Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts

Transcript

Speaker 1: Upright is the word of the Lord, and all his works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right of the kindness of the Lord. The earth is full.

Speaker 2: Welcome back to Scripture for your inner outcasts. Today is May 3rd, 2026, the fifth 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: So, doctor Jerry, here we are. It's the fifth Sunday of Easter. We're continuing to work our way through Eastertide. We've got an interesting set of readings here. And as always, I'm curious about what is striking you, especially as we consider these readings through an internal family systems, lens parts and systems thinking. And within that, even even more specifically to to our exiles, to the parts of us that have been isolated, alienated, rejected, abandoned, banished in a sense like those parts of us. What's in these readings for our exiles?

Speaker 1: Well, the first thing that really strikes me is in the acts of the apostles. They complain against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And so immediately as I'm reading that, I'm thinking to myself, wow, here's this church. Early Christian church is growing. Beautiful things are happening. You know, in the middle of all this expansion and excitement, someone is not getting fed the widows, they're not strangers, they're not outsiders. They're actually members of the community. But they, they belong. They're part of the body. And yet in the daily distribution, which is what sustains life, right? The being that they are being missed. So, you know, this is devastating. This is a devastating kind of wounding, right? Being overlooked within a system that is simultaneously doing real good.

Speaker 3: Mhm. Mhm.

Speaker 1: The early church, I'm assuming like was spirit filled. There's growth. And yet the most vulnerable members were not receiving what they needed. So not for everyone. Is it is it some dramatic abandonment or overt cruelty? Right, right. But it's the subtle chronic neglect that happens within a system that is otherwise good, right? Like a good family that didn't know or didn't pay attention to that quiet child or the church community that's big on their mission, but they didn't notice this person who was silently drowning in some way in their life. There's so many ways like there might be real love in a relationship, but your partner, your, you know, whoever your, your friends with, or if it's a wife or husband, you know they're missing what you actually needed most. They're just they're not getting it. And so an exile in this case, I think, would be confused to some extent by its own pain.

Speaker 3: Mhm.

Speaker 1: Mhm. Because like the system is good, you know, others, it's like people are bad by and large, but there's love. So they're like asking themselves like, what is wrong with me that?

Speaker 3: What is wrong with me? Yeah. I was just thinking that.

Speaker 1: Yeah, the system is good. The problem must be me. And that's what the exiles take in.

Speaker 3: And it's interesting because it says the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. It wasn't that the widows were speaking up themselves. They may they they may not have had much of a voice for some reason, or like you said, they might not have even realized some of this, you know, or may have been disempowered. Uh, so it was leading me to wonder if, you know, this is a polarization in the community, bad blood between Hellenists and the Hebrews because they came from different cultures. And one of the things about the church is striking is how it brings all peoples, all races in, you know, all ethnicities, all nations and countries, right? All together. And that can lead to some, some friction just in the humanness of it all.

Speaker 1: But but then what actually does happen, from what I gather here, is actually kind of beautiful because this complaint, if you will, uh, or grievance that might be considered that way is actually heard rather than suppressed. Right. So the system doesn't collapse because of this, because one exile speaks up or somebody speaks up for the exile, the system actually grows. It's willing to listen and reorganize around what is being missed. So it's beautiful then that there's a response and that mirrors kind of what leads us into the other readings.

Speaker 3: Mhm. Mhm. Well, take us into the other readings, doctor. Jerry, I'm curious what you write.

Speaker 1: Well, um, you have the Responsorial Psalm, right? So powerful. The Lord let your mercy be on us as we place our trust in you. You know that response. The exile is shaped by neglect. Maybe even trauma. Like might have even been religious or spiritual kind of trauma by the experience of trusting and then being failed. And the refrain can feel like a demand to perform a trust. So when the exile here is place your trust in you, something might tighten because trust was the thing that got got the exile hurt.

Speaker 3: Right?

Speaker 1: But look at what the Psalm actually says about why trust becomes possible. It says, upright is the word of the Lord, and all his works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right of the kindness of the Lord. The earth is full. It's not really a demand for obedience, right? Or a track record or something. It's it's the song making argument. Look at the evidence. Look at the earth full of kindness. Look at the works. Trustworthy. Look at the love of justice. This is not really asking the exile to just trust blindly or sentimentally, you know, no basis or anything. It's asking the exile to look at the evidence in his own life or her own life and ask, where is kindness actually appeared? Or where has something trustworthy shown up or in the midst of this neglect and wounding? You know, what can I find that is good? Where can I see God's work?

Speaker 3: Well, it reminds me of of Deb Dana's work. So she's a trauma therapist and writer who has this concept that I really like of glimmers and glows. Some of it is where do we put our attentional resources? And she really recommends that when something good happens in our lives, that we reflect on it, that we dwell on it. Because I think so much of our sense of kindness in the world, justice and rightness, you know, our sense of God depends on what we focus on and how we make sense of it. So here, here the psalmist is, is advocating for the goodness of God. You know, and I think sometimes, especially with negative God images, parts, parts need to hear that, that the way that they have looked at the world, the way that they looked at their situation. And again, it's really easy if you're if you're if you've been exiled to, to misconstrue things because you have a narrow vision, right? Sort of a very partial understanding of what's going on. And often these exiles are young, have young ways of understanding things. So it's good to hear this. You know, it's good to hear this. And I, and I like what you said because, you know, I'm reminded of the passage in Scripture that says, taste and see that the Lord is good. It doesn't just say believe it by faith. It says, taste it and see it. And because so much of what you have learned has been very experiential and then, you know, elaborated on by how you've interpreted your experience, it's so helpful to have an experience of God as he is to experience that kindness, that trustworthiness, that justice, you know, and so, so I really like it that it's not just staying in the conceptual, abstract, you know, sort of theoretical level, but actually getting into experience.

Speaker 1: I love it, I love it, and I also like it that it isn't asking the exile to pretend like in this case, in the psalm, like the famine didn't happen to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine.

Speaker 3: A famine, right.

Speaker 1: So the exile was in famine. Like, we're not denying that the negative experience of the exile that was real or that we can't promise like nothing bad will happen. But there's a but here's the key. It's a, there's a preservation that operates even within that, that God is at work, even within that, yes, there's a celebration when you get through it, but there's a recognition that even through it, God was there. And we start to see that and the story starts to change for ourselves when we can recognize that, I believe.

Speaker 3: When we kind of get that in the gospel, right, where Jesus says, believe me that I am in the father, and the father is in me, or else believe because of the works themselves. So he's talking about his miracles here. You know, it's not just about the theological virtue of faith. Some of it is just observation. It's just like looking and seeing.

Speaker 1: Mhm. Well, the the line. Yeah. That in the gospel, like chosen and precious in the sight of God is that stone. Like this is very important for an exile. Um, because it's not you will be chosen eventually. Like you're precious. Yeah. Despite your terrible flaws. Right. You know, it's chosen in the present tense. It's already in the sight of God, this rejected stone. It's rejected by the builders. I know there's allusions to the whole thing to Christ, but, like, it's rejected by the builders, right? Not by God. It's not a project for future improvement. It's already precious, already chosen already the cornerstone of something that the builders don't even have eyes to see. And our exiles don't realize this. They, they they're they're used to being not seen for their true worth.

Speaker 3: Mhm. Yeah.

Speaker 1: Right. So the real identity, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his. This is speaking right to the heart of those who are marginalized. Who else but, you know, are exiles for sure, who are scattered, who are suffering? Who was Peter here? Isn't they're not talking about comfortable in the established. He's writing directly here to exiles beautiful and and ultimately here there's an unburdening right in IFS terms because exiles are to release this false identity, that they are rejected, that they're unsuitable or they're too much or they're not enough, whatever it is. And so they're being welcomed to be. No, this is who you are. The builders were wrong about you.

Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah. No, I really I really think that's an important message for us to be able to take in and to take in, in terms of, of that relationship. So I'm going to the Alleluia verse here, which is from John 146. I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord. No one comes to the father except through me. You know, which means that the way, the truth and the life is person is a person. If we're going to come to the father through our Lord Jesus Christ, so that means we're going to have a personal relationship. He invites us to love God, love the father with our whole heart, which is, again, all of our parts. No part left out, no part left behind.

Speaker 1: When Jesus says this, I am the way and the truth and the life like. He's a person. It's not. We're not relating to an institution per se, or something, right? And it's a human person, like a divine but human person, that it's not a system of doctrines that we somehow figure out. It's like, it's not, it's not even acceptance by the community. I mean, although, I mean, hey, that's lovely, but, but it's I am right the way and the truth. You're connected with it. So this relates back to like hearing his voice, like when we hear his voice, like it's a person and, and our exile is being called to this relationship.

Speaker 3: I think sometimes parts can sort of imagine that it's like the force, you know, in Star Wars, you know, like God is like the force. It's kind of impersonal, you know, something to be manipulated or to be conformed to, but not to be in relationship with because they're not really in, you know, a lot more about Star Wars than I do, but they're not really in relationship with the force in Star Wars, are they? Would you say it's complicated?

Speaker 1: It is pretty much like a Buddhist type, you know, attitude. It's not it isn't anything like what the Christian faith teaches about relationship, right? I mean, in, in this relationship, like, look what he says. He says there is a place being prepared for you. Not someday if you deserve it, I'm going to you know, there is a room, there are many dwelling places. Yours is already being made ready. Isn't that like, I love that when I'm doing work with clinical work with people, and I'm helping them see their internal world, and I often go to the image of the home. I asked my clients like, can you picture how would you like to make this? You can decorate this room any way you want. Preparing a room for exiles within us, and to know that God Himself has already prepared the perfect room for us, because he knows us so well and loves us that he knows exactly the room. Isn't that like that is so beautiful to me. That's like he knows me. He cares so much. It would be like if my one of my kids was coming home and I wanted to get the room ready. It would be like, yeah, I'm thinking of that, I love it. Yeah.

Speaker 3: It's beautiful.

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 3: Our lady, our mother, Untier of knots.

Speaker 1: Pray for us.

Speaker 3: Saint Joseph.

Speaker 1: Pray for us.

Speaker 3: Saint John the Baptist.

Speaker 4: Pray for us.