By The Rev. Susan Balfour

Beloved,

Greetings in Christ! I give thanks to God for you always, for your warmth and care for one another and our community.

As we approach the end of the secular year, we have already ended the liturgical one. The first Sunday of Advent is our New Year’s Day, when we shift our focus from the Year C readings anchored in the Gospel of Luke to the Year A readings anchored in the Gospel of Matthew. We get to look at Jesus with fresh eyes once again as we trace his birth through his Resurrection.

While all four gospels tell the same story, they were written for different communities, with different concerns and agendas. The Gospel of Matthew is written after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, when Jews were struggling to redefine their religion without the centrality of the Temple. Matthew’s community consisted of Jewish Christians who had been engaged in this re-negotiation of the faith and, as a result, been expelled from the synagogues. Matthew seeks to engage with Jesus and his teachings to help define what it means to be a Jewish Christian in a discrete community. Thus, his gospel may help us as we navigate similar circumstances—seeking to be faithful to Jesus in the midst of unfortunate rifts in families and communities.

I look forward, as always, to the new liturgical year. Keep awake!

In Christ,

Rev. Susan