Pericope Study

Epiphany 5C

Presented by Richard M Burgess

Introduction:

This is a pericope study presented an effort to assist in studying the lectionary for sermon preparation. Therefore, while I am responsible for the content, it does not necessarily directly reflect my opinions or theology, much less a desire to “be right”, though it might. My intention is to help you to hear God’s Word and to sense the Spirit’s movement.

General Questions to ask throughout this particular pericope study:

     1   How is God calling whom?

     2   How is the Word proclaimed through Law & Gospel?

     3   How is God calling you today in your time & place?

Collect / Prayer of the Day: Almighty God, you sent your only Son as the Word of life for our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Help us to believe with joy what the Scriptures proclaim, through Jesus Christ our Lord. (LBW p 16)

Lesson I: Isaiah 6.1-8 (9-13) [NRSV]

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. [2] Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. [3] And one called to another and said:

 "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

 the whole earth is full of his glory."

[4] The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. [5] And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"

 [6] Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. [7] The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." [8] Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!" [9] And he said, "Go and say to this people:

 'Keep listening, but do not comprehend;

 keep looking, but do not understand.'

 [10] Make the mind of this people dull,

and stop their ears,

and shut their eyes,

 so that they may not look with their eyes,

and listen with their ears,

 and comprehend with their minds,

and turn and be healed."

 [11] Then I said, "How long, O Lord?" And he said:

 "Until cities lie waste

without inhabitant,

 and houses without people,

and the land is utterly desolate;

 [12] until the Lord sends everyone far away,

and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.

 [13] Even if a tenth part remain in it,

it will be burned again,

 like a terebinth or an oak

whose stump remains standing

when it is felled."

 The holy seed is its stump.

Outline / Structure:

6.1-5   Theophany to Isaiah & his sense of unworthiness

6.6-13 Call of Isaiah

6.6-7         Seraph makes Isaiah holy

6.8a                Lord: “Who should I send?

6.8b                      Isaiah: Me

6.9-10                         Mission: Preach to the people so they won’t understand.

6.11a                    Isaiah: How long?

6.12b-1           Lord: Until all is destroyed

6.13b        “The holy seed is its stump.”

Notes, Observations, and Thought Questions:

Are you going to use the short (6.1-8) or long (6.1-13) version of this lesson? What are the pros & cons of not completing the chiasm?

Note the use of Lord (Adonai, “lord”) and Lord (YHWH, God’s name) in different places. Is this significant?

Contrast Isaiah’s fear before his confession & absolution (6.5) and his eagerness afterwards (6.8b).

How might Isaiah’s purging and calling be related to confession & forgiveness? Baptism? Other senses of call that we might have?

6.1      The Lord sitting on a throne Ie, the Lord is king, not Uzziah. Q: Was this before or after Uzziah died?

6.1      the year that King Uzziah died There is not agreement on the precise date, but the range is somewhere between 742 - 735 BCE.

6.2      seraphs This word means fiery, glowing. (cf, poisonous or fiery serpents in cf Num 21.4-9) EMI / Angel has a classical reissue label titled “Seraphs – angels of the highest order” (with a picture of what looks to me more more like a cherub than a seraph), capitalizing (pun intended) on the popular conflation of angels, seraphs, and cherubs. Are seraphs indeed angels, or are they completely different creature?

6.3      Holy, holy, holy . . . full of his glory. Liturgical Factoid: This is the origin of the Sanctus which comes between the proper preface and the Eucharistic prayer in the mass. I’m not sure about more general trisagion links.

6.6-7   How are the “live coals” (6.6-7) and the hardening of the people’s hearts (6.9-10) different? Similar? What might be some modern analogs of these?

6.8      Note that Isaiah accepts the call before he knows what it involves and doesn’t balk when he learns. Or does he when he asks “how long?” in 6.11a?

6.9-13 Isaiah is called to a somewhat nasty job, sort of a spiritual Darwinism. How would you know if you were called to such a ministry? How would you explain it to your family, congregation, and/or bishop? Assuming you knew God really did call you to such a vocation, how would you “Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed"?

6.13    The holy seed is its stump. (MT only; missing in LXX) What is the “holy seed”, the “stump”? Isaiah? Judah after Israel fell in 722 BCE? Who might it be today? How might you and/or your congregation be part of it or not?

Psalm: Psalm 138 [NRSV] (LBW / BCP)

Of David.

[1](1) I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before the gods I sing your praise;

[2](2) I bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;

(3) for you have exalted your name and your word

above everything.

[3](4) On the day I called, you answered me,

you increased my strength of soul.

[4](5) All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth.

[5](6) They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

[6](7) For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;

but the haughty he perceives from far away.

[7](8) Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;

you stretch out your hand,

and your right hand delivers me.

[8](9) The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Outline / Structure:

138.1-3     Psalmist praises YHWH for what YHWH has done for him

138.4-6     The kings of the earth will praise greatness & glory of YHWH

138.6              because YHWH favors the lowly & spurns the haughty

138.7-8     Psalmist expresses his confidence in the protection of YHWH

Notes, Observations, and Thought Questions:

Note that the verse numbers are different in the New Revised Standard Version and the translation used in the LBW / BCP and are indicated here by [ ] and ( ) respectively. I have used the NRSV versification for the exegesis here. (Also note that some translations (eg, NAB) and commentaries use the versification of the Masoretic text, which is differenter still.)

This is generally seen to be a thanksgiving psalm for deliverance from some individual’s disaster of unknown dating. However, some have seen in 138.4-6 ties to 2^nd Isaiah and the national disaster of exile, hence catagorizing it as a communal psalm with a post-exilic date.

138.1  before the gods This could be either the heavenly court or the gods of the nations. Considering the section on “all the kings of he earth” (138.4-6), I would tend toward the gods of the nations. Remember that the concept of there being one real God and all other gods being false did not develop until quite late in the OT.

138.6  For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly; but the haughty he perceives from far away. This is an early instance of the “eschatological reversal” so common in the NT, eg, the Magnificat in Lk 1.46-55 or the Beatitudes in Mt 5.3-12. Why would this be cause for “all the kings of the earth” to praise YHWH, when it would seem they would only stand to lose in such an upheaval?

Lesson II: 1 Corinthians 15.1-11 [NRSV]

15 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, [2] through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you--unless you have come to believe in vain.

[3] For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, [4] and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, [5] and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. [6] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. [7] Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. [8] Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. [9] For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them--though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. [11] Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

Outline / Structure:

15.1-2       Paul reminds the Corinthians of the good news he proclaimed to them

15.1b              Paul proclaimed THEN they received THEN they stand in it (now)         begin inclusio

15.2                they are now saved thru it IF they (hold firmly to the message AND do not believe in vain)

15.3-11     Paul’s good news

15.3a              Paul handed on what he received:

15.3b                    Christ died for our sins (per scriptures)

15.4a                    AND Christ was buried

15.4b                    AND Christ was raised on the 3^rd day (per scriptures)

15.5-10                 AND Christ appeared to:

15.5a                          FIRST Cephas

15.5b                          THEN the 12

15.6                            THEN more than 500 (most still alive, some dead)

15.7a                          THEN James

15.7a                          THEN rest of apostles

15.8-10                       THEN / LAST Paul

15.8-9a                             one untimely born, least of apostles, unfit to be an apostle

15.9b                                BECAUSE persecuted the church of God

15.10a                        BUT by God’s grace, has worked harder than any

15.10b                                    (not really – was actually God’s grace working through him)

15.11a       the good news was proclaimed SO you have come to believe                       end inclusio

Notes, Observations, and Thought Questions:

This passage immediately precedes Paul’s defense of the resurrection in 1Cor 15.12-26. What does that say about the intent and function of this passage?

15.3-10     Why do you think Paul has these lists and streams of “if - then - because - but - etc” in the middle section?

15.2, 10    What is the connection between the possibility of the Corinthians coming to believe “in vain” (15.2) and the (assumed) fact of God’s grace working through Paul not being “in vain” (15.10)?

15.6b  most of whom are still alive, though some have died The passage after this is Paul’s argument fo the resurrection of the dead, so he is referring to the faith of both the living and the dead to show that a resurrection will be needed to fulfill promises of eternal life to those already dead.

Gospel: Luke 5.10-11 [NRSV]

5 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, [2] he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. [3] He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. [4] When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." [5] Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets." [6] When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. [7] So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. [8] But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" [9] For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; [10] and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." [11] When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Outline / Structure:

5.1-11 Jesus Does Water

5.1-3   Jesus teaches on the water

5.1            crowd crowding  in on Jesus to hear Word of God

5.2            Jesus saw boats (after unsuccessful night of fishing)

5.3a           Jesus got in boat and then asked to be taken out (again)

5.3b          Jesus sat & taught the crowds from the shallow water

5.4-7   Jesus fishes in the water

5.4            Jesus asks to go out to deep water to fish

5.5            Simon protests, but obeys

5.6-7         Result: catch successful to point of endangering equipment, boats, & lives

5.8-11 Jesus catches from the water

5.              Simon’s panic: Go away – I am sinful

5.9-11       Jesus’ Mighty Power

5.9-10a           Miracle:                            All (and also James & John) were amazed

5.10b              Pronouncement & Call:     Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people

5.11                Response to Call:              They dropped everything and followed Jesus

Notes, Observations, and Thought Questions:

What is the symbolism of the water? Spirit? Sea of Life? Life giving & nurturing? Dangerous? What kind of water will Peter, et al, be fishing in? You?

5.1      Lake Gennesaret = Sea of Galilee = Sea of Tiberius

5.2-3   Jesus saw the boats, got in one, asked for help using it, and then taught from it. How could this be a metaphor for the incarnation?

5.5      Note Simon’s faith in the midst of doubt – he protested there was no point to going out again, but obeyed anyway. Could this be why he was chosen as the “rock” of the church in Mt 16.18? (but nowhere in Lk, Mk, or Jn)

5.7b-8 When Simon Peter saw (the boats sinking), he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” What is going on here? Does Simon (Peter?) have some self-esteem issues? Does he think Jesus is going to sink his boats and ruin his fishing business, possibly even killing Peter & his crew? Compare his sense of sinfulness with that of Isaiah in Isaiah 6.5.

5.8      Simon Peter Simon is not Peter yet, except in this verse. Is a point being made in this verse?

5.9-11 These verses have what would be crucial element(s) of certain forms – the declaration of amazement at a miracle, the making of a pronouncement built up to in an episode, and the explanation of an event or practice, ie, calling of disciples. Is this a miracle story, a story leading up to a saying about evangelism, or an etiology story? What are the implications of each possibility or combination?

5.10-11     My grandfather was an avid fisherman, and while I normally loved doing anything with him just because it was with him, fishing even with him bored me. Eventually I found other things to do when the family went fishing with him and remember the wonderful relationship I had with Grandpa in other ways. Is this possible with Christ? How or why not?

5.10a   What is the significance of Luke pointing out that James & John were brothers, sons of Zebedee and that they were partners with Simon?

*I do not necessarily advocate using these as titles for real sermons, but rather present them in the hope that you might stumble over them and fall on some useful ideas. Actually, I rarely give my sermons titles, but I like to make up hypothetical titles for hypothetical sermons I might hypothetically give someday, or not. Enjoy.

Recommended Online Resources:

Epiphany 5C

     Burgess, Richard                     Pericope Study for Sun 2/8/4 (this document)

http://www.geocities.com/richardmburgess/GNHC-Pericope-04129.htm

     Woodard, Jenee                      The Text This Week

http://www.textweek.com/yearc/epiphc5.htm

     Nelson, Dan                           Text Studies

http://sio.midco.net/danelson9/yearc/epiphany5c.htm

     Nuechterlein, Paul                  Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary

http://home.earthlink.net/~paulnue/year_c/epiphany5c.htm

Isaiah 6.1-13

     Tillich, Paul                             The Experience of the Holy

http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showchapter?chapter_id=75

Luke 5.1-11

     Stoffregen, Brian                     Exegetical Notes

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke5x1.htm

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Copyright © 2004 by Richard M Burgess                                                 latest revision: December 31, 2004