Lessons for February 4, 2007 – Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

The first lesson

Isaiah 6:1-13 

    In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. [2] Hovering around him were mighty seraphim, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with the remaining two they flew. [3] In a great chorus they sang, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!" [4] The glorious singing shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke. 
    [5] Then I said, "My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of a sinful race. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!" 
    [6] Then one of the seraphim flew over to the altar, and he picked up a burning coal with a pair of tongs. [7] He touched my lips with it and said, "See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven." 
    [8] Then I heard the Lord asking, "Whom should I send as a messenger to my people? Who will go for us?"
    And I said, "Lord, I'll go! Send me." 
    [9] And he said, "Yes, go. But tell my people this: 'You will hear my words, but you will not understand. You will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning.' [10] Harden the hearts of these people. Close their ears, and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn to me for healing." 
    [11] Then I said, "Lord, how long must I do this?"
    And he replied, "Until their cities are destroyed, with no one left in them. Until their houses are deserted and the whole country is an utter wasteland. [12] Do not stop until the Lord has sent everyone away to distant lands and the entire land of Israel lies deserted. [13] Even if only a tenth—a remnant—survive, it will be invaded again and burned. Israel will remain a stump, like a tree that is cut down, but the stump will be a holy seed that will grow again."  (NLT)

Psalm 138 

L.  I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. 
C.  I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
L.  I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness,
C.  because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. 
L.  When I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me the strength I need.
C.  Every king in all the earth will give you thanks, 
L.  O Lord, for all of them will hear your words. 
C.  Yes, they will sing about the Lord's ways, for the glory of the Lord is very great. 
L.  Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.
C.  Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will preserve me against the anger of my enemies.
L.  You will clench your fist against my angry enemies!
C.  Your power will save me. 
L.  The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
C.  Don't abandon me, for you made me.  (NLT)

The second lesson

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
 
    Now let me remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is built on this wonderful message. [2] And it is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe it—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. 
    [3] I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. [4] He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. [5] He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. [6] After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. [7] Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. [8] Last of all, I saw him, too, long after the others, as though I had been born at the wrong time. [9] For I am the least of all the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted the church of God. 
    [10] But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than all the other apostles, yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. [11] So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach. The important thing is that you believed what we preached to you.  (NLT)

The Gospel Lesson

Luke 5:1-11
 
    One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. [2] He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. [3] Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. 
    [4] When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish." 
    [5] "Master," Simon replied, "we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, we'll try again." [6] And this time their nets were so full they began to tear! [7] A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. 
    [8] When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, "Oh, Lord, please leave me—I'm too much of a sinner to be around you." [9] For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him. [10] His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
    Jesus replied to Simon, "Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!" [11] And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.  (NLT)