Prayer in the Tradition of the Saints, Part 03: Augustinian Meditation
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Release Date: 07/02/2025
Healing Eden, Part 14: When Hope Seems Lost (Hannah)
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
With this episode we step into the story of a woman named Hannah — whose deep personal pain symbolically reflects the larger, spiritual state of Israel, as she lives in a time (the end of the age of the Judges) when the whole project of salvation seems to be hanging by a thread. Israel is constantly turning away from YHWH and facing judgment for it – and it seems God may be reaching his breaking point. Indeed, the very covenant of salvation itself feels very much in jeopardy. But through Hannah’s tears of lament, God begins to move very graciously for her and, through her, for Israel –...
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Healing Eden, Part 13: The Temptation of Acculturation (Judges)
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Today we turn our attention to understanding the book of Judges, where Israel, newly settled in the Promised Land, faces a different kind of battle—no longer combat with swords and spears, but with the temptation to adopt the culture of those around her. Surrounded by Canaanite customs and religion, God’s chosen people begin to lose sight of who they are, as they attempt to trade faithfulness for what feels like security. For Israel, YHWH may have delivered them from captivity in Egypt; but that was a long time ago. And life in Canaan presents new challenges, challenges for which, perhaps,...
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Healing Eden, Part 12: On the Cusp of Canaan
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Today we arrive on the cusp of Canaan, that is to say: the promised land. After a generation of wandering in the wilderness, Israel arrives at last on the eastern bank of the River Jordan. And what lies ahead of them – according to the book of Joshua – are many, bloody battles necessary to secure Israel within Canaan’s borders. (For the modern reader it makes Joshua difficult to interpret as it sure seems like God might be commanding… genocide?) But even if the battle scenes are not the whole story, Israel still enters Canaan in a very precarious position. God’s people are the weaker...
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Healing Eden, Part 11: The Ten Commandments
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
In this episode we arrive, alongside Israel, at Mt. Sinai where God gathers the whole of his people to receive the Ten Commandments. But rather than looking at the specific, nuanced meaning of each of the commandments (we recently did this in the series ), we focus here on the larger question of: why? Why does God's journey with his newly established people begin with a set of instructions about what thou shall and shalt not do? Is God, in the end, one, giant rule-giver in the sky - testing individuals to see who qualifies to receive blessings here and now, or perhaps in the hereafter? Is...
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Healing Eden, Part 10: Trapped by the Red Sea
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Today we turn our attention to events immediately following the exodus - as Israel makes her escape from centuries of slavery in Egypt. For God has acted with mighty power to save, and our first imagination is that - under divine care - Israel will be safe evermore. But as Israel flees into the Sinai desert, she soon discovers that Pharaoh is in pursuit with the full might of the Egyptian army. And as the Egyptian chariots approach, Israel finds herself trapped by the Red Sea. And has her toes touch the water, Israel - and we - are forced to learn an essential lesson of the life of faith: in...
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Healing Eden, Part 09: Exodus and Passover
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
The exodus from Egypt becomes the gravitational center of the Old Testament as it forms Israel’s image of what it means to be saved! After centuries of suffering, God acts with incredible power to break the bonds of Israel’s slavery and leads her to new freedom under God’s direct care. It is a story of divine strength and mercy and directly foreshadows a larger salvation that is to come when God breaks the ultimate bonds of sin and death. But…, the exodus also comes with immeasurable suffering as God’s deliverance for Israel is matched by God’s judgment upon Egypt – the death of...
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Healing Eden, Part 08: God’s Name and the Promise to Deliver
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
After more than 400 years of slavery in Egypt, the cries of God’s people rise to heaven — and are heard! God’s response? A call to Moses from the burning bush and a revealing of the Divine name (“I AM”) – a name that speaks to far more than eternal existence, but of unending compassion and grace. It is in this encounter that God reiterates the promise to save (making the Exodus something of a preview of salvation to come) and which reminds us again that we have a God who hears our pain, remembers the covenant with Abraham, and who acts not as a distant observer but as the One who...
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Healing Eden, Part 07: Slaves in Egypt
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
In this episode in our journey through the biblical story we come to the beginning of the book of Exodus where we find Israel in a very unexpected place - enslaved in Egypt. It’s a circumstance that begs the question: What has gone wrong??? For, as we have discussed in previous episodes, Israel is God’s elect – a people set apart for priestly office in the larger project of the salvation of the world. So how is it that God’s beloved community suffers such oppression (as Israel will be slaves in Egypt for 400 years!)? Has the covenant of election been annulled? Has God turned his back...
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Healing Eden, Part 06: The Strange Geography of Election (Jacob and Esau)
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Today we return to a fundamental theme in the biblical story, that of election – the idea that we belong to the community of salvation not by anything we do, but by the sovereign will of God. To be elect is to be chosen by God for salvation apart from any merit or effort or agreement on our part. It’s often a difficult idea for 21st century westerners to swallow as we like to see ourselves as the captains of our own destiny. We imagine that if we are included in the community of salvation, it’s because we somehow earned it (at the very least by “having faith”). And if one is not...
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Healing Eden, Part 05: The Not-Sacrifice of Isaac
Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith
Today we come to one of the most emotionally charged moments in all of scripture: God’s command to Abraham that he sacrifice his son Isaac – the heir to the covenant of salvation! And even though God ultimately prevents Isaac from being killed, the divine intervention comes at the last possible moment. And it leaves us wondering: What was God doing? Why would God put both Abraham and Issac through such trauma??? Was this some ancient near eastern practice we don’t know about? Or – as many of us assume - was it some obedience test for Abraham; a measuring of his...
info_outlineContinuing our experiential examination of contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition, we turn this week to the great Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine of Hippo (d. 430 AD) and the form of meditation that has developed in the Augustinian school. (It's quite similar to Ignatian contemplation, but rather than seeking to place ourselves - by active imagination - into a biblical scene of the past, Augustinian meditation seeks to bring the scene itself into the present. It'll make more sense as you listen!)
As with the other episodes in this series, I highly encourage you actually engage in the meditation and not just listen while driving or dining or mowing the lawn. If you do, I think you'll find the experience very rewarding, mainly by having a moment or two of actual contact with God (and wouldn't that be cool)!
In the intro I mention some previous series on the spiritual life, so here are some quick links to Loving God 101, Loving God 201, Loving God 301 and 401.
And I really would love to hear if this series has been helpful (or not)! You can reach me anytime at jesusat2am.com, or send me email, chat with me on BlueSky, or come find me on Facebook or Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.
And while you're at it, might you be up for supporting the podcast? You’re tax-deductible gift to Canvas is a major help. As are your prayers, your online reviews, telling a friend or two!
And in case you'd like to follow along with the passage, you can find it here: Mark 1:29-39 (NRSV).
Thanks so much for listening and blessings upon you!