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A light to the nations

Commentary
Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - A
Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
John 1:29-42
The second "Servant Song" continues the theme of the universal intent of the God of Israel and thus of Israel. To this day it is difficult for Israel and for the church to define what is meant by the universal. Only a few times in the Hebrew scriptures does the theme of salvation beyond Israel or of God's care for the outsider come up. Amos 9 has the Lord asking, "Are you not like the Ethiopians to me?" Who was taking care of the Philistines and the Aarameans? But these are rather dim unfoldings of divine purpose compared to the theme here: "I will give you as a light to the nations."
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Paul reread the parable again and sighed. Why had he agreed to lead the Bible study this week? When Pastor Luke asked him, he had been all excited and enthusiastic. He knew the parable of the prodigal son inside and out having read commentaries and stories about it before. He had actually preached a sermon on the passage when Pastor Luke was away and received great feedback from the congregation.

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I suppose we are all a little bit nervous about the prospect of a sermon on a Bible story as familiar and sometimes as overworked as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. "What can I possibly say that hasn't been said before?" And I know what's going through your minds: "Are we going to be subjected to the same old sermon yet another time?" Confronting a familiar Bible passage like this mid-Lent really serves to address the discipline of reading Scripture as part of our devotional life, particularly passages that are very familiar.
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A. A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote a simple, yet telling poem in his work, Now We Are Six:

When I was One, I had just begun.
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Janice B. Scott
Call to worship:

 While the Prodigal Son was still far off, his father saw him, ran to him, put his arms around him and kissed him. In our worship today, let us turn to God so that he may run to us, put his arms around and kiss us.

Invitation to confession:

 Jesus, for the times when we run away from you,

Lord, have mercy.

 Jesus, for the times when we have wasted our inheritance on dissolute living,

Christ, have mercy.

 Jesus, when we return to you,

Lord, have mercy.

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