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.
They Shall Never Again Be Put to Shame (Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost)
Voiceover Voice:
They will never again be put to shame for having trusted in me. For having been called my people.
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 Awet Andemicael, Associate Dean for Marquand Chapel and Lecturer in Theology, and Adam Eitel, Assistant Professor of Ethics.
They’re discussing Joel 2:23-32, which is appointed for Track 1 of the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 25, in Year C. The text is read for you by student Aidan Stoddart.
Aidan Stoddart:
[Joel 2:23-32]
O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early rain and the later rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, that I sent against you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit. I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
Adam Eitel:
Well, something that’s stood out in this passage that hasn’t always stood out to me, it’s the word shame. We see it twice, starting in verse 26, “and my people shall never again be put to shame.” And then once again, in verse 27, “and my people shall never again be put to shame.” I know of an old book. It’s a bit of a classic in contemporary philosophy by Bernard Williams on shame in Ancient Greco, Roman culture. I know enough about it though to know that shame here and the Hebrew term behind it is importantly different than what’s meant there by shame. And what we mean by shame is probably different. But I’m wondering now, what do you have any sense for what is being described here in this verse? Why is it so important that the author has to emphasize once and then again, that the people of God will never be put to shame?
Awet Andemicael:
It’s a good question. I’m sort of going back and forth in my mind, between what would’ve been the context of the people of Israel. Having gone through so much in the history that’s recounted in the Hebrew Bible that, you know, Joel, the prophet Joel, is referring to. And even if we’re thinking as from a contemporary perspective, the way the global Jewish communities through more recent and up to present history, have gone through so much and have been made to suffer in so many ways. And thinking about the ways in which this idea of God bringing forth a restoration and, kind of, how do I say it? I guess I think about the being put to shame here along the lines of, having their trust in God confirmed.
So that if trust in me, you will never be put to shame. But then when you trust in God for a particular outcome, you trust that God will be faithful to God’s people. And then a mishap happens, or utter catastrophe happens. It prompts the theodicy you know, of the attempt to try and understand how it is that this could be. That God could be just, and yet this horrible thing could happen. And I guess I’m thinking along those lines, in this particular context, I guess I’m reading this less about, personal shame as in I’m ashamed of what I’ve done or I’m experiencing shame, but more that they will never again be put to shame for having trusted in me for having been, called my people.
But in fact the name of Israel, the people of Israel, the nation that is beloved to God, nation kind of broad. I don’t mean sort of political, just kind of that this people and this cultural group that God set apart for a particular purpose would never be put to shame because the fact that they are chosen would be, and that their purpose for being chosen would be, for the glory of the world, for the benefit of the world. That all of this would be made clear and would be vindicated in an ultimate way. I guess that’s how I think about what it means, especially if this is never again be put to shame. It has a sort of eschatological implication. Which is the whole passage does obviously. Yeah, that that’s how I would read that particular.
Adam Eitel:
I think that’s really illuminating. It’s helpful. As I was listening to you, I was just thinking more about the notion of shame. You know, it entails the kind of exposure. I think of it connoting being subject to public mockery, scorn, rebuke. It doesn’t necessarily entail having done something wrong, but it, but there’s a kind of exposure, a kind of vulnerability, a kind of being laid bare. And here, God is saying to this people that, and in this moment that you’ve, I think really helpfully described, there will be a day where you will not be put to shame. Where the possibility of that social reality, that political reality, but the very real and intensely personal anguish that emerges out of it will be extinguished. It will be itself brought to an end. And what I’m impressed by, is just as I’m continuing to look here at the passage, is not even what it’s the repetition of this line, “my people should never be put to shame”, but what comes between it.
Awet Andemicael:
Yeah.
Adam Eitel:
“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord, your God, who has dealt wonderfully with you.” And in this context of, of satisfaction of fullness, of wonderous gratitude, the shame of what has come before, or the possibility of being put to shame will be eclipsed. It will be permanently eclipsed. And then the second thing, “and you shall know that I’m in the midst of Israel and that I, the Lord am your God, and there is no other.”
On the one hand, the context for the end of shame is on the one hand, a kind of fullness, a kind of gratitude for what God has done. But it’s not just that it’s also a full awareness of not just what God has done, but of God’s perfect presence in the midst of the people. It, you know, what are you, what are you, what is, so there are wonders things have happened, but how wonders is it that God is in the midst of Israel, is there. It, you know, it kind of harks back in my mind which has been formed by ancient and medieval exegesis, it to me, it harks back a bit to the garden where we see God walking in the cool of day with the first human beings. And all of this is sort of torn asunder. Adam and Eve are cast out of the garden. They’re no longer enjoying these midday strolls. I don’t know what time of day it’s meant to be, but it’s in the cool of the day, isn’t it?
Awet Andemicael:
In the cool of the day. So it must be.
Adam Eitel:
Yeah. But there’s this kind of…
Awet Andemicael:
Yeah. It’s not midday. I mean the little time I spend the Middle East, I can say the midday is not the cool of the day.
Adam Eitel:
It’s not midday, right? No, it’s not. Yeah, that’s the daytime of, I forget which song calls it, the noonday devil. But yeah, that’s right. It’s the cool of the day and there’s this kind of reunion, this kind of, well, to reference here an answer we were talking about a while ago, maybe a recapitulation of something that’s been broken that’s now put back together. And now I’ll hand it over to you to see what you think about this. But isn’t that what Adam and Eve experienced first and foremost following their transgression is shame? They cover themselves.
Awet Andemicael:
Yeah, it’s really interesting for me. I’ll say two things that come to mind in connection with what you’re saying is that even though I started out talking about kind of the broader connection of this passage, to at least my understanding of this passage connected to the broader history of the people of Israel. Taking on a more individual or personal spiritualized level, it definitely does connect to, not so much repentance for sin although that’s part of it, but I’m definitely thinking about ways in which the presence of God, the living presence of God, is connected to the plenty and the satisfaction. The fullness of – kind of the fulfillment.
So there’s the fulfillment of our needs, as you said in verse 26 and the presence of God, the living presence of God in 27. And those two seemed to be really linked, both kind of leaning back toward what comes earlier in the passage of God making right and repaying us for all the ways in which things had not quite lined up before. The ways in which, I mean, I can just say personally and just for a lot of people I know, when you’ve gone through a time in your life or could be a long stretch, could be your whole, whole adult life for some of us, but you know, many ways in which you stand at a moment in your life and you look back and you say, “what have I done with myself? You know, I thought I was gonna be in this place and I don’t know what happened. I’m not even close to where I thought I should be.” Or I think about times when I didn’t make good choices, or I made choices that made sense at the time. I look back and say, “was that really the right thing to do?” And you just feel like you’ve lost a whole chunk of your life. Sometimes you know with good intentions, sometimes just with bad choices. And the idea that it’s possible at any point in your life. I mean, again, taking this in a more, maybe, applied in a broader sense not in the sort of historical sense, but this idea that God is, and I know a lot of people read it, read this passage this way, that God is able to kind of redeem the time that has passed. Even if we feel like we’ve wasted it, it’s gone. So, it’s not just that God forgives our sin, but God can somehow kind of rehabilitate our lives to help us see a meaning and a purpose and a value to us and to our lives that’s hard for us to discern when we’re so caught up with the ways in which the locus has destroyed all of the things that we intended. All of our hopes, all of our dreams, all of our ideas of who we thought we were, or we should be.
And then you stand at this point, you say, “things did not work out the, the way I thought they were going to work out.” And it’s so easy to fall into despair. But the idea that God is able to, that God even says in this context, and I will admit that I have claimed this for my life in many contexts, that God promises – some of us can take this as a promise that God will repay us for the years that the locus has eaten. That God is able to restore our sense of who we are. And that it’s not just a sense of, okay, you lost money and then God repaid, or, you know, you lost an opportunity, and not along those lines, but just in sense of the meaning and value of who we are.
But the way God does that is by the living presence of God in our lives. That for God to be in the midst of who we are in the midst of our assembly. And then for that then to connect to what comes right afterwards.
Adam Eitel:
The Spirit on all flesh.
Awet Andemicael:
Exactly that, and then what does it mean to have the living presence of God in the midst of the people, the community is the Holy Spirit, again reading this from a Christian perspective, that is poured out on all flesh. And I just, I so appreciate that Joel and the, as I would say, the Holy Spirit inspiring Joe, had him specifically point out your sons and your daughters, your old men, the old and the young, sons and daughters, slaves as well as people who are presumably not, you know, described as slaves. So, you’ve got gender diversity, you’ve got age diversity, especially in a culture where the elders were revered and the young, not so much you know. And then the class differentials would be taken of that, that God is so encompassing. And so, there’s no situation of life that can separate us from being ones whom God desires to pour a God spirit on.
So, the idea that the presence of God is for us today at work through that living presence, that is how the restoration comes. That is how the new life, the new possibilities come. To me that’s just an extraordinary way that the passage is put together.
Adam Eitel:
Beautiful.
Awet Andemicael:
Reading it from kind of a contemporary Christian perspective.
Helena Martin:
Thanks for listening. And thank you, Professors Andemicael and Eitel, for looking at Joel with
us.
For a transcript of this episode and lots more Bible study resources, visit YaleBibleStudy.org.
And follow 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:
Joel
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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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.
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.
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.