How Are They to Hear?

Your assignment in the 2007 church year, should you choose to accept it, is primarily to proclaim the good news as presented in the Gospel of Matthew. Oh, there will be times, I hope, when you dip into the assigned Old Testament texts and the Second Readings, even occasional topical sermons or texts chosen for special occasions. But the lectionary expects you to find out what Matthew, a multilingual man, probably an Israelite, with a rather sophisticated command of Israelite traditions and scribal argumentation (HarperCollins Study Bible) had to say in the late first century—and then apply that to yourself and a diverse lot of twenty-first–century Christians.

The distinguished band of authors who wrote for this issue acknowledge that this assignment entails both promise and peril. What are the implications for preaching of a Gospel that is anti-Empire, opposed to the religious establishment, sharply critical of the Pharisees, morally stringent, and apocalyptically severe? What is the empire today? Who is the religious establishment? What about sharp criticism in an age of ecumenical hospitality? How can one be morally stringent in our culture? Or apocalyptically severe in a society fascinated by the “Left Behind” series? Tolle et lege—take and read—these articles and Matthew.

Amy-Jill Levine points out that the Gospel of Matthew has often been interpreted in ways that convey anti-Jewish messages. A number of common stereotypes about Judaism are simply not true. Judaism, for example, was not characterized by oppressive purity laws, xenophobia, and misogyny. Some apparent criticisms of the Jews are in fact criticism of certain specific Jewish leaders and not of Jews in general. Pastors and congregations need to weigh the pros and cons of participating in contemporary seder celebrations. The cry “His blood be on us and on our children” has caused much mischief in the history of Christianity. The correct answer to who killed Jesus is humanity. The church needs to confess its own sins, not the sins of “the Jews.” There are, finally, good ways and bad ways to proselytize. Avoiding anti-Jewish preaching requires a concerted effort.

Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., identifies seven problems in preaching Matthew and suggests ways in which these problems can become opportunities to address positively issues that are at the heart of Christian life. The Jewish context in which Matthew places christological titles, for example, invites a special effort at appreciating their distinctive Jewish resonances in this Gospel. Matthew’s alleged anti-Judaism can be turned into an opportunity for better appreciating first-century Judaism and Matthew’s place within it. While Matthew is patriarchal, his account of Jesus’ dialogue with the Canaanite woman is the only case in the Gospels where Jesus seems to lose an argument. Preaching eschatology may seem easier on the basis of the Lord’s prayer, in which the “you” petitions ask that God’s sovereignty be celebrated by all creation and the “we” petitions beg for sustenance and protection in the dangerous process of its coming.

Warren Carter notes that the plot of Matthew involves conflict between Jesus and the Jerusalem-based leaders who were allied with Rome. At the heart of this article is the idea that much of the New Testament is highly critical of and subversive to the Roman Empire. Jesus manifests God’s saving presence, the empire of God, by constituting a community of followers by preaching, healing, and exorcizing. Powerful elites conflict with Jesus over his societal vision and practices. Jesus teaches his followers that conflict with the elite will result in his crucifixion and resurrection, with numerous implications for their lives as his followers. At Jerusalem Jesus challenges the center of the elite’s power in the temple and condemns their world as facing imminent destruction under God’s judgment. God’s saving purposes overcome the worst that the elite can do, and Jesus commissions his followers to worldwide mission, promising to be with them.

Richard Carlson observes that the lectionary does not have us read the Gospel of Matthew in a coherent order (the text for Advent 1 comes from chapter 24, but Advent 2 takes us back to chapter 2). The genealogy in chapter 1 shows that Jesus’ origin is within the core history of God’s dealing with Israel. The inclusion of four Gentile women in this genealogy demonstrates that Gentiles have had and will have an important place among God’s people. The name Emmanuel demonstrates that Jesus personifies and embodies God’s presence, and this theme continues until the very end of the book. The rapid succession of prophetic fulfillments in chapter 2 reveals that Jesus is fulfilling the prophetic agenda. Herod is emblematic of those in power in Matthew who use deception and violence to hold on to their power. The divine sonship of Jesus is explicitly announced already in 2:15. Before one begins to preach on subsequent chapters, one would do well to enter fully into the first two seminal chapters.

Fred Strickert studies the meaning of Rachel’s lament from Jeremiah as cited in Matthew’s Gospel. The background of Rachel’s cry is found in her story in Genesis where she dies in childbirth on the way to the promised land. Rachel and her husband Jacob are the perfect example of homeless people who
were constantly on the way to landedness. Rachel’s crucial role in salvation history is also celebrated in rabbinic midrash. The tears of Rachel foreshadow the tears of Mary, and Rachel’s son, dubbed “the son of my sorrow,” prefigures Mary’s child, the man of sorrows. Rachel dies giving life, while Mary gives birth to one destined for death. The mothers weeping for their Bethlehem children would one day join those weeping along the streets of Jerusalem as Jesus made his way to the cross. Rachel in Jeremiah was told to dry her eyes and look forward to a new covenant, and Matthew’s quotation of Rachel’s lament is only a prelude to the unfolding of God’s covenantal plan in Jesus.

Paul’s questions in Rom 10:14–15 are haunting: How are they to call on one whom they have not believed, or believe in one whom they have not heard, or hear without someone to proclaim to them? And then: How are they (you!) to proclaim unless they (you!) are sent? This year, again, you are the local and official spokesperson for the apostolic faith, so designated by divine call.

Godspeed!

Ralph W. Klein
Editor

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