07 February 2021 Devotion for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watchword for the week is taken from Psalm 147 verse 5, “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure,” (NRSVB). Our Lord is truly great. The psalmist praises God with songs of worship and adoration, telling of God’s handiwork in the universe and His unending knowledge as to be able to count and call each star by its name! This is the depth of the wisdom of our God. He created the galaxies and observed beyond the reach of human telescopes. He knitted together the microscopic world and beholds what no electron-microscope has yet revealed. God created the magnificent beauty of the universe for humans to admire, to be inspired and to enjoy. The vast expanses of the world remind us that God is not limited.
God created a world so beautiful and He is waiting for the people of the world, to recognize Him as God, and seek Him. He wants to be found. He wants to come to those who are not looking for Him, those who do not believe, and bring them to truth, for it is His desire that all should know Him. He opens His arms, like the father of the prodigal son and waits for the children to return. He holds up his arms as Moses did when he was praying for the people. God waits for the people to return so that He can wipe their tears away and bring them to feast in the New Jerusalem, (Isaiah 65 verse 16 to 18). God is patient and He waits for all the nations, those who have turned from Him, and those who have not recognized Him yet. “I said: Here I am, Here I am, to nations that did not call on my Name,” Isaiah 65 verse 1. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem the star-gazers of the East saw the special star in the sky. They followed it and found Jesus and they believed and returned home joyfully. They heard God’s call and looked for Him. They followed the sign and were not disappointed. The prophet Isaiah, in his vision of the New Heaven and Earth, states that God revealed that, “It shall be that before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear,” (Isaiah 65 verse 24). These are the promises that God has given to Jews and Gentiles, all will inherit God’s blessings and abundance.
Jesus was invited for a meal on the Sabbath at a ruling Pharisee. Everything Jesus did was observed and critiqued. At the meal Jesus saw a man with dropsy and asked the scholars and Pharisees present if it would be lawful to pull an ox or donkey from the pit if it had fallen in. They refrained from answering Him and Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. Then He told them the parable of the banquet: A man once prepared a great feast and invited his friends and relatives. When it was ready he called for them to come by sending his servants to bring the guests, however, each guest had an excuse not to attend. “Then the master said to the servants: Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled,” Luke 14 verse 23. God creates many opportunities for each and everyone to come closer to Him and partake of the banquet that He has prepared. God’s grace and His invitation to come and feast at His table are not limited to a small and elite group of exclusive people. God is the God who cares, heals and honours the poor and the sick, the lowly and the needy; He brings them to the place where they recognize Him as God and honour Him. Those who are revered for their great wisdom and ruling power, their military might and great wealth find it difficult to leave their exclusive places and feast at the table prepared for all. In God’s economy each person is of the same infinite value and is like the stars He knows and calls. He says to us: “I have called you by Name, you are mine,” Isaiah 43 verse 1.
Father, we adore you! We marvel at your generosity and loving-kindness to us, Amen.
