Above: Caduceus
Image in the Public Domain
Judgment and Mercy
NOVEMBER 17, 2024
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Numbers 21:4-9 or Malachi 3:19-24/4:1-6
Psalm 74:1-2, 10-17
Hebrews 13:1-16, 20-21
Mark 12:35-44
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The promise of divine punishment for evil and of divine deliverance of the oppressed and righteous on the great Day of the LORD is one example of judgment and mercy being like sides of a coin. The deliverance of the oppressed is very bad news for the oppressors, who are, in a way, victims of themselves.
If we behave as we should–revere God, take care of each other, et cetera–we will not have to fear punishment from God for not doing so. We may incur punishment from human authorities, as in Tobit 1, but God did not promise a peaceful life in exchange for righteousness.
Two stories require more attention.
The cure in Numbers, cited also in John 3:14-15, in the context of the crucifixion of Jesus, our Lord and Savior’s glorification, according to the Fourth Gospel, is a textbook case of sympathetic magic. It is related to Egyptian imagery of kingship, divinity, and protection from cobra saliva. A commonplace visual echo is the caduceus, the medical symbol.
Pay attention to what precedes and follows Mark 12:41-44. Our Lord and Savior’s condemnation of those who, among other things,
eat up the property of widows,
precedes the account of the widow giving all she had to the Temple. Immediately in Chapter 13, we read a prediction of the destruction of the Temple. I conclude that Jesus found the widow’s faith laudable yet grieved her choice.
May our lives bring glory to God and lead others to faith and discipleship. May we, in our zeal, not go off the deep end and embarrass God and/or accidentally drive people away from God or get in the way of evangelism. And may we never mistake an internal monologue for a dialogue with God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 27, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, ANGLICAN SCHOLAR, BIBLE TRANSLATOR, AND BISHOP OF DURHAM; AND FENTON JOHN ANTHONY HORT, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN HENRY BATEMAN, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHAN NORDAHL BRUN, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN BISHOP, AUTHOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM REED HUNTINGTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND RENEWER OF THE CHURCH; AND HIS GRANDSON, WILLIAM REED HUNTINGTON, U.S. ARCHITECT AND QUAKER PEACE ACTIVIST
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/27/judgment-and-mercy-part-xiv/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
Pingback: Judgment and Mercy, Part XIV | BLOGA THEOLOGICA