![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Epiphany-5A-2020-1-1024x536.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nGod has told the prophet Isaiah to \u201cShout out, do not hold back!\u201d, and Isaiah speaks accordingly, drawing out the hypocrisy of God\u2019s people in their devotional practices. This continues the call for a renewal of heart and behavior that we heard in Micah last week. Isaiah says that the people of God ask, \u201cWhy do we fast, but you do not see?\u201d He follows it up immediately with the answer: \u201cLook, you serve your own interest on your fast day, \/ and oppress all your workers.\u201d Fasting (for Isaiah\u2019s community and for ours) is an expression of repentance, but here it is only a cover for more selfish behavior. Isaiah says that in order to be attended to by God, the people must repent in their hearts and behavior: \u201cIs not this the fast that I choose: \/ to loose the bonds of injustice . . . to let the oppressed go free.\u201d Only then will God answer the people\u2019s cry and say \u201cHere I am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- What can you think of in our common life in America that is a \u201cyoke\u201d to be lifted, or \u201cthe bonds of injustice\u201d that must be loosed?<\/li>
- In your town or city, what is \u201cthe pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil\u201d that should stop?<\/li>
- Where else in the Bible do we find this emphasis on God\u2019s requirement of honest and unhypocritical devotion?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 112: 1-9 [10]<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 112 continues Isaiah\u2019s theme and elaborates on what the life of the truly righteous person will be like. They are \u201cmerciful and full of compassion,\u201d and are \u201cgenerous in lending,\u201d \u201cmanag[ing] their affairs with justice.\u201d The result of living in true righteousness is a life that is happy, fearless, honorable, and trusting: \u201ctheir heart is right.\u201d The Psalmist\u2019s words are a description, an exhortation\u2014but also a gesture of hope, a trusting prayer that right behavior will have practical results in the speaker\u2019s heart and mind, and in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Which of these descriptions of a righteous person rang most true for you? Did it remind you of anyone?<\/li>
- What quality in this description was most immediately appealing to you for your own life?<\/li>
- In what ways does this Psalm specifically encourage us to grow in righteousness?<\/li>
- Did any of these images or phrases remind you of other parts of Scripture?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
1 Corinthians 2:1-12, [13-16]<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Paul was writing to a congregation he had built himself a few years before, located in the diverse port city of Corinth. Today\u2019s passage comes in the midst of a longer cry for unity in a divided congregation. Picking up on the idea of divine foolishness we heard last week, Paul admits\u2014boasts!\u2014that he didn\u2019t come to the Corinthians with \u201cplausible words of wisdom.\u201d Instead, the power of his testimony, and of the whole community\u2019s, is in \u201ca demonstration of the Spirit and of power.\u201d The power and wisdom of God\u2014secret, inexplicable to human rulers\u2014is where our faith should rest. Paul describes this power and wisdom coming to us \u201cthrough the Spirit,\u201d who helps us understand and speak what God has given us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- In your Christian communities, what signs of the Spirit have you seen that are not about \u201cplausible\u201d arguments? (Like extreme generosity, unexpected kindness, etc.)<\/li>
- Have you known someone in your lifetime who has made Christ known to you, like Paul, not in \u201clofty words\u201d but \u201cin weakness and in fear\u201d?<\/li>
- How might this metric (humanity\u2019s \u201cplausible words\u201d vs. God\u2019s foolishness) change the way we normally think about justice? or peace?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Matthew 5:13-20<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus gives us another angle on the righteous life. The people of God must be bright\u2014a bright flavor, a bright open light\u2014shining before others \u201cso that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.\u201d Matthew\u2019s Jesus also makes explicit here something that runs through the whole Gospel\u2014that he has come as fulfillment of the law, not as its destroyer. The call to righteousness seems to have changed in his new witness, but it has not at all removed it. Those who are \u201cgreat in the kingdom of heaven\u201d will be following and teaching the words of the law and the prophets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Where else in the Bible do we find images like the flavorful salt or a bright lamp?<\/li>
- How might these particular words of Jesus shape the way we think of his relationship to the law?<\/li>
- How might our actions in a largely secular society be like a lamp lit in the darkness?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This Bible study, written by Emily Garcia, originally ran for Epiphany 5 on February 5, 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bible-Study-English-Epiphany-5A-2020<\/strong><\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\nBible-Study-English-Epiphany-5A-2020<\/strong><\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Isaiah 58:1-9a, [9b-12] God has told the prophet Isaiah to \u201cShout out, do not hold back!\u201d, and Isaiah speaks accordingly, drawing out the hypocrisy of God\u2019s people in their devotional practices. This continues the call for a renewal of heart and behavior that we heard in Micah last week. Isaiah says that the people of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23,32,52,3],"tags":[146],"class_list":["post-768222","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-studies","category-epiphany","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-epiphany-5a"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":32,"label":"Epiphany"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":146,"label":"Epiphany 5A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/768222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/768222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":951892,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/768222\/revisions\/951892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}