Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Feb. 4, 2018

Christ Healing the Mother of Simon Peter’s Wife by John Bridges (1839). Oil painting on canvas by John Bridges (1818–1854). Birmingham (Alabama) Museum of Art. (Click image to enlarge.)

We are approaching an early end to the season after Epiphany because Easter, and Lent before it, fall early this year. In Sunday’s Gospel, we’ll hear one more of Mark’s accounts of Jesus healing, throwing out demons, and telling the Good News before we move along to the Transfiguration, Ash Wednesday and Lent. (After Pentecost we’ll get back to the three Gospel readings from Mark that we skip over for now.) In our first reading, we hear the Prophet Isaiah reassuring the people in exile that though God may seem far away, they are not forgotten. The prophet poetically portrays a transcendent God who is far beyond our imagining. And yet this mighty, eternal and all-powerful God lifts us up on eagle’s wings and gives us the power and the strength to follow God’s ways.

Psalm: Psalm 147:1-12, 21c

Sunday’s Psalm, one of the six exuberant hymns of praise that bring the book of Psalms to its end, sings harmony with our Isaiah reading as it celebrates the glory of a God who is powerful and all-knowing. God is large enough to count and name even the stars of heaven, yet God is close to the people too, guiding them home from exile and binding their wounds. God is unimpressed by strength and might, yet cares deeply for the weak and lowly, gently tending the broken and the brokenhearted. In a liberating idea that we also hear when we read the Song of Mary, “The Lord lifts up the lowly, but casts the wicked to the ground.”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Let’s be frank: Even for a worthy purpose, it’s not good to pretend to be something you’re not. But Paul is getting at something deeper than just being a moral chameleon when he claims to have been “all things to all people,” presenting himself in a voice separately tuned to the ears of Jews and Gentiles, believers and pagans, the strong and the weak. As in last week’s advice to take care not to be a stumbling block to others, Paul urges the fractious, often battling believers of Corinth to get over their divisions, loving one another and working together in spite of their differences so they can share the Gospel’s blessings.

Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

Jesus and his friends have left the synagogue at Capernaum to go to the home of his friends Simon and Andrew, where they find Simon’s mother-in-law sick with a fever, a serious and possibly life-threatening concern in that time. Jesus lifts her up, healing her with a touch. She promptly gets up to serve them, which might appear to be an instance of early gender roles. Take note, though that the Greek word for “serve” used here is “διηκόνει,” or “deacon,” the same word later used in Acts to name those who came forward to support the Apostles who were busy spreading the Gospel. Just as Simon’s mother-in-law served Jesus and the apostles, deacons vow to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 28, 2018

First Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit (Mark 1:21-28), from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (c. 1412-1416), a French Gothic illumination for the Book of Hours by the Limbourg Brothers, Herman, Paul and Johan, now in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, France. (Click image to enlarge.)

The ongoing theme of listening for God’s voice and trying to discern what God is calling us to do continues in our readings during the season of Epiphany. Sunday’s first reading turns to Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book of the Torah. The story of God’s covenant with Israel is drawing to its close as Moses, who will not live to enter the Promised Land, is in his last days. How will the people know God’s wishes once their longtime prophet is gone? Moses reassures them that God will raise up another prophet like him from among the people: a prophet who will speak God’s words and whom God will hold accountable.

Psalm: Psalm 111

Psalms, as you’ve surely noticed, take many forms. These hymns and worship poetry of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem serve as a variety of kinds of prayer. Some ask God’s favor. Some cry out in lament. Others sing thanks for blessings. Yet many of the most joyous Psalms – today’s familiar verses as one splendid example – exultantly sing God’s praise. God’s work, God’s majesty, God’s splendor, God’s justice, it all lasts forever. God feeds us. The fear (or awe) of God is the beginning of wisdom.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

At first glance this question – whether Christians may eat meat that had been sacrificed in pagan temples – might seem meaningless to us in 2018. Listen closely, though, and recognize that its broader significance reaches across the ages. First, Paul points out that pagan gods aren’t God at all, so pagan sacrifices are irrelevant to Christians. In principle, then, sharing this food – which the pagan temples sold to the public after sacrifice – would be morally neutral to believers who are strong in their faith. But, Paul adds, even if we do nothing wrong, our actions may be a stumbling block to others in the community who don’t understand. We must not cause them to fall into idolatry.

Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

We continue following Mark’s account of Jesus’ early ministry in Galilee. Baptized, returned from his time in the wilderness, and having chosen his disciples, Jesus now steps up and speaks for the first time during Sabbath services in Capernaum, the small Galilean town where he was active. Two remarkable things happen: First, this stranger amazes the community with bold teaching that revealed him as one “having authority.” Then Jesus further astounds the people by commanding a noisy unclean spirit to come out of a troubled man. Unclean though the spirit may be, though, note that it shouts wisdom, declaring Jesus “the Holy One of God.”

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 21, 2018

The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew (c.1603–1606). Oil painting by Caravaggio (1571-1610); Royal Collection, Hampton Court Palace, London. (Click image to enlarge.)

God’s love is steadfast and strong. Even whenever we do wrong, when we repent, return and hear God’s good news, God is quick to forgive and to welcome us back. Our first reading is a brief passage from the familiar story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet, who ran away from God’s call to prophesy to the people of Nineveh. Jonah has just been spewed out on the beach by the giant fish that God sent to bring him back. Now he’s ready to cooperate, and his brisk prophecy has great effect: The people of this great city put on sackcloth, fast and repent, and God shows mercy and forgives them.

Psalm: Psalm 62: 6-14

Wait, hope, trust in God. Do not be shaken: when all else fails, God remains our strong rock and our refuge. Our faith and hope in God’s power and steadfast love will be rewarded. Trust in God alone, the Psalmist tells us over and over again. No one else can be trusted. “On the scales they are lighter than a breath.” But God is always there, always holding the power, always ready to repay us all according to our good deeds.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31

Much like last week’s second reading, Paul’s instructions to the Christians of Corinth sound daunting and harsh. Give up our husbands and wives? Don’t buy possessions, mourn our dead or rejoice our victories? This passage demonstrates why there is no point in reading Paul’s directions to his First Century flock as if they should bind our activity in the 21st. Consider the context of Paul’s times: He was certain that this world was passing away as the Kingdom of God drew near; he was sure that Christ was coming back very soon, bringing a new way of life. Nothing was more important than that; not husbands and wives, not mourning or joy.

Gospel: Mark 1:14-20

John has been arrested by Herod and soon will be martyred, and Jesus, just back from the 40-day fast in the desert that followed his baptism by John, has taken over John’s call to proclaim repentance from sin and to declare the good news of God’s kingdom. Then we hear Mark’s account of Jesus calling his first disciples. They all follow him immediately without any discussion or question – yes, Jesus was that charismatic – and the long journey to the cross and resurrection begins.

Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 14, 2018

Apparition of the spirit of Samuel to Saul (1668), oil painting by Salvator Rosa (1615–1673). The Louvre, Paris. (Click image to enlarge.)

Listen for God’s voice in the world, and take care to understand what we hear. We hear this theme resonate in Sunday’s readings as we move into the season after Epiphany. Our first reading introduces young Samuel, puzzled by a mysterious voice that he hears calling him in the night. He thinks that it is his guardian Eli, the high priest and judge of Israel. But Eli, who was sleeping, eventually discerns that Samuel is hearing the voice of God. Eli advises the boy to respond, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Then Eli accepts the words that Samuel hears from God, even though it is bad news for Eli and his blasphemous sons who corrupted the priesthood.

Psalm: Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

Even if it is not easy for us to be certain what God is asking of us, we can be sure that God fully and completely knows our every thought, the Psalmist sings in verses traditionally attributed to King David. God knows us, God knows when we move forward and when we sit down; God knows every word that we speak and every word that we think. God’s thoughts are more countless than Earth’s grains of sand; it would take an infinity of time to count them.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

At a glance, this reading might make us groan. It’s one of Paul’s occasional rumination on sexuality and sin. Read in its original context, though, he is giving pastoral counsel to a loving but often quarrelsome little church community. They’ve been arguing about all sorts of theological issues. They’re split into factions. Some of them really haven’t been behaving well, fired by an odd notion that having been baptized in the Spirit makes it permissible for them to behave immorally. One of them even wants to marry his own stepmother! Paul’s advice is clear and firm: Listen for God’s voice through the Holy Spirit. Remember that our bodies are parts of Christ’s body and temples of the Holy Spirit, so honor God by doing the right thing.

Gospel: John 1:43-51

Jesus, after a brief encounter with John at the Jordan, begins calling his apostles, one and two at a time. First came Andrew and Simon Peter, and now in today’s Gospel it is Philip who hears Jesus’s call. Then Philip wants to add his friend Nathanael into the growing band, but Nathanael is wary: Doesn’t this Jesus come from Nazareth? That’s not where the Messiah is supposed to be from! But when Jesus tells Nathanael that he had already seen him under the fig tree before Philip introduced them, Nathanael recognizes Jesus’ call and eagerly accepts him as the Son of God and King of Israel.