EPIPHANY • 6

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS

Dear CNLers, the faithful unnamed writers of our weekly lectionary guide are going through a revamp for the next 3 weeks. In these 3 weeks from 30th January to 18th Feburary, our writers will be taking a break with the aim of coming back stronger for the Lent season in 2024.

For these 3 weeks, we will be providing a substitute resource from “Feasting the Word, Year B, Volume 1”, a great resource on lectionary readings. Titles for each readings has been added by me and I hope it helps you better engage with the scriptures.

There are also no reflection questions but 2 simple questions you can consider after each reading is,

What is 1 thing that stood out to you in the scripture/commentary?

What significance might that 1 thing be for your coming week?

It is our prayer that you as a CNLer and we as a church “Be Better” and “Grow Stronger” in 2024.

reading for: Tuesday Night, 6 february

Mark 9:2-9

The Mysterious Revelation of Jesus for Us

  • READ

    9:2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,

    9:3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.

    9:4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

    9:5 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

    9:6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.

    9:7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!"

    9:8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

    9:9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

    Commentary

    In the transfiguration story, which lies at the epicenter of the Gospel of Mark, halfway between Jesus’ baptism and his resurrection, a voice from heaven tells Peter (and James and John) to “Listen to him!”—that is, to believe Jesus’ word (which Peter had disputed) that rejection, suffering, death, and resurrection are integral to his messianic mission, and that the way of the cross is equally integral and inescapable for all who would follow him (cf. Mark 8:34–38).

    Neither God nor Jesus the Christ ever explains why this must be so (or, for that matter, what cross bearing entails for nonmessiahs). In the entire Gospel, the reason is never given save in a fleeting hint that Jesus’ death constitutes a “ransom” (10:45), an idea Mark leaves undeveloped and unexplained. One might even surmise, from Jesus’ cry on the cross (15:34), that even he does not know the reason. The necessity of the passion remains, in this Gospel, a mystery hidden in the mind of God.

    But if the reason is hidden, its inevitability should be obvious from the perspective of history. Jesus’ devotion to the reign of God on earth inevitably provoked “the powers”—the fear, hatred, greed, falsehood, violence, and despair that pervade and distort everything human—to make their oppressive, murderous response, even if this response also, ironically, made possible the disclosure of the triumphant power of God’s nonviolent love in their very midst.

    The transfiguration is therefore also a powerful word to us to take up our cross and follow Christ, to walk in his way that in one way or another will provoke the powers against us, but that ultimately discloses the eternal truth and trustworthiness of God’s nonviolent love and justice in the midst of evil.

    It is important, however, when speaking of the way of the cross, to be clear about what it does not mean. It does not mean that we should seek or regard suffering as a spiritual good in itself or as inherently saving and redemptive—as centuries of misguided Christian theology and piety have often maintained. Jesus did not die because his suffering as such could purge the world of sin and evil. He died because the powers of evil sought to destroy his witness to nonviolent love, justice, and truth. His passion revealed, not only the “evilness of evil”—its intrinsic, deadly violence—but the transforming power of divine love, a powerful, assertive love that does not dominate and defeat evil so much as challenge, expose, and seek to transform it. Such love alone ultimately carries the day; it alone is truly redemptive and saving.

    Christians are therefore not called to exhibit a passive love that simply tries to be good and avoid evil. Nor is the way of the cross a private bearing of personal woes for the sake of Jesus. It is rather a vigorous, assertive pursuit of social and personal righteousness through a love that refuses to play the world’s power game of domination, exploitation, greed, and deception. The transfiguration story is a call to affirm the ultimate truth of this contrary claim of God and God’s way of salvation, and to begin living it with all our heart, soul, and strength in the confidence that Jesus’ nonviolent way is truly the way of salvation, healing, and eternal life.

    High on the mountain, in a moment of numinous splendor, Jesus was indeed clothed in the dazzling light of God—but only briefly, and to a select few. The heavenly mystery was unveiled, only to be veiled again on the cross—and to be revealed again, not in the glorious light of a resurrection appearance, but in an empty tomb with a solitary human figure announcing his resurrection and return to Galilee.

    Would that we could display such reverent mystery in our proclamation, and such humble, nonviolent, yet assertive love and quest for social righteousness in our attempts to follow in his way!

  • REFLECT

What is 1 thing that stood out to you in the scripture/commentary?

What significance might that 1 thing be for your coming week?

reading for: Wednesday Night, 7 february

2 kings 2:1-12

Pursuing God like Elisha Did

  • READ
    2:1 Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

    2:2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

    2:3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent."

    2:4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho.

    2:5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent."

    2:6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on.

    2:7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.

    2:8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.

    2:9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit."

    2:10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not."

    2:11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.

    2:12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

    Commentary

    The inclusion of this text on Transfiguration Sunday seems straightforward enough: Elijah makes a cameo appearance in Mark’s transfiguration story. However, this is a story about Elisha more than Elijah, the latter’s triumphal ascension into heaven notwithstanding. It is Elisha who is transformed, indeed transfigured; that is, the figure of Elisha is trans-ported through and beyond his role as Elijah’s apprentice to a completely new place. Indeed, Elisha’s transfiguration can serve as a parable for our own trans-figuration as individuals and as communities of faith.

    Trans-figured by the Journey. On any given map of a territory there are landmarks and features marked with small print, and others marked with bold print. On a map of Elijah and Elisha’s journey, all of the stops are theological bold-print locations: Gilgal, where the Israelites camped after crossing the Jordan River; Bethel, a sacred temple site; Jericho, the location of the Israelites’ famous military victory; and the Jordan itself. However, Elijah’s ascension takes place beyond them all, past the Jordan—at an unnamed location where the two men walk together. In exploring this passage with the congregation, we do well to acknowledge the transformative events that occur not in A-list destinations or on predetermined timelines, but in the nondescript places and in the humdrum of Ordinary Time. There and then, life is disrupted in ways both glorious and disturbing.

    Elijah gives Elisha three opportunities to leave, and each time Elisha says no: “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you” (vv. 2, 4, 6). Is it simple devotion to his master that motivates Elisha—a desire to accompany him in that thin place between life and the world beyond? Or is it Elisha’s dogged persistence in seeking after the “double share” that keeps him tagging along?

    In the first place, Elisha’s fidelity provides inspiration in a world of disposable relationships and transient loyalties. In the second place, we cannot help but compare Elisha’s journey with Jacob’s wrestling match with the angel: “I will not let you go, unless you bless me” (Gen. 32:26). Elisha may be less scrappy than Jacob, but he is just as unrelenting. Such tenacity might appear unseemly to those who are squeamish about asking boldly for what they need—for “the hard thing.” Too many good-intentioned Christians seem willing to make do, to go without, to give without ceasing, while refusing the balm that they need. Whether driven by a culture of rugged individualism, an unhealthy self-denial, or a theology of scarcity, we are both convicted and inspired by Elisha’s determination to follow Elijah through river and town until he receives what he knows he will need for his own ministry. Elisha’s faithfulness to the process allows for his transformation. How too might we be trans-figured by such faithful perseverance in our journeys with God and one another?

    In the topsy-turvy reign of God, strength comes from weakness, glory from despair. The loss of Elijah does not deter Elisha from what must be done: it does not dis-figure him for the ministry to come. In the next section, the transformed, trans-figured Elisha will pick up Elijah’s mantle that has fluttered to the ground. He will strike the water with it, pass through, and journey on. It is a welcome reminder to those of us to lead, mentor, and shepherd others. It is not our ministry but God’s; we cannot walk the journey for others, but we can invite them, as Elijah did, to keep their eyes open—to keep watch for evidence of God’s grace and power.

  • REFLECT

    What is 1 thing that stood out to you in the scripture/commentary?

    What significance might that 1 thing be for your coming week?

reading for: Thursday Night, 8 february

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

The True Light of Jesus Christ

READ

4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

4:5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake.

4:6 For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Commentary

This particular passage begins midargument, with Paul answering the charge that his gospel is difficult to understand. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (vv. 3–4). This standard if—then construction, while rhetorically useful in Paul’s time, is actually an impediment to preaching this passage in a contemporary setting. To modern ears, Paul sounds like the dishonest tailors in the story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”: “If you don’t understand the gospel, it’s because you aren’t among the saved.” Yet many congregations are full of people who find the gospel difficult to comprehend, and it is not because they are perishing or blind.

I once took a group of inner-city students canoeing in northern Minnesota. The first night out, when the sun had set, one young woman looked up at the star-filled sky and said, “Where did those come from?” I explained that the stars were always there, but in the city, there was too much light pollution to see any but the brightest stars. The same is true for contemporary Christians: we are not suffering from blindness as much as from an excess of light.

One of the brightest human-made bulbs is the light of reason. Everyone is looking for evidence these days, and data is presumed to be more persuasive than faith. Perhaps that is why some Christians champion the theory of Intelligent Design, believing that once the facts are established, then faith will logically follow. In the same way, my confirmation class is far more interested in how Jesus fed 5,000 people than why he did it. Yet raising human reason to such a lofty position is nothing short of idolatry. It is not that faith is antithetical to reason, but that faith often transcends reason. A colleague once said, “The key to being a Christian these days is to be able to think it through as far as you can but still be willing to leap.”

A second “light of the gods of this world” that “blinds” us is the cult of self-actualization. Walk into any bookstore and you will find row upon row of self-help books, all designed to enable you to become the best you can be. Apparently, the road to contentment is paved with the right diet, the perfect mate, and a well-organized closet. Even popular religious writers have come to the conclusion that we (not God) are at the center of all things, and once we understand that, we can have our best life now. Unfortunately, it is hard to see the glory of God when you are standing in the spotlight.

There are other sources of light from the gods of this world that keep us from seeing or seeking God’s glory. The entertainment industry, for example, is in the business of creating glitz and glam as a way of getting and holding our attention. Exposed to a constant stream of movies, music, and infotainment, some people are too distracted even to wonder about the glory of Christ. Another bright distraction is economic success, a shiny but elusive idol after which many people chase. Every community and congregation has its own string of lights. The point is that all the bright lights of modern life have the capacity to mask the glory of God, and we become like that young woman standing in the city, fruitlessly searching the washed-out sky for stars.

So how do we escape the blinding lights of modern life? We heed Paul’s words, “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as slaves for Jesus’ sake” (v. 5). Moving ourselves out of the spotlight is a good first step toward comprehending the gospel and catching a glimpse of the glory of God. It is also a powerful reminder of who serves whom. Despite what some modern evangelists proclaim, God is not some cosmic butler, some omniscient Jeeves sent to cater to our every need. No, God is the one true God, the creator who said, “Let light shine out of the darkness.” The creator of light is the source of glory found in the person of Jesus Christ.

Of course, in our mainline congregations, there will undoubtedly be some person who will wonder, “What’s so great about the glory of God?” It is a fair question. Why do we seek this glory when we have already managed to illuminate our lives? The answer is that not all light is the same. The bright lights we have created to fend off the darkness have only the power to shine on us. In this world, we see ourselves and others by the harsh and unforgiving human-made glare that reveals only who we are on the outside. But what illuminates Paul and shines through his words is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This light does not demand that our reasoning be sound or our lives be perfect or our faith be immovable. This light is not something that shines on us but through us. This light reveals, not so much who we are, but whose we are, and has the power to transform us. This light is the glory of God, the glory of Christ.

REFLECT

What is 1 thing that stood out to you in the scripture/commentary?

What significance might that 1 thing be for your coming week?

reading for: FRIDAY Night, 9 FEBRUARY

Psalm 50:1-6

Responding to the Revelation of God

  • REAd

    50:1 The mighty one, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

    50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

    50:3 Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him.

    50:4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

    50:5 "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"

    50:6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah

    Commentary

    The fiftieth psalm begins with a glorious manifestation of God who shines forth (v. 2), does not keep silent but is seen in fire and tempest (v. 3) for the purpose of judging the people (v. 4), renewing the covenant in worship (v. 5), and declaring the righteousness of God (v. 6). With the story of the transfiguration in mind, the psalmody for today makes clear that a glorious experience of divine presence is not an end in itself, but is for the purpose of both judgment and renewal.

    Divine self-disclosure or manifestation always has the character of a gift of grace. A particularly intense experience of the presence of God is not something that can be conjured, cajoled, manipulated, or otherwise brought about. Moses did not seek out the burning bush (Exod. 3:1–6), nor did Elijah seek a manifestation of God in a sheer silence (1 Kgs. 19:11–12). Neither Amos nor Hosea sought a divine call on their lives when they were granted vocation (Amos 7:14–15; Hos. 1:1–3). Even Isaiah offered himself for service in response to a theophany, not as a way of conjuring one into being (Isa. 6:1–8). Just so, the disciples on the mount of the transfiguration found themselves granted a powerful vision of Jesus’ authority in the midst of their efforts to grasp his identity (Mark 9:1–14). In each instance, and others besides, a particular experience of the presence of God was granted freely and without effort on the part of those so blessed.

    We neither pray nor worship in order to create some kind of religious experience. Prayer and worship are responses to God by which we orient ourselves toward that which is of ultimate worth. In worship we open ourselves to being shaped in conformity with what truly matters for life, and shaped by the ground and source of our being. If we have a particularly intimate experience of God such as that known by the psalmist, then that experience is an unmerited, unearned, free gift of God’s grace. The place to seek the effects of our prayer is not in the prayer itself but in our lives. We do not worship in order to “get something out of it,” but in order that our lives may be more fully in accord with the purposes and intention of God, more fully in accord with the deepest desires of our hearts, and more fully a manifestation of the person we were created to be. A marathon runner who does not train will soon find herself short of breath. A concert pianist who does not practice will soon find his audience dwindling. A person of faith who pays no heed to worship will soon find her life overtaken by concerns that matter little in the great scheme of things.

    The theophany of Psalm 50 is neither an experience during worship, nor a result of worship. It is a call to worship as YHWH cries, “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The call to worship in this instance is for the purposes of God’s exercise of judgment on the people of the covenant. For many people, judgment is something to be feared. Some will imagine the examination room or the courtroom. Others will find unpleasant memories of failure awoken in them. While the theology of divine judgment led to the idea of the Day of the Lord as a day to be feared in preexilic prophecy, in general the later and postexilic idea was a cause for rejoicing in Israel as the returning exiles were considered the faithful people of God. Judgment need not imply doom.

    Judgment can also be the occasion that brings hope in the form of renewed commitment to what really matters in life. Judgment can be the first word of salvation, just as John prepared the way for Jesus (Mark 1:1–4). Indeed, in the continuation of Psalm 50, not included in the reading for today, God lays a number of charges against the people and rebukes them for their turning away from their covenant (v. 21). In the end this judgment leads to a challenge to those who forget God, that they will remember the word of hope for “those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice” (v. 23). To them, YHWH cries, “I will show the salvation of God” (v. 23). A cringing response to judgment or the threat of judgment is our attempt to avoid bad feelings or other consequences of our behavior. The alternative for people of faith is to trust in the love of God and the promise that God’s desire is that we should know salvation and live. As we trust God for life, we can face anything, including the consequences of our own behavior. We can mark well God’s judgment, renew our commitment to following Jesus as the way of life, and see the promised salvation of God.

  • REFLECT

    What is 1 thing that stood out to you in the scripture/commentary?

    What significance might that 1 thing be for your coming week?

Season of EpiphanyCNL