Grupo de Familia | First Reading

Hello friends.

Uh we have entered the world of the

Gospel of

Matthew

and today uh we will have what we're

going to call our first reading, our

first communal

uh reading here uh in our spaces. So,

uh, our other, uh, family groups have

already done this. Uh, and so both the

Spanish dominant and the English

dominant groups are going to be doing

these this this practice.

Um, personally, I'm really excited. Um,

I think you can tell. Uh, but also just,

uh, I love grand stories, big stories.

Uh, in fact, we are moments away from

beginning our quest to Mordor as we are

going to be watching uh backto back

three days in a row um the Lord of the

Rings trilogy extended edition in the

theater. You you may not be able to

tell, but I'm actually fullon in Hobbit

costume below here. Um I'm just kidding.

Uh so you know we love these grand big

stories. Um and

in the making of that story or that

book,

uh details are very important because

um they make connections to big

significant themes, moments, messages,

purposes,

um and so and so on. And that's a little

bit of what we're trying to do here

where we want to slow down and we want

to listen to the gospel on its own

terms.

Uh we want to allow the gospel to invite

us into its world. Um and then in that I

think the gospel will become more

relevant um in our world. So we're doing

a little bit of that. Okay. So our

practice today is a practice of

listening. So it's not necessarily a

study. Uh it is a spiritual formation

practice of listening.

Uh studying is very important and

hopefully we're all doing that. Uh but

when you study something out, you have a

goal, you have an aim, and so you go

after that and sort of study that theme

or that topic and and kind of unpack it

and do all of that good work. In the

practice of listening, it's a little bit

like it's opposite of that. Meaning, you

don't have a goal, you don't have an

agenda.

um God's going to bring something to

you.

So again, in studying, you're going

after something. In listening, you're

simply the recipient of how of God

surprising you, interrupting you with

something specific from from the

narrative that we're going to be

listening to. Um so that's another way

of explaining that. Okay. So, let's get

to it. We are going to be taking a

minute of silence. Okay. After that, uh

we are going to be reading the gospel

out loud. Mark uh Matthew 1 verse 1 to

Matthew 1:1

chapter 4 verse 17. So, this will be our

first reading.

After you complete that reading, take

another minute to sit in silence and

kind of process. Okay. What what stood

out to you? What jumped out to you? What

interrupted you? And then uh I will have

five questions to to guide us here. We

can call those sails uh to see where the

winds of the spirit uh take us or take

you communally and personally. Okay. So,

um, it's really important that you all

have an open Bible. So, hopefully you

have that as a practice. Uh, that

everyone has a Bible before them. Uh, if

you are still using your phone as a

dominant reading for your scripture,

um, make sure you put it on, you know,

uh, silent mode or whatever you need to

do to make sure you're not distracted.

But again, the best practice moving

forward is to have a physical Bible in

front of you. It's just a better way to

interact with scripture. Okay. Also,

make sure you're all in the same uh

translation. You can choose whatever

translation you want to do and then read

it together. And then select who's going

to read. Maybe one person's going to

read the whole thing, maybe two people,

more than three is going to be more

complicated.

Um, okay. And you know, uh, fair

warning, uh, you know, you may stumble

through the genealogy names. It's okay.

Just go through it, read it. Um,

okay. So, those are things that I think

will help you set up. Um, so again,

minute of silence, reading out loud,

minute of silence, I'll read questions.

Um, and then you guys get to share and

we'll continue on Sunday. Cool. All

right. So, go ahead and pause right now

and set yourselves up with your minute

of silence. Read out loud. Once you have

done your reading, sit in silence one

more minute and then continue the video.

All right, let's do it.

Just kidding. Um,

you press play. It works. So, here are

the five questions for your reflection.

Question number one. As you listen to

this passage read out loud, what stood

out to you? Was there something that

felt new, surprising, or something you

had never noticed before? Question

number two.

Before Jesus begins teaching, healing,

or calling disciples, what does Matthew

seem most concerned that we understand

about who Jesus is? Why do you think

Matthew chooses to begin the story this

way?

And number three,

in this introduction, chapter 1-4,

Matthew intentionally presents key

aspects of Jesus' identity that will

matter throughout the gospel. What

traits, details, or emphasis

about who Jesus is do you notice Matthew

highlighting from the start? Similar to

question two, but different.

Number four. While listening to the

text, did an image, a story, or a

promise from the Old Testament come to

mind? How does Matthew help you see or

hear that scripture in a fresh way? That

scripture or that scripture in the Old

Testament.

Okay. And finally,

Pepe Joseph

plays a significant role in this part of

the story.

What do you notice about how God works

through Joseph? And how does Joseph's

response help us better understand who

Jesus is?

Great. So, here are all of the five

questions. Let's see where the

conversation uh takes you. And uh it's

great to be with you.

Hey,

hey,

hey.