The lectionary lessons for the 5th Sunday after the Epiphany - February 5 - are Isaiah 40:21 -31; Psalm 147:1 -12; 1Corinthians 9:16 -23 and Mark 1:29 -39.
The First Reading is set in the context of hope for restoration after the Babylonian Exile. The tone is similar to God's interjection following the dialog between Job and his friends. In Job 38 "The Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said:...Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?"
Both scenarios call the bewildered to witness God's might. It is like saying, "Who is man or woman before God? Nothing in all of creation can compare to the Almighty God.
Because of this the Psalmist calls for praises to the Lord. Indeed, this Sunday's portion of the psalm is appropriately headed, Laudate Dominum: "How good it is to sing praises to our God! How pleasant it is to honor him with praise!"
For the Israelites, it is this Mighty God who "gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless...and those who wait for the lord shall renew their strength...they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint".
The devastation of exile is not a match for God's might. God can set His people free from that bondage too.
There are many types of bondage in Cincinnati and in every community. With every bondage there is the hope of release and freedom rooted in the trust of a Mighty God.
The Second, and the Gospel Reading show how this power of the Almighty God can work in every life and every community and in every circumstance.
That is next.
Comments