Jesus Unmasked
85 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratingsFollowing the format of the Common Lectionary, Pastor Adam Ericksen and Lindsey Paris-Lopez explore passages of scripture together, sharing insights, real-life applications, and meaning for the modern world.
“Jesus Unmasked” seeks to remove the masks of exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses that obscure the truth of Jesus’s unconditional love. Scripture passages are read from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
"Jesus Unmasked" is a Raven Foundation production.
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Episodes
SERIES FINALE | Hope In a Vulnerable Baby: The Weird and Wonderful Story of Christmas (Luke 2:1-20)
December 17, 2021 06:00 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MB"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace... for my eyes have seen your salvation." Old Simeon says these words when he sees eight-day-old Jesus presented in the temple. He has been waiting to see the hope of the world before he dies... and now he can go in peace. The sign from God that all will be well, that redemption for a hurting and broken world is at hand, has finally come... in the form of a tiny baby. That's the wonderfully subversive message of Christmas. God's redempti...
The Surprising and Subversive Genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17)
December 10, 2021 06:00 - 25 minutes - 22.9 MB"An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham..." Wait! Don't roll your eyes! We tend to skip the genealogies when we read scripture, but family trees tell stories. What story does Jesus' tell? Basically, it tells the story that God chooses to be born through messy, complicated people into a messy and complicated humanity. Adam and Lindsey discuss some of the stories of the people in Jesus' lineage to show how the Bible is direct about the scandal...
The Magnificat: Carrying God Within Us (Luke 1: 46-55)
December 03, 2021 06:00 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MB"Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name." That's a powerful self-affirmation for an unwed pregnant teen! An umarried teen girl, from long before Jesus until, sadly, today, could be called many things, but blessed isn't usually one of them. Mary was truly a badass. We begin with this Advent Season with the Magnificat because Advent is a time of pregnancy. We are all Mary right now. It is a strange and ...
Rolling The Stone Away From Our Hearts (John 11:32-44)
October 29, 2021 05:00 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MB"Then Jesus began to weep." Jesus weeps with all of us. On All Saints Day, we remember our loved ones who have gone on before us. In some ways, this past year has been one of extraordinary loss. Covid-19 and other diseases have robbed us of beloved friends and family members. This pandemic has also taken some of our sense of normalcy and security. It has been hard, and Jesus mourns with us in our loss. Jesus also wept for Lazarus. When Jesus arrives at the home of Lazarus' sisters, Mary s...
Faith That Heals, Not Faith That Harms (Mark 10:45-52)
October 22, 2021 05:00 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MB"Go; your faith has made you well." Jesus says this after he heals the blind beggar Bartimaeus. What are we supposed to make of this verse? Faith healing verses have been grossly abused. Sometimes, the idea that faith can heal has been used to shame and frighten those who most need comfort and love. Saying "if you only believe and pray hard enough" can actively harm. In the midst of a pandemic where some have opted for prayer over masks, well... But maybe there are some ways in which faith...
Following Jesus: Do We Know What We're Getting Ourselves Into? (Mark 10:35-45)
October 15, 2021 05:00 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MB"Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" That's an ominous question if ever there was one. John and James want to share in Jesus' glory, but little do they know what they are asking. The reality they are living through must be so disconnected from their expectations that they can't even process what Jesus is telling them. After all, Jesus has just said he is going to be killed, but James and John are asking for key roles in his cabine...
Imagine All The People Sharing All The World (Mark 10:17-31)
October 08, 2021 05:00 - 27 minutes - 25 MB“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” And it’s probably easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is to resolve the technical difficulties that came along with this particular episode, too! At any rate, Lindsey lost first audio and then video, so Adam was flying solo for this episode! And he did a great job! Maybe God was having a little bit of fun behind the scenes, too… and driving the poin...
Have a Faith Like A Child and Question Everything (Mark 10:2-16)
October 01, 2021 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MB“Let the children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” These words of Jesus, so often repeated by well-meaning adults, are not always the most comforting words to children. When children sense the implication that they are supposed to have the most trusting, unquestioning of faiths, some children (including at least one of the podcast host...
Stumbling Blocks, Severed Limbs, and Living In Peace (Mark 9:38-50)
September 24, 2021 05:00 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MB"Whoever's not against us is for us." It's refreshing to hear these words from Jesus, especially when we so often hear the opposite from our culture. The disciples try to stop someone from casting out demons because he isn't an official disciple, but Jesus stops his disciples from stopping him. Is the goal to compete and gain followers to your "side," or is it to actually cast out demons... that is, help people heal from their trauma? How often do we get caught up in rivalry when the very g...
Servant Leadership (Mark 9:30 -37)
September 17, 2021 05:00 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MB"Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” I can’t help but feel sorry for the disciples in this passage. By turns, they’re bewildered and then mortified. First, Jesus tells them that he’ll be killed and rise again three days later. What could he mean? The Messiah, the one who will lead them out of Roman rule and into an era of harmony and peace, will be killed? How can anything good come from that? They don’t know, but they’re embarrassed to ask. I would be, too. ...
Satan and Crosses and Shame... Oh My! (Mark 8: 27-38)
September 10, 2021 17:37 - 35 minutes - 32.9 MB"Get behind me, Satan!" Ouch. This is how Jesus answers Peter when Peter expresses that he doesn't want Jesus to die? Sounds rather harsh. Actually, a lot of Jesus's words in this passage sound harsh and hard ... There is no sugar-coating either his fate or that of his followers. How are we supposed to find blessing and "good news" when Jesus speaks of Satan, crosses, and shame? Jesus's words begin to make more sense when we realize that he is subverting the most common human ideas of how ...
Filthiness is Next To Godliness (Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
August 27, 2021 05:00 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MB"For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come... and they defile a person." Some pharisees and scribes are wondering why Jesus's disciples don't wash their hands before they eat. Jesus scolds them for teaching "human precepts as doctrines" and then explains that nothing going into a person from the outside can defile, but the evil that defiles comes from the human heart. Is Jesus anti-hygiene? More like, Jesus is anti-exclusion and anti-judgmentalism. He doesn't wa...
Communion is Anti-Cannibalism (John 6: 51 - 58)
August 13, 2021 05:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MB"Those who eat of my flesh and drink of my blood abide in me, and I in them." Okay, Jesus. You've been going on about eating your flesh and drinking your blood for a while now, and it's getting weird. "The Jews" aren't the only ones asking, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 2000 years later, plenty of Christians and people of other faiths baffled by this metaphor. Implications of cannibalism may not be that far off. Jesus says this knowing that his body will literally be torn ap...
More Bread, More Life, But No More Exclusive Interpretations, Please! (John 6: 35, 41-51)
August 06, 2021 05:00 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBNew Time! Join Jesus Unmasked on FB live Wednesdays at 11 am CT/ 9 am PT! Start your morning with Jesus and friends! "Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." More Bread of Life this week, but also more opportunities for exclusive interpretations of scripture that don't affirm life for all. The words of Jesus have been interpreted in ways that make it seem like the fates of our souls depend on a theological test. "E...
Truth is the Bread of Life (John 6:24-35)
July 30, 2021 16:09 - 34 minutes - 32 MB"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." -- Jesus. "I am here because I stole something that was never mine to take -- precious human life." -- Daniel Hale. Whistleblower Daniel Hale is feasting on the bread of life. This week's Gospel has a powerful message, but too often it has been interpreted through a dogmatic, exclusive lens. Like many of Jesus's statements in John, it has been used as a proof text for Jesus...
Is Jesus Out of His Mind? (Mark 3:20-35)
June 04, 2021 05:00 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MB"Who are my mother and my brothers? ... Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." Jesus's family is trying to "restrain" him, because rumors are starting to fly. He and his disciples are healing the sick and casting out demons, and the scribes are saying that the demons are only listening to Jesus because he has Belzebub, the prince of demons, within himself. To avoid this scandal, Jesus's blood relatives are trying to quiet him do...
What Is Salvation and What's Up with the Trinity? (John 3: 1-17)
May 28, 2021 05:00 - 34 minutes - 31.8 MB"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but so the world might be saved through him." These verses fall on Trinity Sunday, and the combination of the most famous Bible verses with one of the most bewildering doctrines may trigger salvation anxiety for many. So often, John 3:16 is used as a litmus test for faith. The key to not perish...
Fire and Judgment... In A Good Way! Happy Pentecost! (John 15:26 - 16:26)
May 21, 2021 23:01 - 32 minutes - 29.3 MB"When the Advocate comes... he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment." The Holy Spirit is Coming! Fire and speaking in tongues and a heavenly Advocate. What does it all mean? Pentecost was an ancient Jewish celebration before it became known as the birthday of the Christian church. It refers to 50 days after Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt, when he delivered the 10 Commandments. So when the Holy Spirit descends upon Jews gathered from every part of the known...
In the World But Not Of It – What Does That Mean? (John 17:6-19)
May 14, 2021 14:39 - 44 minutes - 41.2 MB"The world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world." Ah, the infamous "Be in the world but not of it," saying. How dangerously these words have been misunderstood! In this final discourse to his disciples before his death, Jesus has a lot to say about contrasting his way with the way of the world. His words have been twisted to make it seem as if God hates the world and has destined it to burn, except for those who are raptured out or ot...
Forget "Commands"; Jesus EMPOWERS Us to Love
May 07, 2021 19:00 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MB"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." What a beautiful commandment! But when you're struggling in your faith, especially when you're most familiar with exclusive interpretations that seem to shut most of the world off from God's love or salvation, and these interpretations cause anxiety or even dread... when you long for comfort but feel uncomfortable in your faith... even a commandment as beautiful as this can carry the dreaded unspoken words "or else." ...
Shepherding, Policing, and Transforming Everything
April 26, 2021 16:05 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MB"I am the Good Shepherd... And I lay down my life for the sheep." Jesus the Good Shepherd serves, protects, and lays down his life for the sheep. At its best, policing is meant to serve and protect. Yet sheep are often not safe in the hands of most shepherds (who would look after them but also lead them to be sacrificed) and policing does not always make people more safe. As Derek Chauvin is convicted for the murder of George Floyd, we recognize that so much more must be done to bring abou...
Jesus Breaks In and Eats Fish
April 16, 2021 17:49 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MB"Peace be with you." For what may be the millionth time, Jesus greets his disciples with these words of comfort and love. And they need it, for they were heartbroken and afraid. It's the first Easter evening, and Jesus's disciples are shut up away, when Jesus comes among them. "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?" Jesus asks. Maybe because they think they are seeing a ghost, and ghosts mean vengeance. It's one thing to be afraid that authorities will find you....
Trust-But-Verify Thomas and the Power of Forgiveness
April 12, 2021 15:47 - 39 minutes - 36 MB"Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Far, far too often, these words, spoken to Thomas, are used to shame doubt and extol the virtues of an unquestioning faith. But deep faith seeks, explores, and questions, and that is exactly what trust-but-verify Thomas does. He has a scientific mind, and his need for evidence is a good model for us. And once he sees and touches Jesus's wounds, he is the first to proclaim, "My Lord...
Jesus Our Mother: Transgender Day of Visibility and Unlearning Violent Atonement
April 02, 2021 17:41 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MB"Behold your mother!" When Jesus speaks these words, he uses his dying breath to place his mother in the care of his beloved disciple. But he also declares to the world that he is our mother, giving birth to our new, fully human selves through his blood and labor and breath-taking pain (pain that literally takes his breath away). This year, Transgender Day of Visibility falls during Holy Week. On Good Friday, God the Son becomes God our Mother. And we all behold; we all finally see the true...
When God's Glory Really Sucks
March 19, 2021 15:57 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MB“Jesus Unmasked” is now a FB live as well as a podcast! Adam and Lindsey unmask Jesus from exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses. But, during Covid times, Jesus would wear a mask! Loving others as Jesus loves us requires us to wear a mask too. “Father, glorify your name.” “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” When we think of glory, we often think of rulers on thrones, or magnificent processions, or dazzling displays of wonder. Triumph, victory, power, honor… But som...
"For God So Loved The World": Why This Is Good News For EVERYONE
March 12, 2021 18:49 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MB"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life." Have you ever heard these words recited faithfully, reverently, as if they are supposed to be the most comforting words anyone could ever hear... and felt scared and isolated instead? This is perhaps the most famous verse of Christian scripture, and it is meant to be good news. But good news can only be good if it is good for everyone. And far too often, this ve...
Jesus's Kickass Mercy in the Temple
March 08, 2021 16:41 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MB“Making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle.” It’s raging Jesus! This is the fiery, zealous Messiah we’ve been waiting for, bursting in, whips blazing …right? Every now and then, a meme of this scene pops up in social media, with a caption: “When asking ‘What would Jesus do?” remember that turning over tables and chasing people with whips is within the realm of possibilities.” Because, you know, Jesus could get violent when he was pushed far e...
Live In Such A Way As To Piss Off The Powers That Be
March 01, 2021 17:12 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MB“Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Ouch. This is probably one of the harshest things Jesus says. Maybe even harsher than “Get behind me, Satan!,” which he also says in this passage. This is a tough one, friends. We’re deep into Lent now, with all this talk of Satan and shame and crosses. What does it all mean? Well, Jesus has just e...
Good News; It's Lent
February 19, 2021 21:35 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBAdam and Lindsey unmask Jesus from exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses. But, during Covid times, Jesus would wear a mask! Loving others as Jesus loves us requires us to wear a mask too. Good news; it’s Lent! What, Lent doesn’t sound like good news to you? Actually, we’re not sure if Jesus considered it “good news” either when, just after his Baptism, “the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus isn’t gently “led,” but “driven.” Whether he l...
Jesus Lights The Way Through Darkness To Love
February 12, 2021 18:31 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MB“Jesus Unmasked” is now a FB live as well as a podcast! Adam and Lindsey unmask Jesus from exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses. But, during Covid times, Jesus would wear a mask! Loving others as Jesus loves us requires us to wear a mask too. O, Shiny Jesus! This is the Gospel for Transfiguration Sunday, the Sunday before the Lenten journey begins. Coinciding this year with Valentine’s Day, it’s a magnificent day to remember that the light of love shines through all of us. Wha...
The Gospel Wouldn’t Have Gotten Anywhere Without Women
February 06, 2021 19:10 - 34 minutes - 31.4 MBAdam and Lindsey unmask Jesus from exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses. But, during Covid times, Jesus would wear a mask! Loving others as Jesus loves us requires us to wear a mask too. “Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” Couldn’t they just let the poor woman rest? When we hear “service” in a context like this, a woman i...
The Badass Authority of Knowing You Are Loved
February 01, 2021 17:31 - 28 minutes - 26 MBAdam and Lindsey unmask Jesus from exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses. But, during Covid times, Jesus would wear a mask! Loving others as Jesus loves us requires us to wear a mask too! “What is this? A new teaching – with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him?” What in the world does this mean? What kind of authority does Jesus have that is apparently lacking in the scribes? Why are the people so impressed even before he casts out an unclean spirit?...
Starting Anew; Leaving the Old Behind: A Special Inauguration Day Jesus Unmasked
January 22, 2021 16:32 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBAdam and Lindsey unmask Jesus from exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses. But, during Covid times, Jesus would wear a mask! Loving others as Jesus loves us requires us to wear a mask too! “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately. That’s how quickly these fishermen leave their nets and their families and everything they know to follow a poor Nazarean on what is essentially a suicide mission – a death to the world they knew and literal death to follow… to find abu...
The Call of Discipleship
January 19, 2021 18:12 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBAdam and Lindsey unmask Jesus from exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses. But, during Covid times, Jesus would wear a mask! Loving others as Jesus loves us requires us to wear a mask too! “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Can’t you just hear the skepticism and disgust in Nathanael’s question? How could the leader Israel has been longing for, the Messiah come from such a backward, middle-of-god-foresaken-nowhere place? Nathanael certainly doesn’t hide behind diplomacy! Maybe...
Baptism: Immersing Ourselves In A New Life of Love
January 11, 2021 19:27 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBAdam and Lindsey unmask Jesus from exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses. But, during Covid times, Jesus would wear a mask! Loving others as Jesus loves us requires us to wear a mask too! “And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” The heavens are being ripped open, and God is descending upon us. Before our very eye...
Merry Christmas! The Love that Banishes Fear
December 21, 2020 21:10 - 25 minutes - 23.3 MBWe begin with an overview of a vast, sweeping Empire and an Emperor who wants to tax all whom he has conquered. In the Roman world, Caesar was understood to be the Son of God… But we quickly zoom in on a tiny barn in the middle of nowhere. Our focus is redirected; our perspective shifts. God comes not in the form of power, but in the form of a tiny, humble, vulnerable baby. It’s a frightening world when you live on occupied land. It’s a frightening world when you’re a shepherd, condemned ...
The Magnificat: Mary’s Courageous Love
December 14, 2020 17:56 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MB“My soul magnifies the Lord,” Mary sings with joy, “and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. … Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” What extraordinary words from a newly pregnant, unmarried 14-year-old girl at a time when such a condition could mean death or shunning! It’s amazing to meditate on Mary. Even before pregnancy, the living God who is Love must have filled her being so much to cast out the fear that would otherwise come with such a precarious situation. Wha...
Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord!
December 07, 2020 16:59 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MB“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” These are the first words of the first Gospel (historically, not in order of appearance), and it’s so easy to miss their subversive power. But make no mistake: these words are a political throwdown! In the time of the Roman Empire, the “gospel” was the message of a conquering army to those it had invaded: “Good news; you have been conquered.” The “Son of God” was the Emperor, and the “pax Romana” (peace of Rome) was enforced b...
Sheep, Goats, and Judgment
November 20, 2020 16:48 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBSome interpretations of the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25: 31-46) are downright terrifying. It seems to condemn the “goats” – “accursed” nations – to eternal damnation. Terrible fear-based religious violence and persecution has come from the idea of eternal hell. So where’s the “good news?” Translations and context make all the difference. The judgment in this parable is for the nations, not individuals, although individuals do shape the character of the nations in which th...
Talents Shouldn’t Be Buried (But Imperial Greed Should Be!)
November 16, 2020 04:20 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBIn a world where money equals power and upward mobility is the ultimate sign of success, those who seek another way, a message of hope to the poor and downtrodden, would hardly expect Jesus to reinforce a brutal status quo. Yet a surface reading of The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30) might seem to suggest that. A master leaves and entrusts three servants to his fortune, giving 5 talents to one, 2 to the second, and 1 to the third. The first two servants trade and double the maste...
Share Your Oil! Changing Our Perspective from Win-Lose to Abundance
November 09, 2020 18:12 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBIn the first podcast after the election, the lectionary gives us the perfect challenging text! The parable of the 10 Bridesmaids (Matthew 25: 1-13) appears to be about being prepared for anything – a good lesson for turbulent times in the wake of the 2020 election! But there’s much more to the parable than might first meet the eye! Lindsey and Adam examine this difficult parable. Who is the bridegroom, and if it’s Jesus, would he really slam the door on the “foolish” bridesmaids who fail to...
It’s All About the Beatitudes, Baby!
November 02, 2020 17:42 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBIt’s the final podcast before the election, the lectionary for All Saints Day. It’s about time for some blessings! All Saints Day reminds us that we are all saints beneath the veneer of ego, since at our core we are made from and for Love. We are called to remember that we are caught up already in eternal life, eternal relationship with God and each other. So we better start loving one another! Matthew 5: 1-12, the Beatitudes, show us the way of sainthood, living into blessing. Blessed are...
The Ultimate Authority Affirms Same-Sex Unions
October 23, 2020 19:05 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBPope Francis has come out in affirmation of same-sex unions! In doing so, he is fulfilling the greatest of the commandments, to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. That’s what this week’s lectionary, Matthew 22:34-46, is all about, and Adam, Lindsey, and friends are celebrating! Jesus’s interrogators don’t approach him with love, though, when they try to trap him with their question. In response, Jesus challenges their understanding of auth...
God, Empire, Taxes…Oh My!
October 16, 2020 14:43 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBIn this episode, Lindsey and Adam discuss Matthew 22: 15 - 22. Pharisees and Herodians teamed up to entrap Jesus. After buttering him up, they asked him whether or not it was lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor. Jesus has them produce a coin, asks whose image it bears, and then tells them to give to the Emperor what is the Emperor’s and to God what is God. This is mic-drop Jesus at his best! Adam and Lindsey discuss what is so badass about Jesus in this passage, including how he cleverly eva...
Getting Kicked Out of the Wedding Banquet
October 09, 2020 15:28 - 31 minutes - 28.5 MBIn this episode, Adam and Lindsey discuss Matthew 22: 1 - 14. A king threw a banquet and no one came. So, the king burned the city to the ground, and then invited new guests. No one dared refuse! But one got kicked out for wearing the wrong outfit. What are we to make of this terrifying story? Do we tie ourselves in knots trying to justify the king’s actions because we think the parable wants us to identify the king with God? Is there a Christ figure in this parable, and if so, who? What do...
Wicked Tenants and a Merciful God
October 02, 2020 17:55 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBIn this episode, Lindsey and Adam discuss Matthew 21: 33 - 46. Jesus tells a parable of a landowner who leased his vineyard to tenants. But when the landowner tried to collect the produce, the tenants killed his servants and even his son! What will that landowner do? Does this parable challenge our understanding of a nonviolent God and universal salvation? Lindsey and Adam find hope and a call to responsibility in a parable often interpreted violently, warn against anti-Semitic readings, an...
Why Prostitutes and Tax Collectors are First in God’s Kingdom
October 02, 2020 17:45 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MB“Jesus Unmasked” returns, now a FB live as well as a podcast! We warmly invite you to join the conversation every Wednesday afternoon at 5 CT / 3 PT on the Raven Foundation Facebook page! Adam and Lindsey unmask Jesus from exclusive theology and violent cultural lenses. But, during Covid times, Jesus would wear a mask! Loving others as Jesus loves us requires us to wear a mask too! In this episode, Adam and Lindsey discuss Matthew 21: 23- 32. Some of the chief priests and elders demand of ...
9th Sunday After Pentecost: From Emptiness to Abundance (Feeding 5000+)
July 26, 2020 05:00 - 23 minutes - 21.4 MBImagine your cousin and friend has just died for speaking truth to power. You know you can’t be silent, and you’re pissing off all the same authorities. So you know your hour is near. You are weary, grieving, and yet you know you’ll have to continue to speak out for a better world. But first, you need to get away from the maddening crowds and spend some time in solitude, where you can remember you’re not really alone, because Love always surrounds you. This is where Jesus finds himself at t...
7th Sunday After Pentecost: Jesus Was A “Weed”
July 12, 2020 20:11 - 27 minutes - 21.4 MB“In gathering the weeds, you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both grow together…” If we would only pay attention to what Jesus is telling us to do, we wouldn’t need to worry so much about that scary stuff at the end! For the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Adam and Lindsey reflect on one of the more seemingly frightening parables of Jesus, the Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat (Matthew 13: 24-30 and 36-43). There’s even an explanation that seems pretty straightforward. But, a...
6th Sunday After Pentecost: The Sower Sows Love
July 06, 2020 14:50 - 26 minutes - 21.1 MBSo remember, if you’re not fertile ground for the seed, the devil will take you away! This is not good news… and it’s not the Gospel. For the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Lindsey and Adam discuss an oft-misunderstood parable and how interpretations of it can be dangerous or life-giving depending on the perspective from which it is approached. This is the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13: 1-9 and 18-23. “Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, ...