Alternate First Reading

Detail from Vincent Van Gogh's
Commentary on Lamentations 1:1-6

The book of Lamentations emerges from the disorienting aftermath of [...]

Detail from an iIllustration of Lazarus at the rich man's gate by Fyodor Bronnikov, 1886.
Commentary on Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

One version of the Bible titles this text “Jeremiah Buys [...]

photo of a dollar bill in a backpocket with
Commentary on Jeremiah 8:18—9:1

No prophet incorporates the genre of lament into their message [...]

sepia-ish toned photo of a shepherd with many sheep in a foggy landscape
Commentary on Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

Have you ever read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No [...]

photo of a starkly lit wooden cross on a beige wall
Commentary on Jeremiah 18:1-11

Many preachers and Christians of a certain age will remember [...]

Detail from The Brunswick Monogrammist's
Commentary on Jeremiah 2:4-13

In a long-term relationship such as with a colleague, friend, or family member, expressing interpersonal [...]

Image of healing the infirm woman, from a Coptic-Arab evangelary, ca. 1250.
Commentary on Jeremiah 1:4-10

Who am I? Who are my people? What do we want? What are we building? [...]

photo of clouds before a storm in a field with cattle
Commentary on Isaiah 5:1-7

Isaiah’s song of the vineyard in 5:1–7 may be the most click-bait biblical text ever. [...]

photo of lamps burning
Commentary on Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

The use of the term “vision” followed by an indication [...]

photo of wheat grains piling up
Commentary on Hosea 11:1-11

The prophet envisions God as a tender, loving, intimate parent who shows mercy. After last [...]