Lectionary Commentaries for January 21, 2024
Third Sunday after Epiphany
from WorkingPreacher.org
Gospel
Commentary on Mark 1:14-20
Alicia Vargas
First Reading
Commentary on Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Henry T.C. Sun
The book of Jonah is the fifth book of the minor prophets collection in our English Bibles and is in many ways unique among its literary siblings. One way it is unique is that the narrative about Jonah and his interactions with God is the overwhelming emphasis of the book, and not the prophetic proclamation of the prophet, which amounts to one half-verse in the entire book (Jonah 3:4b). A reading of Jonah 3 therefore needs to take into account its entire narrative context.
Structure and genre of the book of Jonah
Jonah 3:1 (“The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying”; compare Jonah 1:1) divides the book of Jonah into two halves (chapters 1–2 and chapters 3–4). The identification of the genre of the book of Jonah turns mostly on the question of whether the narrative is an example of historical fiction or whether it reports on an actual historical event despite its obvious rhetorical exaggerations. The current scholarly consensus is that Jonah is a novella,1 which emphasizes both its narrative nature and its didactic purpose.
The point of Jonah 3
In Jonah 1:1–2, God gives Jonah a prophetic assignment, using language typical of such a call in verse 1, with the assignment stated in verse 2: “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city [ha‘ir haggedolah; compare 3:5], and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.” The rest of chapter 1 narrates Jonah’s refusal to accept God’s call by fleeing by boat to Tarshish, a place that has not been definitely located.2 The central point of the chapter is to underscore the extent of Jonah’s refusal to obey the call of God. With the life of his fellow sailors at risk, Jonah tells them to throw him into the sea (1:12); they do exactly that, and the “the sea ceased from its raging” (1:15). (Notice that the sailors worship God afterward, as will the Ninevites in chapter 3.) Jonah is swallowed by a large fish (1:17), which later spits him out “upon the dry land” (‘el-hayyabbashah, 2:10 which in the Masoretic Text is 2:11; see also 1:13).3
With Jonah back on dry land, the events of chapter 1 replay themselves. The word of the Lord comes to Jonah again, with the same command to go to Nineveh “and proclaim to it the message that I tell you” (dober-‘el, verse 2).4 This time, Jonah complies; he arrives at the city in 3:3 and preaches his sermon in 3:4. What was the result of his preaching? “And the people of Nineveh believed God [wayyaaminu … belohim, the same phrase used of Abraham in Genesis 15:6 and of the children of Israel in Exodus 14:31]; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth” (Jonah 3:5). Fasting and sackcloth are behaviors typical of repentance in the Hebrew Bible,5 and the narrative follows the typical pattern of “threat of harm … repentance and then … God’s decision not to bring about the harm after all.”6
Verses 6–9, omitted from the lection, move from the reaction of the people to the royal response to Jonah’s preaching; as it stands, it seems likely that these verses are a “flashback.”7
Verse 10 then brings the chapter to a close with the note that “when God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind [wayyinachem ha’elohim; compare Exodus 32:12, but see also Numbers 23:19] about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it [welo asah].” Chapter 4 will narrate Jonah’s disapproval of what God has done (4:1), and God’s response to Jonah’s disapproval. And the book will close with God’s rhetorical question, “Should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”
Homiletical options
There are several different ways one might preach this text.
The first would be to pair it with Matthew 12:38–41 (not the assigned Gospel lesson for this Sunday) because it references Jonah 3 in verse 41. In this case, the Jonah story becomes a prediction of Jesus’ resurrection and a warning about rejecting Jesus’ message, because “something greater [pleion] than Jonah is here!” and could be the foundation for an evangelistic sermon where the congregation is urged to pledge their allegiance to the risen Savior.
A second way would be to pair it with the narrative in Joshua 2. There, despite a commandment from YHWH to the Hebrews to “utterly destroy” all the Canaanites who were living in the Promised Land (for example, Deuteronomy 7:2; compare Leviticus 27:29), Rahab voices her confession of belief in Israel’s God (Joshua 2:9–13) and she is saved from the utter destruction that befell the rest of the inhabitants of Jericho.
A third way would be to pair it with 1 Timothy 2:1–7, where the author proclaims to his audience that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone” because God “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (verses 1, 4; see also 2 Peter 3:9). That is not a far cry from God’s rhetorical question to Jonah in Jonah 4:11 (see above).
Both of these last two options serve to mediate the toxic “us versus them” culture that has filtered down into the church these days. Both remind us that whatever divisions exist and whoever we identify as our “Ninevites,” God still cares for them and still desires that they be saved. Whatever side of the current divides over critical race theory, “woke-ism,” abortion, or white privilege we might take, God still cares for our “enemies” and still desires our “opponents” to be saved. That is theological reason enough for the church to stop drawing such sharp dividing lines over issues of theology, politics, and ethics.
Leslie Allen puts it this way: “A Jonah lurks in every Christian heart, whimpering his insidious message of smug prejudice, empty traditionalism, and exclusive solidarity. He that has ears to hear, let him hear and allow the saving love of God which has been outpoured in his own heart to remold his thinking and social orientation.”8
Notes
- See, for example, Hans Walter Wolff, Obadiah and Jonah, Continental Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1986), 82: “the novella seems to offer itself as the most appropriate genre.”
- For example, David W. Baker, “Tarshish,” Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary 6:333: “We are not able to say with confidence where Jonah was heading when he set sail from Joppa. All we can be sure of is that he was going west, and that he thought he would be leaving his God behind.” Hence, Douglas K. Stuart, Hosea–Jonah, Word Biblical Commentary 31 (Waco: Word Books, 1987), 444: translates as “to sea.”
- Note that the narrative does not tell us what dry land Jonah was spewed onto.
- “We … cannot be certain whether God’s message had been, is being, or will be delivered.” Jack M. Sasson, Jonah: A New Translation with Introduction, Commentary, and Interpretation, Anchor Bible 24B (New York: Doubleday, 1990), 227.
- Leslie C. Allen, The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, New International Commentary on the Old Testament; (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 223–224; Sasson, Jonah, 246.
- Stuart, Hosea–Jonah, 489.
- Wolff, Obadiah and Jonah, 143.
- Allen, The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, 235.
Psalm
Commentary on Psalm 62:5-12
Rolf Jacobson
Retain the Refrain!1
The psalm selection for the third Sunday after Epiphany is 62:5-12. As is often the case, the worship leader is faced with the choice of reading the entire psalm or of going with only the selected verses. In favor of reading the entire psalm is the repetition in verses 1 and 5 of the refrain.
Notice the refrain (and notice that there is a slight variation in the second clause of the refrain):
1For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
5 For God alone my soul waits in silence,2
for my hope is from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
If one opts to read only the selected verses, one misses the repetition — and thus the emphasis — of the refrain. So the suggestion here is to retain the refrain. However, the worship leader who goes with only the second half of the psalm can still focus on the trust expressed in these verses.
So what is this psalm? It is one part trust and one part instruction. As for the part that is “trust,” this keynote is evident in the refrain (noted above, verses 1, 5) as well as in the closing expression of confidence, which confesses “that power belongs to God, and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.”
Throughout the poem, vocabulary typical of the psalms of trust is used. God is a “refuge” (verses 7. 8; compare Psalm 46:1, 7, 11); the psalmist “waits” in silence (verses 1, 5; compare Psalm 22:2); the psalmist says “I shall not be shaken” (verse 2; compare Psalm 16:8 and 121:3). As for the part of the psalm that is “instruction,” the psalm is mainly addressed to other humans beings — “How long will you assail a person” (verse 3), “trust in him at all times, O people” (verse 8), and “if riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (verse 10), and so on.
Putting the elements of “trust” and “instruction” together, Psalm 62 is a poem of “instruction about trust.” The psalm is an instructional meditation that offers to teach something about the life of faith (the life of trust).
Learning a lot from a little particle — ‘ak
That great master of the malapropism, Yogi Berra, is reputed once to have quipped, “You can observe a lot, just by watching.” When it comes to Psalm 62, the careful reader might observe a very small Hebrew word — which seems to occur quite a lot in this short poem. Such a reader might notice that the Hebrew word ‘ak occurs six times in this short poem.
For comparison sake, the term occurs only 24 times in the entire Psalter — and in each case, the term begins a sentence — which means that 25 percent of the occurrences of the word occur in this short poem. The term carries both a restrictive meaning — “only” or “alone” — as well as an asseverative meaning — “truly” or “indeed.”3 The poem plays on the dual meaning of the term to make a theological point. Here are the six sentences that begin with the term:
verse 1 For God alone (‘ak) my soul waits in silence. . .
verse 2 He alone (‘ak) is my rock and my salvation. . .
verse 4 Their only (‘ak) plan is to bring down a person of prominence. . .
verse 5 For God alone (‘ak) my soul waits in silence. . .
verse 6 He alone (‘ak) is my rock and my salvation. . .
verse 9 Those of low estate are but (‘ak) a breath. . .
In the translation above, the New Revised Standard Version always takes the term restrictively, meaning always either “only,” “alone,” or “but.” One could also take the term asseveratively at each point — always translating it with “indeed” or “yes” (so the TNIV and also Goldingay).
More likely is the approach that mixes translations — sometimes asseveratively (“indeed”) and sometimes restrictively (“alone”). The truth is that in Hebrew the term most likely has a sense of double-entendre — at each point it carries both senses of the term. To wait for God alone means to wait on God indeed! To truly hope in God means that one must hope only in God!
And that is the big faith-lesson conveyed by this small particle in this short psalm. The life of faith (the “way of trust in the Lord”) carries both restrictive and asseverative qualifications. To trust in the Lord, according to Israel’s scriptures, means to trust in the Lord alone. As the Great Shema puts it, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Meaning, we have one God — and only one God. But, moreover, to have only one God is to know exactly, precisely, definitively to whom we entrust our lives — to God indeed! Those who follow Abraham and Sarah’s God are spared the confusion of those who either worship many gods — whom shall we trust in this matter? — or of those who trust no gods — in what shall I trust? Those who follow Abraham and Sarah’s God trust in God alone, and in God indeed.
Preaching the psalm — Playing with the poetry
Now that the theological foundation of this psalm has been explored, a few thoughts on preaching this marvelous poem. Play with the poetry! Play in the poetry! Enter into the rich imagery for God — my rock, my salvation, my refuge, my fortress. Also note the rich imagery for human beings. At times when we feel oppressed by others, we feel like “a leaning wall, a tottering fence.” But whom are we fearing? Other humans, who oppress us, who are, after all, “but a breath . . . in the balances they go up; they are lighter than a breath.” The image here is quite literally playing with how much a breath weighs on a set of ancient balances. When weighed against God — “my rock” and “my fortress” — all human beings are essentially weightless.
Notice how the psalm critiques the things that we humans can give our ultimate allegiance to (other than God). It was Luther who noted that whatever one fears, loves, or trusts the most — that is one’s God. Jesus, similarly, suggested that where our heart is matters most. The psalm speaks negatively to setting one’s heart on riches. If we pursue riches, we make them our god. And they cannot deliver. The psalm also warns against fearing the enemies, who oppress. It is strange to realize if we fear the enemy who oppresses, in some fashion we are acknowledging them as God. To worship the Lord is to be freed from serving any human enemy.
The promise
One last comment: Sermons about trusting God can get rather preachy (in the negative sense) rather quickly. In order to preach about trust, the preacher must at some point move beyond instruction in how to live the life of faith (lecture) and move to the promise (to the thing that inspires faith). The psalmist knows that the only thing that can produce faith is a promise. And, in fact, the psalmist knows that behind the type of faith that the psalmist commends in this poem lies a promise:
“Power belongs to God.”
“Steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.”
If you preach on this psalm, remember that it is this promise that really matters.
Notes
- Commentary first published on this site on Jan. 22, 2012.
- I am following here the emendation of the NRSV, which understands this clause as parallel to verse 1b. NIV, NJPS retain the feminine singular imperative pointing of the verb “be silent,” thus reading: “Yes, my soul, find rest in God” (so NIV).
- See John Goldingay, Psalms 42-89 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007), 245.
Second Reading
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
Edward Pillar
The first thing that stands out here is that Paul seems to think that the world as he and the Corinthians know it is about to come to an end. All that is familiar about the world is about to change, or to be transformed. The familiar of the everyday, the regular day-to-day concerns, will become inconsequential.
Paul references what he calls the “appointed time.” In the Greek text this is communicated through the use of a singular word, kairos. So, what’s the difference between the appointed kairos time and what we might call “ordinary” time? Ordinary time is time as it passes each day, tick-tock, tick-tock. We glance at a clock and read ordinary time. We look at a timetable for a sporting event or airline, or an invitation to a party, and we are looking at ordinary time.
However, kairos time is what we refer to when an event is about to begin, the time has come —this is kairos time. Kairos time might be described as the climactic moment following a period of waiting and expectation.
Paul says, “The appointed time has grown short.” Another way of communicating what Paul means here is to say that time has become concertina-ed. Time has contracted into itself. We know, of course, that time ordinarily passes second by second and minute by minute, in an ordered, precise, and measurably predictable way. But here Paul is suggesting that the hours and days have shortened and what we expected to be far off, some way in the future, an event that perhaps we might dream about happening one day, some day, at an undefined point in the future, has now come extremely close.
Although here in this passage Paul does not make clear the nature of the event that he is anticipating, on two previous occasions in this letter Paul has hinted at a transformative event.
First, in 1:7 Paul speaks of waiting “for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And then second, in 4:5, Paul warns the Corinthians about their attitude and response to one another: “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes.” Apart from these two references there is no clarification—up to this point anyhow—about what this event might entail, other than the coming or appearing of the Lord.
However, once we read chapter 15—Paul’s great exposition of the meaning and significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead—we are alerted to the possible content of this kairos event.
In 15:20 Paul affirms that Christ is “the first fruits of those who have died.” He then suggests that there will be a radically new status applied to at least all those who are “in Christ … for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ” (15:22). And then Paul confirms that all this will take place at the coming of Christ (15:23). It is this event—the appearing, or coming of Christ—that seems to be in Paul’s mind as he encourages, or challenges, or warns the Corinthians, “The appointed time has grown short … the present form of this world is passing away.”
We might suggest therefore that in Paul’s mind, and therefore this powerful encouragement to the Corinthians, is that the coming of the Lord, this “appointed time” when the “present form of this world” passes away, will be significant as there will be a coming alive, a resurrection even, of those who are in Christ.
Now imagine, if we knew that next Thursday, or in a few days, everything was going to change, a resurrection to the fullness of the life of Christ would take place, and the immanence of the presence of the kingdom of God would be palpable, then I guess our perspective on today, and the ordinary and familiar of today would look very different!
It is for this reason that Paul is able to say, “From now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.”
Now, we might say: “But Christ hasn’t come; the world hasn’t changed; the resurrection hasn’t taken place.” And yes, that is correct. So how do we apply these truths for our congregations?
We should encourage us all to live with the perspective that Paul encourages here. To see our present concerns, and the familiar habits of our everyday life, in the light of the coming of the values, ethics, politics, relationships, and justice of the Kingdom of God.
Our other readings for today, from Jonah 3 and Mark 1, align with this sense of anticipation. Jonah warns the Ninevites, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” Jesus announces, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” In other words, God’s transformative work is on the horizon. Psalm 62 offers the reminder that in among the changes of life, the uncertainty, confusion, and challenges, ”the Lord alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”
We are called to take an attitude of expectation. To hold lightly to today, and to live in the light of what is to come. To take on the values of the coming King, of love, mercy, justice, and compassion, and to live generously in the power of his Spirit.
Welcome to the Third Sunday after Epiphany, the continuing season of Light.
Context
Much has happened in the Gospel of Mark by the time we reach this week’s Gospel text.
Text
Our pericope opens with the barest notice that John the Baptist has been arrested (verse 14). This foreshadows Mark 6:14-29, where details of John’s arrest—and execution—will be revealed. The readers are also put on tacit alert that Jesus may be in for political trouble as well in his own future. Jesus then speaks his first words in the Gospel of Mark (1:15). As such, they are programmatic for the rest of the Gospel. Jesus
Thus Jesus’ opening statement of the Gospel partially mirrors John the Baptist’s call/invitation to repentance.
Then, in by far the bulk of the passage in terms of verses and words spoken, Jesus calls his first four followers, namely Simon, Andrew, James, and John (Mark 1:16–20).
Repent and believe the good news
If I am not mindful enough of my driving when I go to get gas at my favorite gas station in the town where I live and approach the station from the west rather than from the east, I end up having to drive an extra block, sometimes two. This is because of the many “No U-turn” signs that drivers encounter in this area (designed, I am told, to prevent cruising up and down the town’s main boulevard).
So it is that Jesus’ invitation to “repent” calls the hearer to a not-so-easy undertaking.
Making a U-turn is a pretty good image for repentance: make a 180-degree turn, a full-on about-face, in your spiritual life. Turn around; turn back to God. Get on track with fulfilling all that God calls you to be and do.
Oh yes. Not only that, but also believe in the good news of Jesus Christ. Which leads us straightaway into the following verses …
The first four followers—in other words, believers
In verses 16–20, Jesus calls his first four followers, Simon and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John. These four fishermen immediately respond to Jesus’ invitation and follow him.
Jesus will, of course, end up calling a total group of 12 followers. He will call Levi in 2:13–14, and will call the remaining seven in 3:13–19: Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, (another) James, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot.
How many do you need? I’ll take a dozen disciples, please
I recently attended a large congregation of a certain denomination that is experiencing precipitous declines in attendance in worship and participation in congregational ministries—as are many congregations in some countries these days, of course. A number of years ago this congregation had an average of several hundred people in two services of Sunday worship each week; a flourishing Sunday school program for children, youth, and families; vibrant community ministries such as a food pantry, participation in community homeless services, et cetera.
On my visit I was told that there are now a mere 20 people in the larger, later service; perhaps 8–10 in an earlier service; no Sunday school; and drastically scaled-back community engagement. The thought recently occurred to me: How many do we need? If Jesus began his movement with 12 apostles/disciples, why can’t we? Looked at in this way, this congregation that I was visiting had more than double the number of disciples that Jesus started with.
Setting aside the usual preoccupation with numbers, what would we need? Greater faith? Stronger commitment? More engagement? Probably all these and more. But a smaller number to begin with does not necessarily mean that the congregation cannot succeed in a fresh start or renewal for ministry. This kind of approach to this Gospel lesson and the church’s ministry today has the advantage of celebrating, honoring, respecting, and challenging those who are present rather than showing anxiety over those who are not.
Whom does Jesus call to follow him today?
The preacher where I was worshiping one Sunday some years ago had a very creative appropriation of this text. When she came to the list of names of Jesus’ original 12 apostles, she named the original 12 and then asked, “What are the names of those whom Jesus calls to follow him today?”
Then she made bold to step down out of the pulpit and down into the pews where the worshipers were seated. She proceeded to call out the names of a number of parishioners and say to them: “________, Jesus calls you today to come and follow him!” She then capped off the sermon by holding up a directory of congregation members and saying, “If your name is in here, Jesus calls you today to come and follow him!” And as a sort of lighthearted coda to her preaching, she said, “And if your name’s not in here, let’s talk!”
So if you start with a small number of strong, committed, faithful followers of Jesus, or if you refresh the calling of everyone in your congregation or other ministry setting, Jesus’ proclamation in this Sunday’s Gospel lesson is good news: “Come and follow me!”