SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS, JANUARY 9

 Good afternoon, friends and neighbors!

Correction and update here! I will be leading the class session after all, so I wanted to send you my usual heads-up email about what to expect. 

First Sunday after the (Jan 6) Epiphany, our tradition is to commemorate the Baptist of Jesus, and our primary lesson will Luke's gospel account of that event:

The Gospel Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”[a]

[a] Luke 3:22 Other ancient authorities read “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”.

My intention for class is to make sure everyone knows about the "issue", that Luke seems to have written (3:22), "You are my Son, today I have begotten you" and not the "corrected" line, "You are my Beloved Son; with you I am well pleased", and that this plays into theological discussions about the question "When did Jesus become the Son of God?"

Theologically and scripturally, the question is often answered by referring to what Scripture says, as our main authority about Jesus (other authority being church Tradition (liturgy, doctrine, papal proclamations, the creeds), especially what Paul says and what each Gospel writer says. I don't propose for our class to make that decision for the Church(!), but we can stir the question for ourselves, and it should be interesting to see what the Bible says as the Episcopal Church's ranking, prime, first and foremost authority.

This afternoon, Linda and I moved a bunch of our Bibles from the Library bookshelf, where we used to meet, into our new location, Battin Hall, on our tables, and I will have some bible references for us to look up. 

Hope to see you in class. Between services, 9:15 to 10:15 in Battin Hall. Come one, come all, come early, come timely, come late. Coffee and snacks always provided by the kindness and generosity of class members. 

Tom

fine art: The Baptism of Christ is a painting by Giovanni Baronzio, 13th century. I beg you not be startled, as Jesus was not a spirit, but a man with a human body. Nods perhaps to Giovanni's thoughtful airbrushing. National Gallery of Art, West Building, Main Floor - Gallery 01.