Update: This is the reflection for Epiphany 4 mistakenly published as Epiphany 3.

In the first lesson God is made known through her fathomless love, the essence of who she is. Surprisingly for some hearers and readers, God insists that her love enfolds even ancient enemies. Further, God insists that she will not do the work of restoring the world until we have done our part, gathering in and providing shelter for the outcast and the immigrant. There is also the notion that this will lead to the end of violence. In the psalm God watches over all the peoples of earth; no one nation is singled out as her particular treasure. The author of the epistle invokes Paul’s name to proclaim that God’s love extends to gentiles and Jews, his paradigm for the whole world. Jesus the child of Mary and the child of God, who has the blood of Moabites and Canaanites running in his veins along with his celebrated Israelite heritage, is made known as the Beloved, the love of God incarnate.