Home: Worship: Samuel: Jan. 16


Jan. 16, 2005 | Second Sunday after the Epiphany (Proper 2)
Liturgical color: Green

Lectionary citations

Isaiah 49:1-7 with Psalm 40:1-11 AND
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 AND
John 1:29-42

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Focus Scripture:
John 1:29-42

Weekly Theme:
Come and See

Focus Statement:
“We have found the Messiah.”

Questions:
John the Baptist is a model for preachers and witnesses today. In this reading from the Gospel of John, he points toward the One who is salvation rather than drawing attention to himself. He even watched two of his own disciples leave him and follow Jesus. How easy is it for us as disciples to lose sight of the true center and focus of our ministry, Jesus? How easy is it for “it” to become “all about us”? (Or all about the building, or all about the program, etc.?) What losses are we willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel? How willing are we to forego recognition and popularity when we so easily enjoy both in the life of the church?

When John says more than once that he did not himself know Jesus, does it remind you of times that you have missed Jesus, missed God, missed the point? How did revelation come to you? To your congregation?

God is still speaking theme: The United Church of Christ has deepened its commitment to evangelism and strengthened its outreach to those beyond its walls by proclaiming with passionate conviction that God is still speaking, that “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome in this United Church of Christ congregation.” How do we hear the words of Jesus, “Come and see,” when we think of those who are seeking a church home? How comfortable are we with inviting those who ask us questions about our church to come and visit? If they do visit, what will they “come and see”? John’s two disciples were clearly seekers. How do we respond to the persistence and enthusiasm – or pain – of those who are seeking a new church home?

How would you feel if you were Simon and your brother came to “drag” you to hear this new preacher? How would you then feel if this preacher/prophet/healer gave you a new name? What do you think God would be saying to you? Do you feel that you have been given a new name as a Christian and a disciple? Does it affect your life? When have you been invited, or the people in your church been invited, to come and see what is happening somewhere? What did you find? How many of the people in your church are there because someone invited them to come and see?

In these Epiphany texts, the identity of Jesus as God’s revelation is emphasized. What kind of God does this Jesus reveal? What is he about? How “accessible” is this God?

Speaking of this still-speaking God, what does the Isaiah text say that may challenge and even scandalize many church-goers today? Are we limited in our vision when we think of how God wants us to be in mission? Do we ourselves limit God’s mission (which we are about) to our own families, friends, congregation, neighbors…and folks we feel comfortable with? Who are those children of God – “the nations” that are beyond our borders, not just geographically but socially and psychologically, those we haven’t included in our plans?

Brueggemann, et al., in Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV, Year A, speaks of the enlarged vision of God’s concern for humanity: “This is one of the most crucial texts in showing how the Old Testament breaks ethnic limitation and witnesses to the largeness of God’s rescue.” The commentator then compares the prophet/servant to Martin Luther King, Jr. (a timely comparison), whose vision of justice for people of color in the United States expanded dramatically to include issues of peace and economic justice. “He [MLK, Jr.] knew that the question of rights is a humanity-embracing question. This poet in our passage already knows that God’s powerful will for homecoming has no ethnic limitation.”

Who, then, are the “nations” to whom we need to open our arms, and whom do we need to embrace in our vision of community? Whom would we prefer to exclude, or whom do we unconsciously exclude? “I myself did not know him.” What are we missing, and what revelation should we be praying for? In what ways are we “a light to the nations”? Are we willing to serve and welcome and reach out even to those who will never become members of our own community of faith, but need our presence in their lives, who need our support, our prayers, and our active pursuit of justice?

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Isaiah 49:1-7

Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The LORD called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away.

And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the LORD, and my reward with my God.”

And now the LORD says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength— he says,

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, “Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

and

Psalm 40:1-11

Refrain:
I delight to do your will, O my God, I delight to do your will.

I waited patiently for God,
who inclined to me and heard my cry.

God drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog;
God set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

God put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in God.

Happy are those who make God their trust, who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.

You have multiplied, O God my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.

Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

Then I said, "Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.

"I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."

I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation;
see, I have not retrained my lips, as you know, O God.

I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness, I have not concealed them from the great congregation.

Do not, O God, withhold your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.

and

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

and

John 1:29-42

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

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Second Sunday after the Epiphany
January 16, 2005
John 1:29-42

MARTIN’S REVOLUTIONARY BELOVED COMMUNITY

You wouldn’t know it from the excerpts of his famous March on Washington speech, so often recited, but Martin Luther King, Jr., was a revolutionary. No, he wasn’t a revolutionary who favored armed struggle or overthrowing governments, but he was a revolutionary all the same. He was a revolutionary who called for a radical re-thinking of our values: We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. This radical revolution of values would, Martin believed, lead us to a new vision and a new way of being –the Beloved Community.

The Beloved Community would be based upon love: When I speak of love...I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is...the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality....We can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation.

The Beloved Community is based upon peace: Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind...it is no longer a choice between violence and non-violence. It is either non-violence or non-existence. The Beloved Community is based upon justice: ...if our nation can spend $35 million a year to fight an unjust war...$20 billion to put a man on the moon, it can spend billions to put God’s children on our own two feet right here on earth....

Martin Luther King, Jr., was indeed revolutionary Would that we had embraced his revolution Would that we might embrace it now.

Bernice Powell Jackson
Justice and Witness Ministries
United Church of Christ

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In ecumenical liturgical practice, there are normally three readings and one psalm at each Sunday service, in this order:

First Reading: Hebrew Scripture
Response: Psalm (or Canticle) from the Bible
Second Reading: Epistle (or Acts or Revelation)
Third Reading: Gospel

The first two lessons are normally read by laypeople, the Gospel by a Minister of the Word or a layperson. In Roman Catholic, Anglican and liturgical Protestant churches, it is uncommon for an ordained minister to read all of the lessons.

The psalm is not a reading but a congregational response following the lesson from Hebrew Scripture: it is normally sung with a refrain or recited by the congregation as poetry. Occasionally, a canticle is appointed in place of a psalm; it is sung or recited in the same way. The New Century Hymnal provides a complete liturgical psalter with refrains and music.

A hymn may be sung as an introduction to the proclamation of the Gospel.

During Ordinary Time (seasons after Epiphany and Pentecost) two alternative sets of OT readings with responsorial psalms are provided. The first option is a semi-continuous reading through a book of Hebrew Scripture; the second is thematically related to the other readings.

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Copyright Information

The Revised Common Lectionary is © Consultation on Common Texts. Texts are from the New Revised Standard Version of Holy Scripture, © 1989 by The Division of Christian Education, National Council of Churches. The psalm antiphon is from The New Century Hymnal, © 1995, The Pilgrim Press. Used with permission. Music for the psalm and antiphon are available in The New Century Hymnal, plus a complete index of hymns appropriate for each Sunday's lectionary readings. To purchase the Hymnal, call 1-800-325-7061.