Delight in the Law

Epiphany 6 – February 16, 2025

Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1
I Corinthians 15:12-20
Luke 6:17-22

The history of the book of psalms is lost and cannot be learned. What we can say of the book is that the psalms were composed by many individuals throughout Israel’s history and at some point they were gathered into one book by an editor or editors sometime after the Babylonian captivity. While some of the psalms had already been gathered together – the psalms attributed to David as an example – many of them stood alone. A closer look at the book will show that the editors didn’t randomly assemble the psalms but were deliberate in how they assembled them. The order and the numbering have significance. For example, Psalm 119 is closely related to Psalm one and nineteen. We note this because we read Psalm one today, the psalm that the editors chose to begin the book. This psalm emphasizes the Torah – the Law. Although we read it today for a two-fold reason. First it is related to our text from Jeremiah. The question this brings up is, “Did Jeremiah copy the psalm, did the psalmist copy Jeremiah, or did they both copy from something else? It is probably the third, though scholars believe the psalm was written after Jeremiah. The second reason that this psalm may have been chosen is that it begins in a beatitude. That’s a statement about being blessed (or happy as some translations give). As we said earlier, this beatitude is about those who follow the law and not wickedness. Happy are those who meditate on the law. Remember, as we have said before, the Law is God’s gift to God’s people so that they could live together in community.

Our gospel tells us of Jesus’ beatitudes. Both Luke and Matthew report Jesus’ beatitudes although they are not quite the same. For Luke the first is about the poor; Matthew has the poor in spirit. (I invite you to look up both and compare them. Matthew’s is at 5:1-12.) Only Luke has the woes. If we are honest with ourselves, we will note that we fit the woes more than the blessings. We are not poor, hungry, or hated and defamed because we are Christians. Although we occasionally fit into the group who weep. Are we doomed then to what we already have as Jesus says? Or can we receive more from God? While they are not law, the beatitudes can remind us of what we have already received and guide us in how we are to use those gifts. That is, we are called to be God’s hands, feet, and mouth – the Body of Christ – and do God’s work. That work is to take care of those who are poor, hungry, weary, and alien in our land. 

You don’t have to do this. It is not a requirement to become part of the Body of Christ. Jesus has already done the work for you. Now you are freed from sin and death and can choose what you do with the gifts that God has given you. You don’t need to compare your gifts and actions with anyone else as Paul tells us in First Corinthians. You have an equal roll with everyone else. All you need is to answer Jesus’ call to follow him. What else can you do? You have received so much more than you deserve. Gifts which you can never fully give thanks for. So do what you can. Share God’s love and blessings with what you have received – yourself, your time, and your possessions. Deliver God’s blessing to the world.