Sunday February 14 Epiphany 6
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Psalm 148
All creation praises God – the heavens, the earth – including fog, sea monsters, and “creeping things” (perhaps even insects or worms) – and humanity – rulers, young people and old people – all things without exception praise God together. Notice that the sequence is taken from the first creation story in Genesis: first the heavens, then creatures of the water, then creatures of the land, and finally people.
Psalm 149
Songs of joy at God’s victory – especially appropriate on Sundays, the mini-anniversary of the resurrection. The joy of military victories toward the end of the psalm was their way of knowing that God has conquered injustice.
Psalm 150
A scene of riotous joy as every conceivable instrument and every creature praises God.
Isaiah 62: 6-12
The reason Cyrus, the Persian emperor, is allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem is that he wants them to grow food so that Cyrus’ armies will have provisions when they march through Jewish territory. But God swears that the food the people grow will be eaten by them instead of by invading armies. The people will return to Jerusalem not afraid of what comes next, but in joy because God has declared to the whole world that they are rescued.
John 8: 12-19
Jesus says he is light for the whole world—self-offering love is the only life-style which can show us how to live in dark and self-centred times. His critics challenge him to prove this—they demand he show them others who support this radical claim. Jesus responds that God supports the claim, and if they don’t see that it’s because they don’t know God. If they had known the character of God they’d know how true his claim is.
The fact that Jesus’ self-offering love isn’t taken seriously in our time either, doesn’t prove it isn’t true—we know in our deepest awareness that it’s the only way for us, and for the world, to live fully.
This week’s collect:
Almighty and everliving God,
whose Son Jesus Christ healed the sick
and restored them to wholeness of life,
look with compassion on the anguish of the world,
and by your power make whole all peoples and nations;
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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