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5th SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
This Sunday’s texts share several lessons in common. First, you’ll notice the
idea of theophany and the awareness of the presence / person of God in the midst (esp. Is.
6 / 1 Cor. 15 / Lk. 5). Also, however, is the call motif as seen in the prophet’s
luminous retelling and in the first story of disciple-calling in the Gospel of Luke. These
passages are especially rich in faith-shaping content and contain powerful words for
aspiring disciples.
PSALM 138-THANKS, GOD
This is an individual thanksgiving psalm, possibly designed for
Israel’s kings to be sung in the temple. The psalmist offers these words of praise
and gratitude following some intervention by God on the psalmist’s behalf. The psalm
falls neatly into three divisions: first the general thanksgiving for God’s help: I
give you thanks with all my heart (vv. 1-3); then the invitation for earth’s
kings to join in the thanksgiving: All the kings of the earth shall praise you (vv.
4-6); finally, an acknowledgement of God’s saving help and a plea for God to continue
to deliver: you preserve me . . . Do not forsake the work of your hands (vv. 7-8).
ISAIAH 6:1-8 (9-13)-THE AWESOME PRESENCE OF GOD
This passage is Isaiah’s inaugural oracle stated in
visionary language and imagery in which a dialogue describes God as King and Isaiah’s
reaction to, and reception of "the call." The basic movement has long been
viewed as a model around which to design worship, or perhaps a glimpse as to how early
Yahwists viewed worship. The general themes of what many today would consider
indispensable to worship are clearly present: an awareness of the presence of God and how
such an awareness should impact the worshiper (vv. 2); the sanctus that proclaims
God’s majestic holiness (v. 3); an act of confession (v. 5) and the concomitant word
of pardon (vv. 6-7); a response to the vision-whom shall I send?-and the sending
forth or commissioning to leave worship to fulfill God’s mission (v. 8).
1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11-WHEN KAIROS BREAKS INTO CHRONOS
This lesson contains and early Christian creed (vv. 3-5) that
serves to remind these Christian recipients that Christ’s resurrection is basic to
the gospel message. Verses 3-7 is especially similar to the Isaiah 6 passage-as in Isaiah,
Paul speaks of the intersection of God’s kairos with human chronos-the appearance of
the resurrected Jesus to the earliest disciples. As a sidebar, you may want to review the
similarities of Isaiah 6 with the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus in the synoptics.
LUKE 5:1-11-MEETING JESUS FOR THE FIRST TIME -
With this story we move in a new direction concerning responses to Jesus. Previously
people have been "amazed," but interested only in keeping Jesus for themselves.
Here, however, these individuals decide to leave everything. Thus, this scene
anticipates a time when Jesus’ followers will participate fully in his ministry.
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