Topic 4: Birthplace of The Gospel of Matthew: Great
I. The Gospel of Matthew is the text of the first spiritual path, exploration of climbing an inner mountain of God, and the question of facing change.
A) Site: Great Antioch on the Orontes river in present-day
2) Second most important Jewish city to that of
Many items in Solomon’s temple destroyed in 586BC were saved in
B) Date: Early to mid-70s, first century
C) Composition follows the destruction of the
II. The
A) The temple was the "navel of the earth" connecting this world to its source in God, and here (and only here) was God’s dwelling place on earth. It was the only place of sacrifice, the means of forgiveness. According to temple theology, some sins could be forgiven and some kinds of impurities could be dealt with only through temple sacrifice
The Temple‘s altar in the Holy of Holies stood over the spot where Abraham bound Isaac for sacrifice. It was on
B) Jewish religious beliefs in first century
1) The High Priest must be in the Holy of Holies in the hour before dawn to daily ratify the covenant with God. Otherwise the Jewish people were uncertain the covenant was secure and would continue. A lamb was sacrificed and the blood of the lamp in a ceremonial altar poured over the altar and prayers said. Meat was disposed
2) The Holy of Holies was only the place God spoke to the Jewish people.
3) The Priests were the only representatives of the people who could enter the Holy of Holies and hear God.
III. Roman Emperor Vespasian wished to end the Jewish religion in the summer of 70AD
A) His soldiers annihilated the
B) The temple was destroyed on an anniversary date, of the destruction of Solomon’s temple by the Babylonians. They went much further – each stone removed and scattered but they left the Wailing Wall to let them remember what used to stand there.
Some did escape to
IV. Jewish
A) Apocalyptic: These are the End Days, the temple’s destruction being the first sign. Prepare yourself. It‘s all over.
B) Legal: Pharisees. We have sinned by going against the Law of Moses: Calamity will make us observe the law in more faithful way
C) Live for Today: Resignation as to the circumstances, unsure of which way to turn. We can’t let our hearts be troubled by these big questions. We will look at them in another time. We will keep doing the same thing and keep focus on just today. This represented the largest faction.
D) Messianic Jews – Christians.
1. This is not the end, but a predictable turn of the cycle. Change is part of spiritual life to embark upon a new journey We will move with change as an invitation to more grace, vitality, wider creativity and a deeper sense that we are truly accompanied by God.
2. God is not displeased, and has not gone way.
3. God will lead us on a new journey and future will have both obstacles and promises and gifts beyond our ability to imagine. Whatever life gives you to face should not lead to fear or anxiety but hope vitality, accompanied by God who will not abandon you.
Topic 5: Landscape of the Great Mountain: Question of Facing Change and the Opening of Matthew‘s Gospel
I. Each of the four Gospels contains a metaphoric landscape with a particular significance for the text’s message:
A) Matthew:
B) Mark: Stormy Sea
C) John: Glorious Garden
D) Luke: Road of Riches
II. Holy mountains in Judaism
A)
B)
C) Jewish belief: God descends to a mountain peak and a representative of the people ascends to that place to meet God
D. The temple was on top of the mountain and was built as a series of different platforms. On the top is where the Holy of Holies and the altar of sacrifice
The original temple in
III. Question of facing change & The First Spiritual Path
A) The spiritual life may be imagined as an inner ascent up a mountain to hear God‘s voice anew. The inner strenuous climb grates against routine and habit.
B) The call to change has usually been happening unheeded for a while until a moment or event arrives that unsettles us from habit and routine. In that moment, we hear the call to change, but it is usually even longer before we agree to begin the work.
C) We have habitual ways we use so as to not face the need to change – to not face today‘s reality. The attempt to live yesterday‘s answer drains our energy and leaves us less vital, adaptive and/or loving.
D) To face change: Emotionally we often feel as if we have to betray‘ a truth or a temple that has worked well for us and that we thought would stand forever unchanged.
IV. Opening Passage in The Gospel of Matthew (MT 1:1-17)
This is the only Gospel that has such as genealogy This told the Antiochians that they came from a great and long line of people who had suffered tremendous loss, but who had prevailed. It reminded them that they were descended from Abraham, with whom God had directly covenanted. They too were special and they too were strong
It reassured them that their forebears had not only survived, but had even discovered treasure in their reverses and thrived. Indeed, a further message within the genealogy emphasized that there are instances when challenging traditional structure, rather than maintaining it, can bring great honor.
A) The Genealogy of Jesus the Christ (Mt.1.1-17)
1) It was read at the Vigil Liturgy of Christmas in the Roman Lectionary
2) The genealogy contains surprising/shocking remembrances, including:
(a)
(b) Rahab who owns the house of the women of the evening in Jericho – In the book of Joshua (Joshua 2:1-7), when the Hebrews were encamped at Shittim, in the "Arabah" or Jordan valley opposite Jericho, ready to cross the river, Joshua, as a final preparation, sent out two spies to investigate the military strength of Jericho. The spies stayed in Rahab’s house, which was built into the city wall. When soldiers of the city guard came to look for them, she hid them under bundles of flax on the roof. After escaping, the spies promised to spare Rahab and her family after taking the city, even if there should be a massacre, if she would mark her house by hanging a red cord out the window. Rahab and her whole family were preserved according to the promise of the spies, and were incorporated among the Jewish people. Rahab is curious ethically: not only was she supposedly a prostitute but she also betrayed her own city, and she bought favorable treatment for her own family by doing so. But by her acknowledgement of the Hebrew God, she gained a place of honor in Scripture.
(c) David who sends his soldier into battle to cover up his own lust and adultery. Matthew’s wording also specifically identifies David as an adulterer (saying that he fathered Solomon "by the wife of Uriah"). David’s shame, however, went far beyond the betrayal of marriage vows. King David slept with Bathsheba, wife of his faithful servant Uriah, impregnating her, while Uriah gallantly fought one of David’s wars. Worse, he tried unsuccessfully to deceive Uriah about the paternity of the child, and when the deception failed, he sent Uriah back
With Uriah’s death, David was able to marry Bathsheba, but the child that came of that union died, a sure sign that God had cursed them. David, in his old age, passed over his eldest son (by a prior wife) and chose another child, Solomon, to inherit his throne
3) The whole of the genealogy refuted some Jewish beliefs in the time after The Temple and the Priesthood:
(a) Horrendous events do not mean these are the end days.
(b) Moral purity under the Law is not found in the lineage leading to Jesus‘ birth.
The Gospel is not only for the morally pure. Being morally pure not the basis for God coming to us. God’s journey in us is not a straight line – it will have turns, ups and downs. It doesn’t mean we have fallen away from God. God’s grace endures within us
The first lesson of change is to a read stories of spiritual mentor, and see how missed they missed the mark and how they faced difficulties and change. These are people of great depth and endurance and spirit
Matthew’s genealogy completely contradicted the Pharisaic Jews’ belief that the Messiah would come only from perfection, a blessing from God for flawless behavior and diligent religious practice. More than anything else, the genealogy affirmed the Messianic Jews