The Collect of the Day
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of
our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made
known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The First Reading: Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12)
This reading is from the third section of the Book
of Isaiah (56-66), usually dated from the years soon after the return of the
exiles from Babylon. All was not well in
the reconstituted community (see also Haggai 2 and Zechariah 7). There is a back and forth in the reading. The
people complain that their acts of piety are not answered (v. 3), but God
desires a different kind of fast—one from injustice, servitude, oppression and
poverty.
58:1 Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to
the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet
day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a
nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their
God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. 3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why
humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you serve your own interest on
your fast day, and oppress all your workers. 4 Look,
you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such
fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day to
humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in
sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 Is
not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the
thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the
hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to
cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the
dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before
you, the glory of the Lord shall
be your rear guard. 9 Then you
shall call, and the Lord will
answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
[If
you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of
evil, 10 if you offer your food to
the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise
in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. 11 The Lord
will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make
your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of
water, whose waters never fail. 12 Your
ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many
generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of
streets to live in.]
Psalm 112:1-9, (10)
1 Hallelujah!
Happy
are they who fear the Lord *
and have great delight in
his commandments!
2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; *
the generation of the
upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in their house, *
and their righteousness
will last for ever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright; *
the righteous are
merciful and full of compassion.
5 It is good for them to be generous in lending *
and to manage their
affairs with justice.
6 For they will never be shaken; *
the righteous will be
kept in everlasting remembrance.
7 They will not be afraid of any evil rumors; *
their heart is right;
they put their trust in the Lord.
8 Their heart is established and will not shrink,
*
until they see their
desire upon their enemies.
9 They have given freely to the poor, *
and their righteousness
stands fast for ever;
they will hold up their
head with honor.
[10 The
wicked will see it and be angry;
they
will gnash their teeth and pine away; *
The Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16)
Paul
begins this passage by recalling his first visit to Corinth. He then goes on to the wisdom he speaks to
the mature, a wisdom from God, which is a mystery, revealed only through the
Spirit. The quote in verse 9 is from
Isaiah 64:4; that in verse 16 from Isaiah 40:13.
2:1 When I came to you, brothers
and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty
words or wisdom. 2 For I decided to
know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I came to you in weakness and in fear
and in much trembling. 4 My speech
and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so
that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. 6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom,
though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are
doomed to perish. 7 But we speak
God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our
glory. 8 None of the rulers of this
age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory. 9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God
has prepared for those who love him”—10 these
things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches
everything, even the depths of God. 11 For
what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is
within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand
the gifts bestowed on us by God.
[13 And we speak of these
things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting
spiritual things to those who are spiritual. 14 Those
who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are
foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are
spiritually discerned. 15 Those who
are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one
else’s scrutiny. 16 “For who has
known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of
Christ.]
The Holy Gospel: Matthew 5:13-20
The Sermon on the Mount continues with two distinct sections. The first speaks of discipleship using two
metaphors: light and salt. Light is a
metaphor common to many religious systems. Salt figured in Israel’s covenants
with God (Leviticus 2:13, Numbers 18:19) and in the purification of sacrifices
(Exodus 30:35). The second section may
be the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, with its desire to make it clear that
Jesus did not come to do away with the law.
For Matthew, Jesus is the law fulfilled.
5:13 Jesus said, “You are the salt
of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be
restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled
under foot. 14 You are the light of
the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15
No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but
on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine
before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your
Father in heaven. 17 Do not think
that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish
but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell
you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a
letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least
of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least
in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called
great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For
I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
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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