1st Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 [11-20]
Our
first reading is the call of the prophet Samuel while he was a boy serving
under the priest Eli. Samuel’s mother
Hannah had dedicated him to the Lord’s service after his miraculous birth. His
first prophetic act is to deliver a harsh message to his mentor, signaling the
end of his priestly line. God is about
to do a new thing in raising up a king to rule over Israel. Samuel will become God’s “kingmaker.”
3:1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun
to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and
Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord,
where the ark of God was. 4 Then
the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!”
and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran
to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call;
lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 The
Lord called again, “Samuel!”
Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he
said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord,
and the word of the Lord had not
yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time.
And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then
Eli perceived that the LORD was
calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli
said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”
So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 Now
the Lord came and stood there,
calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant
is listening.”
[11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “See, I am about to
do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it
tingle. 12 On that day I will
fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning
to end. 13 For I have told him that
I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because
his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that
the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 Samuel lay there until morning;
then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord.
Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But
Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” 17 Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do
not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from
me of all that he told you.” 18 So
Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to
him.” 19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his
words fall to the ground. 20 And all
Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the
Lord.]
Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17
Psalm 139 is an amazing reflection on
the relationship between God and the individual. God is shown to be as much seeking
relationship with us as we are with God. God’s presence is shown as deep and
lasting; it is the context for both our creation and our living.
1 Lord, you have
searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
2 You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are acquainted with all my ways.
3 Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O Lord,
know it altogether.
4 You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.
5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.
12 For you yourself created my inmost parts; *
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
13 I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.
14 My body was not hidden from you, *
while I was being made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.
15 Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;
all of them were written in your book; *
they were fashioned day by day,
when as yet there was none of them.
16 How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *
how great is the sum of them!
17 If I were to count them, they would be more in number
than the sand; *
to count them all, my life span would need to
be like yours.
2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Paul begins this passage with a quote that may represent the
understanding of some Corinthians. There was confusion about Paul’s message of
salvation by grace and not by works. Some took that to mean, “All things are
lawful.” All things may be lawful, but not all things are helpful. One’s body
is to be revered as a temple of God’s Spirit, and so should not be used for
“fornication.” The context suggests that this word covers any sexual act that
does not intend, or is not an expression of, the unity of the partners.
6:12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial.
“All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the
stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is
meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise
us by his power. 15 Do you not know
that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of
Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that whoever is united to a
prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one
flesh.” 17 But anyone united to the
Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Shun
fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the
fornicator sins against the body itself. 19 Or
do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which
you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20
For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your
body.
Gospel
Reading: John 1:43-51
The great tragedy in
John’s Gospel is “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not
accept him” (1:11). Here the facts about
Jesus do not impress Nathanael. The Hebrew Scriptures do not even mention
Nazareth, so how can the Messiah come from there? Nathanael changes his mind when he actually
meets Jesus and Jesus reaches through his bravado for relationship.
1:43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said
to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip
was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about
whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from
Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to
him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and
see.” 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael
coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is
no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him,
“Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree
before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael
replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I
told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than
these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very
truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending
and descending upon the Son of Man.”
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
and the Psalm translation are from The Book
of Common Prayer. Commentaries are
by Epiphany ESources, E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.epiphanyesources.com , copyright
© 2018. All rights reserved. Permission
is given to copy for congregational use, with attribution.
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