A Common Thread

This Sunday (the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany) the Revised New Common Lectionary (NRCL) has one of those Sundays when there is a common thread though the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel readings.  There are those who maintain that this is the case every week.  This is in contrast to the design of the NRCL except on certain Feast Days.  Each reading is a text that stands on its own bottom (except for the Psalter Reading, which is usually a commentary on the OT lesson).  An artificial thematization of all the readings does a great disservice to the individual lections and to the day’s pattern as a whole.

Even so, once in a while it occurs anyway.  This week the OT reading is from Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13) and includes verse 5:

And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" 

The Epistle is 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.  In the course of this reading we find verse 9:

For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 

Finally, the Gospel Lesson is Luke 5:1-11.  In verse 8 we read:

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"

The theme of unworthiness appears clearly in all of these texts.  One could argue that human unworthiness is a doctrine that underlies every verse of scripture.  Unworthiness means something slightly different in each of these passages.  But, when we take them collectively, they certainly capture our attention.  A believer doesn’t have to kick themselves in the head repeatedly in order to appreciate the idea.  However, in a time of pride and arrogance a little humility would not be misplaced. 

An enduring text in my own journey is the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18:9-14).  The declaration of the Publican, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner!) carries a lot of spiritual freight.

I don’t believe that we like to think about our relative worthiness much.  Maybe we need to get over that.