Good News for a Fractured Society: Matthew Speaks to Divisions of Power, Wealth, Gender, and Religious Pluralism, by Stephen McCutchan. Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, 2006. ISBN 1425956785. Pb., 196 pp. $15.95.
What topic would be good for an adult class of mature Christians? How about a Bible study on the Gospel of Matthew? What if it focuses shamelessly on “the good life,” on reconciliation and redemption amid the vagaries and temptations of American society? What if it expresses an unabashedly liberal perspective in a culture specializing in “hems and haws”? What if it is hopeful and straightforward in a world filled with ambiguity, treating readers with dignity and speaking with certainty and clarity?
I offer you McCutchan’s work–not cheap, moralistic sermons and not irrelevant commentary on texts that might mean this or that, but rather a serious exposition of the first gospel for people such as Outlook readers and their kin in spirit.
A first chapter focuses on the responsibility of affluent Christians to care for those who possess less power or none at all. It interprets temptation as preparation for service, following the trials of Jesus in the desert. It follows the ministry of Jesus amid the chaos of his day, pointing to God’s providence rather than any magical protection of believers from evil. Treatment of issues of power, dominion, service, and privilege are drawn from Matthean texts.
A second chapter concentrates on the false division of the world into faithful and pagan, proclaiming Jesus interested in both and God ruling over both as well. Subsequent chapters are devoted to our divisions and inequities regarding masculine and feminine, rich and poor, and doubt and belief. According to McCutchan, the Gospel of Matthew proclaims God caring for all, healing through the agency of Jesus, and restoring. He concludes that Matthew considers the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as a “midrash” or commentary on the life of Israel, the whole people of God.
I found the book mostly refreshing, sometimes frustrating, occasionally inspiring, and consistently readable. No footnotes or citations of authorities. No index of subjects or names. But a nice index of scriptural references.
McCutchan has been a pastor for 38 years, serving congregations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. In 2000, he won the Angell Prize from the Presbyterian Writers’ Guild for his work, Experiencing the Psalms. Now retired, he may well have gained some freedom in writing that the pulpit of regular churches did not afford. Again, maybe not. He seems to write with the confidence that mature Christians ought receive the whole meal–not pabulum. I’ll bet he preached that way, too. Here’s hoping he keeps writing! And may his tribe–literate, thoughtful, caring pastors who proclaim the gospel well in print–increase.
Louis B. Weeks is president of Union-PSCE, Richmond and Charlotte.
