Preparing for the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany - Psalm 112:1-10

Praise the Lord.^[b]

Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
    who find great delight in his commands.

² Their children will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
³ Wealth and riches are in their houses,
    and their righteousness endures forever.
⁴ Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
    for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
⁵ Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
    who conduct their affairs with justice.

⁶ Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
    they will be remembered forever.
⁷ They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
⁸ Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
⁹ They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
    their righteousness endures forever;
    their horn^[c] will be lifted high in honor.

¹⁰ The wicked will see and be vexed,
    they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
    the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

 

This is one of the many psalms that are actually acrostic poems where each line begins with a different successive letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  We miss the beauty and creativity when we look at it in the translated form.

 

That aside, we are reminded once again that genuine, holy reverence draws our lives into God's desire for justice and righteousness in the world.  The service of the righteous is recognized by both God and the Psalmist.  Their faith has borne good works and their righteousness (because it is God's righteousness working in them and through them) will endure forever.  Their dignity, symbolized by the horn, will be lifted high (by God) in honor.

 

These passages, both the one yesterday and the one above, may also speak to our identity amnesia or the forgetfulness of who we are and whose we are.  The constant repetition of what a follower of God looks like and how a follower of God interacts with the world around them is shown in a multitude of voices (both prophetic and poetic) so that all might hear and respond to God's divine Word.

 

 

Preparing for the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany - Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
² For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
³ ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
⁴ Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
⁵ Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶ “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness^[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
¹¹ The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

 

Many studies in the sociological and religious world have said in the past decade that one of the top reasons people don't become Christian or go to church is because we are all hypocrites. For a Christian or a church to hear those words about themselves is tough to handle.  Seems like the people of God have been wrestling with this issue for thousands of years...yes, even before the 'church' was birthed.

 

Isaiah speaks this week to perhaps one of the most intensely religious practices of Judaism and Christianity that anyone could participate in.  The purpose of denying ourselves sustenance in the process of fasting is to deepen our commitment to hearing God.  The result of such practice, one would think, would be to have bodies that are bent towards obedience to God.  Like the people of God that Isaiah was addressing in the historical context, if our religious practices are not yielding obedience and a reflection of the one we are leaning into, then perhaps we need to check our motives.  Isaiah believes that this deep connectivity to God (through ritual practices), should create transformation in the pious participant that leads to acts of social justice.  We simply cannot truly pray and fast and continue to ignore the poor and the hungry in our midst.

 

So the invitation in reading this text, and living it out, requires us to re-examine our own religious practice.  Do  we say one thing and do another (like, I'll pray for you and then forget to pray)?  Do we attend to the divine presence when in fact our hearts and minds are somewhere else (like what's for lunch or on our grocery list for the shopping spree after church)?  Do we use our rituals to pronounce our love for God to sanction injustice and violence (just look at the news and I bet you can come up with some examples of this one)?

 

My hope and prayer is that we (myself included) would continue to be shaped by God's word in such a way that obedience, faithfulness, justice, mercy, and love were all products of our transformation.

Preparing for the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany - Matthew 5:1-12

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

I invite you to reflect on these words:

 "Jesus is the one who will now mark the path to God as the path of this specific lowliness, mourning, meekness, mercy, and peacemaking.  This God will be found in no other way, and this way will also be stained by the world's revulsion, rejection, persecution, slander, and purposes of death.  The divine dynamic of the world where power flows from the powerful, the socially acceptable, and the beautiful through the circuits of influence they created.  God desires to render their power useless, exposing it as that which comes from dust and must eventually return to dust.  The theological matter at play in this dynamic is the identity of God, which might mistakenly be equated with worldly power.  Unlike worldly power, the power of God will make its home in weak places."

                                            -Luke A. Powery and Willie Jennings (Abingdon Theological Companion

                                               to the Lectionary - Preaching Year A, page 59)

 

May we too find God's power in the broken and weak places of our lives and may we be vessels of that power towards others.  Amen.

Preparing for the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany - 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”^[a]

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord."

God continues to reorient my thinking.  After two old testament texts that reveals a more ethical set of requirements for being in the presence of God, now Paul adds fuel to the fire as he and Jesus teach us that God chooses the foolish, lowly, poor and weak over the strong and wise of this world to work as God's agents.  I mean Paul all but says that God's weakness is greater than any...I mean any...human power.  Further more, the only way that you and I can truly know God's power is through the Son's weakness.  Isn't this Holy Reversal (or revolution if you like) at the heart of every human conversion?  Redemption should have destroyed our boasting in ourselves, yet Paul finds it necessary to remind us (even still today) that our boasts should be solely in the Lord.

What areas of strength in your life are actually areas of strength because of the Son's weakness?  Are we still running around with the mentality of, "don't you know who I think I am?" or are we close enough to God to allow the weakness of the cross to be our wisdom and power?

Preparing for the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany - Psalm 15

Psalm 15

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
    Who may live on your holy mountain?

² The one whose walk is blameless,
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from their heart;
³ whose tongue utters no slander,
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
⁴ who despises a vile person
    but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
⁵ who lends money to the poor without interest;
    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.

 

As we move closer to Sunday worship, we move from the prophetic words of the prophet Micah to the poetic words of the psalmist David.

 

We find in this psalm the some of the potential roots of the refrain of a well known African American spiritual.  When taken with the words found in Psalm 1 verse 3 we come up with the words, "Like a tree that's planted by the water, we shall not be moved". 

 

It is interesting that many in the academic world see this as what is referred to as an example of an entrance liturgy - words that would prepare folks for worship.  Taken in its context, however, it may lend itself more to what it means to be constantly abandoned to God's instruction, to live under God's refuge, and to live surrendered to God's rule.

 

I love how the prophetic and the poetic echo each other.  I love how the prophet and the psalmist from two different eras reflect the same character of God and the same message from God to God's people.  So what if the living out of our faith (outside of worship) and the expectations of us in coming to God in worship were the same?  What if my church life and the rest of my life were in synch with one another?  What if I didn't come to worship until I had dealt with the wrong I had done to my neighbor?  What if I allowed what I learned in church and from the scriptures to shape me so radically that I never hurt my neighbor to begin with?  What if my walk on the week days was as blameless as my walk on the day of worship?  What if I spoke truth from the heart at every turn?

 

I invite you to take the answers to the question in verse one  (those answers are found in verses 2-5)and turn them into questions for reflection (as I just exemplified above).  Maybe, just maybe, the Holy Spirit will have a word for all of us that do this.

Preparing for the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany - MIcah 6:1-8

First, let me just say that we haven't forgotten about our promise to write about each of the lectionary readings.  This week we are simply trying different days and times to confirm what days and times are best for future posts.

Here is the text from Micah 6:1-8:

Listen to what the Lord says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
    let the hills hear what you have to say.

² “Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;
    listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case against his people;
    he is lodging a charge against Israel.

³ “My people, what have I done to you?
    How have I burdened you? Answer me.
⁴ I brought you up out of Egypt
    and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
    also Aaron and Miriam.
⁵ My people, remember
    what Balak king of Moab plotted
    and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
    that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

⁶ With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly^[a] with your God.

 

One of the most powerful themes in the holy scriptures is that of reversal.  Simply put, time and time again God shows us that God's expectations are different from our own.  In this text we see God who is displeased with the people of Israel.  They have been unfaithful in their worship as they follow and devote themselves to other gods and idols of the day.  God's patience is astounding.  Slow to anger and even slower to destroy.  YHWH stands in stark contrast to the other gods of the day, for YHWH has extreme concern for those oppressed or without power and those disadvantaged by dishonest action.

 

We see here a great conversation where God invites those of Israel to state their case...it is very legal in orientation as God brings a case against Israel - a people that have broken a covenant.  After this invitation by God, God then pleads God's case.  You can almost hear the pain and hurt that God feels at the way God's people have failed to uphold the covenant.  God reminds Israel of all the many things that God has done to free them and redeem them; yet there is still an inference that God's people don't believe that it has been enough.  It is as if God is recognizing that the people's complaint is why does God punish us while other nations prosper under these other gods.  So God insistently asks, "how have I burdened you."  The next line of the text is unclear whether it is a representative of Israel that asks or the prophet himself, but clearly the people want to know what God expects.  God responds in a way that reverses the expectations of the day (what other gods expect) and reveal the true character of YHWH.  So there is no need, God says, for the things of the world in the ancient near east.  Rather, God intimates that instead of a sacrificial offering God is asking us to love mercy the way that God does.  Instead of the plunder from arms and the loot of war, God asks us for some humility.  Instead of lording our privilege over others, God asks us to act justly.

How are you (or we as a church) practicing (loving) mercy, acting justly, and walking humbly with your Lord?  Please feel free to comment below!

Preparing for the third Sunday after the Epiphany - Matthew 4:12-23

 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— ¹⁴ to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶ the people living in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
    a light has dawned.”^[a]

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

 

¹⁸ As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed him.
²¹ Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, ²² and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

I would again like to note that many modern theologians would break this particular texts into 3 parts: 

The first part would be directed at verses 12-17 in which the 'kingdom of heaven' is of primary importance.  It sets the ground work for a theme that will be found throughout Matthew's gospel.  It is interesting to note that the gospel writer does not hold the 'kingdom of heaven' as an ideal, but rather sees it as definitively revealed and embodied in the life and ministry of Jesus.  Fast forward a couple of thousand years and the theologian rooted in Matthew would suggest that as the church proclaims the act of God in Jesus, the church extends or continues Christ's own preaching into the modern era.  The theocentricity and kingship language found throughout the remainder of the gospel reaffirm and support this perspective.

The second part of the passage would include verses 18-22 and would focus on the calling of the first disciples.  It appears that Matthew may be addressing the question within his community that is: How do people become disciples of Christ?  It appears that for Matthew the root of discipleship may not be in belief at all, but rather in strictly, and with complete abandon, following Jesus.  This messes with the idealism and rationalism of the 21st century, because if we take the story as it is written, then Jesus appears disruptively in our lives and doesn't ask us to accept his principles, or admire him, or even accept him as our personal savior; instead, we are simply called to follow him.  And if the reaction of the disciples is any indicator as to what our reaction is supposed to be, then there is an immediacy of dropping everything and doing just that.  Not a comforting notion in the world of competing demands that we live in today.

The final verse, for most modern theologians, would be included in a set that runs 4:23-5:2 and sets the stage for the Sermon on the Mount.  Some see verse 23 as causal for verse 24 (his fame came from his travels) while others suggest that 23 simply shows what Jesus did with the disciples after he said 'follow me.'

Here is the tough question: can we learn anything about unity from these passages?  Is there any inference that can be made about keeping the main thing the main thing?  Please feel free to comment below.   

Preparing for the third Sunday after the Epiphany - 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas^[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.


Let me first say that while verse 18 is included in the Revised Common Lectionary for this coming Sunday's readings, I feel that this verse is better situated in a block that includes verses 18-25 or 18-31.  As such, I have listed it here, but am really looking at verses 10-17 as they may apply to this weekend's sermon.

The first century church in Corinth is apparently under the stress of divergent opinions to the point that division threatens this early church.  Paul is responding to these stressors by exhorting the congregation to be united.

Now let's be clear; Paul recognized all sorts of differences within the body of Christ.  Some of the differences within the people who would call themselves followers of Jesus are even attributed by Paul across his writings to the Holy Spirit's working to enrich the life of the church.  Paul's problem is not that different people have different gifts or that the Holy Spirit is working in the lives of people differently for sanctification, mission or edification of the body.  Paul's main concern appears to be the fact that the church in Corinth has lost sight of the main thing.  I would think that our current episcopal leader, Bishop Scott Jones, would be proud of Paul telling the church to keep the main thing the main thing.  Essentially, Paul wants the church to remember that the basis of Christian unity is to be found in our embracing the shared death with Christ in which God began our new life in Christ.

Our unity does not rest on the power of persuasion and whether or not we hold the same view of specific issues.  Our unity is our solidarity with Christ and our inclusion into Christ and therefore into the kingdom of God.

I would invite you to think about the many issues that face the world and the church today.  What are some of the things that are causing divisions or disunity within our ranks?  If we were to fully live into the exhortation that Paul had for the church in Corinth (and has for our own local churches), what might that look like?  Maybe a different way of asking the question would be, how do we as local churches and individual Christ followers keep the main thing as the main thing?

Please feel free to comment below.

Preparing for the third Sunday after the Epiphany - Psalm 27:1, 4-9

The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? 
The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Hear my voice when I call, O Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

 Luke A. Powery and Willie Jennings write:

"The gift of direction most often comes into view as the central benefit of God's light.  God directs us through and around those things of life that would harm us or even destroy us.  God will guide us as we face the traps of our enemies and the unanticipated times of trouble.  God's delivering hand is also God's guiding hand.  Salvation encompasses sanctification.  The action of God makes possible the response of humanity.  The psalmist's heart speaks the right response to God's gracious direction: seek God.  Ask for the help that God gives.  The seeking in itself marks sanctifications form.  To be sanctified is to be one whose life follows God and goes where God directs.  A sanctified life is a life bound to God in fundamental movement toward God.  Such movement gives meaning to the ideas of being set apart to God for service.  This is the essence of the concept of holiness--a life of movement toward God, a life that follows God's direction (The Abingdon Theological Companion to the Lectionary - Preaching Year A, page 53)."

While I love what Powery and Jennings have written, I also think that this Psalm is a calling for us to trust rather than to fear.  It is a mode of operation that all followers of God are called to---that is to wait on God, the one who is our Light and our Salvation.  To lean into God in such a way as to seek and find light, life, strength,, courage and direction from God...even in the midst of the anxiety, inhumanity, brutality and greed of our 21st century context. 

Preparing for the third Sunday after the Epiphany - Isaiah 9:1-4

9 [a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

2 The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.

This text may be familiar to some as it was just recently utilized in some churches for Christmas Eve.  We immediately begin to hear the stories of Christmas ring in our ears...but this text bears a second look.

First, let us not take a pejorative view of this text that creates a false dichotomy between Israel and gentiles (the remaining nations).  It should be read as good news for all of God's people, for we have all been in darkness...and God is concerned about all of God's children.  God is doing a new thing in which the bonds of oppression are broken and all of God's children are able and invited to walk in this dawning light.

Second, we must recognize that this light breaking through the darkness entails both liberation and guidance.  Oppressors are freed from their darkness of oppressing and the oppressed are freed from the yolk of their oppressors.  We are led by this light from darkness to joy...guided, if you will, by the sovereign hand of the light bearer. 

Isaiah's prophetic words lay the foundation of a week long look at the light of salvation.  More importantly, however, these conversations will bear witness to Paul's call to the church in Corinth to remain united.  So I will leave you with this question to ponder as we journey towards another Sunday: what do you think Isaiah would say the connection is between light and unity?

Feel free to leave your thoughts on the subject below in the comments section.