Midweek Musings for Epiphany 6

Sunday, February 13, 2011
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany / Lectionary 6

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Debbie Johnson

INTRODUCTION
In today's reading from Deuteronomy we are called to choose life by loving and obeying God. Much of today's gospel reading echoes portions of the Ten Commandments. Jesus' instructions to the crowd reveal a pattern of behavior that honors both God and the neighbor, resulting in life and health for the whole community. We, too, are invited to embrace these commandments, not out of fear of retribution, but because God has promised that to do so means life for us.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

O God, the strength of all who hope in you, because we are weak mortals we accomplish nothing good without you. Help us to see and understand the things we ought to do, and give us grace and power to do them, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

Deuteronomy 30:15–20

The Lord sets before the people of God a clear choice. Life and prosperity will come to the faithful; loss of the land will be the consequence of disobedience. Choosing life entails loving the Lord and holding fast to him. Life in God's presence presupposes the promise made to the ancestors.

¹⁵See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. ¹⁶If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. ¹⁷But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, ¹⁸I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 119:1–8

Happy are they who follow the teaching of the LORD. (Ps. 119:1)

¹Happy are they whose ^| way is blameless,

who follow the teaching ^| of the LORD!

²Happy are they who observe ^| your decrees

and seek you with ^| all their hearts,

³who never do ^| any wrong,

but always walk ^| in your ways.

⁴You laid down ^| your commandments,

that we should ^| fully keep them.

⁵Oh, that my ways were made ^| so direct

that I might ^| keep your statutes!

⁶Then I should not be ^| put to shame,

when I regard all ^| your commandments.

⁷I will thank you with ^| a true heart,

when I have learned your ^| righteous judgments.

⁸I will ^| keep your statutes;

do not utter- ^| ly forsake me.

Second Reading

1 Corinthians 3:1–9

Human leaders in the church are not the ones who control ministry. Rather they are fellow workers who belong to God, the one who truly controls and continuously empowers the ministry of the church.

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. ²I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, ³for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? ⁴For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely human?
⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. ⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. ⁹For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building.

Gospel

Matthew 5:21–37

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exhorts his followers to embrace standards of righteousness that exceed legal requirements and traditional expectations.

²¹You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' ²²But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
²⁷You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
³¹It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' ³²But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
³³Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' ³⁴But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

MUSINGS

For those who are curious as to who gets what to write about each week, I think it is pretty random. Kristin asks if we are interested in continuing, we say yes or now, and she then sends us a schedule. Someone it seems that I get these to think on at the most opportune times. So this week, you get my musings! I am writing this while sitting in my parents living room on a trip to California having made the trek this week for the funeral of my Uncle, Uncle Bud. The second verse of the old Testament references observing the commandments and the one that comes to mind today is to "honor your mother and father". Yes, even as adults it is important to remember this commandments as they are still our parents! In the Gospel Jesus tells us that we are to make right with our brothers and sisters. Sometimes this too is difficult! Family is central to who we are and as we follow the command of God ... to LOVE one another then we will trive and grow. And knowing that FORGIVENESS if part of love. That we will mess up even when we love and we need to be forgiven. And the others will mess up and we need to FORGIVE.

LET US PRAY

For parents and children to love and forgive

For brothers and sisters to love and forgive

For those living in communities and countries where civil unrest is presnt

For warmth in the cold

For courage to step out in faith

" If we really want to love
we must learn how to forgive"
Mother Teresa