READING (ALL OF MATTHEW

by the Rev. Ted Clarkson

Among the things I remember most from my first semester of New Testament at Sewanee are (1) the fact that it was the lowest grade I received in all my years of seminary and (2) the experience of reading entire books of scripture, one at a time. Our professor assigned them to us to read as homework each week for the first half of the semester. For the first session, we had to read the Gospel of Mark; for the second we had to read Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation; and for the third we had to read the Gospel of Luke. That’s how it went for the first six weeks of class until we had read the entire New Testament.

But instead of burying ourselves in our study carrels for hours at a time pouring over the Word of God alone, my classmates and I decided to share the experience and read these books together. Twice a week, Mikey and I would join our classmates at one of our homes, sit in a large circle and read through the texts, one at a time, from beginning to end. Someone would start with the first chapter, and then the person to their right would read the second, and thus it would go: making our way around the circle, one chapter at a time.

This is not the way Anglicans normally read scripture. Our most common practice is to read through the Bible slowly, using a lectionary to tell what to read, passage by passage, year by year. But reading an entire book of the Bible in one sitting, particularly a gospel, is a completely different experience. You get a better sense of how all the stories fit together when you transition from one to the next. You feel how the arc of Jesus’ story takes shape, beginning with his nativity, growing through his travels and teachings, and climaxing in his passion, death, and resurrection. As you may know, our Sunday readings are from the Revised Common Lectionary, which is three years long. Each year focuses on a particular gospel. Year A is Matthew; Year B is Mark, and Year C is Luke. (The Gospel of John gets sprinkled in throughout all years.) This Advent we will start the three-year cycle over again and read through Matthew, one Sunday at a time. To prepare ourselves for a year with Matthew, Transfiguration will hold a reading of all twenty-eight chapters of his gospel on Saturday, December 10th at 1:00 p.m.

We will sit in a circle of chairs on the labyrinth with a table in the center. On the table will be the “Gospels and Acts” volume of our Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible and another version of the text in larger print. (You will have the option to choose which version you would prefer to read from.) When you arrive, you will choose a chapter, take a seat, and listen while you wait for your turn to read. The event will take a few hours, maybe three, with short, silent breaks in the middle. To prevent any discomfort that could come from long periods of sitting, listeners may stand or walk around the circle for brief periods.

While reading through Matthew will prepare your minds for Year A, we hope that it will also prepare your heart for the Advent of Christ. In the midst of our culture’s frenzied rush toward the arrival of Santa Claus, taking three hours to be still, listen, and read God’s Holy Word is an act of resistance. We hope that you will join us and find value and meaning in this new parish-wide activity this year. 15