Lenten study session on the Passion story

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SALT LAKE CITY — To help local Catholics and others prepare for Easter, Dr. Brandon R. Peterson is offering a free Lenten study series at The Madeleine Choir School. The series, titled “Entering the Passion,” will be in-person and by Zoom.

In the weekly sessions, which begin March 3, Peterson will discuss A J. Levine’s book Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week. The book explores the biblical texts surrounding the Passion story and examines many of the risks Jesus Christ took during his life and ministry.

“The chance to really get into a theological Lenten reading of the Gospels and the events leading up to the Passion is something I’m really excited about,” Peterson said.

Levine, an Orthodox Jew who is a professor of Jewish Studies and New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University, has a profound respect for Christianity, Peterson said. “She is a practicing Jew, but she is fascinated with the New Testament and really intrigued with this person of Jesus. … She is a really fascinating author and brings a great perspective particularly when it comes to acknowledging and digging into Jesus’ own Jewish identity, his own practices as a first-century Jew.”

Peterson hopes that Levine’s perspective will help participants see Jesus Christ in a new way and draw them closer to the Savior.

“Lent is a time to try and dedicate yourself anew to Jesus and his message,” he said. “This study is timed to coincide with Lent as one other way of doing that.”

Offering the study series is part of the Cathedral of the Madeleine Parish’s efforts to fulfill the Pastoral Plan’s call to provide adult faith formation opportunities, Father Martin Diaz, rector of the cathedral, said.

“I think it would be a wonderful idea for people to take some time during Lent to reflect on life and getting ready for Easter,” he said. “Brandon is a good leader in terms of leading people in a thoughtful discussion in a way that brings the faith forward.”

Peterson, a Cathedral of the Madeleine parishioner, is an associate professor at the University of Utah, teaching topics in religious studies for the philosophy department. He received his Ph.D. in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2015. He has taught courses on world religions, Jewish-Christian relations, Christology, methodology in religious studies, medieval Christian thought, modern Christian thought, ancient Christian thought, the Bible and early Christianity, the ancient world, Catholicism and ecclesiology.

He also is a member of The Madeleine Choir School Board. Last year, he and Gregory Glenn, the school’s pastoral administrator, offered an online Lenten study on the Gospel of Mark for the school community.

Signup sheets for this year’s series which will be offered in person and online are available at https://forms.gle/KPsNyXgFJhhZEM9H8. While there is no cost for the study series, Peterson recommends participants purchase Levine’s book prior to the class.