Transcript

Speaker 1: I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.

Speaker 2: You are listening to Scripture for your inner outcasts. It's May 10th, 2026, the sixth Sunday of Easter. Today is a special Sunday episode of Scripture for your inner outcasts, as we are joined by both doctor Jerry Creed and Doctor Peter Malinowski, the co-founders of Souls and Hearts. They will be offering a joint reflection on today's readings.

Speaker 3: Doctor Jerry, it is good to be with you.

Speaker 4: Good to be with you, too.

Speaker 1: We are here on the sixth Sunday of Easter. We are rapidly approaching the ascension of the Lord. And I'm just curious, we've got some really interesting readings here, some some readings where we're in transition And I'm curious what land did with your system and and maybe especially with any of your exiles, you know, as we're, as we really kind of focus in on exiles in this show.

Speaker 4: So yeah, yeah, I, I was especially drawn to the readings from the acts of the apostles. This is in acts eight. And I was really moved by this story and some of the mechanics as far as how exiles are approached over time. Samaria is so interesting. So we have Philip going to the city of Samaria, and we already know the Sumerians are seen as the enemy or less than or the heretics, whatever to the Jews at this time, and even in Jesus's parables. Right. Um, the Good Samaritan is kind of an oxymoron, right? To the listeners, you know, this idea that Samaria is this, um, you know, clean, unwanted, you know, there the the other. And so Philip goes to the city. And so Philip, I feel in this case is kind of like that innermost self, right. Who is seeking out the exile, you know, and proclaiming Christ to them, but he seeks them out and he connects with them. So this is really to me like the self finding the exile, right? And there's so much in this passage that is kind of beautiful, because I would even argue that it's not just one exile, it's the whole this whole little population or cluster of exiles because it's a group of people. And when he connects with them, they kind of come together, right? I mean, they have different issues.

Speaker 4: There's different things going on, I think, from paralysis to demons or whatnot. And he he deals with all of them. So to me, it's this beautiful thing that when the self encounters the exiles and offers love and healing and really sees them and cares about them, especially a group that didn't think they would be cared for by someone Jewish, first of all. And he does. And then what happens is that they actually come together and they express joy. I love the line, there was great joy in that city. So when there's healing, there's this encounter happens, this engagement, this healing. And they have great joy. Now, the other thing I just want to point out, I know you'll have stuff to say on all this too. But the other thing that's interesting to me anyway, is that then, you know, Philip goes back to Jerusalem and then, uh, they do send Peter and John, but more maybe more importantly is they they are to receive the Holy Spirit. And so people are often asking me like, how do do I bring Jesus to my exile parts or to this or that part? I actually think the self sets the stage.

Speaker 1: Right.

Speaker 4: And then the Holy Spirit comes. At least that's the pattern in this reading. And it's the pattern I tend to look to. So all I can say though, to bring it maybe a bit home, maybe a little more, is just like I have parts that are like Samaritans who feel like they're not worthy. Maybe they're paralyzed with fear. I know I have parts that have been paralyzed, as well as parts that are simply crippled and hobbling about. And so those wounded parts of me, um, are really moved by this reading. And the care for St Philip comes. And then Peter and John, like these are Jews that might have in a previous generation, right. Or before, you know, the apostles had encountered Christ would never in a million years have gone there. And here they go, there they do this work, and then the Holy Spirit follows. I just love it.

Speaker 1: I love it. I was tracking almost exactly the same. Like the first line got me where Peter went down to the city of Samaria. And to put this into a little bit of context, Stephen has just been murdered. He's just been martyred. There's a lot of persecution happening right now in Jerusalem. Things are in flux. And this is before Saint Paul is on the stage, right? Sometimes we think of like he's the apostle to the Gentiles. And, you know, there wasn't much outreach to the Gentiles. No, there was there was here's Philip going to Samaria. And it led me to consider the gospel. When our Lord says to his disciples, I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. So remember, Jesus went to Samaria. That's where he had the encounter with the woman at the well. We talked about that, you know, several weeks back, the Samaritans were really curious, really interested. He stayed with them for two days. So here's the pattern, right? He comes and then he sends others so that we won't be orphans, And then I was really caught by this idea of orphans, right? Because my parents are still living.

Speaker 1: I'm 57 years old and my parents are still alive. But when my parents die, I don't know how I'll react, but I don't know that I will feel like an orphan. You know what I'm saying? I've lived independently for decades now. But look at what he says here. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you in a little while. The world will no longer see me, but you will see me because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my father and you are in me, and I am in you. So he's emphasizing his union, Jesus's union with the father. He's not going to leave us. So our father is not going to leave us, right? Because they're one. And he's emphasizing this union that you are in me and I am in you. Like that's really intimate, that's really intimate. And so it was just beautiful to see that brought in at the same time, as you know, Philip is going out to the Samaritans and then Peter, and then John, and then bringing the Holy Spirit. So.

Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I was struck by that. I will not leave you orphans as well. And I, I know you and I, we would feel the same way about. I mean, my father's not alive, but my mother is. But once that changes, like I'm not going to feel truly like an orphan. But in the ancient world, right. Orphans were extraordinarily vulnerable. I mean, there was no social support system, right, for orphans. So without your father's protection, without an inheritance, without some social structure, you you really, um, you were someone whose source of life and security had been removed. You were left alone in a world that, you know, you could no longer access any kind of support. So the this is like truly the worst fear of, of an exile, right? Is, is to be.

Speaker 1: To be orphaned. Yeah.

Speaker 4: And maybe taking it beyond the, the mother father death thing. You're an orphan. Like we might still feel like an orphan in this world in the sense of not having safety and security. Right, right. Especially geopolitical things going on in the world, or just your own need, you know, to, you know, pay the bills or whatnot. Like, I think deep within us, there's this deep fear that, you know, we are kind of abandoned. So I think most of us relate to it. I also really like what you, you pointed out too about the, the, um, you know, I'm in you and you are in me, but, but also the Holy Spirit being an advocate, right? The advocate is someone who comes alongside. And so he's, you know, the advocate is standing next to you. You know, I love this sort of sense of companionship. You know, the Holy Spirit is walking with you. God is always walking with you. And he says, yeah. He says, always.

Speaker 1: Always yes.

Speaker 4: To me, as well as what you're saying about the indwelling, which is mind blowing. You're not alone. You're not ever alone. Truly. And I don't know. To me, my exile's really rejoice in that.

Speaker 1: It sort of reminds me of Saint Augustine, though, when it comes to exiles, because sometimes with the negative God images, the distortions and the ways that parts understand God, especially parts that feel alienated or isolated. You know, Saint Augustine said, you know, you were you were nearer to me than I was to myself. And I think often that's the case where, you know, parts don't appreciate that God is actually present because they can't sense it yet because of the sense of sort of isolation, alienation. And so going back to what you were saying right at the very beginning of this episode, when the innermost self can lead and guide the system, when there can be this interior integration, when parts can come together in a more integrated way, then that connection with God actually can be more readily tasted and felt, you know, taste and see the goodness of the Lord, Isaiah says. So I just think it, it just really helps this, this natural foundation for the spiritual life, this human formation that we talk about so much in souls and hearts just really helps to prepare the way for the Lord, which is kind of what, um, what, uh, what Philip was doing and, and then what John and Peter were doing, right? Because then the Holy Spirit came down to the Samaritans. Uh, and they experienced the Lord in direct relationship, not mediated through the, the apostles.

Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah. We have the sense here in, in acts where, you know, the Holy Spirit then comes. Right. But my thought on the gospel reading is he's sort of saying, yes, there's a sense in which that is definitely true, but he's kind of letting the exile know like it's I've always been there. Like as God, God has always, it's always been true. And so it's more of a waking up to the reality, you know, um, it's like our exiles are within our heart and our heart is held by God And that's always been true. It's just the exiles don't know it or feel it or sense it. And so to me, there's this sense of like, wow, like hearing Philip proclaiming Christ to them is about him letting them know what's always like, which has always been kind of available to them. Uh, and now they're experiencing it. And then they say again, like I said earlier, like with one accord, right? All of a sudden, wow, like they all get it. And there's a harmony. Like they come together under that and it's just like mind blowing.

Speaker 2: If today's episode resonates with you, you can find similar content at Souls and hearts.com/content. Thanks for joining us, and we hope to see you again tomorrow.

Speaker 1: With that, we'll draw this to a close by invoking our patroness and our patrons, Our Lady, our mother. Untier of knots. Pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Saint John the Baptist.

Speaker 4: Pray for us.