7 February 2021 Fifth Sunday after Epiphany Reflections on Lectionary Readings (RCL)1 Scripture (JPS) 2 Isaiah 40:21-31 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Have you not been told from the very first? Have you not discerned how the earth was founded?d 22 It is He who is enthroned above the vault of the earth, So that its inhabitants seem as grasshoppers. Who spread out the skies like gauze, Stretched them out like a tent to dwell in. 23 He brings potentates to naught, Makes rulers of the earth as nothing. 24 Hardly are they planted, hardly are they sown, Hardly has their stem taken root in earth, When He blows upon them and they dry up, And the storm bears them off like straw. 25 To whom, then, can you liken Me, To whom can I be compared? —says the Holy One. 26 Lift high your eyes and see: Who created these? He who sends out their host by count, Who calls them each by name: Because of His great might and vast power, Not one fails to appear. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, Why declare, O Israel, “My way is hid from the LORD, My cause is ignored by my God”? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is God from of old, Creator of the earth from end to end, He never grows faint or weary, His wisdom cannot be fathomed. 29 He gives strength to the weary, Fresh vigor to the spent. 1 RCL: The Revised Common Lectionary is the prescribed scripture readings (pericopae) Bible for use in Christian worship, making provision for the liturgical year with its pattern of observances of festivals and seasons. It was preceded by the Common Lectionary, assembled in 1983. It uses a three-year lectionary cycle produced by the Roman Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council. It is used by most lectionary grounded denominations world-wide. 2 JPS: Hebrew Bible lections are from The Jewish Publication Society’s translation published in 1985. 30 Youths may grow faint and weary, And young men stumble and fall; 31 But they who trust in the LORD shall renew their strength As eagles grow new plumes They shall run and not grow weary, They shall march and not grow faint. Psalm 147:1-11, 20c Hallelujah. It is good to chant hymns to our God; it is pleasant to sing glorious praise. The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers in the exiles of Israel. He heals their broken hearts, and binds up their wounds. He reckoned the number of the stars; to each He gave its name. Great is our Lord and full of power; His wisdom is beyond reckoning. The LORD gives courage to the lowly, and brings the wicked down to the dust. Sing to the LORD a song of praise, chant a hymn with a lyre to our God, who covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, makes mountains put forth grass; who gives the beasts their food, to the raven’s brood what they cry for. He does not prize the strength of horses, nor value the fleetness of men; but the LORD values those who fear Him, those who depend on His faithful care. Hallelujah (Praise the Lord). Epistle (NRS) 3 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 3 NRS: Lections from the Apostolic Witness are from The New Revised Standard Version translation published in 1987. It is a Protestant translation. If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. Gospel Mark 1.29-39 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34 And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38 He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” 39 And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. Reflection Two major themes dominate this week’s lections. The two from Scripture4 impress God’s “great might and vast power” for both good and ill. The two lections from the Apostolic Witness are about the gospel and how to share it. Before examining the ideas involved let us look at the form of the Scripture texts. Both the Isaiah passage and the psalm are biblical Hebrew poetry. Each verse has two or three clauses. In our BCP the clauses are separated by *. The verses above are paragraphed accordingly. The structure of Hebrew poetry is to convey the idea of the verse in two different ways. It is for clarity and emphasis to be sure that the reader grasps the thought that the author is conveying. Similarly Words are sometimes repeated for emphasis. “You shall surely die” at Genesis 2.17 and “Very truly” that Jesus says is the same. He is saying “Amen. Amen.” Amen means “certainly” or “so be it.” It concludes public Hebrew prayers and blessings and was taken by Christian to conclude their prayers and blessings as well. The practice developed because most people were illiterate and there was no sound system (not even a megaphone) to project spoken words forward. If a prayer or blessing were recited by a literate person the audience would say “Amen” to indicate that they had heard, understood and agreed with what was being prayed on their behalf. Now to some of the ideas in this week’s lections. Isaiah and the psalm are both proclaim God’s sovereignty and providence He controls events for good and ill. Stressing God’s ability to rescue by defeating one’s enemies is not uncommon in the Psalter. While that can sound vindictive it is simply the teaching that God will reward good and defeat evil. Good will triumph in the end. It is the basic western morality tale. It is still the basic plotline of countless stories dramas, films, folk tales, television series and so on. Annie, Cinderella, The Sound of Music, The Magic Flute Lysistrata, and the Christian cross-resurrection story are all examples. It is the comedic belief that tragedy is only temporary and that Good will eventually triumph. The message is be patient, have hope. In the meantime anxiety levels can climb to the max as the poet says: “My way is hid from the LORD, My cause is ignored by my God” is answered with “But they who trust in the LORD shall renew their strength. As eagles grow new plumes they shall run and not grow weary. They shall march and not grow faint.” In turning to the selections from the Apostolic Witness today their fit with the first two lessons is not as obvious but let us begin with the Markan text that we have been following. Mark begins with the founding of Jesus’s ministry as we have seen. This pericope must be read in context. Recall that after forty days of struggle with himself Jesus decides to take up, or actually to take over John’s ministry. Perhaps it was doing to well. Jesus’s ministry movement is to pronounce that the reign of God on earth is at the gates and people better not be caught unprepared. Repent and accept this message. As he itinerates around the Galilee gathering devotees he of course goes to synagogues.