What does Jesus mean when he says that, for those who are willing to accept it, John the Forerunner “is the Elijah to come”? How does John function as Elijah in the Gospels? In this episode we discuss the text that is heard in the Orthodox Church on the Nativity of the Forerunner, in which John is said to go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17).

Koran performed by Delerium.
Photo by Brett Jordan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/page-of-book-of-malachi-in-bible-20764514/

The Scriptural God has no representative statue, no temple and no earthly city. As such, he is unique among other deities of the ancient near east; they are made by the hands of men, they reside in temples made of stone, set in fortified cities and governed by a king who, like the statue, is the representative of the deity, his plenipotentiary on earth. By comparison, the Scriptural God seems like an anti-god. He is present among his people exclusively through his word of instruction, his Torah.
The heaviness, the weight of this God is to be found not in a statue, but rather in his statutes.

References
כְּב֣וֹד - ke-bowd - δόξης (Greek) glory; weight, heaviness
ὑποστάσεως - hypostasis - substance; something that stands under or supports something
χαρακτὴρ - charaktēr - a graver, character, imprint, or expression
Exodus 13:21-22; 16:10
Isaiah 53:6-12
Mark 14:36
Philippians 2:5-10
Hebrews 1:1-4, 13 7:28; 8:1; 10:12; 12:1-2

Brand New Orleans performed by Prince.

Photo by Sidorela Shehaj: https://www.pexels.com/photo/low-angle-shot-of-an-athena-statue-under-a-cloudy-sky-14458428/

Have You Anything Here To Eat?

This episode is the audio of a sermon given on the Feast of Annunciation. The prescribed texts for the feast are Acts 1:1-12 and Luke 24:36-53. In the New Testament, table fellowship (koinonia) between Jews and non-Jews is an expression of the oneness of the Gospel. Peter was taught in Acts 10 that he must not call “common” what God has cleansed, and Jesus continued to teach that to his disciples until he was taken up into Heaven. The dietary differences between Jews and Gentiles didn’t matter because the food itself was secondary. The word of teaching cleansed what was considered common. In the table fellowship, the breaking of the bread, Jesus taught his disciples that the real food is the bread of instruction proceeding from his mouth.

References
Acts 10
Luke 24:41 - ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς (“falling away from the joy”)
John 10:16
Mark 16:19

“Fortune Presents Gifts Not According To The Book” performed by Dead Can Dance.
“Koran” performed by Delerium.
Photo by Mizuno K: https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-with-coffee-13335452/