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

  • Amos 8:1–12
    Divine Discipline

    Lectionary Date: July 21, 2019 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]

    This week, Rachel unpacks the purpose behind some startling prophetic predictions.

    12 min
  • Amos 8:1–12
    Divine Discipline
    Lectionary Date: July 21, 2019 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
    This week, Rachel unpacks the purpose behind some startling prophetic predictions.
    12 min
  • Amos 7:7–17
    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.

    11 min
  • Amos 7:7–17
    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.
    11 min
  • 2 Kings 5:1–14, with Justin Reed
    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.

    51 min
  • 2 Kings 5:1–14, with Justin Reed
    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.
    51 min
  • 2 Kings 2:1–2, 6–14
    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.

    6 min
  • 2 Kings 2:1–2, 6–14
    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.
    6 min
  • 1 Kings 19:1–15a
    Sustenance for the Journey

    Lectionary Date: June 23, 2019 [2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]

    This week, Rachel talks about Elijah's theophany.

    12 min
  • 1 Kings 19:1–15a
    Sustenance for the Journey
    Lectionary Date: June 23, 2019 [2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year C]
    This week, Rachel talks about Elijah’s theophany.
    12 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…