The Epiphany Season stretches to almost its fullest possible eight
Sundays this year Easter being late meaning that we get to study lessons
not often used. Today's New Testament Lessons are a continuation of last
week's as will be those for the next two Sundays continuing the Sermon
on the Mount.
The OT Lesson continues by and large to refer to relevant passages from
Isaiah. Isaiah 58 talks about the true nature of service to God and
giving honour to his name.
Isa 58:1 The LORD says, "Shout as loud as you can! Tell my people
Israel about their sins!
Isa 58:2 They worship me every day, claiming that they are eager to
know my ways and obey my laws. They say they want me to give them just
laws and that they take pleasure in worshiping me."
It is not sufficient to go through the motions be it fasting or any
other form of worship. For our worship to be meaningful in our lives it
must have an effect on how we live our daily lives, do business, and
treat our fellow human beings. If we truly worship the Lord then we will
be about his work in the world around us.
Psalm 112 echoes the theme of light in the darkness we first met on
Christmas Day and have followed through this season of Epiphany and
echoes the Beatitudes and today's Gospel.
The Epistle emphasizes the simplicity of the Christian Message. It is a
stumbling block to the wise and overlooked by those in power. The Spirit
of the Lord is a gift that empowers and inspires those who receive it.
Our Gospel continues the collected sayings of Jesus presented here as
the Sermon on the Mount. Having turned conventional wisdom on its head
in the Beatitudes we continue with a collection of aphorisms still
quoted to this day. Today's concentrate on the nature and
responsibilities inherent in living the Christian Life.
Just as we learned on Christmas Day in John 1 that the Word made Flesh
dwells among us bringing Light to the world, as Christians it is our
duty to continue to spread the Word of that Light to the world. In a
sense we are that Light. If our lives do not reflect our experience of
the Holy Spirit and glow with that Light we lose our saltiness and hide
our light.
Whereas the Good News frees us from the burden of sin and death inherent
in the Law it does not free us from the responsibility to uphold the
law. In fact it lays an entirely new layer of responsibility on top of
the Law.
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