Friday January 29 Epiphany 3
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Psalm 40
When I was in great trouble, God lifted me up and I rejoiced in God’s care. But now my own sin, and my enemies, have nearly destroyed me. Do not wait any longer, God!
Psalm 54
I am in dire straights. Put everything back to right, God. I praise you, because you have done that.
Isaiah 50.1-11
The people have rejected Isaiah’s proposal that God is merciful and is rescuing them, and have accused God of selling them into slavery in Babylon and of having abandoned their mother (Jerusalem). God replies that it was the people’s abandoning of justice and dignity that has resulted in their slavery. Isaiah then speaks of the abuse he has taken for insisting that God cares and will rescue the people and that it was their fault that they have been conquered.
Mark 6: 47-56
Jesus walks over the water during a storm. This is another miracle with a meaning. Walking on the water in a storm (not walking across a swimming pool!) means that God is king over all storms and would have reminded people of that time of the Spirit hovering over the original chaos in Genesis 1. This story is told because storms are starting to arise—Jesus was accused of being the devil, his hometown turned against him, and Herod executed his cousin. Yet Herod’s rapacity cannot prevent Jesus creating a feast for five thousand people from the few fish Herod hasn’t taken, and Jesus is clearly seen to be the calmer of all storms. We, too, can be calm because God in Jesus can walk safely through the storms in our lives.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God,
by grace alone you call us
and accept us in your service.
Strengthen us by your Spirit,
and make us worthy of your call;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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