Fifth Sunday after Epiphany; 5 February 2023; Epiphany 5A (RCL); Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 112:1-9; 1 Corinthians 2:1-12; Matthew 5:13-21.
Chapter 58 of Isaiah is one of those clarion passages that depict the righteous society envisioned by the prophets as fulfillment of Torah. It seems to be set against the events of the return from Exile, with Jerusalem in ruins. There is apparently a contest with the returnees for how best to reestablish the righteous society. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah give us a hint about this contest. Isaiah is all for opening the Temple to the nations, while Ezra/Nehemiah wants to constrain membership in the new community to those who can show ancestry among the Exiles.
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