Lectionary for Feb. 2, 2025
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6;
1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30
Christmas is not so far in the rearview mirror yet. For those of you who have multiple kids, did the joy of opening presents last a whole day before the jealousy and fighting started? In an effort to reduce this, we have a family rule for my sons: any present you receive is yours exclusively for 24 hours and then “all our toys are for all our boys.” They have accepted this rule well, but that first 24 hours is a little rough. Cries of “It’s not fair,” “He took my truck!” or “His 24 hours is over, and he won’t share!” echo in my house.
But my house isn’t the only one where jealousy and an unwillingness to share gifts is a problem. This week’s lectionary passages address the difficulty of sharing and call us to think like adults, not like children who are still learning to share.
The Church in Corinth was engulfed in scandal and fighting. Its members claimed different forms of authority (Paul, Apollos, Peter). Some said participating passively in other religious rites wasn’t a sin and that sexual immorality didn’t matter. Others disagreed. They argued back and forth by appealing to wisdom and fancy reasoning. They denigrated the wisdom of those who didn’t agree with them. Who of us can relate to that in our congregations and families?
Paul wasn’t impressed. While he had definite opinions on the matters at hand (he vacillated on participation in idolatry but came down definitively against sexual immorality), the broader issue for him was that the community that bears Jesus’ name wasn’t acting very Christlike. Instead of fighting among themselves, they should have craved peace and unity above being correct. Paul, rather than making a public fight in front of unbelievers, asked, “Why not rather be wronged?” (1 Corinthians 6:7). The emphasis here is on overcoming jealousy with peace.
We are supposed to act like adults who look for opportunities to love others sacrificially by asking, “How can I help restore what should be yours?”
Paul went on to write one of the most famous chapters in the Bible: “The Love Chapter.” Popular at weddings, this text has much more do to with community organizing than romance between two people. Amid descriptions of what communal love looks like, Paul proclaimed that love “is not jealous … it does not seek its own …” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). This is how children who haven’t been taught to constrain their urges act, thinking everything is “mine, mine, mine.” Instead, we are supposed to act like adults (11) who look for opportunities to love others sacrificially by asking, “How can I help restore what should be yours?”
This is exactly the position that the people of Nazareth found themselves in. Jesus had returned from his base of ministry in Capernaum to his hometown. Surely he was going to work some of the miracles that he had become famous for performing elsewhere! Jesus preached a wonderful sermon on Isaiah, and everyone was pleased with his gracious words (Luke 4:22).
Jesus was not content and decided to see if he could prick their national pride by mentioning the widows of Israel. Elijah had performed a miracle for the Sidonians, whose wicked princess, Jezebel, led Israel in idolatry. No Israelite widows received reprieve from the famine that came from following Sidonian influence. Yet, Elisha healed Naaman, a general of the Aramean army that had raided Israel, killing, wounding and capturing Israelites. There were plenty of Israelite wounds to be healed, caused by Naaman himself.
Sometimes God feeds and heals our enemies—people whom we think make the least sense for God to love. This is injustice. It’s not fair! Yet, that is kind of Jesus’ point. What if the folks of Nazareth had just said, “Actually, that was a great sermon, and we’re just happy that God is working through you. If you heal our friends and relatives in Bethsaida and Capernaum, we will praise God.” Instead of being happy for others and content with the gracious words offered them, Jesus revealed childish hearts who simply wanted what others had.
Neuroscience and the wisdom of religious traditions agree: gratitude and contentment are good for us. Jealousy—whether on a national scale like wanting to annex other lands; or on an interpersonal level like trying to keep up with the Joneses—is unworthy of mature adults. Followers of Jesus are to forego jealousy. Instead, we are to act as servants of all, trying to bless others by sacrificial loved, modeled by Jesus.
