Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5, Cycle A
Within three of the four texts appointed for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany in Series A, the central, unifying theme is “the righteousness of the People of God.” Throughout the acrostic Psalm 112 the righteousness of God’s People is described and defined. In a similar manner, righteousness is the quality that the Lord God desires in the People of God in Isaiah 58. Finally, in the Matthew 5:13-20 account the righteousness of the new community of followers of Jesus is the primary subject for consideration. Only 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 stands outside this theme.
Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4, Cycle A
With selections from Psalm 15 as the leadoff text and the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 as the anchor text, it is obvious that the overriding theme of the readings selected for this coming weekend is basically “Happiness is…” Biblically speaking, happiness is experienced in the Presence of God. Happiness is the condition of those who do what is right in the sight of God. Happiness is the state of being for the People of God in the kingdom of God, wherever God, rather than some earthly oppressive ruler, is king.
Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3, Cycle A
The Epiphany theme of the light of the Lord dispelling fear, darkness, oppression, and illness is apparent in three of these four texts appointed for this coming weekend. The fourth text, 1 Corinthians 1:10-18, is linked to Matthew 4:12-23 by the mention of the gospel (good news) in 1 Corinthians 1:17 and Matthew 4:23.
Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2, Cycle A
There is an interesting tension in these four texts between whether the salvation from sin and death that God provides will be received by the entire world or only by a few select people who are in the world. This tension between universal salvation and particular salvation is present in many biblical texts, and in other Israelite-Jewish, Christian, and Islamic texts as well. In these texts it is clearly stated that the salvation God provides is more than adequate to save the entire world and all of the people in it.
Baptism of the Lord (Cycle A)
The message of Matthew 3:13-17 is expressed most clearly in the voice from the heavens, changed slightly from its Markan source from “You are my beloved Son,” to “This is my beloved Son.” Jesus is proclaimed in this text to be God’s special, beloved Son, and God is said to be pleased with him. This quotation adapted from Psalm 2:7 and from Isaiah 42:1 indicates that Jesus was proclaimed in the Synoptic communities to be a combination of God’s chosen kingly figure (Psalm 2) to rule in God’s great kingdom and of the Servant figure (Isaiah 42:1) who does everything in a way that is pleasing to God.
