Epiphany 5A Readings & Commentaries

Let your light shine before others.

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.

1^st 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)

Psalm 112 is a sequel to Psalm 111. Both are acrostic poems. Psalm 111 praises God, and Psalm 112 turns that praise into a description of wise and faithful living. God is to be praised for his faithfulness and justice (Ps. 111), and we are led to live just such a way of life.

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 desires of the wicked will perish.]

2^nd 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.]

Gospel Reading:  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.  All rights reserved.  The Collect of the Day and the Psalm translation are from The Book of Common Prayer.  Commentaries are copyright © 2020, Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY  14843, www.epiphanyesources.com. All rights reserved. Permission is given to copy for congregational use.