First Reading

First Reading

By Rev. Rachel Wrenn, PhD; Rosy Kandathil, JD; Paul Essah, MDiv; Tim McNinch, PhDReligion & SpiritualityChristianity
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First Reading episodes

  • 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.

    19 min
  • 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.

    42 min
  • Genesis 32:22–31
    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.

    22 min
  • Habakkuk 1:1–4; 2:1–4
    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.

    28 min
  • Amos 6:1a, 4–7
    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."

    13 min
  • Amos 8:4–7
    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.

    12 min
  • Exodus 32:7–14
    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.

    13 min
  • Jeremiah 18:1–11, with Steed Davidson
    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.

    37 min

About First Reading

From the publisher's feed

First Reading offers exegetical resources for the Old Testament Lectionary reading each week. Dr. Rachel Wrenn is Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Trinity Lutheran Seminary (Capital…