Erika Helgen and Chloƫ 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.
Great Numbers of Heroes (Tenth Sunday after Pentecost)
Voiceover Voice:
Weāre not supposed to be discouraged by the passage; weāre actually supposed to be uplifted by it.
Helena Martin:
This is Chapter, Verse, and Season: a lectionary podcast from Yale Bible Study. Join us every week as two Yale Divinity School professors look at an upcoming text from the Revised Common Lectionary.
This episode we have Erika Helgen, Associate Professor of Latin American and Latinx Christianity, and Chloƫ Starr, Professor of Asian Christianity and Theology.
Theyāre discussing Hebrews 11:29ā12:2, which is appointed for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 15, in Year C. The text is read for you by student Tommy Watson.
Tommy Watson:
Hebrews 11:29-12:2.
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.
And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets– who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented– of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Chloƫ Starr:
So weāre still in the chapter of faith accounts here. Weāve had Abraham and Isaac and Moses and weāre now heading into those great numbers of heroes.
Erika Helgen:
Yeah. Now weāre having, you know this is kind of talking about letting us think about heroes and what makes a hero and what do they have to endure, overcome in order to receive what they had been promised, right? From God.
Chloƫ Starr:
Yeah, itās interesting. Isnāt it? That thereās this sort of jump. Thereās nothing after crossing the Red Sea until the entry into Canaan. And I think itās good. You know, we skip the bad stuff, that disobedience, and I think itās important how we craft the lives of people. And what we tell about their good things. Thereās such a tendency these days to highlight everyoneās faults and everyoneās negative parts. And yet, you know, sometimes we do need to celebrate those good things.
I was reminded at the funeral of Prince Phillip about this, because, you know, Iād always thought of him as some dodgery oh so-and-so, you know, consort of the queen and all that kind of thing. And all youāve heard of is the terribly negative or occasionally, you know, crude or racist remarks heād made to the many hundreds of people heād met. And yet, when he died, suddenly all these eulogies came out. All these ordinary people all over the place who had great things to say about him. And, you know, it was a totally different version of this person than weād heard from the media. And, I think the sort of media tendency now is to play up everyoneās negatives, whether theyāre a politician or an actor or whoever, and not speak out the good points. And yet here we have the opposite. We have the heroes being valorized for their heroic qualities and the bad bit being left out for change.
Erika Helgen:
And yet, when weāre thinking about valorizing the heroes, a lot of the history thatās being told here is a quite violent history full of suffering and death, and what is being celebrated is, to a certain extent, the triumph over these hardships. But, weāre talking about torture. Weāre talking about facing jeers and flogging and even chains and imprisonment and being put to death by stoning. Sawed in two. And, so, we are bringing forth the heroes and, in many cases, the martyrs. But weāre also highlighting this history of violence and persecution that they endured in order to become heroic and to show the endurance of their faith.
Chloƫ Starr:
Yeah. And, as you say, itās the faith thatās the central point. These arenāt, you know, random heroes. Itās through faith or by faith or, after verse thirty two, you know, the shift between by faith to through faith as to how, how they, you know, why weāre noting them and remembering them. And personally, I find it difficult that, you know, the Gideon, the Barak, the Samson, the Jephthahs, those are all military heroes you know, against the Midianites or Cicero or Philistines or the Ammonites, you know. So, death, destruction as being, you know, central to the notion of what a hero is, I think, had its moment. And thankfully it isnāt now. My own heroes are very different types of Christian heroes.
Erika Helgen:
But, I also think the prostitute Rahab, right? Welcoming those who many thought should not be welcomed. Right?
Chloƫ Starr:
True. But the only woman making it into the list as being the prostitute, Rahab, is also problematic.
Erika Helgen:
Oh, of course, of course. But we are seeing, at least, a little bit of a differentā¦model for who can be a hero and what can be heroic.
Chloƫ Starr:
I suppose I like the āand what more should I say?ā I donāt really have time, the sermon is nearly at the end. You know, you get the gist, you get my point. Iāll just skip over everyone else.
Erika Helgen:
Exactly. And what more shall I say? I like that.
Chloƫ Starr:
So who are your faith heroes?
Erika Helgen:
Well, I mean really when reading this passage, it does make me think of, you know, I am a historian of Latin America and liberation theology, and the heroes of not just the liberation theology movement, but the movement for human rights and against the military dictatorships in Latin America. And so I think of Saint Oscar Romero who knew that he would perhaps suffer death and he was risking torture and he essentially understood all of these dangers that came with his witness. But it was his faith that both compelled him to do that, but also enabled his witness to be so strong and to have his acts be heroic and eventually, in the case of the Catholic church, he became a martyr and a Saint.
Chloƫ Starr:
Itās interesting how martyrs are so prominent in our thinking about this. I was thinking about, you know, my own heroes and when I was a teenager, I remember being very struck by the life of Richard Wurmbrand who was a Romanian pastor under CeauČescu and spent fourteen years in prison and three of those were completely solitary. And he wrote two books that are one on āTortured for Christā and the other was āIn Godās Underground.ā And he talks about how he went mad, essentially. And, you know, how he convinced himself he could easily renounce his faith and sort of these inner discussions of the psychological torture he was undergoing. You know, his story made a lot of sense to me in terms of, you know, that the desperation and the huge, how endurance works, what it means, really to endure, or what it can mean.
Or the martyrs of Japan that I think about in work, and we read about it in EndÅās āSilence,ā or in Scorsese film of the same name, you know, that terribly slow death of torture and the cruelty of humans that bring torture on other people. And that leads into all sorts of thinking about the religious persecution going on today around the world, in different places. But we are still living in an era of the creation of martyrs.
But, I guess as Iāve got older, my heroes might be much quieter ones. Somebody like Father Tony, who was here at YDS, who, you know, knelt in chapel for 20 minutes before the service every single day on his 70 year old knees. And that witness or someone like [7:14] Agnes Young and, you know, in Ming Dynasty, China, who gave money to build chapels and to build up the Church. And so that some of those positive heroes as well, who lived lives of faith in both quiet ways and, and in their own community, sometimes even, you know, in separate communities.
Erika Helgen:
Yeah. And one thing that stood out to me, you know, was the fact that some of these heroes, we have named heroes, right? But we also have unnamed heroes. And, so, even though they might be referring to specific people, to me, it also represents all the different, unnamed heroes that we might, you know, that might not have the fame and reach of martyrs and, you know, dramatic sacrifices for faith. But this idea of endurance, right? Those who are enduring and that their faith is both helping them endure, but also, the, you know, driver of the endurance itself.
Chloƫ Starr:
Yeah. I dedicated my last book on Chinese theology to [8:31] Jang Bodah and Jada Chun. And they embody that. So Jang Bodah and Jada Chun was a Roman Catholic, who was martyred in prison in the 1950s. He died in prison and Jada Chun didnāt. You know, he lost his job and possibly he was, you know, had his priesthood taken away from him. And he may or may not have lost his faith, you know, into the 1970s, by the time he died.
And yet there are those, there are two types of enduring martyrdom, arenāt there? Thereās, you know, the sort of heroic, haloed saints. And then thereās those who carry on and live in very difficult circumstances.
You know, we think about living lives of faith, but not being about, oh, us trying to be heroes. You know, the text is about, ālet us run with perseverance, the race that is set before us.ā And we, none of us know what our future will be. We have to live our own lives.
Iāve been thinking again during COVID times about how the pandemic has exposed our weaknesses and our selfishness. I always thought Iād be one of those heroes that, you know, goes out and lives completely for others. And yet the real heroes are the store workers and medical orderlies and taxi drivers and people who, in their daily job, you know, encounter risk. Whereas many of us, especially academics have been able to hide ourself away. And itās difficult, you know, wanting to think of yourself as a, as a hero. And youāre actually that, you know, might not be who we are.
Erika Helgen:
Well, itās also this idea that everyone has a race, right? But that path is laid out for you. And itās how you respond to it and how you endure. And so, you know, I agree.
I think the pandemic has laid bare not just who is a hero and who is not a hero. But this idea of the heroes in the endurance of the every day and that this is actually heroic. I mean, you know, our grocery store workers, our postal workers, that endurance is heroic. And we can see that with the pandemic. But itās part of this race that we are given to run.
Chloƫ Starr:
Yeah. And the passage is clear that faith may involve an untimely death. But also, it may be a non-heroic life and we donāt know. Faith isnāt based on the output or the consequences. Thereās no evaluation in that sense. In terms of action or outcome of faithfulness is only known to God. And, you know, at the end of the passage where weāre pointed to Christ as the epitome of, and the perfecter, as it says, the first and the last of our faith, the pioneer and the perfecter of it.
You know, Christās endurance, ostensibly, apparently, didnāt go anywhere. And itās only later that we see the outcome. You know, we wonāt see that outcome of our, we live in this hope of faith, believing weāre on the right path. And quite often, not knowing and quite often thinking we arenāt on the right path and being fearful of that.
And yet, having to carry on.
What do you make of the cloud of witnesses? Are these heavenly witnesses? Is this some sort of extra terrestrial surveillance by those who have lived faithful lives?
Erika Helgen:
I think, you know, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. I mean, I do think it is this idea that those who have gone before us and showed us these heroic, either named or unnamed, can be a model for how we live our marked race, right? I mean, as you said, ChloĆ«, itās not, we donāt know necessarily what parts of our lives will or will not be considered heroic afterwards. But we do have this great cloud of witnesses that I think the idea is that they are pushing us along that marked race, right?
Chloƫ Starr:
Yeah, and I guess weād be remiss if we didnāt note that there is something we have to do here. Namely, lay aside the weight and the sin that clings. Weāve been focusing on the heroism and forgetting that thereās our part to play in this.
Erika Helgen:
Exactly.
Chloƫ Starr:
So itās interesting, isnāt it, that the thirty five verses are all about the triumphant faith and only three of those verses, 35 to 38, about the suffering and the pain. I think weāre not supposed to be discouraged by the passage. Weāre actually supposed to be uplifted by it.
Helena Martin:
Thanks for listening. And thank you, Professors Helgen and Starr, for joining us again.
Check out YaleBibleStudy.org for lots more Bible study resources, and follow us on Twitter @BibleYale.
Chapter, Verse, and Season is a production of the Center for Continuing Education at Yale Divinity School. Itās produced by: Creator and Managing Editor, Joel Baden; Production Manager, Kelly Morrissey; Associate Producer, Aidan Stoddart; and Iām your Host and Executive Producer, Helena Martin. Caity Stuart did the transcript for this episode, and our theme music is by Calvin Linderman.
Weāll be back with another conversation from Chapter, Verse, and Season.
Book of the Bible:
Hebrews
Subjects:
Hebrews
Guests
Text
New Revised Standard Version Bible
Copyright Ā© 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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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 Godās 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 6:12ā23. 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 Jesusā 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 1:1ā2:4a 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 18:1ā19:42. 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 āPromised Landā 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.
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.
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 Saintsā 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.
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 Chloƫ 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 ChloĆ« Starr discuss social justice, human failure, and heavenly hope in Revelation 21:10, 22ā22:5. 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 āDoubting Thomasā 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 āwildernessā 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 ābecome the righteousness of Godā 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 Jesusā 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 Godās 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 Godās 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.