About The Service

The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, February 5, 2012.  

The readings for this Sunday are: Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-12,21c; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; and Mark 1:29-39.       

God's power is the theme that emerges from today's scriptural texts.  Isaiah cries out: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning?"  The Prophet goes on to explain that God is the very foundation of the earth and the heavens, the ground of all being, the source of all life, and the renewer of all who are weary. 

We modern people have grown quite complacent about these things.  We have harnessed many power sources in our world - from coal to oil to electricity to nuclear power - yet we have nearly forgotten the power of God which underlies them all.  We underestimate God.  Our God is too small.*

St. Paul speaks of God's power in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Here again, I believe our modern failing is to underestimate this power.  Do we really believe the Gospel can change human lives, can change the world?  Do we act as if we believe this? 

Finally, Mark's Gospel tells a story about a very powerful Jesus.  First he heals the mother-in-law of his friend and disciple, Simon Peter.  Then he healed many who were sick or possessed with demons.  The demons could not speak in Jesus' presence, because they recognized his power.  Last week, Sue Carroll preached powerfully about healing - in her own life, and in our church's prayer ministry.  Sue pointed out that our need to understand this mystery can get in the way of our ability to receive a gift from God. 

I wonder if we've gotten so accustomed to being able to control power - with the flick of a switch - that we are no longer comfortable with power we do not control - God's power.  Because we do not understand it or control it, we often dismiss it.  But anyone who has ever experienced radical physical healing, an ocean tide, true love, the healing of a gross injustice, a starry night, the reconciliation of a broken relationship, or the birth of a baby should not underestimate the power of God in the world today.  We need only to recognize God's hand in the world about us, celebrate it, and give thanks.  JBM

*I borrow this sentence from the title of a classic book by theologian J.B.Phillips.