Break Open the Word

The Second Sunday of Advent, 8 December 2013 Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 72:1-7,18-19 Romans 15:4-13 St. Matthew 3:1-12                                                                                                                 Background:   The Gospel of St. Matthew – Audience and Setting Traditionally the audience for Matthew was thought to be a people speaking either Aramaic, or Hebrew, living in Palestine.   The vocabulary and structure of th...

The First Sunday of Advent, 1 December 2013 Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122 Romans 13:11-14 St. Matthew 24:36-44                                                                                     Background:   A Year of Matthew With this First Sunday of Advent, we enter Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).   The predominant Gospel during this cycle will be the Gospel According to Saint Matthew.   Here are some background materials on this Gospel.   Until the nineteenth century, the Gospel of Matthew enjoyed a primacy of quotation and usa...