First Reading: Recent Episodes
First Reading
First Reading offers exegetical resources for the Old Testament Lectionary reading each week. Hosts Rachel Wrenn and Tim McNinch are PhD students at Emory University. Each month, they invite a leading Hebrew Bible scholar for a longer conversation about the nitty-gritty of the week's text.
First Reading Episode #300!!!Lectionary Date: November 24, 2024 [Reign of Christ Sunday, Year B]
It's a special party episode of First Reading, as we celebrate our 300th episode! All four hosts take a few minutes to share what has been meaningful to them about this podcasting journey. Then, we dive into some analysis and preaching tips for the first reading: 2 Samuel 23, David's "last words."
Birth Pangs of a New RealityLectionary Date: November 17, 2024 [26th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rosy opens up the story of Hannah in conversation with Jesus's "little apocalypse" in Mark.
Uncovering and CoveringLectionary Date: November 10, 2024 [25th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Paul explores the theological impact of Ruth's vulnerability and its redemptive power.
A Migrant InvasionLectionary Date: November 3, 2024 [24th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rosy encourages us to preach the story of a migrant family facing discrimination, as these themes also swirl in our own political moment.
Peace in the Midst of Mysterious SufferingLectionary Date: October 27, 2024 [23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Paul and Rosy pick up our ongoing conversation in the book of Job this lectionary season. This week, Paul highlights Job's shift in tone after an overwhelming barrage of divine questions.
Party Episode! God's (Non)Answer to JobLectionary Date: October 20, 2024 [22nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
In this party episode, all four First Reading hosts wrestle with God's enigmatic response to Job out of the whirlwind.
Honest to GodLectionary Date: October 13, 2024 [21st Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel ventures cautiously into the book of Job. It's a tricky book, but Rachel discovers a model for being honest to God. We recorded this before Hurricane Helene—our prayers are with all who are suffering in the aftermath of the storm. Hopefully, this episode gives an opening for a kind of honest prayer in a context of disaster.
God's Finger-workLectionary Date: October 6, 2024 [20th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This week, Tim explores the context, language, and imagery of a classic psalm!
Recycled episode: Eldad and MedadLectionary Date: September 29, 2024 [19th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel hosted a great little episode on "Eldad and Medad" not too long ago (Pentecost 2023). They are back in the lectionary cycle again, so we're replaying that episode. We'll be back with a new episode next week!
Rooted in the WordLectionary Date: September 22, 2024 [18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
We're back with a brand new episode! This week, Rachel walks us through "one of her favorite psalms"—for real this time... This psalm has accompanied her through some challenging times.
Recycled Episode: The Tongue of a LearnerLectionary Date: September 15, 2024 [17th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
We'll be back with new material next week! In the meantime, Tim sets his face like flint to offer a nonviolent interpretation of this famous text!
Recyled Episode: The Sharing is the BlessingLectionary Date: September 8, 2024 [16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Your beloved hosts are all busy starting up the fall semester, so here's a recycled episode from this week's lectionary selections! In this episode, Rachel gives an overview of wisdom literature, and tackles the prosperity gospel—all at the same time! We'll have new material for you soon!
Party Episode! A Place for God's NameLectionary Date: August 25, 2024 [14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
All four hosts are back from Summer Break for a Party Episode looking at Solomon's temple dedication scene (as well as Psalm 84, a temple psalm).
Recycled Episode: A Listening HeartLectionary Date: August 18, 2024 [13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
We're getting ready for a "Party Episode" next week, so this time around we're recycling a fascinating post from the FR vault: Tim's reflection on King Solomon's request for "wisdom"... or "a listening heart," from the last time this text came up in the lectionary (2021).
First Reading "Summer Shorts"!Lectionary Date: August 11, 2024 [12th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This summer, we're trying something new: a series of video shorts with one key takeaway from the semi-continuous first reading in the RCL. This week, Rosy reflects on the sad story of the collapse of David's family and his failures as a parent.
First Reading "Summer Shorts"!Lectionary Date: August 4, 2024 [11th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This summer, we're trying something new: a series of video shorts with one key takeaway from the semi-continuous first reading in the RCL. This week, Paul considers how David's abuse of power has parallels in today's world.
First Reading "Summer Shorts"!Lectionary Date: July 28, 2024 [10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This summer, we're trying something new: a series of video shorts with one key takeaway from the semi-continuous first reading in the RCL. This week, Rachel takes a careful listen to Bathsheba's voice.
First Reading "Summer Shorts"!Lectionary Date: July 21, 2024 [9th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This summer, we're trying something new: a series of video shorts with one key takeaway from the semi-continuous first reading in the RCL. This week, Tim explores the kind of "place" that King David's leadership makes.
First Reading "Summer Shorts"!Lectionary Date: July 14, 2024 [8th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This summer, we're trying something new: a series of video shorts with one key takeaway from the semi-continuous first reading in the RCL. This week, Rosy considers how we might embody a bit more joy in our worship this summer.
First Reading "Summer Shorts"!Lectionary Date: July 7, 2024 [7th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This summer, we're trying something new: a series of video shorts with one key takeaway from the semi-continuous first reading in the RCL. But this week, Paul connects "praise" and "memory" in the lectionary psalm.
First Reading "Summer Shorts"!Lectionary Date: June 30, 2024 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This summer, we're trying something new: a series of video shorts with one key takeaway from the semi-continuous first reading in the RCL. This week, Rachel takes us to the depths to find some hope for our "nefesh" in the Psalm. (Did you know that we have "nefesh" t-shirts???) Check out the video below (and subscribe on our YouTube channel)!
First Reading "Summer Shorts"!Lectionary Date: June 23, 2024 [5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This summer, we're trying something new: a series of video shorts with one key takeaway from the semi-continuous first reading in the RCL. This week, Tim opens up the relatively unknown editorial history of one of the most famous stories in the Bible. Check out the video below (and subscribe on our YouTube channel)!
Morning and EveningLectionary Date: June 16, 2024 [4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel soaks in the poetry of praise in the lectionary psalm for the week.
If you are ELCA affiliated, and interested in touring "The Best of Egypt" with Rachel Wrenn, take a look at the trip details here: https://www.eliastours.com/tours/best-of-egypt-tour-with-elias-nawawieh-for-clergy.
You might also enjoy the podcast series produced by Tim's students at Christian Theological Seminary! In solidarity with his students, Tim produced one of the episodes for the series (titled "Dining in the Dark").
Resist the CursednessLectionary Date: June 9, 2024 [3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim McNinch leads our reflection on the classic Genesis story, highlighting its expansiveness and modern resonance.
Please check out the podcast series produced by Tim's students at Christian Theological Seminary! Today's episode (titled "Comfort Food") is produced by Francine Dash, who discusses Psalm 130 with our very own Rachel Wrenn!
If you are ELCA affiliated, and interested in touring "The Best of Egypt" with Rachel Wrenn, take a look at the trip details here: https://www.eliastours.com/tours/best-of-egypt-tour-with-elias-nawawieh-for-clergy.
Keeping the Word in the AirLectionary Date: June 2, 2024 [2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel Wrenn is up with a reflection on the young Samuel's call narrative.
If you are interested in touring "The Best of Egypt" with Rachel Wrenn, take a look at the trip details here: https://www.eliastours.com/tours/best-of-egypt-tour-with-elias-nawawieh-for-clergy.
Tuning Into the Voice of GodLectionary Date: May 26, 2024 [Trinity Sunday, Year B]
Rosy and Tim are back with an all-new episode on Isaiah's dramatic vision of God's holiness!
The "Best of" First Reading Easter SeriesWe hope you’ve enjoyed this Easter season “Best of" First Reading series. We’re rounding it out this week with one of our favorite conversations, this time with Dr. Ethan Schwartz, who teaches Hebrew Bible at Villanova University. Rachel and Tim enjoyed their deep dive with Dr. Schwartz so much that they invited him back for another episode—to date he is our only repeat guest! So here is a reprise of that first conversation, a discussion about the "Akedah," the "Binding of Isaac," in Genesis 22. We’ll be back next week with a new episode on the Old Testament Lectionary reading.
To chat about one of the most famous stories in all three of the Abrahamic faiths (the binding of Isaac), Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Ethan Schwartz. Ethan earned his PhD at Harvard University, where he studied how the Bible presents and formulates prophetic speech. He also studies how the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) came together and how the Hebrew Bible was interpreted in the first century, especially in early Christian communities and sectarian Jewish communities. Ethan is committed to bringing biblical studies into productive conversation with contemporary religious life—a great fit with our goals here at "First Reading"! To that end, he has shared his academic work in a number of synagogues, institutes, and churches. If you’re interested in more of his work, check out these great essays at theTorah.com: "Torah: Deuteronomy's Version of Wisdom for Israel" and "The Red Heifer in Synagogue: Purifying Israel from Sin," or his essay at MyJewishLearning.com: "Eshet Manoah: Mother of the Mighty Samson."
The "Best of" First Reading Easter SeriesIf you’ve been following First Reading during Easter season this year, then you know that we are using this time when the Lectionary draws from the Book of Acts as the first reading, to replay some of our favorite First Reading conversations with leading biblical scholars. This week, we want to share another personal favorite episode of ours, with one of our favorite people, the one and only Dr. Carol Newsom. Rachel, Rosy, and I all had the privilege of learning from Carol just before her retirement from teaching at Emory University. Poor Paul Essah missed that opportunity by choosing to do his doctoral degree at Yale—and we’ll never let him live it down! One of the giants of modern biblical scholarship, Carol recently retired from her post as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Old Testament at Candler and a senior fellow at Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion. Carol came to Candler in 1980, only the second woman to hold a tenure-track position. In 2005, she became a C.H. Candler Professor, a university-based endowed chair. Her research focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Wisdom tradition, the book of Daniel, and apocalyptic literature. She has written and edited 13 books and scores of articles, book chapters, translations, encyclopedia articles and reviews. She co-edited the acclaimed Women’s Bible Commentary, which explores the implications of and challenges long-held assumptions about the Bible’s portrayal of women and other marginalized groups. We also recommend her superb commentary on the book of Job, in the New Interpreter's Bible.
The "Best of" First Reading Easter SeriesWhile the RCL hangs out in the Book of Acts, we at the Old Testament Lectionary Podcast are replaying some of our favorite interview episodes. This week, we are bringing out Rachel's and Tim's 2019 conversation with Rev. Dr. Johanna van Wijk-Bos. Dr. Bos taught for four decades as Professor of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in KY. She continues to serve the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) as an ordained pastor. In addition to her teaching, speaking, and preaching, she is a prolific author and an engaged activist, especially around issues of equity in terms of gender, race, and sexual orientation. Among her many great books, we recommend for our audience, Making Wise the Simple: The Torah in Christian Faith and Practice. Her latest project—Now Available!—is a spectacular multi-volume commentary on Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings titled, A People and A Land (Eerdmans).
The "Best of" First Reading Easter SeriesWe reach deep into vault once again this week, to pull out the treasure of our 2019 conversation with Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler, one of the leading scholars in the field of Hebrew Bible. He is Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor in Judaic Studies at Duke University; and Professor Emeritus and former chair of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. He has also taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yale University, Brown University, Wellesley College, and Middlebury College. He is actively involved in many aspects of Jewish communal life, and has served on the board of Boston’s Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center and Gann Academy—the New Jewish High School. Dr. Brettler is known for helping to build meaningful bridges between Jewish religious life and modern critical scholarship of the Hebrew Bible. He is co-editor of the Jewish Study Bible, which won a National Jewish Book Award. We think this volume should be on every pastor’s bookshelf, and consulted often, along with another of Dr. Brettler’s editorial projects, the Jewish Annotated New Testament. For Christian leaders interested in the shared Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity, these books are must haves. Dr. Brettler has published a slew of other books, both academic and popular. He is a clear and accessible communicator, as you will experience in this week’s First Reading episode. Finally, be sure to visit theTorah.com, which Dr. Brettler helped establish, a great online repository for biblical scholarship from a Jewish perspective.
The "Best of" First Reading Easter SeriesDuring Easter season this year, when the lectionary pulls from Acts as the “first reading,” we are re-releasing some of our favorite interviews with biblical scholars from the First Reading podcast vault. This week, we’re sharing another of our very early episodes, a conversation with the inimitable Stephen Breck Reid.
Dr. Stephen Breck Reid joins Rachel and Tim for a long-form episode, focusing on Psalm 30. Steve is Professor of Christian Scriptures at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University (and Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Belonging at Baylor University). He earned his PhD at Emory University and has held a number of academic positions during his career. Dr. Reid is ordained in the Church of the Brethren, and you can find his preaching tips and exegetical work on WorkingPreacher.org. His areas of expertise include the Psalms, apocalyptic literature (especially Daniel), and black biblical hermeneutics. If you’d like to know more about his work, check out his book, Listening In: A Multicultural Reading of the Psalms.
The "Best of" First Reading Easter SeriesThis summer, while the Lectionary uses the Book of Acts as the first reading, we are re-releasing some of our best episodes from the First Reading Podcast vault. This week, we’re going way back to one of our first episodes (#007 actually, for James Bond fans out there), back to 2019 when Rachel and Tim interviewed the amazing, delightful, Rev. Dr. Vanessa Lovelace. Dr. Lovelace has moved institutions since our interview and is now Associate Dean at Lancaster Theological Seminary, where she is also a faculty member in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Dr. Lovelace has a brand new book about to drop with Fortress Academic Press: A Womanist Reading of Hebrew Bible Narratives as the Politics of Belonging from an Outsider Within. The book comes out in June, but you can pre-order it today!
The "Best of" First Reading Easter SeriesEaster is a strange season in the Lectionary for us here at the "Old Testament Lectionary Podcast," because during Easter the first reading is drawn from the New Testament book of Acts. So, this year, we’ve decided to use this season to re-release some of our favorite episodes from the vault, conversations with leading scholars in the field. This week, since we just passed the Jewish holiday of Purim, we are featuring our 2021 interview with Rosy Kandathil, who (not long after this interview) became one of our regular hosts! Our conversation is centered around the book of Esther, which is the topic of Rosy’s PhD dissertation—which, by the way, she is defending this week! Go Rosy! So enjoy this “best of” FR episode!
Esther is a rich and complex biblical story—which is why it's unfortunate that it only appears once in the 3-year lectionary cycle. But to help us make the most of this occasion, we invited Rosy Kandathil to join us for a deep dive into Esther. Rosy is a PhD candidate in Hebrew Bible at Emory University, where she is writing a dissertation on the collision of humor and violence in the book of Esther. Rosy's insights help us get to the core relevant issues of the book: how it navigates multiple identities at once, deals with the challenges of thriving in diaspora, and hosts some of our own deep questions about violence and vengeance. Buckle up for a great episode!
PARTY EPISODE: Easter Hope in the Middle of ChaosLectionary Date: March 31, 2024 [Easter Sunday, Year B]
Rachel, Paul, and Tim discuss the first reading for Easter in this party episode (also celebrating Rachel's birthday!). We also made a video version of this episode, which you can see on YouTube:
True and False HumilityLectionary Date: March 24, 2024 [Palm Sunday, Year B]
Tim wrestles with the tension between humility and privilege.
I Will Inscribe It on Their HeartsLectionary Date: March 17, 2024 [5th Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Paul explores what's new about Jeremiah's "new covenant."
The Hurt Becomes the HealingLectionary Date: March 10, 2024 [4th Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Rosy explores the New Testament symbolism of an Old Testament image.
A Celebration of TorahLectionary Date: March 3, 2024 [3rd Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Tim plays with the cosmic imagery of this classic psalm.
The Happy Part of a Sad Psalm?Lectionary Date: February 25, 2024 [2nd Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Rachel finds so much more in this psalm than a simple script for Jesus on the cross.
A Fresh Start (But Not a Happy Ending)Lectionary Date: February 18, 2024 [1st Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Rachel takes us to the conclusion of the Genesis flood story and helps us see it through the lens of "covenant."
Picking Up the MantleLectionary Date: February 11, 2024 [Transfiguration Sunday, Year B]
Tim has some Hebrew help for this transfiguring story.
Party Episode: Hope 2.0Lectionary Date: February 4, 2024 [5th Sunday after Epiphany, Year B]
We’re together again for a spitball session on a beautiful prophetic poem, all about hope.
The Prophet's AccountabilityLectionary Date: January 28, 2024 [4th Sunday after Epiphany, Year B]
Rosy thinks through the role of prophets and the role of the people to hold them accountable.
A Sackcloth MomentLectionary Date: January 21, 2024 [3rd Sunday after Epiphany, Year B]
Paul invites us to consider following the Ninevites' model of repentance in the new year.
Hearing the Voice of GodLectionary Date: January 14, 2024 [2nd Sunday after Epiphany, Year B]
Rosy calls our attention to God’s voice, speaking to a young person.
The World Elohim (and We) CreateLectionary Date: January 7, 2024 [2nd Sunday after Christmas, Year B]
Paul explores some of the nuance of the first creation story in the Bible.
The Thrill of HopeLectionary Date: December 31, 2023 [1st Sunday after Christmas, Year B]
Welcome to the First Reading Christmas Party! All four hosts are together for a jam-packed conversation around this week's first reading.
Live, from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, it's First Reading: Advent!Lectionary Date: December 24, 2023 [4th Sunday of Advent, Year B]
Our advent episodes this year were recorded live at Trinity Lutheran Seminary's "Trinity Days" event, with an encouraging studio audience! In this episode, for Advent 4, Tim expands the scope of the New Testament reading by exploring its inspiration in the divine promise to David.
Live, from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, it's First Reading: Advent!Lectionary Date: December 17, 2023 [3rd Sunday of Advent, Year B]
Our advent episodes this year were recorded live at Trinity Lutheran Seminary's "Trinity Days" event, with an encouraging studio audience! In this episode, for Advent 3, Paul looks at the Messianic hope of Isaiah's prophecy for those living in traumatic times.
Live, from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, it's First Reading: Advent!Lectionary Date: December 10, 2023 [2nd Sunday of Advent, Year B]
Our advent episodes this year were recorded live at Trinity Lutheran Seminary's "Trinity Days" event, with an encouraging studio audience! In this episode, for Advent 2, Rosy explores the music of Isaiah 40.
Live, from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, it's First Reading: Advent!Lectionary Date: December 3, 2023 [1st Sunday of Advent, Year B]
Our advent episodes this year were recorded live at Trinity Lutheran Seminary's "Trinity Days" event, with an encouraging studio audience! In this episode, for Advent 1, Rachel takes up the psalm (surprise, surprise) to talk about the "Shepherd" of God's people.
Bad Shepherds and the Good ShepherdLectionary Date: November 26, 2023 [26th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
In this episode, Paul and Rachel dive into Ezekiel 34, discussing the peculiar character of Ezekiel, the metaphor of shepherds representing kings, and the consequences of bad leadership that led to Israel’s exile. The passage emphasizes God’s promise to become Israel’s true shepherd.
Join Paul and Rachel in this insightful discussion that goes beyond the historical context of the passage, touching on themes of justice, God as a homemaker, and the potential connection to Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
Thunder Can't Silence the LightningLectionary Date: November 19, 2023 [25th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel challenges the brevity of the RCL and the bias of our English translations.
As for Me and My Dynasty, We will Serve the LordLectionary Date: November 12, 2023 [24th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
This week, First Reading welcomes Rev. Dr. Paul R. Hinlicky, as our guest. Dr. Hinlicky is a Lutheran theologian and author, a Lutheran pastor, and a “regenerative agriculture” farmer on his Virginia property, St. Gall Farm. He is Professor Emeritus of Lutheran theology at Roanoke College and the Distinguished Fellow and Research Professor of the Institute of Lutheran Theology. Dr. Hinlicky's most recent major project was a theological commentary on the book of Joshua with Brazos Theological Commentary Series (Baker Publishing Group). Together with his daughter the Rev. Dr. Sarah Hinlicky-Wilson, Paul co-hosts the podcast Queen of the Sciences: Conversations between a Theologian and Her Dad, where they address issues of theology, ministry, and the Bible together. We are grateful to Sarah and Paul for proposing this episode for both of our podcast feeds. Enjoy!
A People on the MoveLectionary Date: November 5, 2023 [23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Paul takes us into the Promised Land.
An Invitation to HolinessLectionary Date: October 29, 2023 [22nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel explores the often-overlooked "world forming" of Leviticus.
Show. Me. The. Glory.Lectionary Date: October 22, 2023 [21st Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Tim looks at Moses' bold intercession, and finds a leader who needs reassurance.
God's Love Lasts.Lectionary Date: October 15, 2023 [20th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel soaks in the reorienting language of praise in (you guessed it) the Psalms.
Responding to GraceLectionary Date: October 8, 2023 [19th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Tim highlights where the "10 commandments" come in the big story.
Generations of CompassionLectionary Date: October 1, 2023 [18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel promises you 1,000 skittles if you listen to this podcast episode.
Party Episode: God's Flagrant GenerosityLectionary Date: September 24, 2023 [17th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
All four hosts join forces for a fascinating exploration of this week's lectionary readings.
Impossible, Impassable SeasLectionary Date: September 17, 2023 [16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Tim says this one is very preachable!
Pause to RememberLectionary Date: September 10, 2023 [15th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rosy helps us slow down to appreciate the gravitas of the Passover remembrance in Exodus.
Burnin' Bush Lectionary Date: September 3, 2023 [14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Tim has an angle (or is it an "angel"?) on this pivotal Exodus scene.
Scheming Women Lectionary Date: August 27, 2023 [13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
We're back! And Rosy is up with a feminist-postcolonial perspective on the midwives of Exodus.
From the Vault: The Best of First Reading Lectionary Date: August 20, 2023 [12th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
An encore presentation of our episode from 2020.
From the Vault: The Best of First Reading Lectionary Date: August 13, 2023 [11th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
An encore presentation of our episode from 2020.
From the Vault: The Best of First Reading Lectionary Date: August 6, 2023 [10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
An encore presentation of our episode from 2020.
From the Vault: The Best of First Reading Lectionary Date: July 30, 2023 [9th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
This week we revisit our fascinating conversation with Dr. Cameron Howard, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. She is a graduate of Emory University, and has contributed to several commentaries and journals, including the Women’s Bible Commentary, WorkingPreacher.org, and the BibleOdyssey.org. The book she was working on in 2020 is now available! The Old Testament for a Complex World needs to be on your shelf yesterday!
From the Vault: The Best of First Reading Lectionary Date: July 23, 2023 [8th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
An encore presentation of our episode from 2020.
From the Vault: The Best of First Reading Lectionary Date: July 16, 2023 [7th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
An encore presentation of our episode from 2020.
On the Road Again Lectionary Date: July 9, 2023 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Paul jumps into a famous love story and finds a biblical travelogue.
Abraham's Covenant Choice Lectionary Date: July 2, 2023 [5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rosy goes for the jugular in this challenging biblical text.
An Unfair Disinheritance Lectionary Date: June 25, 2023 [4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Paul wades into a challenging text to offer insight, context, and even some resistance.
(S)he Laughs Lectionary Date: June 18, 2023 [3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rosy has some great insights into a mysterious birth announcement.
Party Episode! Lectionary Date: June 11, 2023 [2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel, Rosy, and Tim talk about Abram's call and Hosea's sin-sickness.
Bereshit Bara' ElohimLectionary Date: June 4, 2023 [Trinity Sunday, Year A]
Rachel offers some mystical reflections on a familiar text.
Eldad and MedadLectionary Date: May 28, 2023 [Day of Pentecost, Year A]
It's an OT outpouring of the Holy Spirit for this Pentecost text!
The One Who Rides Upon the CloudsLectionary Date: May 21, 2023 [7th Sunday of Easter, Year A]
It's Ascension Week! Tim tries to show that Jesus' ascension was NOT an anticlimax to the Gospel.
They/We/I Give Thanks!Lectionary Date: May 14, 2023 [6th Sunday of Easter, Year A]
This week, we dip into the First Reading archive for a second listen to our episode on this Easter psalm.
Let Your Heart be Emboldened, You who Wait for the LordLectionary Date: May 7, 2023 [5th Sunday of Easter, Year A]
Rosy and Paul are joined this week by special guest, Bill Brown. Bill is Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, and an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He is also the author of several books, including Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor (2002), God and the Imagination: A Primer to Reading the Psalms in an Age of Pluralism (2001), and Deep Calls to Deep: The Psalms in Dialogue amid Disruption (2021). Those are just some his titles directly on the Psalms, friends! Some of you may remember using his Handbook to Old Testament Exegesis (2017) which has become an OT seminary classroom staple for many of us as students and teachers.
A Shepherd's Perspective on the Shepherd PsalmLectionary Date: April 30, 2023 [4th Sunday of Easter, Year A]
Paul reads the famous psalm through the eyes of his grandmother in Ghana.
When I was Hanging by a ThreadLectionary Date: April 23, 2023 [3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A]
Tim looks at a prayer of thanksgiving with a theme of new life.
Feel the LoveLectionary Date: April 16, 2023 [2nd Sunday of Easter, Year A]
Paul is up this week for some insights into the psalm of the week!
Easter's Fresh StartLectionary Date: April 9, 2023 [Easter Sunday, Year A]
Tim finds the "Easter-y" resonance in an ancient prophetic text—and we welcome our newest co-host, Paul Essah!
Palm and Passion SundayLectionary Date: April 2, 2023 [Palm/Passion Sunday, Year A]
It's a party episode, featuring our newest regular cohost: Paul Essah!
I am the Resurrection and the LifeLectionary Date: March 26, 2023 [5th Sunday in Lent, Year A]
Rosy puts the first reading and gospel reading into conversation.
God Rejects Us?Lectionary Date: March 19, 2023 [4th Sunday in Lent, Year A]
Rachel takes a risky angle with David's origin story.
A Model DiscipleLectionary Date: March 12, 2023 [3rd Sunday in Lent, Year A]
Rosy listens for Hebrew Bible resonances in a famous Gospel text.
The Land I Will Show YouLectionary Date: March 5, 2023 [2nd Sunday in Lent, Year A]
Rachel perceives an interested intertextuality between Gen 12 and John 3.
Party Episode!Lectionary Date: February 26, 2023 [1st Sunday in Lent, Year A]
Our three hosts are together to chat about a foundational story.
Jesus Cosplays MosesLectionary Date: February 19, 2023 [Transfiguration Sunday, Year A]
Tim proposes that this isn't about Jesus' divinity.
Looking Back at a Fork in the RoadLectionary Date: February 12, 2023 [6th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
Rosy highlights the message of Moses's sermon for future audiences looking back.
Ba-dum, Ba-dum, Ba-dum: The Rhythm of LifeLectionary Date: February 5, 2023 [5th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
Rachel dives into the poetry of life in this week's psalm.
What Prophecy Is and Is NotLectionary Date: January 29, 2023 [4th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
Guest host, Paul Essah (PhD student at Yale), hits the high points of this famous text.
Treasures Old and NewLectionary Date: January 22, 2023 [3rd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
Rosy explores the interpretive backdrop of the NT reading with a review of Isaiah's 8th-century prophecy.
Who is the Light to the Nations?Lectionary Date: January 15, 2023 [2nd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
Rachel has a Christological take (surprise!) on Isaiah's servant song.
We Are Part of Something BiggerLectionary Date: January 8, 2023 [Baptism of the Lord, Year A]
Rosy explores the multivalence of an ancient prophetic song.
Hesed: Abiding Care and CommitmentLectionary Date: January 1, 2023 [1st Sunday after Christmas Day, Year A]
Rachel has the perfectly perfect New Year's Day Sermon text.
Episode #200... Time to Party!Lectionary Date: December 25, 2022 [Christmas Day, Year A]
All three First Reading cohosts get together for a Christmas Party conversation all about the birth of Christ.
Blast From the PastLectionary Date: December 18, 2022 [4th Sunday of Advent, Year A]
An archival episode this week, but don't miss our 200th (party) episode next week!
A Grammatical DivaLectionary Date: December 11, 2022 [3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A]
Tim spends some time in the grammar of Hebrew Poetry to make a theological discovery.
Back to the Future
Lectionary Date: December 4, 2022 [2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A]
Rachel helps us hear the melodies and harmonies of this classic text.
Authoring Peace
Lectionary Date: November 27, 2022 [1st Sunday of Advent, Year A]
It's Advent! To help us unpack the first reading for the first week of Advent, we have invited Dr. David Davage to join us. David is Associate Professor in Old Testament Exegesis at the Academy of Leadership and Theology, Umeå, Sweden. He is interested in the diachronic growth of the Psalms and the question of authorship in the ancient Near East. He is a prolific author, researcher, and a sought-after speaker. If you’re interested in more of his work, we recommend his newest book, How Isaiah Became an Author: Prophecy, Authority and Attribution.
Cease and Desist!
Lectionary Date: November 20, 2022 [Reign of Christ Sunday, Year C]
Tim finds the metaphorical thread that holds this famous psalm together—and it's not the image of peace you think it is!
Hot, Hot, Hot!
Lectionary Date: November 13, 2022 [23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rosy finds a wealth of sermon material in a very short text.
Resurrection or Stubbornness?
Lectionary Date: November 6, 2022 [22nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Tim tries to pull the lectionary reading back into its context.
Enthroned over the Monsters
Lectionary Date: November 1, 2022 [All Saints Day, Year C]
Rosy explores the strange imagery of Daniel's vision.
The Many Days of the Lord
Lectionary Date: October 23, 2022 [20th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Locusts? Armies? Shame, vindication, and salvation? Peter's speech at Pentecost? There is a ton going on in this short reading. This week, Rosy and Tim are joined by Dr. Mari Joerstad, Academic Dean and Professor of Hebrew Bible at Vancouver School of Theology. Dr. Joerstad’s work focuses on issues of environment, land, migration, and belonging in the Hebrew Bible. A native of Norway, she did her doctoral work at Duke University in North Carolina, where she studied with one of our favorites, Professor Ellen Davis. Today’s passage from Joel is full of images of the land and ecology, so we’re especially grateful to have Mari’s expertise and insight for this conversation. She is the author of The Hebrew Bible and Environmental Ethics: Humans, Non-Humans, and the Living Landscape, published by Cambridge in 2020. You can also find her published work in a number of academic journals, including The Journal of Biblical Literature, Horizons in Biblical Theology, and The Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture.
Wrestling in the Ambiguity
Lectionary Date: October 16, 2022 [19th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rosy takes us deep into a story of messy encounter with God.
Finding Her Voice
Lectionary Date: October 9, 2022 [18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rachel calls our attention to the true (unsung) hero of this story.
Questions without Answers
Lectionary Date: October 2, 2022 [17th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rosy connects Habakkuk's battery of questions to a traumatic historical context.
The Law as Gospel
Lectionary Date: September 25, 2022 [16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Hoi! Rachel reads the prophet Amos giving an invitation to a different perspective on "comfort."
Selling the Poor for a Pair of Sandals
Lectionary Date: September 18, 2022 [15th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rosy challenges our spending habits (and their human cost) as she channels the prophet Amos.
Changing God's Mind?
Lectionary Date: September 11, 2022 [14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Tim explores some curious biblical "intertextuality" in this week's lection.
The Slipperiness of Clay
Lectionary Date: September 4, 2022 [13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Steed Vernyl Davidson. Dr. Davidson is the Dean of the Faculty, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and a Professor of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. He is also an ordained elder within the United Methodist Church. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Davidson he earned his PhD in Hebrew Bible from Union Theological Seminary in New York. He is an expert on postcolonial dynamics in the content and reception of the Hebrew Bible, and has written and edited several volumes on that topic. He is also a frequent contributor to WorkingPreacher.com.
Genuine Humility
Lectionary Date: August 28, 2022 [12th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rosy percolates in a deceptively simple proverb.
Feeling God's Call
Lectionary Date: August 21, 2022 [11th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rachel connects the language of Isaiah to our own experiences of divine calling.
A Metaphor Inside a Metaphor
Lectionary Date: August 14, 2022 [10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Tim dips into the First Reading vault to pull out a classic episode.
Things are not Always as they Seem
Lectionary Date: August 7, 2022 [9th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rachel traces the surprising development of a hopeful psalm.
A Challenging Marriage Metaphor in Context
Lectionary Date: July 24, 2022 [7th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, First Reading is thrilled to have Dr. Gale Yee as our guest scholar to help us with a dense, troubling, and rich text. Dr. Yee is the Nancy W. King Professor of Biblical Studies, emerita, at Episcopal Divinity School. She served as the President of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2019. Her contributions to feminist biblical interpretation have influenced the entire field of Biblical Studies, one of the reasons we are so excited to talk with her today! If you are interested in more of her work, check out Towards an Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics: An Intersectional Anthology (Cascade, 2021) or The Hebrew Bible: Feminist and Intersectional Perspectives (Fortress, 2018).
The Ministry that Happens at Tables
Lectionary Date: July 17, 2022 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rosy puts Abraham and Sarah's pop-up dinner party in conversation with Martha's ministry.
A Somewhat Confusing Poem
Lectionary Date: July 10, 2022 [5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, we'd love to promote an episode by friend-of-the-podcast, Dr. Brent Strawn. Brent is a past guest on First Reading, and has a great episode all about Psalm 82 on his podcast, "In Parallel." Here's a link to the episode. Enjoy!
An Embodied Experience of God
Lectionary Date: July 3, 2022 [4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rachel explores a passage with fascinatingly embodied imagery.
First, Let Me Say Good-bye
Lectionary Date: June 26, 2022 [3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Rosy explores Elisha's transition when he decided to follow a new divine call.
What Got You Here May Not Get You There
Lectionary Date: June 19, 2022 [2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
Tim makes connections between Elijah's divine encounter and Moses' experience.
A Party Episode for Preacher Wisdom
Lectionary Date: June 12, 2022 [Trinity Sunday, Year C]
All three co-hosts are together for a deep dive into the poetry about Woman/Preacher Wisdom!
What Pentecost Felt Like
Lectionary Date: June 5, 2022 [Day of Pentecost, Year C]
Rachel explores the sensations of Pentecost for the disciples and for God!
Slaves Set Free
Lectionary Date: May 29, 2022 [7th Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Rosy draws our attention to the enslaved girl who is overlooked in this story.
Paul's Prophetic Travel Guide and Host
Lectionary Date: May 22, 2022 [6th Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Tim sees a pattern in Paul's travels.
Contagious Holiness
Lectionary Date: May 15, 2022 [5th Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Rachel reveals the OT backdrop for Peter's rooftop vision.
Life Restored
Lectionary Date: May 8, 2022 [4th Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Rosy highlights the key elements surrounding the resurrection of a disciple from Joppa.
Saul's Non-Conversion
Lectionary Date: May 1, 2022 [3rd Sunday of Easter, Year C]
This week, we’re grateful to welcome Dr. Susan Hylen as our guest on First Reading. Susan is Associate Professor of New Testament at Emory University and the Candler School of Theology. She is a specialist in the history of women in the early church and in New Testament literature. A couple of her recent books you may be interested in are Women in the New Testament World, and A Modest Apostle: Thecla and the History of Women in the Early Church, both published by Oxford. Susan is an award-winning teacher and also serves as the general editor for the Journal of Biblical Literature—the flagship journal in the field of Biblical Studies. She is also an elder in the PC(USA) and has lots of experience on the church side of biblical engagement. It’s a real treat to have her with us to help us with this intriguing text.
An Authenticated Message
Lectionary Date: April 24, 2022 [Second Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Tim highlights a couple Old Testament resonances in the apostles' jailbreak scene.
Exasperated Hope
Lectionary Date: April 17, 2022 [Easter Sunday, Year C]
Rachel puts the First Reading in conversation with the Easter Gospel reading.
A Suffering Servant
Lectionary Date: April 10, 2022 [Palm/Passion Sunday, Year C]
Rosy has the scoop on the influence of Isaiah on Christian tellings of Jesus's suffering
Past and Future Hope
Lectionary Date: April 3, 2022 [5th Sunday in Lent, Year C]
Tim preaches from the poetic grammar of Psalm 126
What Happens in the Liminal Space
Lectionary Date: March 27, 2022 [4th Sunday in Lent, Year C]
Rachel suggests that we should pause here and appreciate the in-between space.
Satisfaction in the World Before Money
Lectionary Date: March 20, 2022 [3rd Sunday in Lent, Year C]
This week, we’re grateful to welcome Dr. Roger Nam as our guest on First Reading. Dr. Nam is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director of the Graduate Department of Religion at Emory University. (That’s homebase and training ground for Rachel, Tim, and Rosy!) A former economic analyst, pastor, and a second-generation Korean American who has lived and worked abroad in Korea, Roger’s recent research focuses on the social structures and economics behind wealth and poverty in the biblical world. Today’s passage from Isaiah is full of economic imagery so we’re especially glad to have Roger’s expertise and insight for this conversation. He’s the author of Portrayals of Exchange in the Book of Kings (Brill, 2012), and he’s got a number of book projects in the pipeline including commentaries (multiple!) on Ezra-Nehemiah and editing the Oxford Handbook for Wealth and Poverty. Besides his own busy research, teaching and administrative tasks, Roger is also passionate about his role as a teacher and mentor to students and learners of all kinds. He’s a contributor to Working Preacher (we love them!) and a frequent collaborator with the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning.
Between the Pieces
Lectionary Date: March 13, 2022 [2nd Sunday in Lent, Year C]
Rosy explores meaningful themes embedded in an ancient covenant ritual.
Take a Leap?
Lectionary Date: March 6, 2022 [1st Sunday in Lent, Year C]
Tim avoids a platitudinous reading of the Psalm.
Shining Faces
Lectionary Date: February 27, 2022 [Transfiguration Sunday, Year C]
Rachel offers some creative approaches to using the Hebrew Bible text on Transfiguration Sunday.
Forgiveness, But Also Grief
Lectionary Date: February 20, 2022 [7th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C]
Rosy points us toward a more complex reading of the Joseph story.
Resources for Resilience
Lectionary Date: February 13, 2022 [6th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C]
Tim finds some hope hidden in Jeremiah's doom-n-gloom.
Seeing God and Reimagining Trauma
Lectionary Date: February 6, 2022 [5th Sunday after Epiphany, Year C]
This week, we’re grateful to have Dr. Ethan Schwartz with us to look at Isaiah's prophetic call. Dr. Schwartz is Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible at Villanova University. His research focuses on the prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible, so today’s passage is right in his wheelhouse. Ethan loves to bring biblical studies into productive conversation with contemporary religious life, in synagogues, institutes, and churches. If you’re interested in more of his work, find him on the "Politics of Scripture" blog at politicaltheology.com. Ethan’s career has reached a new high today in being the first guest scholar to appear twice on First Reading!
Jesus and Elijah
Lectionary Date: January 30, 2022 [4th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C]
Rachel drops the first reading to pick up OT references in the Gospel reading this week.
The Ideal and the Real in Worship
Lectionary Date: January 23, 2022 [3rd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C]
Ezra models the six-hour sermon?!
My Delight is in Her
Lectionary Date: January 16, 2022 [2nd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C]
Sometimes we just need to hear that God sees us and loves us.
Go Baptism!
Lectionary Date: January 9, 2022 [1st Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C]
Why go to the Old Testament for "Baptism of our Lord" Sunday?
God Delights in You
Lectionary Date: January 2, 2022 [2nd Sunday after Christmas Day, Year C]
A dip into Hebrew poetry for this first Sunday of 2022.
Hannah's Roar
Lectionary Date: December 26, 2021 [1st Sunday after Christmas Day, Year C]
It's a party episode! --> All 3 First Reading co-hosts together to chat about Hannah's song!
Mary and Consent
Lectionary Date: December 19, 2021 [4th Sunday of Advent, Year C]
Rachel rounds out Advent this year with a reflection on the problem of consent in Mary's story.
"Pure" Grace
Lectionary Date: December 12, 2021 [3rd Sunday of Advent, Year C]
Rachel starts in the Gospel and works back to the Good News in the Old Testament.
The Medium is the Messenger
Lectionary Date: December 5, 2021 [2nd Sunday of Advent, Year C]
Rachel highlights the power of the covenant this Advent.
To You, I Lift My... Throat?
Lectionary Date: November 28, 2021 [1st Sunday of Advent, Year C]
Rachel introduces Advent with an extended reflection on (surprise, surprise) the "nefesh."
Am I Great, or What?!
Lectionary Date: November 21, 2021 [Reign of Christ Sunday, Year B]
On "Christ the King" Sunday, how about a sermon from the Hebrew Bible on what makes for Godly leadership?
Preaching Hannah's Story
Lectionary Date: November 14, 2021 [25th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Hannah, the woman from the margins, shows up at the center of Israelite society with a request for God.
First Reading Takes On the Bechdel Test Lectionary Date: November 7, 2021 [24th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
It's a big week for First Reading! As we dive into the resolution to the Book of Ruth, we have invited a guest to help us unpack the context of this story—special for its unusual focus on female protagonists.
Ashley M. Wilcox is a Quaker minister and the author of The Women’s Lectionary: Preaching the Women of the Bible throughout the Year, a handbook for feminist preachers. You (yes, you!) can hire Ashley as a preaching coach through her online resource, Preaching with Confidence. Ashley has been traveling around the country to speak, preach, and lead workshops on women and spirituality for more than a decade. For the past four years, she has been teaching preaching to students at the Candler School of Theology. You can connect with Ashley and learn more about her work at her website.
This week also marks the debut of our newest cohost, Rosy Kandathil! Rosy is a PhD candidate in Hebrew Bible at Emory University, and a former guest expert on First Reading. As she joins our team, we suppose that makes her an "expert in residence" with us. From here forward, each week the podcast will feature two of our hosts in various combinations, and we'll all three get together now and then for a "party episode." We'll also continue our pattern of bringing in a guest colleague for a deeper dive every month or so. Welcome, Rosy!
Halloweenreformation Day
Lectionary Date: October 31, 2021 [23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
And when better to preach from Ruth, the story of two saints perched on the precipice of death?!
God's Consolation
Lectionary Date: October 24, 2021 [22nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Job is a long book that only gets a small showing in the Revised Common Lectionary. So we invited a scholar to help us unpack this week's conclusion to the book in the context of the themes raised by the whole. Dr. Will Kynes is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Samford University. His research focuses on wisdom and suffering in the Hebrew Bible viewed from the varied perspectives of various biblical texts and their readers across history. Dr. Kynes is currently working on a book on how different cultures have found hope in the biblical tradition of wrestling with God. He is also the cohost (with Rony Kozman) of a great new podcast, "The Two Testaments," which you can find over at www.thetwotestaments.com. So (after you listen to First Reading), head over there and give them the First Reading bump!
Melchi-who?
Lectionary Date: October 17, 2021 [21th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim opts for the Second Reading (Third Reading?) since it has lots of OT in it.
Divine Intervention
Lectionary Date: October 10, 2021 [20th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel hears the voice of a concerned friend in this challenging text.
They will Become One Flesh
Lectionary Date: October 3, 2021 [19th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim revisits the garden to rethink the creation of gendered humans.
For Such a Time as This
Lectionary Date: September 26, 2021 [18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Esther is a rich and complex biblical story—which is why it's unfortunate that it only appears once in the 3-year lectionary cycle. But to help us make the most of this occasion, we invited Rosy Kandathil to join us for a deep dive into Esther. Rosy is a PhD candidate in Hebrew Bible at Emory University, where she is writing a dissertation on the collision of humor and violence in the book of Esther. Rosy's insights help us get to the core relevant issues of the book: how it navigates multiple identities at once, deals with the challenges of thriving in diaspora, and hosts some of our own deep questions about violence and vengeance. Buckle up for a great episode!
A Person of Valor
Lectionary Date: September 19, 2021 [17th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel explores the expansive meaning of an often-pigeonholed text.
The Tongue of a Learner
Lectionary Date: September 12, 2021 [16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim sets his face like flint to offer a nonviolent interpretation of this famous text!
The Sharing is the Blessing
Lectionary Date: September 5, 2021 [15th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel gives an overview of wisdom literature, and tackles the prosperity gospel—all in one episode!
Carrot and Stick?
Lectionary Date: August 29, 2021 [14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim explores the gift (and threat?) of God's instruction.
Dialogue with God
Lectionary Date: August 22, 2021 [13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel does her best to turn this monologue of a prayer into a dialogue with God.
Lead With a Listening Heart
Lectionary Date: August 15, 2021 [12th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim traces the two perspectives on Solomon and finds a key leadership skill.
Eat or the Journey Will Be Too Much
Lectionary Date: August 8, 2021 [11th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel cautions against an overly psychological interpretation of Elijah's depressed state.
You Are the Man!
Lectionary Date: August 1, 2021 [10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
The David and Bathsheba story is complex. And it's challenging to know what to make of the way the story plays out when David is confronted with his sin. Fortunately, we have a leading Samuel scholar to help walk through the text with us! Dr. Sara Kipfer teaches Old Testament at Heidelberg University, Germany. She has written extensively on emotions in the ancient near east, in the Bible, and in the artistic reception of the Bible. She has also engaged deeply with the book of Samuel in her book, David Under Threat (German), which is extremely relevant to our discussion here (you can find an English summary here).
Eat and Have Leftovers
Lectionary Date: July 25, 2021 [9th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim has some thoughts about the miraculous feeding of the... one-hundred?
What does a "Good Shepherd" actually do?
Lectionary Date: July 18, 2021 [8th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel reflects on the way leaders are meant to care for the most vulnerable.
Don't Skip Uzzah!
Lectionary Date: July 11, 2021 [7th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim highlights the way that Uzzah changes everything in this passage.
David Took Jerusalem
Lectionary Date: July 4, 2021 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel takes a critical look at the origins of Judahite Jerusalem.
Processing a Communal Trauma
Lectionary Date: June 27, 2021 [5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
The lectionary cherry picks the one quasi-hopeful moment from the book of Lamentations as the first reading this week. But when we read it in the context of the sadness and trauma of the book as a whole, it reveals an even more powerful and relevant meaning. Our guest this week is Dr. Kathleen O’Connor. Kathleen is the William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emerita of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. She is widely known for her work studying trauma and disaster in the Bible, as well as present-day intercultural and ecumenical issues for biblical studies. We highly recommend her Lamentations and Jeremiah commentaries, which have become go-to resources for many, many scholars and pastors.
Are we David, or are we Goliath?
Lectionary Date: June 20, 2021 [4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim has a new historical take on a classic text.
Eagles and Twigs and Metaphors, Oh My!
Lectionary Date: June 13, 2021 [3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Rachel works with a prophetic image... metaphor... allegory... thing.
Give us a King!
Lectionary Date: June 6, 2021 [2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
Tim investigates two sides of the monarchic coin at this turning point in Israel's remembered history.
In the year King Uzziah died...
Lectionary Date: May 30, 2021 [Trinity Sunday, Year B]
Rachel makes a case for reading this famous call story in its historical context.
The Old Testament in the New Testament: The Spirit as a Midwife
Lectionary Date: May 23, 2021 [Pentecost Sunday, Year B]
Paul "pushes" the metaphor of childbirth in this discussion of our present labors.
The Old Testament in the New Testament: Jesus' Mosaic Intercession
Lectionary Date: May 16, 2021 [7th Sunday of Easter, Year B]
Tim thinks Jesus' "high priestly prayer" has more of a Moses flavor to it.
The Old Testament in the New Testament: I Chose You
Lectionary Date: May 9, 2021 [6th Sunday of Easter, Year B]
Rachel hears more Mo' in Jesus' Farewell Discourse.
The Old Testament in the New Testament: A Covenantal Pruning
Lectionary Date: May 2, 2021 [5th Sunday of Easter, Year B]
Tim brings out how Jesus is channeling Moses in his farewell discourse.
The Old Testament in the New Testament: What God Intends for Creation
Lectionary Date: April 25, 2021 [4th Sunday of Easter, Year B]
Rachel wanders into the 3rd Reading (this week's epistle).
The Old Testament in the New Testament: All the Scriptures
Lectionary Date: April 18, 2021 [3rd Sunday of Easter, Year B]
Tim invites us to eavesdrop on a surreal Bible study group...
The Old Testament in the New Testament: "Proclaiming" Thomas
Lectionary Date: April 11, 2021 [2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B]
Rachel brings out some OT echoes in this week's Easter text!
The Mystery and the Grace of Hope
Lectionary Date: April 4, 2021 [Resurrection of the Lord, Year B]
What?! Preach the First Reading on Easter Sunday?! Stay with us here: you'll find that this ancient prophetic word is incredibly relevant to our present moment and to the hopeful message of Easter. Our guest this week is Dr. Joel Kemp, Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible at Emory’s Candler School of Theology. Dr. Kemp is an expert in the latter prophets. But he also has an incredibly broad range of interests—in part because biblical scholarship is a third career for him. He worked as an attorney and a minister prior to his current work, and carries those interests into his scholarship. His latest book is just out: Ezekiel, Law, and Judahite Identity (Mohr Siebeck, 2020). It investigates how the book of Ezekiel uses legal elements to advocate for the reconfiguration of a Judahite identity under Neo-Babylonian dominance.
An Emotional Roller Coaster
Lectionary Date: March 28, 2021 [Palm/Passion Sunday, Year B]
Check the archives for Rachel's take on Isaiah 50. This time around, Tim has some insights on the imagery in Psalm 31.
An Experience of Forgiveness
Lectionary Date: March 21, 2021 [5th Sunday in Lent, Year B]
A new covenant for a new experience of God's grace.
Snakes on a Plain
Lectionary Date: March 14, 2021 [4th Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Fiery snake angels sent by God. Yup. This is an odd one.
Bearing God's Name
Lectionary Date: March 7, 2021 [3rd Sunday in Lent, Year B]
The ten commandments are both very familiar and largely misunderstood in congregations. We hear from an expert on these issues, our guest this week, Dr. Carmen Joy Imes. Carmen is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Prairie College in Alberta, Canada. Her research has opened up the significance of the commandments for biblical scholars and "normal people" alike. All of you should immediately purchase her book, Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters. She has also authored Illustrated Exodus in Hebrew, which was edited by Tim in the GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts series. You can find Carmen at her blog, https://carmenjoyimes.blogspot.com/, and at her new YouTube vlog.
Who Gets the Last Laugh?
Lectionary Date: February 28, 2021 [2nd Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Promises, inclusion, laughter. A close look at God's encounter with Abram and Sarai.
A Pledge of Peace
Lectionary Date: February 21, 2021 [1st Sunday in Lent, Year B]
Taking a second look at the rainbow—in historical context!
Here I Raise My Ebenezer
Lectionary Date: February 14, 2021 [Transfiguration Sunday, Year B]
A different sort of episode this week! First, if you want to think through some of the Hebrew tidbits and cultural context of 2 Kings 2, listen to this past episode of First Reading. In addition, I'm giving a sample of a COVID-era, online sermon on the lectionary psalm from last week, Psalm 111, to help spark your creative homiletical strategies (see below). If you'd like to view the whole service attached to this little sermon (about 30 min total), you can find that service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reAf5hU0YKo.
Walk and Not Faint
Lectionary Date: February 7, 2021 [5th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B]
Rachel shares a deep insight from one of her students.
A Prophet Like Moses
Lectionary Date: January 31, 2021 [4th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B]
How do we hear what God wants to say to us?
Absurd Words for an Absurd World
Lectionary Date: January 24, 2021 [3rd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B]
It's our 100th podcast episode! We give some interpretive tips for Jonah 3, and then look back at some of the highlights of our first 100 episodes of First Reading! Also: take two minutes to check out our 100th celebration video here: https://youtu.be/m34A459ENYY
Speaking Truth to Power
Lectionary Date: January 17, 2021 [2nd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B]
The calling of Samuel is a nice story, but don't forget the message itself!
Bereshit Bara Elohim...
Lectionary Date: January 10, 2021 [1st Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B]
Fun with Hebrew, and a look at the connections between Genesis and the Baptism of Jesus in Mark's Gospel.
Hope for Those Beneath Life's Crushing Load
Lectionary Date: January 3, 2021 [2nd Sunday after Christmas, Year B]
A window of hope in a book full of doom—might be just what we need for the first Sunday of 2021!
Praise God—Do It!
Lectionary Date: December 27, 2020 [1st Sunday after Christmas, Year B]
We're going with the psalm reading, for a change of pace. What does this litany of praise have to do with the Christmas story?
Who Makes a Name for Whom?
Lectionary Date: December 20, 2020 [4th Sunday of Advent, Year B]
What does a proposed temple-building project 3,000 years ago have to do with Advent this year? Rachel and Tim consider 2 Samuel 7 in an Advent context, and play an "encore" of their very first First Reading episode, with guest Dr. Jacob Wright, professor of Hebrew Bible at Emory University and Candler School of Theology. Jacob's latest book, War, Memory, and National Identity in the Hebrew Bible, is hot off the press (July 2020) and very relevant to the issues we discussed when we recorded our pilot episode of First Reading!
Learn more about Jacob Wright, and check out his other books: David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory and Rebuilding Identity: the Nehemiah Memoir and its Earliest Readers.
Binding Up the Broken-Hearted
Lectionary Date: December 13, 2020 [3rd Sunday of Advent, Year B]
What's broken in a broken heart? And how does God plan to repair it? News you can use for this lamentable Advent season.
Comfort, Comfort Now My People
Lectionary Date: December 6, 2020 [2nd Sunday of Advent, Year B]
This famous passage isn't about Pollyannaism—it's comfort from the middle of real trauma (something many of us can relate to this Advent).
Preach Advent Slant
Lectionary Date: November 29, 2020 [1st Sunday of Advent, Year B]
Welcome to Advent and to Year B in the lectionary! Rachel is taking the lead during Advent with tips on how to preach it "slant" -- to use Emily Dickinson's term.
I Myself Will Shepherd Them
Lectionary Date: November 22, 2020 [25th Sunday after Pentecost, Reign of Christ Sunday, Year A]
The 23rd Psalm is not the only biblical text to feature the shepherding metaphor! This week Rev. Dr. Safwat Marzouk joins Rachel and Tim to discuss Ezek 34, a powerful critique of Judah's "shepherds" and a promise of divine shepherding for the vulnerable of God's flock. Dr. Marzouk is Assoc. Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Anabapist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, in Elkhart, IN. We recommend his books, Intercultural Church: A Biblical Vision for an Age of Migration and Egypt as a Monster in the Book of Ezekiel. Safwat is also a contributor to the "Politics of Scripture" blog at politicaltheology.com. First Reading is happy to be partnering with the Political Theology Network by sharing this week's episode as the "Politics of Scripture" blog entry for Nov 16!
By the Hand of a Woman
Lectionary Date: November 15, 2020 [24th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
It's the only entry from the fabulous book of Judges in the Lectionary! Tim has a couple ways to think about preaching this text about Deborah.
Gotta Serve Somebody
Lectionary Date: November 8, 2020 [23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
At the end of Joshua, he calls the people to make a choice—but it's not an uninformed decision. Tim has some thoughts about this.
They Crossed on Dry Ground
Lectionary Date: November 1, 2020 [22nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Tim talks about how crossing the Jordan River is a bookend to the liminality of the wilderness, and what that could mean for us in this strange, time-out-of-time COVID/Election moment.
I've Been to the Mountaintop
Lectionary Date: October 25, 2020 [21st Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
The Torah ends with the description of Moses' death—kind of a downer! How can we make sense of this scene and how could it inspire a helpful sermon in the age of COVID-19? This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Denise Flanders, assistant professor of Biblical Studies at Taylor University in Upland, IN, and an adjunct professor of Biblical Languages at Fuller Theological Seminary. She is currently working on the 1–2 Samuel volume for the commentary series The Bible in God’s World. Denise is passionate about introducing students to the ethical and spiritual relevance of the Hebrew Bible to faith and life today. To see more of her work, visit her website at www.deniseflanders.com.
Show Me Your Glory
Lectionary Date: October 18, 2020 [20th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel keeps the story rolling in Exodus, with the roller coaster going from scary threat of divine abandonment to powerful experience of divine intimacy.
What will the Egyptians think?
Lectionary Date: October 11, 2020 [19th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Tim is stumped by the violence of this difficult text. Can you help him out?
Other Gods? — Don't You Go-der.
Lectionary Date: October 4, 2020 [18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel looks at the famous "ten commandments" and proposes a couple ways to preach this familiar/unfamiliar text.
The People are Thirsty
Lectionary Date: September 27, 2020 [17th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Is God really among us? In the midst of pandemic, natural disaster, and centuries-deep racial violence, you and your congregation might be asking this question—but you are not the first! This week, Rachel and Tim look back at this same question in the wilderness narrative of Exodus, with guest exegete, Rev. Dr. Valerie Bridgeman. Dr. Bridgeman is a perfect fit for the podcast, because she is an Associate Professor of Homiletics and Hebrew Bible at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, where she is also the Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Her research interests range from Womanist approaches, to prophetic biblical literature, to African-American women preachers, to embodied ritual remembrance... If you’re also interested in more of her work, we’d recommend you check out her contributions to WorkingPreacher.
Manna From Heaven
Lectionary Date: September 20, 2020 [16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Tim helps us see how this "grumbling" story is about a growing relationship of trust.
Horse and Rider Thrown Into the Sea
Lectionary Date: September 13, 2020 [15th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel offers some reflections on preaching an (in)famous war text.
Liberation and Decimation
Lectionary Date: September 6, 2020 [14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Tim finds some helpful angles into a text about massive loss of life.
Divine Invitation to Critique
Lectionary Date: August 30, 2020 [13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
This week, Rachel and Tim tackle a rich passage with the help of the podcast's first professional homiletician, Rev. Dr. Debra Mumford. She is Professor of Homiletics at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Tim's alma mater). Debra is an ordained American Baptist minister, and has served in several church ministry contexts. Her academic work has centered around the topics of African American prophetic preaching, prosperity preaching, eschatology and the reign of God, and the intersections between preaching and health. And, as of this Summer, Dr. Mumford has been installed as the new Academic Dean at Louisville Seminary! Her latest book, from Judson Press, titled Envisioning the Reign of God: Preaching for Tomorrow, is all about making “eschatology” practical for preachers and congregations.
Unexpected Allies
Lectionary Date: August 23, 2020 [12th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel walks us through the moment when everything changes for Israel in Egypt.
God Meant it for Good?
Lectionary Date: August 16, 2020 [11th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
How do we square the evil of what Joseph's brothers did to him with the good that came out of it?
Joseph's Fashion Statement
Lectionary Date: August 9, 2020 [10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Another sibling rivalry rehearses generations of family trauma in Abraham's descendants.
Wrestling with God
Lectionary Date: August 2, 2020 [9th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Jacob wrestles with a mysterious divine representative.
Everything is Changing
Lectionary Date: July 26, 2020 [8th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Dr. Cameron Howard joins us on the show this week. Cameron is an associate professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. She is a graduate of Emory University, and has contributed to several commentaries and journals, including the Women’s Bible Commentary, WorkingPreacher.org, and the BibleOdyssey.org. Her current project is especially appropriate for our current situation, because it’s about how the Bible models faithful innovation for the twenty-first century.
God is in this Place!
Lectionary Date: July 19, 2020 [7th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
On the run, Jacob has a dream with words from God.
Family Drama
Lectionary Date: July 12, 2020 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Warring brothers jostle for advantage, with a divine birthright in the balance.
Cooperating with Divine Providence
Lectionary Date: July 5, 2020 [5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Abraham's story isn't quite done: we need to find a wife for the miracle child, Isaac.
Invitation to an Experience
Lectionary Date: June 28, 2020 [4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
To chat about one of the most famous stories in all three of the Abrahamic faiths (the binding of Isaac), Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Ethan Schwartz. Ethan earned his PhD at Harvard University, where he studied how the Bible presents and formulates prophetic speech. He also studies how the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) came together and how the Hebrew Bible was interpreted in the first century, especially in early Christian communities and sectarian Jewish communities. Ethan is committed to bringing biblical studies into productive conversation with contemporary religious life—a great fit with our goals here at "First Reading"! To that end, he has shared his academic work in a number of synagogues, institutes, and churches. If you’re interested in more of his work, check out these great essays at theTorah.com: "Torah: Deuteronomy's Version of Wisdom for Israel" and "The Red Heifer in Synagogue: Purifying Israel from Sin," or his essay at MyJewishLearning.com: "Eshet Manoah: Mother of the Mighty Samson."
God Hears those on the Margins
Lectionary Date: June 21, 2020 [3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
The story shifts from Abraham and Sarah to an unlikely hero: Hagar.
Sarah's Pleasure
Lectionary Date: June 14, 2020 [2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]
Rachel eavesdrops on a special visit to Abraham and Sarah.
Beginnings
Lectionary Date: June 7, 2020 [Trinity Sunday, Year A]
Tim tackles a few preaching pitfalls, and gives some preaching angles on the opening text of the big book.
Another Outpouring of the Spirit
Lectionary Date: May 31, 2020 [Day of Pentecost, Year A]
For this Pentecost episode, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Reed Carlson. Reed is an Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at the United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia and in Gettysburg, PA. He is also an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church and has Pentecostal roots, so he’s the perfect person to be talking to today! He earned his ThD at Harvard University, and his scholarly and church-ly interests include spirit possession in the Bible and how it relates to similar phenomena in the Global South, and ecumenism, especially among charismatic and progressive Christians. We recommend to you his article “Hannah at Pentecost: On Recognizing Spirit Phenomena in Early Jewish Literature,” published in the Journal of Pentecostal Theology.
God's Victory in a Time of Death
Lectionary Date: May 24, 2020 [7th Sunday of Easter, Year A]
This week, Rachel opens up a psalm of praise—with some cautions about its war-talk.
Psalm of Thanks
Lectionary Date: May 17, 2020 [6th Sunday of Easter, Year A]
This week, Tim traces some of the contours of a thanksgiving psalm.
Don't Curate Out the Grit
Lectionary Date: May 10, 2020 [5th Sunday of Easter, Year A]
This week, Rachel helps us see the big picture of gritty faith.
With Us in the Valley
Lectionary Date: May 3, 2020 [4th Sunday of Easter, Year A]
This week, a song, a poem, and climate change.
Precious Death
Lectionary Date: April 26, 2020 [3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A]
This week, Rachel takes on some of the beauty and difficulty of Psalm 116.
Gut Check
Lectionary Date: April 19, 2020 [2nd Sunday of Easter, Year A]
This week, Rachel explores insights from the body language of Psalm 16.
Resurrection Hope in the OT
Lectionary Date: April 12, 2020 [Easter Sunday, Year A]
For this Easter episode, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Michael Chan. Michael is an Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. He did his PhD at our own Emory University. His research interests are wide ranging, from iconography to biblical emotion to Ancient Near Eastern comparative data. He is the coauthor of the book, Exploring the Bible, with Eric Barreto, and hosts the podcast, Gospel Beautiful, an interview-based podcast that features theologians, artists, and thinkers who are wrestling with the challenging task of preaching the Gospel in the 21st century.
Hosanna: Oh Save Us!
Lectionary Date: April 5, 2020 [Palm/Passion Sunday, Year A]
Thank you, preachers, for the creative work you are doing in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis! This week, Tim leads us with a peek at the psalm that inspired the Palm Sunday shouts of "Hosanna!"
Dem Bones: Hear the Word of the Lord!
Lectionary Date: March 29, 2020 [5th Sunday in Lent, Year A]
This week, Rachel walks us through an iconic text of hope.
How God Sees
Lectionary Date: March 22, 2020 [4th Sunday in Lent, Year A]
This week, Tim looks at a text that usually gets translated backwards.
Testing and Quarreling
Lectionary Date: March 15, 2020 [3rd Sunday in Lent, Year A]
This week, Tim explores a reassuring text.
Lekh Lekha—Get Going!
Lectionary Date: March 8, 2020 [2nd Sunday in Lent, Year A]
This week, Rachel gives some preaching tips for a foundational text.
Becoming Human
Lectionary Date: March 1, 2020 [1st Sunday in Lent, Year A]
This week, Tim defamiliarizes a familiar text.
Experiencing God's Glory
Lectionary Date: February 23, 2020 [Transfiguration Sunday, Year A]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Amanda Mbuvi, Assistant Professor of Religion at High Point University in High Point, NC. She holds a BA in Philosophy and Literary Theory from Bryn Mawr College, an MTS in Biblical Studies from Palmer Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Religion from Duke University—as well as a Certificate in Nonprofit Management, Duke University! She was drawn to the Hebrew Bible because of its vivid stories and rich language, and because of the way it connects the various streams of her identity, especially as for one who grew up Jewish in the Black church. Her work focuses on questions of identity and community, both in the Bible and in contemporary conversations about how we live with those texts and with each other. We commend to you her first book, Belonging in Genesis: Biblical Israel and the Politics of Identity Formation, which was recently published by Baylor University Press, as well as her blog: amandambuvi.com.
Choose Life
Lectionary Date: February 16, 2020 [6th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
This week, Tim attempts to put a familiar text into context.
Cry Out!
Lectionary Date: February 9, 2020 [5th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
This week, Rachel helps us hear the prophetic call to stop hurting ourselves by hurting others.
First Steps in a Journey toward Justice
Lectionary Date: February 2, 2020 [4th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
This week, Rachel's up with an encouragement to begin the conversation about racial justice with this beloved text.
With Us in the Midst of the Wilderness
Lectionary Date: January 26, 2020 [3rd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Kristin J. Wendland for a rich discussion about this week’s psalm. Kristin is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at her alma mater, Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. Her work focuses on personification, gender, and the divine-human relationship in exilic and post-exilic literature. She is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and holds degrees from Luther Seminary (where she overlapped with Rachel) and Princeton Theological Seminary. You can find her work at WorkingPreacher.org and in the journal, Word and World.
A Greater Calling
Lectionary Date: January 19, 2020 [2nd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
This week, Tim explores the power of God's calling.
Just Service
Lectionary Date: January 12, 2020 [1st Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A]
This week, Rachel goes deep in the mishpat.
Arise! Shine!
Lectionary Date: January 6, 2020 [Epiphany of the Lord, Year A]
This week, Tim orients us to some of the themes of a classic Epiphany text.
Unto Us a Child is Born!
Lectionary Date: December 24, 2019 [Nativity of the Lord, Year A]
This week, Rachel takes a historical look at one of the most famous "Christmas" texts of the Bible. As a supplement to this episode, check out her commentary on this same passage over at WorkingPreacher.org.
Invitation to Trust
Lectionary Date: December 22, 2019 [4th Sunday of Advent, Year A]
This week, Rachel explores a fresh approach to Advent 4. As a supplement to this episode, check out her commentary on this text over at WorkingPreacher.org.
Reversal of Fortunes
Lectionary Date: December 15, 2019 [3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A]
This week, Tim and Rachel chat about Advent from sunny San Diego.
A Shoot from Jesse's Stump
Lectionary Date: December 8, 2019 [2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A]
This week, Tim and Rachel chat about Advent from sunny San Diego.
Walk in the Light
Lectionary Date: December 1, 2019 [1st Sunday of Advent, Year A]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Tyler Mayfield, Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Tim’s alma mater!). He is the author of Literary Structure and Setting in Ezekiel (2010), which argues for a new reading of the biblical book of Ezekiel, and A Guide to Bible Basics (2018), which presents the contents of the Christian Bible to strengthen biblical literacy. Look for his forthcoming book, Unto Us A Child Is Born: Isaiah, Advent, and Our Jewish Neighbors, available for pre-order now at Eerdmans! He has written several book chapters and journal articles and enjoys writing regularly for the website, WorkingPreacher.org .
Christ the King Sunday
Lectionary Date: November 24, 2019 [Christ the King Sunday, Year C]
This week, Rachel offers a new angle on an old sermon.
New Heavens and New Earth
Lectionary Date: November 17, 2019 [23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel traces a hopeful theme of renewal in Isaiah.
Glory in God's Presence
Lectionary Date: November 10, 2019 [22nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Tim looks at another minor prophet—with major implications!
Learning to Lament
Lectionary Date: November 3, 2019 [21st Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel has some venting to do.
Renewal After the Swarm
Lectionary Date: October 27, 2019 [20th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Rolf Jacobson, Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN (Rachel’s alma mater!). With Craig Koester, Rolf developed and supports the Narrative Lectionary. His voice can be heard on two weekly preaching podcasts, “Sermon Brainwave” and “The Narrative Lectionary,” as well as singing the high lonesome with a Lutheran bluegrass band, “The Fleshpots of Egypt.” His collaborative projects include The Book of Psalms (NICOT; with Beth Tanner and Nancy deClaissé-Walford), Invitation to the Psalms (with Karl Jacobson), Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms (with five fellow Luther Seminary graduates), and Crazy Book: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Biblical Terms (with Hans Wiersma and Karl Jacobon). He is also the author of The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Old Testament: Israel’s In-Your-Face, Holy God.
Inscribed on the Heart
Lectionary Date: October 20, 2019 [19th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel reads some of Jeremiah's body language.
Pray for Peace
Lectionary Date: October 13, 2019 [18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel explores a the setting of a famous quote from Jeremiah.
A Well-Ordered Mess
Lectionary Date: October 6, 2019 [17th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Tim gives some tips on understanding and preaching from Lamentations.
Hope in the Face of Certain Disaster
Lectionary Date: September 29, 2019 [16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Carol Newsom. One of the giants of modern biblical scholarship, Carol recently retired from her post as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Old Testament at Candler and a senior fellow at Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion. Carol came to Candler in 1980, only the second woman to hold a tenure-track position. In 2005, she became a C.H. Candler Professor, a university-based endowed chair. Her research focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Wisdom tradition, the book of Daniel, and apocalyptic literature. She has written and edited 13 books and scores of articles, book chapters, translations, encyclopedia articles and reviews. She co-edited the acclaimed Women’s Bible Commentary, which explores the implications of and challenges long-held assumptions about the Bible’s portrayal of women and other marginalized groups. We also recommend her superb commentary on the book of Job, in the New Interpreter's Bible.
Grieving God
Lectionary Date: September 22, 2019 [15th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel delves into a prophetic reflection about what provokes God's grief.
Judgment and Natural Consequences
Lectionary Date: September 15, 2019 [14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Tim helps us face the consequences of persistent evil.
The Mercy of Rock Bottom
Lectionary Date: September 8, 2019 [13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel explores the potential of grace in a message of judgment.
Living Water and Cracked Cisterns
Lectionary Date: September 1, 2019 [12th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Tim invites you to sip from the living water.
A Prophet's Call
Lectionary Date: August 25, 2019 [11th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Brent Strawn. Brent joined the Duke Divinity School faculty as Professor of Old Testament in 2019 after teaching for eighteen years at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where he was the William Ragsdale Cannon Distinguished Professor of Old Testament. Brent is a prolific author, but we would highly recommend to our audience one of his most recent books, The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment (Baker Academic, 2017). Brent is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and regularly speaks and preaches at churches across the country. He has appeared on CNN on matters ranging from Easter celebrations to Pope Francis to gun violence, and served as both translator and member of the editorial board for The Common English Bible.
A Wedding Toast Gone Wrong
Lectionary Date: August 18, 2019 [10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Tim explores a metaphor within a metaphor.
The Divine Gag Reflex
Lectionary Date: August 11, 2019 [9th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel gives some insight into the futility of worship in a context of injustice.
Love Overcomes Wrath
Lectionary Date: August 4, 2019 [8th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Johanna van Wijk-Bos. Dr. Bos taught for four decades as Professor of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in KY. She continues to serve the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) as an ordained pastor. In addition to her teaching, speaking, and preaching, she is a prolific author and an engaged activist, especially around issues of equity in terms of gender, race, and sexual orientation. Among her many great books, we recommend for our audience, Making Wise the Simple: The Torah in Christian Faith and Practice. Her latest project is a multi-volume commentary on Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings titled, A People and A Land (the first volume is available soon from Eerdmans).
A Broken Metaphor
Lectionary Date: July 28, 2019 [7th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel urges you to preach this word (even though it has a metaphor that no longer works)!
Divine Discipline
Lectionary Date: July 21, 2019 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel unpacks the purpose behind some startling prophetic predictions.
Truth to Power
Lectionary Date: July 14, 2019 [5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Tim leads us through some sharp words from the prophet.
God's Power Manifested Through the Marginalized
Lectionary Date: July 7, 2019 [4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Justin Reed joins Rachel and Tim for a conversation all about the healing of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. Justin is Assistant Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in KY, and an ordained Baptist minister. A PhD candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary, his research and teaching interests include ethnicity in the Hebrew Bible, inner-biblical interpretation, Bible in popular culture, and reception history. Justin’s dissertation explores Genesis 9:18-29, the passage about “Noah’s curse.” Throughout millennia, interpreters have read this passage through a particular, destructive ideological lens. Informed by critical race theory, Justin challenges this long-standing bias and proposes an alternate interpretation in which the context of the primeval history in Genesis and ironic use of intertextual allusions offer crucial interpretive clues and permit a more nuanced explication of how ethnocentrism has manifested in biblical literature. Justin explores some of these issues in his chapter, “‘How—how is this just?!’: How Aronofsky and Handel Handle Noah’s Curse” in Noah as Antihero: Darren Aronofsky’s Cinematic Deluge (Routledge, 2017) edited by Rhonda Burnette-Bletch and Jon Morgan.
Double Portion of Prophecy
Lectionary Date: June 30, 2019 [3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Tim explores the passing of the torch from Elijah to Elisha.
Sustenance for the Journey
Lectionary Date: June 23, 2019 [2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
This week, Rachel talks about Elijah's theophany.
Get Wisdom
Lectionary Date: June 16, 2019 [Trinity Sunday, Year C]
This week, Tim introduces us to Woman Wisdom.
What Fear Does
Lectionary Date: June 9, 2019 [Day of Pentecost, Year C]
Come, let's try to understand the Tower of Babel with Rachel.
Righteousness and Justice are the Base of God's Throne
Lectionary Date: June 2, 2019 [7th Sunday of Easter, Year C]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler, one of the leading scholars in the field of Hebrew Bible. He is Professor Emeritus and former chair of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. He has also taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Duke University, Yale University, Brown University, Wellesley College, and Middlebury College. He is actively involved in many aspects of Jewish communal life, and has served on the board of Boston’s Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center and Gann Academy—the New Jewish High School. Dr. Brettler is known for helping to build meaningful bridges between Jewish religious life and modern critical scholarship of the Hebrew Bible. He is co-editor of the Jewish Study Bible, which won a National Jewish Book Award. We think this volume should be on every pastor’s bookshelf, and consulted often, along with another of Dr. Brettler’s editorial projects, the Jewish Annotated New Testament. For Christian leaders interested in the shared Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity, these books are must haves. Dr. Brettler has published a slew of other books, both academic and popular. He is a clear and accessible communicator, as you will experience in this week’s First Reading episode. Finally, be sure to visit theTorah.com, which Dr. Brettler helped establish, a great online repository for biblical scholarship from a Jewish perspective.
An Exclusive Move for an Inclusive End
Lectionary Date: May 26, 2019 [6th Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Rachel walks through the meaning of the blessings in Psalm 67.
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu!
Lectionary Date: May 19, 2019 [5th Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Tim’s up for a dip into the Hallels of Psalm 148.
Defamiliarizing the Shepherd Psalm
Lectionary Date: May 12, 2019 [4th Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Rachel offers a slightly edgier take on Psalm 23.
Mourning and Dancing: the “Rhythm & Blues” of Life
Lectionary Date: May 5, 2019 [3rd Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Dr. Stephen Reid joins Rachel and Tim this week for a long-form episode, focusing on Psalm 30. Steve is Professor of Christian Scriptures at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University. He earned his PhD at Emory University and has held a number of academic positions during his career. Dr. Reid is ordained in the Church of the Brethren, and you can find his preaching tips and exegetical work on WorkingPreacher.org. His areas of expertise include the Psalms, apocalyptic literature (especially Daniel), and black biblical hermeneutics. If you’d like to know more about his work, check out his book, Listening In: A Multicultural Reading of the Psalms.
Images of God’s Help
Lectionary Date: April 28, 2019 [2nd Sunday of Easter, Year C]
Rachel guides us through the Psalm for the week. Hallelujah!
Easter Sunday: Hope for the Now
Lectionary Date: April 21, 2019 [Resurrection of the Lord, Year C]
Prepping for Easter? Tim challenges you to preach about hope from Isaiah 65.
Palm/Passion Sunday: Trusting Even in the Darkness
Lectionary Date: April 14, 2019 [Liturgy of the Passion, Year C]
Rachel is up to bat this week, working through a unique Palm Sunday text.
God is Doing Something New
Lectionary Date: April 7, 2019 [5th Sunday in Lent, Year C]
Rachel and Tim are joined this week by Rev. Dr. Vanessa Lovelace, a Hebrew Bible professor at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA. In addition to her position at ITC, Dr. Lovelace is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. She is the co-editor of the book, Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse (with Gay Byron). The ITC website describes her current project, a monograph “that analyzes how church teachings and public policy, in combination with particular biblical texts, sustain interlocking categories of race, gender, sexuality and class to exclude black women as symbolic representations of the nation.”
Rolling Away the Reproach—The End of an Era
Lectionary Date: March 31, 2019 [4th Sunday in Lent, Year C]
Tim takes the lead this week, reflecting on the context and wordplay in Joshua 5.
Hoi! Seeking God With Your Whole Nefesh
Lectionary Date: March 24, 2019 [3rd Sunday in Lent, Year C]
Rachel riffs on the body imagery in Isaiah 55!
Cutting an Unusual Deal
Lectionary Date: March 17, 2019 [2nd Sunday in Lent, Year C]
A strange vision, a bloody ritual, and divine promises on the way to a profound expression of grace. Rachel leads us through this fascinating passage!
Lectionary Date: March 10, 2019 [1st Sunday in Lent, Year C]
Rachel offers a mini-episode with some literary and historical context for the text, and a preaching angle on stewardship with a surprising twist!
Lectionary Date: July 29, 2018 [10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
This week, Rachel and Tim are joined by Caralie Focht (Emory University) to discuss the infamous story about Bathsheba and David. How can preachers address the issues of assault in this text with pastoral sensitivity toward those in their congregations who have experienced (or perpetrated) similar trauma?
Lectionary Date: July 29, 2018 [10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B]
In this, First Reading's very first episode ever, Rachel and Tim introduce the podcast and delve into King David's plan to build a temple for God. With help from Dr. Jacob Wright (Emory University) they discuss the historical context of temple building, try to figure out why God is hesitant to let David do it, and offer a few potential angles for preaching this text.
Learn more about Dr. Jacob Wright, and check out his books: David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory and Rebuilding Identity: the Nehemiah Memoir and its Earliest Readers.