February 1, 2015
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
Rev. Amy Welin:
I had an amazing experience last week. Through the intervention of my Lutheran friend, a woman was able to receive emergency medical treatment in a private office. There was no charge for the services. In the middle of the appointment, I had an insight into what the realm of God may look like. A Muslim woman in a hijab is experiencing the first step in healing. An Episcopal priest holds her hand and kneels in silent prayer. The Jewish doctor and an assistant do their work. I have no doubt that this was an act of God. On the way home, the woman and I talk about the goodness of God and the insanity of “religious war.” We find we have a lot in common. God is amazing.
When was the last time you felt amazed? Was it a recent experience – perhaps a glimpse of the stars in the clear winter sky? Did you witness a miracle or sense the presence of God? Or is amazement a long-ago memory? Was your observation of the wondrous a good feeling or a negative one?
After all the anticipation, last Monday’s snowstorm offered central Connecticut not much in the realm of the amazing. At the same time, I suspect that no one in Boston hopes that tomorrow’s storm will be more impressive.
It was amazing that this week the NFL has developed a sudden interest in gas physics. The law firm hired by the NFL to investigate possibly deflated footballs has asked physics professors from Columbia University to consult with them regarding the AFC championship game. The professors will almost certainly be neutral: they are probably Giants fans anyway.
Sometimes the marvel of scripture is lost on us. Thousands of years and the experiences of our own lifetimes may have dulled our capacity to be amazed by passages from the Bible. But these are not mere stories. They are the Word of God. And while the Episcopal tradition does not read the scripture as literal words from God (meaning God did not dictate stories into the ears of the writers of those biblical books), we do read them as account of divine wisdom, teaching, and encouragement.
I wonder whether we can allow the scripture to amaze us in new ways? How can scripture help us to form our responses to the questions and struggles of our twenty-first century lives? How can our readings grow our faith, help us see God still at work in the world, and encourage us to participate in God’s ongoing work to love and bless all people?
Let’s think about today’s readings and look for moments of God’s amazing love and work.
In the lesson from Deuteronomy, Moses teaches the people of Israel how to discern whether a prophet brings a word from God or not. This is one part of a much longer teaching about how YHWH wants Israel to live once they come to the Promised Land. We can certainly hear this lesson as a warning about false prophets, and we could probably call to mind a few people from history who fill that role. And can we imagine that this can say something to us today?
Is it possible for humans to actually hear or know what God needs to tell us? If someone told you that God had a message for you, would you assume they were unstable?
Can we identify some modern prophets, who call us back to righteousness and justice, who remind us that God expects great things from faithful people?
Paul’s First Letter to the People of Corinth addresses an issue active in the little Christian community there. Eating meat has spiritual and political implications. Meat sacrificed to idols was all around Corinth – it was consumed at community meals in temples to various gods. The question of the origin of one’s meal was more controversial than the current question of organic from Whole Foods versus inexpensive from ShopRite. This was about accidentally participating in a pagan religious practice, and the impact that could have on the faith of others. Paul asserts that the bigger question is about the integrity of the community. He tells the faithful to make decisions based on what impact they will have on the weaker, less mature members of the community.
What active issues of our time invite us to see God’s amazing perspective on human life? If God really loves all people, how would God invite us to care for all members of the divine family?
Can we hear the Word of God inviting us to consider living our lives in amazing ways, as a statement of spiritual conviction? From matters of diet, to our investments, to the cars we buy – can we imagine the positive impact our decisions can have not only for our families but also for the rest of the world?
The Gospel of Mark invites us to be amazed at Jesus. He teaches with the authority of a prophet who is in relationship with God. He has the spiritual authority to exorcize demons. Beginning here and continuing through the rest of the gospel, he reveals the coming of the reign of God, through word and deed. The miracles are impressive. But it is the person of Jesus who is really astonishing. He embodies God, bringing the divine into the human, so that humans can be made eternal and holy.
Who has authority in our lives? Most of us live under some sort of authority. The boss. The spouse. The bishop. Is it amazing that our ultimate authority loves us whether we obey or not, transforms us into the holy to save us from our fallibility?
Are we willing to look for the reign of God among us, the divine in the earthly? Are we willing to consider that God is genuinely interested in us as individuals, and longing to have a relationship with us?
Epiphany is the season for us to celebrate and consider the ways by which God in Christ becomes visible and known to the world. Epiphany is not just about longing for and acknowledging past manifestations of Jesus’ greatness and the gospel’s power. It is also about discovering what merits our amazement in our current and longed-for experiences.
In what ways are we still willing to be amazed by God, and by God’s inclination to upend our assumptions about what’s possible? Where is that light shining in your life?
Let us pray with ee Cummings:
We thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes