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.
Isaiah 7:10–16
Blast From the Past
Lectionary 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!
Psalm 146:5–10
A Grammatical Diva
Lectionary 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.
Isaiah 11:1–10
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.
Isaiah 2:1–5, with David Davage
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.
Psalm 46
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!
Malachi 4:1–2a
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.
Job 19:23–27a
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.
Daniel 7:1–3, 15–18
Enthroned over the Monsters
Lectionary Date: November 1, 2022 [All Saints Day, Year C]
Rosy explores the strange imagery of Daniel’s vision.
Joel 2:23–32, with Mari Joerstad
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.