From Sinai to Bethlehem

Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy talk about the challenges today that are not so very different from the time when the people, anxious about Moses's delayed return, looked for another god and found only suffering. We talk about how we remain faithful in times of great decision. Join us!

Episode Five: The Golden Calf - Exodus 32

Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy talk about that fateful day when humanity fell from grace and were sent of to figure it out on their own. We are still trying to work out what it means to know good from evil. Join us in our conversation about why we were so easily lead down a garden path.

Episode Six: Exile From the Garden - Genesis 3

Rabbi Jason Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy struggle with the events that lead to the Maccabean Revolt and the rededication of the Temple, what we know today as Chanukah. Please join us for a conversation that compels us to ask questions we never thought we would have to ask.

Episode Seven: Road to Chanukah - 1 Maccabees 1-2

Elijah runs away in fear after dispatching all the prophets of Baal, or better, prophets of Queen Jezebel. She vows by whatever god will listen to kill Elijah for what he has done (see 1 Kings 18). Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy wrestle with his journey and what it means for our own lives. Please join us in our conversation and we hope it will spark discussions of your own.

Episode Eight: A Still Silent Sound - 1 Kings 19

Tamar is one of the women whose name is commemorated in the Genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17). Often mistaken, as it was with her father-in-law Judah, for a prostitute, Tamar used the power she had in the world she lived in to fulfill the law of God given to Israel through Moses. The punishment for her actions was death, but she offered her life for the life of her adopted people. Please join us for a reprise of Episode Ten to honor a courageous woman who kept alive the line that leads to Jesus.

Episode Ten: Tamar and Judah - Genesis 38

Episode Eleven: Book of Ruth

Episode Twelve: The Book of Esther

In this conversation Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy talk about this man Moses and the encounter with that freed a people from four centuries of bondage and hard labor and what it means for us today and the weights under which we toil.

Episode Thirteen: From the Birth of Moses to the Burning Bush - Exodus 1-4

Please join Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy for this moving and powerful conversation about the God who delivers us from our bondage. "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." Exodus 14:14

Episode Fourteen: Plagues, Passover and the Splitting of Sea - Exodus 5-14

We know of the story of David and Goliath, but do we know what the story teaches beyond the small guy beating the big guy? Read 1 Samuel 17 and join Rabbi Jason Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy as they explore God's hand in victory.

Episode Fifteen: David and Goliath - 1 Samuel 17

This story is always known as David and Bathsheba, and although the wife of Uriah the Hittite plays a role, this story is about so much more: lust, sin, coverup, and murder. It is also a story of remorse, forgiveness and consequence. Join Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy as they struggle with the strange behavior of God's anointed King of Israel.

Episode Sixteen: Popularly known as David and Bathsheba - 2 Samuel 11-12

When a genealogy comes up in Biblical texts eyes tend to glaze over, quickly scan without reading and move onto the story. The list of names in Matthew's opening chapter tell a rich and ancient story of anointed kings and priests and Jesus as the fulfillment of line. Not to be missed!

Episode Seventeen: God's Anointed Family: The Genealogy of Jesus - Matthew 1:1-17

As with genealogies, Leviticus and its recording of rituals and rubrics can appear tedious and best left for those anointed to the task. Embedded within the ancient rites are the rites and rituals we hold sacred today that help us come back to God, to our worshipping community, to neighbors, friends, family, and self. This conversation shows divergences and parallels in interpretation and understanding, and that both roads lead to reconciliation. Please join us and together perhaps we will find a way to heal.

Episode Eighteen: Leviticus! A Wonderful Book! Don't pass it by! - Leviticus 1-8

We often focus on the "lost son" and the warm embrace of the father in this parable though we must remember that both sons are lost. One, the younger with his foolish ways comes to his senses, the other angry and resentful remains outside. Always there is the Father welcoming, encouraging, pleading with us to come into the house for the banquet, even if we have to do so with former sinners and tax collectors! Join Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy in their conversation about coming home.

Episode Nineteen: A Father and His Two Sons - Luke 15:11-32

The world around Isaiah when the seraphim touch the prophet's lips with coal was one of faithlessness, war, and violence. Isaiah was called to bring God's word in order that the few who hear will be purified and saved. In a day when religion is shunned as divisive rather than a path to holiness, Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy ask questions about how we, like Isaiah, are messengers of God.

Episode Twenty: Isaiah 6 - The Call of Isaiah

Seed falls on all kinds of soil. In this parable Jesus challenges those present to use the ears of their heart to hear the deep and multi-dimensional meaning of the path, rocks, thorns, and good soil. Please join in this powerful conversation about tending to the seed so it will grow and bear fruit for generations "thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

Episode Twenty-One: Parable of the Sower - Mark 4:1-20

"For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you...I have set before you life and death...Choose life." This conversation is about how we choose life and are redeemed. This amazing Scripture holds the way, the truth, and the life. Please join us.

Episode Twenty-Two: Choose Life - Deuteronomy 30

The Parable of the Dishonest Steward is a strange one. Join Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy as they make their way through the dealings of the steward and find the message.

Episode Twenty-Three: Parable of the Dishonest Servant - Luke 16 1-8

This rebellion came about when some charged with care for the sacred vessels believed themselves holy enough to offer sacrifice. They made demands of Moses but who they really were questioning was God. This conversation explores the event and how we sometimes wish, or try to be something other than who God created us to be.

Episode Twenty-Four: The Rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram - Numbers 16:1-1

Join us for this beautiful teaching about God's blessing for his people, and his loving patience and understanding that as human beings we sometimes falter. God's promise of blessing is definitive and infinite. All we need do is say yes.

Episode Twenty-Five: God's Blessing for His People - Numbers 6:22-27

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Connecting Scripture and Life podcast explores the way God speaks in different times and places with the same wisdom that lead to a happy life. Scripture teaches us how to live. Through conversations with people who love, teach, and live it we will explore our own lives in the pages of the sacred.

Connecting Scripture and Life is a ministry of the Catholic Bible Institute, Office of Religious Education, Archdiocese of Los Angeles.