Saint Matthew

James was called ‘the brother of the Lord,’ ‘the brother of God,’ and ‘James, the Just.’ He appears in Acts and in Paul’s letters as the head of the Jerusalem church. He was described as a completely faithful Jew, and one of the voices of compromise who facilitated Gentiles coming into the church but apart from Mosaic Law. We return to the controversy over whether Jesus had siblings. James is not often mentioned in the Gospels, where he was not among Jesus’s followers. In Acts and Galatians, we examine his leadership role and his theology. We will conclude by addressing the debate over whether he authored the Epistle that bears his name, the reasons for his death at the hands of the High Priest Ananus in 61 CE, and legends that later developed around him.

James was at the center of the process where compromise was reached to allow Gentiles to sit at table with Jews in the new Christian movement. What can we learn about dealing with controversies in our own time? Come join us for an interesting discussion.

One or more of our Saint Matthew clergy will guide our study. We also have excellent handouts to provide you. On these warm summer nights, feel free to bring a cooler with sparkling water, coke, beer or wine, or whatever your preference is as we come together in the Gathering Room.

Background Information and Summer Schedule:

We know that our people have many plans over the summer months, with travel, family visits, vacations, sports activities. Our regular Bible Study series during the academic year are designed to be sequential, where we will most benefit by participating every week.

This summer, we are offering what we term an ‘occasional’ series, which means it will not occur every week, and you need not attend all sessions to understand what is going on. You can pick and choose according to your interests or your schedule.

We plan to hold a Healing Service on the 4th Wednesday of every month [6/27, 7/25, 8/29] up to September, as our parish prays for healing for Bishop +Peter and to help us cope with the changes for us all.

All sessions will run from 7:00 – 8:15 PM. We will feature both Hebrew and New Testament characters:

6/20 Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar
6/27 Healing Service

7/11 ‘Doubting’ Thomas
7/18 Moses and Exodus
7/25 Healing Service

8/01 John the Baptist
8/08 The Jacob Saga
8/15 Stephen
8/22 James
8/29 Healing Service

9/5 Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
9/12 The Samaritan Woman
9/26 Good Samaritan and Prodigal Son

We will watch and listen to a half-hour video presentation by Professor Amy-Jill Levine, a renowned Jewish scholar from the Vanderbilt Divinity School. She is not only a Hebrew scripture scholar but also a New Testament scholar. Some of you may have seen her book, The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011) which we highly recommend.