The Fourth Sunday of Epiphany Year B

The Fourth Sunday of Epiphany
Deuteronomy 18.15–20
Revelation 12.1–5a
Mark 1.21–28

‘If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this greatre, I will die’ (Deuteronomy 18.16). This, according to Deuteronomy, is the source of prophecy. The people of God have experienced the unmediated presence of God at Horeb, and they know that they cannot bear it again. Although in the garden of Eden Adam and Eve could walk side by side with God and talk to him in the cool of the evening, one of the results of the Fall is the loss of this intimacy. The people are no longer capable of being in the unveiled presence of God. From now on, they need to hear God’s Word mediated through other human agencies, rather than direct from the mouth of God... 

Taken from Lectionary Reflections – Year B by Jane Williams