Read the lessons at the Vanderbilt Library website: http://divinity.lib.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/CEpiphany/cEpiphany6.htm

Emmanuel Lutheran Church at Saint Luke's Anglican Church

Family Lectionary Study;

Sundays from 9:30 to 10:15 in the Gym

Opening

Introduce:

Review of Last Week

Discuss Pew-work. Give everyone a chance to show or talk about their insights.

What was the sermon on? -- Being called by God; Jeremiah

What was the Gospel lesson? -- (Jesus calls Peter, James and John to be “Fishers of Men”)

Did anyone have any insights about...

Set the calendar-clock to the right date. Epiphany tells the story of Jesus' being revealed to the world.

Here is our memory scripture for Epiphany

¹⁴And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. ¹⁵And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. ¹⁶And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. ¹⁷And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, ^18”The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
¹⁹To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” ²⁰And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Bible Passage

from http://www.montreal.anglican.org/comments/

Jeremiah

From Chapter 1, we know that Jeremiah was either born or began his ministry in 627 BC. During his life, Babylonia succeeded Assyria as the dominant power in the Middle East. He was a witness to the return to worship of the Lord (instituted by the Judean king Josiah), and then (after Josiah's death in battle in 609), the return of many of the people to paganism. When Babylon captured Jerusalem in 587, Jeremiah emigrated to Egypt. God called him to be a prophet to Judah and surrounding nations, in the midst of these political and religious convulsions.

Jeremiah 17:5-10

The ideas expressed in this reading are atypical for Jeremiah’s time; they seem to reflect the thinking of later centuries, when books of wisdom literature (e.g. Proverbs, Wisdom) were written. God, through the prophet Jeremiah, contrasts the fates of the ungodly and the godly. The ungodly purposely “turn away” from God; they “trust” (believe) in humankind’s power and strength. On the other hand, the godly truly “trust” in God. V. 6 likens the ungodly to a “shrub”: it dies in the desert sun. But the godly (v. 8) are like a “green” “tree”: sustained (“water”) and growing with the help of the “stream” (perhaps God’s Spirit). They have nothing to worry about (“not anxious”, v. 8).

To ancient peoples, the “heart” (v. 9) was not only the centre of emotions, feelings, moods and passions but also of will and motive power for the limbs. The heart discerned good from evil; it was also the centre of decision-making. Conversion to God’s ways took place in the heart. In v. 9, it is said to be where evil begins. Only God can see clearly the intentions of the heart; only he can properly judge humans in their actions. God rewards people for the good they do, and condemns them for evil deeds. In v. 11, God reminds the reader that, in the end, wealth acquired unjustly does not benefit a person, for it does not extend his life. (The notion of life after death was yet to be realized.)

From http://www.word-sunday.com

Barren and Lush Plants

In the midst of his prophecy, Jeremiah compared the good and evil persons with a analogy from the plant world. The evil person was like the desert plant that knew no season, who only knew harsh conditions. [5-6] Why was this person cursed to unchanging barrenness? Notice who the person trusted, his friends and his own self ("flesh" of v. 5). This person depended on his/her looks, intelligence, or personality to persuade; he/she used wealth or friendships to promote his/her position. The person who depended only on the self and his/her friends did not see the greater picture and did not experience the greatness of God. Because of blind selfishness, the evil person did not grow emotionally or spiritually; he/she would never know joy.

The good person did grow because he/she trusted in God. The trust of a good person went beyond looks or intelligence or personality or friends. When those qualities failed (the "heat" and "drought" of v. 6-7), a spiritual life would keep the good person enriched and productive. The good person would spiritually mature and would know joy.

"All assets are liabilities; all liabilities are assets." Our talents can be our burdens; our burdens can be turned into talents. To see this paradox requires faith, firm trust in God.

What are your burdens and your talents? How can they give God glory?

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Psalms

Psalms is a collection of collections. The psalms were written over many centuries, stretching from the days of Solomon's temple (about 950 BC) to after the Exile (about 350 BC.) Psalms are of five types: hymns of praise, laments, thanksgiving psalms, royal psalms, and wisdom psalms. Within the book, there are five "books"; there is a doxology ("Blessed be ... Amen and Amen") at the end of each book.

Psalm 1

This psalm contrasts the fate of the godly and the ungodly (as does our reading from Jeremiah.) Vv. 1-3 speak of the happiness of the godly. They do not live as the ungodly do; rather they constantly (“day and night”, v. 2) and joyfully study and observe Mosaic law; their well-being is like trees which bear fruit; they are prosperous. On the other hand, the ungodly are like “chaff” (v. 4): in manual threshing, the wind blows it away; it is discarded. So, says v. 5, their fate will be disaster: they will be excluded from the fellowship enjoyed by those who follow God’s ways, and will suffer – unlike the godly, over whom God keeps watch.

1 Corinthians

Corinth was a major port which also commanded the land route from the Peloponnesus peninsula to central Greece. An industrial and ship-building centre, it was also a centre for the arts. Its inhabitants came from far and wide. In this epistle, Paul answers two letters he has received concerning lack of harmony and internal strife in the Corinthian church, a church he had founded. Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus (now in Turkey), probably in 57 AD.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Paul continues his argument against those at Corinth who deny that Christians will be resurrected bodily. He has written of three basic doctrines he has received and passed on: Christ died, was buried, and rose. Perhaps he is countering some who attached all importance to the spirit, thus neglecting physical, earthly, living. Perhaps they, under the influence of the philosopher Philo of Alexandria, believed that they already possessed eternal life. For such people, resurrection would be meaningless. It was commonly thought that only the soul is immortal. He now confronts these people with a logical argument and the consequences of their denial, and tells the benefits of affirming resurrection.

In v. 12, he restates a point: a tenet of our faith is that Jesus physically rose after being dead. He did this as a human being, so how can some argue that physical resurrection of humans does not exist? In vv. 13ff, he states five logical consequences if these people are correct:

Jesus was not raised (vv. 13,16);
Paul’s (“our”, v. 14) preaching is “in vain”, unproductive, i.e. has not introduced anything new into his readers’ lives;
the faith of his readers is “futile” (v. 17), ineffective, pointless, so they are still subject to God’s wrath for their sins (vv. 14, 17);
he has taught something about God which is not true (v. 15) and
those Christians “who have died” (v. 18) are definitively lost (“have perished”).

Then v. 19: if our faith in Christ stops with his death (i.e. does not include his raising), we are living a hoax, and a tough one: Christian life involves suffering, disappointment, etc., so we are “most to be pitied”. Jesus’ death alone doesn’t gain forgiveness of sins (v. 17): it’s his resurrection that does. If he did not rise, we are caught in affirming death rather than life. But, says Paul (v. 20), Jesus really was raised. In fact, he was the forerunner, the model for all those who have died (and of those yet to die). The “first fruits” of the harvest (the initial yield) was offered to God as a symbol of offering the whole harvest to him.

From http://www.word-sunday.com

What If...

15:12-13 “resurrection from the dead” The word for resurrection was “anastasis” in Greek, meaning “standing up.” This was a popular word for resurrection in the New Testament.

“Alternate history” has become a popular parlor game in the last fifty years. Popular novels and academic papers have been written to speculate on how history would have changed if one or two details changed. “What if...” is a interesting mental exercise.

Paul used the “what if?” question to argue for the resurrection of the dead. Without the possibility of such a resurrection, the belief that Christ rose from the dead would be irrational. Take away the resurrection of Christ and the entire construct of Christianity would crumble. Preaching and faith would be in vain. Missionaries would be deluded at best, liars at worst. Either way, they would be shamed for their gullibility or duplicity. The faithful would discover they did not have that status. They would still be sinners. And believers who had died would be lost forever. Like the missionaries, they would have a shameful status as the most pathetic people on the planet.

Paul followed the logical path down the negative to implicitly ask a rhetorical question: if you did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, why were you Christians? Like some in the community at Corinth, many self-proclaimed Christians today do not subscribe to the doctrine of the resurrection. For them, the resurrection is a metaphor. After winter comes spring. After defeat comes triumph. After depression comes ecstacy. For people like these, Christianity is a group of teachings and wise sayings that sooth the harried psyche. But, if faith in Christ is only good for therapy, why don’t we all close our parishes and go to the beach instead? Certainly, that environment would be more conducive to the realization of “warm fuzzies.”

Yes, Christianity does have teachings and wise sayings. Yes, resurrection does have the power of metaphor. Yes, faith in Christ does have the power to calm the waters of the hectic lifestyles we live. But the root of Christianity is belief in the bodily resurrection of the dead, beginning with that of Jesus. Certainly, that doctrine, in conjunction with the movement of the Spirit, was the basis for the establishment and subsequent health of the early communities. Indeed, Jews and Gentiles would have not gathered together in the name of an unknown Galilean just to share his wise sayings that resulted in mutual good feelings.

Paul believed the end times were immanent. In these times everything would return to God. In his death and resurrection, the Risen Lord was the first movement of the world back to God. As Christians, we believe that we will be part of that movement. If we do not, then our spiritual life is futile. No matter how wise teachings and metaphor lower our blood pressure now, in the long run Christianity would be a matter of “spinning our wheels.”

Thank God Christ did rise from the dead. Thank God we will be him, body and soul, at the end. Thank God, Christianity is not alternate history, a case of “what if?”

What would your life be without faith in the resurrection? How does faith in the Risen Lord change your perspective on life?

Luke

Luke is the third synoptic (or quasi-chronological) gospel in the New Testament. Its author, traditionally Luke the physician who accompanied Paul on some of his missionary journeys, draws on three sources: Mark (via Matthew), a collection of sayings (known as Q for Quelle) and his own source. It is a gospel that emphasizes God's love for the poor, the disadvantaged, minorities, outcasts, sinners and lepers. Women play a more prominent part than in the other gospels. Luke never uses Semitic words; this is one argument for thinking that he wrote primarily for Gentiles.

Luke 6:17-26

Jesus has ascended a mountain to pray. While there, he has chosen twelve of his disciples, his followers, to be apostles. Now he descends part-way, to a “level place”. There he finds other followers and many others, from Israel and beyond (“Tyre and Sidon”, v. 17). Many are healed, both of known “diseases” (v. 18) and of being possessed. Evil “spirits” made them ritually “unclean” so they were not permitted to share in corporate worship of God.

Luke tells us of four beatitudes (vv. 20-22) and corresponding woes or warnings of deprivation in the age to come. Some are “blessed” (happy) by being included in the Kingdom Jesus brings. The warnings are prophecies, cautions. The pairs are:

the “poor” (v. 20) and the “rich” (v. 24);
the “hungry” (v. 21a) and the “full” (v. 25a);
the sorrowful (v. 21b) and the joyous (v. 25b); and
the persecuted (v. 22) and the popular (v. 26).

The “poor” (v. 20) are those who acknowledge their dependence on God; the “rich” (v. 24) do not want to commit themselves to Jesus and the Kingdom; they are comfortable with the existence they have now. The Greek word translated “consolation” (v. 24) is a financial term: the “rich” do not realize what they owe to Jesus. The “hungry” (v. 25) hunger for the word of God, the good news; the “full” are the materially satisfied. In v. 22, “exclude” means socially ostracized and excluded from the synagogue and Temple. The “Son of Man” has a corporate sense: it includes Jesus and his followers: they will be persecuted, as Israel (“their ancestors”, v. 23) persecuted Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Amos, but “in that day” (at the end of the era), they will be rewarded. Jeremiah 5:31 says that people spoke well of “false prophets” (v. 26).

From http://www.word-sunday.com

O Brother (or Sister), Who Art Thou?

When was your last act of charity? When was the last time you did some good for someone else?

In 2000, Hollywood's Coen brothers produced another of their handcrafted movies. "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is a hilarious story of three prisoners who escape the chain gang to seek a fortune. Based upon Homer's "Odyssey," the movie lightly touches upon the more serious themes of divine providence and personal moral change. The story turns on the sought goal: personal gain or the good of others. Personal gain enchains the spirit, while the good of others washes one clean of the past. (A hint for those who wish to see the movie: watch for the many baptismal references.)

In Luke's four beatitudes and woes, Jesus spoke to the same goals with a simple, but implied question. O Brother (or Sister), who art thou: poor or rich?

In Luke, Jesus compared the rich and the poor in four parallels: status, possessions, entertainment, and Christian witness. The poor were blessed by God. The rich were blessed by self. Which blessing would last?

6:17 "HE stood on level ground" Unlike the rocky peaks of the hills, this phrase seemed to refer to the slope of the hills or mountains where a large following could gather.

"a great number of people from all (over) Judea, and Jerusalem and along the coast of Tyre and Sidon." Luke indicated people came from the populated areas northwest and south of Galilee to hear Jesus. The reputation was more than local or regional. It reached the Gentile areas of modern-day south Lebanon and the orthodox City of David. In other words, Jesus' audience was Jew and Gentile alike.

6:22 Exclusion, public insult, and denial form the process of excommunication from the synagogue. Exclusion was physical; the person is no longer welcome to the synagogue or association with the Jewish community. Insult was public and social; there was a concerted effort to destroy the reputation of the excommunicated. The final step was denial; one's name was cast out from the rolls of the community. No one used the name of the excommunicated. At this point, the community did not even recognize the existence of person thrown out.

Luke liked to turn conventional wisdom upside down. Looking through God's eyes, he contrasted the blessed with the cursed. Before we compare these two groups, we must remember that Jesus' audience was poor; they believed that wealth was acquired at their expense through dishonest and oppressive means. We must also remember that Jesus was addressing his disciples, those who have given up the quest for riches in order to achieve something greater.

Luke differentiated the "poor" from the "rich" by the focus of their attention. The poor would inherit God's kingdom because that was where they set their sights; their hope was in the future. [20] The rich, on the other hand, were concerned with maintaining and enjoying what they already had; their focus was upon the present gratification. [24] For Luke, the "rich" were marked by their concern for money and what it could buy. Freed from the temptation of money, the "poor" were marked by their spiritual concern.

To make his point, Luke paralleled three activities: material needs ("food"), entertainment ("laughter"), and reputation. Even through the poor did not have possessions, they would be satisfied [21]; the rich had their needs fulfilled, but they would not ultimately be satisfied [25]. Even though the poor cried out for the opportunities that bring entertainment, they would be filled with contentment [21]; the rich, on the other hand, would simply crave more entertainment [25]. In the name of the kingdom, the poor would be persecuted but will be honored like the prophets of old [22-23]; concerned with present reputation, the rich would be quickly forgotten [26].

For Luke, then, the difference between rich and poor was more than money. The truly poor were those who were willing to sacrifice material need, daily entertainment, and reputation for God's kingdom. They were poor by choice, not by circumstance. The truly rich were those who craved wealth and the comforts that it could buy, even to the determent of others.

Catechism Theme: Social Justice and Solidarity (CCC 1943-1948)

One of the hallmarks of modern morality is the emphasis on the personal freedom and responsibility. The measuring stick of morality seems to be: "If my actions as an individual do not injure others, then, the actions are permissible." Of course, this ignores the broader picture. We, as individuals, form a society. We contribute to that society in one form or another. Hence, we need to take a certain responsibility for our society. Personal freedom and responsibility do not preclude a sense of social justice.

"Social justice" is the obligation of a society to create conditions that allow individuals and groups to receive what is owed them. (1943) The fundamental rights of the individual and social equality flow from the dignity of the person. Since all people have equal dignity, society should make an effort to lessen social and economic inequality. (1944, 1947)

The Christian virtue of "solidarity" is "social charity"; it is a respect and love for others based upon their dignity as people. Solidarity means a sharing of material goods, and, more important, a sharing of faith and other spiritual values. (1948)

In Luke's sense, the "poor" have a sense of solidarity, for they focus on the good of others. The "rich" in Luke's eyes, focus only on the self and the consequences of actions on the self (while ignoring others).

How have you been involved in "social justice" activities? How have they blessed you?

Who art thou: poor or rich? We can look at the difference another way. Love makes us economically poor but enriches our lives; ambition makes us economically secure but leaves us selfish and shallow. Our lives reveal our priorities. May God give us the power to choose love over ambition, his Kingdom over present riches.

Obviously, we Christians have different priorities in different at areas of life at different times. So the question of selfless (poor) vs. selfish (rich) is not so clear cut. However, a simple reflection over the past week can help you make changes for the next week. What can you do to become a little "poorer" and a little more "blessed," this coming week?

Pew-work Hand-outs

“Pew-work” is like Home-work, except that it is done in the pews, instead of being done at home. Because it is focussed on the readings (as the sermon, presumably, also is) it can be done during the sermon to help the listener concentrate. Or, it can be done while waiting for everyone else to finish their communion. It isn't done during prayers, or hymns, or the readings, because

During Prayers, we pray
During Hymns, we sing

During the Readings, we listen

Adult Student's Pew-work

Middle-school Students' Pew-work

Elementary-School Students' Pew-work

Pre-Schooler's Pew-work