6th Sunday after Epiphany
Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26
“Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account, the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’“
These words sound like Jesus, but they are not from him. They come from the Torah, the Law of Moses. More specifically, from the 15th chapter of Deuteronomy, verses 10 and 11. No wonder Elizabeth proclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb (Luke 1:42).” No wonder Mary sang joyfully in response, for God had “filled the hungry with good things” and had “come to the aid of his child Israel in remembrance of his mercy (1: 53-54).” No wonder Jesus reveals himself as the fulfillment of the prophecy of good news to the poor (4:18-21). No wonder he declares them blessed alongside the hungry, the weeping, the rejected, and the excluded (6:20-21). No wonder his church breaks bread in remembrance of him (22:14-23).
There is another group that the prophet Jeremiah declares blessed. They are not the ones who place their trust in mere mortals, but instead are the ones “whose trust is the Lord (17:7).”
For Paul, there may be no more profound blessing than the empty tomb. It proves that God’s promises of good news to the beaten, the slandered, the betrayed, the ashamed, and the mocked have come true. The resurrection validates not only what he proclaims but also the faith that we received as a lavish and gracious gift (1 Corinthians 15:14).
The psalmist sings words of wisdom:
“Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked
or take the path that sinners tread
or sit in the seat of scoffers,
but their delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law they meditate day and night (Psalm 1:1-2; NRSVue).”
Bridging Faith 