Tag Archives: Christ

Ep100 The Most Consequential Decisions in Life

April 18, 2024UncategorizedArthur Brooks, Bishop Robert Barron, Catholic Church, Christ, Christianity, CS Lewis, Daniel Goleman, David Foster Wallace, evil, God, Gospel of Mark, Harry Potter, Hebrew, Jesus, Joy, Lord Voldemort, Meditation, Old Testament, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Peace, Power, Regret, Religion, Richard Dawkins, Self-Sacrificing Love, Soul, Wealthwrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:10 — 30.4MB)

Father Len helps us recognize and grapple with decisions we make that control the trajectory of our lives and determine our happiness.

Support Wrestling with God Productions: https://www.GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

The Most Important Decision in Life – College commencement speech by Bishop Robert Baron that inspired this episode
The most important question in this life is what kind of soul you will have.
“To love is to be vulnerable.” – CS Lewis
“What you do with your soul really is a map to your future.” – Father Len
Your soul is not your mental ability or your psychological profile. It’s a thing that contains all the virtues of God and the spirit of God.
The Old Testament describes heaven as a place of true relationship where people relate to each other soul to soul.
From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur Brooks
Happiness comes down to care of your soul, not success in the world.
“Everybody worships something. Everybody adores something. Everybody has something that gives their life meaning and worth. Everyone lets something capture their imagination. That thing will control the direction of your life. If you worship money and things, then you’ll never feel like you have enough. If you worship your body and beauty and sexual allure, in time, you’ll be resentful because you’ll never be beautiful enough. You’ll feel ugly. And, as time and age starts to show, you will die a million deaths. If you worship power, you’ll end up feeling threatened and afraid. Read any biography of a dictator. You will need evermore power to numb you against the fear of being afraid. If you worship intellect, being seen as smart, you’ll end up feeling stupid and a fraud and on the verge of being found out. The most insidious thing is, that for most people, it will remain unconscious, but it’s their true religion.” – David Foster Wallace
Whatever you worship shapes your soul and controls your life.
Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body by Daniel Goleman
Meditation is one of the best ways to care for your soul and good for your health.
Not all worship is good. Worshiping or calling on the name of God can be a way of manipulating evil.
Good worship is supposed to lead you to self-sacrificing love.
What will what you worship do to your soul?

We welcome your questions and comments:

Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Links to More Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions

Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/

Ep99 Dividers and Uniters

April 3, 2024UncategorizedAnger, Catholic Church, Christ, Coeur D’Alene Idaho, Communal Prayers, Division, God, Hatred, Holy Communion, Holy Eucharist, Injustice, Insecurity, Jesus, Lord’s Prayer, Love, Narcissism, Pharisees, Prayer of St. Michael, Priestly Prayers, Satan, Self-Esteem, Shame, Sign of the Cross, Social Capital, Sun Valley Idahowrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:02 — 41.2MB)

Father Len grapples with the causes, effects and solutions to the anger and division present in our country, our churches, and our families.

Support Wrestling with God Productions: https://www.GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

Dividers are often inspired and motivated by their own psychological needs.
Dividers are judgmental.
People with a deep desire for division make up their own rules and condemn others for not following their made-up rules.
In the Bible, the Pharisees made up hundreds and hundreds of rules. They condemn Jesus and others for not following the rules they made up. They love to proclaim how much more religious and holy they are than everyone else.
People who seek division are the enemies of Christ and true religion.
How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks
Father Len shares the story of a guy who lived much of his life as a divider though he was very religious. His sense of religion was very legalistic and judgmental, critical of everybody. Remarkably and unconsciously, at the age of 50, he experiences a remarkable deep conversion to his faith and becomes a disciple of love with a desire to unite everyone.
Some people accidentally and unconsciously end up working for division in a community out of their own sense of anger, insecurity, or pain.
Division or unity is a fundamental choice. At some point in life, we must decide between division and unity, hatred and love.
Father Len tells the story of a woman who experienced an awful childhood of rape and incest, yet she devotes her life to helping the wounded and broken of the world to reject shame, heal their souls and feel loved.
It’s not what happens to you in life that matters. It’s how you react to what happens that matters.
Saint Paul warned people to keep away from those who cause division and put obstacles in their way because they don’t serve the Lord.
Satan loves division. Satan loves to dress up as something good, but the only fruits he offers are not good, just more division.
Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert Putnam
Social capital is a sense of unity and solidarity, the need to take care of others and build up an entire community or nation.
The United States was built on and succeeded because of social capital.
Division is where injustice and hatred grow.
Higher social capital tracks with more justice, more societal success, and more happiness.
Societies that are more narcissistic, about me, me, me, are less happy and have more crime, corruption, and injustice.
Social capital is connected with holiness.
“Let’s move away from the current plague in our country and our church that we need to attack each other. We can build a great country and church with social solidarity. We can’t build anything putting each other down constantly.” – Father Len

We welcome your questions and comments:

Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Links to More Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions

Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/

Ep97 We need a Savior

January 8, 2024UncategorizedAlbert Einstein, Aristotle, Atheists, Blaise Pascal, Catholic Church, Chris Hayes, Christ, Christianity, Christopher Dawkins, Depression, Ego, God, God of the Gaps, Herod, Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur, MSNBC, Narcissism, Nicholas Copernicus, Pharisees, Prayer, Religion, Roger Bacon, Savior, Science, Suicidewrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:22 — 32.4MB)

Father Len explains why we need a Savior now more than ever and why many of us don’t know it.

Support Wrestling with God Productions: https://www.GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

“Now that we have science, we no longer need religion.” – Chris Hayes, MSNBC Host
“God of the Gaps” theory: People invented God and religion began because there was a lack of scientific knowledge to explain things like lightning and wind.
Science wouldn’t exist without the Catholic Church.
For the Catholic Church science has always been a way of studying and understanding God.
All early major scientists believed in God including Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Roger Bacon, Louis Pasteur, Nicholas Copernicus and Blaise Pascal. They came to God because of science. Many were Catholic priests.
Religion began out of gratitude and awe for God.
Those who believe there is no greater power in the universe than the human person must ignore humanity’s long history of ignorance, violence and shocking denials of the truth.
Those who believe science can answer every question won’t be able to find God or recognize the need for a Savior because they have too much ego.
Our country has a depression and suicide crisis.
Our society has become narcissistic. Narcissism steals our joy. Narcissists believe they have no need for a Savior.
Much of our country no longer trusts in God. It trusts in science, technology, and government programs.
If God doesn’t exist and life on earth is all there is, why not cheat, be cruel, or commit suicide?
There is a difference between joy and pleasure. Meth addicts have plenty of pleasure, but no joy.
Even with all the knowledge of science and the power of technology, we do not have the power to overcome death.
“Our country has the highest standard of living in human history and the greatest technological inventions. So, why do we have such high suicide and depression rates? That just proves humanity needs a Savior.” – Father Len

We welcome your questions and comments:

Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Links to More Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions

Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/

Ep96 We Are Our Culture

November 7, 2023UncategorizedAlexis de Tocqueville, Angela Duckworth, Beatrice Webb, Catholic Church, Character, Christ, Corruption, Culture, Forgiveness, Happiness, Hatred, Holiness, Lake Coeur d’Alene, Patrick Lencioni, Prudence, Values, Virtues, West Pointwrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:56 — 31.1MB)

Father Len invites us to grapple with the virtues and character we value, permit, model and promote and the effect they have on us and those around us.

Support Wrestling with God Productions: https://www.GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

Culture over time is the most important force in shaping our identity. When an entire community prizes certain things, these things just seep into our pores.
Our emotions and values are very infectious. They move through a community faster than a virus.
Change happens, for better or worse, when entire communities unite around virtues and character they value.
There’s undeniable proof that an individual’s character and values effect all of society.
We take on the values of the communities to which we belong.
Virtues and character that are valued by a community are inherited by the community’s children.
If we want to change the world, we have to change our hearts. We are the culture. We are the system.
What impedes us empowers us.
Failure and struggle cause the hero in every hero story to become a hero.
Grit is frequently a greater predictor of success than talent.
Grit or fortitude is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
You need grit to become a spiritual person.
- It takes grit to forgive when you’ve been wounded.
- It takes grit to become prudent and know how and when to hold your tongue.
- It takes grit to become patient.
We can lose our grit when life is good.
Grit is like a muscle. You’re not born with it. You train yourself into it.
“Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth
“Democracy in America” by Alexis De Tocqueville
Beatrice Webb
Patrick Lencioni
What virtues and character do you value, permit, model and promote and how do they match up with the values of the communities to which you belong and, importantly, what are you going to do if they don’t?
We all have a big stake in our community’s culture and the effect it has on us and those around us.

We welcome your questions and comments:

Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Links to More Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions

Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/

Ep91 Encore: Commitments, Happiness, Love and Having Kids

April 15, 2023UncategorizedAspirations, Butch Otter, Canada, Catholic, Christ, Commitment, Feelings, God, Hannah Arendt, Happiness, Howard Stern, Lauren Miller, Montana, Religion, sacrifice, Seth Rogen, Shackleton Expedition, The Biblewrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:31 — 27.0MB)

Reacting to why actor Seth Rogen says he and his wife don’t want kids, Father Len explains the relationship between making commitments, happiness, love, and having kids.

Support Wrestling with God Productions here: https://www.GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

“It’s not an easy haul having kids. You can’t be narcissistic. You have to give yourself over to parenting. Kids have got to be the priority.” – Howard Stern
God asks of us that our lives be life-giving.
Living life for yourself, free from commitments, is an immature definition of happiness.
Commitments lead to greater happiness. Lack of commitments lead to greater unhappiness.
You’ll never find yourself through your feelings and aspirations. What defines you is your commitments.
“Without being bound to the fulfillment of our promises, we would never be able to keep our identities; we would be condemned to wander helplessly and without direction in the darkness of each person’s lonely heart, caught in its contradictions and equivocations.”-Hannah Arendt
Being unable to settle on something means not being settled ever.
People willing to commit to marriage and having children almost always test out happier than those who don’t.
The world tells us self-fulfillment comes from being free of commitments. Truth says fulfillment comes after commitments.
People who avoid commitments and constantly pursue pleasure in pursuit of an easy life tend to end up bitter and unhappy.
Christ challenges us to not to choose the easy way, to make a sacrifice and give ourselves away.
Life is not supposed to be easy, but rather a great adventure.
Pursuing pleasure as happiness always ends up in unhappiness.
Each year since 1972, there has been a gradual decline in people’s overall happiness in the United States. This despite the average person spending 22% more on eating out and entertainment, living in homes that have doubled in size, having huge screen TVs, access to the Internet, and social media.
The moral question is not whether you should or should not have kids. The moral question is why you would not want to have children.
Religion challenges us to look at everything in life and decide what kind of life we want to have.
Once you fall in love, you can’t help but want to give yourself away. That’s what real love feels like.
God’s perpetual command is to make an offering of our lives, to give ourselves away.
Those who don’t know the power of commitment are yet to know what love is.
God is a trickster who tricks people into falling in love and willing to sacrifice everything for those they love.

We welcome your questions and comments:

Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Links to Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions

Wrestling with God Show: http://WWGShow.com
Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/

Ep90 Encore: Imagine a World without Jesus

December 26, 2022UncategorizedAnger, Buddhism, Catholic Church, Christ, Education, Freedom, Gentiles, Gospel of Luke, Greeks, HG Wells, Hospitality, Human Rights, Jesus, Judaism, Mel Gibson, Pettiness, Romans, Science, Selfishness, slavery, social justice, The Passion of the Christ, The Torah, Theology of the Cross, Women, Women’s Rightswrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:34 — 29.8MB)

Father Len explains how the radical ideas Jesus introduced 2000 years ago and the church he established to spread those ideas have changed the world forever.

Make a financial donation here: https://www.GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

“You’re talking about the single event that probably influenced civilization as we know it now. It’s created our laws and behavior. The knowledge of good and evil. It’s influenced art and literature. It’s affected every possible aspect of anyone’s life, whether they know it or not. It’s absolutely everything. If it wasn’t, what would there be? – Mel Gibson, producer/director, The Passion of the Christ
The Gospel of Luke describes how Jesus changed morality and remapped society around meals.
In Jesus’s time there were meal codes about how you eat and who you eat with. Jews ate with Jews, never with Gentiles. Jews ate as a family. Men, women, and children together. Gentiles, the Romans and the Greeks, ate with people of their own class and caste system. Rich and poor never ate together. Men and women didn’t eat together. Men ate first and then women because men were considered superior to women.
Jesus broke all the meal codes of his time drawing people together by a much different morality. He offered radical hospitality to everyone. He welcomed men and women, rich and poor to sit at table with him.
The one person who changed the world the most was not a king or an inventor. The greatest mark on history was made by a traveling preacher named Jesus who established a church community and gave it the responsibility to redraw the world according to hospitality.

“I am an historian. I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all of history. Is it any wonder that to this day, this Galilean is too much for our small hearts?” – HG Wells
Jesus broke all the rules on how to treat women. Prior to Jesus women were treated inhumanely. They were viewed as inferior to men and nothing more than property. In Jesus’s eyes, women and men are equally valuable. Jesus was friends and ministry partners with women. He treated them with dignity and respect.
The idea that all humans – men and women, rich and poor, rulers and peasants – are equally valuable and should be treated with dignity and respect was extremely rare before Christianity.
The church Jesus founded, the Catholic Church, started hospitals, universities, and food banks.
Jesus started an organized movement to care for the poor and the needy. Religion before Christianity, except for Judaism, wasn’t really concerned with morality or taking care of the poor.
The origins of science are rooted in Christian belief. All the early scientists were religious. They were inspired by their faith in Christ to do science. They all viewed science as a means of uncovering the traces of Christ’s handiwork in the universe.
The concepts of social justice, education, human rights, women’s rights, and freedom all fit into the idea of radical hospitality that Jesus introduced to the world.
Jesus has changed the personal lives of billions of people throughout the world by introducing the theology of the cross. Dying to yourself, dying to your ego, becoming a whole new person by living a life of sacrificial love.
Wisdom is path, not a door. The path of daily choices you make on how to live your life.
Wisdom is gained through daily small activities. Small choices that become the whole direction of your life.
The way of the cross is daily making moral choices, making small choices of virtue. Dying to your pettiness, anger, and selfishness.

We welcome your questions and comments:

Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Links to Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions

Wrestling with God Show: http://WWGShow.com
Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/

Ep88 Sadness is a Blessing and Superpower

October 24, 2022UncategorizedAleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Amplification, Bitterness, Catholicism, Christ, CS Lewis, Depression, Franz Kafka, Heaven, Homesickness, Judaism, Leonard Cohen, Longing, Love, Malcolm Gladwell, Repression, Robert Schuller, Sadness, St. Maria of Paris, Suffering, The Biblewrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:31 — 36.2MB)

Father Len explains that sadness is our lot in life and how embracing it will bring us wisdom, love, a sense of purpose, and help guide our path to heaven.

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

The pain of sadness wakes you up to be more tender and compassionate.
Sadness is a superpower that can transform you into being more creative.
Depression sucks all the life out of you.
Denying sadness can lead to self-absorption and a toxic life.
Father Len shares the story of how the sadness of prison life became a university for growth for Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Depression makes you listless and less concerned for action and the suffering of other people.
Depression is when you’re alone. Sadness is when you’re with other people.
Those who embrace sadness have a greater sense of purpose in their lives.
American society is obsessed with positivity and always being happy, happy, happy.
Studies have found Americans smile more than any other country, but test out to be more depressed.
Obsession with positive thinking is just a form of denial of sadness.
The more you repress something, the more likely you are to act on it.
America’s obsession with positivity and always having a positive attitude is a form of repression.
Sadness is hard, but it also gives birth to love.
Links to Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions
- Wrestling with God Show: http://WWGShow.com
- Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
- A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/
Make a financial donation here: https://www.GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions
We welcome your questions and comments:
- Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
- Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Ep79 The Religion of Jesus

April 16, 2022UncategorizedBook of Leviticus, Book of Wisdom, Catholic Church, Christ, God, Gospel According to Mark, Jesus, Life Lessons, Messiah, Morals, Prayer Shawl, Regulations, Rejection, Religion, Rules, The Bible, Theologywrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:12 — 13.0MB)

Father Len explores the Bible story of a wealthy and powerful man and a bankrupt and outcast old woman. Both seeking healing from Jesus. The story reveals the essence of the religion of Jesus and puts our personal beliefs about religion on trial. This is a preview of episode 2 of the new podcast from Wrestling with God Productions, featuring Father Len, titled “Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded.”

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

Jesus pushes us to take religion beyond just believing that He is the Messiah and being a good person obeying moral laws.
Jesus dismisses laws in the Book of Leviticus that reject or marginalize people.
“If the best that you can say about your life is that you’re a good person who obeys all the moral laws, you’re boring and lack spiritual depth.” – Father Len
The Book of Wisdom tells us that God is about love, life, and healing. God rejoices in welcoming and loving all people.
Jesus gives us a test of religion. Do we want a religion that is about rules, regulations, and moral laws that causes us reject or marginalize some people? Or, do we want the religion of Jesus that accepts and loves all people unconditionally?
“Let your heart be broken when people are marginalized, rejected, or treated as if they’re dead. Believe in the way of Christ. Believe in life and unconditional love for everybody.” – Father Len
Bible stories explored in this episode:
- Book of Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
- Gospel According to Mark 5:21-43
Please prayerfully consider supporting the mission of Wrestling with God Productions by making a financial donation here: GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions
We welcome your questions and comments;
- Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
- Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Ep78 Future of WWG Show & How to Love like Christ

March 29, 2022UncategorizedBoundaries of Love, Catholic Church, Christ, God, Hard Head, Jesus, Life Lessons, Love, Soft Heart, Strong Back, The Bible, worshipwrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:14 — 17.6MB)

Irish explains why there hasn’t been a new WWG Show episode lately and Father Len unpacks three Bible stories about love and illustrates the traits God will help us develop, and we’ll surely need, if we are to love like Christ. This a preview of episode 1 of a new podcast from Wrestling with God Productions, featuring Father Len, titled “Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded”.

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

When Jesus began preaching love and pushing the boundaries of love to include loving all people unconditionally, the people didn’t like it. All they wanted to hear was God loves me and people like me.
God tells the prophet Jeremiah, people “will fight against you” when you preach unconditional love, but I will “form you into a wall of brass, a pillar of iron, a fortified wall” so “they shall not prevail against you.”
“If you call yourself a follower of God, you need to push yourself to try to love everyone.” – Father Len
“Some religious people say they want to hear the word of God, but only if it agrees with everything they think and believe already.” – Father Len
“When I die and stand before Christ, the question won’t be, does God love me? The question will be, did I love like Christ?” – Father Len
Bible stories examined in this episode:
- Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
- 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
- Luke 4:21-30
“Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded” is crafted from hundreds of hours of Father Len’s homilies and talks on faith, religion, and life recorded over the past eight years.
“Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded” is the first new podcast produced by Wrestling with God Productions, the organization founded by Irish with the mission of identifying extraordinary teachers of the Catholic Faith, people like Father Len, and publishing their teachings far and wide.
The new podcast delves into stories from the Bible. Stories that reveal God’s purpose for creating us and his intentions for our lives. Stories about God’s expectations for our relationship with him. Stories about what to worship and how to worship.
The intention for the new podcast is to help listeners grapple with the true purpose of life and deal with the messiness and mysteries, challenges and difficulties that this crazy life seems to throw at us all.
Please prayerfully consider supporting the mission of Wrestling with God Productions by making a financial donation here: GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions
We welcome your questions and comments
- Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
- Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Ep72 Imagine a World without Jesus

November 9, 2021UncategorizedAnger, Buddhism, Catholic Church, Christ, Education, Freedom, Gentiles, Gospel of Luke, Greeks, HG Wells, Hospitality, Human Rights, Jesus, Judaism, Mel Gibson, Pettiness, Romans, Science, Selfishness, slavery, social justice, The Passion of the Christ, The Torah, Theology of the Cross, Women, Women’s Rightswrestlingwithgodshow

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:33 — 28.0MB)

Father Len explains how the radical ideas Jesus introduced 2000 years ago and the church he established to spread those ideas have changed the world forever.

Make a financial donation here: https://www.GiveSendGo.com/WWGProductions

Highlights, Ideas, and Wisdom

“You’re talking about the single event that probably influenced civilization as we know it now. It’s created our laws and behavior. The knowledge of good and evil. It’s influenced art and literature. It’s affected every possible aspect of anyone’s life, whether they know it or not. It’s absolutely everything. If it wasn’t, what would there be? – Mel Gibson, producer/director, The Passion of the Christ
The Gospel of Luke describes how Jesus changed morality and remapped society around meals.
In Jesus’s time there were meal codes about how you eat and who you eat with. Jews ate with Jews, never with Gentiles. Jews ate as a family. Men, women, and children together. Gentiles, the Romans and the Greeks, ate with people of their own class and caste system. Rich and poor never ate together. Men and women didn’t eat together. Men ate first and then women because men were considered superior to women.
Jesus broke all the meal codes of his time drawing people together by a much different morality. He offered radical hospitality to everyone. He welcomed men and women, rich and poor to sit at table with him.
The one person who changed the world the most was not a king or an inventor. The greatest mark on history was made by a traveling preacher named Jesus who established a church community and gave it the responsibility to redraw the world according to hospitality.

“I am an historian. I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all of history. Is it any wonder that to this day, this Galilean is too much for our small hearts?” – HG Wells
Jesus broke all the rules on how to treat women. Prior to Jesus women were treated inhumanely. They were viewed as inferior to men and nothing more than property. In Jesus’s eyes, women and men are equally valuable. Jesus was friends and ministry partners with women. He treated them with dignity and respect.
The idea that all humans – men and women, rich and poor, rulers and peasants – are equally valuable and should be treated with dignity and respect was extremely rare before Christianity.
The church Jesus founded, the Catholic Church, started hospitals, universities, and food banks.
Jesus started an organized movement to care for the poor and the needy. Religion before Christianity, except for Judaism, wasn’t really concerned with morality or taking care of the poor.
The origins of science are rooted in Christian belief. All the early scientists were religious. They were inspired by their faith in Christ to do science. They all viewed science as a means of uncovering the traces of Christ’s handiwork in the universe.
The concepts of social justice, education, human rights, women’s rights, and freedom all fit into the idea of radical hospitality that Jesus introduced to the world.
Jesus has changed the personal lives of billions of people throughout the world by introducing the theology of the cross. Dying to yourself, dying to your ego, becoming a whole new person by living a life of sacrificial love.
Wisdom is path, not a door. The path of daily choices you make on how to live your life.
Wisdom is gained through daily small activities. Small choices that become the whole direction of your life.
The way of the cross is daily making moral choices, making small choices of virtue. Dying to your pettiness, anger, and selfishness.

We welcome your questions and comments:

Email: irish@wwgproductions.org
Text or voicemail: 208-391-3738

Links to Podcasts from Wrestling with God Productions

Wrestling with God Show: http://WWGShow.com
Life Lessons from Jesus and the Church He Founded: http://LifeLessonsfromJesus.org
A Priest’s Life: https://idahovocations.com/resources/video-podcasts/