The Collect of the Day
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| Behold the Lamb of God, by Allan Crite, owned by Michael Hopkins & John Bradley |
The First Reading: Isaiah 49:1-7
Our first reading today is the second
of the Servant Songs in Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40—55). The first one (42:1-9) was our first reading
last week. We read this passage this
morning and, as Christians, logically link the Servant to the Jesus whom John
proclaims in our Gospel reading. In its
original context we do not know who the Servant was; most scholars believe it
was meant to be the entirety of God’s chosen people Israel. What is clear in this passage is that the
Servant has a mission not only to Israel, but to the entire world, a major
theme of Second Isaiah.
49:1 Listen to me, O coastlands, pay
attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord
called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. 2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the
shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid
me away. 3 And he said to me, “You
are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 4 But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have
spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.” 5 And now the Lord
says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength—6 he says, “It is too light a thing that you
should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the
survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my
salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”7 Thus
says the Lord, the Redeemer of
Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the
slave of rulers, “Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall
prostrate themselves, because of the Lord,
who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Psalm 40:1-12
Psalm 40
is a psalm of thanksgiving with a hint of lament at its end. There is a
definite structure to this psalm. Verses 1-3 are a testimonial of well-being at
the hands of God. Verse 5 may very well
be a response by those gathered to hear the testimonial, or perhaps by a
priest. Verse 6 and following is a
direct address to God. This may have
been an actual liturgical structure.
1 I waited patiently upon the Lord;
*
he stooped to me and
heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;*
he set my feet upon a
high cliff and made my footing sure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; *
many shall see, and
stand in awe, and put their trust in the Lord.
4 Happy are they who trust in the Lord!
*
they do not resort to
evil spirits or turn to false gods.
5 Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God!
how great your wonders and
your plans for us! *
there is none who can
be compared with you.
6 Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! *
but they are more
than I can count.
7 In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure *
(you have given me
ears to hear you);
8 Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, *
and so I said,
“Behold, I come.
9 In the roll of the book it is written concerning me: *
‘I love to do your
will, O my God; your law is deep in my heart.’”
10 I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; *
behold, I did not restrain
my lips; and that, O Lord, you
know.
11 Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your
faithfulness and your deliverance; *
I have not concealed
your love and faithfulness from the
great
congregation.
12 You are the Lord;
do not withhold your
compassion from me; *
The Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Today we begin a continuous reading
through the First Letter to the Corinthians during the season after the
Epiphany (we will not get the entire way through; we’ll pick it up again next
Epiphany in Year B). 1 Corinthians was
written to a church in some distress and conflict and Paul’s primary message is
the call of Christians to live in community. The greeting of this letter is
typical for Paul, as is the thanksgiving for the local church. It is interesting that here Paul takes a
reassuring tone, since later on in the letter he will be quite challenging.
1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle
of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to
those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with
all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both
their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give
thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given
you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every
way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind—6 just as the testimony of Christ has been
strengthened among you—7 so that
you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our
Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also
strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by
him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Holy Gospel: John 1:29-42
On the Second Sunday
after the Epiphany we always read from a portion of the latter half of the
first chapter of John’s Gospel or the beginning of the second chapter. This is
a long tradition in the Church, driven by the ancient need to tell the Cana
story close to the story of Jesus’ baptism (it is the Gospel on this Sunday in
Year C). This passage is essentially John’s story of Jesus’ baptism, but the
central moment here is John’s proclamation, “Behold the Lamb of God.” The story
ends with Andrew’s bringing of his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. Even the
future leader of the church needed someone to lead the way.
1:29 John saw Jesus coming toward
him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is he of whom I said,
‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him; but I came
baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who
sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit
descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen and have testified
that this is the Son of God.” 35 The
next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he
exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The
two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following,
he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which
translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came
and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about
four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One
of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s
brother. 41 He first found his
brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated
Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to
Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be
called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
The Scripture
quotations (except for the psalm) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.
All rights reserved. The Collect
of the Day and the Psalm translation are from The Book of Common Prayer. Commentaries
are copyright © 2017, Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.epiphanyesources.com. All
rights reserved.
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