THEOLOGICAL CLUE

A careful examination of the readings appointed for this and the other Sundays of Epiphany in the three-year cycle reveals that something is different; a radical change has been made; the three lessons are not in harmony, because the Corinthian letters make up the Second Lessons for virtually all of the Sundays after the Baptism of Our Lord. This same pattern of readings is picked up again on the Second Sunday after Pentecost, so that in the other Sundays of Epiphany and Pentecost the church year theme is muted more or less. But on the Sundays after the Epiphany, the theme of Jesus' manifestation and identity is expressed in the first readings and the Gospels, is quite clear. On this particular Sunday, the intention of church year and the liturgical material is to announc…