Day 1: Family Trees, Dreams, Repentance

I am starting my summer reading with a new Bible Translation:  The Common English Bible.  So that will shape at least some of my reflections over the summer.  I hope that you will think about the particular words you read in the Bible, and part of our conversations will be around the similarities and differences we see.

Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy:  Jesus' family tree.  I will admit that in the past I've found these lists of names to be something to skim instead of really to read.  If you really want people to keep reading your story, why would you start with a list of names?  Why begin with  "A record of the ancestors of Jesus Christ." instead of something like this:  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," or "Call me Ishmael," or even "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"?  But Matthew must have thought that it was most intriguing, because he put it first.  He must have thought it would draw people in, make them curious.

There's actually a lot to be curious about in this family tree.  There are stories underneath every single name, and perhaps the people to whom Matthew wrote know more of these stories than we do.  For me, the women named are most interesting:  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah (that would be Bathsheba), and Mary.  Delve into just one of their stories, and suddenly this boring genealogy gets a lot more interesting!

Reading along, I noticed how often God speaks through dreams:  to Joseph and to the magi.  To both the good news is announced in dreams; both are warned about dangers through dreams.  I wonder how often we consider a dream as a sign from God?

I noticed as well, reading three chapers at a time, how abrupt was the shift to John the Baptist.  Joseph returns with his family in Egypt, settles in Nazareth, and suddenly! -- John the Baptist is crying in the wilderness, offering forgiveness with repentance, haranguing the scribes and the Pharisees, baptizing Jesus.

In my translation, the voice from heaven says, "this is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him."

Some questions:
1.  As you read these three chapters, what images or themes leap out at you? 
2.  What do you wonder about?  What is most difficult?
3.  Who is one person from Jesus' genealogy that you are curious about?
4.  In the NRSV, the passage from Matthew 2:2, "we have seen his star in the east," is translated, "we have seein his star at its rising."  Either translation works; does it matter which we use?
5.  Do you think that the baptism of John is different than baptism in the name of Jesus?  If so, what is the difference?

*Image is from The St. John's Bible, Genealogy of Matthew.