Joel Baden and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss eschatology, aspiration, and ancient Near Eastern curse formulations in Isaiah 65:17-25. The text is appointed for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28), in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Not Heaven-on-Earth, but a New Earth (Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost)
Voiceover Voice:
When you’ve been through “terrible”, what is that reads as eschaton to you? Just a normal nice life?
Helena Martin:
This is Chapter, Verse, and Season: a Lectionary Podcast from Yale Bible Study. Join us each week as two Yale Divinity School professors look at an upcoming text from the Revised Common Lectionary.
This episode, we have Joel Baden, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director of the Center for Continuing Education and Abdul-Rehman Malik, Associate Research Scholar and Lecturer in Islamic Studies. They’re discussing Isaiah 65:17-25 which is appointed for Track 1 of the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28) in Year C. The text is read for you by student, Aidan Stoddard.
Aidan Stoddard:
[Isaiah 65:17-25]
For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord— and their descendants as well. Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
So Joel, as I read this passage from Isaiah I’m left with a question, you know, before everything else is said. Like, where does this new heavens and earth fit in to the divine timeline? If this is eschatological, which it clearly is, what part of the eschatology timeline are we examining here?
Joel Baden:
It’s not so clear, precisely because if you were reading this, most of it until you got to the end, you might not know you were reading eschatology at all.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
Mm-hmm.
Joel Baden:
It might just be, you’re reading about a future, a normal future of the normal world, but one in which, you know, things are nicer. Yeah, sure, there’s not going to be weeping or distress, no one’s going to be unhappy. Everyone’s going to live a nice full life. Everyone’s going to build houses and vineyards and they’re going to eat all of their fruits that they plant. And they’re not going to labor in vain and their children are going to be born and be healthy and happy. Terrific. That’s not eschatological, that’s like,
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
A good life.
Joel Baden:
That’s like a good life. That’s just not being cursed or maybe it’s being like a little bit better than that. But I don’t know that you would think of that eschatology until you get to the last line, and now I’ve got the wolf and the lamb lying down together, and I know that that’s an eschatological paradigm, right? That’s classic. But a new heavens and a new earth? You’ll live to a hundred, won’t that be nice. And then you’ll die, you’ll die in ripe old age. New heavens in a new earth. Wow. It doesn’t feel eschatological.
So the answer to your question is, I don’t know. But also the answer to your question in part at least is, at least is in the Bible, there isn’t a consistent well developed eschatology that spans the entirety of the text. Everybody’s trying to figure stuff out for themselves on their own. They’re creating eschatologies as they’re writing.
So, later on we get these very well-developed notions in Judaism and Christianity, I’m sure in Islam also, we get well-developed eschatological, as you said, timelines. First, there’s going to be the really bad part, and then the war, and then the Messiah comes. And then in Judaism, a different Messiah. I mean, there’s two messiahs in some Jewish belief. You know, there’s this Messiah come and that Messiah comes, and there’s going to be a recreation and there’s going to be, people are going to rise from the dead. There’s going to be judgment. That’s a whole set of novels right there about the timeline of the eschaton. You can’t get that from the Bible itself, right? The Bible is bits and pieces and small ideas. And this one, I mean, and I think what you’re, what you’re pointing at, this one is in a sense, particularly weird because it doesn’t have the traits of eschatology. Immortality, say.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
Yes.
Joel Baden:
Or I don’t know, like floating in midair or like any of the, you know, it’s just people living. Nicely.
Abdul-Rehman Malik
Yes, certainly to my Muslim sensibilities eschatology takes on, as you said, a very particular formulation because the Quran speaks about the end of days often and in plentiful ways. All of which end with judgment and God’s mercy, and God’s justice, and a kind of eternality to our forms as a result of the things that we have wrought while we were living. I was reminded of William Blake’s poem “Jerusalem” as I was reading this. And I think that helps me sort of contextualize this particular passage as something that is aspirational, right? As Blake talks about, Blake speaks about, the Jerusalem that he envisions can be built on England’s hills. Despite the satanic mills and despite the injustice and despite the pain that he’s witnessing in this industrializing world. He believes that in this place a new Jerusalem will be built, and that Jerusalem, as I’m reading this, is the Jerusalem that Isaiah speaks about here. A Jerusalem where people live together peaceably. Where they build and they don’t destroy. Where we care for one another. Where we live the fullness of our lives. Where we inhabit beautiful homes, and where even the very nature that we have tried to subdue in the past is now subdued to God’s grace.
I mean it’s a powerful, it’s a powerful vision. And I think often in these eschatological visions, and I feel this as well within, coming from within my sort of Islamic and Muslim sensibilities, is that these visions are provided to us as aspirational visions of the world as it should be. And it highlights the world as it is. Manifestly unjust. Manifestly uncompassionate. Manifestly unequal. Manifestly violent. And because we’re presented with such a clear, powerful, compelling, awesome vision of life as it could be, it does lead the believer to the senses, “that is what I must work for. That is what my place in the world should be is to create this kind of place”. And I guess in that sense, it totally makes sense. Right? Whether building that place brings on the eschaton as you say, or not, it’s worth it for us to aspire to this.
Joel Baden:
I love what you said about eschatological visions being aspirational. And I think that’s universally the case, right? We create understandings of what the perfected existence will be as something to strive for here and now. Sometimes those are harder to achieve, right? You know, if what you imagine is we’re all going to be up in the clouds, you know, playing harps with wings, that’s a hard one to achieve in the here and now. This ethological vision is very, I don’t know how achievable it is, but it’s very real. It’s very of humanity. And actually, one of the things I would point to as an interesting signal here. We’re, I think, we’re just used to the language but maybe not picking up on it is when it says I am about to create a new heavens and a new earth. That’s not the same thing as saying something like, I’m going to create heaven on earth.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
Yes.
Joel Baden:
Or, we will all be transformed and transmuted into heavenly beings.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
Yes.
Joel Baden:
It’s not saying that.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
Yeah.
Joel Baden:
I’m creating a new heavens and a new earth. That’s simply to say the I’m going to replicate. It’s going to be like a new version of what you know now. It’s not total transformation, it’s just improved. But to say, heavens and earth, they’re remaining separate? And, that I think is fascinating.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
That is so fascinating Joel. Because as you’re talking about that, I also think about how do we bring the Vedic traditions into some of this language, right? In Hinduism and Buddhism. With the notion of being reincarnated, of traveling through the wheel, of being born again into the world. Isn’t it in those traditions that a new heavens and the earth is actually in reality, created because we enter into it differently every time? We go through a process of death and death and rebirth. I think the notions of a new heavens and a new earth isn’t very far away from that idea, right? Because it’s a new heavens and the new earth because we enter it and we perceive it differently.
There’s this wonderful passage from one of the Vedic texts which speaks about this moment in the womb. Where, as the process of birth into a rebirth begins, there is a full awareness of the lives that one has led and also an awareness that one is coming into life in you. And when one comes out into that world, it’s like we forget what happened again. And a new heavens and a new earth is born for us perceptively. I think it’s an idea that, that my mind is sort of turning over and playing with.
Joel Baden:
So first of all, Judaism also has a notion, a similar notion, of the infant, the fetus, knowing everything. And in the process of birth, it being forgotten. Which obviously resonates. But what you just said, the first line after I’m about to create new heavens and new earth is, the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
That’s so fascinating.
Joe Baden:
I don’t think you even remembered that line was there when you said what you just said.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
I did not. I did not.
Joel Baden:
And I think that only speaks to the power of the comparison that you’re making. I think that’s, that’s fantastic. Fantastic stuff.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
There is a line in here, Joel, that doesn’t irk me, but makes me stop. And that is, “the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.” And that’s interesting because I think it’s the only place, and correct me if I’m wrong, where the notion of curse or something negative coming from God is in these passages. And that’s interesting to me because although we’ve created a new heavens and a new earth, the capacity for being cursed or doing that which leads to one becoming accursed is still there. It’s not. It’s not a perfect new heavens and new earth, so I wonder how you would read that line or if I’m reading too much into it.
Joel Baden:
No, that’s so fascinating. It didn’t even occur to me as I read past it. But of course, if what’s being imagined is that in this new earth there are people who don’t make it to a hundred and other people are going be like, boy, what did that guy do wrong?
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
Yeah.
Joel Baden:
You’re right. It’s still, what kind of eschaton is this? To answer the question you asked, which is like, is this the only place that curses is in here? On the surface of the text, it is. Underneath it though this entire text is built on, essentially, a reversal of traditional, biblical and broader ancient near eastern curse formulations. So one of the great curses like you’re not going to be healthy and you’re not going to be under attack, are classic. But one of the great curses in the ancient near east was, it’s in the Bible multiple times and it’s outside the Bible in Mesopotamian text also, is you’re going to build a house in someone else is going to dwell in it. You’re going to plant vineyards and someone else is going to eat them, right? The notion of you’re putting in all this effort to build your house, your home, your society, but I’m going to wipe it all away and someone else is going to come in and enjoy the fruits of your labors. Anybody, I think, in ancient Israel hearing this would recognize that what’s being said here is not just it’s going to be a very nice life that I’m creating, but this curse that you maybe have experienced, right? This is late Isaiah. This is Isaiah writing after the exile. So, they have gone through the worst. And so to say the eschaton I’m imagining is one in which all the terrible things that just happened to you that are the most terrible things that can be imagined, none of that’s going to happen. That’s the new, when you’ve been through terrible, what is it that reads as eschaton to you? Just a normal nice life?
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
Yeah.
Joel Baden:
Right? And we can imagine all kinds of modern equivalents of that.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
Well, it strikes me as eschaton is healing.
Joel Baden:
Sure.
Abdul-Rehman Malik:
As a balm.
Joel Baden:
Sure. But not as needing to be more than that. It can simply be the eschaton is different and changes depending on where you are. And if you are in a place of deep despair and post trauma, as is the case for Israel at the time that this is written, the eschaton can simply look like, not heaven on earth, but just a new earth.
Helena Martin:
Thanks for listening. And thank you Professors Baden and Malik for talking through Isaiah for us this week.
For a transcript of this episode and lots more Bible study resources, visit YaleBibleStudy.org.
And keep up to date on our upcoming events by following us on Twitter: @BibleYale.
Chapter, Verse, and Season is a production of the Center for Continuing Education at Yale
Divinity School. It’s produced by: Creator and Managing Editor, Joel Baden; Production
Manager, Kelly Morrissey; Associate Producer, Aidan Stoddart; and I’m your Host and
Executive Producer, Helena Martin. Mixing on today’s episode, and our theme music, are by
Calvin Linderman.
We’ll be back with another conversation from Chapter, Verse, and Season.
Book of the Bible:
Isaiah
Subjects:
Isaiah
Guests
Text
New Revised Standard Version Bible
Copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Credits
Host and Executive Producer: Helena Martin
Production Manager: Kelly Morrissey
Creator and Managing Editor: Joel Baden
Assistant Producer: Aidan Stoddart
Music: Calvin Linderman
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Joel Baden and Sarah Drummond discuss unity, transformation… and beards… in Psalm 133. The text is appointed for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Bill Goettler discuss generational transition, faithlessness, and the voice of God in 1 Kings 19:9-18. The text is appointed for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 14) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Jennifer Herdt and Jere Wells discuss justice, abundance, and the spiritual power of leftovers in Matthew 14:13-21. The text is appointed for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Justin Crisp and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss praise, transaction, and God’s action in history in Psalm 105:1-11. The text is appointed for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 12), in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Almeda Wright and Kate Ott discuss the messages of dreams and mundane reality in Genesis 28:10-19a. The text is appointed for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Bill Goettler and Joanne Jennings discuss applying the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23) to our own dynamic lives of faith. The text is appointed for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10), in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Volker Leppin and Vasileios Marinis discuss environmental justice, co-creation, and the kingdom of God in Psalm 145:8-14. The text is appointed for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Bill Goettler and Joanne Jennings discuss hard truths and be in-dwelled by Christ in Romans 6:12–23. The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 8), in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss Jesus’ scarier proclamations in Matthew 10:24-39. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7), in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Sarah Drummond discuss hospitality, laughter, and the complexity of Sarah as a character in Genesis 18:1-15. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6), in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Harold Attridge and John Hare discuss faith, doubt, shame, and mystic union in Romans 4:13-25. The text is appointed for the second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5), in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Justin Crisp and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss rest, reveling, and revelation in Genesis 1:1–2:4a The text is appointed for Trinity Sunday, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Awet Andemicael and Adam Eitel discuss diversity, reversal, and the power of the Spirit in Acts 2:1-21 and John 20:19-23. The text is appointed for the Day of Pentecost in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Tisa Wenger discuss righteousness, liberation, and vulnerability in Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35. The text is appointed for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Almeda Wright and Kate Ott discuss suffering, meaning, and unjust power structures in 1 Peter 3:13-22. The text is appointed for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Mark Heim and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss prophecy, interfaith reading, and incarnation in John 14:1-14. The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Jacqueline Vayntrub and Christian Wiman discuss paradox, poetry, and life beyond death in Psalm 23. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joanne Jennings and Bill Goettler discuss divine encounter and human conversation in Luke 24:13-35. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday of Easter, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Mark Heim and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss interfaith perspectives on the story of Easter in conversation with John 20:19-31. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday of Easter, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss power, peace and healing in Acts 10:34-43. The text is appointed for Easter Day, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
John Collins and Jennifer Herdt discuss the problem of suffering, the impact of loss, and the resilience of human nature in Job 14:1-14 and 1 Peter 4:1-8. The text is appointed for Holy Saturday, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Justin Crisp and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss Christology, glory, and exclusion in John 18:1–19:42. The text is appointed for Good Friday in the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Sarah Drummond discuss sacrificial practice, identity markers, and imagined history in Exodus 12:1-14. The text is appointed for Maundy Thursday in the Revised Common Lectionary.
Volker Leppin and Vasileios Marinis discuss crucifixion, suffering, obedience, and solidarity in Philippians 2:5-11. The text is appointed for the Liturgy of the Passion (Palm Sunday), in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Yejide Peters Pietersen and Bill Goettler discuss miracles, healing, and grief in John 11:1-45. The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss the role of Joseph, the divine potential of dreams, and membership in the Holy Family in Matthew 1:18-25. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Tisa Wenger discuss life in the wilderness for the Israelites, being tested and testing God in Exodus 17:1-7. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday in Lent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Mark Heim and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss blessing, migration, and the inspiring legacy of Abraham across religious traditions in Genesis 12:1-4a. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday in Lent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Peter Hawkins and Eric Reymond discuss seduction, curiosity, craftiness, and misogyny in Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7. The text is appointed for the First Sunday in Lent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Tisa Wenger discuss leadership, inherited stories, and transfiguring moments in Exodus 24:12-18 and Matthew 17:1-9. The texts are appointed for Transfiguration Sunday, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Almeda Wright and Kate Ott discuss pedagogy, mixed metaphors, ageism, and spiritual growth in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. The text is appointed for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Volker Leppin and Vasileios Marinis discuss hypocrisy, reward systems, righteousness, and religious performance in Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12). The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Justin Crisp and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss blessedness, poverty, consolation, and the dangers of transactional theology in Matthew 5:1-12. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joanne Jennings and Bill Goettler discuss living with both faith and fear in Psalm 27:1, 4-9. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss the story of John the Baptist, a wild and perhaps uncertain character, in John 1:29-42. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss Messianism, prophetic gentleness, and hermeneutical approaches in Isaiah 42:1-9. The text is appointed for the First Sunday after the Epiphany, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Vasileios Marinis and Volker Leppin discuss human nature, sovereignty over creation, and preacherly responsibility with reference to Psalm 8. The text is appointed for the First Sunday after Christmas, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Yejide Peters Pietersen and Bill Goettler discuss the spirit of children, the multiplicity of interpretation, and pastoral responsibility at Christmas, with reference to Luke 2:1-14 (15-20). The text is appointed for Christmas Eve in the Revised Common Lectionary.
Mark Heim and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss Christian and Muslim interpretations of the Nativty of Jesus, with special reference to Matthew 1:18-25. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Judith Gundry and Adam Eitel discuss patience, endurance of suffering, and the challenges of family conflict in James 5:7-10. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday of Advent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Peter Hawkins and Eric Reymond discuss the imagined future of the glorious kingdom in Isaiah 11:1-10 and Romans 15:4-13. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday of Advent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
AndrewMcGowan and Ned Parker discuss the holiness of divine absence and the anticipation of things to come in Matthew 24:36-44. The text is appointed for the First Sunday of Advent in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Tisa Wenger discuss colonial narratives, indigenous theology, and the downsides of going to a “Promised Land” in Deuteronomy 26:1-11. The text is appointed for Thanksgiving Day (USA), in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Peter Hawkins and Eric Reymond discuss Hebrew vocabulary, shepherd imagery, and the legacy of King David in Jeremiah 23:1-6. The text is appointed for the Feast of Christ the King (Proper 29), in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
John Collins and Jennifer Herdt discuss poverty, apocalyptic imagery, and economic justice in reference to Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 and Luke 6:20-31. The text is appointed for All Saints’ Day, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Harold Attridge and Greg Sterling discuss redemption, the proper use of wealth, and the strange company Jesus keeps in Luke 19:1-10. The text is appointed for the Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 26, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Awet Andemicael and Adam Eitel discuss shame, redemption, and rehabilitation in Joel 2:23-32. The text is appointed for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 25, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss punishment, free will, and the dangers of metaphor in Jeremiah 31:27-34. The text is appointed for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 24, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Jacqueline Vayntrub and Christian Wiman discuss joy, salvation history, and chicken guts in Psalm 66:1-12. The text is appointed for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 23, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Peter Hawkins and Eric Reymond discuss trauma, hope, and poetic Hebrew in Lamentations 1:1-6 and 3:19-26. The text is appointed for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22), in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss faith, ritual performance, and divine blessing in Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16. The text is appointed for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 21), in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Justin Crisp and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss capitalism, shrewdness, and the logic of parables in Luke 16:1-13. The text is appointed for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20), in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
John Collins and Jennifer Herdt discuss the undoing of creation, fidelity, and false prophets in Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28. The text is appointed for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 19, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Eric Reymond discuss precarity, God as creator and destroyer, and the potter metaphor in Jeremiah 18:1-11. The text is appointed for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Peter Hawkins and Eric Reymond discuss humility, reversing the status quo, speaking truth to power in Sirach 10:12-18. The text is appointed for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 17, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Christian Wiman and Jacqueline Vayntrub discuss justice, prayer and action, and getting God's attention in Isaiah 58:9b-14. The text is appointed for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 16, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Erika Helgen and Chloë Starr discuss faith heroes through history, triumphant faith, and the role of sin in Hebrews 11:29-12:2. The text is appointed for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 15, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Greg Sterling and Harry Attridge discuss women in early Christian communities, eschatology, and faith as a matter of the heart in Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16. The text is appointed for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 14, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Judith Gundry and Adam Eitel discuss possession, wealth, and covetousness in Luke 12:13-21. The text is appointed for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 13, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Tisa Wenger and Joel Baden discuss bargaining, God and Abraham's new relationship, and the righteous of Sodom and Gamorrah in Genesis 18:20-32. The text is appointed for Track 2 on the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 12, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Andrew McGowan and Ned Parker discuss Mary and Martha, extroversion, and authenticity in Luke 10:38-42. The text is appointed for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 11, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Volker Leppin and Vasileios Marinis discuss poverty, God's expectations, and our responsibilities to one another in Psalm 82. The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 10, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Eric Reymond discuss kings, skin diseases, and prophetic power in 2 Kings 5:1-14. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 9, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Erika Helgen and Chloë Starr discuss prophetic leadership, sudden loss, and mentorship in 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 8, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Harold Attridge and John Hare discuss gender identity, ethnic dynamics, and changes of the heart in Galatians 3:23-29. The text is appointed for Proper 7, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Peter Hawkins and Eric Reymond discuss joy, multiculturalism, and feminine language in Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31. The text is appointed for Trinity Sunday, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Volker Leppin and Vasileios Marinis discuss signs and wonders, Hebrew Bible connections, the promise of salvation, and more in Acts 2:1-21. The text is appointed for Pentecost, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Yejide Peters Pietersen and Bill Goettler discuss love-songs, community, and connection in reference to John 17:20-26. The text is appointed for the Feast of the Ascension, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Erika Helgen and Chloë Starr discuss social justice, human failure, and heavenly hope in Revelation 21:10, 22–22:5. The text is appointed for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Eric Reymond discuss poetic structure, creation language, and the mechanics of praise in Psalm 148. The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Andrew McGowan and Ned Parker discuss whiteness, danger, and comfort in Revelation 7:9-17. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Harold Attridge and Gregory Sterling discuss Resurrection encounters and calls to action in Acts 9:1-20 and John 21:1-19. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday of Easter, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Mark Heim and Abdul-Rehman Malik discuss doubt, trauma, and the value of “Doubting Thomas” in John 20:19-31. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday of Easter, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Harry Attridge and John Hare discuss faith, uncertainty, and the power of emotion in John 20:1-18. The text is appointed for Easter Day, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Tisa Wenger discuss the construction of stories, Christian supersessionism, and the legacy of Christian storytelling in relation to Genesis 22:1-18. The text is appointed for the Easter Vigil, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Judy Gundry and Adam Eitel discuss the innocence of Jesus, divine kingship, and more in John 18:1-19:42. The text is appointed for Good Friday, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
John Collins and Jennifer Herdt discuss enslavement imagery, Passover liberation, and models of service in Exodus 12:1-14 and John 13:1-17. The texts are appointed for Maundy Thursday, in all three years of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Andrew McGowan and Ned Parker discuss community, sacrament, and suffering in Luke 22:14-23:56. The text is appointed for the Palm Sunday, the Liturgy of the Passion, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Tisa Wenger and Joel Baden discuss divine violence, colonialism, and the notion of “wilderness” in Isaiah 43:16-21. The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Yejide Peters Pietersen and Bill Goettler discuss reconciliation, spiritual role-models, and what it means to “become the righteousness of God” with reference to 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. The text is appointed for the 4th Sunday in Lent, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Judith Gundry and Adam Eitel discuss repentance, leniency, and divine warnings in Luke 13:1-9. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday in Lent, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Eric Reymond discuss inheritance, offspring, and the promises of God in Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday in Lent, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Harold Attridge and John Hare discuss the possibility of being in relationship with God in Romans 10:8b-13. The text is appointed for the First Sunday in Lent, March 6, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss the healing and transforming power of God in Luke 9:28-43. The text is appointed for Transfiguration Sunday, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Sarah Drummond and Joel Baden discuss forgiveness and the sibling dynamics at work in Genesis 45:3-11,15. The text is appointed for the Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss Jesus’ blessings and warnings in Luke 6:17-26. The text is appointed for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, Sunday, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Jacqueline Vayntrub and Christian Wiman discuss the difference between verse and prose in Isaiah 6:1-13. The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Sarah Drummond and Joel Baden discuss reluctant prophets and God’s will in Jeremiah 1:4-10. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Erika Helgen and Chloe Starr discuss the church universal and love as the basis for the exercise of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday after Epiphany, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss recognizing God in the midst of community and the diversity of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday after Epiphany, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Peter Hawkins and Eric Reymond discuss the power of God in Psalm 29. The text is appointed for the First Sunday after Epiphany, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Awet Andemicael and Adam Eitel discuss the mystery, language and lyricism in John 1:1-18. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday after Christmas, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Gregory Sterling and Harold Attridge discuss the humanity of young Jesus and the role of Mary as mother in Luke 2:41-52. The text is appointed for the First Sunday after Christmas, Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Sarah Drummond and Joel Baden discuss birth, kingship and signs of God’s redemption in Isaiah 9:2-7. The text is appointed for Christmas (Proper 1), December 24, Years A, B, and C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Felicity Harley-McGowan and Bruce Gordon discuss the Magnificat and our understanding of Mary through the ages in relation to Luke 1:46b-55. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Advent 4), Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Sarah Drummond discuss hope, apathy, and why the context of prophecy matters in Zephaniah 3:14-20. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday of Advent (Advent 3), Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Peter Hawkins and Eric Reymond discuss disaster and hope, glory, and reversal in Baruch 5:1-9. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday of Advent (Advent 2), Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Joel Baden and Tisa Wenger discuss messianic prophecy, timelessness, and historic context in Jeremiah 33:14-16. The text is appointed for the First Sunday of Advent (Advent 1), Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.
Chapter, Verse, and Season gives listeners the opportunity to overhear the kinds of conversations that take place in the halls of Yale Divinity School. Each week, professors from different theological disciplines chat about biblical texts from the Revised Common Lectionary. They bring their own interests to the table and hopefully spark new insights into the scripture appointed for each Sunday.