January 22, 2006
Third Sunday after Epiphany B
Book of Common Prayer
Lectionary
Jeremiah
3:214:2
Psalm 130
1 Corinthians 7:17-23,
Mark 1:14-20
Revised Common Lectionary
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Psalm 62:5-12
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20
Reflection and
Response
Prayer Starter
Todays readings explore the sometimes
risky nature of Christian discipleship. Jeremiah (BCP) calls Gods
people to truth, justice and righteousness. Jonah (RCL) obeys Gods
call to preach to the people of Nineveh, who repent and believe.
Paul urges believers to give priority to Gods mission instead
of the passing concerns of this world. When Jesus calls his first
disciples, they abandon their jobs and homesin short, their
securityto follow him.
First Reading: Jeremiah
3:214:2 (BCP)
Todays reading comes
from young Jeremiahs ministry during Josiahs reign (640609
B.C.). God pleads with the people to renounce their participation
in the hilltop rites of the Canaanite fertility cults. The people
then make their confession. The "shameful thing" (3:24)
is a play on the name of Baal, the Canaanite god. God responds by
requiring the removal of pagan shrines and the recognition of Gods
exclusive claim by swearing loyalty to Gods name only.
Jeremiah 3:214:2
A voice on the bare heights is heard,
the plaintive weeping of Israels children,
because they have perverted their way,
they have forgotten the LORD their God:
Return, O faithless children,
I will heal your faithlessness.
Here we come to you;
for you are the LORD our God.
Truly the hills are a delusion,
the orgies on the mountains.
Truly in the LORD our God
is the salvation of Israel.
"But from our youth
the shameful thing has devoured
all for which our ancestors had labored,
their flocks and their herds,
their sons and their daughters.
Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our dishonor cover us;
for we have sinned against the LORD our God,
we and our ancestors,
from our youth even to this day;
and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God."
If you return, O Israel, says the LORD,
if you return to me,
if you remove your abominations from my presence,
and do not waver,
and if you swear,
"As the LORD lives!" in truth, in justice, and in uprightness,
then nations shall be blessed by him,
and by him they shall boast.
First Reading: Jonah
3:1-5, 10 (RCL)
Especially after the exile,
many Jews clung to a rigid nationalistic mindset that elevated their
identity as Gods chosen people. As such, they felt they had
an exclusive claim on Gods mercy. Jonah embodied this attitude,
evident in his reluctance to go to Nineveh and his great disappointment
with Gods decision to have mercy on the city.
Todays reading tells of Jonahs
obedience to Gods second call. As the capital city of Assyria,
Nineveh not only posed a political danger, its "wickedness"
(1:2) jeopardized Israels spiritual welfare. The evil of the
city and its inhabitants makes even more surprising the belief and
repentance with which they respond to the message of this Israelite.
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying,
"Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city,
and proclaim to it the message that I tell you."
So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh,
according to the word of the LORD.
Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city,
a three days walk across.
Jonah began to go into the city, going a days walk.
And he cried out,
"Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"
And the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast,
and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When God saw what they did,
how they turned from their evil ways,
God changed his mind about the calamity
that he had said he would bring upon them;
and he did not do it.
Psalm: Psalm 130 (BCP)
This psalm is a lament, a
plea for deliverance from unspecified trouble. The psalmist makes
an implicit confession of sin (vv. 1-3), puts his trust in the Lord
and exhorts the community to do likewise. This psalm is also called
the De profundis (from the Latin translation of its opening words).
It is one of the seven traditional penitential psalms and has often
been set to music.
Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
I wait for the LORD,
my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Psalm: Psalm 62:5-12
(RCL)
This is a response to Gods
aid in time of trouble. In verses 9-12, the worshiping community
is encouraged not to trust in status or wealth. In verses 11-12,
the psalmist summarizes what he has learned: Gods power and
steadfast love (covenant loyalty) issue injustice for all.
Psalm 62:5-12
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress;
I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my
honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.
Those of low estate are but a breath,
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
Put no confidence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all according to their work.
Second Reading:
1 Corinthians 7:17-23, 29-31
Todays reading is part
of Pauls response to the communitys questions about
marriage. Marriage, which for the ancients was primarily for the
continuation of the family, has no more role in the light of the
"impending crisis" (v. 26), "distress in this life"(v.
28) and the "passing away" of "the present form of
this world" (v. 31). The old world and its forms were no longer
relevant because the new age had dawned with Jesus and would flower
soon when Jesus returned.
Although many scholars conclude that
Paul is speaking solely within the context of his expectation of
Christs imminent return, because that return has not been
immanent others apply Pauls teaching to a broader understanding
of the nature of this transitory age and the urgency he places on
spiritual priorities. These verses offer a basis for a healthy perspective
on establishing a value system for contemporary Christian life.
Christians cannot approach their ordinary tasks with non-Christian
motives.
1 Corinthians 7:17-23, 29-31
However that may be,
let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned,
to which God called you.
This is my rule in all the churches.
Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised?
Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision.
Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised?
Let him not seek circumcision.
Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing;
but obeying the commandments of God is everything.
Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called.
Were you a slave when called?
Do not be concerned about it.
Even if you can gain your freedom,
make use of your present condition now more than ever.
For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave
is a freed person belonging to the Lord,
just as whoever was free when called is a slave of Christ.
You were bought with a price;
do not become slaves of human masters.
I mean, brothers and sisters,
the appointed time has grown short;
from now on, let even those who have wives
be as though they had none,
and those who mourn
as though they were not mourning,
and those who rejoice
as though they were not rejoicing,
and those who buy
as though they had no possessions,
and those who deal with the world
as though they had no dealings with it.
For the present form of this world is passing away.
Gospel: Mark 1:14-20
Todays reading recounts
the beginning of Jesus ministry. He proclaims "the good
news of God" that the "kingdom of God has come near"
(v. 14). Gods promised rule over all that has been created
and all Gods past acts for salvation are now coming to fruition.
Though Gods rule is present in Jesus, its full realization
remains in the future.
The response to the presence of Gods
kingdom is conversion or repentance. In the Greek and Hebrew sense
of the word, this is not a feeling of sorrow but the action of turning
around, a total reorientation of self to God, not intellectual assent
to a set of propositions nor an emotional reaction but a total response
of oneself to the message.
While elsewhere in scripture the image
of fishing for people is used as an image of judgment, Jesus uses
it to explain the work of evangelism. Like these disciples, we must
take the skills learned through our ordinary lives and redirect
them to the work of the kingdom.
The response to the presence of Gods
kingdom is conversion or repentance. This is not a feeling of sorrow
but the action of turning around, a total reorientation of self
to God, not intellectual assent to a set of propositions nor an
emotional reaction but a total response of oneself to the message.
Like these disciples, we must take the skills learned through our
ordinary lives and redirect them to the work of the kingdom.
Mark 1:14-20
Now
after John was arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee,
proclaiming the good news of God,
and saying,
"The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news."
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew
casting a net into the seafor they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them,
"Follow me and I will make you fish for people."
And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
As he went a little farther,
he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John,
who were in their boat mending the nets.
Immediately he called them;
and they left their father Zebedee
in the boat with the hired men,
and followed him.
Reflection and Response
Todays scriptures remind
us that the world we know is passing away. This refers not only
to the rapid speed of technological change, but also to the fact
that with every breath, our lives slip away another notch. Our opportunities
to do good are passing; our relationships alter in ways too subtle
to sense. That knowledge might lead us to panic, but the worst response
would be to cling even tighter to this passing world.
None of the disciples in todays
readings were able to sink roots too deeply into this earth, or
fishing nets too far into the sea. The fishermen who heed Jesus
call must drop everything to follow a rabbi who (they learn) has
no home and expects them to be as itinerant as he.
It is noteworthy that the call to Simon,
Andrew, James and John comes while they are at work. They are not
at the synagogue, but at the job. The fact that Christ meets them
there invites us to re-examine our own places of work. Do we discern
whether our job is fulfilling and change it if its demeaning?
Do we notice if its destructive and protest if its oppressive?
Responding to the call may be fearsome,
but two forces sustain us. The first is the faithfulness of God,
who meets our tiny advances with giant steps of reassurance. Another
encouragement is the fact that we do not journey alone. When Andrew
and Simon launch a new life, they join the good company of Noah,
Abraham, Job, Ruth and many others who discover Gods faithfulness
only when they are most vulnerable. Thinking they have lost the
secure path, they find Gods marvelous map.
Quietly consider:
How do I sanctify the workplace, bringing Christ into the noise,
commotion and distraction?
Prayer Starter
Lord, most of the time Im busy trying to take charge of
my life.
Show me how to follow your lead...
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