Epiphany 3B

Epiphany 3B

Brent D. Neely

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

This week’s collect helps us see a connection between the four readings we have. We see a connection of proclaiming the Good News because there is limited time. Our prayer this week calls us to think about the fact that we do not know when Christ is returning, but what we do know is that we are to expect it sooner rather than later. We are not to put it off and think it’s way down the road. Instead, we are to imagine it is nearby and tell all the world about Christ’s wonderful salvation for all. We are to invite others into the Kingdom before it is made a complete reality here on earth. We invite them to begin living into the Kingdom here and now.

Who are we to spread this Good News to? Well, everyone! We see that Jesus proclaims over his disciples that he is going to make them fishers of people, not just a specific people, but all people! We see this idea in the Jonah passage. Jonah is called to preach the Good News to his worst enemy. He is called to Nineveh – a city he could not possibly imagine being worthy of being saved. That’s the Good News, though! This salvation is not just for the good enough. It’s for the whole world! We are told to proclaim to all the world that God is our stronghold, our salvation, and our rock.

Brent D. Neely

About the Contributor

Pastor of the Cape Elizabeth Church of the Nazarene