We come to the final episode of our series on Your Liturgical Bible, which has been focused on the pillars of the bible and its narrative themes, connecting what's written in the bible with what we do through ritual. We have seen that in the Orthodox church, liturgical worship is the primary way we experience the Scriptures, express our faith and experience our relationship with God.  There is a dynamic relationship between the old and new covenant and our own participation in the Liturgy, a continuous interplay, an eternal present in which God acts.Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri draw on a number of themes today, including the prophets Habbakuk and Jonah, comic-con, compost and gardening - it all comes together, trust me!  They also discuss the beauty of reclaiming narrative theology, and whether or not bible study has a place in Orthodoxy.In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The core theme of the Scriptures could be considered to be the theme of monarchy.  Initially the biblical narrative seems to imply that having a king would be desirable, despite prophetic warnings against, and then we see the kings of Israel fail again and again.  So is it a good idea to have a king, or not?  The fact is, our human expectations of kingship result in kings that fail.  All kings will fall short because our king is meant to be God himself.As we sing at Saturday vespers, "The Lord is King; He is robed in majesty"!In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

The imagery of land and promised land in the Scriptures can be lost on those of us who live in lands of abundance.  But we must also be careful to understand that the promised land is not merely imagery.  It is a very real parcel of territory from which God's promises are shown to move out into the world.  There can be a tendency amongst Christian to universalize everything, insisting on symbolism and downplaying the very concrete reality of the promises that were made to Israel.  However, as St Augustine tells us, in order for Christ to be the fulfillment of these promises, it is necessary that they were real in the first place.In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

As we see in the Scriptures, the Israelites had a very mature, deep and rich understanding of what it means to be an image of God.  Interestingly, the word used for being an image of God is also the same word that is used for an idol, showing a duality we need to be cautious of, and the importance of ordering ourselves according to the divine and not according to our own flesh.Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri flesh out this idea (please forgive the pun!), as well as show how this biblical imagery is expressed liturgically and enacted in our day to day lives.In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Christians like to tout that the Bible is all about family values, but what do we really mean by that?  In fact, the very first thing that happens in God's plan of salvation is that Abram is told to abandon his family and nation in order to form a new family by which, God promises, all families will be blessed.Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss this ambiguity around family that runs right through the Scriptures, the meaning and beauty of being adopted into God's family, and the family values that the Scriptures truly stand behind.In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What did Second Temple Jews believe about Sheol, the realm of the dead, and resurrection?  There are resurrection - or bodily resuscitation - accounts throughout the scriptures, so how did the various sects interpret those accounts?  Were they considered symbolic, historic or prophetic, personal or communal?In this episode of Your Liturgical Bible, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri search the scriptures to better understand how Christ's resurrection is set apart, and how we as Christians are called to proclaim and to live according to this truth - a sign of the new age, a permanent new way of being in creation.In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Typically, and sadly, when we hear the words "life after death", we think of what happens to our soul after our body dies.  Maybe it even spurs us to make sure that we are doing the proper things, thinking the proper way, checking the right boxes, achieving a spiritual condition that will assure we are on the right side of that equation.The scriptural narrative of life after death shares a much deeper understanding, one of creation and new creation.  This is not an individual story, but a communal one, and what we do in this world matters.  Everything matters.  As Fr Geoffrey shares from a beautiful Rabbinic tradition, planting a tree matters.  As Fr Yuri shares from personal experience, cleaning the house for your wife matters.  You'll have to listen to see how profound that analogy is. :)Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri also speak about baptism, when we learn to "walk in newness of life", and to participate daily in God's renewal of creation.In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

When we hear the word "ark", many of us think of Noah or Moses (...or perhaps Indiana Jones).  What is an ark?  What are we meant to call to mind when we read about arks in the scriptures, and how does this biblical imagery express itself in our liturgical worship?Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore these questions, and caution that we are not meant to be stuck within an Old Testament understanding of the ark, but rather we are meant to acknowledge its fulfillment in Christ.In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Time to get uncomfortable!  Instead of trying to explain away the "lowercase g" gods, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey define what is meant by the "Divine Council", both in common parlance and also within the Orthodox context and understanding.  As we read the scriptures and participate in the liturgy, it's important to understand what monotheism is, and what it isn't, so that we can engage in theosis and answer the invitation to the heavenly realm.In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Wind, breath and spirit.  In English we have these three words, but there is just one word in the Hebrew (ruach) and the Greek (pneuma).  In fact, there are many more metaphorical applications of this word, such as air, anger, blast, courage, despondency, quick-tempered, inspired, trustworthy and wrath.This spirit, breath and wind portrays God's action in the world - from the life-giving and animating spirit within all human beings, to the powerful blast that forcefully brings order to chaos.  Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey explore this scriptural theme and how substituting some of these other words for ruach and pneuma can help us comprehend what it truly means when we pray for the in-dwelling of the Spirit.In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★