Epiphany 03B
Getting Ready for Sunday
©Robert Gail Stoddard
Introductions to the Lectionary Readings Assigned for
The Third Sunday after the Epiphany
January 22, 2006
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy your consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
JONAH 3:1-5, 10
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see his banners go! (UMH 575)
For many of us this is a beloved hymn of faith, but we rarely consider the possibility that God would actually march into battle. The little book of Jonah paints just such a picture, as God prepares to lay siege to Nineveh. However, before the siege begins, God sends a messenger – Jonah – to demand surrender and, when Nineveh does surrender, God responds with mercy and grace.
In Jonah’s time, Nineveh was a vast city, anchored on the banks of the Tigris River, across from modern day Mosel, Iraq. In the familiar story of “Jonah and the whale,” Jonah refused to act as God’s messenger. However, after he was saved by “a great fish” (1:17), Jonah accepts his commission and begins the long trek east.
As I’m seeing it now, this Bible lesson describes God as a warrior-king, leading his armies towards Nineveh. He is prepared to lay siege to the city and he will undoubtedly take and destroy it. But, before the siege begins, he gives one last chance to surrender and submit to his power.
It is something of side issue, but this is supported by an ambiguity in the text that isn’t recognizable in our English translations. According to v. 5, when the people accept Jonah's warning, they believe “God.” This translates a troubling noun, elohiym, which the KJV translators treat as a singular noun (“God”) more than 90% of the time. But occasionally even the KJV struggles to find an adequate translation including Psalm 8:5 where they translated elohiym “angels” (“thou has made him a little lower than the angels – the elohiym”). If nothing else, elohiym is a plural noun (see Strong’s #430). So, instead of envisioning God marching through the desert accompanied by his lonely messenger, it may be more accurate to imagine a vast heavenly army on the move. At least that’s what the people of Nineveh may have expected.
To return to the story, rather than slamming the gates and resisting the siege, the Ninevites surrender, abandon their evil ways, and show their submission with fasting and sackcloth.
While our Bible lesson describes events in the past, Revelation is a warning about the future. The day of Armageddon is fast approaching! However, before the battle begins, God will send his messenger, demanding repentance and surrender. Why wait until God’s armies are on the move? Today is the perfect time to surrender and experience God’s mercy and grace.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
In context, this brief Bible lesson is part of a sustained reflection on marriage and celibacy. However, within the lection, Paul lifts up an underlying principle that should help shape all the choices believers make, including their decisions about marriage and personal finances. For Paul, believers need to stay free from worldly concerns so they can do God’s work in the world.
The foundational principle in this passage is simple enough: time is short. The Second Coming is just about here. If you expect Christ to return next Tuesday (for instance), then you’ll probably make different decisions than if you don’t expect him back in your lifetime. Although Paul occasionally took time off from active mission work (Acts 14:28 and 18:23 seem to describe what we usually call “mission furloughs” today), his sustained mission journeys reflect the sense of urgency he expects from all believers.
Since time is short, believers can’t afford to get tangled up in worldly affairs. For example, marriage shouldn’t be our ultimate concern. Marriage is important. In a seaport city like Corinth, Christians were set apart from the rest of society by their commitment to marriage so Paul wouldn’t want us throwing it overboard. However, as married pastors quickly discover when they come out of seminary, there’s a real tension between our commitment to our marriages and our commitment to do God’s work. Well, time is short! Our marriages are important and clergy need to invest quality time in our marriage relationships. However, when push comes to shove, we all need to be doing God’s work. (It’s a side issue, but laypeople play an important role in their pastors’ lives when they encourage their pastors to take time for their marriages.)
This is equally true in secular affairs. Of course we need to make plans for retirement. Since 1982, our annual conferences have been “paying down” unfunded pension obligations. It will be good to have this expense behind us, because it’s taken funds we otherwise might have used for ministry. If Paul had run the church, he’d probably have been around banging the drum, encouraging us to dig into our savings and investments to meet the need, and keep up with our ministry opportunities. Because time is short!
As a general principle, we should use our connections with worldly things and secular institutions to do God’s work, without ending up attached to those things or institutions. Don’t abandon your wife or husband, and don’t empty your bank account and investment portfolio into the offering plate. Paul isn’t advocating irresponsibility. But, as we make decisions, we need to be clear about our ultimate concern, doing God’s work in the world. Why is that our priority? Because, although it’s hard to imagine from a secular perspective, time is short.
Mark 1:14-20
Jesus’ ministry can be organized around two main activities: sharing the word of God’s Good News and doing the work of God’s Kingdom. These two come together in the opening pages of Mark’s Gospel.
This passage comes immediately after Jesus’ baptism with the Holy Spirit, and his duel with the devil in desert. Now, unexpectedly, Herod Antipas’ decision to arrest John the Baptist opens the door for Jesus’ Galilean ministry. With his capital at Tiberius on the shore of Galilee, his political power provided an unavoidable backdrop for both John and Jesus’ lives, and his decision to arrest John propelled Jesus into the foreground.
Once Jesus’ ministry began, he wasted little time getting up to speed. Of course it is only a summary, but Mark 1:15 offers extraordinary insight into Jesus’ message. I encourage you to underline this verse in your Bible or – better still – commit it to memory: “At last the time has come! The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News!” The Kingdom of God is the heart of Jesus’ message.
Jesus didn’t just “talk the talk,” he “walked the walk.” Verse 16 paints a picture of a solitary figure walking along the beach, but it’s hard to imagine that Jesus’ ministry, building on John’s, wasn’t already attracting a crowd. However, even if he was surrounded by a sea of curious followers, he was about to invite the four fishermen – Simon, Andrew, James, and John – into a far more intimate relationship, as his disciples.
In my experience, preachers make much of Jesus’ “Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people,” but overlook Simon and Andrew’s response. Take a moment and read carefully. The two men were “casting a net in the sea” when Jesus called and “immediately they left their nets” (v. 16, 18 NASB 95). Taken literally, they respond far more dramatically than merely laying down their nets and walking along with Jesus. The way Mark describes it, they literally went overboard and followed him!
We like to think we’re Jesus’ disciples, like those fishermen. Well, maybe. But I rarely meet anyone who’s really gone overboard for Jesus, which is exactly what’s required when the Kingdom of God is near. It’s time to drop our nets and abandon our boats. It’s time to follow Jesus towards the Kingdom.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture readings are from the Holy Bible: New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.