An Asynchronous Lenten Study for All

Introduction

The Jewish festival season of Pesach, or Passover, is both the theological and practical background for the Christian season of Lent. Reflecting on the Jewish history of later Christian development can be an instructive experience for Christians to add to their own spiritual practices during the season of Lent that calls on personal reflection and somber introspection. You are invited to join a study to explore these themes, and to dig deeper into the themes of liberation that punctuate the Passover festival.

This asynchronous study is open to a range of audiences, from the very religious to the atheist; the Jewish, the Christian, and those practicing religions that may not hold strong commitment to either the Pesach or Lenten seasons.

Lent

In the Christian Liturgical calendar, Lent is a time of fasting and sacrifice in anticipation for the final days of Jesus’s life, often called Holy Week. The six weeks of Lent are bookended by the solemn days of prayer and introspection, Ash Wednesday—this week, February 22, 2023, to signal the start of the liturgical season, and Holy Friday, the time recognizing Jesus’s execution by Rome, at the end. The Christian celebration of new life, Easter is not the culmination of Lent; rather, Easter signals the beginning of the next liturgical season, Eastertide.

The season of Lent is a sacred time for Christians that calls for study, repentance, and moving forward from the season with refreshed commitment to their spiritual practices.

Passover

In the Jewish festival calendar, Passover overlaps with the Lenten season, and the festival figures as an important backdrop to the Gospel accounts of Jesus’s final days in Jerusalem; though, for the gospel according to John, Passover serves a different purpose than it does for the synoptic accounts, Mark, Matthew and Luke (Luke-Acts, the two-scroll volume).

Passover commemorates the Exodus narrative as told in the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Exodus narrates the Hebrew people’s liberation from enslavement by the Egyptians. In fact, themes from the Exodus narrative are pulled into the birth account of Jesus as told in the gospel according to Matthew, but that discussion will have to wait for another season; though, you can get a sense of that connection by reading Sunday’s post on this newsletter.

The Passover festival season transforms Jewish people’s homes and lives by removing and abstaining from any leavened food products as Jews seek to experience the hurried liberation from captivity—so hurried that there was not time even to let the bread rise. Passover may be best highlighted by its ritually ordered meal, the Passover Seder, which includes guided eating of symbolic foods and a retelling of the narrative. I have hosted many Seders in our family’s home, and the experience is transformative.

Scholarly consensus holds that the Exodus, as told, did not occur, at least not in the way described by the Bible, but the deep commitment to grand, unifying narrative of liberation from enslavement is a mythic truth of Jewish experience that does not require factual basis to carry deep and profound meaning.

Entering the Passion

Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She is a professor, author, facilitator of Jewish study in Christian settings for Christian clergy, and editor of the acclaimed, Jewish Annotated New Testament, which you’ll see referenced as “JANT” throughout posts on this site.

Professor Levine reminds us that “to study Jesus and the Gospels is, in fact, to study Jewish history,” and our study will take that seriously.

An Asynchronous Study

Our approach to this study is borne out of commitments to accessibility and maximum participation. By asynchronous, we mean that all study and group interactions occur on participants’ own schedules, facilitated through pre-recorded audio messages—maybe call them podcasts, but it’s my first try at this, so be gentle! Also, regular emails, and blog post discussion prompts.

Regular Emails

Participants will receive three emails each week during the study: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. All you need to do is subscribe to this newsletter, using the coupon code, and all regular emails will show up in your inbox! With the subscription, I’ve opted to include all of the Notes from the Diaspora content, so you’ll also experience my regular posting about Christian and Jewish theology and interpretation.

Monday

You’ll receive a link to the audio recording to introduce that week’s themes, and things to look out for when reading that week’s chapter.

Wednesday

A summary of that week’s theme, with quotes from the study material, and a reminder to engage in the Substack chat that you’ll learn about as we go along.

Friday

I’ll send a reflection on one sacred text that resonated with me during that week’s reading, and I’ll invite you to share one, too. Then in future weeks, I can share the texts that you shared with me!

Audience

Attendance, membership, and affiliation in both American mainline Christian and Jewish congregations are on the decline. In Christian settings, at least, these wounds are often self-inflicted. The tradition of the “big C” Church, meaning the American Christian Church, in all its varied denominations and practices, has too often marginalized communities and refused to take a stand on issues of injustice. In the worst cases, injustices have been defended by misguided appeal to the Sacred texts that Christians hold dear. The resurgence of Christian Nationalism has further alienated all people from the Church.

Though we cannot erase the wrongs of the Church, we can share new tools to address past injustices, and we are on a path to welcome, include, and amplify the voices of those who have fallen victim to the hegemony and narrow thinking of too many Christian communities. In this study, and in many other ways, we seek maximum participation from the voices who have been silenced. We acknowledge this is difficult and lifelong work, but we must begin with a first step.

Registration Details

To register, subscribe to this newsletter, using this discounted link for 90 days free access to all content!

To purchase the book, please find Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week by Amy-Jill Levine on Amazon, or better yet, order directly from your local, independent bookstore, like Indy Reads. If purchasing the book is not an option, please let Adam know privately, and copies of the book can be made available.