Psalm: Psalm 40:1-11
Old Testament:
Isaiah 49:1-7
Gospel: John 1:29-42
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Today we take a brief jaunt in the Gospel of John before we return to Matthew for the rest of the Epiphany time. In today's reading we have a classic well-known "christianese" phrase, but yet it is only found here in the Gospel of John. Twice, in these 14 verses John the Baptist declares that Jesus is the "Lamb of God." This phrase has become common place in today's Christian vocabulary and iconography yet it only comes from this one section in John. So where did John get this language and how might we see allusions to it in other New Testament passages?
Psalm: Psalm 29
Old Testament:
Isaiah 42:1-9
Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17
Epistle: Acts 10:34-43
Today is the Sunday in the Church when we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. But before we take a look at that however I want to recognize that Friday was Epiphany. Thus this Sunday is the start of the weeks of Epiphany as we count the weeks towards Easter. Epiphany is the day in the year when we recognize the Wise-men from the East coming to worship Jesus as a child. But that surface story provides a springboard for exploring topics such as the divine revelation of God to humanity, Gentiles' place in the Kingdom of God, and the role of the Church to be used by God to reveal himself in the present.
