The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast

Posted Every Monday

The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast is a free, weekly thirty-minute podcast, posted on every Monday, featuring Fr. John Dear and his reflections about Jesus, Gospel nonviolence, and peacemaking, and guests who teach, speak out, organize and work for a more just, most peaceful, more nonviolent world. Through these weekly reflections, we hope to inspire everyone to follow the nonviolent Jesus more faithfully and do our part to welcome God’s reign of peace with justice on earth!

Here is the schedule for the first five podcasts. The link we will provided on the day they are posted; the podcast APP will be available in early February. It will also be posted every Monday on the homepage of the National Catholic Reporter, HERE.

• Jan. 6th. #1 John Dear on “Living the Beatitudes”
• Jan. 13th. #2 John Dear in conversation with actor and activist Martin Sheen
• Jan. 20th. #3 John Dear in conversation with Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Dr. King’s personal assistant
• Jan. 27th. #4 The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast with Sr Helen Prejean
• Feb. 3rd. #5 John Dear in conversation with Fr. Richard Rohr about his new book on the prophets, “The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an age of outrage.”
• Feb. 10th. #6, Fr. John Dear on “The Nonviolence of Jesus: 10 Essentials”
• Feb. 17th. #7 Fr. John Dear in conversation with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 1 of 3
• Feb. 24th. #8 Fr. John Dear in conversation with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 2 of 3
• Mar. 3rd. #9 Fr. John Dear in conversation with Sr. Joan Chittister on “Jesus and the Beatitudes,” Part 3 of 3
• Mar. 10th. #10, John Dear in conversation with Marie Dennis
• Mar. 17th. #11 Fr. John Dear in conversation with Brian McLaren
• Mar. 24th. #12 Fr. John Dear in conversation with Shane Caliborne
• Mar. 31st. #13 John Dear on Jesus’ Grassroots Campaign of Nonviolence, a Model for our Time
• April 7th. #14 John Dear in conversation with Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and founder and director of Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.
• April 14th. #15, Eric Stoner of WagingNonviolence.org On the Growing Resistance to Trump’s Policies
• April 21st. #16, John Dear in conversation with Martha Hennessy, longtime peace activist, member of Maryhouse Catholic Worker in New York City, granddaughter of Dorothy Day
• April 28th. #17, John Dear on “Francis—the Most Radical Pope in History”
• May 5th. #18, John Dear in conversation with Kazu Haga, author of the new book, Fierce Vulnerability, on trauma healing and creative nonviolence
• May 12th. #19, John Dear in conversation with Bill McKibben
• May 19th. #20, Fr. John Dear Talks with Maria Stephan on Global Movements for Change
• May 26th. #21, John Dear Talks with Bishop John Stowe, head of Pax Christi, the Catholic peace movement
• June 2nd. #22, Fr. John Dear on Mt. 5:39—the Most Revolutionary–and Most Disobeyed–Teaching in the Gospels
• June 9th. #23. Matthew Fox on Resisting Evil & A Spirituality of Falling in Love with Life
• June 16th. #24 Frida Berrigan on Remembering Hiroshima 80 Years Ago and Resisting Nuclear Weapons
• June 23rd. #25, Michael Nagler on Nonviolence as the destiny of the human race
• June 30th. #26, Kathy Kelly, on Fasting for an End to the US-backed Israeli Genocide in Gaza
• July 7th. #27, Cornel West on the collapse of the US empire, and the need to love our way through the darkness and cruelty
• July 14th. #28, Art Laffin on the Catholic Worker, Plowshares, and the command to love
• July 21st. #29, Rev. Charles McCarthy on nonviolence and Christlike love
• July 28th. #30, Michele Dunne on following St. Francis and Jesus on the path of Gospel nonviolence
• August 4th. #31, John Dear on “Love Your Enemies”
• August 11th. #32, Terry Rynne on Jesus the Peacemaker
• August 18th. #33, John Dear with Brad Wolf
• August 25th. #34, John Dear with Ken Butigan
• September 1st. #35, John Dear with Rivera Sun
• September 8th. #36, John Dear with Stanley Hauerwas
• September 15th. #37, John Dear the Life and Lessons of Gandhi
• September 22nd. #38, John Dear in Conversation with Archbishop John Wester
• September 29th. #39, John Dear in Conversation with John Fugelsang
• October 6th. #40, John Dear on “The Nonviolent Jesus and the Things That Make For Peace”
• October 13th. #41, John Dear in conversation with Paul Chappell
• October 20th. #42, John Dear in conversation with Sr. Simone Campbell
• October 27th. #43, Part 2 of John Dear’s conversation with Sr. Simone Campbell
• November 3rd. #44, John Dear Talks Nonviolence with the Legendary Joan Baez
• November 10th. #45, John Dear Talks With Anti-Nuclear Leader Dr. Ivana Hughes
• November 17th. #46, John Dear in conversation with justice activist Wes Granberg-Michaelson
• November 24th. #47, John Dear in conversation with filmmaker and author Gerry Straub, on his journey from Hollywood to Haiti
• December 1st. #48, John Dear in conversation with Rep. Jamie Raskin
• December 8th. #49, John Dear in conversation with activist Mike Martin on beating guns into garden tools!
• December 15th. #50, John Dear on Mary’s Advent Journey of Nonviolence

This week on “The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast,” John Dear offers an Advent reflection on Luke 1, “Mary’s Advent Journey of Nonviolence,” from the Anunciation to the Visitation to the Magnificat. Luke tells her story as the three movements of the spiritual life–from contemplative nonviolence to active nonviolence to the Magnificat as prophetic nonviolence.

 

How did Jesus learn his spectacular nonviolence? Luke says from Mary, his holy Jewish mother. Mary’s journey begins with contemplative prayer, so Luke teaches that the spiritual journey of peace and nonviolence begins with contemplative peace and nonviolence. The Annunciation is a scene of contemplative prayer where Mary communes with the God of peace. She surrenders her life to God, does only God’s will, listens attentively for God, and in that silence and stillness, encounters God and is ready to say Yes.

 

In the Visitation as active nonviolence, Mary reaches out to “love her neighbor” and “show compassion to someone in need.” These public actions would become the bedrock teachings of Luke’s Jesus. In this second movement of nonviolence, we learn to reach out in love and compassion to serve someone in need, and bring peace, joy, and consolation. That’s what peacemakers do.

 

Finally, in the third movement of Mary’s journey into prophetic nonviolence, she proclaims the greatness of the God of peace, announces that God is throwing down the rulers from their thrones and lifting up the lowly, and remembering God’s promise of mercy, of nonviolence!, for generations to come! Like Mary, this Advent, we proclaim a prophetic announcement about the coming of God’s reign of peace and nonviolence here and now. Listen in, take heart, and go forward in the Christmas blessings of contemplative, active and prophetic nonviolence. Advent blessings to everyone!