Have you not known? Have you not heard?
1st Reading: Isaiah 40:21-31
With chapter 40, “Second Isaiah”
begins with a message of renewed trust and hope to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. Our passage today seeks to stir up the memory
of these exiles. Memory is essential for faith. It leads to the confidence
proclaimed at the end of the passage. If they remember, the exiles can hope
again. God has plans for them beyond exile.
40:21 Have you not known? Have you
not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood
from the foundations of the earth? 22 It
is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like
grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like
a tent to live in; 23 who brings
princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and
they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, or who is
my equal? says the Holy One. 26 Lift
up your eyes on high and see: Who
created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all
by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O
Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God?” 28 Have
you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord
is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint
or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29
He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and
the young will fall exhausted; 31 but
those who wait for the Lord shall
renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall
run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Psalm 147:1-12, 21c
Our psalm is a song of praise of the
God who is creator and healer, the One who “heals the brokenhearted and binds
up their wounds.” Given verse 2, it is clear this psalm comes from the same
period as Second Isaiah.
1 Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God!
*
how pleasant it is to honor him with
praise!
2 The Lord
rebuilds Jerusalem; *
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted *
and binds up their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars *
and calls them all by their names.
5 Great is our
Lord and mighty in power; *
there is no limit to his wisdom.
6 The Lord
lifts up the lowly, *
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord
with thanksgiving; *
make music to our God upon the harp.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds *
and prepares rain for the earth;
9 He makes grass to grow upon the mountains *
and green plants to serve mankind.
10 He provides food for flocks and herds *
and for the young ravens when they
cry.
11 He is not impressed by the might of a horse; *
he has no pleasure in the strength of
a man;
12 But the Lord
has pleasure in those who fear him, *
in
those who await his gracious favor. [21c] Hallelujah!
2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23
In the
beginning of chapter 9, Paul has agreed with the Corinthians that he is free,
just as they are. This truth even has
the authority of Scripture (vv. 8-12). But in our passage, he declares that
this freedom must not be used to the detriment of the spread of the gospel. We
must be willing to set aside our freedom for the sake of others, particularly
the weak in faith. We are free, but we
are also responsible to and for one another.
9:16 If I proclaim the gospel, this
gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me
if I do not proclaim the gospel! 17 For
if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am
entrusted with a commission. 18 What
then is my reward? Just this: that in my
proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use
of my rights in the gospel. 19 For
though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so
that I might win more of them. 20 To
the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I
became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I
might win those under the law. 21 To
those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free
from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the
law. 22 To the weak I became weak,
so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I
might by all means save some. 23 I
do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Gospel
Reading: Mark 1:29-39
Healing stories are central to Mark’s Gospel. His Gospel is
the shortest, but he tells more healing stories than the others. For Mark,
Jesus’ proclamation of the message of the Kingdom of God is enacted in healing.
When the kingdom is at hand people are freed from the forces that oppress them.
1:29 When Jesus and his disciples
left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and
John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law
was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted
her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening, at sundown, they brought to
him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33
And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34 And he cured many who were sick with
various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons
to speak, because they knew him. 35 In
the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted
place, and there he prayed. 36 And
Simon and his companions hunted for him. 37 When
they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” 38 He answered, “Let us go on to the
neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is
what I came out to do.” 39 And he
went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and
casting out demons.
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., and are used by permission.
All rights reserved. The Psalm
translation is from The Book of Common
Prayer. Commentaries are by Epiphany
ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.epiphanyesources.com , copyright
© 2018. All rights reserved. Permission
is given to copy for congregational use, with attribution.