Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (B)—1 Corinthians 8:1–13; Mark 1:21–28

 

  Maurycy Gottlieb: Christ Preaching at Capernaum (1878-9)

National Museum, Warsaw

1 Corinthians 8:1–13

 

On Second Thought

 

Some prohibitions may not harm,

But if another, not so armed

With knowledge, sees you flout some law,

And thus, from what is good is drawn

Away, then, in effect, you've caused

The harm they think is done. Thus, pause,

And always act for them with love,

Forgetting self—like God above.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him.

Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

 

It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.

 

+  +  +

Mark 1:21–28

(Please page down to see the music.)

 

Jesus of Nazareth Went to Capernaum

 

Jesus of Naz’reth went to Capernaum, 

To the synagogue to teach,

People, astounded, at his wisdom

Saw his power all to reach.

Jesus of Naz’reth, as we pray,

Please teach us, reach us, we beseech you;

Visit your people with your power;

With your life, our lives renew.

 

Into the room there came a man

Whose ranting, crying stole the show;

What would Jesus tell the madman,

All the people sought to know.

Jesus of Naz’reth, are you able 

To cast out, blast out demons today?

Your love saves us in each hour;

Come to us without delay!

 

Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit

While the people were amazed;

“He commands, and they obey him!”

Thus his name to all was praised.

Jesus of Naz’reth, we are yours,

We follow and hallow your will for peace;

You have called us to your purpose,

So your love may here increase.

 

God has called us to be faithful

In an age of fear and strife;

War and greed are now our demons,

But in Christ we have new life;

Jesus of Naz’reth, we your people

Now go, to show your gift of grace;

Give us courage you to follow,

That your church may all embrace!

 

Scott L. Barton

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

I wrote Jesus of Nazareth Went to Capernaum for the Mark 1:21-28 text in 2006, which was also the 250th anniversary year of the birth of Mozart. The tune is the familiar theme from Piano Sonata no. 11 in A major, K 331. Dr. Arthur Frackenpohl, the late emeritus professor of music at the Crane School of Music, S.U.N.Y. Potsdam, arranged the tune and had it engraved. 

You are free to print the hymn for congregational use. It's been sung in Philadelphia, Houston, Chicago, Northern New York, Washington D.C., and perhaps elsewhere.

Grace, peace and good singing!

Third Sunday after the Epiphany (B)—1 Corinthians 7:29–31; and Jonah 3:1–5, [6–9], 10 + Mark 1:14–20

          

     Duccio di Buoninsegna (d. 1319)

         The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew (1308/13 National Gallery of Art

 

1 Corinthians 7:29–31

 

What If?

 

What if we don't have

All the time in the world

To welcome a stranger

To touch a beggar

To say "I love you"

To act kindly 

Before kindness is given

To let loose the better angels

Of our nature?

 

Oh. 

 

We don't?

 

Scott L. Barton

 

I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

 

+  +  +

 

Jonah 3:1–5, [6–9], 10 + Mark 1:14–20

 

The Shortest Sermon in the Book

 

The shortest sermon in the Book,

Five Hebrew words is all it took

To turn huge Nineveh around;

We know its size, for on the ground

A three-day's walk is sixty miles!

And thus the author makes us smile

To see what little Jonah said

To turn the whole place on its head.

 

With Jesus, "Son," "Beloved" named,

In Galilee, he then proclaimed

Good news; and with a scant nine words,

In Simon and in Andrew stirred

A calling deep—and so profound,

They left their nets without a sound;

Next, James and John could not resist

In heaven's cause then to enlist.

 

The Faithful One, who ever seeks,

Will come to those who hear, and speak.

Apparently, the sermon's length

Cannot predict the preacher's strength;

The anecdotes and wisdom deep,

From books and web that preachers reap,

Can hardly substitute for when

God would our lives begin again.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

[Note: Here are the Hebrew and Greek words in Jonah 3:4 and Mark 1:17 spoken by Jonah and Jesus:

 

עוֹד אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם, וְנִינְוֵה נֶהְפָּכֶת

 

Δεῦτε  ὀπίσω  μου,  καὶ  ποιήσω  ὑμᾶς  γενέσθαι  ἁλιεῖς  ἀνθρώπων]

 

 

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

 

[When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.’]

 

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

 

+++

 

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’

 

 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Second Sunday after the Epiphany (B)—Psalm 139:1–6, 13–18; 1 Samuel 3:1–20 and John 1:43–51

You can still get the book of these poems for Year B from me (and from Wipf and Stock, Amazon, etc.) With 107 poems for all the Sundays plus special days of the year, I hope this will be for you a wonderful little book to hold, pore over, and use each week for the sake of your own imagination and faith, preaching and study. With two indices: one with all the 128 biblical references, not only to the specific lectionary texts, but to all other texts referred to in the poems; and the other with all the titles, such as “Real Fundamentalism,” “Job’s Non-Hollywood Ending,” “Does Jesus Still Thumb His Nose?” and “I Never Liked to Preach This Text.” You can order from me for a signed copy, inscribed to yourself or a giftee, for only $14, which includes shipping and tax. Email me at scott.l.barton[at sign]gmail.com for payment details (Venmo, Zelle, check).

Marc Chagall:

Le jeune Samuel, 

serviteur du sacrificateur 

Eli et couchant dans la chambre

de son maître, s'entend appeler par Dieu 

 

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

 

Astonishing

 

Before genetics, I wonder: How did the Psalmist know

About that knitting of our DNA in utero?

Before geology, how did this ancient, faithful seer

Know we are literally dust from earth, to God endeared?

The writer says we're fearfully and wonderfully made,

The Maker's thoughts so vast there is no way they might be weighed,

And though they number more than all the grains of all the sand,

It's so astonishing I'm with this LORD, still, at the end.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; 

you discern my thoughts from far away.

You search out my path and my lying down, 

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue, 

O Lord, you know it completely.

You hem me in, behind and before, 

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; 

it is so high that I cannot attain it.

 

For it was you who formed my inward parts; 

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 

Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.

My frame was not hidden from you, 

when I was being made in secret, 

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. 

In your book were written 

all the days that were formed for me, 

when none of them as yet existed.

How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! 

How vast is the sum of them!

I try to count them—they are more than the sand; 

I come to the end—I am still with you.

 

+  +  +

 

1 Samuel 3:1-20 and John 1:43-51

 

Means of Grace

 

There's nothing like telling the truth!

So Samuel and Nathanael learned,

They told what they heard,

The meaning, unslurred,

And another truth to them returned.

 

In Samuel's case, somehow, he knew,

From the voice that kept calling that night,

What old Eli should know—

Though the news was his woe,

And though bad news is rarely polite.

 

Nathanael had heard, nothing good

From backwater Naz'reth could come,

So he challenged Phil's cry

The Messiah was nigh—

To the latest craze he'd not succumb!

 

Thus, speaking what they thought down deep,

Despite worry what others might say,

With their clear lack of guile,

Sure the Maker then smiled,

And astonishing things then displayed.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

 

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. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 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. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 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. 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.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 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. 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. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

 

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. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 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. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.” 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. But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” 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.” 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.”

 

As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

+  +  +

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 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.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 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.”

Baptism of the Lord (B)—Genesis 1:1–5 and Mark 1:4–11

 

He Qi: Baptism of Jesus

in The Art of He Qi

Genesis 1:1–5

 

And God Saw

 

When, out of chaos, God called light

And saw that it was good,

The writers of this text are clear

What must be understood

Is not that God knew all along

Just how that light would shine;

But rather, to create from scratch—

To try!—marks the divine.

This is the thing that makes God, God,

Who makes all things anew;

As New Year’s, like some holy writ,

In joy, makes its debut.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

 

+  +  +

 

Mark 1:4–11

 

The Turning Season

 

It's not a repentance sandwich!

I know; it seems to be.

Two weeks before the birth of Christ

We heard from John the B.

And now it's two weeks on, and he

Appears around the bend;

Good God! With Christmas, didn't such things

Meet their joyful end?

 

But Jesus, now grown up, just smiles,

And to the water walks

To show that we've abused this word

With our religious talk;

It's not that you've been bad, and must

Be good, for goodness' sake,

But, like him, can you pride and fear

And ego finally shake?

 

Repentance, I am glad to say,

Is never the end game,

God doesn't groove on all our sin,

Our failures or our shame.

Inside us all, our essence is

The grace by which we live,

Such grace, the Spirit still proclaims,

Such grace, this voice still gives.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

 

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Epiphany—Isaiah 60:1–6; Matthew 2:1–12; also Micah 5:2–5a

 

John of Hildesheim: The Story of the The Three Kings retold by Margaret B. Freeman

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1955, 1978

 

Off By Nine Miles

 

You have to be careful in choosing a text

When trying to figure what God will do next;

The wise men, it seems, had Isaiah in mind,

For in chapter 60, the prophet assigned

Jerusalem as the location for light

To shine, with the glory of Yahweh so bright

The wealth of the nations around it would come!

With frankincense, camels, and gold they'd become

Disciples! From darkness, God's glory'd redound

To those who'd kept faith, and would now be renowned!

 

But wise can be wrong—they were off by nine miles!

The text that they needed was just not God’s style,

For Micah had said that a town, oh so small,

Would bring forth the one to be shepherd of all!

Poor Herod (the rich) also knew not this text,

And sent for the scribes of the people, perplexed

Because of the ruler his visitors sought;

Not wise, nor the powerful, ever had thought

A prophet from out in the country could know

A place such as Bethlehem ever could show

The world a new ruler who'd ever increase

The good of the world with his treasure of peace.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

(Based on Walter Brueggemann’s imagining, in The Christian Century [December 19, 2001] and in Inscribing the Text [Fortress, 2004], that the wise men were off by nine miles after picking the wrong text.)

 

Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine; for your light has come, 

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 

For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; 

but the Lord will arise upon you, 

and his glory will appear over you. 

Nations shall come to your light, 

and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 

Lift up your eyes and look around; 

they all gather together, they come to you; 

your sons shall come from far away,

and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 

Then you shall see and be radiant; 

your heart shall thrill and rejoice, 

because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, 

the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 

A multitude of camels shall cover you, 

the young camels of Midian and Ephah; 

all those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense, 

and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

 

Micah 5:2-5a

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, 

who are one of the little clans of Judah, 

from you shall come forth for me 

one who is to rule in Israel,

whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. 

Therefore he shall give them up until the time 

when she who is in labor has brought forth; 

then the rest of his kindred shall return 

to the people of Israel. 

And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, 

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. 

And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great 

to the ends of the earth; 

and he shall be the one of peace.

 

Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”

 

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.