Items for the week of Sunday, February 1st

This past Sunday, February 1^st, was the 4^th Sunday after Epiphany we heard the following scripture readings, introduction, and prayer of the day during the worship service:

Scripture Readings

Micah 6:1-8 The offering of justice, kindness, humility
Psalm 15 Lord, who may abide upon your holy hill? (Ps. 15:1)
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Christ crucified, the wisdom and power of God
Matthew 5:1-12 The teaching of Christ: Beatitudes

Introduction for the Day

Who are the blessed ones of God? For Micah, they are those who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. For Paul, they are the ones who find wisdom in the weakness of the cross. For Jesus, they are the poor, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who mourn, and those who hunger for righteousness. In baptism we find our blessed identity and calling in this countercultural way of living and serving.

Prayer of the Day

Holy God, you confound the world’s wisdom in giving your kingdom to the lowly and the pure in heart. Give us such a hunger and thirst for justice, and perseverance in striving for peace, that in our words and deeds the world may see the life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Devotion for the week

Something Bigger Than Us

The beatitudes could easily be read as a list of rewards and consequences, and the kind of behaviors that will merit one or the other. We are well accustomed to understanding the world in such terms. Children receive rewards for good behavior. Students earn awards or scholarships. Athletes win medals or trophies. Success is a ladder we climb and, if we’ve done our part, our job is rewarded in the end.

Jesus talks about a great reward, but it’s not one we can earn. On a closer look, the nature of many of the so-called “blessings” in the beatitudes is as much about what is done to us as about anything we do for ourselves. Jesus begins his sermon by going up the mountain, but his words push us not to new heights but to greater depths. Poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger, thirst, and persecution—these are not behaviors to strive toward for a reward. Instead, they are circumstances in which we can find ourselves when the ladder we’ve been climbing falls to the ground. Alternatively, to be merciful or pure in heart or a peacemaker is to choose to get off the ladder altogether for the sake of something bigger than our small selves.

The beatitudes as a whole suggest that Jesus wants more for us than simply collecting a heavenly prize in the end. His blessings assure us that all along the way, no matter our circumstances, we have an inherent, God-given dignity that no one and nothing can strip from us. At the table of Christ, all who hunger and thirst for righteousness are filled. This meal isn’t awarded to us for a job well done. Rather, it feeds us for the work still to be done, that of sharing God’s mercy and peace with others.