According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  Marriage Cross

Image in the Public Domain

Being Subject to One Another

AUGUST 25, 2024

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Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18

Psalm 34:15-22

Ephesians 5:21-31

John 6:60-69

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God of all creation,

you reach out to call people of all nations to your kingdom. 

As you gather disciples from near and far,

count us also among those

who boldly confess your Son Jesus Christ as Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 27

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O almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life,

grant us without doubt to know your Son Jesus Christ

to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life

that, following his steps,

we may steadfastly walk in the say that leads to eternal life;

through Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 77

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Cultural context is crucial.  Consider that assertion, O reader, as we ponder Ephesians 5:21-31.

1. Patriarchy was ubiquitous.  The text did not question it.  We may justly question patriarchy, though.
2. A household was like a small fortress with bolted outer gates and inner doors.  These security measures were necessary because the society lacked domestic police forces.
3. Wives were frequently much younger than their husbands.
4. So, the theme of reciprocal service and protection within marriage was relatively progressive.  The husband had the duty to sacrifice himself to protect his wife, if necessary.

David Bentley Hart translates 5:21 to read:

Being stationed under one another in reverence for the Anointed, ….

The Revised New Jerusalem Bible offers a variation on the standard English-language translation:

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

J. B. Phillips‘s final translation (1972) of the New Testament provides a different and thought-provoking version of this verse:

And “fit in with” each other, because of your common reverence for Christ.

Clarence Jordan‘s version of this epistle, the Letter to the Christians in Birmingham, renders this verse as follows:

Put yourselves under one another with Christ-like respect.

I, without justifying ancient social norms I find objectionable, do try to understand them in context.  I also recognize that a text says what it says, not what (a) I wish it ways, and (b) what it may superficially seem to say.  So, within the context of ancient Roman society, we have a text about reciprocal service and protection within marriage.  The text makes clear that there is no room for exploitation in marriage.  The model for the husband is Jesus, who laid down his life.

Speaking of Jesus, he lost some followers in John 6:66.  Yet may we say with St. Simon Peter:

Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life, and we know that you are the Holy One of God.

—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible

The theme of the importance of following God exists in Joshua 24, a book edited together from various sources after the Babylonian Exile.  The Book of Joshua benefits from centuries of hindsight.  Other portions of the Hebrew Bible tell us which choice–polytheism–adherents of the Hebrew folk religion made for centuries.  Yet the authorial voice in the sources of the Hebrew Bible is that of the priestly religion.  This is appropriate.

Serve God and God alone, that authorial voice repeats.  Avoid idolatry and practical atheism, it tells us again and again.  This is a message for the community first and the individual second.  Western rugged individualism is alien to the Bible.

If we apply the advice to be subject to one another/fit in with each other/be stationed under one another/put ourselves under one another out of reverence for Christ–or God, if you, O reader, prefer–to our communities, congregations, and mature (as opposed to casual or immature) relationships, we will have stronger communities, congregations, and mature relationships.  To value other people because of who they are–not what they can do for us–is to orientate relationships in a mutually healthy direction.  Everyone benefits, regardless of the cultural context, with its societal norms.  This approach, if it becomes normative, will transform those societal norms for the common good.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 14, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTH DAY OF EASTER

THE FEAST OF EDWARD THOMAS DEMBY AND HENRY BEARD DELANY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHIPS FOR COLORED WORK

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTHONY, JOHN, AND EUSTATHIUS OF VILNIUS, MARTYRS IN LITHUANIA, 1347

THE FEAST OF GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT LUCIEN BOTOVASOA, MALAGASY ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1947

THE FEAST OF SAINT WANDREGISILUS OF NORMANDY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT LAMBERT OF LYONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENAIDA OF TARSUS AND HER SISTER, SAINT PHILONELLA OF TARSUS; AND SAINT HERMIONE OF EPHESUS; UNMERCENARY PHYSICIANS

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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA

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The condemnation of those who have knowledge of God yet do not put their knowledge into practice is more severe. Even sin committed in ignorance is not without risk.

Above:  Jethro and Moses, by James Tissot

Image in the Public Domain

Active Faith

AUGUST 25, 2024

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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

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Exodus 18 or 1 Kings 3:16-28

Psalm 55:1-8, 16-19, 22

2 Corinthians 12:2-20

Mark 7:1-23

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—St. Basil the Great (330-379)

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Faith must be active to have any power.  Faith that includes the law to honor one’s elders, for example, must lead to actions indicating honor of one’s elders.  Faith that adjures people to be positive influences must express itself in ways including good advice.  Faith that mandates justice must lead to that result.

People are still people, with their weaknesses, of course.  We continue to be petty, cruel, selfish, et cetera.  These and other negative characteristics detract us from our high callings from God.  Do we really want to bicker, as the Corinthian Church did?  Perhaps we do.  Yet we could do much better than that, by grace.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 24, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THOMAS À KEMPIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHN NEWTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH, U.S. BAPTIST MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN OF THE SOCIAL GOSPEL

THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/24/active-faith-vi/

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Above:  Vegetables

Image in the Public Domain

Nobility and Love

AUGUST 25 and 26, 2022

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The Collect:

O God, you resist those who are proud and give grace those who are humble.

Give us the humility of your Son, that we may embody

the generosity of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 46

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The Assigned Readings:

Proverbs 15:13-17 (Thursday)

Proverbs 18:6-12 (Friday)

Psalm 112 (Both Days)

1 Peter 3:8-12 (Thursday)

1 Peter 4:7-11 (Friday)

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How blessed is anyone who fears Yahweh,

who delights in his commandments!

–Psalm 112:1, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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These days’ readings, taken together, extol humility, love, and recognition of complete dependence upon God.  As one saying from Proverbs states eloquently,

Better a meal of vegetables where there is love

Than a flattened ox where there is hate.

–15:17, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Like unto that is the commandment to

maintain constant love for one another

–1 Peter 4:8a, The New Revised Standard Version (1989),

which is consistent with the ethic of human responsibilities to and for each other, as in the Law of Moses.

Pride (hubris) goes before the fall.  Humility is frequently difficult also, but it is the better path.  Yes, each of us bears the image of God, but each of us also carries an imperfect nature.  Depravity is not even an article of faith for me, for I have evidence for it, and therefore require no faith to recognize the reality of it.  Nevertheless, as I heard growing up, God did not make any garbage.  Yes, we humans are equally capable of both nobility and depravity, of love and of death.  May we, by grace, succeed more often than not in following the paths of nobility and love.

St. Paul the Apostle offered timeless wisdom in his Letter to the Romans:

Never pay back evil for evil.  Let your aims be such as all count honourable.  If possible, so far as it lies with you, live at peace with all.  My dear friends, do not seek revenge, but leave a place for divine retribution; for there is a text which reads, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay.”  But there is another text:  “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; by doing so you will heap live coals on his head.”  Do not let evil conquer you, but use good to conquer evil.

–12:17-21, The Revised English Bible (1989)

That passage cites Leviticus 19:18 and Proverbs 25:21-22.  It is also compatible with Matthew 5:43-48.

St. Paul summarized an essential part of Christian ethics better than my capacity to paraphrase it.  For that reason I leave you, O reader, with those noble words.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 24, 2016 COMMON ERA

MAUNDY THURSDAY

THE FEAST OF THOMAS ATTWOOD, “FATHER OF MODERN CHURCH MUSIC”

THE FEAST OF SAINT DIDACUS JOSEPH OF CADIZ, CAPUCHIN FRIAR

THE FEAST OF OSCAR ROMERO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF SAN SALVADOR, AND THE MARTYRS OF EL SALVADOR

THE FEAST OF PAUL COUTURIER, ECUMENIST

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/nobility-and-love/

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Above:  Ancient Jerusalem with Solomon’s Temple

Image in the Public Domain

Enemies, Divine Judgment, and Divine Mercy

AUGUST 25, 2021

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The Collect:

Holy God, your word feeds your people with life that is eternal.

Direct our choices and preserve us in your truth,

that, renouncing what is evil and false, we may live in you,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 45

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The Assigned Readings:

Isaiah 33:10-16

Psalm 119:97-104

John 15:16-25

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How I love your law!

All day long I pore over it.

Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies

for it is available to me for ever.

Psalm 119:97-98, Harry Mowvley, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers (1989)

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One might have enemies for a wide range of reasons.  Being godly is one of them.  That helps to explain hostility to Jesus, who made evident defects in the political (including religious) and economic systems of First Century C.E. Judea.  (One function of much of the language of the Kingdom of God was to make clear the contrast between human and divine orders.)  Many other faithful people have encountered hostility and/or violence and/or death because of their fidelity to God and their lived applications of divine commandments relative to social justice.  Often those who have despised them and/or condoned or committed violence against them have imagined themselves to be righteous.  Their attitudes and actions and/or inactions have belied that conceit.

Sometimes, however, one has enemies for reasons separate from righteousness.  Such is the case in Isaiah 33.  The unidentified foe (probably the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire) will ultimately perish, as will the sinful people fo the Kingdom of Judah.  Yet a remnant of Judah will survive, for Jerusalem is like a ship floating on a sea of divine love.  The Kingdom of Judah will fall to the conquerors, but God will remain undefeated.  God, never conquered, will restore Judah, for judgment does not preclude love in relation to those whom God has chosen.

Concepts of God are inherently inadequate, for God is infinite and our minds cannot grasp the nature of God.  I have sought to become increasingly aware of the limits of my God concept, which is broader than those many others harbor.  The most workable solution at which I can arrive is to acknowledge limitations of human knowledge relative to God, affirm that what I can know will have to suffice, make the most faithful statements I can, and admit that I am certainly mistaken about a great deal.  My statements of faith are like the song of the bird in a story Anthony De Mello (1931-1987) told in The Song of the Bird (1982).  Yes, every statement about God is a distortion of the truth, but speak and write about God for the same reason the bird sings:

Not because it has a statement, but because it has a song.

–Page 4

The nature of God is a mystery I will never solve, and that is fine.  Where divine judgment ends and divine mercy begins is another mystery I will never solve.  That is also fine.

One lesson I feel comfortable stating unambiguously concerns having enemies.  Whenever I have a foe or foes, I should not assume that God is on my side.  No, I need to ask if I am on God’s side.  I might even arrive at an answer (hopefully an accurate one) to that questions.  Nationalism often gets in the way on this point for many people.  The British national anthem, “God Save the King/Queen,” includes the following frequently omitted stanza:

O Lord, our God, arise,

Scatter his/her enemies

and make them fall.

Confound their politics,

Frustrate their knavish tricks,

On Thee our hopes we fix,

God save us all.

Yet, as Irishman Monsignor Hugh O Flaherty (1898-1963) liked to say,

God has no country.

God created human beings in the divine image.  We have reciprocated.  Perhaps it is something we cannot help but to do, for we must think and write of God in human terms, or not at all.  Nevertheless, if we use our metaphors in the knowledge that they are metaphors, perhaps we will avoid falling into certain theological errors.

As for divine judgment and mercy, they are in the purview of God, where they belong and have always been.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 1, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL STENNETT, ENGLISH SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER; AND JOHN HOWARD, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR, APOLOGIST

THE FEAST OF SAINTS PAMPHILUS OF CAESAREA, BIBLE SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON OF SYRACUSE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/enemies-divine-judgment-and-divine-mercy/

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Above:  Byzantine Mosaic, Church of the Multiplication, Taghba, Israel

Image in the Public Domain

Living Compassionately

AUGUST 24 and 25, 2023

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The Collect:

O God, with all your faithful followers in every age, we praise you, the rock of our life.

Be our strong foundation and form us into the body of your Son,

that we may gladly minister to all the world,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 45

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The Assigned Readings:

Ezekiel 28:11-19 (Thursday)

Ezekiel 31:15-18 (Friday)

Psalm 138 (Both Days)

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 (Thursday)

2 Corinthians 10:12-18 (Friday)

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The LORD is high, yet the LORD cares for the lowly

and perceives the haughty from afar.

–Psalm 138:6, Book of Common Worship (1993)

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The assigned readings for these two days focus on the question of how we should treat others as opposed to how we behave toward them much of the time.  Exploitation comes in more than one form; economic, judicial, and sexual varieties of such bad behavior come to mind immediately.  That which builds one up at the expense of others–by taking from them wrongly or denying them what they should have–is immoral.  Yet many people already wealthy pile up more riches by taking from those who have less or by denying others that which they ought to have–sufficient means–by right.  Yes, I am writing about greed, a predatory force.

The essence of compassion is to dethrone oneself from the center of one’s life or never to place oneself there.  Selfishness (of which greed is a symptom) can result from a variety of issues, including two related to the ego.  One is pride–hubris, to be precise.  Taking pride in one’s work is positive, for it contributes to better work.  Yet hubris goes before the fall.  This is a phenomenon of the ego run amok.  I have known this temptation and yielded to it in the realm of intellectual arrogance.  The causes were understandable, given the circumstances, but that fact did not–and still does not–constitute an excuse or justification.  I continue to struggle with intellectual arrogance at times, but at least I know about the problem and recognize it as such.  I am imperfect, but I have made progress, by grace.   At the opposite end of the spectrum is the inferiority complex.  People with this problem who do not deal with it constructively lead self-centered lives dedicated to making themselves feel better about themselves.  (I have one person, who will remain unnamed in this post, in mind.)  In cases of both extremes the offenders injure themselves and others, for what one person does affects others.  That is the way of the universe.

To have a balanced ego is the better course.  And following the advice of St. Paul the Apostle to boast only of the Lord is a spiritually healthy path to take in life.  The desire to do these things is a good start, one possible only by grace.  This desire might constitute our proverbial few loaves of bread and fishes, and therefore seem woefully inadequate for the task.  It is inadequate for the task, of course, but God can multiply it.  This is not about what we do.  No, it is about what God does.  Our task is to cooperate with God–to be the faithful ministers of grace God calls us to be.  May we, by grace, serve effectively, thereby glorifying God and helping others–building them up as God leads us to do.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 16, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALEN POSTEL, FOUNDER OF THE POOR DAUGHTERS OF MERCY

THE FEAST OF JOHN MOORE WALKER, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ATLANTA

THE FEAST OF THE RIGHTEOUS GENTILES

THE FEAST OF WALTER CRONKITE, JOURNALIST

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Living Compassionately

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Above:  Christ Pantocrator

Image in the Public Domain

1 Kings and 2 Corinthians, Part III:  Jesus, the Everlasting Temple

AUGUST 25 AND 16, 2023

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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 everlasting 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

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The Assigned Readings:

1 Kings 7:51-8:21 (August 25)

1 Kings 8:22-30, 46-63 (August 26)

Psalm 67 (Morning–August 25)

Psalm 51 (Morning–August 26)

Psalms 46 and 93 (Evening–August 25)

Psalms 85 and 47 (Evening–August 26)

2 Corinthians 3:1-18 (August 25)

2 Corinthians 4:1-18 (August 26)

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It is not ourselves that we proclaim; we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake.

–2 Corinthians 4:5, The Revised English Bible

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I have read 1 Kings many times.  Each time I do so I notice details that I missed or did not focus on during each previous reading.  This time, for example, I have thought deeply about the forced labor involved in the construction of the First Temple.  And now, as I re-read the pious Deuteronomistic speech placed in Solomon’s mouth, I find that oratory irrelevant.  The Temple was grand, but it was the result of forced labor.

Paul wrote of passing glory in 2 Corinthians 3:7f.  That portion of the epistle led to a discussion of liberty in God.  Paul and his companions did suffer, sometimes in prison.  But they were free in God.  Their labor was not forced; they gave it of their own accord.  And they proclaimed Jesus, a Temple which no power could destroy.  The Roman Empire tried, but he rose from the dead.

Some might criticize me for my Marxian Conflict Theory-based interpretation of these texts.  So be it!  I seek to write from an attitude of concern rooted in the concept of the Image of God and in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  Whose physical labor would Jesus coerce?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 14, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT VENANTIUS HONORIUS CLEMENTIUS FORTUNATUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF POITIERS

THE FEAST OF CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/1-kings-and-2-corinthians-part-iii-jesus-the-everlasting-temple/

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Above:  Second Coming Icon

Great Expectations

AUGUST 25, 2022

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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1 Corinthians 1:1-9 (The Jerusalem Bible):

I, Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle, together with brother Sosthenes, send greetings to the church of God in Corinth, to the holy people of Jesus Christ, who are called to take their place among the saints everywhere who pray to our Lord Jesus Christ; for he is their Lord no less than ours.  May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace.

I never stop thanking God for all the graces you have received through Jesus Christ.  I thank him that you have been enriched in so many ways, especially in your teachers and preachers; the witness to Christ has indeed been strong among you so that you will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and he will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, because God by calling you has joined you to his Son, Jesus Christ; and God is faithful.

Psalm 145:1-7 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 I will exalt you, O God my King,

and bless your Name for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless you

and praise your Name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;

there is no end to his greatness.

4 One generation shall praise your works to another

and shall declare your power.

5 I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty

and all your marvelous works.

6 They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts,

and I will tell of your greatness.

7 They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness;

they shall sing of your righteous deeds.

Matthew 24:42-51 (The Jerusalem Bible):

[Jesus continued,]

So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming.  You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house.  Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

What kind of servant, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give him their food at the proper time?  Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment.  I tell you solemnly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the dishonest servant who says to himself, “My master is taking his time,” and sets about beating his fellow servants and drinking with drunkards, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know.  The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

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The Collect:

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

O Lord, You Gave Your Servant John:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/o-lord-you-gave-your-servant-john/

Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/where-cross-the-crowded-ways-of-life/

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The sources I have consulted date the composition of 1 Corinthians to Fall 53-Winter 54 C.E.  Paul and many other early Christians expected that Jesus would return very shortly–probably within their lifetimes.  This fact functions as invaluable context for much of the Pauline tradition.  Why did Paul not advocate the abolition of slavery, for example?  Maybe it was because of the expectation that God would take care of such details quite soon.

Paul did, however, advocate remaining active in communal life (1 Thessalonians 5:14) while living in watchfulness for the parousia of Jesus.  Furthermore, as we read in the introduction to 1 Corinthians, Paul encouraged his fellow Christians to be “steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus had not returned by 85 C.E.  The first generation of Christians was almost entirely dead, the Temple at Jerusalem was gone, and the Roman Empire was firmly in control.  Old expectations had not predicted the new reality.  In that context, “Matthew” told his congregation that

the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

So one ought not, “Matthew” says, mistake the Lord’s perceived tardiness as an excuse to shirk one’s duty.

As I write these words in late 2011, expect to die (whenever that will happen) without witnessing the parousia.  It has been almost two thousand years since the original expectations.  Yet the advice from Paul and “Matthew” remain germane to me:  I have work to do–skills and talents to use for the common good and  a life to live for the glory of God.  There are people to whom I ought to reach out.  God will attend to matters of prophesy; I have people to love int he name of God.  This is the work of all of us who claim the label “Christian.”  May we never shirk that duty.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/great-expectations/

Above:  Christ Pantocrator

The Words of Eternal Life

The Sunday Closest to August 24

The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

AUGUST 25, 2024

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FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #1

1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43 (New Revised Standard Version):

Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven. He said,

O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, the covenant that you kept for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand. Therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, “There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.” Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David.

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! Regard your servant’s prayer and his plea, O LORD my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, “My name shall be there,” that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.

Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name — for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm– when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.

Psalm 84 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts!

My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

2 The sparrow has found her a house

and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young;

by the side of your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my King and my God.

3 Happy are they who dwell in your house!

they will always be praising you.

4 Happy are the people whose strength is in you!

whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.

5 Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs,

for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.

6 They will climb from height to height,

and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.

7 LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;

hearken, O God of Jacob.

8 Behold our defender, O God;

and look upon the face of your Anointed.

9 For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room,

and to stand in the threshold of the house of my God

than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

10 For the LORD is both sun and shield;

he will give grace and glory;

11 No good thing will the LORD withhold

from those who walk with integrity.

12 O LORD of hosts,

happy are they who put their trust in you!

FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #2

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 (New Revised Standard Version):

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people,

Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:

Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

Then the people answered,

Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.

Psalm 34:15-22 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous,

and his ears are open to their cry.

16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,

to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears them

and delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

will save those whose spirits are crushed.

19 Many are the troubles of the righteous,

but the LORD will deliver him out of them all.

20 He will keep all his bones;

not one of them shall be broken.

21 Evil shall slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

22 The LORD ransoms the life of his servants,

and none will be punished who trust in him.

SECOND READING

Ephesians 6:10-20 (New Revised Standard Version):

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

GOSPEL READING

John 6:56-69 (New Revised Standard Version):

Jesus said,

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.

He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said,

This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?

But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them,

Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.

For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said,

For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve,

Do you also wish to go away?

Simon Peter answered him,

Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.

The Collect:

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Proper 16, Year A:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/proper-16-year-a/

1 Kings 8:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/week-of-5-epiphany-monday-year-2/

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/week-of-5-epiphany-tuesday-year-2/

Joshua 24:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/week-of-proper-14-friday-year-1/

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/week-of-proper-14-saturday-year-1/

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/proper-27-year-a/

John 6:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/twentieth-day-of-easter/

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/twenty-first-day-of-easter/

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The audacity of the claim of the Incarnation is that God, whom, as Solomon said, the Temple could not contain, did indeed dwell on earth, and that flesh and blood did what the Temple could not do.  So it is that we have this Sunday’s reading–the last in a sequence–from John 6.  The content of the discourse was scandalous to certain sensibilities, so Jesus lost followers.

Imagine the scene.  Some disciples (not Apostles) have deserted Jesus.  Dejected, our Lord looks at Simon Peter.  Jesus asks,

Do you also wish to go away?

Simon Peter replies,

Lord, to whom can we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe that you are the Holy One of God.

As we read in Joshua 24:15,

…choose this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

I do not pretend to understand or agree with everything I read in the Bible.  Perhaps I disagree more often because I misunderstand, or maybe the most frequent cause of my disagreement begins with correct understanding.  However all these issues shake out, I take comfort that I will not have to pass a Heavenly canonical examination.  I do try to follow Jesus; to whom else can I go?  He has the words of eternal life, that is, life in God via Jesus.  Eternal life is both present and future.

KRT

Above:  An Old Family Bible

Image Source = David Ball

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God of glory,

as we prepare to study the Bible,

may we approach the texts with our minds open,

our intellects engaged,

and our spirits receptive to your leading,

so that we will understand them correctly

and derive from them the appropriate lessons.

Then may we act on those lessons.

For the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Amen.

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KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 7, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG, SHEPHERD OF LUTHERANISM IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES

THE FEAST OF FRED KAAN, HYMNWRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHN WOOLMAN, ABOLITIONIST

Above:  The Missal (1902), by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)

Image in the Public Domain

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Here I share with everyone a proposed form of the Prayers of the People, for congregational use, for the Season After Pentecost.  Anyone may modify this form to fit local needs and update it as people leave or enter office.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

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The congregational response to “We pray to you, O God” is “Hear our prayer.”

As God’s people, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, we ask that our lives may become prayer pleasing to you, and that all people and institutions which profess to follow our Lord, may express God’s love and grace to others.

We pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That

• Barack, our President;
• Nathan, our Governor;
• Nancy, our Mayor;
• And all other government officials and all influential persons

may exercise their power and authority wisely and for the common good, so that all people everywhere may be treated with dignity and respect, dwell in safety, and have everything they need,

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That we may love you with our whole heart and life and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves,

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That we may be good stewards of Mother Earth,

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

We intercede for

• (first names here);
• And our men and women in the armed forces, especially (names here);
• And all people struggling with vocational and career issues.

I invite your prayers, silent or aloud.

(Pause)

We pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

We thank you for

• (names here), who celebrate their birthdays this week;
• And (names here), who celebrate their wedding anniversaries this week.

I invite your thanksgivings, silent or aloud.

(Pause)

We pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That all who have passed from this life to the next will know the boundless joy and peace of eternal rest,

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

The celebrant concludes with a collect.