5 Epiphany Year A 2/8/2026
Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 112:1-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; Matthew 5:13-20
Rev. Mark A. Lafler
The unmistakable blast of the bagpipes is a common sound in Scotland, particularly at festivals and celebrations.
I would say it is a common sound in downtown Mount Dora too.
But what happens when the piper himself vanishes into thin air?
There are several stories of phantom pipers throughout Scottish history and folklore.
In days gone by, a dark network of tunnels was said to extend from the Cove of Grennan to the cliffs of Clanyard Bay…
In Southwestern Scotland.
Locals believed that fairies lived in these tunnels and caves, and no one dared to go inside and disturb them…
until one day, a piper boldly entered the caves.
He played his pipes loudly, accompanied by his faithful brown dog.
The music droned on for hours, slowly fading away until it couldn’t be heard. Suddenly, the dog ran out of the cave terrified and howling, without any of its hair! And the piper was never seen again.
Although the caves are now long gone, on summer nights, passers-by have heard the distant sound of bagpipes coming from deep under the ground.
Perhaps it’s the wind whistling through the old underground caves, maybe it’s just a trick of the mind, or maybe…just maybe, it’s the spirit of the piper, playing his Scottish melodies forevermore.
Such is the myth and legend of the vanishing piper.
Stories turn into traditions…
Traditions turn into legends…
And then legends turn into myths…
We have these traditions in our own families as well…
Stories that are passed down from generation to generation.
A story my brother and I share also revolves around an instrument.
My dad is an early riser in the morning…
And he was never fond of my brother and I sleeping in on Saturday mornings…
Sometimes he was wake us up with a song or a loud knock…
But every once in a while, he would wake us up…
By getting out his old, beat up, high school band trumpet.
You must understand, that He wasn’t an efficient trumpet player…
But he knew how to wake us up out of our slumber.
I am sure that this will be in the folklore of my family line.
The passage from Isaiah starts with great flair…
And a trumpet.
It is meant to get our attention!
The prophet declares:
Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
My brother and I didn’t like the trumpet in the morning…
It was uncomfortable…
And what Isaiah is saying here isn’t comfortable either.
This has that tone…
Wake up!
Make this your attention!
In fact, there are hints of the season of Lent in our text from Isaiah today.
Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is only 10 days from now.
What God is bringing to their attention is that they are going through all the motions, the rituals, the fasting…
But serving their own interests.
Paul Wegner, a scholar on the Book of Isaiah, writes:
It is evident that they fasted in hopes of manipulating God instead of using it to align their hearts to his. [1]
Now, we are certainly capable of doing the same thing.
We can go through our liturgy… through our worship of God…
And yet be zoned out…
Not really there in heart, mind, and strength.
Or we hope God notices that we are at least present and thinking that our “going through the motions” will get God to do what we would like.
As if we are trying to influence him to do something we would like, or need…
Sometimes it can be more about God becoming like us…
Then it is about us becoming like him.
But this is what God is speaking to his people about through the prophet Isaiah… exposing the failures of the wrong kind of worship and fasting.
What Isaiah says, is that God is looking for true repentance with true action that impacts the poor and those in need.
Old Testament Scholar, Barry Webb, writes:
It is fasting accompanied by genuine repentance, especially turning away from exploitation and quarrelling.
It is not simply to go without food on the set fast days, but to adopt a lifestyle in which self-indulgence and greed are totally given up and replaced by generosity towards the poor.
He goes on to say:
The great paradox of the life of faith to which we are called is that blessing comes through self-denial, that we receive through giving, and that we gain our lives by laying them down. And the only repentance that counts with God is the sort that can be seen in the way we live, especially in how we treat other people. [2]
In our Gospel reading, Jesus says something of the same message:
…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
It is a call to repentance…
But not just turning away from sin and wrongdoing…
But turning toward a call of working to correct the injustices around us.
It’s an obedience of the heart…
Not just going through the motions…
But a change in the way we do life itself.
Again, Paul Wegner is helpful here.
He writes:
Once Israel learns to maintain an attitude that manifests itself in caring for the poor and oppressed,
then it will be a witness for God to all nations. [3]
And this is why our reading from Isaiah is coupled with our Gospel reading from Matthew.
You are the salt of the earth… Jesus says… We should make things different, just like salt does.
You are the light of the world… Jesus says… We should stand out in this world – God is not looking for invisible Christians!
But don’t let these words of Jesus be set apart from last week’s reading – which was the beatitudes.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake…
To be salt and light in this world…
Is to live out these attitudes…
These beatitudes.
And they are founded in the community that is centered on the one who said these words – Jesus Christ.
Our salt and light are founded in the community and actions of Jesus.
And when our vision, our worship, our life is aligned with Jesus…
When God’s people are centered on the Savior and Redeemer of our Lord Jesus…
We minister the Good News of God’s grace to the world around us.
That is true for the prophet Isaiah…
And for the reading in Matthew.
And in our words and deeds…
We proclaim that God through his Son Jesus Christ has defeated sin, death, and the grave…
We proclaim that we can receive the forgiveness of sins through the mercy of God extended to us by his grace…
And with that come outstretched arms and hands…
To the people all around us…
To love the people who come along our path.
Our faith in Christ Jesus centers our life…
And when we are sincere in our worship we are built up in the grace of our Lord…
In the scriptures and in the sacrament.
We are nourished so that we can go out into the world in the strength of Jesus.
And our actions become outwardly focused on sharing the message of Jesus Christ in word and deed.
Being real with God… is also to be real with the people around us.
The Good news for today is this…
Christ Jesus came into the world to set us free…
Free from bondage, free from sin, and free from death itself.
In order that we can go into this world in the power of the Holy Spirit announcing the freedom found in Jesus.
I pray today… that we receive the grace of God…
Through the power of Jesus…
And that we let our light shine before others,
so that they may see our good works
and give glory to our Father in heaven.
Amen.
[1] Paul D. Wegner, Isaiah, TOTC (Downers Grove: IVP, 2021), 425.
[2] Barry Webb, The Message of Isaiah, TBST (Downers Grove: IVP, 1996), 218.
[3] Wegner, 428.
