BibleWorm

This week BibleWorm continues our Narrative Lectionary series with Mark 9:30-37, in which the disciples argue about who is the greatest and Jesus welcomes a little child. We talk about the urgency Jesus faces in getting his disciples to understand his mission in the short time he has left with them, the challenge of giving up power to welcome the most vulnerable and marginal in society, and the da...

This week in our Narrative Lectionary Series, BibleWorm looks at Mark 8:22-9:8, the stories of the double-healing of a blind man, Peter's confession of Jesus as messiah, and the Mount of transfiguration. We witness Peter's very human struggle to understand what Jesus is saying to him, think about what it means to live lives of integrity and the risks that may pose to our physical comfort and safet...

BibleWorm continues our Narrative Lectionary Series with Mark 7:1-23, the story of Jesus arguing with the Pharisees over proper ritual observance. We talk about what it means that nothing from outside us can make us unclean, how to disagree constructively with people who have different sources of authority, and how the only thing that really matters is what we put out into the world.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson explore Mark 6:1-29, the stories of Jesus returning his hometown and sending out the twelve as well as John's beheading by King Herod. They discuss the relationship between human faith and God's power, the challenge of seeing people in our communities as they are and not as they were, and the transfer of God's power to human communities. Also, they invok...

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Mark 5:21-43, the story of a synagogue leader’s daughter and a woman with a twelve-year flow of blood. They wrestle with Jesus countering the expectation that a privileged person’s needs should be addressed first, what it means that a woman receives healing from Jesus without him knowing it, and whether faith is really enough in a world marked by...

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Mark 5:1-20, the story of Jesus casting out unclean spirits from a man in Gerasa. They consider the theological and political implications of the story, ask who might be considered outcast from our own societies, and discuss why the townspeople ask Jesus to leave them alone. Also, a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! 

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson interpret Mark 4:1-34 in which Jesus teaches about the kingdom of heaven in a series of parables. They discuss the promise and problems of interpreting parables, what it means that Jesus says he teaches in parables so that people will not understand, and how the seed parables depict the kingdom of heaven taking root in the world in unexpected and uncontr...

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Mark 2:1-22, the healing of a paralytic, eating with tax collectors and sinners, and picking grain on the sabbath. They talk about sin and forgiveness, Jesus's mission to those excluded from community, and the painful rending that sometimes happens when we try to do something new within old institutional structures.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Jesus’s first public teaching, his first public healing, and his first exorcism of an unclean spirit. They talk about what it means to teach with authority, how preaching sometimes takes precedence over healing both in Jesus’s ministry and in our own, and the comforting knowledge that even Jesus sometimes became exhausted by the demands of his mi...

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Mark 1:1-20, the introduction to Mark's Gospel including Jesus's baptism, temptation, and the call of the first disciples. They discuss the narrative pace of Mark that frustrates reflection, the counter-imperial call of the Gospel, and how lovely it would be for Jesus to come along and repurpose  your fishing skills.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss the story of Jesus's birth as told in Luke 2:1-20. They discuss God's revolution of peace taking place in the mundane realities of life, the imperial backdrop for the good news of the Gospel, and the mysteries of faith that are revealed and confirmed only in community. Also they sing a little.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss the birth of John the Baptist in Luke 1. They discuss its orientation toward the future and its theme of preparedness, the notion of the Gospel taking root in the wilderness, and the significance of the angel Gabriel telling Zechariah to talk to the hand.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Ezra 1 and 3. The people are released from Exile to return to Jerusalem, where they find the Temple in ruins and the altar torn down. They discuss the importance of ritual in connecting the people with God and with each other, the mingling of joy and sorrow that attends to new beginnings, and the urgency of pressing ahead even when the situation...

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Isaiah 40, a vision of comfort for the people at the end of the exile. They discuss who is supposed to comfort whom, why Isaiah refers to the Persian king Cyrus as "my messiah," and how recovery from trauma requires a community. Also, there are robot voices.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Jeremiah 33:1-18, Jeremiah's vision of a restored community. They discuss the audacity of hopefulness in the midst of despair, the ambiguous promise of a Davidic king, and what (if anything) this text has to do with the Christian season of Advent.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss the story of King Josiah's reform in 2 Kings 22-23. They grapple with God's insistence that people are responsible for keeping Torah even when it's been lost, our responsibility to establish justice for future generations, and the possibility that some people might do what is right even without the threat of punishment.  

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Isaiah chapters 5 and 11, the Song of the Vineyard and the vision of an ideal king. They discuss Isaiah's poetic strategy for persuading the people of their unrighteous ways, the measure of an ideal king being justice and equity for the poor, and whether you can reasonably sue your garden for producing bad lettuce.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss the prophecy of Hosea 11. Topics include the metaphor of God's love for the community as a parent's love for a child, God's compassion that overrides anger, and whether God would bring you pants when it's 30 degrees outside.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal. We discuss the difficulty of belief in the face of more reasonable alternatives, competition among gods in our own day, and what to do if your false god needs to poop.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss the division of the kingdom of Israel in 1 Kings 12. Topics include the exercise of power at the expense of covenantal community, the importance of understanding tradition, and the unending masculine obsession with loin size. 

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss 2 Samuel 5-6, the story of David bringing the ark to Jerusalem. They wrestle with divine sanction for ruling authorities, the holiness of God, and the importance of wearing underpants.

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss Ruth and Naomi, the status of foreigners, immigrants, and minorities in our communities, and whether the Bible passes the Bechdel Test.

This week the Narrative Lectionary leads us into Deuteronomy where Dr. Robert Williamson and Dr. Amy Robertson discuss the 10 commandments and the great commandment known as the Shema.   Intro music "Up Folk" by Ketsa. Used by free license via Creative Commons. URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/Above_and_Below/Up_Folk_1789

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson discuss the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, the brave women of the Exodus, Moses' encounter with the burning bush, and the mysterious name of God.    Intro music "Up Folk" by Ketsa. Used by free license via Creative Commons. URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/Above_and_Below/Up_Folk_1789

Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Robert Williamson wrestle with the story of Jacob and his midnight encounter with God at the River Jabbok.