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Lectionary Research: Third Sunday after Epiphany

January 25, 2026 — Year A

Liturgical Context

This is the Third Sunday after Epiphany in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Epiphany season focuses on the revelation of Christ’s identity—his light breaking into darkness, his glory manifested to the nations. The green paraments of “Ordinary Time” after Epiphany belie the extraordinary themes: light conquering darkness, Jesus calling ordinary people to extraordinary work, and the beginning of his public ministry.

The season of Epiphany falls in the depth of winter, before spring arrives and days lengthen. This is deliberate. As Luther Seminary’s Working Preacher commentary notes: “God’s calendar reminds us that dawn is an act of grace and that darkness is always a prelude, and never a finale.” Epiphany is a season of light not during the day but amidst the darkness.

Liturgical Color: Green

First Reading: Isaiah 9:1-4

“But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.”

Historical Context

These verses serve as a transition between Isaiah 8’s prophecy of impending judgment and the psalm of thanksgiving that follows (Isaiah 9:2-7). Isaiah 8:16-22 announces a period of distress, gloom, and thick darkness for the people—hunger, rage, cursing of king and gods, even necromancy. This is the language of death and the underworld.

The geographical designations—Zebulun, Naphtali, the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, “Galilee of the nations”—all refer to territory directly west of the Sea of Chinnereth (later called the Sea of Galilee). This was the region conquered by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BCE, its citizens deported to Assyria. Gloom and darkness signify military defeat, depopulation, and the ever-present challenges of hunger facing a devastated people.

Theological Significance

To this destitute people, Isaiah announces a coming age when night will be transformed to day. The northern tribes were the first to suffer from Assyrian invasions, so in God’s mercy, they will be the first to see the light of the Messiah.

The prophets are survival literature of war-torn communities. Isaiah speaks of “light” while acknowledging the “darkness.” This is not wishful thinking or motivational rhetoric—it is divine promise spoken into devastation.

Light in Scripture equates with salvation (Psalm 27:1), with the glory of the Lord (Isaiah 60:1-3). Light and salvation emanate from the LORD as gifts of grace. As James Luther Mays observes: “The Lord is called ‘light’ because light drives darkness away.” Light is a basic category of order and stability, recalling the first act of creation (Genesis 1:3).

Lutheran Emphasis

From a Lutheran perspective, this passage proclaims pure Gospel into a situation of absolute Law. The people have earned nothing; they sit in darkness of their own making (Isaiah 8’s indictment). Yet God will act anyway. The emphasis falls not on human action or repentance but on the light that shines—passive voice, divine actor.

A sermon from Concordia Lutheran Church puts it this way: “We clearly understand what it means for Christ to come and be born of Mary, live, teach, suffer, die, and rise from the dead. We know what God has done as well, for as Christ died and rose, we have died to our sin, and the darkness and despair, and risen with Him into a new life.”

Connection to the Gospel

Matthew sees Jesus’ ministry in Galilee as direct fulfillment of this prophecy (Matthew 4:15-16). The place first brought into contempt becomes the place first illuminated. God has promised to reach all the nations. Light reaches those who formerly dwelled in darkness and death. Jesus comes to them and, in a sense, becomes one of them—their neighbor.

Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 4-9

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

Structure and Themes

This psalm expresses absolute dependence on God and trust in the Lord as deeply as any psalm in the Psalter. It forms a regular part of Lutheran liturgies.

The appointed verses focus on two movements:

1. Verses 1, 4-6: Confidence and trust in God’s providential care
2. Verses 7-9: Lament and pleading—the psalmist begging God to turn his face toward him

Some scholars argue these were originally separate psalms. Yet they belong together. Repetition of “seek,” “heart,” “adversaries,” and “salvation” provides unity, while confession of trust at beginning and end holds everything together. This is actually how faith works—bold confidence and desperate need existing simultaneously.

Light, Salvation, Stronghold

The opening verse describes the Lord with life-giving and protective language:

• Light drives darkness away (echoing Isaiah 9)
• Salvation recalls the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 15:2)
• Stronghold derives from military imagery—a well-positioned fortress with strong walls providing safety from enemy assaults (common in the Psalms, see Psalm 18:2)

“One Thing I Ask” (Verse 4)

Verse 4 sums up the faith of the psalm: “to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” The psalmist identifies God’s protection with the sanctuary in Jerusalem. This single-minded focus—one thing I ask—cuts through the noise of competing desires and anxieties.

”Seek His Face” (Verses 7-9)

“Seek his face” means to commune with God in the Temple—the idiom derives from journeying to sacred places. The shift in tone from verses 1-6 to verses 7-12 is striking: from exuberant confidence to pleading lament. The psalmist begs God not to turn away in anger, not to forsake.

This is not a failure of faith but its honest expression. Trust in God does not mean absence of fear or need. The psalm holds both together.

Christological Reading

Jesus gave sight to the blind (John 9), demonstrating he is the Light of the world. We sing Psalm 27 with Jesus in mind: “The LORD is my Light. The LORD is my help. The LORD is my salvation.” But during Lent especially, we remember that Jesus prayed and sang the words of Psalm 27 to his Father in heaven as evil men advanced against him to devour his flesh. The psalm is his psalm before it is ours.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.”

Historical Context

Paul writes to a divided church. The Corinthians have split into factions—“I belong to Paul,” “I belong to Apollos,” “I belong to Cephas,” “I belong to Christ.” The individual points of division are merely presenting symptoms of an underlying problem: the Corinthians do not understand that the cross of Christ upends their ways of defining and valuing themselves and one another.

Their ongoing allegiance to human wisdom is the cause of Paul’s concern. They are still living according to the old categories—social status, eloquence, patronage networks—when the cross has rendered all such distinctions meaningless.

”Has Christ Been Divided?” (Verse 13)

Paul’s rhetorical questions expose the absurdity of their divisions:

• “Has Christ been divided?”
• “Was Paul crucified for you?”
• “Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

The answer to all three is obviously no. Christ is not divided, even if the Corinthians act as though he has been.

Unity Through Baptism and the Cross

Unity of mind and purpose comes not because a particular leader creates consensus, not because everyone possesses the same spiritual gifts. The unity Paul urges is born from baptism that connects all participants to Christ’s death and resurrection. To be baptized is to be joined with all the other baptized to the risen life of Christ—to be, as Christ is, numbered among God’s children.

Dwight Peterson writes: “Unity does not mean uniformity. But it does mean that the church ought not allow itself to be divided by things like human leaders but instead ought to keep the Gospel and the power of the cross of Christ firmly in view.”

The Word of the Cross (Verse 18)

Here Paul introduces his central argument: the cross of Christ, not human wisdom—however brilliantly articulated—is the central value of Christian faith.

The core of Paul’s preaching is “the word of the cross” (1:18) and “the proclamation of Christ crucified” (1:23). This was not a message geared to win friends or influence people. The cross was a lousy marketing tool in the first century world.

Yet in the cross God has deliberately chosen to reveal himself and unleash divine power whose goal is human salvation. The irony—indeed the paradox—is that the cross is the last place where humanity would expect to discover God’s ultimate wisdom and power.

Lutheran Emphasis

This passage is deeply Lutheran in its theology of the cross (theologia crucis). God’s power is revealed in weakness. God’s wisdom looks like foolishness. The church is tempted to divide over human leaders, theological sophistication, social status—and Paul says none of it matters next to the cross.

The divisions in Corinth mirror church divisions today: denominational, political, liturgical. Paul’s answer is always the cross—not as mere doctrine but as the thing that redefines reality itself.

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23

“Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled…”

The Transition: John’s Arrest

John’s arrest in 4:12 marks a critical transition but not an entirely new path. The basic proclamation of both John and Jesus is identical: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (3:2 and 4:17). Jesus picks up what John put down.

John 3:22 and 4:1-2 indicate that Jesus’ first ministry with his disciples was a baptizing ministry at the Jordan. Sometime after that and after John’s arrest, Jesus went to Galilee to begin his itinerant ministry in that region.

Fulfillment of Isaiah’s Prophecy

Matthew explicitly cites Isaiah 9:1-2 as fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry. This is Matthew’s characteristic move—seeing Jesus’ actions as fulfillment of Scripture. But the fulfillment here is profound:

God promised to reach all the nations. Light has reached those who formerly dwelled in darkness and death. Jesus comes to them and becomes their neighbor. His first ministry locale—“Galilee of the Gentiles”—signals from the beginning that Jesus ministers in an ethnically diverse land. The place of judgment becomes the place of blessing.

Matthew recalibrates our spiritual clocks. Darkness continued to oppress Israel far beyond Assyrian activity. Yet with the preaching of repentance by the Messiah, the new day of salvation has dawned and the kingdom is here.

The Calling of the Disciples (Verses 18-22)

The power of Jesus’ call is striking. No pitching, no persuasion needed. Each man has good reason to stay—steady work, familial ties. Yet:

“Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (v. 20) “Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.” (v. 22)

These are not individuals of great social power or individual wealth. Fishers were not among the elite of ancient culture. Though they will play vital functions in the earliest church, on this day they are utterly ordinary individuals called to an extraordinary task.

The call to “follow me” (akolouthei moi) in the mouth of a rabbi was a call to become students of the master, apprenticing with Jesus and learning how to live with him. Jesus’ first call is not just an invitation for personal salvation but a call for discipleship.

Jesus’ Ministry Summary (Verse 23)

After proclaiming the kingdom’s nearness, Jesus goes throughout Galilee doing three things:

1. Teaching in the synagogues
2. Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom
3. Healing every disease and sickness

This is what it means for the light to come into the world, for the kingdom of heaven to come near. The kingdom comes near when Jesus teaches, proclaims, and heals.

Lutheran Emphasis

The Gospel proclamation here is not “clean up your act so God will accept you.” The light shines on people in darkness—they don’t climb out of it first. The disciples are called while working, not after proving themselves. The kingdom comes near before anyone is ready for it.

Jesus’ ministry in Galilee demonstrates what the Concordia commentary affirms: Christ comes to the places of greatest spiritual need. The region “lightly esteemed” receives God’s special attention.

Thematic Connections Across the Readings

1. Light Breaking into Darkness

Isaiah 9:1-4 prophesies light for those in darkness. Psalm 27 confesses the Lord as “my light and my salvation.” Matthew 4 explicitly connects Jesus’ Galilean ministry to Isaiah’s prophecy of light. Even 1 Corinthians 1 contrasts the “wisdom of the world” (darkness) with the “word of the cross” (foolishness that is actually divine light).

The readings form a unified witness: God acts first. The light shines on those in darkness before they seek it. Grace precedes response.

2. Galilee as Place of Salvation

Isaiah’s Galilee was a place of judgment—conquered, depopulated, brought into contempt. Jesus’ Galilee becomes the place of revelation and restoration. The first shall be last; the last shall be first. God’s geography of salvation inverts human expectations.

For Climax, Minnesota—a small town that national culture overlooks—this inversion matters. God works at the margins, not the centers.

3. The Call to Follow

The disciples leave nets and fathers “immediately.” No credentials, no preparation, no interviewing process. The kingdom arrives as summons, not suggestion. Following Jesus means abandoning other claims on our ultimate loyalty.

1 Corinthians shows what happens when the church forgets this: we divide into factions around human leaders. The call is always to follow Christ, not Paul or Apollos or the most compelling preacher.

4. Word and Deed Together

Jesus teaches, proclaims, and heals. The word of the cross is not mere speech but power (1 Corinthians 1:18). The church’s proclamation is not just information transfer—it is light shining, kingdom arriving, healing happening.

Suggested Sermon/Blog Themes

Theme 1: “First Light”

Focus on why God chose Galilee—the despised region—as the place of Jesus’ ministry. Connect to Isaiah’s reversal: places of judgment become places of blessing first. Explore what this means for small towns, overlooked places, people who feel passed by.

Key move: God doesn’t come to Galilee because it deserved it. God comes because Galilee needed it. The light shines on those in darkness—not on those who’ve earned illumination.

Theme 2: “Immediately”

The word “immediately” (euthys) appears twice in the calling of disciples. No delay, no negotiation, no time to weigh options. The kingdom’s arrival doesn’t accommodate our schedules.

Key move: We often treat faith like a hobby we’ll get to when life settles down. Jesus’ call disrupts that calculus. Following isn’t something we add to our lives—it reorganizes our lives around itself.

Theme 3: “Divided Christ?”

Paul’s rhetorical question—“Has Christ been divided?”—exposes the absurdity of church factions. Connect to contemporary church division along political, liturgical, or cultural lines.

Key move: Unity doesn’t mean uniformity (Dwight Peterson’s point). But it does mean recognizing that “I follow Paul” and “I follow Apollos” are equally ridiculous when Christ is the one crucified for us and in whose name we were baptized.

Liturgical Considerations

Hymn Suggestions

• “O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright” (ELW 308) — Epiphany emphasis on light, Christ as morning star
• “The People Who in Darkness Walked” (LSB 412) — Direct paraphrase of Isaiah 9
• “Jesus Calls Us, O’er the Tumult” (ELW 696) — Calling of disciples
• “Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies” (ELW 553) — Light imagery

Liturgical Notes

• This Sunday falls between the Confession of St. Peter (January 18) and the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25). If observed on Sunday, the Conversion of St. Paul could provide additional context for the 1 Corinthians reading.
• The Epiphany theme of light against winter darkness resonates strongly in Minnesota’s January.
• Consider the “immediacy” of the disciples’ response as a call to action in the sermon’s conclusion—not moralism (“you should respond immediately!”) but Gospel proclamation (“the call has come; follow”).

Sources consulted: Working Preacher (Luther Seminary), Vanderbilt Lectionary, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Concordia Lutheran Church sermon archives, The Living Church