No Experts Allowed

Christian Nationalism has, unfortunately, not gone away since Jonathan and Seth discussed it last on the podcast. It grew slowly, insidiously, for years and will take similarly sustained work to prune it from religious and political spheres. In this episode, Jonathan and Seth do a close reading of Psalm 33:1-12. They argue that it is a particularly strong starting point to critique Christian Natio...

The Holy Trinity is both one God and a community. Scholars have often reflected on this by exploring the ways people should live in communities. They have said that, like God, people are not meant to be alone. People should work together and simultaneously be one. In this episode, Jonathan and Seth talk about the community that exists within us. We have multiple selves, differing perspectives even...

Everyone has a skill they bring to our world. Some skills, however, are more highly prized. This was the case in Corinth when Paul wrote his letter to the burgeoning Christian community there, too. The Corinthians wanted to speak in tongues and emphasized speaking in tongues to the detriment of the other gifts in the community. Jonathna and Seth talk about gifts that are over-emphasized today, the...

In John's Gospel, before Jesus' crucifixion, he prays a long prayer. Sometimes called "The High Priestly Prayer." It is rather meandering, but one theme is that the disciples are one as Jesus and the Father are one. What does that solidarity look like? As federal, state, and even local programs are stripped of funding, what does solidarity that sustains us in the hard times look like? What would i...

Before Jesus leaves, he promises an "advocate." But what is an advocate? How would Jesus' disciples have heard this term? What does it look like to try to block out what we know about the Holy Spirit, or think we know, and hear about this advocate anew? Jonathan and Seth try to do just that. They ask what the role of the Advocate is and what might be the role of people who advocate for others toda...

Returning from Jerusalem to Emmaus, two of Jesus' disciples talk to a man they do not recognize about the  "things that have happened there in these days" (Luke 24:17). When they invite him to stay with them, he breaks bread, and they recognize him as Jesus. It's a story about a transition from doubt to faith, from confusion to action. The other appointed lectionary texts are also about transition...

The Sunday that follows Easter always has the same appointed lectionary text regardless of the liturgical year: "Doubting" Thomas. This year, Jonathan helps us focus on our vulnerabilities, our wounds, both visible and hidden. Jonathan and Seth talk about some of the physical wounds they carry from childhood, but also how naming and revealing our pains or bruises may help others - and even help us...

Does resurrection feel foreign to you? To Jonathan and Seth, it feels alien right now. It's like it comes from a completely different planet. In a strange way, it does. It comes from outside of us, from a tomb, from God who walks and talks and dies like us. Jesus' resurrection also changes how we should live in community. So, Jonathan and Seth talk about what the Church should look like after this...

As the official name of this Sunday implies, it is meant to hold much of the Jesus Story. It starts triumphantly but ends with Jesus crying out in a loud voice and breathing his last (Matthew 27:50). In most worship services, this turn takes roughly an hour. Jonathan and Seth, constrained by their episode length, try to do it in half that by talking about what links the two stories. Jonathan propo...

Ezekiel is shown a valley of dry bones. They look further away from life than almost anything imaginable. But God tells him that they can live. And of course, they do! Connective tissue appears along with muscles, organs, and flesh. The news reports also show valleys of dry bones. We don't have to travel to see them; they're available for viewing in our living room or on our phones. In an episode...

When you look around the world, what do you see? There is so much to see, after all: stunning landscapes, the smiling faces of strangers, friends achieving long-hoped-for goals. There are also painful situations to see: war, community violence, and hunger. What does it look like to really see what's going on in the world, including the pain? What do we do when we want to look away? In John's Gospe...

Leaving Egypt, the wandering people cry out to Moses, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" (Exodus 17:3). What does this teach us about leaping from legitimate worries to thinking of the worst possible scenario? And how can Psalm 95 help us return to the problem at hand and also God's presence in our lives despite our worries? What does it loo...

What is a nation? What is the nation of Israel in "Bible Times"™? How is it portrayed in the biblical texts? How is the modern, nation state of Israel connected or not connected to that historical group? This podcast aims to be less than half an hour, so these are obviously large questions to tackle in the time, however, Jonathan and Seth set out to do just that. They look at Genesis 12:2-3: I wil...

Jesus is tested in the wilderness by the devil. Frankly, it strikes me (Seth) as an odd story. The devil rarely appears in the New Testament, especially not in an anthropomorphized way where he speaks and takes someone places. Instead, the New Testament authors often speak of the forces of evil or "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4). What are these strange temptations by the devil, then? Jonathan...

Jesus, along with Peter, James, and his brother John, is on a mountain. While there, Jesus's clothes become "bright as light," and his face shines with a radiance like the sun's. This text and its setting are often used to talk about "mountain top experiences." Jonathan and Seth discuss how they've heard that term used, their own significant experiences of seemingly being in the divine presence, w...

What is the point of fasting? Jonathan and Seth discuss their experiences with fasting, different types of fasts, the potential challenges of fasting, and what "true fasting" looks like according to Isaiah 58:1-9a. In Isaiah's vision, fasting has a social component; it changes how people live, and it also alters the structure of entire societies. It involves liberation, sharing one's resources, an...

What would a world radically shaped by God's vision look like? How would people behave? What would they prioritize? While the lectionary texts are designed to go together, this Sunday's readings seem particularly linked. This week, Jonathan and Seth read all of them, including the Beatitudes and Micah 6:8, and discuss how they connect. They talk about how they offer a different vision than what we...

So much of the Bible is poetry. Obviously, the Psalms, but also the vast majority of Job, and the prophets. There are songs like those Moses and Miriam sing in Exodus 15. Paul quotes what might be early Christian hymns in his letters. Is there something peculiar to poetry that makes it the preferred medium for expressing suffering? Is it made for emotion? What can poetry, and writing poetry oursel...

What's in a name? How did you get your name? And what's in a name like Israel? And what baggage do we bring from our Bible reading to the modern nation-state of Israel? When we see the word Israel, do we conflate the two? Jonathan and Seth discuss how to separate these two identities. This separation (or its conflation) has real repercussions for how we view Israel today. We're glad you're with us...

Have you ever had an epiphany? Suddenly, you've realized something that was not obvious before. This is one use of the word "epiphany," but the Church has historically used it more technically: to describe the revelation of Jesus Christ into the world when the magi arrive to see Jesus. They talk a little about the "wise men." But mostly Jonathan and Seth discuss these different uses of the word, w...

John's Gospel starts at a different scale than Matthew's and Luke's (Mark's just sort of starts with no nativity or infancy narrative). John starts at the beginning of creation with "He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being" (1:2-3). While Matthew and Luke "zoom in" on Jesus and the Holy Family...

A short, fun episode, Jonathan and Seth pray and reveal the gifts they got each other. In an attempt not to spoil the surprise, here are links to Jonathan's gift to Seth and to Seth's gifts to Jonathan . Merry Christmas from the both of us!

Jesus and his family become refugees in Egypt. The peaceful mangers we set up at home, or the almost-life-sized ones set up at the large church in our area, look so calm. But this text reminds us that there is a political dimension to Jesus' birth that enrages Herod. Jonathan and Seth discuss how it also is also an affront to the empires and the powerful today. They talk about why we don't hear th...

Joseph is not Jesus' biological father, or "biodad" as is growing in popularity on TikTok. But he does seem to be committed to Mary and, subsequently, to the baby Jesus. As Luke writes, "Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose [Mary] to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly" (1:9). What can we learn about commitment and calling from him? Are these different? This story clea...

What makes you feel impatient? What are life's small annoyances that you dislike waiting for? Unfortunately, waiting is part of life, and especially the Christian life. The Advent season emphasizes waiting and the joy that can be found in it. In this episode, Jonathan and Seth discuss whether they're patient wait-ers, how Advent can be a balm for the impatient among us, and even ways to be better...