Supply Preaching

The texts for January, the Second Sunday after Epiphany, are:
Isaiah 49:1-7
Psalm 40:1-11
I Corinthians 1:1-9
John 1:29-42

These texts are those that I will be supply preaching on January 16 (hence my reasoning for picking these texts). Looking at these texts, to be honest, I'm not yet sure which text to focus on... or for that matter what direction to take.

Isaiah refers to the Servant, of which he has spoken before. In this text, the phrase that I am focused on is verse 6 (God speaking): “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” God's salvation, through the servant, is not just for Israel, but extends to all the world. This is to be the mission of the servant.

The John text is the continued epiphany of Christ--It begins with John the Baptizer declaring (v.29b-31):
“Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” The second half of this text (beginning in v. 37) focuses on the calling (or, rather gathering, since the first two disciples were John's disciples originally) of the first disciples. Interesting--the text implies that Jesus has no part in the calling of these disciples. John proclaims that Jesus is the Lamb of God... and they follow him. One (Andrew) then tells his brother (Simon Peter) that they "have found the Messiah," and Simon, too, drops everything to follow him.

Hmm... So the question is, do I focus on the continued revelation of Jesus as the Messiah (and Lamb of God)--this continued question of who this man is, following in the spirit of the Epiphany season... or do I look at the Isaiah text and still consider the continued epiphany of God in the Servant (aka Jesus), but with the focus on the Servant's mission to carry God's salvation to all the world?

Hmm... time to ponder...