Lectionary Date: August 15, 2021 [12th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B] Tim traces the two perspectives on Solomon and finds a key leadership skill.

First Reading

1 Kings 2:10–12; 3:3–14

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.

1 Kings 19:4–8

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). 

2 Samuel 11:26–12:13a, with Sara Kipfer

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?

2 Kings 4:42–44

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.

Jeremiah 23:1–6

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.

2 Samuel 6:1–5, 12b–19

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.

2 Samuel 5:1–5, 9–10

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.

Lamentations 3:22–33, with Kathleen O’Connor

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.

1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49

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.

Ezekiel 17:22–24

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.

1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15)

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.

Isaiah 6:1–8

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.

Romans 8:22–27

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.

John 17:6–19

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.

John 15:9–17

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.

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First Reading

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