Episcopal Church of the
Incarnation
The Second Sunday after the Epiphany (B)
1
Samuel 3.1-20 Psalm 139.1-5, 12-17 1 Corinthians 6.12-20 John 1.43-51
1
Samuel 3.1-20
1)
1 and 2 Samuel bridge the days of
a) The rise of prophets can be seen against the backdrop of an entrenched priestly caste, examples of the common struggle in religious communities between hierarchy and charism.
2) Samuel receives his call from God when he is already in the sanctuary, ministering to the Lord under Eli.
a) Samuel is still a boy, and yet the verb defining his action (sheret or “minister”) is associated with those (such as Levites) who assist in priestly functions.
i) He seems to have been a novice or acolyte.
b) Samuel ministers at a time of paucity of divine words and visions (vv. 1-3).
3) In a time of little instruction from God, God informs Samuel that He will execute judgment against the house of Eli. Samuel is confirmed as God’s appointed prophetic spokesman (3.19-4.1a).
4) Three times God calls, and three times Samuel mistakes His voice. When he does recognize who calls, he is attentive. He does not ask that God show Himself, but asks that God speak.
a) The Lord is revealed in His word.
Psalm
139.1-5, 12-17
1) The structure of this psalm is mixed, between that of an individual lament and a hymn of praise.
a) The psalm is used commonly in ministration to the sick.
2) The psalm is framed throughout by four words: “search”, “know”, “discern” or “test”, and “thoughts”.
a) Throughout as well the word “path” or “way” appears.
b) The initial declaration, “... you have searched me out and known me ...” becomes at the end a petition, “Search me, O God, and know my heart”.
c) These structural parallels reinforce the message of lament and praise, that the all-seeing God knows the psalmist to be innocent.
1
Corinthians 6.12-20
1) Throughout this chapter Paul focuses on Christian conduct. Having discussed civil litigation and the family of God (vv. 1-11), he turns to the issue of temple prostitutes.
a) It is this context that he underscores the problem for those who say, “All things are lawful for me”.
i) Paul is combating the Corinthian attitude that physical actions have nor moral value.
2) Paul underscores the serious nature of sexual union, and calls for faithfulness to Christ by quoting Gen. 2.24 in v. 16 (“The two shall be one flesh.”)
3) Paul emphasizes that the body is not unimportant. If our bodies are to be raise, God attaches real value to them, and so should we.
a) By refusing to become involved with the other person, the fornicator perverts God’s intention for the physical act of union.
4) The “body” (used in the collective sense of the Christian community) is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the holiness of the community must be reflected in each member.
a) The individual belongs to Christ and is possessed by the Spirit in community (v. 19: “... you are not your own ...”).
b) Each individual has been “bought”, ransomed by the sacrifice of Jesus (cf. Gal. 5.1 re. the ransoming of a prisoner or slave).
i) Therefore, the body is to be used for the glory of God, both in restricting sexual activity to that intended by God, and in the service of others (Gal. 5.13).
John
1.43-51
1) The quintessential Christian message (“Follow me”) is coupled in this passage with Jesus’ promise of heavenly reward (“You will see greater things than these.”)
a) Discipleship is in response to God’s call.
b) A disciple follows his Master in His way, and this Way leads to the Father.
2) Philip identifies Jesus to Nathanael as “... him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote ...”
a)
This is not a strictly christological
identification. It is more an early
Christian confession that the Scriptures all point to Jesus as the fulfillment
of God’s covenant with
b) Philip tells Nathanael to “come and see”, echoing v. 39, when Jesus says this to the first two disciples.
i) The disciple passes along the call of his Master.
3) Jesus identifies Nathanael as a genuine Israelite. He is exemplary in that he does follow Jesus; he does not reject Him, as do those who invoke the law or prophets (7.15, 27, 41; 9.29).
a) His acclamation of Jesus as “Son of God” in this context denotes messianic kingship (compare 2 Sam. 7.14; Ps. 89.27).