Collect and Readings for Third Sunday of Epiphany – Isaiah 9.1-4, Psalm 27.1, 4-9, 1 Corinthians 1.10-18, Matthew 4.12 -23
The Prayer for today
Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence:
renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty
power; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
At the time when Isaiah of Jerusalem spoke of the great light of hope appearing in the darkness, and the yoke of oppression finally being shattered to bring people freedom, the people of Israel were threatened with a takeover bid and exile by Assyria, if they did not sort their values and reconcile themselves to their God. All their dreams as a nation could be wiped away if they were taken captive, under the yoke of their conquerors, away from their own beloved land, their city, and their temple. (And eventually, through the Babylonians, this did happen.)
Any of us who have watched hopes and dreams crash in pieces around us will have some idea of how such an experience takes us on a journey through questioning, self-doubt, anger, guilt, reassessment and eventually, hopefully, into a new maturity born of acceptance greater self-knowledge, forgiveness and the value of encountering human suffering.
In their collective experience, the people are given hope, both in the short term (Jerusalem was indeed saved from the Assyrian threat) and, as we now can see, in the long term, since Jesus startlingly clearly fulfils the prophet’s words as he treads the ground of Galilee, preaching, teaching and healing. The liberation he proclaims is not tied to one generation whose threatened oppression is averted, but, as Paul emphasis in his letter to the church in Corinth, it also applies to every person sensing the liberating power of God’s forgiving love which can set them free to live life to the full.
Some things to reflect on:
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· Find Zebulun and Naphtali on a map. Are there any areas of land (either geographical or spiritual) where we need to invite Jesus to walk?
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· What good news do the people need him to preach there?
God bless
Rev’d Fiona Robinson