Fifth Sunday after Epiphany • Year A

Historical Collect

Stand watch over your family, O Lord, that we who depend entirely on your heavenly grace may always be protected in the mighty fortress of your love; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Gelasian Sacramentary, 7th Century)

Thematic Collect

God of all compassion, you call us to be salt and light for your world, yet without your Spirit we are powerless to answer that call. Empower us to hear your voice and respond with faith and boldness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Common Thread

Why are we to do good works? Is it so that we might become righteous before God? Why are we to keep the commandments? Is it so that we will earn favor with God and be rewarded with eternal life? No. Our boast is not in the good we do, nor is it in our religious zeal. We must be ignorant of any personal virtue or piety, being mindful only of “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” At the same time, we must delight in God’s commandments and be his salt for our neighbor, doing good to our neighbor so that our heavenly Father is glorified in our lives. Therefore, our trust is in Christ, not self. 

First Reading • Isaiah 58:3–9a

Isaiah condemns religious ritual; he notes that God takes no knowledge of such things. They count for nothing, since God looks upon the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). How we apply our religious makeup does not impress God. Fasting and other such rituals do not reveal the heart. If you wish to please God, be of benefit to others instead of harming your own body. That is the fast God desires, and such fasts originate from faith, not religion.

Psalm • Psalm 112:1–9

The grace of God produces a fear of the Lord that causes the love of God to shine forth. As such, one now delights in the commandments. The commandments are not followed because of compulsion, but because of a love of God. The one who delights in the commandments will find ways to go “beyond the law” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 11). “The law is good, if one uses it lawfully” (1 Tim. 1:8). That is, when used legitimately, the law will produce a “steady heart,” a firm mettle, a righteousness that is not one's own (Phil. 3:9), that endures forever.

Second Reading • 1 Corinthians 2:1–12, 13–16

The one who makes Christ the focus will see widely. The one who focuses on the wide-ranging philosophies of religion runs the risk of not knowing Christ. We, instead, are to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified (v. 2). Despite any weakness of our own, the knowledge of Christ reveals the things of God through his Spirit (v. 10).

The natural person cannot perceive the things of the Spirit. They seem ridiculous to those without “the mind of Christ” (v. 16). But to those who are being saved (1 Cor. 1:18), the focus of Christ brings revelation and wisdom and the power of God. This is what God has prepared for those who love him — those who are engrossed with Jesus Christ and him crucified. Such a person will never be moved because she is focused on Christ instead of self. This is the revelation of God's power at work in the believer, despite her weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).

Gospel • Matthew 5:13–20

The earth needs salt. All of creation is rather tasteless, for it is imperfect and even corrupt before God. Therefore, the earth needs “God’s salt” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 21). The Church is called by Christ to be this salt of God. Yet salt does not only flavor things. Salt preserves; salt also heals — but not without pain. Do not imagine that by being God’s salt, you will bring flavor and healing to a corrupt world without the world crying about your saltiness. Do not expect that by setting your Lamp upon the stand that those who have been dwelling in darkness will not feel some pain in the retinas of their souls.

Salt and Light are Found in Me - use this hymn for today, written by Pastor Mark Ryman, based on Matthew 5:13-20.