A Cup of Eau Claire

Background:            In these chapters Jesus gives instructions to the Twelve and sends them out. Honestly, it doesn’t sound like a job one would desire, and if we are expected to be disciples (ones who  learn) or apostles (ones who are sent out), where would we start? Healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and casting out demons are not in the average America Christian’s wheelhouse. And he warns that it won’t be easy work– people won’t like what they have to say, they’ll have to rely on the hospitality of strangers to be fed and housed. And at the end of chapter 11, Jesus says this yoke is easy, the burden light!  Some things to notice:  There are 12 disciples, matching the 12 Tribes of Israel  They are sent only to the Jews, not to Gentiles, yet  John is likened to Elijah, the prophet who was the forerunner of the Messiah. Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind by God (2 Kings 2:1-12) and is still awaited, since ...

  "Encounter" mural by Daniel Cariola (Chile),  Duc In Altam, Magdala, Galilee.    Background:  These two chapters are filled with healing stories, and we see that Jesus has power to heal all kinds of afflictions: leprosy, paralysis, fever, demons, bleeding, blindness, muteness, and even death. Equally significant will be to notice who gets healed: Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, powerful and marginalized, those who are alone and those who have community. No one is outside the circle of holy healing. People who are out according to society are in with Jesus as he demonstrates the radical inclusion of the kingdom of heaven, which is probably a big part of the problem the religious leaders have with him. “...whenever God’s justice-love is at large in the world through acts of radical inclusivity, people’s needs are met, for the hospitality of God is infectious.” 1  We also have an example of Jesus being able to control nature ...

  Mount of Beatitudes (chapel on top), Sea of Galilee  --not a mountain like Sinai, but a beautiful view! Background:                This week we read the whole Sermon on the Mount (remember the Moses/Jesus parallel? Here Jesus shows up on a “mountain”, reminding us of Moses getting the 10 Commandments from the mountain). This is a long teaching section, which fits in with the emphasis on Torah as “teaching” or “instruction” rather than “law”. Matthew focuses on right living more than right believing , and here we have it right from Jesus’s mouth: how are we to live together faithfully and well?  Beatitudes, verse 7: merciful is one of the primary attributes of God (the other is “just”). My friend Richard (1) translates YHWH (the unspeakable name of God, told to Moses at the burning bush) “The God Whose Name Is Mercy”. Being faithful means being merciful and just, as God is.  In the “You have heard…” section (5:21-48), n...

  Background: We meet new characters in these chapters: John the Baptizer, Satan, and the first four disciples, Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John.  The detailed description of what John the Baptizer looks like indicates he might have been a member of the sect called the Essenes, who produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were a monastic kind of community who lived in the Judean desert and practiced immersion cleansing as a ritual. John appears rather abruptly in Matthew (Luke tells us the details of his birth, so we expect him later) and begins baptizing people, including Jesus, at the Jordan River. Baptism was not new here; there is long Jewish tradition of ritual baths and cleansing, in either a river, a pool of water, or a mikveh – a tub built for this purpose, found in homes and near the Temple. This ritual cleansing by immersion was to prepare a person to approach God, which takes on new meaning when God has become incarnate and is standing right there. Jesus is baptized ...

  Background:  Matthew starts with a genealogy, which most people skip over but serves as a nice connection between the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. If you read carefully, you’ll notice it’s a patriarchal genealogy, but 5 women are snuck in there: Tamar ( Gen 38 ), Rahab ( Josh 2 & 6), Ruth ( Ruth ), Bathsheba ( 2 Sam 11 -12), and Mary ( Luke 1 -2). While their stories might seem scandalous, they are instrumental in keeping the line going from Abraham through David to Jesus.  The family tree of Christ,  Hortus Deliciarum  (1180) While Herod the Great contributed much to the ancient world (like architecture ) his primary concern was the power of the Roman Empire, so he quickly and often killed anyone who got in the way, including infants. We are reminded here that Jesus is in danger from the moment Herod learns of his birth, to his death at the hands of Herod’s son, Herod Antipas.  The parallels between Jesus and Moses are set up right from the b...

The community book read is back this summer, and we’re going for MATTHEW! In June, July, and August, 2023, we’ll read about 2 chapters per week, discussing them at worship each Wednesday, 5:30 pm. [We meet at the Ecumenical Religious Center, 110 Garfield Ave, Eau Claire, WI– adjacent to campus.] Most weeks I (Pastor Lori) will provide a blog Bible study, with some key concepts and questions to consider as you read.  First, some overall themes that will shape the whole story, as an introduction.  Matthew is the first book of the New Testament, perhaps so placed because the genealogy that begins the book serves as a bridge between the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament. Composed about 80-90 CE, it builds on the earlier Gospel of Mark, and shares much material in common with Luke. After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, the survival of Judaism is in question, and we see the tension between the Jewish religious leaders and the Jesus leaders each making the ...