Second Sunday After the Epiphany (1/14/2024)

Introduction

The readings point us in the direction of preparing ourselves for the Lord and His callings

In 1 Samuel, we see Samuel experience a calling that he is not expecting, and how he is able to receive it.

Our responsive Psalm is a prayer praising God for guiding us even when we don’t want his guidance at the time. I think this is a prayer to God struggling with obedience

1 Corinthians is about preparing your body for Christ and reminding ourselves that we are his vessels

John shows us that it is good to be cautious in discerning your call

A nice pathway is being given to us for living as people of the Way

Samuel

Translation: “The word of the Lord was precious”

Rare and precious are the same word (yakar)-very important and shocking

Eli is the high priest and mentor to Samuel and Samuel is a faithful servant.

Samuel is young and has what we would call a mentor and what Paul and Jesus would say is a shepherd.

This is a very important part for discerning calls. We should be amongst one another and discerning our callings together. We are called to submit to our church leaders for a reason: to try and sort through everything on our own would be death.

At the end of the reading, we see what we should all be eager to do await the Lord and do as he says.

Joseph says nothing in the Bible: he only does as he is told

Psalm

This Psalm highlights the struggle of obedience at times

You are convictd that you believe, but following the path you are called to is costly and you don’t want to do it

You have what psychology calls cognitive dissonance and can’t escape the Lord

Looking back on it, you are so grateful to him

Corinthians

This reading has the most to unpack

The gist that I want everyone to take away is that we are to ready our bodies for the work of the Lord

Paul is reminding us that we are vessels of the Spirit, making each of us temples. We are to continue the work of Christ.

Let’s start by looking at the opening verses: Paul quotes sayings, but doesn’t refute

Just because something isn’t illegal doesn’t make it right, and just because something is legal, doesn’t make it right either… a distinction of those of the Way

Paul doesn’t “Don’t do this because God says, ‘No’,” but rather provides a philosophical basis for how and why this is wrong.

Paul provides the path forward from vs. 18 onward summed up by Dr.Wright:

“The result (verse 18) is that when faced with sexual temptation there is no virtue, no wisdom, in staying around to argue with it or trying to battle against it. You should cut and run. Paul may be thinking of Joseph in Genesis 39:6–12, running out of the house rather than being seduced by his master’s wife. Every person knows where the equivalent moment comes for them. A book that one person may read with profit and appropriate enjoyment can be a temptation to someone else. So too with a movie, a magazine, a website. (There are, of course, plenty of books, movies and so on which are produced solely with the aim of sexual arousal—and with the aim of making money; this is a kind of prostitution at one remove.)”

If we fail to live in a way that glorifies the Lord with our bodies, we are squandering Christ’s ultimately expensive gift.

This should also serve as a reminder of how sinning against our fellow man is sinning against Christ.

John

So now, this part of John, Chapter 1, we get to see this applied.

Nathanael actually approaches Jesus with a level of skepticism and is praised for it.

What differentiates him is the open mindedness of the skepticism. He awaits the Christ, but will also not be fooled.

Spend time discussing the beautifully intimate moment

Contrast this with the Pharisees who never were going to give Christ the time of day

All of this is lighthearted for what is the ultimate ending to the first chapter.

Imagery from Genesis where Jacob sees the ladder. This promise is ongoing and shows that God is coming to dwell with us again, but me must prepare the Way.

We should be very excited as Nathanael would have been. We are assured that we are following a God who suffered the ultimate punishment that we might never have to through the sacrament of baptism.

A passage like this makes it easy to walk out of these church doors and do as we are told each week, “Go in peace and serve the Lord”