Enlightenment Expectations
Commentary
What can we reasonably expect from the church during troubling times such as pandemics, economic downturns and racial tension in many communities? Charles Taylor’s book entitled A Secular Age, as been oft quoted to suggest that since most western hemisphere people have lost a sense of the enchanted, supernatural or transcendent nature of any God, organized religion has outlived its usefulness. Among Taylor’s many claims, is most common action in society does not need an act of God or great chain of extraordinary events (192). Ethics to organize social good does not need belief in a God. Materialism and seeking the good life drive most western civilization citizens. We are now a science and technology driven society. We live in a universe that is basically indifferent to humans because if humans want a possession or commodity bad enough, they can obtain it themselves (570-572). Scientific facts explain any sources of power thereby make belief in a world that is created and sustained by a “God” unnecessary, but not forbidden (569). In this season of Epiphany, where does the Christian church fit in?
A summer or so ago, Pastor Chris also had similar thoughts. Out of nowhere a coronavirus pandemic paralyzed the whole nation, along with other nations of the world. Many community gatherings, such as churches were deemed “nonessential” and requested by government officials to close their doors for worship. As Pastor Chris thought maybe here might be a summer away for vacation as an unofficial “sabbatical,” there comes pressure from not only church leaders, but civic leaders, to “reopen the church for worship and gatherings again!” Weren’t the social media streamed services good enough? Obviously not! Today’s texts remind people of faith that they have expectations not only in the Epiphany season, but all year around.
The First Lesson in 1 Samuel is a reminder that sometimes God does not use political influence to select leadership for God’s people. 1 Corinthians 6 might make readers blush at first glance regarding, not fornications with prostitutes, but a deeper set of values related to life and death as well as community. The Gospel lesson attempts to address the many Messianic expectations of the Son of God promised in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). These lessons are an invitation to believers at all times to have Epiphany expectations (Taylor, Charles, A Secular Age, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007).
1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)
Most scholars have generally accepted the books of 1 and 2 Samuel as a historically accurate portrayal of the early monarchies of Israel. The author is brutally honest about the indiscretions, and glorious victories, which entail much violence at times in order to accomplish God’s will. No editorial attempt is made to sanitize the shortcomings of any of God’s chosen leaders or people. Today’s text is no exception.
Samuel is the son of Hannah, who was barren and prayed a lengthy set of petitions for a child (1 Samuel 2:1-10). After the boy was of age, Hannah took her son to the local tabernacle and placed him under the care of the priest, Eli. She still continued to make garments for the boy Samuel.
The calling of Samuel is the theme of this text. There is a “theophany” nature to it in that God speaks to Samuel in a dream, for which he mistakes it to be the voice of Eli, the priest. A very key verse can serve as one interpretative lens for this text, that being 1 Samuel 1:1, “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” This might be a good point of departure for a sermon relating to when people believe they no longer live in a golden age of great leaders, spectacular interventions with only seeming silence and quiet despair among any nation or people. It is precisely in these times when “The word of the Lord was rare in those days,” that God may actually working in unexpected ways. At the time nobody realized what was actually occurring — now it suddenly comes to light that God is doing a great act of liberation. This is in keeping with the Epiphany theme. As soon as Eli realizes that the boy Samuel is hearing a voice from God, he nurtures the boy and encourages him. This would be quite the contrast later in 1 Samuel when King Saul would respond to David, who trusted him, with jealous rage! (1 Samuel 18).
God’s message is bad news for Eli, as he and his household will lose the priesthood in punishment for his son’s indiscretions with Temple finances and women worshipers. Eli himself is a good-hearted elderly man whose eyesight had begun to grow dim” (3:2). The sons of Eli had badly disgraced their father and he will pay the consequences for their actions. This might be another sermon theme.
When do the relatives of loved ones who have abused community standards and laws pay for the consequences of reckless family members? A more subtle illustration might be an aspiring middle management person or care worker is about to realize their dream job position, when one of their own family are caught up in alcoholism and drug addiction that results in public humiliation in the local press, thereby tarnishing the responsible family member’s career in the community. This is not a far off the mark for Eli. His sons will diminish any opportunities he may have had to teach at the Temple school or seek any higher office in the Jewish priestly community. His sons Hophni and Phineas both served to sabotage his years of vocationally ending well as a priest. Yet, he made the best of it, as God had called him to nurture young Samuel, the son of Hannah, who had been doing the duties that Hophni and Phineas either neglected or ill performed.
This narrative lets the reader know that God takes great care to make sure that Samuel’s credentials do not rest on political conventional protocol of the time, but is directed at God’s command! This might raise the question of a person feeling a calling from God to carry on a particular vocation, ministry or mission in life without the official licensure, candidacy approval or authorizations from the hierarchy of a certain occupation. This question is not that off beat, and in some corners of our nation, and is fairly new.
A worker in a small border state hospital, “Bertha” was a single parent during the 1930s Great Depression in America. Her husband abandoned her with five children. Desperate because she only had a high school diploma, she got a job emptying bedpans and changing linens for the rooms of African Americans and other patients of color. The regular nurses and staff shunned such thankless dirty work. Bertha faithfully carried on her duties for many years while raising her children. She believed God called her to this position. In that day, she could claim the job title “Practical Nurse” (PN). The hospital administrators gave her glowing recommendations and letters of praise for future employment. Later, her state started to create formal schooling and credentialing for “Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN).” Bertha, whose years of labor and love with these people of color, was given a severance package to quietly go away into early retirement. Bertha would be a modern-day Samuel whom God called, and served God’s people in many difficult times. Today whose calling is more credible…that of the “state or God?” This is one question to ponder in the event that somebody has a nightmare or reads books or sees movies on a dystopian future, and a person who cares for them does not have official state credentials. That is, God is still acting even when “The word of the Lord was rare in those days.”
The people of Israel still found courage to believe and hope that God is doing a new thing through this young man Samuel, as the “old guard” of the family of Eli is coming to an end. The Epiphany expectation this text points to is that maybe God is doing a new act when it seems as though “The word of the Lord as rare in those days.” Possibly God may be calling a person or leader without political or personal self-interest in a given office of power, but simply wishes to obey God. Charles Taylor might suggest that western civilization is beyond this point, as science and technology has many of the answers, often motivated by greed and materialism. 1 Samuel might suggest that it is not out of the question that we might be in a “post Science and technology era.” God is authorizing new voices into the public and discourse of any people [Source: Brueggemann, Walter, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, 1 and 2 Samuel, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990)].
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
What sort of moral behavior is it realistic to expect from a community of faith? This is the question that this addressed in uncontested epistle of Paul. In 1 Corinthian’s 6, the apostle grapples with Christian morals on this Epiphany Sunday. Verse 6:12 might serve both as a point of departure and interpretative lens for this text, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything. Paul is responding to a sentiment of “I can do anything,” based on God’s gracious freedom from Jewish law. The logic goes similar to “nothing is unclean unto itself (Romans 14:14), “therefore, I am free to do what I want to do with a cleans conscience. In modern times, this could result in a “proof text war” to justify certain behaviors. Paul is attempting to rise about these types to polemics to provide a larger worldview of God’s activity among God’s people.
Scholars have suggested that the people may be listening to certain Gnostic groups who believed that the body is transient in the larger order of universal events. The spirit is all that matters, so the body is disposable and thereby given license to carry on what is called individualism to do what one pleases. A large segment of the people whom Charles Taylor writes in “A Secular Age,” would agree with this analysis and tell Paul to, “butt out!”
The two practices that serve as the arena for this debate include eating food that is sacrificed to idols, and the accepted practice of partaking and supporting the prostitution practices of the time. Imagine a legalized House of Prostitution one might find in one of the twelve counties of legalized prostitution in the state of Nevada, now being located next to the corner store in midtown America. This was the common practice in Corinth and other locations in the Roman Empire. Just like there dangers of transmitted disease, and unintentional psychosomatic attachments now, such was the case in Corinth (Bruce, 64).
Paul’s core theological teaching is Christians are bought with a price through Jesus’s death and resurrection. Our bodies belong to this risen Lord, not to the latest passions of the world. Contra to the Gnostics, our bodies do matter to God. They will one day be resurrected at the second coming of our Lord. God the creator does continue to work creating acts through the bodies of believers in Jesus as Christ. Therefore, Christians are to do those actions which glorify God and edify the community of faith.
We are not free agents with our bodies, might be Paul’s response to those who believe we are autonomous pleasure-seeking secularists (Taylor, A Secular Age). Once the Holy Spirit is in a believer, their bodies are a temple of the risen Lord. One does not desecrate this temple by being attached to paid sexual partner for a night of pleasure. The moral issue is to be a slave in another form of sin and idolatry or to have a faithful relationship with Christ and his body the Christian church? An Epiphany expectation might be that Christians should respond to the gracious salvation from sin, death and the devil by returning to those passions which lead to destruction or live a life of fidelity that uplifts the witness of the community of faith? This might serve to set people a part from the “Secular Age” Taylor identifies When the gods of science and technology do let people down, there remains the possibility of faith in the one whom our faith is grounded who rose from the grave (Tillich, Courage To Be, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1952).
The temptation to blush at first glance at this text’s teaching not to fornicate with prostitutes, may cause one to shy away from this text on this Sunday. The larger Epiphany question might be to ask how our community of faith and our daily life as disciples of Jesus Christ are glorifying God and building our community of believers?
One illustration might be a young college graduate who is active in the area church ministry, sees a young wife and child coming to the office to pick up the husband and father so they may have a Friday family night out. The office workers are embarrassed to see this family, as they know the father and husband is already at a local bar, probably inebriated and flirting with other women at the drinking establishment. Do Christians remain silent and let the wife guess or find out what the scoundrel is up do now, or do they “rat him out,” and suggest she go hire a lawyer to rid herself of this irresponsible scoundrel? Epiphany might be a time to explore if God is actually waking us up like Samuel, or pointing us to bad behavior like Paul in this text. Either way, it is reasonable according to Paul for Christians to live lives worthy of the spirit filled Temple of their bodies. Good news from this text includes that people of faith are never alone in their struggle with both bodily temptations and pressure to conform to the destructive norms and practices of any society which does not respect and honor God. [Sources: Bruce, F.F., The New Century Bible Commentary: I & II Corinthians, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1971); Hays, Richard B. Walter, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: 1 Corinthians, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997
John 1:43-50
What can a person reasonably expect from a “Messiah” in this season of the Epiphany. Today’s text is an expansion of what John began in 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us…” It provides a rich tapestry of themes to explore in this unique calling of the disciples. The narrative provides a pattern for calls to discipleship. Earlier, John the Baptist reports that Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (1;29). Two of John’s disciples now follow Jesus. This pattern of telling then inviting would continue when Philip (of Greek background from Bethsaida) invites Nathanael to follow Jesus. Scholars debate whether Nathanael was being a bit condescending in saying, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Later Jesus would point out that he saw Nathanael sitting under a fig tree. Was this more skepticism on Nathanial’s part? A preaching path could be regarding one’s motivation for being a disciple of Jesus? Does Jesus need to show some extra human power as evidence, or is the witness of other believers sufficient?
Another path of this text is the names thar are given to Jesus, as “Messiah” in this text. Other titles include “Rabbi” (1:38), “him about whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote” (1:45), “Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth” (1:45), “Son of God” (1:34. 49), and “King of Israel” (1:49). Each one of these titles for Jesus as Messiah is fertile ground to explore in terms for Jesus in Scripture. By far the most explored term is that of “Son of Man.” Is this synonymous with “Son of God?” John uses “Son of God” Eight times and “Son of Man,” fifteen times in his gospel.
Old Testament or Hebrew Bible roots of this term go back to 2 Samuel 7:12-14, referring to God’s covenant with King David, and 1 Chronicles 17:3, being the same event. While debate continues whether this term can fully encapsulate the term “Messiah,” John 19:7 reports that while Jesus is on trial and sentenced to death because “he has claimed to be the Son of God.”
Other theories include “Son of Man” meaning: Jesus’ humanity, a Jewish apocalyptic figure, divine man, or simply another human Son of God (Thompson, 54-57). The Daniel 7, reference has been held as a viable reference by both conservative and mainline biblical scholars.
While the reader will not fully learn this until Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples vocations are not identified in John, until his resurrection and they are fishing (21:1-3). Peter will be the shepherd of the disciples after the resurrection, but now he is identified as “Cephas” without any reference to the history of his name as in Matthew 16:18. Therefore all of the disciples are on equal footing thus far in the gospel narrative.
In John, Jesus often travels back and forth from Jerusalem to Galilee. This Messiah almost regularly commutes rather than waiting for one final trip to Jerusalem which will result in his death. A “Mobile Messiah” might be another preaching path to explore from John’s Gospel here.
“Come and See” (1:46) has been suggested as a preaching path of discipleship being a journey one matures in with time and experience both among fellow Christians and the Spirit of Jesus himself (given in John 20:21-22). In times such as ours, one way to develop disciples is to offer “come and see” opportunities of church ministry. Many congregations do community service projects, especially in times of need for food, hygiene supplies and financial assistance for assorted bills. During Epiphany season, there is an opportunity for congregations to offer ministries people can “come and see,” as they will one day if not presently experience the dark valleys of Lent in their lives. This is a reasonable expectation from the people of the Messiah according to John.
Another term John often uses, is the Greek Words, “amain, amain,” which is usually translated, “Amen, Amen or Very Truly.” This is used twenty-five times in John to underscore or emphasize a point as one would either italicize or use bold type. A preacher might identify the “Very Truly” citations in Johns’ gospel to explore patterns or if there is a “de facto” canon within a canon here suggested by the evangelist.
The larger point of this whole text relies on the reader accepting the cosmology of John, that being there is a three-layered universe of the Heavens, earth and underworld. Tracing its roots back to Genesis 28, when Israel’s patriarch, Jacob dreams of seeing a ladder from heaven with angels descending and ascending onto earth, John uses this same illustration for Jesus as the new connection between heaven and earth. In this case, the connection will be at Jesus’ hour of glory on the Cross (John 19).
Whichever direction or path the preacher chooses to pursue, the final message is that God the Word in the Flesh whose human home was Nazareth is the Son of Man, probably suggested in Daniel 7 in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). People will struggle to understand his identity throughout the gospel. The reader already knows Jesus is the Word who was with God and was God (John 1:1).
Jesus is inviting Nathanael and people of all times to have their innermost desires and emptiness fulfilled with an ongoing community and experience with Jesus and his community of faith. The next event will be Jesus’ first sign at the wedding in Cana (John 2). Jesus does not impose his messianic ministry but simply invites the curious and those with some reservation to “Come and see.” We will see a similar pattern in John 3, with Nicodemus. A leader of the Jews is coming to Jesus by night to make further inquiries about the nature of his ministry. [Sources: Beutler, Johannes, A Commentary on the Gospel of John, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2017); Kysar, Robert, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: John, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1986); Molony, Francis J. Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1998); O Day, Gail and Susan E. Hylen, Westminster Bible Companion: John, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006); Thompson, Marianne Meye, The New Testament Library: John, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015)].
Application
What does it take to believe in something or some power beyond ourselves which does not demand scientific, replicated evidence of factual measurements? John’s gospel invites us to explore the various titles for Jesus as Messiah. I am currently reading a book by Leo Tolstoy entitled, A Confession and Other Religious Writings (New York, NY: Penguin Books 1988). Tolstoy writes that having his childhood Orthodox religious views imposed on him was at best counterproductive. So, he proceeds to seek meaning in life by questioning all of those people in his learned and elitist social economic classes, only to find them asking similar questions, but framing them in varying ways—still coming up empty. He finds people attempting varying forms of indulgence and escapism as well as simply living in denial. John’s gospel here in the calling of the disciples is an opportunity to invite people to “Come and see” how the church experiences, models and shares its discipleship mission to feed and tend to those in the community of faith. The invitation is extended to a larger community in times when other people may experience the same emptiness and despair that Tolstoy does, despite his fame and fortune. Tolstoy does carry on a conversation with the King Solomon of the Book of Ecclesiastes, who experiences similar such vanity. Again, John’s gospel might be another conversation partner one might want to bring to any discussions on the “meaning of life.” Tolstoy reports what many postmodern people observe, that science and learned intellectuals do not have the a solution to the meaning of life or why do we live? John’s gospel is one prescription for people of all times who lack meaning in their lives, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This spoken by the one who will show us heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. (John 1:51).
Alternative Application
Do we really believe that God is capable of having angels ascending and descending from the skies? Is there sort of a science fiction “worm hole” in the universe that we are unaware of, but is still present? What do we believe about angels and the supernatural these days when sometimes science and technology lets us down?
A summer or so ago, Pastor Chris also had similar thoughts. Out of nowhere a coronavirus pandemic paralyzed the whole nation, along with other nations of the world. Many community gatherings, such as churches were deemed “nonessential” and requested by government officials to close their doors for worship. As Pastor Chris thought maybe here might be a summer away for vacation as an unofficial “sabbatical,” there comes pressure from not only church leaders, but civic leaders, to “reopen the church for worship and gatherings again!” Weren’t the social media streamed services good enough? Obviously not! Today’s texts remind people of faith that they have expectations not only in the Epiphany season, but all year around.
The First Lesson in 1 Samuel is a reminder that sometimes God does not use political influence to select leadership for God’s people. 1 Corinthians 6 might make readers blush at first glance regarding, not fornications with prostitutes, but a deeper set of values related to life and death as well as community. The Gospel lesson attempts to address the many Messianic expectations of the Son of God promised in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). These lessons are an invitation to believers at all times to have Epiphany expectations (Taylor, Charles, A Secular Age, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007).
1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)
Most scholars have generally accepted the books of 1 and 2 Samuel as a historically accurate portrayal of the early monarchies of Israel. The author is brutally honest about the indiscretions, and glorious victories, which entail much violence at times in order to accomplish God’s will. No editorial attempt is made to sanitize the shortcomings of any of God’s chosen leaders or people. Today’s text is no exception.
Samuel is the son of Hannah, who was barren and prayed a lengthy set of petitions for a child (1 Samuel 2:1-10). After the boy was of age, Hannah took her son to the local tabernacle and placed him under the care of the priest, Eli. She still continued to make garments for the boy Samuel.
The calling of Samuel is the theme of this text. There is a “theophany” nature to it in that God speaks to Samuel in a dream, for which he mistakes it to be the voice of Eli, the priest. A very key verse can serve as one interpretative lens for this text, that being 1 Samuel 1:1, “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” This might be a good point of departure for a sermon relating to when people believe they no longer live in a golden age of great leaders, spectacular interventions with only seeming silence and quiet despair among any nation or people. It is precisely in these times when “The word of the Lord was rare in those days,” that God may actually working in unexpected ways. At the time nobody realized what was actually occurring — now it suddenly comes to light that God is doing a great act of liberation. This is in keeping with the Epiphany theme. As soon as Eli realizes that the boy Samuel is hearing a voice from God, he nurtures the boy and encourages him. This would be quite the contrast later in 1 Samuel when King Saul would respond to David, who trusted him, with jealous rage! (1 Samuel 18).
God’s message is bad news for Eli, as he and his household will lose the priesthood in punishment for his son’s indiscretions with Temple finances and women worshipers. Eli himself is a good-hearted elderly man whose eyesight had begun to grow dim” (3:2). The sons of Eli had badly disgraced their father and he will pay the consequences for their actions. This might be another sermon theme.
When do the relatives of loved ones who have abused community standards and laws pay for the consequences of reckless family members? A more subtle illustration might be an aspiring middle management person or care worker is about to realize their dream job position, when one of their own family are caught up in alcoholism and drug addiction that results in public humiliation in the local press, thereby tarnishing the responsible family member’s career in the community. This is not a far off the mark for Eli. His sons will diminish any opportunities he may have had to teach at the Temple school or seek any higher office in the Jewish priestly community. His sons Hophni and Phineas both served to sabotage his years of vocationally ending well as a priest. Yet, he made the best of it, as God had called him to nurture young Samuel, the son of Hannah, who had been doing the duties that Hophni and Phineas either neglected or ill performed.
This narrative lets the reader know that God takes great care to make sure that Samuel’s credentials do not rest on political conventional protocol of the time, but is directed at God’s command! This might raise the question of a person feeling a calling from God to carry on a particular vocation, ministry or mission in life without the official licensure, candidacy approval or authorizations from the hierarchy of a certain occupation. This question is not that off beat, and in some corners of our nation, and is fairly new.
A worker in a small border state hospital, “Bertha” was a single parent during the 1930s Great Depression in America. Her husband abandoned her with five children. Desperate because she only had a high school diploma, she got a job emptying bedpans and changing linens for the rooms of African Americans and other patients of color. The regular nurses and staff shunned such thankless dirty work. Bertha faithfully carried on her duties for many years while raising her children. She believed God called her to this position. In that day, she could claim the job title “Practical Nurse” (PN). The hospital administrators gave her glowing recommendations and letters of praise for future employment. Later, her state started to create formal schooling and credentialing for “Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN).” Bertha, whose years of labor and love with these people of color, was given a severance package to quietly go away into early retirement. Bertha would be a modern-day Samuel whom God called, and served God’s people in many difficult times. Today whose calling is more credible…that of the “state or God?” This is one question to ponder in the event that somebody has a nightmare or reads books or sees movies on a dystopian future, and a person who cares for them does not have official state credentials. That is, God is still acting even when “The word of the Lord was rare in those days.”
The people of Israel still found courage to believe and hope that God is doing a new thing through this young man Samuel, as the “old guard” of the family of Eli is coming to an end. The Epiphany expectation this text points to is that maybe God is doing a new act when it seems as though “The word of the Lord as rare in those days.” Possibly God may be calling a person or leader without political or personal self-interest in a given office of power, but simply wishes to obey God. Charles Taylor might suggest that western civilization is beyond this point, as science and technology has many of the answers, often motivated by greed and materialism. 1 Samuel might suggest that it is not out of the question that we might be in a “post Science and technology era.” God is authorizing new voices into the public and discourse of any people [Source: Brueggemann, Walter, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, 1 and 2 Samuel, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990)].
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
What sort of moral behavior is it realistic to expect from a community of faith? This is the question that this addressed in uncontested epistle of Paul. In 1 Corinthian’s 6, the apostle grapples with Christian morals on this Epiphany Sunday. Verse 6:12 might serve both as a point of departure and interpretative lens for this text, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything. Paul is responding to a sentiment of “I can do anything,” based on God’s gracious freedom from Jewish law. The logic goes similar to “nothing is unclean unto itself (Romans 14:14), “therefore, I am free to do what I want to do with a cleans conscience. In modern times, this could result in a “proof text war” to justify certain behaviors. Paul is attempting to rise about these types to polemics to provide a larger worldview of God’s activity among God’s people.
Scholars have suggested that the people may be listening to certain Gnostic groups who believed that the body is transient in the larger order of universal events. The spirit is all that matters, so the body is disposable and thereby given license to carry on what is called individualism to do what one pleases. A large segment of the people whom Charles Taylor writes in “A Secular Age,” would agree with this analysis and tell Paul to, “butt out!”
The two practices that serve as the arena for this debate include eating food that is sacrificed to idols, and the accepted practice of partaking and supporting the prostitution practices of the time. Imagine a legalized House of Prostitution one might find in one of the twelve counties of legalized prostitution in the state of Nevada, now being located next to the corner store in midtown America. This was the common practice in Corinth and other locations in the Roman Empire. Just like there dangers of transmitted disease, and unintentional psychosomatic attachments now, such was the case in Corinth (Bruce, 64).
Paul’s core theological teaching is Christians are bought with a price through Jesus’s death and resurrection. Our bodies belong to this risen Lord, not to the latest passions of the world. Contra to the Gnostics, our bodies do matter to God. They will one day be resurrected at the second coming of our Lord. God the creator does continue to work creating acts through the bodies of believers in Jesus as Christ. Therefore, Christians are to do those actions which glorify God and edify the community of faith.
We are not free agents with our bodies, might be Paul’s response to those who believe we are autonomous pleasure-seeking secularists (Taylor, A Secular Age). Once the Holy Spirit is in a believer, their bodies are a temple of the risen Lord. One does not desecrate this temple by being attached to paid sexual partner for a night of pleasure. The moral issue is to be a slave in another form of sin and idolatry or to have a faithful relationship with Christ and his body the Christian church? An Epiphany expectation might be that Christians should respond to the gracious salvation from sin, death and the devil by returning to those passions which lead to destruction or live a life of fidelity that uplifts the witness of the community of faith? This might serve to set people a part from the “Secular Age” Taylor identifies When the gods of science and technology do let people down, there remains the possibility of faith in the one whom our faith is grounded who rose from the grave (Tillich, Courage To Be, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1952).
The temptation to blush at first glance at this text’s teaching not to fornicate with prostitutes, may cause one to shy away from this text on this Sunday. The larger Epiphany question might be to ask how our community of faith and our daily life as disciples of Jesus Christ are glorifying God and building our community of believers?
One illustration might be a young college graduate who is active in the area church ministry, sees a young wife and child coming to the office to pick up the husband and father so they may have a Friday family night out. The office workers are embarrassed to see this family, as they know the father and husband is already at a local bar, probably inebriated and flirting with other women at the drinking establishment. Do Christians remain silent and let the wife guess or find out what the scoundrel is up do now, or do they “rat him out,” and suggest she go hire a lawyer to rid herself of this irresponsible scoundrel? Epiphany might be a time to explore if God is actually waking us up like Samuel, or pointing us to bad behavior like Paul in this text. Either way, it is reasonable according to Paul for Christians to live lives worthy of the spirit filled Temple of their bodies. Good news from this text includes that people of faith are never alone in their struggle with both bodily temptations and pressure to conform to the destructive norms and practices of any society which does not respect and honor God. [Sources: Bruce, F.F., The New Century Bible Commentary: I & II Corinthians, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1971); Hays, Richard B. Walter, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: 1 Corinthians, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997
John 1:43-50
What can a person reasonably expect from a “Messiah” in this season of the Epiphany. Today’s text is an expansion of what John began in 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us…” It provides a rich tapestry of themes to explore in this unique calling of the disciples. The narrative provides a pattern for calls to discipleship. Earlier, John the Baptist reports that Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (1;29). Two of John’s disciples now follow Jesus. This pattern of telling then inviting would continue when Philip (of Greek background from Bethsaida) invites Nathanael to follow Jesus. Scholars debate whether Nathanael was being a bit condescending in saying, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Later Jesus would point out that he saw Nathanael sitting under a fig tree. Was this more skepticism on Nathanial’s part? A preaching path could be regarding one’s motivation for being a disciple of Jesus? Does Jesus need to show some extra human power as evidence, or is the witness of other believers sufficient?
Another path of this text is the names thar are given to Jesus, as “Messiah” in this text. Other titles include “Rabbi” (1:38), “him about whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote” (1:45), “Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth” (1:45), “Son of God” (1:34. 49), and “King of Israel” (1:49). Each one of these titles for Jesus as Messiah is fertile ground to explore in terms for Jesus in Scripture. By far the most explored term is that of “Son of Man.” Is this synonymous with “Son of God?” John uses “Son of God” Eight times and “Son of Man,” fifteen times in his gospel.
Old Testament or Hebrew Bible roots of this term go back to 2 Samuel 7:12-14, referring to God’s covenant with King David, and 1 Chronicles 17:3, being the same event. While debate continues whether this term can fully encapsulate the term “Messiah,” John 19:7 reports that while Jesus is on trial and sentenced to death because “he has claimed to be the Son of God.”
Other theories include “Son of Man” meaning: Jesus’ humanity, a Jewish apocalyptic figure, divine man, or simply another human Son of God (Thompson, 54-57). The Daniel 7, reference has been held as a viable reference by both conservative and mainline biblical scholars.
While the reader will not fully learn this until Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples vocations are not identified in John, until his resurrection and they are fishing (21:1-3). Peter will be the shepherd of the disciples after the resurrection, but now he is identified as “Cephas” without any reference to the history of his name as in Matthew 16:18. Therefore all of the disciples are on equal footing thus far in the gospel narrative.
In John, Jesus often travels back and forth from Jerusalem to Galilee. This Messiah almost regularly commutes rather than waiting for one final trip to Jerusalem which will result in his death. A “Mobile Messiah” might be another preaching path to explore from John’s Gospel here.
“Come and See” (1:46) has been suggested as a preaching path of discipleship being a journey one matures in with time and experience both among fellow Christians and the Spirit of Jesus himself (given in John 20:21-22). In times such as ours, one way to develop disciples is to offer “come and see” opportunities of church ministry. Many congregations do community service projects, especially in times of need for food, hygiene supplies and financial assistance for assorted bills. During Epiphany season, there is an opportunity for congregations to offer ministries people can “come and see,” as they will one day if not presently experience the dark valleys of Lent in their lives. This is a reasonable expectation from the people of the Messiah according to John.
Another term John often uses, is the Greek Words, “amain, amain,” which is usually translated, “Amen, Amen or Very Truly.” This is used twenty-five times in John to underscore or emphasize a point as one would either italicize or use bold type. A preacher might identify the “Very Truly” citations in Johns’ gospel to explore patterns or if there is a “de facto” canon within a canon here suggested by the evangelist.
The larger point of this whole text relies on the reader accepting the cosmology of John, that being there is a three-layered universe of the Heavens, earth and underworld. Tracing its roots back to Genesis 28, when Israel’s patriarch, Jacob dreams of seeing a ladder from heaven with angels descending and ascending onto earth, John uses this same illustration for Jesus as the new connection between heaven and earth. In this case, the connection will be at Jesus’ hour of glory on the Cross (John 19).
Whichever direction or path the preacher chooses to pursue, the final message is that God the Word in the Flesh whose human home was Nazareth is the Son of Man, probably suggested in Daniel 7 in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible). People will struggle to understand his identity throughout the gospel. The reader already knows Jesus is the Word who was with God and was God (John 1:1).
Jesus is inviting Nathanael and people of all times to have their innermost desires and emptiness fulfilled with an ongoing community and experience with Jesus and his community of faith. The next event will be Jesus’ first sign at the wedding in Cana (John 2). Jesus does not impose his messianic ministry but simply invites the curious and those with some reservation to “Come and see.” We will see a similar pattern in John 3, with Nicodemus. A leader of the Jews is coming to Jesus by night to make further inquiries about the nature of his ministry. [Sources: Beutler, Johannes, A Commentary on the Gospel of John, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2017); Kysar, Robert, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: John, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1986); Molony, Francis J. Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of John, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1998); O Day, Gail and Susan E. Hylen, Westminster Bible Companion: John, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006); Thompson, Marianne Meye, The New Testament Library: John, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015)].
Application
What does it take to believe in something or some power beyond ourselves which does not demand scientific, replicated evidence of factual measurements? John’s gospel invites us to explore the various titles for Jesus as Messiah. I am currently reading a book by Leo Tolstoy entitled, A Confession and Other Religious Writings (New York, NY: Penguin Books 1988). Tolstoy writes that having his childhood Orthodox religious views imposed on him was at best counterproductive. So, he proceeds to seek meaning in life by questioning all of those people in his learned and elitist social economic classes, only to find them asking similar questions, but framing them in varying ways—still coming up empty. He finds people attempting varying forms of indulgence and escapism as well as simply living in denial. John’s gospel here in the calling of the disciples is an opportunity to invite people to “Come and see” how the church experiences, models and shares its discipleship mission to feed and tend to those in the community of faith. The invitation is extended to a larger community in times when other people may experience the same emptiness and despair that Tolstoy does, despite his fame and fortune. Tolstoy does carry on a conversation with the King Solomon of the Book of Ecclesiastes, who experiences similar such vanity. Again, John’s gospel might be another conversation partner one might want to bring to any discussions on the “meaning of life.” Tolstoy reports what many postmodern people observe, that science and learned intellectuals do not have the a solution to the meaning of life or why do we live? John’s gospel is one prescription for people of all times who lack meaning in their lives, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This spoken by the one who will show us heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. (John 1:51).
Alternative Application
Do we really believe that God is capable of having angels ascending and descending from the skies? Is there sort of a science fiction “worm hole” in the universe that we are unaware of, but is still present? What do we believe about angels and the supernatural these days when sometimes science and technology lets us down?
