This week we’re reading Amos 1:1-2 and 5:7-15, 21-24, where we hear the eighth-century prophet Amos critiquing the wealthy elite of ancient Israel for their mistreatment of the poor. We hear the voice of God roaring from Zion, rejecting the worship of the elites and declaring that justice is the precondition for an authentic relationship with God. We struggle with the idea that the wise should keep silent in evil times but ultimately conclude that God is directing us away from public speeches and toward local acts of mercy, seeking the good and establishing justice in the places where we have influence. With the blessing of God, these small acts of righteousness become a mighty stream rolling down like waters all around.

This week we are reading about Elijah’s encounter with God in 1 Kings 19:1-18. We have so many questions. Does Elijah know where he’s going when he heads out into the wilderness, or does some other force draw him toward Horeb, aka mt Sinai? When God asks, “Why are you here, Elijah” -- was God’s tone compassionate, curious, or irritated, or something else? And – when the battles of the world are exhausting us, just how long can we go sit under a bush before it gets weird?

This week we’re reading the story of Solomon building the Jerusalem temple as told in 1 Kings 5:1-18 and 8:1-13. We discuss the political alliance between Solomon and King Hiram of Tyre that makes building the temple possible, and wonder whether state-sponsored religion always exploits the poor laborers to satisfy the aims of the wealthy and powerful. We ponder whether and to what degree God resides inside of human religious structures, whether the temple of Solomon or the religious denominations of our own day. And we notice that even inside the stable structure of the temple, Solomon places the tent of the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant with its poles still attached, making us ponder what essential elements of our own traditions may need to be carried out of the reified structures of static religion and given new life beyond the status quo.

This week we read about the anointing of young David in I Samuel 16:1-13, and a few verses from Psalm 51, set much later in his career, at a time when he clearly was not living up to God’s expectations , and he knew it and grieved it.  We wondered what kind of heart God was looking for when he chose young David to be king? A pure one? A steady one? And what does it mean for us to read the story of David’s anointment as an innocent boy, when he is all potential -  alongside a psalm about his lowest of lows? How does the one inform the other?

This week we’re reading the story of the call of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:1-21 in which the young boy Samuel at first confuses the call of God with the voice of his mentor, Eli the priest. We discuss the process through which faith becomes our own as we, like Samuel, learn to distinguish the voice of God from the voice of our predecessors in the faith. But such differentiation can at times lead to conflict, as it does for Samuel when he realizes that God is preparing to punish Eli for his failure to correct and discipline his own sons, who have been harming the community of faith. And while we admire Samuel’s comfortability sleeping in the presence of the ark of the covenant, we wonder whether it may be possible to feel too comfortable in God’s presence, forgetting the gravity of the calling to which we have been called. Sometimes it may not be enough simply to be present. It is only when we say “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” that everything begins to change.

Try our Patreon for one month for FREE! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/BibleWormPodcast/redeem/46A41 This week we are reading the story of the manna in Exod 16:1-18. “Manna from heaven” is synonymous now with some kind of unexpected way that our needs are miraculously met. We all want manna from heaven. But in the story, this miracle looks so strange that the people see it on the ground and – what's that? This story made us wonder – what's the difference between moving away from something and moving toward something else? Could it be that a first step in drawing near to God is turning toward the wilderness, where there is no predictable path, and nothing will be quite like you were used to? And when exactly will God start providing program overviews with timestamps and blurbs?

Try our Patreon for one month for FREE! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/BibleWormPodcast/redeem/46A41 This week we’re reading the story of Moses’ encounter with God on Sinai as told in Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-15; and 4:10-17. We notice that in this text, God responds to the cry of the Israelites by first saying, “I’ve come down to rescue the people from Egypt” but then saying, “So you get going. I’m sending you to Pharaoh.” The way God works in the world, it seems, is through people like Moses, who pay attention to the things that are on fire in the world and don’t ignore them or run away from them. But even Moses, one of the heroes of Scripture, is at first afraid to do what God asks of him, begging God to send someone else. Yet it turns out that this God of ours is an equipping God, who gives Moses what is needed for the task ahead of him, a staff, a partner, and even the divine name. “I am who I am,” says God. “I will be who I will be.” So who is God calling us toward today, we wonder, and how is God equipping us f the task ahead?

Try our Patreon for one month for FREE! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/BibleWormPodcast/redeem/46A41 This week we read stories about Jacob’s young adulthood in Gen 27:1-4 and 15-23, and Gen 28:10-17. We think a lot about the push and pull of driving toward our desired outcomes vs just letting things unfold. How is Rebecca SO sure of what she’s doing? Why does Isaac bless even when he knows he’s getting mixed signals? Why does Jacob first encounter God in a dream-state – and if he'd fallen asleep somewhere else, would God have met him there, too?  

Try our Patreon for one month for FREE! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/BibleWormPodcast/redeem/46A41 This week we’re reading one of the most difficult passages in all of scripture, the story of the near-sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 21:1-3 and 22:1-14. After years of waiting, Sarah and Abraham have finally received Isaac, the child promised to them by God. But almost as soon the promise is fulfilled, God commands Abraham to take the boy up on a mountain and offer him as a sacrifice. We feel for Abraham, whose devotion to God sets him at odds with his devotion to his family, wondering how we might navigate the tensions between faith and family. And we wonder about this God, who demands sacrifice but relents in the end. Is this a moment where God chooses relationship over obedience, a new way of being God in the presence of the other? And seeing Abraham’s apparent willingness to offer Isaac on the mountain, we wonder: what exactly are we willing to sacrifice our children for?  

Try our Patreon for one month for FREE! Click here: https://www.patreon.com/BibleWormPodcast/redeem/46A41 We are back to the beginning this week, reading Genesis 1:1-2:4-the very first Bible story, the story of creation in 7 days. But come on. Isn’t it really 6 days? In 6 days, God shows us a way of creating in “yes AND” mode–constantly making space for what is breathtakingly new without destroying or diluting what was there. A mode of creation that is exponential-where creatures themselves are meant to create, and life begets life, and every single life supports another. What does it mean for us to be made in the image of THIS kind of God? And seriously, with all the work there is to do in the world, how can rest be so important to creation that we count the 7th day in with the others?

In this replay from Summer 2024, BibleWorm concludes our summer series on creation care with Ezekiel’s vision of a river of life flowing from the temple as told in Ezekiel 47:1 –12. The prophet Ezekiel, writing from the devastation of the Babylonian exile, envisions a radical re-creation of the world that takes place when God’s glory returns to the Jerusalem temple. What begins as a tiny trickle of water emerging from under the altar becomes a mighty river that turns even the Dead Sea into a thriving ecosystem teeming with fish. Along the river’s banks grow fruit-bearing trees with healing leaves, transforming the desolate land of exilic Israel into a new Eden where both humans and the environment can thrive. What would happen, we wonder, if our communities of faith also became sources of God’s life-giving water for the world? How might our desolate lands be transformed if we boldly proclaimed the glory of God in relationship with creation? It doesn’t seem like much, we think. But even Ezekiel’s raging river of life began as a tiny trickle. What if our efforts could do the same?

In this replay from Summer 2024, BibleWorm continues our series on Creation Care, with Leviticus 26:3-22, 34-35, and 40-45.  It's a text that presses the question – what happens when we lose track of the fact that we are part of magnificently interconnected system, and begin to imagine that we can – or even that we must -- function on our own? How does the anxious productivity of humans impact the rest of creation? And once we realize the harm we have caused, how do we move toward healing? We wish this text didn’t feel as close to home as it does, but we are glad it’s here. 

In this replay from Summer 2024, BibleWorm continues our summer series on creation care with Psalm 104, a profound text celebrating the magnificence of creation, which brings joy not only to the human heart but also to all creatures, from the birds in the trees to Leviathan in the deeps of the sea. We even see the celebratory nature of God, who whisks about on the clouds, wearing a fabulous cloak made of light and rejoicing in all that God has created. The psalm also reminds us of the harmonious relationship God intends for humans and animals, with humans working during the day and animals prowling at night so we can each live our lives fully, without being a danger to one another. All of this, the psalmist reminds us, should make us sing throughout our lives at the incomparable glory of creation. Bless the LORD, O my soul!

In this replay from Summer 2024, BibleWorm continues our summer series on Creation Care with Psalm 65 and special attention to the water. This psalm brings together scenes of prayer and silence, of humans and of nature, and of a God who is the orientation point for all of it. It made us wonder: What if we could see ourselves, for a moment, as almost like a sibling to the water? Both of us oriented toward God, both of us in relationship to God, both calmed by God when we inevitably become a source of chaos? And it made us wonder: if we could quiet ourselves enough to offer silence as praise – if we could quiet our minds, and the voices of scarcity and acquisitiveness around us – what else in creation could be heard? What would it say – to us, and to our Maker? 

In this replay from Summer 2024, BibleWorm continues on in our summer series on creation care with Job 38:1-38 in which God speaks to Job from the whirlwind, reminding Job of the beauty, grandeur, and complexity of nature that is beyond human understanding. Where humans were said to have “dominion” over the world in Genesis 1, in Job 38 humans seem almost irrelevant—God guides the constellations; God nurtures the sea; God sends the lightning bolts on their courses, and they respond, “Here I am.” This text invites us to lean into our not-knowing, to relinquish our supposed mastery of the universe to revel in its complex beauty. More than that, it reminds us that, in a world often marked by suffering, we are not alone. There is a whole world before us and around us, alive with responsiveness to God. Truly a balm for the soul.

In this replay from Summer 2024, BibleWorm begins our summer series on Creation Care with “the” Creation text, Genesis 1. For such a familiar text, it sure did open up a lot of questions for us. How should we think about our place so late in the proverbial line-up – what does it mean to us that God has already issued a commandment directly to the animals before we are here; that we are created on Friday afternoon as everyone is closing up shop for the Sabbath, instead of a busy Monday morning? And as we try to inhabit what it is to be created “in the image” of God, how might God’s disposition toward the created in the 5 ½ days before we arrived help us find our way?

This week we conclude our series on Revelation and Resistance with John’s vision of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:1-7, 22-27, and 22:1-5. The text presents a moving depiction of God come to earth, dwelling among the people and wiping every tear from their eyes. In a renewed world with no death or suffering, humanity thrives beside the river of living water, eating from the tree of life, relieved from pain and suffering and death. While John envisions this New Jerusalem fulfilled in the future, he speaks its vision to Christians enduring the trials of life in the Roman Empire, providing not only a source of hope but also a vision of what a life with God might look like. Similarly, we think this vision might be a source of sustenance for us, as well, helping us appreciate the beauty that is already in our midst and giving us the strength to resist the power of the Empire for yet another day.

This week we are reading Revelation chapter 7, a vision that unfolds in the midst of the unsealing of seals and undoing of worlds as we have known them. It’s a vision that seems anchored in the past and the future simultaneously, a vision that evoked for us Ezekiel and Isaiah and Genesis and Kohelet and Exodus and also a also future time when whatever suffering the faithful have endured, they can stand together in their multitudes and praise the one true Source. It’s an image that, at the very least, can make the work of our time less lonely. 

This week we’re continuing our series on Revelation and Resistance with the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2:1-7 and 3:1-22. We note that most of the churches receive both praise and admonition from Jesus, celebrating what they have done well but warning them against their shortcomings. But we also notice that in these letters appearances can be deceiving. Those churches that appear poor and powerless are said to be wealthy and powerful in the kingdom of God, while those that appear to be wealthy and successful make Jesus want to puke. While Jesus is addressing the churches of Asia minor, the repeated phrase, “let those who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying” suggests that these letters are meant for our communities, too. What would Jesus want to celebrate about our communities, we wonder, and what how might he critique us? How do we appear from the Empire’s perspective, and what might look like in God’s eyes?

This week we are reading Revelation 5 – the whole thing, which is only 14 powerful verses long. We encounter the image of a scroll covered with words that might change the world as we know it -  but it has been sealed tight, with nobody to open it. We encounter the Lamb, in a series of images that just make no sense – this lamb who is the lion, this lamb who stands as if slaughtered. This slaughtered lamb who can open the scroll, who redeemed the people not for their own sake, but for God. Is the imagery frightening, or hopeful, or weird? Can it be all 3?