Sunday January 31 Epiphany 4
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Psalm 24
While entering through the doors of the temple the poet sings a hymn of praise to God who brought order out of the dangerous primordial ocean. Appropriate for a Sunday as we enter into our worship.
Psalm 29
Astonishment at the overwhelming presence of God in nature who rules the untameable ocean and even makes mountains cavort like calves and oak trees “writhe” in a gale! We worship such a God, who makes such strength and peace available to us.
Isaiah 51: 9-16
The people, imprisoned in Babylon request that God act now to return them as God did when the original chaos was overcome and when God made the sea dry at the Exodus. God responds that the people don’t trust because they fear the Babylonians, but rescue is certain and the people are not to be afraid of anyone, because of God’s power over all the world. Notice the repeated reference here and earlier to God stretching out the heavens like a cloth—the stars, once thought to be the source of uncontrollable influence on events on earth turn out to be, for God, just a cloth or a curtain to be hung or folded up—there is nothing to be afraid of on earth or in heaven!
John 7: 14-31
On Sundays we continue to read from John’s gospel. In this passage, two critiques of Jesus are presented. First, Jesus is challenged for teaching when he has no training—therefore his critics say his teaching cannot be trusted. Jesus replies that he isn’t teaching from his own knowledge, but from God’s, and anyone who has experienced God will recognize that. Therefore the leaders don’t know God or they would affirm what Jesus says. Jesus then accuses his critics of not knowing what they are teaching – they circumcise on the Sabbath, which involves injuring one part of a male baby, but criticize him when on the Sabbath he heals an adult man’s whole body! Now wonder there was such an intense reaction to him!
Second, Jesus is accused of not having a mysterious origin as (in their interpretation) the true messiah should and therefore he cannot be the messiah. In response, Jesus claims his origin really is mysterious because he is from God and they don’t know God – so for them his origin will of course be mysterious.
These are highly condensed and symbolic conversations which reflect the various responses that early Christians were making to the criticisms of Jesus which were circulating at the time, that Jesus wasn’t significant. The issue for us is not whether these arguments effectively prove or disprove that Jesus is from God, but whether through Jesus we experience God’s challenge to our way of life, and God’s offer of new life. If we think of Jesus as a good person who lived a good life long ago, then nothing has changed and there’s no hope of transformation. But if it’s God’s character we are seeing, everything is transformed. The choice we make has huge implications.
This week’s collect:
Living God,
in Christ you make all things new.
Transform the poverty of our nature
by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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