Following the Call – 21 January 2018 – Third Sunday after Epiphany/ Lectionary 3

Jonah was called to preach to those he did not think worthy of God's love. It is no wonder he tried to flee, escape God's word. It is a step of faith to respond to Jesus' call and follow as did the disciples. It is another step to become a Jonah, stepping into enemy territory with a message we fear no one will want to hear. But we, the church, are continually called to do the difficult, the seemingly impossible, even the unpleasant. –– Hilda Parks

Mark 1:14-20

Mark has set the stage. John the Baptist has pronounced his prophecies. Jesus has been baptized in the Jordan and has resisted the temptation of Satan in the wilderness. Now, Jesus comes to Galilee proclaiming the Good News of God and calling for repentance. He continues with the calling of the first disciples.

. . .  Jesus calls for a radical reshaping of how one lives in response to the call of Jesus. The scene closes as Zebedee, the father of the newly called James and John, is seen sitting in the boat. –– Eric T. Myers

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

The book of Jonah is about God's persistence. It is about God's call to repentance. But it is also about God's mercy. Jonah knew God was a merciful God, that God both judged and forgave. However, he wasn't completely comfortable with the God who would repent. “God changed his mind” says the tenth verse. What a powerful word. Does it give you hope, or does it make you uncomfortable? God as judge, especially if it's your neighbor who is being judged, is fine. But a God who forgives, that is another matter. –– Hilda Parks

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

There is an eschatological intensity to Paul's statements about the “present form of the world” in 1 Corinthians 7. Most Christians choose to live as if the “appointed time” is a mysterious, distant possibility that does not concern us. And yet, even though we choose to marry and mourn and rejoice and participate in commerce, it is perhaps spiritually appropriate to live as if the “present form of the world is passing away.” All mystical portions of the great spiritual traditions connect with this concept of living as if there is no time, of living as if there is no time to waste.

Annie Dillard, a modern-day mystic, struggles to understand tragedy and God's presence in Holy the Firm (Harper and Row, 1977.) Thinking about a baptism she happened upon while walking near the ocean, she writes: “The surface of things outside the drops has fused. Christ himself and the others, and the brown warm wind, and hair, sky, the beach, the shattered water—all this has fused. It is the one glare of holiness; it is bare and unspeakable. There is no speech or language; there is nothing, no one thing, nor motion, nor time. There is only this everything. There is only this, and its bright and multiple noise…. You must rest now. I cannot rest you. For me there is, I am trying to tell you, no time.” [contributor unfortunately not cited]

Eric T. Myers, a former church musician, is pastor of Frederick Presbyterian Church in Frederick, Maryland, and adjunct professor of worship at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Hilda A. Parks, ordained in the United Methodist Church, also holds a PhD in Liturgical Studies from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey.

Homily Service 40, no. 2 (2006): 39-47.

Foolishness – 22 January 2017 – Third Sunday after the Epiphany

By God's grace, Jesus has called us to follow him and proclaim the foolish choice of fishermen to become apostles, the foolish and reckless love of God that led Jesus to battle death, the foolish message of a risen Savior who triumphed over the grave, and the grace of God that fools our senses coming to us in bread, wine, water and oil. Like the Galilean fishermen, we may be foolish choices for God's co-workers, but we have great bait. Now all we need is the patience of seasoned fishermen and fisherwomen. – John Paul Salay

Matthew 4:12-23

In today's Gospel reading, we see Jesus making an apparently foolish choice of followers. Jesus “saw two brothers. . . fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

Jesus could have gone to the temple and invited the priests to follow him, for they were “professionals”. . .  Jesus could have . . . invited the biblical scholars. . . for they knew the Bible and could easily explain it to others. Why then did Jesus go to a lake and invite fishermen to follow him?

People who fish know that bait, time and place, and patience are essential for catching fish. Jesus knew that these three things are also essential to catch people for God's reign. You need good bait to catch fish, something that attracts fish, and that often means different bait for different types of fish. You need good bait to catch people. The bait is a simple message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). Simply stated, “You need a change of heart and mind because God's reign is here!” . . . St. Gregory the Great, in his Pastoral Rule, encouraged preachers to tailor their message to their hearers. Although the message remains the same, the way in which we present the call to repentance and the coming of God's reign will vary. – John Paul Salay

Isaiah 9:1-4

The prophet speaks of hope despite the devastation caused by the invasion of the northern kingdom Israel by the Assyrians. . . in 733–732 B.C. The pain of the people under the cruelty exercised by the conquerors is graphically stated: the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Despite current conditions, the prophet announces that a light has shone (or will shine; the verb tense is unclear), the light of God's power when he reverses the fortunes of his people. – Joseph McHugh

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Oh, surprise, the church is quarrelling! And the apostle, who preached to bring the followers of Jesus together in Corinth, is not pleased.  

In a city. . . divided along philosophical lines (Cynics, Stoics, Epicureans), Paul understood the church to be a community. Paul was sent “to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.” The divisions in the church can do exactly that: empty the cross of its meaning.

Paradoxically, power is found where least expected—in the powerlessness of the crucified one. Where human thinking sees only foolishness, the believer finds the true wisdom of God. – Joseph McHugh

Pay special attention to vs. 17 and ponder what Paul means in terms of the preachers’ task. The preaching he did was never intended to be “eloquent wisdom,” he says. He did not want “eloquence” to overshadow the cross? How could it? Is he speaking of fancy flourishes, exacting use of Greek rhetorical devices, manipulative emotive language, focus on himself as a star preacher, something else?

Is he saying attention to himself can actually diminish the cross’s power? The church’s purpose can, indeed, become distorted by the glamor of a preacher. That charisma, charm, suave demeanor can take our eyes away from the cross and the power of a love that chose to die in order to bring forth life. The foolishness of the cross is revealed to be the wisdom preachers are called to nourish in the hearts and minds of the assembly. 

Joseph McHugh is a freelance writer who writes on scripture and other religious topics.

John Paul Salay is Loyola University’s Minister of Liturgy and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).

Homily Service 41, no. 1 (2007): 121-130.

Lamb of God – 15 January 2017 – Second Sunday after the Epiphany

John 1:29-42

This text contains several names for Jesus of Nazareth.

The Baptist calls Jesus the “Lamb of God.” In this phrase the word of carries the meaning provided by. The image comes from the fourth Servant Song (Isaiah 53:7ff) and/or from Exodus 12's description of the Passover lamb in Egypt. Unlike all cultic lambs before him, Jesus actually takes away our sins. . . .

Andrew and another disciple move from John to Jesus, whom they address as “Rabbi.” But after listening to him, they decide Jesus is the Messiah. Andrew announces the good news to his brother Peter.

No attempt should be made to reconcile this account with that of the Synoptics in which Peter, Andrew, James and John follow Jesus without any introduction. The focus here is on the Baptist's ministry of witness. – Joseph McHugh

In addition to the names Lamb of God, Rabbi, and Messiah, biblical witness also has brought us to assign the name Suffering Servant to the Christ, linking his life, death, and resurrection with the one described by the Prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 49:1-7

The Servant, representative of the remnant of faithful Israel, speaks to us today. His commission was to renew God's people, “to bring back Jacob to him” (v 5). The remnant (“survivors” in v 6) will experience freedom, but also embrace the obligation of bringing the message of the love of the true God to all the nations. . . .

This is also the mission of the church. We should not be surprised that many will reject the message of salvation. Our society also has its false gods of power and money. Many will not respond warmly to the Gospel message. Nonetheless, we, as servants of the Lord, must proclaim his message, else how will salvation reach “to the ends of the earth?” – Joseph McHugh

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Whether you call it evangelization, witnessing, or testifying, today's readings speak about proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to others. . . . The invitation is simple: “Come and see!”

John the Baptizer said, “'I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.' The next day… he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ ” (1:34, 36). John saw the Spirit descend on his relative Jesus when he was baptized. John heard God's voice thundering from heaven calling Jesus God's Beloved Son. John saw and heard, and then he spoke. That is what witnesses do. In a courtroom, witnesses are not called to convince the jury of anything. That is the lawyers' job. Witnesses are not called to condemn or pardon people. That is the judge's job. Witnesses are simply called to tell people what they saw and heard.

Like John the Baptizer and any other witness, we are called to tell people what we have seen and heard. . . . We have seen the Spirit's work in our own lives and have heard God's word to us. This started at our own baptism. While many of us cannot remember that event, we can speak about how the Spirit has led us from our infancy and how God's word has touched our lives, comforting and challenging us along our own personal spiritual journey. . . . All we need to do is speak about these things to others, just as John told others what he saw and heard.  – John Paul Salay

Joseph McHugh is a freelance writer who writes on scripture and other religious topics.

John Paul Salay is Loyola University’s Minister of Liturgy and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).

Homily Service 41, no. 1 (2007): 111-120.