Erika Helgen and Chloƫ Starr discuss fear, sleep, prayer, and even sine waves in Mark 4:35-41. The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary.
To Rebuke the Wind and the Waves (Fifth Sunday after Pentecost)
Voiceover Voice:
You know, this astonishing response is not to pray to God but to rebuke the wind and the waves.
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 Erika Helgen, Associate Professor of Latin American and Latinx Christianity, and ChloĆ« Starr, Professor of Asian Christianity and Theology. Theyāre discussing Mark 4:35-41, which is appointed for the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 7, in Year B. Hereās the text.
[Mark 4:35-41]
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, āLet us go across to the other side.ā And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, āTeacher, do you not care that we are perishing?ā And waking up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, āBe silent! Be still!ā Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, āWhy are you afraid? Have you still no faith?ā And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, āWho then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?ā
Erika Helgen:
āSo, I have to admit, when I read this passage or hear this passage, my immediate reaction is oftentimes to relate to the disciples a little bit more. You know, thinking that I too would be a bit irritated, perhaps a bit disillusioned, you know, if someone says, āhey, follow me, get into this boat. I’m going to lead you across the sea,ā and then that person promptly goes to sleep, and a huge storm comes, and they’re still asleep. You know, I too might wake them up and say, āhey, you know, what’s the deal here?ā
Chloƫ Starr:
I know, you sort of think, did he not know the danger he was in until he woke up or did he not care? And it always convicts me, this passage, because, you know, I hate flying across the Atlantic to get home. I’m always praying like a mad person during turbulence with my hands on the side of the thing, whereas, you know, the ability to go to sleep in the stern of a boat is quite significant.
Erika Helgen:
Exactly! And when he does wake up and say, āhave you still no faith?ā I think, well, you know, they had faith that he would save them, but, you know, they just thought that he needed to be awake to do so. And so, waking him up to me does not necessarily mean that they had no faith that he would save them. But that’s always just my initial reaction of thinking if I were in that situation, I too might wake up the sleeping leader.
Chloƫ Starr:
Yeah, this question of Whether the disciples say, ādon’t you careā, there’s a difference between this version and the Matthew version. Here, it’s sort of not really a confident prayer for help, but it’s sort of more on the terror. What we all resort to when we’re in that situation. And it seems to me 99 percent of humans in a life-threatening crisis would turn to prayer, whereas Jesus doesn’t.
This astonishing response is not to pray to God, but to rebuke the wind and the waves. And this is what obviously leads to the disciples amazement that, you know, God is actually there with them. I think there are sort of two things there. One is commanding the spirit. You know, Jesus rebukes the wind, and he commands the sea to be muzzled. It’s just like he’s exercising the demons and the evil spirit that people thought were guiding the wind and the waves at this point. So, just this really strong, non-human, divine response. I mean, we do see this elsewhere in the Bible. You’ve got, you know, in the Jonah tradition, sort of, Jonah being the anti-type of Jesus, but he’s also asleep in the hull or wherever in the boat at this point and has this supreme ability to sleep, which is quite ironic because God had sent the storm precisely because of him. So, Jesus’s response not to pray, but just to understand that, you know, he is in control and supreme, and not to worry in the way that we worry. And then to, you know, shout at the disciples or to really scold them for not having the faith. And so, the really interesting passage between faith and fear and this sort of denigration of the cowardliness of the disciples, which is, as we say, like kind of a normal human reaction, versus the awe, the true fear for God that they should have had and now have when they see Jesus’s response.
Erika Helgen:
One thing that this passage does make me think of is, sometimes when we think of the opposite of fear, or hey, to be calm during the storm, again, you think of kind of tranquility. But actually, what you’re seeing here is the opposite of fear being courage. The courage to act, the courage, to stand up to the things that are making you fearful, which, you know, again, oftentimes in the first reading of this, I think, oh, calm during a storm. This is about tranquility, feelings of peace, trust in the Lord, having complete trust is a peaceful feeling. But having complete trust is also giving you courage to do hard things, which is what stands out.
Chloƫ Starr:
Yeah, and it’s linked of course. I mean, I guess the Gospel writers knew, you know, the most famous Greek epic tradition. And here you have sort of like in Homer’s Odyssey there’s also this model for stilling of the storm. Jesus is asleep in the stern like Odysseus and Aeneas or sort of ancient Near Eastern sleeping deities. People who can sleep undisturbed. Whereas most of us in fearful times, the first thing that goes is our sleep. So, you know, these days we’re all sleep deprived. The ability to have that calm, that trust in God that enables sleep is also something important.
I think for me, true, can tell he’s a Galilean lad because he doesn’t get seasick. He’s exhausted after a long day and the fact he’s woken up twice, that sort of repetition suggests it takes a moment or two between them sort of shaking him and him coming through. But it also reminds me of the hard life. He’s been going, if you go back to the verse one of the chapter, he got in the boat first thing in the morning because the crowd couldn’t hear him. And, you know, so we see Jesus using these scientific techniques, he knows that sound waves carry better over water. Like, you know, if you go out today in Long Island Sound, you can hear a kayak person speaking 200 meters away. So, you know, he’s using this knowledge about sound waves to preach. And then the spontaneity in this passage at the end of the day, he’s in the boat, they don’t let him go offshore. You know, this hardship. He doesn’t have a pee break. He doesn’t get off the boat. He carries on. He’s going across now, they’re crossing from the Jewish side to the Gentile side You’ve got these sort of social barriers, this physical barrier of the lake and there’s all stormy. It’s sort of symbolic storm going on here as well. And then, this is not just a nature miracle, this is equally about the identity of Jesus. And a lot of my authors that I read, the Chinese theologians I work on in the early 20th century, they really didn’t like these miracles. They wanted a human Jesus. They denied these miracles. The sort of higher criticism, social Gospel, scientific thinking, they thought of Jesus more as a perfected human whose knowledge of God gave him the kind of moral capacity to do these types of things. But they saw miracles more as tricks of light or folk belief. And yet there’s a paradox for us now that we either have the sort of restraint of a divine Jesus who doesn’t normally use his powers in these ways, you know, in the temptations, he said, no, I’m not going to throw myself off the parapet. But now for his friends, he’s willing to do what he wouldn’t do for himself, use his miraculous powers. And you can sort of see that as an act of service, I think, laying down his non-use of his divinity for the sake of them and to demonstrate who God is.
Erika Helgen:
Yeah, that, to me, brings up, you know, I’m currently doing research on the idea of miracles and healing in Latin America. And again, this idea that, you know, Jesus performs miracles to protect people, right? To ensure that they are not harmed, that their bodies aren’t harmed. And that their trust in him is a trust that harm will not befall them if they believe. And that to, you know, to this present day, when people are seeking miracles, that is oftentimes what they are seeking. They’re not necessarily seeking a random miracle. They’re just seeking a very specific miracle of protection, of healing, of support from the divine itself.
Helena Martin:
Thanks for listening. You can visit our website for more Bible study resources: YaleBibleStudy.org.
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. And our theme music is by Calvin Linderman.
Weāll be back with another conversation from Chapter, Verse, and Season.
Book of the Bible:
Mark
Subjects:
Mark
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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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.
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.
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.