In the “hymnal” of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), the committee that compiled the “propers” for each Sunday of the Church Year provided unique “Prayers (Collects) of the Day” for each Sunday of the year. This was intended to “contextualize” the readings and the focus for worship that day.
For Sunday, January 31, the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, the Prayer of the Day is:
Compassionate God, you gather the whole universe into your radiant presence and continually reveal your Son as our Savior. Bring wholeness to all that is broken and speak truth to us in our confusion, that all creation will see and know your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
For what do we really pray in this prayer when we ask God to “speak truth to us in our confusion?” Since we moved to the State of Ohio a little over a year ago, I have always found myself to be in a “state of confusion” when it comes to many situations I face – on a daily basis! Add to that my request that I face the “truth” and I become somewhat fearful of what God may provide.
In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, Jesus is in the Capernaum synagogue and is confronted by a man with an unclean spirit – perhaps closer to my reality that I’d like to admit. “Unclean spirits” are everywhere, it seems – in our communities, our nation, our churches!
And what does Jesus do? He answers our plea in today's Prayer of the Day: “bring wholeness to all that is broken.” He teaches with authority and overcomes evil. The sin and evil that are everywhere! There’s an evil spirit in a holy place – there’s sin in the synagogue!!
Please note: in Mark 1, this evil spirit speaks the truth - “Have you come to destroy us?” This evil spirit testifies to the truth - “you are, the Holy One of God.” (v. 24)
Yet, that “Holy One of God” makes whole what is broken and by the power of the Spirit joins us to his death/resurrection. Jesus did come to destroy sin, death, power of the devil by becoming sin for us and dying the death we deserve.
Jesus did that to answer our prayer: “that all creation will see and know your Christ!”
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