Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 1, 2015

Jesus casts out a man’s unclean spirit

First Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Hearing God’s voice. Hearing God’s call. This theme echoes in many of our readings through the season of Epiphany. Now the fifth and final book of the Torah, the story of God’s covenant with Israel, is drawing to its close. Moses is dying. The people worry how they will know God’s wishes once their prophet is gone. Moses reassures them that God will raise up another prophet from among them, and that God will expect them to pay attention when this prophet utters God’s words.

Psalm: Psalm 111

The Psalms, the Old Testament’s hymns and worship poetry, take many forms. Some ask God’s favor. Some weep in lament. Some offer thanks for past blessings. And some of the most joyous, like today’s familiar verses, exultantly sing God’s praise. All of God’s work, all of God’s majesty and splendor, all of God’s justice last forever. God feeds us. God’s covenant redeems us. The people shout “Hallelujah!” “Praise God!”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

These verses offer us a fascinating insight into understanding Paul. This pastoral question about eating meat that had been sacrificed in pagan temples might not seem to say much to us. Paul accepts the Corinthian Christians’ notion that pagan gods aren’t God at all, so sharing temple food – their primary source of meat – could be morally neutral to believers who are strong in their faith. But the rest of Paul’s conclusion transcends time: Even if we do nothing wrong, our actions may influence others, and Christ calls us to be mindful of that.

Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

We are still in the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Jesus goes to Sabbath services in Capernaum, a small town near the Sea of Galilee where he was active. Two remarkable things happen: First, this young man amazes the congregation with his teaching that revealed him as one “having authority.” Then Jesus exorcizes a man possessed by an “unclean spirit,” further astounding the people. Note, too, that while the spirit may be unclean, it shrieks wisdom, declaring Jesus “the Holy One of God.”