04 February 2024 - Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

 

Theme

This week’s readings speak boldly of the greatness (transcendence), but also the accessibility (imminence), of God. The same God who created the universe and everything in it continues to care for humanity and will provide strength to the weak, healing to the broken, and liberation to the oppressed. In Mark, Jesus continues to heal and drive out demons. In Corinthians, Paul preaches the Gospel so that others can experiences God’s gifts. The Psalmist declares God’s goodness and that God delights in those who fear Him. In Isaiah, God’s glory will be revealed as the weary renew their hope in God and grow strong.

Scripture Readings

  • Mark 1:29-39 - After teaching with authority in the temple, Jesus visits Simon and Andrew and heals their mother-in-law. That night, people brought a whole bunch of sick and demon-possessed people to Jesus to heal. Jesus healed many, but never let the demons speak because they knew who he was. Very early the next morning, Jesus went off to a solitary place to pray. After being informed that everyone was looking for him, Jesus says they should go a other nearby villages so he could preach there also, which is why he came. He traveled through Galilee, preaching and driving out demons.
  • 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 - Paul cannot boast when preaching because he is compelled to preach. The gift of preaching is being able to offer the Gospel to others free of charge. Although he is free, Paul has made himself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. He became a Jew to the Jews, under law to those living under law, like one without the law to those without the law, and weak to the weak. He became all things to all people in order to save some. He does this for the sake of the gospel, that he may share in its blessings.
  • Psalm 147:1-11,20c - It is good to sing praises to God. God gathers the outcasts, heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. God created the universe and knows it’it's intricrate natures. God doesn’t delight in the strong, but in those who fear him and hope in his steadfast love.
  • Isaiah 40:21-31 - The world and its people are like mere grasshoppers when confronted with the greatness of God. He reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No-one can compare to God. He cares for people, giving strength to the weary, power to the weak. “Even youths grow tired and weary, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Personal Application

The bible is full of passages declaring God’s greatness. There are just as many passages of people experiencing healing from God, especially in Mark’s gospel we are journeying through during year B of the lectionary. This week’s readings bring these two realities together.

The God who created the entire Cosmos has not separated Himself from His creation. Rather, God continues to reside in and amongst His creation, actively bringing about healing and restoration for all who seek God. As Isaiah says this week, “those who hope in the Lord will have their strength renewed; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will grow strong and not be weary.”

Are there any parts of your life where you have been feeling weary or weak? Do you sometimes struggle to believe that God, the Almighty Creator of the universe, really cares about your unique, individual needs? What about Jesus’ story? Does it perhaps help to consider Jesus walking from town to town, interacting with normal people like you and me, and healing their pains and struggles? What would it mean for you to accept and believe that the God who created you and calls you by name desires your full and whole healing and renewal?

Communal Application

The scripture readings for this week do a great job at bringing together the tensions between the transcendent God who lives above and beyond the world and the imminent God that lives in and among the world, permeating every part of creation.

The biblical authors, as well as churches and Christians today, don’t always hold this tension well. I do not blame them as it is a difficult balance to find. Often, we tend to elevate either God’s transcendence or imminence at the expense of the other.

However, when we learn to hold these two realities in a healthy balance, we are able to offer God the respect and awe that only God deserves, while realising the unique, personal gifts, healing and relationship that God offers each and every one of us.

How do we, as churches and Christians, ensure that our worship and our lives are portraying the reality of a transcendent, yet imminent, God? How do we ensure that we are offering our best selves to God while helping others realise that God desires to journey with them in a deep, personal relationship?

Comments

Post a Comment