1st Reading
(Track 1): Jeremiah 18:1-11
The prophet Jeremiah uses
the metaphor of the potter. (The prophet Isaiah uses this metaphor as well,
although spread out in four places: 29:16, 41:25, 45:9, 64:8). The point is
clear: the Lord is in utter control of his people. Yet, like all good
metaphors, there is a sense in which the comparison holds true, and a sense in
which it does not, for unlike the clay, Israel has a choice, and that choice
can affect the Lord’s choice: (see
the “if…then” clauses in verses 8 and 10). Amendment and mercy are part of how
the relationship between Israel and the Lord
work. However, verse 12 (which we do not read this morning) makes it clear
Israel’s choice has been made: “We will follow our own plans, and…act according
to the stubbornness of our evil will.”
18:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2 “Come, go down to the potter’s
house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3
So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at
his wheel. 4 The vessel he was
making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into
another vessel, as seemed good to him. 5 Then
the word of the Lord came to
me: 6 Can
I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s
hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7
At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that
I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8
but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its
evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9 And at another moment I may declare
concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 but if it does evil in my sight, not
listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had
intended to do to it. 11 Now,
therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you
and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and
amend your ways and your doings.
Psalm 139:1-5, 13-17
(Track 1)
The first seventeen verses of Psalm 139 are among the most
effective poetry in the psalter. They are a meditation on the individual’s deep
relationship with the God who seeks us out and knows us. God is not only the
creator of all life, but of each individual life as well.
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.
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: Philemon 1-21
We read almost the entirety of this letter, short four verses which
comprise some personal remarks. Philemon
is a reminder that reading the letters of the New Testament is literally
reading someone else’s mail. You only have half the conversation in hand. It
appears from this half that Onesimus, a slave of Philemon of Colossae, has run
away to Paul, who is either in Ephesus or in Rome in prison. Has he literally
“run away?” Or is he in trouble and needs a third-party mediator (not
considered “running away” under Greek slave laws)? At any rate, Paul is asking
Philemon to take him back not as a slave but as a brother in Christ, an equal. Paul
is at his diplomatic best in making this request. The main point of the letter
for us is that Baptism changes our status with one another. Social status among
us is erased. We are all one. Why didn’t Paul take this a step further and
declare that slavery is wrong? We don’t know. We can only own up to the fact, mourn,
and repent that the Church also failed to take this further step for almost
1,500 years.
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2 to
Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your
house: 3 Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 When I remember you in my prayers, I always
thank my God 5 because I hear of
your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may
become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. 7 I have indeed received much joy and
encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been
refreshed through you, my brother. 8 For
this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9 yet I would rather appeal to you on the
basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of
Christ Jesus. 10 I am appealing to
you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he
is indeed useful both to you and to me. 12 I
am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that he
might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your
consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something
forced. 15 Perhaps this is the reason
he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever,
16 no longer as a slave but more
than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both
in the flesh and in the Lord. 17 So
if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes
you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I,
Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about
your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes,
brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in
Christ. 21 Confident of your
obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
Gospel Reading: Luke 14:25-33
Our Gospel reading does
not comfort, it disturbs. Jesus is
probably using hyperbole (exaggeration), a common device in Semitic discourse
of his day. Jesus can’t actually mean
for us to hate parents and abandon children, but he certainly means for us to
be serious about our priorities, and not to be surprised when living the Gospel
causes conflict even among our closest family and friends. This is a Gospel
passage about making hard choices in following the way of Jesus.
14:25
Now large
crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate
father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life
itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever
does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a
tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough
to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when
he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin
to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This
fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another
king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand
to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is
still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my
disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
The Scripture
quotations 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. The translation of the Psalm is from The Book of Common Prayer. Commentaries are copyright © 2019
Epiphany Esources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY
14843, www.EpiphanyEsources.com.
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