Fifth Sunday in Epiphany
Isaiah 58:1-12, Psalm 112, and 1 Corinthians 2:1-16
The prophet Isaiah writes that true worship is more than performing religious rituals like fasting and going to the temple every day. True worship is not a checklist to complete as proof of your faith. True faith is recognizing one’s sinfulness, confessing those sins and asking God for forgiveness. It is having complete trust and obedience in God and following His ways to live according to His plan for us.
Fasting, if done for the right reason, can be pleasing to God. It may result in a time of reflection on His Word and prayer. However, fasting, when done to complete a task or to show others how pious one is, serves no purpose in God’s world. Isaiah is critical of the hypocrites who fast for the wrong reason.
Our actions alone do not make us more acceptable to God. It is our faith and the actions that result from that faith in Christ that are pleasing to God. Isaiah is critical of those who fast or worship with sinful hearts, yet they think these acts create a right relationship with God. At best, these acts benefit only the person doing them.
God wants our service to go beyond ourselves to show kindness and generosity to others in need. He has given each one of us talents to use in this service. He has given us what we need for this purpose.
Psalm 112 describes the advantages of having faith in God and how God guards the minds and actions of those who follow His commands. The psalm also mentions that many blessings are available to us when we fear the Lord our God and delight in obeying Him. Fear, in this sense, means to revere, respect and stand in awe of God.
Fearing God allows believers to respect God’s Word and live our lives according to His will. A blessed person receives earthly gifts from God and also the right attitude to enjoy those blessings and use them to serve His people.
The New Testament reading is Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth – 1 Corinthians 2:1-16. Paul tells the reader that he shared the simple message of Jesus Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to guide His words. The heart of Paul’s teaching, indeed the heart of the entire Gospel, is Jesus’ atoning sacrifice.
The message of the cross is that Jesus Christ died for our sins so our sins will be forgiven and we will have eternal life with Him. Christ took on our sin (which He didn’t deserve) to give us eternal life (which we don’t deserve). But that is how deep God’s love for us is. It is His promise.
We who are baptized have been given the Holy Spirit of God so we might understand the things given us by God. The revealing of this is different for each individual – revealed a little bit at a time and only what is necessary as determined by God. Use your blessings and talents to serve God’s people and encourage others to come to Christ. God loves us so deeply and we should show our love for Him by serving His people.
I encourage you to spend time in His Word. Join one of the Lenten Bible study groups forming now to extend that study beyond our time together on Sundays. Studying His Word in the fellowship of other believers is priceless. Sign-up sheets are available at the Connection Center.
Marsha Schroeder
Church Elder