Once, a bright and inquisitive preteen in confirmation class, asked me why we have readings from the Old Testament every Sunday in Christian worship. She rightly surmised that we could save “5-7 minutes each Sunday” by eliminating the psalm and the lesson from the Hebrew bible. I explained that the “liturgical churches” (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and historic Protestants) had made a conscious choice to emphasize the Jewish roots of Christianity by the use of these readings. Indeed, the earliest Jewish-Christian churches borrowed from synagogue practice; the concept of a three-year fixed cycle of readings by which the congregation, over the course of those three years, would have read to them the whole of the Torah. Christians, similarly, would be exposed to all four gospels.

Unfortunately, the tradition of selecting readings from the Hebrew bible which amplify or harmonize with the gospel readings, have had two unintended negative consequences. One, we are exposed to a somewhat narrow slice of a rich Hebrew tradition and two, we persist in our ignorance that the Hebrew bible is an “old testament” which describes a people desperately in need of Jesus the Messiah and then missing him when he came. Ignorance mixed with arrogance almost always leads to violence and pogroms and a holocaust has been the result of such prejudice. Contemporary Christians need, in this post holocaust world, to work to read the scriptures through the smoke of the crematorium; which is to say: to reclaim and repatriate Jesus as a Jew.

In the preaching at St. Augustine’s, the clergy have worked diligently to proclaim the Jewishness of Jesus, who was a first century Galilean healer, exorcist and charismatic teacher before he was proclaimed as the Christ of the Church.

As we move through the season of Lent in preparation for Easter – a period of forty days which recalls both Jesus’ sojourn in the desert for 40 days in which he began to discern his identity as prophet and proclaimer and the Jews sojourn in the desert for 40 years in which they began to discern their identity as a people called and chosen – as we move through these days, it is a wonderful opportunity for deepening our understanding of Jesus the Rabbi. We can do that by developing a deeper appreciation of the “theological world” Jesus inherited by birth.

I have asked Rabbi Marx of Sha’arei Am here in Santa Monica to come and challenge us in a series of lectures for the five Wednesday evenings in Lent. I am beyond thrilled to report to you that Rabbi Marx has generously accepted that invitation.

We will gather for our congregational Lenten discipline (which is meant to augment but not replace your own Lenten discipline, see related article in this edition of Ebb and Flow) on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. for a simple supper, followed by a lecture and discussion, adjourning by 8:30 p.m. (nursery and childcare available by reservation).

The dates and topics are:

March 8th:
“And he shall reign forever and ever.” The concept of the Messiah in the time of Jesus.

March 15th:
“Did Abraham fail the test?” The sacrifice of Isaac

March 22nd:
“I have come not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.” The commandments in the time of Jesus.

March 29th:
“Where do risen bodies go?” The concept of resurrection in the time of Jesus.

April 5th:
“What’s not so good about the Samaritans?”

Our goals for this series are that we learn a bit more about the world of Yeshua, son of Miriam and Josef of Nazareth; that we enjoy fellowship as people of faith both Jewish and Christian and that we seek to be intentional, as a community, in preparing for Easter.

My expectation is that Rabbi Jeff will be both provocative (that is my hope) as well as delightful (that is my experience).