Adult Lenten Supper & Study Continues
Hans Memling Passione
“The Passion Narratives from Jewish & Christian Perspectives” is the topic of this year’s Lenten Supper & Study program rotating among three Episcopal parishes in St. Mary’s County.
The program began March 18 at Trinity Episcopal Church in St. Mary’s City and the remaining two meetings will be Tuesday, March 25, at St. George’s Parish Hall, Valley Lee – 6 – 8:30 pm and Tuesday, April 8, at Church of the Ascension, Lexington Park – 6 – 8:30 pm.
It has been said that without the story of what happened after the death of Jesus, we would never have known much about his life. We know that there are not many references to Jesus in ancient texts from the same time period and all of those refer to his death. Why is this? How were the words and deeds of Jesus understood by the people around him? Who did his fellow Jews think he was and why did they consider him to be dangerous (or did they)? What did the Romans think of him? Did they consider him a revolutionary? A prophet? Who are the major players in the drama of the passion narrative? And what do the accounts of the betrayal, trial(s), death, and resurrection of Jesus tell us about his life and his role in the emergence of a new faith?
Get a new take on early Jewish life and Christian history. Deepen your own understanding of the context of Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion – and walk with – Christ in his Passion.
A main dish is provided by each host church. Attendees are asked to bring a side dish, a salad, or dessert to share.
The programs are facilitated by Celia Rabinowitz, Director of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland library. Ms. Rabinowitz, a Jewish scholar, holds a doctorate in Early Christian Studies from Fordham University, a Roman Catholic Jesuit school in New York City. She has taught several well-attended classes for the Episcopal churches of St. Mary’s County on topics such as “An Introduction to Judaism” and “Writings of the Early Christian Fathers & Mothers.”
The optional text being used this year is Amy Jill-Levine and Marc Z. Brettler’s new book The Jewish Annotated New Testament. You may order the book on Amazon.com, or purchase it in area bookstores.
This from the publisher: “Although major New Testament figures–Jesus and Paul, Peter and James, Jesus’ mother Mary and Mary Magdalene–were Jews, living in a culture steeped in Jewish history, beliefs, and practices, there has never been an edition of the New Testament that addresses its Jewish background and the culture from which it grew–until now. In The Jewish Annotated New Testament, eminent experts under the general editorship of Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Z. Brettler put these writings back into the context of their original authors and audiences. And they explain how these writings have affected the relations of Jews and Christians over the past two thousand years.”
