Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
The Epiphany/Manifestation theme - "this is the Promised One, the very Son of God" - continues to be announced at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, not by direct identification by God, nor by the disciples or other people; the works that Jesus does, and what he teaches, show the world that this One is different from other people. Jesus' ministry and preaching, as the reading of the story in the Gospel for the Day suggests, gives evidence to the world that he is the Messiah, whom God promised to save his people. By this time in the Epiphany season, the church year depends on the readings, especially the Gospel for the Day, to sustain and amplify the manifestation of Epiphany that shows plainly to the world that Jesus is the Son of God.
The Prayer of the Day
The contemporary collect in the LBW is a fitting prayer for this Sunday and its Gospel for the Day, which tells a "tall tale" - to many persons - about the things Jesus did and was able to do at the very beginning of his ministry. He not only entered the world, but he came with the power of God at his disposal; he used that power for the good of human beings, healing all sorts of diseases and illnesses and, especially, "driving out demons." The prayer reads:
Almighty God, you sent your Son as the Word of Life for our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Help us to believe with joy what the Scriptures proclaim, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 142 (E) - This could have been Job speaking in his misery and desolation. The psalmist, too, went through an experience of extreme anguish and pain, much like Job's, and cried out his complaints - and his pleas - to God. He says to God, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." He is isolated from all other people, can count on no one but God to give him help and deliver him from his "prison" of suffering and pain, so he calls upon God - his only hope - to remove his pain and anguish and set him free again.
Psalm 147:1-6 (R); 147:1-13 (L) - In this post-Exilic psalm, which was probably composed after the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt (verse 2), the psalmist offers praise and thanksgiving to God for all that he has done. He recites a list of things that God has done for the people of Israel, which reminds us of the ways that he has blessed us, too. His God is maker and ruler of heaven and earth, a creator who cares for his creation and his creatures. The Roman Catholic reading concludes with a positive statement about God's redeeming activity on earth: "The Lord lifts up the lowly, but casts the wicked to the ground." The longer reading of the Lutheran Church ends on a note of praise: "Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion." This psalm was, no doubt, selected for this Sunday's responsory to engender the spirit of thanksgiving and praise in the people of God for all that he has done for them. It would be appropriate on any Sunday.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
God our Father, great builder of the heavenly Jerusalem, you know the number of the stars and call each of them by name. Heal hearts that are broken, gather those who have been scattered, and enrich us all from the plenitude of your eternal wisdom, Jesus Christ our Lord."
The readings:
Job 7:1-4, 6-7 (R); 7:1-7 (L, C)
"Nobody knows the trouble I've got" could well have been the song of Job, had he been able to sing; he couldn't, because he was in too much anguish and pain. He lost virtually everything he had, his "flesh was covered with worms; (his) skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.... My days ... come to their end without hope.... my eye will never see good again." Job, like most of us, thought he deserved better treatment at the hand of God; his righteousness did not get him the blessings he thought he deserved from the Lord, but in the end he learned his lesson about the grace and goodness of God. Apparently, this pericope was selected because it pictures the miserable estate of people when Jesus began to preach and heal, pointing to the fact that Christ came to preach and teach - and die, too - and his healing ministry was an act of pure grace, mercy, and compassion. The reading does provide something of a background for the setting of the Gospel for the Day.
2 Kings 4:(8-17) 18-21 (22-31) (32-37) (E)
A portion of this pericope was assigned to the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (the Fifteenth Sunday of the Year) in the Roman lectionary; comments upon it may be read in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A. The short form of this text (vs. 18-21) tells the story of the Shunamite woman who, with her husband extended their hospitality to Elisha, whom she called "a holy man of God," by building him his own room on the roof of their home. Elisha rewarded her friendship and graciousness by telling her that she, who had no children, would bear a son in her old age; she did. Now the infant has grown into childhood, gets a severe headache out in the field with his father, is taken to his mother and dies. She places him on Elisha's bed, and leaves the room. The longer version continues to relate the story of how she tells her husband to get a "servant and one of the asses, that I may go quickly to the man of God, and come back again." She says to him, "It will be well." And of course, it was. After an extended discussion with Elisha, he sends his servant to lay his crook upon the body of the boy; he does, but the child does not awaken. Elisha himself visits the home and miraculously resuscitates the dead child and gives him back to his mother. She, like some of the people who were healed by Jesus, fell to the ground and worshiped him.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23 (E, L, C); 9:15-19, 22-23 (R)
This text makes one realize that the recent expose of the financial machinations of some of the TV evangelists is not new at all. Paul, so that he may be all things to all people, will accept no money for his ministry among the people of the Corinthian congregation; he does not want to be accused of preaching the gospel simply for the sake of the money, or of desecrating his ministry by using it for personal gain. He knows that he has been called by the Lord to preach the Gospel of the crucified and risen Savior of the world, not the story of a magician or a man who came to work miracles and, thereby, attain a comfortable way of life, even affluence, by being a "false prophet." He was convinced that God had called him to preach, and he knew the content of the message he was expected to deliver in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:29-39
The beginning of Jesus' ministry was marked by teaching and healing. The content of his teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum was not reported, possibly because the miracle he performed there - driving out the demon from the man who was "possessed" - seemed to overshadow, rather than confirm, his authority and power. At any rate, that miracle and the healing of Simon Peter's mother-in-law, coupled with the healing of people with all sorts of diseases and the casting out of demons, makes the Christ primarily seem to be a miracle worker at the start of his public ministry. But Jesus will not allow his mission to be viewed from that perspective and, after he was almost "mobbed" by people seeking cures and miracles, told the disciples, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out." Mark reports, "And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons."
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 1:29-39 - "Jesus - Magician or Messiah?"
In his interesting book, Jesus the Magician, Morton Smith writes:
"Jesus the magician" was the figure seen by most ancient opponents of Jesus; "Jesus the Son of God" was the figure seen by that party of his followers which eventually triumphed; the real Jesus was the man whose words and actions gave rise to these contradictory interpretations."
Smith asks, "What then were the marks of a magician?" First of all, he had to do miracles. He was primarily a miracle worker. In the synoptic gospels, it is Jesus' exorcisms that lead scribes to say, "He has/is Beelzebul," and "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons." Morton Smith also mentions that opponents - such as Celsus - in their explanation of Jesus' career, claimed that Christ went to Egypt as a hired laborer, acquired "experience of some (magical) powers," returned, "proclaiming himself a god on account of these powers." " 'Powers' in Greek," he writes, "means both the powers and the miracles done by them." The beginning of Jesus' ministry demonstrates that he had power - and that he performed miracles.
1. Was Jesus merely a magician or was he really the Messiah? That people were attracted to him because he could work miracles - had the power to heal - is undeniable. Healing services today will attract great crowds of the curious, as well as those seeking miraculous cures. For people - then and now - he is a miracle worker, a magician, if you will.
2. Magician or Messiah? Jesus knew who he was and why he had come into the world. He also knew he had the power to heal; he used that power to cure illnesses, correct infirmities, and to drive out demons, but he was aware of the danger he faced when his ministry featured magic and miracles. He did not want to be known as a magician, because he knew himself to be the Messiah. The Heavenly Father had revealed his identity to him: "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
3. Messiah, not magician - that knowledge initiated his preaching/teaching ministry in Palestine. He employed his "power" - his authority - in his preaching and teaching - and people continued to be amazed at his teaching. He did not simply preach the Word; it became evident that he was the Word "became flesh and dwelling among us."
4. Messiah - that's how he comes to the world and to us. He does release his power into our lives, supporting us in all situations in life, but he uses his power, primarily, if not exclusively, to save people - even us.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Job 7:1-7 (L, C), "Job - The Patient Man."
1. Job - the model for every person who has experienced undeserved suffering. Few people believe they deserve the pain and anguish they receive in life. Long ago, I stood by the bed of a man who had been operated upon for cancer; the surgeon, who performed the surgery, was there, too, and said to the man, "It was a malignant tumor, but I believe that we got all of it." The cancer patient, who had wasted his life in many ways and had hurt people in the process, replied, "I deserved it." Most people are more like Job and can't under-stand what is going on when tragedy comes into their lives and ask, "Why is this happening to me?"
2. Job suffered - not in silence, but in faith. He spoke out and described his situation in which time had reversed itself. Night was interminably long; daylight was all too short. Surely he described his situation - ours, too - but he suffered in faith, never giving up on God.
3. Job's patience and endurance did not win him deliverance from his suffering; that came as a gift from a loving and gracious God. In time, the God who came to the earth in Jesus Christ will rescue all of the people from pain and death. With Job, we can count on that!
2 Kings 4:(8-17) 18-21 (22-31) 32-37 (E)
The "sermon suggestion" that appears in the study for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, deals with the first portion of this story, and leaves the second part of the table for this Sunday. The story highlights the "manifestation" in this story; Elisha, indeed, is "a holy man."
1. A man of God - in word and deed. Elisha came with the same kind of power and authority that Jesus had, but he was not the Messiah, and, like John the Baptizer centuries later, he knew it.
2. A gracious guest - he responded immediately to the Shunamite woman's need, sent his servant, and - finally - went himself to raise up her dead son (At this point, the story connects with Jesus' delay in going to Bethany in the death and raising of Lazarus.)
3. The powerful presence - Elisha, alone in the room with the dead child, raised and restored him to life by the power of God. God's powerful presence was in that room - and that presence is available to all who need it and call upon Christ for it. He will raise up all believers at the last day.
4. God's powerful presence comes to us - not through Elisha, but through Jesus Christ.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 (E, L, C) - "Paul's Imperative - Preaching."
1. Called and committed to the preaching of the word - Paul was convinced that the Gospel had to be proclaimed, and that he was called to do just that. Preaching the Good News was an imperative for him.
2. He became a Servant ofthe Word (Farmer's title for a book on preaching). Paul did what every faithful preacher of the Word must do; he made himself subservient to the Lord and his gospel. He did what he had to, and became what ever sort of person was necessary, in order to preach the Word with power.
3. He preached the Word freely - literally - rejecting any financial support from the Corinthian congregation so that they would comprehend that Christ and the Gospel took precedence in his life. His preaching was authentic (See Arndt Halvorson's book, Authentic Preaching) - because he was authentic (and would have been even if he had been paid for preaching). It takes authentic preachers and authentic people to proclaim and witness to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. God makes us authentic people - as he did Paul - through the gift of his Word and faith and lays on us the imperative of witnessing to his Word today.
The Prayer of the Day
The contemporary collect in the LBW is a fitting prayer for this Sunday and its Gospel for the Day, which tells a "tall tale" - to many persons - about the things Jesus did and was able to do at the very beginning of his ministry. He not only entered the world, but he came with the power of God at his disposal; he used that power for the good of human beings, healing all sorts of diseases and illnesses and, especially, "driving out demons." The prayer reads:
Almighty God, you sent your Son as the Word of Life for our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Help us to believe with joy what the Scriptures proclaim, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 142 (E) - This could have been Job speaking in his misery and desolation. The psalmist, too, went through an experience of extreme anguish and pain, much like Job's, and cried out his complaints - and his pleas - to God. He says to God, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living." He is isolated from all other people, can count on no one but God to give him help and deliver him from his "prison" of suffering and pain, so he calls upon God - his only hope - to remove his pain and anguish and set him free again.
Psalm 147:1-6 (R); 147:1-13 (L) - In this post-Exilic psalm, which was probably composed after the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt (verse 2), the psalmist offers praise and thanksgiving to God for all that he has done. He recites a list of things that God has done for the people of Israel, which reminds us of the ways that he has blessed us, too. His God is maker and ruler of heaven and earth, a creator who cares for his creation and his creatures. The Roman Catholic reading concludes with a positive statement about God's redeeming activity on earth: "The Lord lifts up the lowly, but casts the wicked to the ground." The longer reading of the Lutheran Church ends on a note of praise: "Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion." This psalm was, no doubt, selected for this Sunday's responsory to engender the spirit of thanksgiving and praise in the people of God for all that he has done for them. It would be appropriate on any Sunday.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
God our Father, great builder of the heavenly Jerusalem, you know the number of the stars and call each of them by name. Heal hearts that are broken, gather those who have been scattered, and enrich us all from the plenitude of your eternal wisdom, Jesus Christ our Lord."
The readings:
Job 7:1-4, 6-7 (R); 7:1-7 (L, C)
"Nobody knows the trouble I've got" could well have been the song of Job, had he been able to sing; he couldn't, because he was in too much anguish and pain. He lost virtually everything he had, his "flesh was covered with worms; (his) skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.... My days ... come to their end without hope.... my eye will never see good again." Job, like most of us, thought he deserved better treatment at the hand of God; his righteousness did not get him the blessings he thought he deserved from the Lord, but in the end he learned his lesson about the grace and goodness of God. Apparently, this pericope was selected because it pictures the miserable estate of people when Jesus began to preach and heal, pointing to the fact that Christ came to preach and teach - and die, too - and his healing ministry was an act of pure grace, mercy, and compassion. The reading does provide something of a background for the setting of the Gospel for the Day.
2 Kings 4:(8-17) 18-21 (22-31) (32-37) (E)
A portion of this pericope was assigned to the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (the Fifteenth Sunday of the Year) in the Roman lectionary; comments upon it may be read in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A. The short form of this text (vs. 18-21) tells the story of the Shunamite woman who, with her husband extended their hospitality to Elisha, whom she called "a holy man of God," by building him his own room on the roof of their home. Elisha rewarded her friendship and graciousness by telling her that she, who had no children, would bear a son in her old age; she did. Now the infant has grown into childhood, gets a severe headache out in the field with his father, is taken to his mother and dies. She places him on Elisha's bed, and leaves the room. The longer version continues to relate the story of how she tells her husband to get a "servant and one of the asses, that I may go quickly to the man of God, and come back again." She says to him, "It will be well." And of course, it was. After an extended discussion with Elisha, he sends his servant to lay his crook upon the body of the boy; he does, but the child does not awaken. Elisha himself visits the home and miraculously resuscitates the dead child and gives him back to his mother. She, like some of the people who were healed by Jesus, fell to the ground and worshiped him.
1 Corinthians 9:16-23 (E, L, C); 9:15-19, 22-23 (R)
This text makes one realize that the recent expose of the financial machinations of some of the TV evangelists is not new at all. Paul, so that he may be all things to all people, will accept no money for his ministry among the people of the Corinthian congregation; he does not want to be accused of preaching the gospel simply for the sake of the money, or of desecrating his ministry by using it for personal gain. He knows that he has been called by the Lord to preach the Gospel of the crucified and risen Savior of the world, not the story of a magician or a man who came to work miracles and, thereby, attain a comfortable way of life, even affluence, by being a "false prophet." He was convinced that God had called him to preach, and he knew the content of the message he was expected to deliver in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:29-39
The beginning of Jesus' ministry was marked by teaching and healing. The content of his teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum was not reported, possibly because the miracle he performed there - driving out the demon from the man who was "possessed" - seemed to overshadow, rather than confirm, his authority and power. At any rate, that miracle and the healing of Simon Peter's mother-in-law, coupled with the healing of people with all sorts of diseases and the casting out of demons, makes the Christ primarily seem to be a miracle worker at the start of his public ministry. But Jesus will not allow his mission to be viewed from that perspective and, after he was almost "mobbed" by people seeking cures and miracles, told the disciples, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out." Mark reports, "And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons."
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 1:29-39 - "Jesus - Magician or Messiah?"
In his interesting book, Jesus the Magician, Morton Smith writes:
"Jesus the magician" was the figure seen by most ancient opponents of Jesus; "Jesus the Son of God" was the figure seen by that party of his followers which eventually triumphed; the real Jesus was the man whose words and actions gave rise to these contradictory interpretations."
Smith asks, "What then were the marks of a magician?" First of all, he had to do miracles. He was primarily a miracle worker. In the synoptic gospels, it is Jesus' exorcisms that lead scribes to say, "He has/is Beelzebul," and "He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons." Morton Smith also mentions that opponents - such as Celsus - in their explanation of Jesus' career, claimed that Christ went to Egypt as a hired laborer, acquired "experience of some (magical) powers," returned, "proclaiming himself a god on account of these powers." " 'Powers' in Greek," he writes, "means both the powers and the miracles done by them." The beginning of Jesus' ministry demonstrates that he had power - and that he performed miracles.
1. Was Jesus merely a magician or was he really the Messiah? That people were attracted to him because he could work miracles - had the power to heal - is undeniable. Healing services today will attract great crowds of the curious, as well as those seeking miraculous cures. For people - then and now - he is a miracle worker, a magician, if you will.
2. Magician or Messiah? Jesus knew who he was and why he had come into the world. He also knew he had the power to heal; he used that power to cure illnesses, correct infirmities, and to drive out demons, but he was aware of the danger he faced when his ministry featured magic and miracles. He did not want to be known as a magician, because he knew himself to be the Messiah. The Heavenly Father had revealed his identity to him: "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
3. Messiah, not magician - that knowledge initiated his preaching/teaching ministry in Palestine. He employed his "power" - his authority - in his preaching and teaching - and people continued to be amazed at his teaching. He did not simply preach the Word; it became evident that he was the Word "became flesh and dwelling among us."
4. Messiah - that's how he comes to the world and to us. He does release his power into our lives, supporting us in all situations in life, but he uses his power, primarily, if not exclusively, to save people - even us.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Job 7:1-7 (L, C), "Job - The Patient Man."
1. Job - the model for every person who has experienced undeserved suffering. Few people believe they deserve the pain and anguish they receive in life. Long ago, I stood by the bed of a man who had been operated upon for cancer; the surgeon, who performed the surgery, was there, too, and said to the man, "It was a malignant tumor, but I believe that we got all of it." The cancer patient, who had wasted his life in many ways and had hurt people in the process, replied, "I deserved it." Most people are more like Job and can't under-stand what is going on when tragedy comes into their lives and ask, "Why is this happening to me?"
2. Job suffered - not in silence, but in faith. He spoke out and described his situation in which time had reversed itself. Night was interminably long; daylight was all too short. Surely he described his situation - ours, too - but he suffered in faith, never giving up on God.
3. Job's patience and endurance did not win him deliverance from his suffering; that came as a gift from a loving and gracious God. In time, the God who came to the earth in Jesus Christ will rescue all of the people from pain and death. With Job, we can count on that!
2 Kings 4:(8-17) 18-21 (22-31) 32-37 (E)
The "sermon suggestion" that appears in the study for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A, deals with the first portion of this story, and leaves the second part of the table for this Sunday. The story highlights the "manifestation" in this story; Elisha, indeed, is "a holy man."
1. A man of God - in word and deed. Elisha came with the same kind of power and authority that Jesus had, but he was not the Messiah, and, like John the Baptizer centuries later, he knew it.
2. A gracious guest - he responded immediately to the Shunamite woman's need, sent his servant, and - finally - went himself to raise up her dead son (At this point, the story connects with Jesus' delay in going to Bethany in the death and raising of Lazarus.)
3. The powerful presence - Elisha, alone in the room with the dead child, raised and restored him to life by the power of God. God's powerful presence was in that room - and that presence is available to all who need it and call upon Christ for it. He will raise up all believers at the last day.
4. God's powerful presence comes to us - not through Elisha, but through Jesus Christ.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 (E, L, C) - "Paul's Imperative - Preaching."
1. Called and committed to the preaching of the word - Paul was convinced that the Gospel had to be proclaimed, and that he was called to do just that. Preaching the Good News was an imperative for him.
2. He became a Servant ofthe Word (Farmer's title for a book on preaching). Paul did what every faithful preacher of the Word must do; he made himself subservient to the Lord and his gospel. He did what he had to, and became what ever sort of person was necessary, in order to preach the Word with power.
3. He preached the Word freely - literally - rejecting any financial support from the Corinthian congregation so that they would comprehend that Christ and the Gospel took precedence in his life. His preaching was authentic (See Arndt Halvorson's book, Authentic Preaching) - because he was authentic (and would have been even if he had been paid for preaching). It takes authentic preachers and authentic people to proclaim and witness to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. God makes us authentic people - as he did Paul - through the gift of his Word and faith and lays on us the imperative of witnessing to his Word today.
