Epiphany2A 2008

EPIPHANY 2A

January 20, 2008

SCRIPTURES

Isaiah 49:1-7 A Servant Song of Isaiah — "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

-In this reading, we hear that God had prepared Israel to be the servant of the Lord. Now God is calling Israel to be something new. The Israelites will be a "light" that guides all nations to the true God.
-Servant hood is the birthright of all humanity. It begins before we're born. The very act of creation is an act of commissioning. You don't require voices from heaven or burning bushes. We're all potential servants of God. Servants are human, not superhuman.

-You don't carry light...you carry the source. See children sermon

Psalm 40:1-11
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Paul's greeting to the Corinthian community.
John 1:29-42 John the Baptist tells of the baptism of Jesus and points out the "Lamb of God." They follow him and tell others they have found the Messiah.

JOHN SCRIPTURE

-In short, John in the Fourth Gospel is a witness sent by God. Craddock

-John does two things in this initial statement about Jesus:

- Greek orthodox church as a wonderful saying: We can become what we already are. lindy

1) He testifies that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the Christ; the anointed one of God.

2) He testifies to Jesus’ role in history; he is to be the sacrificial lamb upon whom our sins will be laid.Jerry Goebel,

-At the time of the writing of John’s Gospel there were parties who were promoting various candidates for being accepted as the Messiah. The Temple had been destroyed and the big question was about what was going to replace it as Israel’s center of identification. Our verses for today’s Gospel make a strong opening statement about John the Baptist’s not being the Messiah and even a stronger statement that Jesus is the very one whom he, The Baptist, has been looking for.Larry Gillick, S.J.

-In the second half of our text, John witnesses to his two disciples who then follow Jesus. One of them, Andrew, witnesses to his brother Peter. In the following story, Jesus finds Philip without a witness, but then Philip finds Nathanael and witnesses to him about Jesus. Generally, a witness is needed to help others "see" Jesus. In fact, these two events may indicate that one cannot adequately follow Jesus without also extending the invitation to others. Stoffregen

-Here is God's Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. This was a loaded statement. The reference either recalled the Passover (Exodus 12) or previewed the fulfillment of the Suffering Servant's agony in Isaiah 53:7. John's testimony also revealed that the sight of the Holy Spirit descending and remaining upon Jesus was a sign by which he was to identify the Son of God. he next day again (verse 35) — the third day since John 1:19 John shared this testimony with two of his (John's) disciples who, in turn, followed Jesus home. One of them, Andrew, was Simon's brother. Andrew found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus. When Jesus met Andrew's brother Simon, he named him Peter (Cephas).Safiyah Fosua

-"Agnus Dei" Lamb of God

-Evangelism begins with our own personal relationship with God. The ability to share our faith hinges upon both this relationship and our own certainty about what God has said to humanity about the way of salvation. The next step is in sharing our faith with someone — often those who trust us. The process continues with that person's initiative to inquire and learn more about God, and the cycle continues ... — Kwasi Kena

- Perhaps it would be enough to simply tell a story about little Andrew who responded to the invitation to come and see and then did his own small part to spread the knowledge of the Messiah to his brother and throughout his town. Stoffregen

-there is no evidence of anything unhealthy in the life of John. No power, no influence, no capacity is abdicated or denied; all are fully and vigorously employed in the single service of witnessing to Christ. If he is speaking with one or two, he is a witness; if he is working with a crowd, he is a witness; if he is facing a forest of microphones and blinking into the flashing bulbs of Jerusalem inquirers, he is a witness, no less but no more. As such he is the perfect prototype of the Christian leader: sent of God to witness. Craddock

-What do you want? (NIV) What are you looking for? (NRSV)" (John 1:37-38). It's the question that ultimately must come to everyone who wants to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. sermon by Henry G. Brinton

QUOTES

- What we see is not determined so much by what is in front of our eyes as by what is behind our eyes.

- The incarnation says as much about what we are to become as it does about what God has become. W. C. Coffin

-. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

- "There is no sea storm in a roadside puddle." George Buttrick

- Jesus is the light in our darkness. M.Borg

- Follow your bliss. J.Campbell

- A relationship to God does not remove one from but often places one in the line of fire. Craddock

- Education consists mostly of what we have unlearned.

- All men should strive to learn before they die/ what they are running from, and to, and why. James Thurber

- God imploded to become a peasant baby. Exchanged Omnipresence for two legs; omniscience for a brain, omnipotence for weakness Yancey

- There are some mysteries that do not hide a truth but whose truth is the mystery.

- Christ calls me beyond my boundaries. Spong

- If what I say resonates with you it is because we are both branches on the same tree. W. B. Yeats

- Christian faith cannot be taught....only caught.

- Homo sapiens is not just a name or title, it's a calling. Lindy

- The deep in us calls for something deep to answer. Fosdick

- Joy is the result of fulfillment of purpose Tillich

- The inaugural moment Hubert Beck

- Something deep inside calls for something deep to answer it. Fosdick

- We'd never know how high we are, till we are called to rise; and then, if we are true to plan, our statures touch the sky. Emily Dickinson

- You cannot chose your calling, your calling chooses you. Al Mandino

ILLUSTRATIONS

1.  God hath yet more light to brake forth from His Word. Pastor Robinson to Pilgrims

HUMOR

- Faith is located under the left nipple.

- Some strive to put everything into a nut shell but the only thing in the nut shell is the nut.

- Are fish thirsty?

- Many are called but few get up. Oliver Herford

CHILDREN

-Today’s lesson is about the bus driver, the van driver, the butcher, the barber, the clerk at the grocery story, the clerk at the bank. The story for today is about the man

 in the middle who introduces people to Jesus Christ. Throughout the history of the church there have been 10,000 Andrews for every one Peter, James and John.

There are always 10,000 people in the middle for every Peter, James and John. These people in the middle are absolutely essential to make our nation work,

and these people in the middle are absolutely essential to make our church work. (sermons from Seattle)

-Bring in a flash light or lamp or candle.  Talk about the fact that we don't carry the light but the source of the light. Then talk about Isaiah's words "I will give you as a light to the nation."

   What does that mean when we say we are the lights of a nation or Jesus was the light of the world or Jesus telling us we are the light of the world.  What is the source of

    our light:  Lindy

-  God gave us the right to make choices.  Jesus made choices. (Ask if they know some or tell them).  God makes choices ( what are some?)   The disciples we read about this morning'

   made choices.   John the Baptist made choices.  Why is it good God allows us to make choices (not puppets).  What are some choices that take great faith?  What are some

   choices that take courage,  How does it feel to be chosen?   Depending on the age of the children, talk about making choices.  Lindy

-"Show and Tell," Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com.

 PRAYER PHRASES

-Oh God, so often we fail to hear your voice.

Some times we are simply too busy, too distracted, too involved with our own agendas.

Sometimes our noisy world drowns out what you are saying.

Sometimes, what we hear is not what You mean.

Sometimes what we hear, we do not understand because we have not grown or lived long enough.

Sometimes we fail to hear what you whisper...we fail to hear your silence.

Sometimes we listen backwards so that what you said centuries ago seems more important than what you are saying RIGHT NOW, in our own daily lives.

Sometimes, we hear what OTHER PEOPLE hear you say.

Sometimes, we are afraid to listen .... afraid that we might not hear anything at all except our own lonely emptiness.

Oh God, we are reminded that our ability to hear You has much to do with our ability to hear our neighbor and our own inner self. Help us to recognize our poor listening. Forgive us when we fail to do something about it. Oh God, Help us with our deafness! Lindy (original source unknown0

-All knowledge is yours, O God, and you know us better than we know
ourselves - yet you have chosen us and called us to follow the path of
Christ.  If we lose faith in ourselves as your children forgive and
restores us.  If we lose faith in your pervasive goodness and mercy, bring
us to a right mind and give us a deep trust in your love and power.  Indeed
fill us and use us; fill us and use us to be bringers of light, a people
who shine in the darkness and who are not afraid....  Lord, hear our
prayer...

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