The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #24: Jude, Revelation

(Listen to this session here).

Our last session features the last letter of the epistles section of the NT--Jude--and the last section of the Bible--the single book of Revelation.  Jude exhorts the reader to remain steadfast with Jesus against evildoers.  Revelation, using apocalyptic language, speaks about the glorious mysteries of the Mass, heaven and the culmination of human history.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #23: 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John

(Due to batteries on my recorder running out, comments on 1 and 2 Peter and 1 John can be found here while 2 and 3 John can be here.  Sorry for the inconvenience!)

We continue through the third section of the New Testament--the letters--with two letters from Peter and three letters from John.  In 1 and 2 Peter, our first Pope wrote largely from a baptismal perspective. He encouraged new converts to remain steadfast with Christ, endure suffering and avoid false teaching and teachers.  1, 2 and 3 John feature many themes which permeated the Gospel according to John--light vs. darkness, spirit vs. flesh, love of God and neighbor, testimony, witness, fellowship and belief.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #22: Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James

(Listen to this session here).

We continue with the letters of the New Testament--the third section in the NT wing of the Biblical library.  This session features St. Paul's third pastoral letter (along with 1 and 2 Timothy) to Titus.  Paul advises Titus in similar ways he advised Timothy.  Philemon is a touching letter featuring 25 verses and three men and one of these being a runaway slave.  Hebrews, possibly an early eucharistic homily, describes Jesus as the fulfillment of the old priesthood, old sacrificial system and old temple.  It is a rich and deep read!  Finally, James' letter describes many facets crucial to our faith--faith and works, wisdom, taming of the tongue and joy through suffering.  

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #21: Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy

(Listen to this session here).

The next five Pauline letters explore Christ as the head of the cosmos and Church (Colossians), teachings about the parousia--Christ's second coming--(1 and 2 Thessalonians) and advice to a young priest and pupil (1 and 2 Timothy).

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #20: 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians

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Our journey through the third section of the New Testament--Letters--continues with St. Paul's letters to the Corinthians (second one), Galatians, Ephesians and Philippians.  We continue to see Jesus Christ crucified as the heart of Paul's preaching.  This led Paul to proclaim the call to a New Law of love rather than the Old Law of precepts and commandments that welcomed Gentiles into the fold.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #19: Romans, 1 Corinthians

(Note--I stopped recording in the middle of this session so there are two different recordings.  The first is here.  The second is here.)

We begin reflecting on the letters of the New Testament with St. Paul's letter to the Romans and his first letter to the Corinthians.  In Romans, Paul provides his deepest theological treatise.  He reflects passionately about justification by faith apart from the Law (but not alone!), a Christian's moral code and the impact of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.  In 1st Corinthians Paul continues his focus on the crucified Christ and applies this truth to a particular church in Corinth.  He specifically addresses some sins of the Corinthians, most severely against disunity.  Topics such as the Eucharist, the Church as a body of Christ, organized worship and the resurrection are also covered.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #18: Acts of the Apostles

(Listen to this session here).

We continue in the New Testament with the second book of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles.  In this, the "Gospel of the Holy Spirit" we see the Church's birth through the promised gift of the Holy Spirit.  By following St. Peter and St. Paul, we may note how the Way transitioned its center from Jerusalem to Rome.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #17: Luke, John

(Listen to this session here).

We conclude the three Synoptic Gospels by examining Luke.  Highlights from Luke include Jesus seeking and saving the lost, the narratives from Jesus' early life and the orderly account provided by the Evangelist.  We also look at John--my favorite book in the Bible!  In the prologue, Book of Signs and Book of Glory, John writes for one simple reason: to inspire belief.

You will note this session is longer than normal--we had a great time of question/answers based on our teaching about the Eucharist in John 6.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #16: Matthew, Mark

(Listen to this session here).

Welcome to the New Testament!  We transition from the covenants of Old to the New covenant Jesus established with His Church.  The heart of the NT is the Gospels, as they share the life, death and resurrection of the Messiah--Jesus Christ.  In this session we focused on two of the Synoptic Gospels--Matthew and Mark--especially their unique viewpoints and presentation of the life of Jesus.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #15: Sirach

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This session features the last remaining book to cover in the Old Testament.  While it is not the last in chronological order in the Bible (this goes to either 2 Maccabees or Malachi, based on where the Deuterocanonical books are placed) it is fitting to conclude our study of the OT.  This work represents a high point of synthesis of salvation history while applying the Jewish faith to a particular time and place as Judaism faced Hellenism (Greek culture).  This masterpiece is unique in many of its practical teachings and comes highly recommended as my favorite book in the Old Testament!

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #14: Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon

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We continue with the fourth section of the Old Testament, Wisdom Literature.  Session #14 features the Song of Songs and the Wisdom of Solomon.  In the first we find erotic love poetry that captures the beauty of the love of a man and a woman.  At a spiritual level, Song of Songs portrays in a metaphorical way the love God has for His bride.  In the Wisdom of Solomon we see an advanced form of Wisdom Literature that explicitly connects human wisdom with the wisdom afforded by God.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #13: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes

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This week we continue in Wisdom Literature, the fourth section of the Old Testament books.  Today we focus on the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.  The first gives practical wisdom to live in harmony with God and each other while succeeding in day-to-day living.  The second asks the question the rest of the Bible answers: "What is the point"?  

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #12: Job, Psalms

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Having concluded the prophets, we move into our fourth section of the Oldest Testament--Wisdom Literature.  This session includes reflection on the books of Job and Psalms.  Job and his "friends", caught in the timeless question--why do good people suffer--are surprised by God's mysterious response.  Psalms, one of the most foundational portions of Scripture for the Israelites, Jesus, the apostles and our Church is a school of prayer.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #11: Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

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In session #11 we conclude the third section of the Old Testament, the Prophets.  As we continue walking through the minor prophets we see a few different themes: the coming of the Messiah, justice to the poor, the day of the Lord, chastisement of enemies and the like.  We see in particular the basic rhythm of Scripture at work: God loves us, we sin, God is faithful.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #10: Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah

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We continue working through the third section of the Bible--the prophets.  Having covered three of the four major prophets last week, we begin with the last major prophet, Daniel.  We then move into the minor prophets and look at Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah.  Note that the term minor does not imply "unimportant"--just shorter works.  Themes in these books include God's fidelity, judgment of sin, necessity of serving the poor, proclamation of fidelity to God and the metaphor of marriage to describe God's relationship with His people.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #9: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel

(Listen to this session here).

After a brief introduction to the prophets last week, we begin to look at our third section of the Old Testaments--prophets.  A prophet is neither a fortune teller nor a medium but someone called to preach the Word of God in a particular time at a particular place to particular people.  We consider three of the major prophets in this session--Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel--as well as Lamentations and Baruch (both affiliated with Jeremiah).

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #8: 1 and 2 Maccabees, introduction to the Prophets

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We complete the last two books of the historical section of the Old Testament--1 and 2 Maccabees.  In these texts we see the lengths of fidelity the Maccabean family and their followers would go to be faithful to God's Law.  Their heroic witness--even to the point of martyrdom--is cause for inspiration as we strive to be faithful to God in our secular society.  We also look to the next section of the Old Testament--the prophets--and are introduced to them here.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #7: Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther

We continue through the historical books of the Old Testament.  In this session we leave the dark period of the monarchy to learn about the return to Jerusalem after a fifty year exile in Ezra and Nehemiah.  Tobit, Judith and Esther are exciting stories of God's fidelity through faithful and heroic witnesses to the faith.

Listen to this session here.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #6--1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles

We continue working through the historical books of the Old Testament.  The six books covered during this session focus on the establishment of the monarchy, the division of the Israelite kingdom and the defeat and deportation of God's people.  While this is a dark period in salvation history, a few lights shine through--Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha and Josiah being a few.

Listen to this podcast here.

The Greatest Story Ever Told Session #5--Joshua, Judges, Ruth

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We move from the first section of Old Testament books (Pentateuch) to the second (Historical).  This session features commentary on Joshua (the Israelites enter into the Promised Land, led by Joshua), Judges (God raises twelve different judges to lead His people to military and spiritual victory) and Ruth (a delightful tale of the love between a daughter and her mother-in-law and explanation of how Ruth becomes King David's great-grandmother).