Holy Week Reading: Matthew

This week, I plan on reading the Holy Week sections of each of the Gospels leading up to Maundy Thursday.

Today I read Matthew’s version, but I read Genesis 14 as an Old Testament reading, first. Genesis 14 is a peculiar passage, for it places Abram (the narrative’s main character) right in the middle of a major conflict between two sets of allies. Abram’s family (and potential army) is small, but Abram’s troops are a deciding factor in the great battle, further portraying Abram as an “idealized human figure” in the Old Testament’s first book.

Tucked away in the story is a vital detail: Abram is referred to as “the Hebrew.” (v.13) The term “Hebrew” was designated as a “cast off one, unidentified, unaffiliated.” It was a derogatory term. Yet, Abram proved to be a vital part of this story, even as an outsider.

In Matthew’s story of Jesus’ last week, Jesus is treated in a similar way: he’s constantly interrogated, misinterpreted, disrespected, betrayed, harassed, beaten, and crucified. Yet, in the middle of it all, he proves to be the “idealized human figure” that rescues a broken, violent humanity.

The Gospels train us as God’s people for in the moment that we think we’ve carved up the world into those who are capable, valuable, powerful, and wise, we are stunned to realize that someone who we might have cast to the side is more important than we initially realized.

To live within Easter’s power is to imagine that all things, even overlooked things/people/tasks can be animated with the very life of God. May we be that type of Easter people, able to believe that resurrection life can be seen within all things.