Lectionary for Epiphany 7
Jesus says: ‘Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.’ Luke 6:35, 36
Collect. God of compassion, keep before us the love you have revealed in your Son, who prayed even for his enemies; in our words and deeds help us to be like him through whom we pray, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reading. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50. For the Greek thinkers in the congregation in Corinth the idea that a person once dead could live again was incomprehensible; yet for Paul the idea that the spirit of a person could exist separated from the body was equally incomprehensible. Apostles would be still living who had seen Jesus in bodily form and Paul himself had been spoken to by Jesus and so they and the New Testament writers simply accept the fact that Jesus is alive. For those who did not have that privilege it was a hard concept to comprehend but Paul is determined to reveal to the believers the understanding that Jesus is alive. Furthermore he is trying to help them understand that the time will come when they too will be equipped with a body fit for the kingdom of God. One of the Greek words associated with resurrect (anistanai) means, “to stand up” and has the implication that God’s power has made the person stand after being dead! Paul uses the argument that Adam represents the being created from the dust, while the resurrected Jesus represents the New Man, the being returned from the dead only by God’s power. He is the man from heaven and in due course every believer will bear the same heavenly body as Jesus. That which was true for the Corinthian believers to grasp is also true for each believer today; what is perishable cannot participate in what is imperishable therefore each one of us must be changed in order to be not only like Jesus but also be with Jesus. We live now in this world by the breath of God which gives us life. This life allows us to live and function in the creation that God has brought into existence. Through the victory of Jesus over death he rules as Lord over God’s Kingdom. By his grace we too will live in God’s Kingdom so filled with the life giving Spirit that we will be fully equipped the live in the New Creation surrounded by the presence of God.
Paul’s teaching challenges us to reach beyond the limits of our experience and believe that because Jesus lives we too will live and by living we will glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God;[1]
Prayer. Great and glorious Lord: Forgive us when we try to limit your capacity to be and to do by the limits of our minds and so miss the greatness of your glory. Enlarge our vision of all that you have accomplished through Jesus Christ our Lord. Through your Spirit’s power refresh our faith and help us to stand firmly on the victory that Jesus Christ has won for all of creation. All glory and honour belong to you Lord God. Amen
Reading. Luke 6:27-38. Following Jesus’ teaching on the blessings and the woes Luke moves on to his teaching about how to live as God’s people. Jesus begins by addressing those who “hear”, or in some versions “listen”. To listen is not only to pick up the meaning of the words but to act on them. Listening always implies the obedience which is to follow. In this teaching Jesus is giving a new twist on the laws of ancient Jewish society. ( c/f Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 16:18ff) We often think of the choice to live apart as the Jews did, was a negative thing. However, the laws that God prescribed for his people were designed to build a community in which all of the Jews would have both justice and respect. This was to be the way God’s people were to live. Now in Luke, Jesus is describing how God’s people will live in the kingdom that God is preparing through Jesus. (We remember that foundationally Jesus came preaching about the kingdom of God which by his coming was now available to all). Thus Jesus is describing how to live in God’s Kingdom even before it is fully inaugurated. As with the laws of the ancient Hebrews, by following these commands every one receives the justice and respect that God demands. However though we see the sense of these teachings we also recognise how difficult it is to follow through with them for we still live in a sinful world. To follow this way of life will leave us open to be vulnerable and yet surely that is the point of what Jesus is saying. Trusting in our own strength and holding on to our resources means that we are no longer trusting in what God supplies. Furthermore we have to listen as well to the teaching that demands that we love enemies and so forth; this then also means that we are to act with discernment guided by love. Love is the main requirement that goes before all that Jesus is teaching. Love will always cause us to act in the best interests of the person who is loved. This requirement demands that more than ever to live in the way that Jesus describes calls us to live in even closer harmony with God.
Prayer. Holy Lord God, our heavenly Father, your Son offered a ministry of love to the weak and powerless and always looked with compassion on those in need. Help us your servants who long to follow more closely in the footsteps of Christ to listen to your word and by your power like him seek to serve those in need. Give us the wisdom and insight we need so that our service honours you and brings true relief. May we not serve simply to assuage our guilt but in order that your gospel may be more boldly and completely be proclaimed. Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen
Collect. God of extravagant love, you have bestowed so much upon us; give us thankful hearts, that we may welcome our neighbour and forgive those who wrong us; in Jesus’ name. Amen.
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Ro 8:19.
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