Epiphany 4

Sunday, January 30, 2011
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany / Lectionary 4

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

INTRODUCTION
Who are the blessed ones of God? For Micah, they are those who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. For Paul, they are the ones who find wisdom in the weakness of the cross. For Jesus, they are the poor, mourners, the meek, those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers. In baptism we find our blessed identity and calling in this countercultural way of living and serving.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

Holy God, you confound the world's wisdom in giving your kingdom to the lowly and the pure in heart. Give us such a hunger and thirst for justice, and perseverance in striving for peace, that in our words and deeds the world may see the life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

Micah 6:1–8

With the mountains and the foundations of the earth as the jury, God brings a lawsuit against Israel. God has "wearied" Israel by his long history of saving acts. God does not want or expect lavish sacrifices to attempt to earn divine favor. Rather God empowers his people to do justice, to love loyalty to God, and to walk shrewdly in God's service.

Hear what the LORD says:
Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD,
and you enduring foundations of the earth;
for the LORD has a controversy with his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3"O my people, what have I done to you?
In what have I wearied you? Answer me!
4For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and redeemed you from the house of slavery;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
5O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the saving acts of the LORD."
6"With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
8He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 15

LORD, who may abide upon your holy hill? (Ps. 15:1)
1LORD, who may dwell in your | tabernacle?
Who may abide upon your | holy hill?
2Those who lead a blameless life and do | what is right,
who speak the truth | from their heart; R
3they do not slander with the tongue, they do no evil | to their friends;
they do not cast discredit up- | on a neighbor.
4In their sight the wicked are rejected, but they honor those who | fear the LORD.
They have sworn upon their health and do not take | back their word.
5They do not give their money in hope of gain, nor do they take bribes a- | gainst the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be | overthrown. R

Second Reading

1 Corinthians 1:18–31

According to the world’s standards of power and might, the message of the cross seems stupid and offensive. Yet this word reveals the paradoxical way God has chosen to work power and salvation through weakness, rejection, and suffering. Hence the message of the cross becomes true wisdom and power for believers.

18For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.
26Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, 29so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

Gospel

Matthew 5:1–12

Jesus opens the Sermon on the Mount by naming those who are blessed in the reign of God.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Reflection

“What does the Lord require of you?” It’s a question I ask myself quite frequently in life and ministry. What do I have to do to please God or sometimes, perhaps appease God? In Micah the writer asks if massive numbers of burnt offerings with calves a year old, thousands of rivers of oil or even one’s first born would do the trick? What is necessary in order to properly live out the life of one who calls God God?

The answer is quite simple actually; do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. I’m not sure if any one of those is easier than the others, they all seem to be tied together as I read the text. Walking humbly with God might seem the simplest to understand yet I’m not quite sure what even that means. And then one gets into justice and asks the question: “Whose justice are we talking about?”

This Sunday the ELCA will celebrate Reconciled in Christ Sunday. While the focus for some is on welcoming persons of all sexual orientations, at its very heart is the drive to welcome all people from all walks of life, all backgrounds and all abilities; there is no one to be excluded from the church and its ministries.

I think perhaps that’s what Micah is getting at when he talks of justice. To live our lives as God has shared and shown his throughout history, moving toward God’s people constantly even when they moved away, forgiving us when we can’t forgive ourselves and caring for each and everyone of us, no matter who we are. It’s a place we can begin to understand the call of the prophet, it’s a place we can begin to ground our lives.

Let Us Pray
That we might be open to all people and welcoming despite our difference
For the courage to invite others into the house of the Lord
For those who are battered, abused and left behind
To be open to God’s calling and Spirit
For healing and civility in this country and around the world.

Quote
The ultimate measure of a person (man) is not where she/he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where she/he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963