohu
Fr. Paul continues his reading of Genesis with an analysis of the words tohu wa-bohu in 1:2. (Episode 50)
The Narrow Path
In the modern Internet of Consumers, everyone is treated as a profit center. Content, images, and themes are all engineered to attract the widest audience possible. ...
The Title of Scripture
In the fourth part of his introduction to the Book of Genesis, Fr. Paul discusses the importance of the Hebrew words bereshit bara. (Episode 49)
Ask, Seek, and Knock
Too often, the Lord’s promise in Matthew 7:7, that those who ask will receive, and those who seek will find, is reframed by a consumer mindset, as though prayer is the...
Toledot
In the third part of his introduction to the Book of Genesis, Fr. Paul revisits his discussion of the Hebrew word toledot. (Episode 48)
Dogs, Swine, and Pearls
Too often, teachers use Matthew 7:6 to cast aspersion on the unchurched, difficult students, or people who are not interested in what they have to say. In doing so, t...
The Triliteral Root
In the second part of his introduction to the Book of Genesis, Fr. Paul continues his discussion of the language of Scripture with an overview of triliteral roots. (Ep...
Only One Opinion Counts
Too often, we co-opt the prohibition against judgment in Matthew as a mechanism of our self-imposed fragility. We don’t want to be challenged with our sins, so when co...
The Language of Scripture
In the first part of his introduction to the Book of Genesis, Fr. Paul expounds on the language of Scripture. (Episode 46)
Sufficient for the Day
When we step back to consider the full scope of any effort, even when the work in front of us pertains to God and not to mammon, it’s easy to become paralyzed by stres...
Five Smooth Stones
Fr. Paul explains 1 Samuel 17:40. (Episode 45) “Breakdown” Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com (http://incompetech.com/) (http://incompetech.com/) (http://incompe...
The Lilies of the Field
Everyone loves Matthew's passage about the lilies of the field. We love it because who doesn't want to be consoled and encouraged not to worry about anything? But our ...
Adamah and Eretz
Fr. Paul discusses the use of the Hebrew terms adamah and eretz in Ezekiel. (Episode 44)
Treasure in Heaven
“Those who want to become rich,” St. Paul writes, “fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. “F...
Possess vs. Inherit
Fr. Paul discusses the terms possess and inherit in the language of the Bible. (Episode 43)
The Lord’s Prayer
When Mr. Miyagi, the eighties era fictional Karate master, set out to teach his disciple, he asked him to paint a fence, wax cars, and sand a huge floor using ineffici...