EPIPHANY • 11

Do We Still Stand Amazed, & Recognise the Presence of Jesus of Nazareth?

This week’s readings exhort us to recognize and soak in the Presence of Our Lord as he delivers us out of troubles.

reading for: 2 Feb

Luke 5:1-11

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The theme of discipleship is the anchor point for this story about the fishermen and their experience with Jesus. Discipleship, which is central for those would-be followers of Jesus, is best understood as the act of teaching and learning, leading and following. It is a two-way process that involves an invitation and a response. In several places throughout the Gospel, Luke discusses the characteristics and costs of discipleship (9:23–27; 9:57–62; 14:25–33; 18:22–30). This is best summarized through the words of Jesus: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me”. (9:23). Yet Jesus is not always so direct in his teachings about discipleship, as this text in Luke demonstrates. Moreover, discipleship calls for obedience to and recognition of a divine power and source of authority beyond human strength, knowledge, and will. The encounter between Jesus and Simon indicates that discipleship is risky business with great rewards.

The Sea of Galilee (Lake of Gennesaret) was a busy hub for local fishermen. After a long night on the water with nothing to show for it, the fishermen were ready to clean their nets and to return to their respective homes. Luke uses this ordinary circumstance to present Jesus not as a teacher in the traditional setting of the synagogue (e.g., 4:15), but rather as one who taught the crowds in common, everyday settings of life, such as in Simon’s boat (v. 3). It was not unusual for Jesus to teach from a boat as a way of gaining some distance from the large crowds who were following him (e.g., Matt. 13:1–2; Mark 4:1), yet the boat of Simon, who would become one of Jesus’ closest disciples, is particularly instructive in this narrative.

Jesus asks Simon to go a short distance from the shore for his first round of teaching. Luke does not provide the content of the teaching in this brief verse; instead, we are to focus on what happens after the instruction when Simon is summoned to “put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (v. 4). These are clearly hard words for Simon to hear after an unproductive night of fishing. He reminds Jesus of the obvious: “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing” (v. 5; cf. 8:24, 45; 9:33, 49; 17:13 for other references to “Master”). Yet Simon submits to the request as an act of obedience and a humble acknowledgment of the one who is clearly no ordinary man.

This tangible sign of obedience leads to miraculous results—an abundance of fish that cannot be contained in their nets and boats. Indeed, the results are so overwhelming that it nearly causes a mishap in the midst of the water, which leads Simon and his fishing partners James and John to call for help (vv. 7, 10). In this great sea of overwhelming abundance Simon—now referred to as Simon Peter —is able to recognize the presence and power of God (v. 8). This recognition leads to Peter’s bold acknowledgment: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (v. 8). He and all those who witnessed this miraculous event are astonished and amazed by the catch of fish and realize that it is more than a stroke of luck. At this point Jesus speaks again with words of assurance: “Fear not, for from now on you will become catchers of people” (v. 10, my trans.).

The big catch of fish symbolizes the multitude of people whom the disciples will eventually catch through the teachings of Jesus. Thus, instead of a direct “call” to Peter and the other fishermen in the boats, the presence of the Divine provides an abundant “invitation” to discipleship.

The two-way encounter of teaching and learning, leading and following, is obvious. Simon is obedient in his response to Jesus because of the authority of this teacher. He does not understand all of the details of the encounter, yet he is willing to trust and follow Jesus in this situation and learn more about his power and authority. As a true follower and learner, Simon Peter responds with great faithfulness and receives a great commission.

  • REFLECT

    How closely are we following Jesus today? What can we do to follow Jesus even closely this year? Pray for your oikos (friends and family who don’t know Christ), then over the CNY period, be the vessel of God’s love and providence to those around.  

reading for: 3 Feb

Isaiah 6: 1-8, (9-13)

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    There are certain events in life where time seems to stop still. There are moments that divide time: what was before is changed and is no more. On the global level, we are still in the midst of a pandemic. Whether we like it or not, our perspectives on many things have changed though moments of having to make sense of things.  

    Isaiah had one of those moments. It defined the rest of his life. It was almost as if he was born anew on that day in the temple when he saw God in such immensity that the hem of God’s garment filled the entire temple. If only the hem, then how much more was there that could not be seen?

    Not only did Isaiah witness the glory of God and feel overwhelmed with praise for God, but his lips were touched with a burning coal. It was a decisive moment. He could no longer talk about the weather or the latest gossip on the streets. To consecrate someone or something has lasting consequences. It is literally to enter into a ‘New Normal’. It is decisive and life-changing. The whole action inside that temple for Isaiah was such an encounter. His understanding of God’s world and his commission would set him apart as a prophet and witness for God (vv. 9–13).

    He was given a particular message—a message that confuses more than it clarifies. How strange this must seem to us. We are used to experts who can explain everything. We expect our doctors to diagnose our every illness correctly, but then discover in the hardest of ways that disease is often more mystery than science to them.

    The most challenging part is how God told Isaiah to speak for Him is parables. “Make the heart of this people dull; make their ears heavy and blind their eyes” (v. 10). How strange is that? Imagine telling teachers to teach so the children all fail, or imagine a world where we expect traffic police to create congestion and cause accidents. This is the kind of world into which Isaiah is called to serve God in.

    Most amazing of all, in Matthew 13, 700 years later, Jesus quotes the same passage about dull hearts, deaf ears, and blinded eyes. Why? That is the hard question to answer, and yet it is the reality known to follows of Jesus. You walk in the way of the Lord, and others seem to walk in a different direction. We live among people who want to hate their enemy, and yet we hang on to a message about loving not just your neighbor but your enemy as well. We live in world of wars and rumours of wars, and yet we have a Lord who suggests that when we are weak we are strong. We live in a world that measures success by the size of our possessions, and yet we are a people who share a common meal, just a small piece of bread, as if that were sufficient for a meal, and then we have a small sip from a cup, as if that would slake our thirst.

    Do we ever dare to speak up in this world? Do we have a right to speak. Maybe that none of us has the right to speak. Even Isaiah was a man of unclean lips—but God called upon him to speak. God may call upon us as well, even to say things that may be filled with truth but may not make much worldly sense. That is what Paul said about the cross. It was a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Cor. 1:23).

    Isaiah was called to proclaim a word of judgment that was also a word of promise. He was called to persevere and endure, even though the outward picture of things might become dark and bleak. He was to know that even though the last tenth (the tithe) might be laid waste, there was yet a holy seed or a stump left. Not much, but enough. That is a parabolic faith if ever there were one. It is the same faith that has been given to us. By faith we are given light and hope in the darkest of times. Paul said that others might think we are dying “and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:9–10 NIV). Such is the cross-based faith of the followers of Christ.

  • REFLECT

    As Christians we live in a world marked by so many things that remind us of the cross, including the current pandemic. Isaiah’s message was perplexing.  We would have had trouble, naturally, seeing his vision or hearing his message. It is sobering to realize that God still calls prophets to speak the prophetic word the world most needs to hear. Do you know your calling within your workplace as God’s servant? Do you see your participation in building strong and healthy family relationships as a means of following Christ? If you’ve set out some goal for yourself this, year, take a moment to reflect on it.

reading for: 4 Feb

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

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    In 1 Corinthians 15:1–11, Paul shares how he came to become a witness to the gospel of Jesus. As a witness, he passed on to the Corinthians the Good News he also received - the death and resurrection of Jesus. His death was confirmed by his burial; his resurrection is confirmed by the many people to whom the risen Lord appeared and through his testimony and those who saw the Risen Lord, the Corinthians have come to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

    First of all, to be a witness, one has to receive within one’s own being the good news. A person cannot witness to what he or she has not experienced in the heart and mind to be true. Paul says that the Corinthians have received the gospel; they stand in the gospel; and they are being saved by the gospel. We need to understand that the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection is not one more piece of information to add to the information overload from which many people suffer. Receiving the gospel is not simply giving assent to the articles of a creed or a good idea to be held in our minds. Neither is receiving the gospel a matter of getting one more good thing to a life that is already full of good things. Receiving the gospel is discovering in Christ a new centre of existence, a new power for living, and a new perspective from which to view all things – a new way of life.

    The gospel has changed us and continues to change us. The gospel is Jesus Christ, the risen Lord present with the church. Many times, we are timid and uncertain about expressing our experiences of Christ’s presence in our lives. We need to overcome this fear and for the sake of loving and encouraging one another, boast in the Lord (1 Cor 1:30 – 31).  

    Secondly, to be witness is to pass the gospel tradition from one generation to the next. As evidence of the resurrection, Paul speaks of all those to whom the risen Lord appeared. The list builds from Cephas (Peter) to the Twelve, from the five hundred to James, and from all the other apostles to Paul himself. All of these witnesses proclaimed the gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of humankind. Each believer stands as a link in the transmission of the gospel. Believers are not called to invent the gospel or embellish the gospel. They are called to proclaim what they have received. The living witness of the church is manifest in the continuing worship of the church, the story of the Scriptures, the creeds of the church, and the ongoing story of God’s people today.

    Believers receive with gratitude the word of life and offer this same word of life to others.

  • REFLECT

    Are we concerned to be witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus at home, work and play? How can we do this better (consider last month’s discussion about being servants of God at our workplaces). How do we pass on the Gospel through our lives to the generations that come after us? Take some time to recall and share at LG how someone was a good example of a Gospel-living Christian to you.

reading for: 5 Feb

Psalm 138

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    Psalm 138 is written for people like us who seek to worship and praise God in the midst of great uncertainty. Its praise and thanksgiving are set within a world where God’s saving work has clearly been seen, felt, and thus trusted. Yet it is also a world in which threat and insecurity continue to haunt the lives and memories of the redeemed, a time in which industries and jobs and way of life is in a flux. We sing praises in the midst of COVID variants. In so many conscious and so many more subconscious ways, we like the psalmist “walk in the midst of trouble” (v. 7).

    So we bow down to sing the Lord’s praises as the psalmist does here—reclaiming our core sacred story by thinking back to the day when we called and God answered mightily. In fact, the origin of this psalm is most likely the postexilic period, about the time the Psalter was edited in its current form. Memories of captivity in an alien culture and even the threats and hardships of returning to a sometimes inhospitable homeland are still very real. Psalm 138 provides us with a healthy way to live and give thanks fully, in spite of the haunting memories and lingering threat and crises.

    Crises bring disruptions in the flow of a person’s core life story. They create an environment like that of the psalmist, in which we are vulnerable to despair. To move towards health and healing, we reach back into our past and to vision ahead to the future as a way to reconnect with the whole of our sacred life story. We also learn ground ourselves in the bigger story, God’s Story through singing of praises on Sunday & at other gatherings. This is what the Psalmist does. His gratitude is actively expressed by thanking, singing, bowing down in both the heavenly court and the earthly courtyard of the temple. Like the Psalmist, we can start with our own grateful remembering of the day upon which we called and God answered.

    In the passage, the Psalmist quickly expands to include the praises of others who resonate with the way God’s intervention has strengthened their souls. This combination of individual and communal praises glorifies God and His saving work for His people and also reaffirms and reinforces each individual’s place in that narrative.

    The central hymn of praise in verses 4–6 reveals the distinctive astounding core of the salvation story. God is placed at the very highest of the high here. Members of the heavenly court and earthly kings both recognize and praise the greatness of God’s glory.

    Yet, highness alone is not what elicits the depth of praise. The universal chorus of praise is rooted in an astonishing, even scandalous, twist of what might be expected. God does a very unusual thing. God, the very highest of the high, attends to the helpless and vulnerable—those on the margins of faith and life! This is extraordinary. The high and mighty simply do not do this sort of thing. They are too far removed to consider the plight of those who are distressed, weak, insecure, low, and in jeopardy. Yet here the tables are completely turned. The psalmist suggests that the very height of highness and glory are attributed to God, not because God aspired to these things, but because God stretched out a divine right hand to reach low to deliver the lost and downcast. This concern with the lowly, those who are marginalized, helpless, and needy is a unique concern of the God of Israel and therefore the faith of the Hebrew people. Incorporated in Hebrew law were specific provisions for the welfare of those whose physical, economic, or social circumstances put them in weak, low, needy, or life- threatening situations.

  • REFLECT

    Share with your LG group your favorite praise/worship song so you can share in one another’s story & song. Sing your favourite worship song to Jesus or sing along with Brian & Jenn.

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