The three-yearly cycle of the lectionary begins again this Sunday with a return to the gospel of Matthew, who from the Nativity narrative to the Resurrection reveals a Messiah and a teacherAncients and moderns are agreed that the gospel of Matthew, named first among the four, is the Church’s handbook. Jesus is the teacher; readers and listeners are the learners. The purpose is to turn learners into proclaimers. Matthew’s gospel is, according to ancients and moderns alike, the Catechism of the Church. Christian imagination has fed deeply on Matthew’s pages. He is in our mouths every day. Like Hamlet, he is full of quotations. Consider: not fit to carry his boots; go the extra mile; here today, gone tomorrow; don’t cast your pearls before swine; keep on the strait (s