The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Ordinary Time
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Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
Today’s reading is an excerpt from one of the suffering servant songs (Isaiah 42:1–4; Isaiah 49:1–6; Isaiah 50:4–7; and Isaiah 52:13–53:12). All these songs describe someone who brings hope and salvation. In their original context, they describe a nation rather than an individual. This is because the society was collectivistic with an emphasis on family and groups, rather than our individualistic society with an emphasis on the person. So these are traits of a whole group of people. It wasn’t until the Christians read back through this material that they picked it up and applied it to a single person. The application of the suffering servant songs to Jesus is probably the oldest theology in the New Testament.
Everywhere these suffering servant songs appear, they interrupt the narrative flow of the surrounding text. If removed, the flow is restored. It’s almost as if they were not native to the text and someone just stuck them in at random places.
The reading today leaves out verse 4. The lectionary does this from time to time. Why? One commentary explains, “This kind of selection is normal in the liturgy and quite legitimate. It is not a question of arbitrarily omitting verses, claiming that they are too hard, distasteful, or giving some similar reason. The objective of the liturgy is not primarily to have us read the Bible, but rather to celebrate the mystery illumined by God’s Word. Its proclamation and its function are ritual ones…. When it is a question of correlating two passages of the Scripture, the choice of texts or excerpts from texts is made to form a coherent montage.” (Days of the Lord: The Liturgical Year).
So we have to keep in mind that our purpose here is studying the text, whereas the liturgy has a different purpose, which is worship. By all means, read the missing verses! Study the passage as a whole. And then appreciate the passage in the context of liturgy as it’s presented.
Verse 3 highlights that in the original context, this was a description of the nation of Israel.
Verse 4 is a description of someone who has done God’s will with seemingly little return and is now discouraged but finds hope in God.
Verse 6 echoes last week’s celebration of Epiphany. The seasons of the church year bleed in and out of each other. There is rarely an abrupt transition, with the exception, perhaps, of Lent. We are easing from the Christmas season into Ordinary Time.
How are you a light to make the gospel known to others?
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
1 Corinthians is such a long and influential book that it is split up over all 3 liturgical years. We read from it for 5-7 weeks this time every year. This year we hit chapters 1-4.
Year A: 1 Cor 1-4 – Part I: the factions
Year B: 1 Cor 5-11 Part II: problems of behavior; Q&A
Year C: 1 Cor 12-14 Part III: Problems of charisms and the response of love; plus 15-16 closing material
This book was written around 53-54AD. Corinth was a big city crossroads with lots of ethnicities and religions – a melting pot. There was a high population of freed slaves who came to make their fortune, and they were highly independent people. The letter was written while Paul he was imprisoned in Ephesus. Paul wrote more to this community than any other. He alludes to several other letters that he wrote to them that have been lost.
Manuscript trivia: there is a papyrus housed in the Chester Beatty museum near Dublin, Ireland. Its scholarly title is P46, and it contains virtually the entire letter of 1 Corinthians minus a few verses. It dates to about 200 AD, about 150 years after Paul wrote the letter. This is the earliest manuscript of anything in the NT that we have. For comparison, the earliest manuscript of a gospel that we have dates to about the 4th century. Most of P46 resides in Ireland, but some pages of it reside with the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. Scholars are not sure where the manuscript came from. It appeared on the antiquities market in the 1930s and was sold to various people.
The Corinthian community was divided into rival factions, and Paul finds this an absurd and intolerable situation. At the beginning of the letter, he makes a plea for unity.
Verse 1 mentions Sosthenes who is mentioned in Acts 18:17 as a synagogue leader. He was likely with Paul and assisted in the writing of the letter.
Verse 2 tells us that we have been sanctified (set apart for holy use) and called to be holy.
In verse 3 Paul uses two forms of greetings. Peace (Shalom) was used by Jews. Grace was used by Greeks and Gentiles. Paul’s greetings are multicultural, intended to make everyone feel welcome and included.
What does the call to holiness look like in your own life?
John 1:29-34
As stated above, we ease into Ordinary Time! We’re supposed to be in the Gospel of Matthew, but we take a detour here to the Gospel of John.
Only John’s gospel uses Lamb of God as a title for Jesus. This gospel was written in the late 90s or early 100s AD and is the product of 70 years of reflection on who Jesus was. It took time for this title to take root in the church.
V29 uses the singular “sin.” In John’s gospel, “sin” is a power arrayed against Jesus and “the world” is the organized power of evil. Today we might call this “original” sin or structural or social sin. The Lamb of God came to conquer all the evils of our world, not just our personal sins – the cultural dimensions of sin.
Verse 32 says the Spirit came down like a dove. God is not two men and a bird. The spirit is not a bird but “like” a dove. Any language around the ineffable God must always be metaphorical. Our problems come when we try to absolutize it. Like when we say that God is “father” and therefore must be male. A dove evokes the Genesis account and is a harbinger of a new beginning. This continues John’s parallels with Genesis from the start of the gospel.
John the Baptist initially did not realize that Jesus was the one he was preaching about. It often takes a while to recognize Jesus. Is there a situation in your life that Jesus might be inviting you to try and recognize him in?
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
© 2023 Kelly Sollinger