1 Samuel 1:4-20 and/or Daniel 12:1-3 What It’s About: These are both texts about promises, one specific and one general. The 1 Samuel text is about a woman who cannot bear children, and who prays to God (so fervently that others think she is drunk) for a child. Her name was Hannah. The Daniel text is a promise of the raising of the dead, under a future regime still to come, and a promise that “the wise shall shine like... Read more

  Ruth 3:1-5, 13-17 and/or 1 Kings 17:8-16 What It’s About: These are both passages about provision in times of need, although they are very different in the kind of need, and the way that need gets met. In Ruth, we have a couple of women who are adrift in the world, with no security or safety except each other, and they leverage the one thing they have to work with–Ruth’s sexuality–to find safety and security. In the 1 Kings passage,... Read more

There are so many ways to go this week! There is a set of lectionary texts for the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, but then there is also another set of texts for All Saints Day. And then, of course, there is Reformation Day, which many Protestant churches celebrate. There are too many texts in play to account for here, so you’re on your own for some of them. But I’ve chosen the most interesting–and pertinent–ones to look at here. Ruth... Read more

  Job 42:1-6, 10-17 and/or Jeremiah 37:7-14 What It’s About: Both of these passages are about happy endings to awful stories. The Job passage narrates the end of Job’s troubles–the point at which he capitulates to the unknowable ways of God, and in turn has his fortunes (and family) restored to him. The Jeremiah passage is about God’s promise to restore the destroyed people, and bring them back from exile and loss. In both cases the reward for suffering is great.... Read more

  Job 38:1-7 and/or Isaiah 53:4-12 What It’s About: The Job text is the part of the book where things finally change. I often describe Job as an Oreo cookie: the beginning and the end are substantially different from the middle. In this case, though the “creamy filling” is chapters upon chapters of lamentation and woe. The beginning (the prologue, if you will) is about setting up Job’s suffering, in God and Satan’s backroom deal. And this isn’t quite the... Read more

  Job 23:1-9, 16-17 and/or Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 What It’s About: The Job text is about feeling lost, and the Amos text is about getting found–in a sense. The Job text comes from the middle of the book, when Job’s despair and loneliness is at its worst. He feels abandoned by God (and it’s not an altogether incorrect feeling, either), and he doesn’t sense God’s presence anywhere he looks. Job resolves to stay faithful and steadfast, though–mostly in the omitted verses.... Read more

  Job 1:1, 2:1-10 or Genesis 2:18-24  What It’s About: This is a really strange juxtaposition of texts. The Job text is the setup for the book of Job; it’s the kernel of dramatic irony that centers the whole book, in which God and the Satan (more on him in a moment) strike a deal concerning the life of Job. The Genesis text is that section of the book where God is creating things in the more material kind of way (as... Read more

  Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22 What It’s About: This is the story of Esther, queen of Persia, and her political machinations on behalf of herself and her people. This is a power play; it’s a trap sprung on her enemy Haman, who had intended to do Esther and her people harm. It’s a plot worthy of a summer blockbuster or a new fall series, and it’s actually kind of remarkable that it’s in the bible. What It’s Really About: This... Read more

  Proverbs 31:10-31 What It’s About: This is that famous passage of Proverbs that often gets read on Mother’s Day, in which the ideal woman is described. Or actually–it’s about the ideal wife. Or actually–it’s about someone’s opinion about the ideal wife. Or actually–it’s someone’s opinion about the ideal wife, if that wife lived about 25 centuries ago. This passage is fine for what it is, but there have been so many troublesome and damaging interpretations of it over the years,... Read more

  Proverbs 1:20-33 or Isaiah 50:4-9 What It’s About: These are two very different texts with a few common threads. The Proverbs text is an ode to Wisdom, who makes herself known to those who seek her. The Isaiah text is a defiant moment of self-identification by the prophet, putting either himself or his society (it’s not totally clear) in relationship to God. Both emphasize the role of teaching and knowledge, and the idea that God speaks to those who will listen.... Read more