Today in the Spirit: Epiphany 1A
Prepositions are important in the Book of Common Prayer. One change in the BCP 2019 that can easily go unnoticed is the designation Sundays “of Epiphany” in the new book compared with Sundays “after Epiphany” or “after the Epiphany” in earlier versions.
What does the new title communicate? One response is that the Epiphany (the shining forth) of Jesus of Nazareth as revealed in the NT Gospels must be understood as an ongoing movement of the Father God, beginning with a star at his birth, but continuing in the whole life of the man–his teaching, miracles, death, resurrection and ascension–all to demonstrate that he is the Son of God.
In Year A, the assigned Gospel reading is from Matthew 3:13-17. This reading contains dialogue only found in Matthew between John the Baptist and Jesus concerning the appropriateness of John, the forerunner of the Messiah, baptizing the Messiah. To this protestation from John, our Lord replies: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (15). In general, the narrative of Jesus’ baptism, presented in our worship immediately after the miracle of the star on Epiphany Day, signals to us the continuation of the Father’s purpose in sending the Son from Jesus’ childhood into his adulthood.
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The OT reading from Isaiah 42:1-9, assigned for Epiphany 1 in all three years (and Monday in Holy Week), is the first so-called “Servant Song” in the Book of Isaiah. The direct connection to the baptism of Jesus and the voice from heaven is in the first two couplets of the poem, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit pastor him; he will bring forth justice pastor the nations” (1). What follows is a pronouncement of the ministry of the Messiah once empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 89:1-29 or 89:20-29, also appointed every year at Epiphany 1 (and Pentecost, Proper 8A), is a song with messianic overtones, possibly composed for the coronation of King David or some other national celebration. Especially meaningful on this Sunday are the touching words, like a response to the Father’s declaration at his baptism that Jesus is his Son: “He (“David”) shall say to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation’” (26, BCP New Coverdale).
The assigned NT reading every year on Epiphany 1 (and on Easter Day for different reasons) is from Acts 10:34-38. In Peter’s speech to the household of Cornelius, he makes one of the few clear references to Jesus’ baptism found in the NT outside the Gospels: “…after the baptism that John proclaimed: howGod anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” (38a, see also Ac. 1:22, 1 Jn. 5:6-7).” There is also an echoing of images from the day’s OT passages as well: “[Jesus] went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (38b).
The collect establishes the connection between Jesus’ baptism and our own with the petition: “that we, who are born again by water and the Spirit, may be faithful as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The Collect
Eternal Father, at the baptism of Jesus you revealed him to be your Son, and your Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove: Grant that we, who are born again by water and the Spirit, may be faithful as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Behold my Servant (Isaiah 42:1-9)
1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
Isaiah 42:1-9
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
5 Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
Who is the “servant” (43:1,49:3,52:13) in Isaiah’s Servant Songs? Bible commentators have long debated the answer to this question. In these verses, the Servant appears to refer to a messianic individual who will save the nation of Israel. Many commentators will point out, however, that there are also references to Israel the nation as YHWH’s Servant (see 41:8,49:3). In the end, we must not be overly concerned to find an either-or answer to the question. In the OT and the NT, there is a fair amount of seesawing between identifying both the people of God as a whole and the Messiah as God’s saving instrument in the world. In the NT, Jesus is the Christ, but the Church is the body of Christ.
Devotionally, we need to see ourselves, more than just metaphorically, as the new arms, legs, eyes, and ears of Jesus in the world, taking the place of his singular body he had before. See how Paul’s compelling language in 1 Corinthians 12 makes this point. Just where you expect him to write “with the Church,” he writes instead “with Christ”:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:12-13).
All this is to say, beloved, that we must hear this ode to the devotion of YHWH for his “servant,” in our worship as directed to us also, his people in Christ. It is into our eyes too that the Father God is looking when he gushes, “in whom my soul delights” (1). Today, in the Spirit, we receive the love of the Servant in Isaiah’s song and walk in it.
You Are My Father (Psalm 89:1-29)
20 I have found David my servant; *
Psalm 89:1-29
with my holy oil have I anointed him.
21 My hand shall hold him fast, *
and my arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not be able to do him violence; *
the son of wickedness shall not hurt him.
23 I will smite his foes before his face *
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him, *
and in my Name shall his horn be exalted.
25 I will give him dominion over the sea, *
and with his right hand shall he rule the rivers.
26 He shall say to me, “You are my Father, *
my God, and the rock of my salvation.”
27 And I will make him my firstborn, *
higher than the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy will I keep for him for ever, *
and my covenant shall stand fast with him.
29 His seed will I make to endure for ever *
and his throne as the days of heaven.
On Epiphany 1, with its focus on the baptism of Jesus, we can recite or sing Psalm 89, imagining the words as an extension of the Father’s declaration of love to Jesus as he rises from the River Jordan. At Jesus’ baptism, the voice of the Father thunders: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:17). Can we not imagine the words of the “David” figure as a loving response: “‘You are my Father, my God, the rock of my salvation’” (26). Hearing these two passages together, it is our great privilege in worship to overhear this exchange of love vows between the divine persons.
See how often in the Gospels Jesus cries out “my Father” in the course of his ministry–to praise (Mt. 11:25, Lk. 10:21-22); to give thanks to him (Jn. 11:41), and to ask for consolation (Mt. 26:39). Even more astounding, Jesus also teaches us to call God “our Father” (Mt. 5:43-48, 6:9).
Devotionally, we find from this that there is a significant jump in our life with God we are intended to make as followers of Jesus Christ, not all at once but over time: Just as the Father God calls Jesus “my Son” and Jesus calls God “my Father,” we are meant to hear the Father calling us his “sons and daughters” and to respond in kind “Abba, Father” (recalling the words from Gal. 4:6-7 at Christmas 1). This transition, beloved, is the very center of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and the reason we overhear the Father and Jesus speaking as they do to one another in Scripture.
Today, in the Spirit, pray to hear in every oncoming circumstance and every passing interaction with another person the voice of God saying to you affectionately “my daughter” or “my son,” that you may respond “my Father” and act accordingly.
I Now Realize How True It Is (Acts 10:34-38)
34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Acts 18:34-38
Among other things, this passage demonstrates the continuing development of Peter as a follower and apostle of Jesus, a theme which Luke has carefully traced in Luke and Acts. I would say Peter’s statement “Truly I understand” (1, or “I now realize” NIV) reveals nothing less than a deeper conversion of Peter to the Lordship of Christ and his great commission. It is not that Peter suddenly has new information on God’s concern for the Gentiles, but that he now understands how true it is that God intends to “bless the nations” as he promised in the first covenant with Abraham (see Genesis 12:3).
Are we not all astonished to “realize” how God is actively shaping our minds and hearts over time? It is with wonder that Job asks: “From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?” Then he makes his own reply: “God understands the way to it and he knows the place” (Job 28:20, 23). Our stance must always be one of eagerness to receive new wisdom from God, even if it shatters our stubborn predispositions rooted in pride and fear. How much easier our continuing conversion to Christ comes to us and broadens us, if we are, like Peter, willing to make our own approach to the doorstep of “the Gentiles” we oppose.
Today, Lord, by your Spirit, we thank you for increasing our realization of the truth and for encouraging us to venture forward on new paths, that we may accomplish your purposes for the Church in the world.
To Fulfill All Righteousness (Matthew 3:13-17)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Gospel of Matthew, which is our focus in Year A of the Sunday lectionary, contains the words “righteous” (Gk. dikaios) and “righteousness” (Gk. diskaiosynē) far more than the other three. Notably, our Lord’s use of these terms in his own speech appears almost exclusively in Matthew. In many cases, it is not clear in the Gospel itself what “righteousness” really means (as if Matthew assumes his readers will know); but there is often a sense that whatever “righteousness” is, it is frequently counter-intuitive from the human perspective, very often discordant with what humans consider natural for self-preservation, happiness, and good order (see, for instance, the Beatitudes in 5:6,10).
When John the Baptist objects, “I need to be baptized by you” (14), does he not believe he is speaking what is right and good and proper? Jesus’ reply, “Let [me be baptized by you], for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (15), will indicate to John that he is mistaken.
Beloved, here we find the lesson that we must not allow “sticking to our principles” to trump obedience to the Lord. More often than we care to admit, our perceptions of what is right are not at all what God wants. Put simply, that which is contrary to the will of God is not righteous, and it can never really be considered the right thing to do. Knowing this to be true, what shall we do? The critical thing is to abide in the presence of Jesus, to be alongside Jesus like the Baptist at the river, and to hear from the Lord what is the righteousness of God.
Today, Holy Spirit of Jesus, give us pause before assuming what is righteous is our own way of thinking. Speak to us clearly about what you want from us in obedience, and give us the heart of the Baptist to “consent” to the hard tasks.
Today in the Spirit
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