Inspiring the Moral Imagination

Rev. Daniel Graves

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Thursday 7:30 PM Starting April 15th

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Session Description

Location

Online

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most easily recognized portions of the New Testament. It contains the much-loved Beatitudes, the so-called “Summary of the Law”, the Lord’s Prayer, and well-known pithy moral aphorisms, such as “turn the other cheek” and “judge not lest ye be judged.”

We claim to live by Jesus’ moral vision as expressed in the Sermon, but often we find it easier to claim the vision than to live it.

The Church has struggled with the Sermon on the Mount and its moral vision from earliest times. In this course we read the sermon closely with the assistance of famous “reading partners”, that is, commentators on the text from the Patristic period down to the present day. Our primary modern guide will be New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine (Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner’s Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven, Abingdon, 2020). As we read along with a variety of interpreters, my hope is that new possibilities for understanding, interpreting, and living the Sermon on the Mount will emerge.

Texts:
The Bible (preferably RSV or NRSV)
Amy-Jill Levine, Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner’s Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven (Nashville: Abingdon, 2020), ISBN 978-1-5018-9989-8, softcover, $22.50 (also available on Kindle or audio book)
Other readings will be provided by email.

Please note: If the cost of this book would be a hardship for you, please speak to Rev'd Karen.

Please note: If the cost of this book would be a hardship for you, please speak to Rev'd Karen.
Week 1: Versions, Influences, and interpretive strategies – Matthew 5-7; Sermon on the Plain, Luke 6:12-20a; Paul, Romans 12. Jewish context: Deuteronomy, the Dead Sea Scrolls, blessings and curses; building a wall around Torah, the Four Senses of Scripture.
Week 2: The Beatitudes.
Week 3: The Extensions.
Week 4: Practicing Piety.
BREAK
Week 5: Our Father
Week 6: Finding your Treasure
Week 7: Living into the Kingdom

This course will be offered via Zoom in two different timeslots, Thursdays 10 am and 7:30 pm, April 15th, April 22nd, April 29th, May 6th, May 20th, May 27th, and June 3rd. There will be no class on May 13th.