The Seventh Sunday After Epiphany Year C RCL Genesis 45:3-11, 15 1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50 Luke 6:27-38 Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42 The Collect Epiphany 7 O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. The Collect Epiphany 7 The theme of this Collect is love as the greatest gift. The selected readings for this Sunday in at least in years A and C deal with some aspect of love or by examples of its manifestation. RCL A with Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18 “ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. And Matthew 5:38-48 "You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. RCL C Genesis 45:3-11, 15, the story of Joseph’s love for his family, even his jealous brothers, “And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. And Luke 6:27-38, “Jesus said, "I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also….” Genesis 45:3-11, 15Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; Genesis 45:3-11, 15 for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. Genesis 45:3-11, 15 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there--since there are five more years of famine to come--so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.'" And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. Genesis Jewish tradition calls the first book of the Bible after its first significant word, Bereshit, which can be translated as “in the beginning” or “when first.” The book has many facets one is as an ethical model The story of Joseph and his brothers is a particularly instructive place to explore this kind of approach. The narrator subtly leads the reader through an arc extending from Joseph’s initial dreams of rule of his brothers to their submission to him and his provision of food for them. The Story of Joseph as illustration of God’s plans In the initial story, we see Joseph as a difficult brother, to be disposed of by his brothers. The event as it unfolds is thoroughly despicable with the brothers coming off as utterly bad. Joseph suffered a bad turn, how could a loving God let him be thrown into a pit and sold. Yet, after many adventures, good and bad, Joseph finds himself the actual ruler of Egypt and his family including the despicable brothers saved. A theme and an illustration First the theme The lectionary theme for the day is love and this is clearly shown in Joseph's love for his brothers despite their prior disloyalty. The illustration deals with the contrast of the prior despicable acts and the saving grace that resulted. Selling one's brother into slavery can only be seen as an evil act. At the time it would have appeared that God had allowed evil to triumph. We see in time that God allowed a bad thing to happen to Joseph putting him in a situation he was thoroughly equipped to deal with and which ultimately saved many of his people. In short we see evil turned to good.
Anne-Louis Girodet, Joseph Recognized by his Brothers, 1789
Oil on canvas, 47 x 61 in.
École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris
Peter Cornelius, Joseph Recognized by his Brothers
1816-17
Fresco with tempera, 236 x 290 cm
Nationalgalerie, Berlin Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42 Noli aemulari 1 Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *
do not be jealous of those who do wrong. 2 For they shall soon wither like the grass, *
and like the green grass fade away. 3 Put your trust in the Lord and do good; *
dwell in the land and feed on its riches. 4 Take delight in the Lord, * and he shall give you your heart's desire. Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42 Noli aemulari 5 Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, *
and he will bring it to pass. 6 He will make your righteousness as clear as the light *
and your just dealing as the noonday. 7 Be still before the Lord *
and wait patiently for him. 8 Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *
the one who succeeds in evil schemes. Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42 Noli aemulari9 Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *
do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil. 10 For evildoers shall be cut off, *
but those who wait upon the Lord shall possess the land. 11 In a little while the wicked shall be no more; *
you shall search out their place, but they will not be there. Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42 Noli aemulari 12 But the lowly shall possess the land; *
they will delight in abundance of peace. 41 But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the Lord; *
he is their stronghold in time of trouble. 42 The Lord will help them and rescue them; *
he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them,
because they seek refuge in him. Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42 Noli aemulari This is a 42 verse acrostic which means that each first line began with a new letter in the Hebrew alphabet. The theme is to encourage the faithful to be patient even when evil doers appear to be winning. Like Joseph the reader is asked not to fret as evil prospers but to be patient and await the lord’s justice. The omitted material contains more illustrations of evil doers getting their just reward. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50 Someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Corinthians - Orientation There are two Letters of Paul to the Corinthians, this is the First. Written in the middle of the first century it presents a vivid picture of the actual life and problems of a particular local church at the middle of the first century. From both letters to the Corinthians we learn that Paul's subsequent relations with this church were not always good. This letter is generally concerned with doctrinal and ethical problems that were facing the Corinthian church, including the issue for today’s reading. What will we be in heaven? This is a perfectly understandable question that everyone has asked. Paul's response rather than in plain language, launches into a philosophical discussion of the spiritual versus the physical. We can all agree that this is not a satisfying or comforting answer. Paul at his unsympathetic worst Paul's initial response is to call the questioner a fool. As this is a question that everyone at Corinth would have asked we can see why Paul was not always welcome there. There were Corinthians who did not believe in the resurrection and Paul needed to address this issue. Remember last week. The separation of the spiritual and physical was a widely accepted concept in those days. Paul uses the analogy of the seed versus the plant it will become and dust versus the body of the first Adam. Paul’s dilemma! Paul must answer the skeptics while assuring the faithful concerning the resurrection. Paul also must deal with the fact that he does not know exactly what form we will take after the resurrection. Paul's response through his analogies is that the form which we will take after the resurrection is that form which God chooses for us. According to Paul's reasoning we were dust and became what we are now and so we should trust that the next step will be even more wonderful. It is to be a mystery. Luke 6:27-38 Jesus said, "I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:27-38 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:27-38 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.“ Introduction to Luke Luke’s primary purpose in this gospel is to inform the reader who Jesus of Nazareth was as a person. Another theme in this Gospel is that of discipleship which is a difficult concept for the modern reader. Which is to say what is necessary to be a follower of Christ. This concept is illustrated through the incidents of the life of Jesus and his teachings such as today's reading. Returning good for evil as also shown in the story of Joseph is not always an easy thing to do. The Sermon on the Plain. This section of Luke called the sermon on the plain is thought to be a summary of the teachings of Jesus to the crowds. This particular section deals with Luke's version of what we know as the Golden Rule to treat others as we would be treated ourselves. While this is easy for those who we love it is valuable to observe this rule for those whom we do not love or who treat us poorly. An illustration of this concept is found in the story of Joseph and his forgiven brothers. Piero della Francesca:
Polyptych of the Misericordia: Madonna of Mercy
1460-62
Oil and tempera on panel, 134 x 91 cm
Pinacoteca Comunale, Sansepolcro
The figures are members of the confraternitas who commissioned the altarpiece. Giotto,
Legend of St Francis: 2. St Francis Giving his Mantle to a Poor Man, 1297-99
Fresco, 270 x 230 cm
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)
Saint Martin and the Beggar, 1597/1599
Oil on canvas, 76 3/16 x 40 9/16 in.
National Gallery, Washington,
Widener Collection
