Voices of the Gospel of Matthew

Sunday, January 19, 2020, 9:15 AM

Parish Forum led by Hal Taussig
Held in the Parish Hall

Reading mostly one gospel a year invites us to deepen our relationship to a particular voice. The liturgical Year A listens predominantly to Matthew's gospel, often quite different than the demand and sorrow of Mark, the control and wide reach of Luke, and the "I am" and poetic tone of John.

This year we overhear a particular chorus of voices in Matthew so that, as we hear specific assigned texts on Sunday, we can hear each Sunday gospel in connection with a larger Matthean ensemble. This forum means to introduce the specificities and range of Matthew so each Sunday's gospel can help us go deeper into the whole of Matthew. The forum hopes to have time for three large aspects of Matthew's voice: voices from and for a creative and diverse Israel of the first century; the voice of Jesus teaching in Matthew's unique collection of parables, aphorisms, blessings, and curses; and Matthew's building of a particular kind of community to resist the Roman empire's violence and idolatry.