The Third Sunday
after the Epiphany.
Psalm
72. Deus, judicium.
GIVE the King thy judgments, O God, * and thy
righteousness unto the King’s son.
2 Then shall he judge thy people according unto
right, * and defend the poor.
3 The mountains also shall bring peace, * and the
little hills righteousness unto the people.
4 He shall keep the simple folk by their right, *
defend the children of the poor, and punish the wrong doer.
5 They shall fear thee, as long as the sun and moon
endureth, * from one generation to another.
6 He shall come down like the rain upon the mown
grass, * even as the drops that water the earth.
7 In his time shall the righteous flourish; * yea,
and abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth.
8 His dominion shall be also from the one sea to
the other, * and from the River unto the world’s end.
9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall kneel
before him; * his enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall
give presents; * the kings of Arabia and Saba shall bring gifts.
11 All kings shall fall down before him; * all
nations shall do him service.
12 For he shall deliver the poor when he crieth; *
the needy also, and him that hath no helper.
13 He shall be favourable to the simple and needy,
* and shall preserve the souls of the poor.
14 He shall deliver their souls from falsehood and
wrong; * and dear shall their blood be in his sight.
15 He shall live, and unto him shall be given of
the gold of Arabia; * prayer shall be made ever unto him, and daily shall he be
praised.
16 There shall be an heap of corn in the earth,
high upon the hills; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: * and they of
the city shall flourish like grass upon the earth.
17 His Name shall endure for ever; his Name shall
re- main under the sun among the posterities, which shall be blessed in him; *
and all the nations shall praise him.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, even the God of Israel,
* which only doeth wondrous things;
19 And blessed be the Name of his majesty for ever:
* and all the earth shall be filled with
his majesty. Amen, Amen.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son * and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be * world without end. Amen.
The Collect.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all
our dangers and necessities stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Old
Testament Reading: Isaiah 41.8-10, 17-20
Psalter:
Psalm 20, 21 | 27, 29
Epistle
Reading: Romans 12.16-21
Gospel
Reading: St. Matthew 8.1-13
Homily
This was my letter to my congregation that I sent
out this last Wednesday:
The Sage makes this wise observation in Proverbs, “Whoever
diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it”
(Proverbs 11:27). What you look for you often find, because what you expect to
see is what you look for. There’s an incident in the Old Testament that seems
to go along with this Proverb. It’s about the perspective of God’s people who
flipped redemption into ruin. It’s quite startling. First, let me set up the
scene.
In Deuteronomy 1, Moses is recounting Israel’s
history in the wilderness. Starting at Deuteronomy 1:18 he retells the moment
when God’s people were just on the cusp of entering the land of promise decades
before. The people wanted spies to reconnoiter the land, so twelve were chosen,
and set out to explore and evaluate. When they returned they told all the
wonders and wealth of the land (1:22-25). But they also only saw what was
negative. And the negative assessments of the patrol took over the
congregation’s evaluation, “Where are we going up? Our brothers have made
our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities
are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the
Anakim there”” (1:28). It became a general revolt and the people almost
tossed Moses and Aaron out on their ears. This is the scene. Now comes a
peculiar moment where the people actually turned what was good news into bad
news.
As God’s people were murmering in their tents,
rejecting God’s provision, and rebelling against God’s prescription (1:26),
they flipped God’s redemption into ruin. They saw what they wanted to see. They
expected evil, searched for evil, and it came to them in their misperception: “Because
the LORD hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into
the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us” (1:27). Did you catch it? Or
better, did it catch you? They describe God’s redemption (good news) as ruin (bad
news) “Because Yahweh hated us he brought us out...” It’s quite the
shocker! They didn’t see God’s rescue as liberation but rather as a liability.
They had come to believe that God’s goodness was hate, that God’s relief was
destructive, that God’s kindness was a trap. Sounds like the serpent’s ploy in
Genesis 3. What a perilous place to be! The people have trust issues, as we
would say. But their trust issues are of their own making, their own crafting,
their own rationalizing and expectancy.
Sometimes Christians can do the exact same thing.
When we assume bad we find it, even in God’s goodness. When we search for evil,
we can become so focused on what is wrong, bad, unjust, etc. that all we can
see is evil, even when looking at God’s grace. When we imagine that we can only
expect tragedy, we often turn God’s loving dealings into doom (in our minds and
hearts). “Because Yahweh hated us he brought us out of the land of Egypt…”
I’ve seen this work out in similar ways with Christians over the years. You
often find what you’re looking for, and it can flip your perspective upside
down and inside out.
But what would have happened if Israel had trusted
God’s goodness more than their self-perceptions? What would have happened if
God’s people allowed God’s goodness and grace to rework their awareness and
anticipations? What would happen if we were more confident in the goodness of
God, his enduring steadfast love, than in our own expectations of defeat and
disaster? Wouldn’t there be different results and outcomes? Wouldn’t our
relationships look healthier? Wouldn’t our marriages potentially become stronger?
Wouldn’t our reactions about societal and cultural events become more
soberminded? It won’t necessarily take away the challenges and difficulties,
but with our perceptions flipped back, right side up and right side out, at
least we will be able to grasp God’s grace and steadfast love for what it is:
real goodness.
Brothers and sisters, “Whoever diligently seeks
good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it” (Proverbs
11:27).
Pastor Mike
The Conversion of
Saint Paul (25 January)
The Collect
O God, who, through the
preaching of the blessed Apostle Saint Paul, hast caused the light of the
Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we beseech thee, that we, having
his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may shew forth our thankfulness unto thee
for the same, by following the holy doctrine which he taught; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Old
Testament Reading: Jeremiah 1.4-10
Psalter:
Psalm 67
Epistle
Reading: Acts 9.1-22
Gospel
Reading: *St. Matthew 19.27-30
Homily
