Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Feb. 8, 2015

Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law. Orthodox icon.

God is very large. We are very small. God is very powerful. We are very weak. In striking poetic language that likens us to grasshoppers and our earthly rulers to dandelion puffs blown apart in the wind, Isaiah portrays a transcendent God who is far beyond our imagining. And yet, ultimately, this mighty, eternal and all-powerful God lifts us up on eagle’s wings and gives us the power and the strength to wait for God and to follow God’s ways.

Psalm: Psalm 147:1-12, 21c

Echoing Isaiah’s message in one of the six exultant hymns of praise that conclude the Psalms, the Psalmist celebrates the glory of the powerful, all-knowing God who counts and names even the stars of heaven, and who has guided the people home from exile and bound their wounds. God is unimpressed by the powerful and the strong. but God cares for the weak and lowly; God gently tends the broken and the brokenhearted.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23

What is Paul saying here? Be “all things to all people” to proclaim the Gospel? Even in a good cause, it seems hypocritical to pretend to be something that you’re not. But that’s not really Paul’s message. As in last week’s advice not to be a stumbling block to others, Paul urges the people of Corinth to love one another and work together to spread the good news. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Jewish, Gentile, strong or weak: Honor each other in your differences. Then unite to share the good news of the Gospel.

Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

Jesus goes from the synagogue at Capernaum to his friends Simon and Andrew’s home, where he cures Simon’s mother-in-law’s fever. Healed of her weakness, she gets up to serve them. But note well that Mark’s Greek word for “serve” is “διηκόνει,” the same word that describes those who came forward to support the Apostles as they spread the Gospel; the same word from which we get our modern “deacon.” Just as Jesus cared for Simon’s mother-in-law and all who came for exorcism or healing, deacons vow to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.

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.”

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 25, 2015

Jesus Calling the Apostles Peter and Andrew. Maesta Altarpiece of Siena, 1308-1311, Duccio de Buoninsegna. National Gallery of Art.

Today we hear the ancient story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet, who ran 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 is a little more cooperative, and his prophecy has great effect: All the people of this great city accept Jonah’s words, fast and repent! And then God shows God’s forgiving mercy, and decides not to destroy the people after all. (In following verses that end the short book, Jonah is quite angry about this, but God’s mercy abides.)

Psalm: Psalm 62: 6-14

Wait for God, hope in God, trust God above all else. When all others fail, God, our strong rock and our refuge, will reward our trust in God’s power and steadfast love. Others cannot be trusted, the Psalmist tells us over and over again. “On the scales they are lighter than a breath.” But God can always be trusted to repay us all according to our good deeds.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31

No marriage, no mourning, no joy? No things? What in the world is Paul going on about this time? Paul’s letters can sound very confusing to modern ears, but we can usually hear the voice of the Spirit when we understand them in the context of their time and place. Paul was convinced that Christ was coming back very soon, bringing God’s kingdom and a new way of life. Nothing was more important than that, Paul preached. Not husbands and wives, not mourning or joy. All that is passing away, but God still abides.  

Gospel: Mark 1:14-20

The ministry of Jesus begins! On Epiphany we heard Mark tell of John baptizing Jesus, and a dove from heaven declaring Jesus the son of God. Now events are moving fast. John has been arrested, and Jesus, it seems, has taken over John’s call to prophesy repentance and declare the good news of God’s kingdom. Then Jesus calls his first disciples, and the journey begins.

Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Jan. 18, 2015

The Call of Nathanael, orthodox icon

Today’s readings speak to us about listening for God’s voice in the world … and about taking care to discern just what we hear. In our first reading, the boy Samuel – who will grow up to be a prophet as Israel becomes a kingdom under Saul – hears a mysterious voice calling him in the night. He thinks that it his guardian Eli, the high priest and judge, as the Israelites then called their leader. But Eli, who was sleeping, eventually realizes that Samuel is hearing the voice of God. Eli advises the boy to respond, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

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

Even if it is not easy for us to discern what God asks of us, we can rely on God’s full and complete knowledge of our every thought, the Psalmist sings. 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. “How deep I find your thoughts, O God! How great is the sum of them!” We can never know all that God wills for us, but there is joy and hope in listening for God’s voice.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

“Oh, my, Paul is ranting about sexuality again,” this reading might make us groan. Warnings about immorality and sleeping around? Listen closely, though: as happens often in Paul’s letters, he is giving pastoral counsel to a loving, but sometimes troublesome, church community in Corinth. They’ve been arguing. They’re split into factions. Some haven’t been behaving well. Some even believe that their baptism makes it okay for them to behave immorally! Paul’s advice is simple: Listen for God’s voice through the Holy Spirit. Remember that our bodies are parts of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit, and honor God by doing the right thing.

Gospel: John 1:43-51

Jesus is calling his disciples, in John’s account, one and two at a time. Andrew, Simon Peter and now Philip have heard Jesus’s call. Philip wants to get his friend Nathanael into the growing band. But Nathanael is wary at first. This Jesus comes from Nazareth? That’s not where the Messiah is supposed to come from! But when Jesus speaks to Nathanael in words that seem to echo the Psalm’s “Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb,” Nathanael hears Jesus’ call and accepts him as the Son of God and King of Israel.