Welcome to Holy Textures, Year A, Season of Epiphany

Holy Textures is a spot for my musings on the various Biblical texts that come our way through the Revised Common Lectionary.

My goal is to provide timely, short, easy to use and thought-provoking background commentary for your sermon or bible study preparation.

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Year A - Season of Epiphany - 2020

This year, the Season of Epiphany is 7 Sundays, which makes it almost as long as it can be. This is two pieces of good news for working preachers.

The first is that we can get our breath before launching into the intense work of Lent, Holy Week, and Easter.

The second is that we get a chance to do a sermon series and/or Bible study on the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew, Chapters 5, 6, and 7. Matthew's collection of these teachings of Jesus provide an excellent map of the Christian life: the attitudes, values, and behaviours we should cultivate.

But covering all of the Sermon on the Mount, means adjusting the Epiphany readings so that 6 of the 7 Sundays in Epiphany are used for the Sermon on the Mount, and that would mean opting out of using either the Baptism reading at the start, or the Transfiguration reading at the end. Or. Not using all 6 of the Sermon on the Mount readings. Here's one option: 

January 12, Epiphany 1, Baptism of the Lord, Matthew 3:13-17, OR the first Sermon on the Mount text below,
January 12, Epiphany 1, Matthew 5:1-12
January 19, Epiphany 2, Matthew 5:13-20
January 26, Epiphany 3, Matthew 5:21-37
February 2, Epiphany 4, Matthew 5:38-48
February 9, Epiphany 5, Matthew 6:24-34
February 16, Epiphany 6, Matthew 7: 21-29
February 23, Transfiguration Sunday, Matthew 17:1-9

Here are the readings as assigned by the Lectionary:

 

We have observed his star at its rising

Epiphany of the Lord
January 6  or  May be used on the First Sunday of January
Matthew 2:1-12.   
"That this comet is understood to be a sign of the birth of a “child who has been born King of the Jews” is particularly frightening to Herod since HE is King of the Jews and this unknown child is a threat to him and his heirs."

 

Suddenly the heavens were opened to him

Baptism of the Lord
January 12, 2020
Matthew 3:13-17.  
"Fulfilling of righteousness requires letting go of our personal sense of what is right and proper in order to let it be God's will that is fulfilled. For Jesus, as at the end, so too at the beginning: a deep and profound aligning of his heart and will with the will and Spirit of God."

 

Come and see

Epiphany 2
January 19, 2020
John 1:29-42.  
"This text has two questions and an invitation that are at the heart of the Gospel of John: What are you looking for? Where are you staying? Come and see."

 

Come and follow

Epiphany 3
January 26, 2020
Matthew 4:12-23.  
"The command / invitation to Peter, Andrew, James and John is: Come, follow me. And not: I wonder if you would consider the possibility of tagging along if you have the time and it's not too inconvenient?"

 

Blessed are those who ...

Epiphany 4
February 2, 2020
Matthew 5:1-12.  
"The poor, the hungry, and the sorrowing will never confuse these things as being their salvation. And THAT is the blessing. They KNOW their need of God."

 

A city on a hill

Epiphany 5
February 9, 2020
Matthew 5:13-20.  
"Don't think that my teachings replace or reduce the law and the prophets. And don't think you can skip the details. Details count. But something more than the details is also needed. You must align your whole self with what God desires - that is what those in Heaven are like."

 

Reconciliation, by Josefina de Vasconcellos, St. Michael's Cathedral, Coventry, UK

Epiphany 6
February 16, 2020
Matthew 5:21-37.  
"Why not take Jesus at his word? Take your offering home this week, and carry it to remind you to take safe, practical steps toward reconciliation and peace wherever there is brokenness in your life."

 

Do not violently resist

Epiphany 7
Not used this year.
Matthew 5:38-48.  
"Matthew 5:38-41 has a tragic history of poor translations and even worse interpretations. This passage is NOT recommending becoming a doormat; nor does it tolerate domestic violence. The translation, “Do not resist an evildoer,” fails to convey the full meaning of the underlying Greek. It would be better translated as: Do not VIOLENTLY resist an evildoer. Thus the teaching is primarily about non-violence. It is not about acquiescing to evil. Jesus then goes on to offer three quick examples of how to non-violently resist an evildoer."

 

Consider the lilies

Epiphany 8
Not used this year.
Matthew 6:24-34.  
"Having our intentions aligned with God's desires plus trusting God frees us from being anxious / worried / fearful about what will happen next; allows us to let go of expectations."

 

A house built on sand

Epiphany 9
Not used this year
Matthew 7:21-29.  
"It is not enough for us to hear these words of Jesus; to study them; to be inspired by them; to have hopes / aspirations / dreams based on them. We must ACT on them; practice them; live them in our everyday lives."

 

Transfiguration. Sieger Koder, 1925-2015

Transfiguration Sunday
February 23, 2020
Matthew 17:1-9.  
"I wonder how much in our heart of hearts, we are still cheering for Jesus as the triumphant Victor, and still longing for a Messiah, when God has already given us all that God has to give: the Beloved?"

 

 

And here are the key calendar dates for 2020.

Liturgical Dates for 2020