Devotion for Wednesday After Proper 4, Year C (ELCA Daily Lectionary)

Above:   The Canaanite Woman

Image in the Public Domain

Faithful Foreigners

JUNE 1, 2016

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The Collect:

Merciful Lord God, we do not presume to come before you

trusting in our own righteousness,

but in your great and abundant mercies.

Revive our faith, we pray; heal our bodies, and mend our communities,

that we may evermore dwell in your Son,

Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 38

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The Assigned Readings:

Isaiah 56:1-8

Psalm 5

Mark 7:24-30

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But joy for all who take refuge in you,

endless songs of gladness!

You shelter them, they rejoice in you,

those who love your name.

–Psalm 5:11, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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Those who take refuge in God include faithful foreigners.

The main two readings for today include favorable words regarding faithful foreigners.  These are two of many such passages from the canon of scripture, from the entire Book of Ruth to parts of the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles.  The context of the reading from Isaiah 56 is the immediate aftermath of the Babylonian Exile.  Returned exiles, in their zeal to live faithfully, ought not to shun Gentiles attracted to Judaism, according to the passage.  All who follow God are acceptable to God, regardless of national origin, the lection says.

Immediately prior to Mark 7:24-30 Jesus declared all food to be ritually clean.  Then he entered Gentile territory voluntarily.  If only the author of the Gospel of Mark had mentioned tones of voice!  Nevertheless, he did provide useful textual context.  Jesus, I surmise from context, uttered that seemingly rude comment about dogs to test the Gentile woman, and she passed, much to his approval.  His hope was that she rebut the original statement.  He found faith in a Gentile, and he praised her for it.

Will we welcome those who follow God yet seem not to belong to the club, so to speak, or will we think of those insiders as outsiders?  In other words, who are our Gentiles?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 29, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JEMIMA THOMPSON LUKE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER; AND JAMES EDMESTON, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF BERNHARDT SEVERIN INGEMANN, DANISH LUTHERAN AUTHOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF EDWARD HOPPER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CASSIAN, DESERT FATHER

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/faithful-foreigners/

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