Worship Notes for January 26

Worship Notes

The Third Sunday after Epiphany, Year A

January 26, 2014

The Season

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2). The message for us from our First Lesson for today is the light shining in the darkness, a major theme of this season of the Sundays after Epiphany.

In Word

The context for our prophet Isaiah (above) is the ominous threat of annihilation by the advancing Assyrians, who have taken over the region of Galilee. The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. That is their darkness. What is ours?

In the movie, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Gandalf, the good wizard, confronts his enemy, the Necromencer, who gathers around himself a swirling torrent of darkness, a darkness that comes from within himself, encircling him as a ravaging tornado swirling around its vortex, and from the midst of the darkness comes the voice of the dark lord Sauron: “I am the darkness no light can overcome.” Our psalmist would challenge that assertion, singing boldly: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1a). So would our prophet, Isaiah.

The Apostle Paul in our Second Lesson is urging the Christians in Corinth to overcome their petty divisions (“I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas”) and, rather, to be united by the proclamation of the gospel. Paul knew the power of the cross of Christ of which he speaks. That power transformed his life from being a foremost persecutor of those who professed Jesus to one of the foremost witnesses to Jesus. If the power of the cross can accomplish that transformation, how much more can it break down our petty divisions?!

Our Gospel writer Matthew quotes Isaiah from our First Lesson today. Jesus, the Light of the world, has entered Galilee! If John the baptizer, the one who went ahead of Jesus to prepare his way, is in prison, what might be in store for Jesus? And for those who follow him? Yet, the call of Jesus is so compelling that millions have listened to his voice and followed him.

In Song

“Will You Come and Follow Me” was penned by John Bell, a Scottish Presbyterian pastor, who, for many years has been associated with the Wild Goose Resource Group of the Iona Community. “The Wild Goose” is taken to be an ancient Celtic name for the Holy Spirit. The Iona community is an international association of men and women who keep a rule of life while retaining their secular jobs, founded in 1938 on the small island of Iona off the western coast of Scotland.  Our Song of the Day was written for the sending out of youth volunteers from the community.