There were no audible groans -- ICJS Preaching Colloquium participants are too polite for that -- just an exchange of knowing looks of mild pain when Peter Pitzele asked us to pair off to study the chronology of Genesis 11.

Chronology? All those "begats"! He wanted us to find out who was alive in Ur of the Chaldees to say goodbye to Abram and his clan when they left. But what did this have to do with Genesis 12, the great passage on the call of Abram, a key Lenten text?

As my partner and I scanned the list of "begats" in Genesis 11, I recalled a divinity school teacher encouraging us to pay attention to such material for three reasons: the Bible is in-spired, "God is in the details," and all that begatting was pretty sexy stuff.

As we plowed through the chronology and the begatting, one could hear little cries of "aha" all over the room as a common insight illuminated the participants. We were discovering what our teacher wanted us to see: according to Genesis 11, no one "in the family" had died since the time of the flood except for Abram's brother, Haran.

Pitzele then asked us to imagine ourselves at a farewell dinner for Terah, Abram, and the family on their last night in Ur. What would people say to each other? Some of us noted how crowded it was with all those generations stacking up, that there were unfulfilled dreams to pursue, that Haran's death was a curse upon us all, that it was time to move on. I was sure that Abram would have said something like, "I've got to get out of here. I can't stand to hear Noah tell one more flood story!"

Thus did our teacher masterfully lead us into the text, positioning us to interpret the pivotal passage that followed: Genesis 12, the call of Abram, the Hebrew scripture lesson for the Second Sunday in Lent.

The session was typical of the fresh and imaginative approaches to scripture that participants have come to expect from both the Advent and Lenten Preaching Colloquia. Spon-sored by the ICJS in cooperation with the Baltimore Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, this programming initiative was created in response to requests by Christian clergy who had become increasingly troubled by the formidable challenge of preaching Lectionary texts that have traditionally generated misunderstandings of Judaism and the Jewish people.

Previously, at the Advent Colloquium, refreshing new insights emerged as Ken Byerly, Bob Albright, and Bobbie Scoville gave voice to the familiar stories of John the Baptist, Joseph, and Mary. After they presented monologues charged with the emotions of rage, puzzlement, awe, and longing for peace, rabbis and pastors continued the conversation exploring the meaning of this critical liturgical season.

At the end of each session I was encouraged to see ways to do justice to Advent and Lenten texts without sinking into the old traps of supersessionism and anti-Judaism. The ICJS Preaching Colloquia make for better exegesis, better theology, and better preaching.