Mind the Gap: Lectionary Commentary

After several weeks of being exclusively available on our Patreon account, we are releasing this informal, unedited discussion of the Barbie movie on our main feed. We talk about gender, incarnation, grace, and more. If you saw the movie, did you find any theological or scriptural connections in it? Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: London Calling by Ryan Andersen...

The readings for this week emphasized a few different things for us about the breadth of God’s inclusion, the difficulty we have with that as sinful creatures, the fact that sometimes it’s not a bad thing to dwell in complexity, and that when all else falls short: we can let the sacraments preach for us. Timestamps: 00:01 - title sequence 01:35 - What's on your mind? 06:52 - reading the text from...

How do we find God's presence in the storms of life when God doesn't speak? Can promises and blessings impact generations the way trauma can? We're covering gaps from Genesis and the Psalms in this week's episode! Timestamps: 00:01 - title sequence 01:35 - What's on your mind? 06:52 - reading the text from Genesis 11:40 - Genesis commentary 27:23 - reading the text from Psalm 105 30:20 - Psalm com...

Listeners, each and every one of you is fearfully and wonderfully made. This is most certainly true. In this episode we discuss a gap from the semi-continuous Psalm for the 8th Sunday after Pentecost and gaps from the gospel readings for the 8th and 9th Sundays after Pentecost. If you're going to be at the Rostered Ministers Gathering in Phoenix, look for us to say hi! Timestamps: 00:01 - title se...

What even is a parable?? Rebecca is a Greek nerd and Annemarie helps us lean on Lutheranism's love for paradox. Hang out with us as we explore Matthew 13:10-17! Timestamps: 00:01 - title sequence 01:35 - What's on your mind? 07:53 - reading the text 11:56 - commentary 30:15 - outro sequence Lectionary commentary for the seventh Sunday after Pentecost in Year A (2023) Matthew 13:10-17 Hosts: Pastor...

Matriarchs, miracles, specters, and cynicism... It's another week where two of the readings have gaps in them, so join us as we spend time with Genesis and Matthew! Timestamps: 00:01 - title sequence 01:35 - What's on your mind? 06:13 - reading the text from Genesis 11:59 - Genesis commentary 26:05 - reading the text from Matthew 28:52 - Matthew commentary 45:02 - outro sequence Lectionary comment...

This week, the gap in the psalm brought up questions about justice and prophecy and the environment for us. What does it bring up for you? Listen in while we chat! Lectionary commentary for the fifth Sunday after Pentecost in Year A (2023) Psalm 89:5-14 Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: London Calling by Ryan Andersen FMA Podcast Suggestion by Stephan Siebert from...

Juggling, the sunk cost fallacy, and the importance of asking questions... We've got all that and more in this week's episode! Lectionary commentary for the fourth Sunday after Pentecost in Year A (2023) Psalm 86:11-15 Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: London Calling by Ryan Andersen FMA Podcast Suggestion by Stephan Siebert from the Free Music Archive , CC BY-NC

It's the longest gap we've had to discuss yet, but we kept coming back to one central theme: hospitality. What is it? Why is it so important? How can we practice it? This gap is from the semi-continuous series in the season after Pentecost, but it's got important connections to the gospel and we really valued our time dwelling with it. Lectionary commentary for the third Sunday after Pentecost in...

Have you ever felt like you just can't make anyone happy? Have you felt too old or too young, or too worn or too new, to do any good? We get to talk about a gap in the gospel reading this week, and we hope you'll join us as we chat about it. Lectionary commentary for the second Sunday after Pentecost in Year A (2023) Matthew 9:14-17 Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music...

In another special edition episode (voted for by our patrons), we're talking about Holy Trinity Sunday--which doesn't technically have a gap in the assigned readings, but there is a very curious passage in the gospel right before the lectionary verses which isn't often (or ever?) read in worship. Corruption, mystery, and self-expression all get touched on during our conversation of Matthew 20:11-1...

It's another double episode for Easter 7A, with gaps to be found in both the Psalm and the second lesson. We've got debt jubilee and non-lock-in lock-ins on our minds as we chat about ancient geopolitics, Luther's marks of the church, and the Alexamenos graffito in connection to our readings this week. Lectionary commentary for Easter 7A (2023) Psalm 68:11-31 and 1 Peter 4:15-5:5 Hosts: Pastor Ann...

Japanese art, missing and murdered indigenous women , Dalit History Month , mental health, and more… Our conversation this week is wide ranging, with the gap inspiring lots of thoughts and images that could serve as sermon prompts. We hope you’ll listen in as we discuss Psalm 31:6-14! Lectionary commentary for Easter 5A (2023) Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: Lond...

Lectionary commentary for Easter 2A & 3A (2023) Acts 2:14b-21 and 33-35 Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: London Calling by Ryan Andersen FMA Podcast Suggestion by Stephan Siebert from the Free Music Archive , CC BY-NC

Lectionary commentary for Easter Sunday of Year A (2023) Psalm 118:3-13 Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: London Calling by Ryan Andersen FMA Podcast Suggestion by Stephan Siebert from the Free Music Archive , CC BY-NC

Lectionary commentary for Maundy Thursday (2023) Psalm 116:3-11 and John 13:18-31 Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: London Calling by Ryan Andersen FMA Podcast Suggestion by Stephan Siebert from the Free Music Archive , CC BY-NC

In this first volume of our SPECIAL EDITION episodes, we're taking a break from the lectionary! Romans 8:31-35, 37-39 is a common choice for funeral readings... But we had to wonder about what is going on in that single excluded verse. This passage in its entirety (without the gap) will also show up as an assigned reading later this summer, so you can listen now and also come back to it later for...

Lectionary commentary for Lent 2A (2023)   Romans 4:6-12   The resource about preaching and antisemitism that we mention in the episode is available here .   Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: London Calling by Ryan Andersen FMA Podcast Suggestion by Stephan Siebert from the Free Music Archive , CC BY-NC

Lectionary commentary for Lent 1A (2023)   Genesis 2:18-25   Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: London Calling by Ryan Andersen FMA Podcast Suggestion by Stephan Siebert from the Free Music Archive , CC BY-NC

Lectionary commentary for Ash Wednesday 2023 Joel 2:3-11 and Matthew 6:7-15 Hosts: Pastor Annemarie Hartner-Cook Pastor Rebecca Truland Music: London Calling by Ryan Andersen FMA Podcast Suggestion by Stephan Siebert from the Free Music Archive , CC BY-NC

Welcome to Mind the Gap, a commentary podcast following the Revised Common Lectionary. Ever noticed those missing verses from scripture passages in the Sunday readings? Sometimes we need a new way of looking at scripture as we prepare to preach. We are a podcast that pays extra attention to what gets left out. How does it change the context of the rest? Is there anything in there that could be fru...