Above: An Oasis in the Sahara Desert
Image Source = Library of Congress
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Jeremiah 17:5-11 (Revised English Bible):
These are words of the LORD:
A curse on anyone who trusts in mortals and leans for support on human kind,
while his heart is far from the LORD!
He will be like a juniper in the steppeland;
when good comes he is unaware of it.
He will live among the rocks in the wilderness, in a salt, uninhabited land.
Blessed is anyone who trusts in the LORD, and rests his confidence on him.
He will be like a tree planted by the waterside,
that sends out its roots along a stream.
When the heat comes it has nothing to fear;
its foliage stays green.
Without care in a year of drought,
it does not fail to bear fruit.
The heart is deceitful above any other thing, desperately sick;
who can fathom it?
I, the LORD, search the mind and test the heart,
requiting each one for his conduct and as his deeds deserve.
Like a partridge sitting on a clutch of eggs which it has not laid,
so is he who amasses wealth unjustly.
Before his days are half done it will leave him, and he will be a fool at the last.
Psalm 1 (Revised English Bible):
Happy is the one who does not take the counsel of the wicked for a guide,
or follow the path that sinners tread, or take his seat in the company of scoffers.
His delight is in the law of the LORD; it is his meditation day and night.
He is like a tree planted beside water channels;
it yields its fruit in season and its foliage never fades.
So he too prospers in all he does.
The wicked are not like this; rather they are like chaff driven by the wind.
When judgment comes, therefore, they will not stand firm,
nor will sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
The LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (The Jerusalem Bible):
Now if Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ himself cannot have been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless; indeed, we are shown up as witnesses who have committed perjury before God, because we swore in evidence before God that he had raised Christ to life. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.
But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
Luke 6:17-26 (The Jerusalem Bible):
He [Jesus] then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.
Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he [Jesus] said:
How happy are you who are poor; yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy are you who are hungry now; you shall be satisfied.
Happy are you who weep now; you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
But alas for you who are rich; you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now; you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now; you shall mourn and weep.
Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.
The Collect:
O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Some Related Posts:
Prayer of Praise and Adoration:
Prayer of Confession:
Prayer of Dedication:
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The theme of trusting in God unites the readings.
When one is reviled and persecuted for the sake of righteousness, what does one have? God. When one is poor, hungry, and sorrowful, what does one have? God. In particular, in reference to 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, one has the Resurrected Christ, without whom we Christians
are of all people most to be pitied. (19b, New Revised Standard Version)
Self-reliance will not suffice, for the wealthy, full, and laughing ones, plus those held in esteem all receive woes in our Lord’s Sermon on the Plain.
That is a profoundly counter-cultural message. Woe to the respected, wealthy, full, and laughing? Let me count the seconds before a Republican pundit or politician cries “class warfare!” (I am flying my liberal flag.) But reliance on God is the key, and such reliance contradicts conventions about self-made men and women. All that we have comes from God. All tat we can be is due to God. Our stewardship of those resources is a great spiritual matter.
Trusting in God can be difficult; I know. It is still hard for me much of the time. On the other hand, it has become easier. But it is all that I have, really. Everything else is transitory, but God is everlasting. Everything else is a collection of means to various ends, hopefully positive ones. Yet God is the greatest end. In that mystery called God I find my destiny, whatever that will entail. May you, O reader, find your destiny there also, whatever that will entail.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 13, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT HERMENEGILD, VISIGOTHIC PRINCE AND ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT HUGH OF ROUEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, ABBOT, AND MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARTIN I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF MIKAEL AGRICOLA, FINNISH LUTHERAN BISHOP OF TALLINN
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Adapted from this post:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/sixth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-c/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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