Epiphany 5A
Sunday,
February 9, 2014
Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12)
1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16)
Matthew 5:13-20
Psalm 112:1-9, (10)
1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16)
Matthew 5:13-20
Psalm 112:1-9, (10)
Enriching
Our Worship, an approved liturgical supplement to the Book of Common Prayer, has a wonderful acclamation the reader
declares at the end of a reading: Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s
people.
For me, this
statement clearly declares the text we read, listen and soak up on a Sunday
morning is the living Word of God. This
statement declares that Scripture is an active and relevant communication—God
speaking to us right now in this time and place.
Let’s
listen again to the prophet Isaiah and hear God’s word.
“Isn’t
this the fast I choose for you to keep: to break the chains of injustice, to get
rid of exploitation in the workplace, to free the oppressed,
cancel
debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is
sharing your food with the
hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
covering the naked when you
see them, being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will
turn on, and your lives will turn around
at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure
your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You will call out for help
and I will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get
rid of unfair practices, if you quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about
other people’s sins,
if you are generous with the hungry
and start giving
yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the
darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show
you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm
muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring
that never runs dry.
You will use the old rubble of past lives to build
anew. You will rebuild the foundations
from out of your past.
You will be known as those who can fix anything,
those
who can restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
and make the community livable
again.[1]
Hear what
the Spirit is saying to God’s people.
Beloved, Jesus
came to free us from our sins. Sin,
simply put, is misplaced love. Sin is loving
ourselves more than we love our neighbor.
Loving ourselves more than we love God.
We are freed from our sin when we choose to live the life of the sacrificial
love of Jesus instead of the self-centered love of the world. We are freed and saved by living the agape
love that is centered on the welfare of our sisters and brothers---centered on
the common good of the entirety of God’s people---the agape love that reveals
the Kingdom of God.
Yes, it is
hard. It is improbable...in fact, impossible without God’s help. And at times we will fail. No doubt about it. But if we believe and trust in a God of
abundance, then we must trust that God gives us what is needed to do God’s
mission. And let’s not forget that God
places us in community---bound to one another—just as the Holy Trinity is bound
together—so that we might encourage one another, strengthen one another, equip
one another to live this agape love that we—and the entire world—so desperately
need.
The living
Word speaks to us today---urging us, imploring us, to live our faith. To be Salt
and Light. Actively, intentionally,
faithfully.
We will
never change the world by going to church.
We will
only change the world by being the church.
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