Take a moment to centre yourself with this prayer by Miriam Therese Winter:
God our Mother,
Living Water,
River of Mercy,
Source of Life
In whom we live and move
and have our being;
Who quenches our thirst,
refreshes our weariness,
bathes
and washes
and cleanses our wounds;
Be for us always a fountain of life,
and for all the world,
a river of hope
springing up in the midst
of the deserts of despair.
Honour and blessing,
glory and praise to You forever. Amen
Literally: Over and above what is normal, ordinary is being revealed – from
within the ordinary, we receive the appearance of something extraordinary.
Symbols of Epiphany – light, candles, baptism shells, water,
footprints, journeys, ordinary disciples on an extraordinary journey – the colour
green.
This year is a long season of Epiphany, since Easter is late (April
20), Lent begins March 5.
Readings: OT – Isaiah, Micah, then Moses – Law and
Prophets
NT
– 1 Corinthians
GP
– Matthew: early ministry and teachings
– In Eastern orthodoxy, it is part of the
Epiphany/incarnation stories on January 6
READ Isaiah 42:1-9
2nd Isaiah – taken from the period when the Jews
were in exile (587 BCE) – they were scattered between Judea and Babylon,
dislocated from their temple and tradition.
If they didn’t have their land, did that mean they lost God as well?
2nd Isaiah’s Themes: living as a loser – taking God with you –
faith that is portable and resilient
From verse 1, we are invited to see God’s servant not as
victorious warrior, but a humble servant – and yet the servant will “execute”
justice in a lasting way that no warrior accomplished. God delights in this table-turning of our
expectations, in the surprise.
Distinct from 1st Isaiah, who is looking for a righteous king (Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:4)
True leadership is protective of the weak until the weak are
strong enough to stand on their own.
What would this mean for the people, after their defeat and exile? What attitude should they adopt? Historically, the Jews did not rebel in
Babylon, but were effective servants and earned the trust of the Babylonian
leaders (Daniel; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) They resisted assimilation, but non-violently.
Verse 5 still reinforces that God of Israel is the universal
God, faithful to the covenant,.
Israel (the people, not the nation) has a special role to
play in God’s mission – “a light to the nations” in verse 6 – not above other
nations, but in their midst to bring freedom, healing.
Justice: does it mean
the rule of law, or the way of right relationship?
Question for
Reflection:
In the gospel of
Luke, Jesus claims this commission in verse 7 as his commission (not
necessarily his alone). How do we share
this work with him?
READ Acts 10:34-43
Prior to this speech, Peter has had a dream where God
invited him to eat things clean and unclean, then upon waking, he is asked to
baptize a non-Jew. He is challenged on
the baptism by the Jewish believers – this is his response.
The issues are human issues – every group goes through
this. Where do we find belonging? How does that shape our identity and
choices? What are the limits? When do the limits become hurtful? How do we
see people who are different? When do we
welcome others at the expense of losing what has been important to us?
Remember it was written by Luke, several generations later,
in the Gentile world.
Not new to Judaism either – Deut. 10:17 – God is not
partial, based on income or social status, now extended to other nationalities
The point of the sermon is not about the difference between
Jews and Gentiles, but that God’s salvation is so great it overflows all boundaries
of nations, cleanliness, language, culture.
Jews can continue being Jews, Gentiles do not have to undergo
circumcision. It is all unified in
meaning even when we are not in practice.
Question for
Reflection:
What distinct things
about your faith are worth holding on to?
What things do you respect about other faith traditions?
READ Matthew 3:13-17
Long historical gap between the flight to Egypt, then return
to Nazareth (after death of Herod the Great 4 BCE) when Jesus was perhaps 1
year old. Then he turns up looking for
baptism – according to Matthew and Mark, by John the Baptist. According to Luke, John already in prison.
Gospel parallels – Uniquely in Matthew there is a
conversation between Jesus and John about whether it is appropriate – why is
this important to Matthew?
If it is just about repentence and forgiveness, then Jesus
might not be without sin. Or, perhaps it
is about repentence and forgiveness, but also about identity.
·
Jesus is intentional in seeking out John at the
Jordan;
·
John would have prevented Jesus, citing Jesus’
“higher status”
·
Jesus believed it was fitting “to fulfil all
righteousness”
·
Not just Jesus witnessing but the heavens were
opened and a voice heard
·
Voice speaks to others
Verse 15, Jesus says “let it be so NOW” suggests that this
is about timing not about sin
The word for righteousness not legal but claiming right
relationship, identity, solidarity of Jesus to the people, while claiming
belonging within God’s kingdom.
Matthew 5:20 – righteousness must be greater than scribes
and Pharisees (who were very righteous in that society’s standard!) Jesus is over-the-top.
Act of “revelation” – heavens opened and a voice is heard by
all. God in the midst of an ordinary day
among ordinary people.
Verse 16, “the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
alighting on him” - anointing him to a
new identity, much like the prophets when they were called.
Verse 17: words “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased.” Echoes of Psalm 2 – which speaks of God anointing a new king, and
later the Transfiguration story.
Paradox of Christ – fulfilling righteousness not about
getting what we deserve, but about being on an equal level with others, God
identifying with the lowest.
READ Psalm 29:
This is a parody of Canaanite poems based on the Baal myth.
Baal was the Canaanite god of the rainstorm and therefore of fertility and
crops. In the myth that grew up around his worship, there was an annual battle
between Baal and the god of death and the salt sea. In the myth, Baal would
annually defeat his foe (symbolized by the Mediterranean Sea) and move eastward
to land (i.e., the annual rains would come), where he built a palace for
himself and was enthroned as god. Psalm 29 ascribed to God all the power that
the pagans typically ascribed to Baal. The motifs are the same as those in the
Baal poems: ascription of praise to deity vs. 1-2; the storm arising in the sea
vs 3-4; the storm moving onto land vs 5-9; enthronement and worship of God by
his people vs 10-11.
Closing Prayer:
O God, your power is seen in water:
in the magnificent storm, and in the steady, shaping trickle; in the
cleansing of the earth, and in the renewal of a baptism.
As we move into this time of Epiphany, into this time of revelation,
where we see your presence over and above our daily routine, be with us.
Strengthen our hands, that we might open them and catch the tiny droplets of
your love, admire their beauty, and then share them in the world you made. Amen
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