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. Universal salvation would be possible, therefore, if all of the people of the world would be receptive to God and to the grace of God. Nevertheless, not all of the people of the world are receptive to God and to the grace of God. God and the grace of God will be received only by the people who are receptive to God and to the grace of God. Perhaps the world will be saved from sin and death through these people who are receptive to God and to the grace of God. In some texts that expectation is present; in many others it is not.

Psalm 40:1-11
In this psalm, salvation begins with the individual. The psalmist claims that the Lord God has rescued the psalmist from the pit of grave danger and despair. Consequently, the psalmist sings the praises of the Lord in the midst of the great congregation. Many, therefore, will respond and put their trust in the Lord. In spite of a multitude of evils around the psalmist, the Lord has given to the psalmist an ear that is open to the Lord. In this respect, this psalm is similar to the Isaiah 49 text to which we shall now turn.

Isaiah 49:1-7
In this second of the four major segments of “Servant of the Lord” poetry within the Isaiah traditions, there is within the canonical text of 49:3 what most likely is a relatively late scribal addition of the word “Israel” that provides an identification of the “Servant of the Lord” undoubtedly in accord with the principal Jewish interpretation of the identity of the “Servant” from the time of the beginning of the Greek period (333-250 BCE), but which confuses the sense of Isaiah 49:1-7 and removes the identity of the “Servant” from the rich arena of theological inquiry and reflection. Perhaps it would have been preferable to have left the identity of the Servant open, as befits truly excellent art and poetry, than to provide an identity, particularly one that, although popular among the Jews, causes “Israel” to bring back “the scattered people of Israel” and to “restore to greatness the people of Israel who have survived.” The earlier, more excellent sense of the text was that the Servant — probably a poetic expression of the best qualities of the historical Isaiah, of his prophetic followers, of a composite of the ideal prophet, together with the best of the Israelite kings and other leaders — was chosen by the Lord not only to bring back and restore to greatness the scattered people of Israel, but also to be a beacon light for all nations so that potentially all of the world may be saved.

For us as Christians, there is certainly a close connection between the Servant of the Lord as depicted here in Isaiah 49:1-7 and Jesus as Jesus is depicted in the Newer Testament. The claim that the Servant was appointed even before the Servant was born has helped to provide support for the concept that was developed among early followers of Jesus that Jesus was the pre-existent Child/Logos of God.

1 Corinthians 1:1-9
In this greeting and thanksgiving section of 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul wrote about the grace of God that had been given to his readers, the grace of God manifested in Jesus as the Risen Christ, the grace of God given to all of those in Corinth and in all other places who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Apparently for Paul salvation in Christ was a gift received by many people in many places but obviously not by everyone. The ideal would be salvation for everyone, but the actual would be much less than the ideal.

John 1:29-42
Unlike the Synoptics, the Fourth Gospel does not have a Baptism of Jesus account. Instead, it has an account in which John the Baptist tells what happened when he baptized Jesus. In contrast to the Gospel According to Mark, the Fourth Gospel does not present Jesus as a Messiah in secret whose identity is only slowly recognized by his followers. The Fourth Gospel presents Jesus boldly from the beginning as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” In contrast to the Gospel According to Luke, the Fourth Gospel presents the Baptist, not as a relative of Jesus whose identity and mission had been revealed to the mother of John before John had been born, but as one who had been given special clues regarding the identity and role of the one who, coming after him, would be far greater than he.

Each of the Gospel accounts has its own purpose, and when we recognize this, we have no problem with these contrasts, but come to a greater appreciation of the various accounts and of the ways in which God inspired people then and inspires people now. Most of all, we come to a great appreciation of the literary creativity of the inspired Lukan and Johannine writers. What we have is a tremendous amount of beautiful theological reflection by various followers of Jesus regarding the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. In the Johannine tradition Jesus was perceived to have been even before his death the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” and to continue in that role forever. Jesus continues to be perceived in this way within the Church today. As we proclaim the Gospel based on this text next Sunday, we should concentrate on what this great confessional statement means to us. How does Jesus take away the sin of the world today? To what extent has Jesus taken away the sin of the world since the days of his death and resurrection? To what extent does sin remain in the world today? How do we think that Jesus will take away the sin of the world in our time and in the future? A shared sermon would be appropriate this coming Sunday during which questions such as these would be used in order that the people who are present will think more seriously for themselves and not merely listen passively to us.