Bill Goettler and Joel Baden discuss prophecy, change, and divine threats in Ezekiel 33:7-11. The text is appointed for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.
The Role of the Prophet (Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost)
This is, in a sense, a really extreme way of saying what I think a lot of us probably feel, which is, to go through an injust world and to say nothing is to be injust.
Natalie Owens Pike:
This is Chapter, Verse, and Season: a lectionary podcast from Yale Bible Study. Join us each week as Yale Divinity School professors look at an upcoming text from the Revised Common Lectionary.
I’m your host, Natalie Owens Pike, Yale Divinity School Class of 2023. In this episode, we have Joel Baden, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director for the Center of Continuing Education at Yale Divinity School, and Bill Goettler, Associate Dean for Ministerial and Social Leadership and Lecturer in Parish Leadership and Church Administration at Yale Divinity School. They’re discussing Ezekiel 33:7-11, which is appointed for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, in Year A. Let’s listen in.
[Ezekiel 33:7-11]
So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, “O wicked ones, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel: Thus you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?” Say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Bill Goettler:
Wow. This is a tough text. It’s the reason that most Christian preachers, I think, they wait until the 37th chapter of the Book of Ezekiel before they try to read it to a congregation. Dry bones that live are much easier to preach about than God’s insistence that the preacher call out the wicked ones with warnings of their own demise.
Joel Baden:
Yeah. I mean, it’s not a happy text. It’s almost, I mean, some of it feels a little bit banal to me, right? Like, is there anything more basic than “wicked people should die?” Like, that feels like a central, prophetic… Ezekiel’s really into that. Ezekiel’s constantly threatening death.
Bill Goettler:
Wicked people should die and it’s your job to call them on it,
Joel Baden:
Right. A lot of the book of Ezekiel is about the experience of being a prophet, which is, you know, a thing we get here and there. Obviously, Jeremiah thinks about it; Isaiah has, you know, we have call narratives, we have Amos: “I’m not a prophet or the son of a prophet.” People think about this. People think about this. Ezekiel thinks a lot about what it’s like to actually inhabit the role of prophet, how difficult it is: ingesting the word; it’s a lot of God talking to Ezekiel and being like, “All right dude, now it’s time for you to do this. This is going to be hard. This is unpleasant.” But this is a threat against Ezekiel. “Do this my way, or you end up paying.”
Bill Goettler:
You’ll be condemned with the rest of them.
Joel Baden:
Yeah, yeah.
Bill Goettler:
Yeah.
Joel Baden:
I mean, I will say that, as a person who works primarily in the Pentateuch, the analogy for me here is something like, the commandment in Deuteronomy to go slaughter all of the Canaanites and to burn all their stuff and leave no one alive, because “unless you do that, I’ll do this to you.”
Bill Goettler:
Yeah, yeah.
Joel Baden:
Which leaves us without choice here.
Bill Goettler:
This is a God who’s deeply involved in the human condition, in the affairs of humankind. God knows what’s going on, sees the good and the bad, and that God makes room for the society to change, right?
Joel Baden:
Mm-hmm.
Bill Goettler:
There’s the possibility of repentance, of turning away from the evil ways, and for that possibility to be real, somebody needs to name it: the sin, that is. Somebody needs to name the evil in society and call them on it.
Joel Baden:
Mm-hmm.
Bill Goettler:
That’s obviously the prophet’s role. But it’s really pretty specific here.
Joel Baden:
Yeah. “If they continue being wicked and you didn’t warn them,”–right?–”they’re gonna die for being wicked, but I’m gonna put it on… I put their deaths on you,” right? “Their blood, I will require at your hand. If you do warn them, they’re gonna die, but you will have saved your life.” Now, this is, in a sense, a really extreme way of saying what I think a lot of us probably feel, which is, to go through an unjust world and to say nothing is to be unjust, to participate in that injustice.
Bill Goettler:
We dare not stay silent when we see others doing wrong. We need to lift our, we must lift our, voices and seek to reform society or just to name that those places of evil?
Joel Baden:
It’s interesting, right? What we’ve got in the biblical texts so often is, “There’s only one guy.” There’s only one person who’s out there speaking the truth. The prophets talk about this all the time, right? Like, “it’s just me,” right? “It’s me against the false prophets”–Jeremiah, right? Or there’s the one prophet who’s talking to the king; there’s the one prophet who’s talking to society. There’s no sense that, you don’t read any of the biblical prophets in the sense that, “Oh, there’s a whole bunch of them out there doing this.” So, how to translate that, the one person who’s responsible–I mean, in this case, Ezekiel is “You, Ezekiel, are the guy; you are responsible for the whole of the thing.” How do we translate that into modernity when we’ve got…
Bill Goettler:
Many versions.
Joel Baden:
Right. I can look around. There’s thousands and thousands of people who are fighting the good fight. That’s both lovely, but does that also lessen the burden on any individual? Is anybody standing in the role of Ezekiel? Does anybody feel that they are the only one, anymore?
Bill Goettler:
There are certainly traditions who claim that space.
Joel Baden:
Mm-hmm.
Bill Goettler:
And they will be opposing positions.
Joel Baden:
Mm-hmm.
Bill Goettler:
One person’s evil is the other’s good, and good and possible way.
Joel Baden:
Mm-hmm.
Bill Goettler:
God seems to trust that the people know the difference between good and evil. Is that fair to say in this text?
Joel Baden:
Uh, I mean, I think…
Bill Goettler:
They know the wrong they are doing, calling it out?
Joel Baden:
Well, I think they’re… yes. In the broadest sense, I think the answer is probably yes. The people, when Ezekiel says, “Hey, you gotta stop doing that,” I don’t think people are like, “What!? We do?!” Ezekiel, as a book, Ezekiel’s whole perspective is, “You guys are just the worst. You’ve always been the worst. You will always be the worst.” Ezekiel is, as a book, uncertain whether Israel deserves good things. But I think part of that is, yeah, they don’t go around thinking they’re doing great. They’re just, you know…
Bill Goettler:
They’re just not mindful of the ways in which they are…
Joel Baden:
They’re habitually disobedient.
Bill Goettler:
Right, and I think that is also a pretty contemporary story in a society that knows that we should care for the poor, that knows that we should be aligning ourselves with those who suffer, that we should be a people who make peace. We do know the bottom line here, about what a right society would look like.
Joel Baden:
You’re focusing on all the good stuff. And I, when I read this, I’m also like, “Man, there’s a lot of death in here.” Which is to say, it doesn’t even say the, “If the wicked continue in their ways, they’ll be…” It’s “die.” Right? There’s a lot of “the wicked will die” and “either you’ve warned them or you haven’t, but they’re definitely gonna die.” Does this not bother you? Do you just read it as a sort of extremist language that we sort of translate into…
Bill Goettler:
Well, sure, and I read this chapter along with those that follow right? So, we do know that bones will live. We, we do know that there will be a redemptive possibility.
Joel Baden:
[Bill Goettler laughs as Joel Baden starts to speak] These bones aren’t those bones! The bones that live aren’t the bones of the wicked who God killed! [Joel Baden laughs]
Bill Goettler:
There is possibility, there is hope as a bottom line. Yes. That’s where I come down.
Joel Baden:
Yeah. This is… the more I have spent time with the Bible (which is a silly thing for me to say, but still), I find myself increasingly attuned to the places where the biblical text, by virtue of using (and for whatever reasons, it does), by virtue of using language that invokes the death of one’s religious opponents, or people who don’t agree with the prophet’s vision or God’s vision: the way that that language has sort of infused and suffuses the way that we think about others. I can intellectually think like, “You know, I realize that it’s just hyperbole,” or “It’s language of its time.” But also, I am constantly like, “This is the sort of language that’s responsible for really unpleasant stuff in the world.” When you have a text in which the deity says, “You go out and you’d say, ‘Anyone who doesn’t follow me is gonna die,’ and they are gonna die,” a certain point that’s like… we can soften it. I mean, and I think that that’s your reading is, your tendency is to soften away from that. But I think that stuff’s out there. I think there are people in communities who hear, who read stuff like this, for whom the logical outgrowth of this is, “Yeah! There are people who deserve to die!”
Bill Goettler:
Which is why it always has to be contextualized. If you are getting up on a Sunday to preach this text from Ezekiel 33, and you’re only referring to this text in Ezekiel 33, you’re pretty stuck.
Joel Baden:
[Joel Baden laughs] Although, I mean, the very end of this, the very end, is the part that I think maybe mitigates all of that, which is, “Yes, they’re gonna die. Yes, they’re gonna die. The wicked are they gonna die. The wicked are gonna die”–
Bill Goettler:
“Turn back.”
Joel Baden:
–and then God says, “but that’s not what I actually want.” Right? Like, “I’m saying this, not because I want it.” In other words, my reading is, not as a prediction of the certainty of this. It’s, “I’m motivating you. This is, this is my version of motivational speaking. The wicked are gonna die. So, change.” Now in the end, what happens if they don’t change? The motivation is still for them to change. In the end… I think maybe the idea is still, “they are gonna die if they don’t.” But the purpose of the text isn’t to… it’s not to advocate for the violent demise of your opponents.
Bill Goettler:
It’s not a celebration.
Joel Baden:
In fact, it’s explicitly, “I don’t take any pleasure in that. I’m trying to get you to change.” And I think that comes back to where we started here, which is, what is the role of the prophet, who is called upon, and who sees injustice, and feels impelled to speak about it? It’s not to condemn. It’s about change.
Natalie Owens Pike:
Thank you for listening. And thank you to our professors for your insights on this scripture.
The transcript of this audio and lots more Bible study resources are available at yalebiblestudy.org.
Chapter, Verse, and Season is a production of the Center for Continuing Education at Yale Divinity School and is produced by: Creator and Managing Editor, Joel Baden; Production Manager, Kelly Morrissey; Associate Producer, Aidan Stoddart; Executive Producer, Helena Martin; and me, your host, Natalie Owens Pike. 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:
Ezekiel
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 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.
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 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.