The first weeks of the Season after the Epiphany focus on Jesus being revealed, baptized and beginning his ministry. We see who Jesus is, how his mission will take shape, where he will go to speak words of love and justice. The Spirit is at work and dwells among Jesus and his followers today. We’re called to show courage, to speak out, as Jesus did to the people in his hometown. The words of a prophet may be uncomfortable to hear, but with God’s help, we can speak – and – hear these difficult truths. What injustices and human crises do we need to face in order to truly live out the call to love and care for all? What God wants for us does not always coincide with our wants. These “hard” ways of God sometimes challenge the way of life we are used to. They may challenge the way our church has done ministry and mission in the past. How might our worship, learning, and serving this week focus on ways the Spirit is calling us in a new direction? What might encourage self reflection, reflection as a congregation?
Personal Reflection:
It feels good when people speak favorably of us and appreciate things we have said or done. The crowd seems – at first – to be genuinely pleased with what Jesus has spoken to them. However, it seems that when Jesus suggests that people act rather than merely listen, they turn against him. It’s one thing to hear nice words; it can be quite another to be expected to live by them.
- What is a time when you have liked the idea of something if someone else were going to do it, but been less pleased with the idea for yourself?
- This week, what’s one way you might speak out for the marginalized?