Sunday Stretch: Vol. 108

Start off your week with a grounded take on Bible, prayer, the world, and your life ...

Hi Readers,

Adding a quick note to the top here that I am sending prayers and support to all of you who’ve been affected by the wildfires striking the greater Los Angeles area. I served Messiah Lutheran Church in Yorba Linda, Calif., from 2015-17, and my youngest son was born in Southern California. While for now it looks like the fires are staying north of where we lived and worked, the news still feels like it hits close to home. So much massive devastation - and so much fear about what these natural disasters continue to portend about the ongoing effects of global warming and climate change (I say as I look out my window at a snowless January in Minnesota). If you’ve been affected by the fires, please do hit reply or leave a comment below so that this community can find ways to support you - and the same goes for faith communities and groups in the Los Angeles area.

Happy 2025! We are back. Gosh, I don’t know about you - but somehow it feels like an eternity since I’ve written a Sunday Stretch to you (in reality, we only took a measly 2 weeks off!)

I truly think it’s important occasionally to step outside your routine, especially as someone who does creative work like writing - in order to bring in new insights, energy, and ideas. At the same time - how hard it is sometimes to step out of those routines! I have missed writing to you even just these two weeks; I’ve missed this specific way of engaging with the texts, and hearing from you about your own study, prayers, and lives.

Just like I miss my local church community whenever I miss a few services, I miss you all and our community, too. So if you can - hit REPLY to this message or comment below; just a little update on how you’re doing and any prayer requests or praises you might have. I’d love to hear from you.

Now … let’s get to the texts! Remember: today is the first Sunday of Epiphany. Follow the star.

Bible Stories

Isaiah 43:1-7

Is. 43:1 But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

³ For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I give Egypt as your ransom,

Ethiopia^a and Seba in exchange for you.

⁴ Because you are precious in my sight,

and honored, and I love you,

I give people in return for you,

nations in exchange for your life.

⁵ Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east,

and from the west I will gather you;

⁶ I will say to the north, “Give them up,”

and to the south, “Do not withhold;

bring my sons from far away

and my daughters from the end of the earth—

⁷ everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made.”

Have you noticed that so many of the words of the prophets from God begin with: “Do not fear?” Those are the same words the angel said to Mary, to Elizabeth, and to the shepherds in the fields when they told them of the birth of a Savior. Do not fear.

We are only a few weeks removed from Christmas, but I can’t help but notice the tendency of our culture and our world to move quickly on (even though Orthodox Christians just celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6). My local grocer told me that January is the month when they stock up ordering all of the “healthy” items - right on the heels of the overindulgence of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. I know the extremes aren’t good for me, but I lurch through them each year just the same, tugged along by a culture driven by consumerism.

God’s ancient words from Isaiah enter into this frenetic world. Do not be afraid. I have redeemed you. I have called you by name.

Welcome affirmation in a month that tends to focus on all the things wrong with us.

Questions to Ponder

My mind stopped at these words:

“I give people in return for you,

nations in exchange for your life.”

Reading them, I can’t help but think of our world’s current wars, especially in Israel and Gaza - wars that are framed sometimes as holy wars, where God is on one side or the other. What does it mean that people are given in return for another?

The following line “nations in exchange for your life” does seem to refute a reading of the preceding line in accordance with holy war, however, as it places the value of life above nations. How do you think these two lines coexist together?

Why does this text emphasize calling by name? Think about other places in the Bible that emphasize naming and why it’s important.

Acts 8:14-17

Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵ The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit ¹⁶ (for as yet the Spirit had not come^a upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). ¹⁷ Then Peter and John^a laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Reading this text while bearing in mind that it shares an author with the Gospel of Luke, I’m thinking about this passage in tandem with Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus took pains to explain why it’s important to know that Samaritans were “good” even though many in the land considered them to be an enemy, or even “unclean.” I wonder if that parable impacted the decision here of many in Samaria to “accept the word of God” and “receive the Holy Spirit.”

This Sunday is also Baptism of our Lord Sunday. How does this text connect the Holy Spirit to baptism, after the Day of Pentecost?

Modern Christianity often separates a “baptism of fire” from a “baptism of water.” Do you think the two can exist together?

I like the explanation of baptism in the Small Catechism, from Martin Luther. It emphasizes the ongoing meaning of the sacrament - rather than it being a one-time thing, and it also emphasizes God’s agency in baptism, not as a human action. You can read it here. (Note: I searched for a really long time to find a digital version of the Small Catechism that didn’t come from the LCMS or WELS synods, which don’t ordain women and use really patriarchal language. Why doesn’t the ELCA have an easily available resource with inclusive language? Would love to have this.)

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Luke 3:15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their