Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1 | ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS

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Week of Proper 29: Friday, Year 1, and Week of Proper 29: Saturday, Year 1 13 comments

Above: St. Michael’s Victory Over the Devil, St. Michael’s Cathedral, Coventry, England

Image Source = sansse

God, On the Side of the Righteous

DECEMBER 1 and 2, 2023

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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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I have decided to combine the devotions for the last two days of Ordinary Time in this year’s Canadian Anglican lectionary series because dividing the readings from Daniel and Luke is awkward. Rather, typing and presening them (Yes, I am typing every word.) as units makes clear their unity.

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THE FIRST READING:

Daniel 7:1-27 (Revised English Bible):

(I have reformatted the text for clarity.)

Friday’s assigned portion:

In the first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylon, a dream and visions came to Daniel as he lay on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, and here his account begins.

In my vision during the night while I, Daniel, was gazing intently I saw the Great Sea churned up by the four winds of heaven, and four great beasts rising out of the sea, each one different from the others.

The first was like a lion, but it had an eagle’s wings. I watched until its wings were plucked off from the ground and made to stand on two feet as if it were a human being.

Then I saw another, a second beast, like a bear. It had raised itself on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. The command was given to it: “Get up and gorge yourself with flesh.”

After this as I gazed I saw another, a beast like a leopard with four wings like those of a bird on its back; this creature had four heads, and it was invested with sovereign power.

Next in the night visions I saw a fourth beast, fearsome and grisly and exceedingly strong, with great iron teeth. It devoured and crunched, and it trampled underfoot what was left. It was different from all the beasts which went before it, and had ten horns.

While I was considering the horns there appeared another horn, a little one, springing up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted to make room for it. In this horn were eyes like human eyes, and a mouth that uttered bombast. As I was looking,

thrones were set in place

and the Ancient in Years took his seat;

his robe was white as snow,

his hair like lamb’s wool.

His throne was flames of fire

and its wheels were blazing fire;

a river of fire flowed from his presence.

Thousands upon thousands served him

and myriads upon myriads were in attendance.

The court sat, and the books were opened.

Then because of the bombast the horn was mouthing, I went on watching until the beast was killed; its carcass was destroyed and consigned to the flames. The rest of the beasts, though deprived of their sovereignty, were allowed to remain alive until an appointed time and season. I was watching in visions of the night and I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven; he approached the Ancient in Years and was presented to him. Sovereignty and glory and kingly power were given to him, so that all people and nations of every language should serve him; his sovereignty was to be an everlasting sovereignty which was not to pass away; and his kingly power was never to be destroyed.

Saturday’s assigned portion:

My spirit within me was troubled; and, dismayed by the visions which came into my head, I, Daniel, approached one of those who were standing there and enquired what all this really signified; and he made known to me its interpretation,

These great beasts, four in number,

he said,

are four kingdoms which will arise from the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingly power and retain possession of it always, for ever and ever.

Then I wished to know what the fourth beast really signified, the beast that was different from all the others, exceedingly fearsome with its iron teeth and bronze claws, devouring and crunching, then trampling underfoot what was left. I wished also to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn which sprang up at whose coming three of them fell, the horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering bombast and which in its appearance was more imposing than the others. As I watched, this horn was waging war on holy ones and proving too strong for them until the Ancient in Years came. Then judgement was pronounced in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came when the holy ones gained possession of kingly power.

The explanation he gave was this:

The fourth beast signifies a fourth kingdom which will appear on earth. It will differ from the other kingdoms; it will devour the whole earth, treading it down and crushing it. The ten horns signify ten kings who will rise from this kingdom; after them will arise another king, who will be different from his predecessors; and he will bring low three kings. He will hurl defiance at the Most High and wear down the holy ones of the Most High. He will have it in mind to alter the festival seasons and religious laws; and the holy ones will be delivered into his power for a time, and times, and half a time. But when the court sits, he will be deprived of his sovereignty, so that it may be destroyed and abolished for ever. The kingly power, sovereignty, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. Their kingly power will last for ever, and every realm will serve and obey them.

THE TWO OPTIONS FOR THE FRIDAY RESPONSE:

Canticle 12, Part II (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

(Part of the Song of the Three Young Men)

Let the the earth glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O mountains and hills,

and all that grows upon the earth,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O springs of water, seas, and streams,

O whales and all that move in the waters.

All birds of the air, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O beasts of the wild,

and all you flocks and herds.

O men and women everywhere, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Psalm 97 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 The LORD is King;

let the earth rejoice;

let the multitude of the isles be glad.

2 Clouds and darkness are round about him,

righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.

3 A fire goes before him

and burns up his enemies on every side.

4 His lightnings light up the world;

the earth sees it and is afraid.

5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD,

at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

6 The heavens declare his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.

7 Confounded be all who worship carved images

and delight in false gods!

Bow down before him, all you gods.

8 Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice,

because of your judgments, O LORD.

9 For you are the LORD,

most high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above all gods.

10 The LORD loves those who hate evil;

he preserves the lives of the saints

and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11 Light has sprung up for the righteous,

and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted.

12 Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous,

and give thanks to his holy Name.

THE TWO OPTIONS FOR THE SATURDAY RESPONSE:

Canticle 12, Part III (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

(Part of the Song of the Three Young Men)

Let the people of God glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him forever.

Glorify the Lord, O priests and servants of the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O spirits and souls of the righteous,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

You that are holy and humble of heart, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Psalm 95:1-7 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Come, let us sing to the LORD;

let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving

and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

3 For the LORD is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the caverns of the earth,

and the heights of the hills are his also.

5 The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands have molded the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee,

and kneel before the LORD our Maker.

7 For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.

Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

THE GOSPEL READING:

Luke 21:29-36 (Revised English Bible):

Friday’s assigned portion:

Jesus told them a parable:

Look at the fig tree, or at any other tree. As soon as it bud, you can see for yourselves that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all this happening, you may know that the kingdom of God is near.

Truly I tell you: the present generation will live to see it all. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Saturday’s assigned portion:

Be on your guard; do not let your minds be dulled by dissipation and drunkenness and worldly cares so that the great day catches you suddenly like a trap; for that day will come on everyone, the whole world over. Be on the alert, praying at all times for strength to pass safely through all that is coming and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man.

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The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Daniel 7 dates to the Hasmonean-Seleucid period, despite the claims of 7:1, which place it centuries before that. In this chapter we have the imagery of cosmic war. The text speaks of four Gentile kingdoms, most likely, in order, the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire, the Median Confederacy, the Persian Empire, and the Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great. The ten horns are probably Seleucid kings, with Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who usurped three people to become king and who imposed a Hellenization policy on Jews in his realm, as the little horn. And the Archangel Michael is almost certainly the “one like a human being.” He is clearly subservient to God, who dispenses judgment in favor the holy ones.

History tells us that the Hasmoneans rebelled against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and established an independent Jewish state, which lasted for nearly a century, until 63 B.C.E., when the Roman Republic, a de facto empire soon to be a de jure one, assumed control. This brings me to Luke 21, written after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 C.E. The text places a prediction of the Second Coming of Jesus within the lifetimes of some of the original audience of the Lukan Gospel in the mouth of our Lord.

Yes, Antiochus IV Epiphanes died painfully and the Hasmonean revolt succeeded afterward. Yes, there was a time of Judean independence. But the Romans took over. And, late in the First Century C.E., they destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. This must have seemed like the end of the world to many people at the time. Yet Jesus did not return before the original members of Luke’s audience died.

We want to think that we are God’s holy ones, and that, in the cosmic war, God might deign to act as and when we predict. Thus many people have not only longed for, but predicted the return of Jesus on specific dates for nearly two thousand years. Each time, our Lord has not appeared and the world has not ended. The rapture did not occur on May 21, 2011, as Harold Camping predicted. I act on the assumption that his second date, October 21, 2011, the alleged end of the world, will come and go in the same manner. We want God to take us away from our troubles, and some cling to doomsday dates in their desperation for deliverance and meaning.

Advent, or the season for preparing for Christmas, begins on the day after the Week of Proper 29: Saturday. One of the major themes of Advent is that God is with us in the here and the now. God does not always take us away from our problems; no, sometimes God joins us amid them. And when God does this, the form of the Incarnation might not be what we expected. Jesus did not arrive as a conquering hero, expelling the Roman forces; he came as a helpless infant and died via the most humiliating, prolonged, and painful form of public execution the empire used. But there was a Resurrection, was there not?

Yet the Roman Empire remained in power for centuries after that.

Other times, when some people think they are involved in cosmic warfare and on the side of light, they take matters into their own hands. This is very much part of the ideology of radical Islamic terrorism, despite the fact that the Koran condemns murder. Or, to use an example from Christian history, authorities drew on the cosmic warfare defense to justify the persecution and execution of Jews, Muslims, and accused heretics. I wonder who the real heretics were. There is no passage in which Jesus says, “Find those who believe differently from you and exterminate them!”

No, we ought to leave the cosmic battle to God, who is full of surprises. May we embrace them and love our neighbors as ourselves, as our Lord told us to do.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/god-on-the-side-of-the-righteous/

Posted June 1, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, December 1, December 2

Tagged with Daniel 7, Harold Camping, Luke 21, Psalm 95, Psalm 97, Song of the Three Young Men

Week of Proper 29: Thursday, Year 1 16 comments

Above: Daniel

Image Source = Urharec

Good Reason for Hope in Dark Times

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

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THE FIRST READING:

Daniel 6:1-28 (Revised English Bible):

It pleased Darius to appoint a hundred and twenty satraps to be in charge of his kingdom, and over them three chief ministers, to whom the satraps were to submit their reports so that the king’s interests might not suffer; of these three ministers, Daniel was one. Daniel outshone the other ministers and the satraps because of his exceptional ability, and it was the king’s intention to appoint him over the whole kingdom. Then the ministers and satraps began to look round for some pretext to attack Daniel’s administration of the kingdom, but they failed to find any malpractice on his part, for he was faithful to his trust. Since they could discover neither negligence nor malpractice, they said,

We shall not find any ground for bringing a charge against this Daniel unless it is connected with his religion.

These ministers and satraps, having watched for an opportunity to approach the king, said to him,

Long live King Darius! We, the ministers of the kingdom, prefects, satraps, courtiers, and governors, have taken counsel and are agreed that the king should issue a decree and bring into force a binding edict to the effect that whoever presents a petition to any god or human being rather than the king during the next thirty days is to be thrown into the lion-pit. Now let your majesty issue the edict and have it put in writing so that it becomes unalterable, for the law of the Medes and the Persians may never be revoked.

Accordingly the edict was signed by King Darius.

When Daniel learnt that this decree had been issued, he went into his house. It had in the roof-chamber windows open towards Jerusalem; and there he knelt down three times a day and offered prayer and praises to his God as was his custom. His enemies, on the watch for an opportunity to catch him, found Daniel at his prayers making supplication to his God. Then they went into the king’s presence and reminded him of the edict.

Your majesty,

they said,

have you not issued an edict that any person who, within the next thirty days, presents a petition to any god or human being other than your majesty is to be thrown into the lion-pit?

The king answered,

The matter has been determined in accordance with the law of the Medes and the Persians, which may not be revoked.

So they said to the king,

Daniel, one of the Jewish exiles, has disregarded both your majesty and the edict, and is making petition to his God three times a day.

When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was greatly distressed; he tried to think of a way to save Daniel, and continued his efforts till sunset. The men watched for an opportunity to approach the king, and said to him,

Your majesty must know that by the law of the Medes and Persians no edict or decree issued by the king may be altered.

Then the king gave the order for Daniel to be brought and thrown into the lion-pit; but he said to Daniel to be brought and thrown into the lion-pit; but he said to Daniel,

Your God whom you serve at all times, may he save you.

A stone was brought and put over the mouth of the pit, and the king sealed it with his signet and with the signets of his nobles, so that no attempt could be made to rescue Daniel.

The king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no woman was brought to him, and sleep eluded him. He was greatly agitated and, at the first light of dawn, he rose and went to the lion-pit. When he came near he called anxiously,

Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to save you from the lions?

Daniel answered,

Long live the king! My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths and they have not injured me; he judged me innocent, and moreover I had done your majesty no injury.

The king was overjoyed and gave orders that Daniel should be taken up out of the pit. When this was done no trace of injury was found on him, because he had put his faith in his God. By order of the king those who out of malice had accused Daniel were brought and flung into the lion-pit along their children and their wives, and before they reached the bottom the lions were upon them and devoured them, bones and all.

King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world:

May your prosperity increase! I have issued a decree that in all my royal domains everyone is to fear and reverence the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God, the everlasting,

whose kingly power will never be destroyed;

whose sovereignty will have no end–

a saviour, a deliverer, a worker of signs and wonders

in heaven and on earth,

who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

Prosperity attended Daniel during the reigns of Darius and Cyrus the Persian.

THEN RESPONSE #1:

Canticle 12, Part I (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

(Part of the Song of the Three Young Men)

Glorify the Lord, you angels and all powers of the Lord,

O heavens and all waters above the heavens.

Sun and moon and stars of the sky, glorify the Lord,

Praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, every shower of rain and fall of dew,

all winds and fire and heat.

Winter and summer, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold,

drops of dew and and flakes of snow.

Frost and cold, ice and sleet, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O nights and days,

O shining light and enfolding dark.

Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

OR RESPONSE #2:

Psalm 99 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 The LORD is King;

let the people tremble;

he is enthroned upon the cherubim;

let the earth shake.

2 The LORD is great in Zion;

he is high above all peoples.

3 Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome;

he is the Holy One.

4 “O mighty King, lover of justice,

you have established equity;

you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”

5 Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God

and fall down before his footstool;

he is the Holy One.

6 Moses and Aaron among his priests,

and Samuel among those who call upon his Name,

they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.

7 He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud;

they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.

8 “O LORD our God, you answered them indeed;

you were a God who forgave them,

yet punished them for their evil deeds.”

9 Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God

and worship him upon his holy hill;

for the LORD our God is the Holy One.

THEN THE GOSPEL READING:

Luke 21:20-28 (Revised English Bible):

[Jesus continued,]

But when you see Jerusalem encircled by armies, then you may be sure that her devastation is near. Then those who are in Judaea must take to the hills; those who are in the city itself must leave it and those who are out in the country must not return; because this is the time of retribution, when all that stands written is to be fulfilled. Alas for women with child in those days, and for those who have children at the breast! There will be great distress in the land and a terrible judgement on this people. They will fall by the sword; they will be carried captive into all countries; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by Gentiles until the day of the Gentiles has run its course.

Portents will appear in sun and moon and stars. On earth nations will stand helpless, not knowing which way to turn from the roar and surge of the sea. People will faint with terror at the thought of what is coming upon the world; for the celestial powers will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When all this begins to happen, stand upright and hold your heads high, because your liberation is near.

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The Collect:

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I must attend to some history before I get to my main point. Here is a partial list of Persian kings and other crucial dates, courtesy of The Jewish Study Bible (Oxford University Press, 2004):

Reign of Cyrus II (the Great) = 559-530 B.C.E.
Capture of Babylon = 539 B.C.E.
Reign of Cambyses = 530-522 B.C.E.
Reign of Darius I = 522-486 B.C.E.
Reign of Xerxes I = 486-465 B.C.E.
Reign of Artaxerxes I = 465-424 B.C.E.
Reign of Darius II = 423-405 B.C.E.
Reign of Artaxerxes II = 405-359 B.C.E.
Exiles begin to return from Babylonia in 538 B.C.E.
Second Temple completed in 515 B.C.E.

So, given the contents of Daniel 5 and Daniel 6, the king’s name is really Cyrus.

Now, for the substance….

These are troubling readings. This day’s lesson from Luke 21 is part of the small apocalypse from that gospel. The horrific images and dark warnings were past tense for the original audience of that book, written after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 C.E. And, as for Daniel 6, I understand that, according to Deuteronomy 19:16-19, the penalty for bearing false witness is to suffer the same potential fate as the one of whom a person lied, but what did the wives and children do? Furthermore, Darius/Cyrus was the most powerful man in the empire; he could have lifted the original edict at any time.

Yet there is hope in dark times. Yes, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 C.E., but the Jews and their religion have survived. Yes, the Chaldeans/Neo-Babylonians demolished the Kingdom of Judah in 587 B.C.E., but the Persians conquered them, allowed Jewish exiles to go home, and facilitated the construction of the Second Temple. Yes, Daniel got in trouble because he did his job better than some jealous peers, who manipulated the king into trying to execute him, but God saved Daniel. And even when one dies for one’s Christian faith, the blood of the martyrs waters the church.

The readings take a dark turn toward the end of the church year, but the darkness has not extinguished all light. In a few days I will, God willing, begin writing devotions for Advent. (I am working a few months ahead of schedule, obviously.) Advent is about preparing the birth of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. As the Revised English Bible (1989) renders John 1:1-5,

In the beginning the Word already was. The Word was in God’s presence, and what God was, the Word was. He was with God in the beginning, and through him all things came to be; without him no created thing came into being. In him was life, and that life was the light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never mastered it.

Amen.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/good-reasons-for-hope-in-dark-times/

Posted June 1, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, November 30

Tagged with Daniel 6, John 1, Lions' Den, Luke 21, Psalm 99, Song of the Three Young Men

Week of Proper 29: Wednesday, Year 1 12 comments

Above: Belshazzar’s Feast, by Rembrandt van Rijn

Image in the Public Domain

Then God Acted

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

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THE FIRST READING:

Daniel 5:1-6, 13-31 (Revised English Bible):

King Belshazzzar gave a grand banquet for a thousand of his nobles and he was drinking wine in their presence. Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders for the vessels of gold and silver which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple at Jerusalem to be fetched, so that he and his nobles, along with his concubines and courtesans, might drink from them. So those vessels belonging to the house of God, the temple at Jerusalem, were brought, and the king, the nobles, and the concubines and courtesans drank from them. They drank their wine and they praised their gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Suddenly there appeared the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster of the palace wall opposite the lamp, and the king saw the palm of the hand as it wrote. At this the king turned pale; dismay filled his mind, the strength went from his leg, and his knees knocked together.

…

Daniel was then brought into the royal presence, and the king addressed him:

So you are Daniel, one of the Jewish exiles whom my royal father brought from Judah. I am informed that the spirit of the gods resides in you and that you are known as a man of clear insight and exceptional wisdom. The wise men, the exorcists, have just been brought before me to read this writing and make its interpretation known to me, but they have been unable to give its meaning. I am told that you are able to furnish interpretations and unravel problems. Now, if you can read this writing and make known the interpretation, you shall be robed in purple and have a gold chain hung round your neck, and you shall rank third in the kingdom.

Daniel replied,

Your majesty, I do not look for gifts from you; give your rewards to another. Nevertheless I shall read your majesty the writing and make known to you its interpretation.

My lord king, the Most High God gave a kingdom with power, glory, and majesty to your father Nebuchadnezzar; and, because of the power he bestowed on him, all peoples and nations of every language trembled with fear before him. He put to death whom he would and spared whom he would, he promoted them at will and at will abased them. But, when he became haughty and stubborn and presumptuous, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was banished from human society, and his mind became like that of an animal; he had to live with the wild asses and to feed on grass like oxen, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he came to acknowledge that the Most High God is sovereign over the realm of humanity and appoints over whom he will. But although you knew all this, you, his son, Belshazzar, did not humble your heart. You have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven; his temple vessels have been fetched for you and your nobles, your concubines, and courtesans to drink from them. You have praised gods fashioned from silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which cannot see or hear or know, and you have not given glory to God, from whom comes your every breath, and in whose charge are all your ways. That is why he sent the hand and why it wrote this inscription.

The words inscribed were: “Mene mene tekel u-pharsin.” Their interpretation is this: mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought you to an end; tekel, you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; u-pharsin, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.

Then at Belshazzar’s command Daniel was robed in purple and a gold chain hung round his neck, and proclamation was made that he should rank third in the kingdom.

That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldaeans was slain, and Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being then about sixty-two years old.

THEN RESPONSE #1:

Canticle 12, Part I (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

(Part of the Song of the Three Young Men)

Glorify the Lord, you angels and all powers of the Lord,

O heavens and all waters above the heavens.

Sun and moon and stars of the sky, glorify the Lord,

Praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, every shower of rain and fall of dew,

all winds and fire and heat.

Winter and summer, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold,

drops of dew and and flakes of snow.

Frost and cold, ice and sleet, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O nights and days,

O shining light and enfolding dark.

Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

OR RESPONSE #2:

Psalm 98 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Sing to the LORD a new song,

for he has done marvelous things.

2 With his right hand and his holy arm

has he won for himself the victory.

3 The LORD has made known his victory;

his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.

4 He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel,

and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

5 Shout with joy to the LORD, all you lands;

lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.

6 Sing to the LORD with the harp,

with the harp and the voice of song.

7 With trumpets and the sound of the horn

shout with joy before the King, the LORD.

8 Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it,

the lands and those who dwell therein.

9 Let the rivers clap their hands,

and let the hills ring out with joy before the LORD,

when he comes to judge the earth.

10 In righteousness shall he judge the world

and the peoples with equity.

THEN THE GOSPEL READING:

Luke 21:10-19 (Revised English Bible):

Then Jesus added,

Nation will go to war against nation, kingdom against kingdom; there will be severe earthquakes, famines, and plagues in many places, and in the sky terrors and great portents.

But before all this happens they will seize you and persecute you. You will be handed over to synagogues and put in prison; you will be haled before kings and governors for your allegiance to me. This will be your opportunity to testify. So resolve not to prepare your defence beforehand, because I myself will give you such words and wisdom as no opponent can resist or refute. Even your parents and brothers, your relations and friends, will betray you. Some of you will be put to death; and everyone will hate you for your allegiance to me. But not a hair of your head will be lost. By standing firm you will win yourselves life.

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The Collect:

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First I must deal with raw, documented history. Historians from ancient times from the present agree that Cyrus II (“the Great”) became King of the Persians the Medes in the year we call 559 B.C.E., and that his forces conquered the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 B.C.E. Cyrus, being born circa 600 B.C.E., was approximately sixty-two years old at the time of the conquest. Thus his age matches that of the mysterious “Darius the Mede” from the end of Daniel 5. In point of fact, the Book of Daniel is the only ancient source to mention “Darius the Mede” as an immediate predecessor of Cyrus II, who succeeded Cambyses I immediately, almost twenty years before the setting of this story. There is a simple explanation: The author of this part of the Book of Daniel was confused as to Persian royal succession.

Belshazzar was a son of and the viceroy of Nabonidus (reigned 556-539 B.C.E.), the last Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian king. He (Belshazzar) was a powerful prince and a person with whom to reckon, but not a regnal monarch. History records that he died when the Persian forces, commanded by General Gobyras, captured Babylon. Gobyras went on to become Cyrus the Great’s governor in Babylon, so some have speculated that Gobyras was “Darius the Mede.” This seems like a stretch to me, given my propensity for the historical-critical method and my preference for Ockham’s Razor. It is, however, one way for those who prefer discredited theories of inerrancy and infallibility to explain away a minor (and irrelevant) inaccuracy in the text.

As Galileo Galilei observed in the 1600s, the Bible is not a science book. And, in certain minor and occasional historical matters, it gets some quibbling and irrelevant details wrong. This is to be expected, for people wrote many of these texts down a long time after the events the texts describe. So some out-of-chronological-order references crept into the narrative. C’est la vie. Such inaccuracies do not bother me, for I am far from a Biblical literalist. I prefer instead to focus on the main point of such texts, not permitting minor historical quibbles to become distractions from great spiritual truths. As a spiritual mentor of mine asked of any Biblical text, “What is really going on here?” That is where I place my emphasis.

Let us consider the story from Daniel 5 as it is. The son and viceroy of the last Chaldean king commits sacrilege with confiscated vessels from the late Jerusalem Temple. He sees a disembodied hand write a text on a wall. All the viceroy”s usual advisors cannot interpret the text, but Daniel can. Belshazzar promises Daniel a promotion in exchange for an accurate reading, but the faithful Daniel says that such a nice act is not necessary; he is willing to interpret the text and retain his current standing. Daniel delivers the bad news. Belshazzar, much to his credit, promotes Daniel anyway. The viceroy dies that night, during the Persian conquest.

This is a story about God acting to deliver his people. History records that the Jews fared much better under the Persians than they did under the Assyrians or the Chaldeans/Neo-Babylonians. I have covered this ground already, beginning with this post: link. It was not always a pleasant political situation, and not all Persian kings were favorably disposed toward Jewish interests, but the Persian Empire did facilitate the building of the Second Temple.

The reading from Luke 21 spoke of circumstances many Christians at the time of the writing that gospel experienced. Indeed, with a few minor changes in terminology, it speaks of circumstances many Christians face today. But, Jesus says, persecution is an opportunity to testify to him, himself a persecuted one. By enduring, our Lord says, we will win our lives, even if we die. Or, as Paul wrote, if we suffer with Christ, we will reign with Christ.

These are the kinds of passages which cause me to wonder how prosperity theologians can say what they do. These men and women sell theological snake oil to those who either choose not to investigate their claims or lack enough Biblical knowledge to know where to begin. It is rather discouraging, is it not?

This day we have two readings which speak of God acting during times of great difficulty. In the first the good guys live, but in the second they almost certainly die. Yet they live with God. The Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, is honest: Sometimes faithfulness leads to persecution, even torture and death. It is unjust, I grant you, but not entirely unexpected. If we do not grasp this message, it is not because of false advertising in the sacred anthology we call the Bible.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/then-god-acted/

Posted June 1, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, November 29

Tagged with Belshazzar's Feast, Daniel 5, Luke 21, Prosperity Theology, Psalm 98, Song of the Three Young Men

Week of Proper 29: Tuesday, Year 1 15 comments

Above: Ruins of the Ishtar Gate, Babylon, 1932

Image Source = Library of Congress

Empires and Nation-States Rise and Fall, But God Reigns Supreme Always

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

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THE FIRST READING:

Daniel 2:31-45 (Revised English Bible):

[Daniel addressed King Nebudchadnezzar II, saying,]

As you watched, there appeared to your majesty a great image. Huge and dreading, it stood before you, fearsome to behold. The head of the image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet part iron and part clay. While you watched, you saw a stone hewn from a mountain by no human hand; it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and shattered them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all shattered into fragments, as if they were chaff from a summer threshing-floor the wind swept them away until no trace of them remained. But the stone which struck the image grew and became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

This was the dream; now we shall relate to your majesty its interpretation. Your majesty, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom with its power, its might, and its honour, in whose hands he has placed mankind wherever they live, the wild animals, and the birds of the air, granting you sovereignty over the whole world. After you will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, then a third kingdom, of bronze, which will will have sovereignty over the whole world. There will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron shatters and breaks all things, it will shatter and crush the others. As in your vision the feet and toes were part potter’s clay and part iron, so it will be a divided kingdom, and just as you saw iron mixed with clay from the ground, so it will have in it something of the strength of iron. The toes being part iron and part clay means that the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. As in your vision the iron was mixed with the clay, so there will be a mixing of families by intermarriage, but such alliances will not be stable: iron does not mix with clay. In the times of those kings the God of heaven will establish a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will it ever pass to another people; it will shatter all these kingdoms and make and end of them, while it will itself endure for ever. This is meaning of your vision of the stone being hewn from a mountain by no human hand, and then shattering the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A mighty God has made known to your majesty what is to be hereafter. The dream and its interpretation are true and trustworthy.

THEN RESPONSE #1:

Canticle 12, Part I (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

(Part of the Song of the Three Young Men)

Glorify the Lord, you angels and all powers of the Lord,

O heavens and all waters above the heavens.

Sun and moon and stars of the sky, glorify the Lord,

Praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, every shower of rain and fall of dew,

all winds and fire and heat.

Winter and summer, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O chill and cold,

drops of dew and and flakes of snow.

Frost and cold, ice and sleet, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

Glorify the Lord, O nights and days,

O shining light and enfolding dark.

Storm clouds and thunderbolts, glorify the Lord,

praise him and highly exalt him for ever.

OR RESPONSE #2:

Psalm 96 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all the whole earth.

2 Sing to the LORD and bless his Name;

proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations

and his wonders among all peoples.

4 For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;

he is more to be feared than all gods.

5 As for the gods of the nations, they are but idols;

but it is the LORD who made the heavens.

6 Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence!

Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary!

7 Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples;

ascribe to the LORD honor and power.

8 Ascribe to the LORD the honor due his Name;

bring offerings and come into his courts.

9 Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness;

let the whole earth tremble before him.

10 Tell it out among the nations: ”The LORD is King!

he has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved;

he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

let the sea thunder and all that is in it;

let the field be joyful and all that is therein.

12 Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy

before the LORD when he comes,

when he comes to judge the earth.

13 He will judge the world with righteousness

and the peoples with his truth.

THEN THE GOSPEL READING:

Luke 21:5-9 (Revised English Bible):

Some people were talking about the temple and the beauty of its fine stones and ornaments. Jesus said,

These things you are gazing at–the time will come when not one stone will be left upon another; they will all be thrown down.

They asked,

Teacher, when will that be? What will be the sign that these things are about to happen?

He said,

Take care that you are not misled. For many will come claiming my name and saying, “I am he,” and “The time has come.” Do not follow them. And when you hear of wars and insurrections, do not panic. These things are bound to happen first, but the end does not follow at once.

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The Collect:

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I like maps, especially old ones. Two of the books in my library are Longmans’ New School Atlas (1901) and Hammond’s New Era Atlas of the World (1945). The latter comes with a supplement reflecting the post-World War II borders. The maps of Europe and Asia changed quite a bit more than once from 1901 to 1945. The Russian Empire became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The German Empire shrank slightly into the Weimar Republic, which transformed into the Third Reich, which expanded and shrank greatly, becoming two Germanies. Austria-Hungary broke up. Yugoslavia was born. Poland was reborn, but its borders shifted greatly from 1919 to 1945. And, in Asia, Japan engulfed many colonies and nations, only to lose the territory. Furthermore, the Ottoman Empire finally collapsed, leaving Turkey and former colonies in its wake. Since 1945, two Germanies have become one, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia have crumbled, Czechoslovakia has divided, and European colonial empires have fallen. The British used to boast that the sun never set on their empire. It was the literal truth; there was daylight somewhere in the British Empire at any given time. The jealous Germans, of course, grumbled that God did not trust the British in the dark. Now the sun never sets on the Falkland Islands and small Atlantic and Pacific islands.

Empires and nation-states rise and fall, but God is always in charge. This lesson is part of the reading from Daniel. Reputable scholars of the Bible have read the interpretation of Nebudachnezzar II’s dream and detected references to his Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire plus the Persian Empire, the Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, the Seleucid Empire, and the Roman Republic/Empire. The Persians conquered the Chaldeans, but Alexander defeated the Persians. The Seleucid Empire arose from the ashes of Alexander’s Macedonian Empire, but the Romans conquered the weakened Seleucids. Rome, of course, divided east-west, with the Western Empire fading away by 476 C.E. and the Ottomans putting the remains of the Eastern Empire out of their misery in 1453. All of these were mighty empires, each in its own day, but are no more.

Proper 29, the Last Sunday after Pentecost, was Christ the King Sunday. A few days ago, I wrote the following post, in which I dwelt on the theme that “God is the ruler yet.” The mountain of God (to borrow an analogy from Daniel 2) shatters kingdoms and stands forever. Yet cults of personality have arisen and persisted. Members of the German military swore loyalty to Adolf Hitler, not the German state or constitution. To this day many virulent racists celebrate the Fuhrer’s birthday. There is a bizarre cult of personality surrounding the deceased founder of the ruling Kim family in North Korea. And the cult of personality surrounding Joseph Stalin, despite some setbacks, has never died, unlike Stalin. Yet “God is the ruler yet.” May we remember this always, ordering our priorities accordingly.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/empires-and-nation-states-rise-and-fall-but-god-reigns-supreme-always/

Posted May 31, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, November 28

Tagged with Christ the King, Daniel 2, Luke 21, Psalm 96, Song of the Three Young Men

Week of Proper 29: Monday, Year 1 14 comments

Above: Ruins of Babylon in 1932

Image Source = Library of Congress

Trusting God in Difficult Times

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

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THE FIRST READING:

Daniel 1:1-20 (Revised English Bible):

In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, came and laid siege to Jerusalem. The Lord handed King Jehoiakim over to him, together with all that was left of the vessels from the house of God; and he carried them off to the land of Shinar, to the temple of his god, where he placed the vessels in the temple treasury.

The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring into the palace some of the Israelite exiles, members of their royal house and of the nobility. They were to be young men free from physical defect, handsome in appearance, well-informed, intelligent, and so fitted for service in the royal court; and he was to instruct them in the writings and language of the Chaldaeans. The king assigned them a daily allowance of fine food and wine from the royal table; and their training was to last for three years ; at the end of that time they would enter his service. among them were certain Jews: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the master of the eunuchs gave new names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah Shadrach, Michael Meshach, and Azariah Abed-nego.

Daniel determined not to become contaminated with the food and wine from the royal table, and begged the master of the eunuchs to excuse him from touching it. God caused the master to look on Daniel with kindness and goodwill, and to Daniel’s request he replied,

I am afraid of my lord the king: he has assigned you food and drink, and if he were to see you looking miserable compared with the other young men of your age, my head would be forfeit.

Then Daniel said to the attendant whom the master of the eunuchs had put in charge of Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and himself,

Submit us to the this test for ten days: give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink; then compare our appearance with that of the young men who have lived on the kings’ food, and be guided in your treatment of us by what you see for yourself.

He agreed to this proposal and submitted them to this test. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who had lived on the food from the king. So the attendant took away the food assigned to them and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables only.

To all four of these young men God gave knowledge, understanding of books, and learning of every kind, and Daniel had a gift for interpreting visions and dreams of very kind. At the time appointed for the king for introducing the young men to court, the master of the eunuchs brought them into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them all, but found none of them to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they entered the royal service. Whenever the king consulted them on any matter, he found them ten times superior to all the magicians and exorcists in his whole kingdom.

THEN RESPONSE #1:

Canticle 13 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

(Song of the Three Young Men 29-34 plus the Trinitarian formula)

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers;

you are worthy of praise; glory to you.

Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name;

we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple;

on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.

Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim;

we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths;

in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.

Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;

we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

OR RESPONSE #2:

Psalm 24:1-6 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it,

the world and all who dwell therein.

2 For it is who founded it upon the seas

and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.

3 “Who can ascend the hill of the LORD?

and who can stand in his holy place?”

4 “Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,

who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,

nor sworn by what is a fraud.

5 They shall receive a blessing from the LORD

and a just reward from the God of their salvation.”

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,

of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

THEN THE GOSPEL READING:

Luke 21:1-4 (Revised English Bible):

As Jesus looked up and saw rich people dropping their gifts into the chest of the temple treasury, he noticed a poor widow putting in two tiny coins.

I tell you this,

he said:

this poor widow has given more than any of them; for those others who have given had more than enough, but she, with less than enough, has given all she had to live on.

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The Collect:

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Last week we read about one way of handling attempted assimilation into a Gentile culture: insurrection. However, in Daniel 1, we have an example of nonviolent resistance on a small scale.

The Chaldeans, a.k.a. Neo-Babylonians, had consigned the Kingdom of Judah to history in 587 B.C.E. Daniel and his fellows found themselves forced into the service of King Neuchadnezzar II against their will, but they made the most of a bad situation. In the process they retained their Jewish identities despite Chaldean attempts to the contrary. Consider the renaming, for example. Daniel, or “El has judged,” became Belteshazzar, or “Protect the king.” Hananiah, whose name meant “Yah has been gracious,” received the name Shadrach, which was probably Persian for “shining.” Mishael, literally, “Who is what El is?,” became Meshach, a name derived from the Zoroastrian deity Mithras. And Azariah, whose name meant “Yah has helped,” became Abed-nego, or “Servant of Nabu,” Nabu being the Babylonina God of Wisdom.

There were royal power plays at work. Changing the mens’ names signified not only assimilation but dependence on the king, as did assigning food and wine from the king’s table. Yet these four men followed an invisible and more powerful king, who enabled them to survive in difficult circumstances.

Now I turn toward the lesson from Luke.

I have already covered the Markan version of this story and provided a link to that post. Yet a grasp of the Lukan telling requires me to back up a few verses, into Luke 20:45-47, immediately before 21:1-4.

In the hearing of all the people Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk up and down in long robes, and love to be greeted respectfully in the street, to have the chief seats in synagogues and places of honour at feasts. These are the men who eat up the property of widows, while for appearance’ sake they say long prayers; the sentence they receive will be all the more severe.”

Now read Luke 21:1-4 again.

The widow put two lepta into an offering box at the Temple. A lepta was 1/128 of a day’s wage, or a denarius. So the widow was really poor. Now reconsider the words of Jesus; did the praise the widow or lament her action? The text does not indicate his tone of voice, but lament seems to be the more likely dominant option. Certainly he did not want her to starve. And her meager offering helped support the Temple system off which the corrupt religious establishment lived and from which it derived its power. Yet the widow did trust God and practice religion piously, as she understood it. One can, with justification, understand Jesus to have praised her humble piety, which stood in stark contrast to the false holiness of those he had just condemned.

Let us be clear. Luke 21:1-4 is no more an instruction to give away all the money one has to pay bills and buy food than Daniel 1 is a vegetarian tract. Yet a common thread runs through them: We must trust and follow God. This is easy when times are good, but difficult when circumstances are harsh. Certainly exile following the destruction of one’s nation is harsh. Truly grinding poverty is harsh. “Woe to those who create and maintain such harsh conditions,” Biblical prophets said again and again. “God loves the orphans and the widows,” they said; and the author of Luke-Acts did, too. Open an unabridged concordance of the Bible and look up “widow” and “widows,” focusing on Luke and Acts. Then read those passages.

With this post I near the end of this series of devotions. It will end with “Week of Proper 29: Saturday, Year 1,” after which I will return to ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS and blog there for a few months. I mention this because the temporal relationship of this post to Advent is germane. During Advent we will focus on the approaching Incarnation of God in human form, Jesus of Nazareth. His birth constituted, among other things, an affirmation of the dignity of human beings, including the poor and the downtrodden, such as today’s widow.

Regardless of your economic situation, O reader, I encourage you to trust and follow God. By the way, I hope for your sake and that of your family, if you have one, that your economic situation is excellent and improving. This is a prayer I say for everyone: May all have all that they need and the good judgment to use it properly. And may they thank God for it in words, deeds, and attitudes. Furthermore, may we function as agents of God in helping each other achieve and retain this reality.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/trusting-god-in-difficult-times/

Posted May 30, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, November 27

Tagged with Daniel 1, Luke 20, Luke 21, Psalm 24, Song of the Three Young Men

Week of Proper 28: Saturday, Year 1 11 comments

Above: A Map Showing the Seleucid Empire

Image in the Public Domain

The End of Antiochus IV Epiphanes

NOVEMBER 25, 2023

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1 Maccabees 6:1-17 (Revised English Bible):

As King Antiochus made his way through the upper provinces heard there was a city, Elymais, famous for its wealth in silver and gold. Its temple was very rich, full of gold shields, coats of mail, and weapons left there by Philip’s son Alexander, king of Macedon and the first to be king over the Greeks. Antiochus came to that city, but in his attempt to take and plunder it he was unsuccessful because his plan had become known to the citizens. They gave battle and drove him off; in bitter resentment he withdrew towards Babylon.

In Persia a messenger brought him the news that the armies which had invaded Judaea had suffered defeat, and that Lysias, who had marched up with an exceptionally strong force, had been flung back into open battle. Further, the strength of the Jews had increased through the capture of weapons, equipment, and spoil in plenty from the armies they destroyed; they had pulled down the abomination built by him on the altar in Jerusalem and surrounded their temple with high walls as before; they had even fortified Bethsura, his city.

The king was dismayed and so sorely shaken by this report that he took to his bed, ill with grief at the miscarriage of his plans. There he lay for many days, overcome again and again by bitter grief, and he realized that he was dying. He summoned all his Friends and said:

Sleep has summoned me; the weight of care has broken my heart. At first I asked myself: Why am I engulfed in this sea of troubles, I who was kind and well loved in the day of my power? But now I recall the wrong I did in Jerusalem: I carried off all the vessels of silver and gold that were there, and with no justification sent armies to wipe out the inhabitants of Judaea. I know that is why these misfortunes have come upon me; and here I am, dying of bitter grief in a foreign land.

He summoned Philip, one of his Friends, and appointed him regent over his whole empire, giving him the crown, his royal robe, and the signet ring, with authority to bring up his son Antiochus and train him for the throne. King Antiochus died in Persia in the year 149 [163 B.C.E.].

When Lysias learnt that the king was dead, he placed on the throne in succession to his father the young Antiochus, whom he had trained from boyhood, and he gave him the name Eupator.

Psalm 124 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 If the LORD had not been on our side,

let Israel now say,

2 If the LORD had not been on our side,

when enemies rose up against us;

3 Then they would have swallowed us up alive

in their fierce anger toward us;

4 Then would the waters have overwhelmed us

and the torrent gone over us;

5 Then would the raging waters

have gone right over us.

6 Blessed be the LORD!

he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.

7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler;

the snare is broken, and we have escaped.

8 Our help is in the Name of the LORD,

the maker of heaven and earth.

Luke 20:27-40 (Revised English Bible):

Then some Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and asked:

Teacher, Moses, laid it down for us that if there are brothers, and one dies leaving a wife but not child, then the next should marry the widow and provide an heir for his brother. Now there seven brothers: the first took a wife and died childless, then the second married her, then the third. In this way the seven of them died leaving no children. Last of all the woman also died. At the resurrection, whose wife is she to be, since all seven had married her?

Jesus said to them,

The men and women of this world marry; but those who have been judged who have been judged worthy of a place in the other world, and of the resurrection from the dead, do not marry, for they are no longer subject to death. They are like angels; they are children of God, because they share in his resurrection. That the dead are raised to life again is shown by Moses himself in the story of the burning bush, when he calls the Lord “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” God is not the God of the living; in his sight all are alive.

At this some of the scribes said,

Well spoken, Teacher.

And nobody dared put any further question to him.

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The Collect:

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.

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I have a few comments about the reading from Luke 20 before I move along to my main point. Levirate marriage was part of the Law of Moses. By this practice a childless widow was supposed to find economic security in a deeply patriarchal society; there would be a man to take care of her. Finding ultimate economic security, for her, meant giving birth to at least one son who would grow up and care for her in time. Some Sadducees seized on this matter to ask Jesus an insincere questions. I wonder if our Lord thought to himself something like,

Why do they keep asking me questions like this?

Indeed, it would have been better to ask him a sincere query. The Sadducees were wasting his time; may we not follow in their footsteps.

Now, for the main idea….

Being the history geek I am, I opened up an old edition of the New Oxford Annotated Bible (a Revised Standard Version edition from 1977, no less) and found the chronological and genealogical table of Seleucid kings in the back. Seleucus II Callinicus (reigned 246-225 B.C.E.) died. His immediate successor was an elder son, Seleucus III Soter Ceraunos (reigned 225-223 B.C.E.). Seleucus III, dying childless, was succeeded by his younger brother, Antiochus III the Great (reigned 223-187 B.C.E.), who had two sons who became kings after him. The elder son became Seleucus IV Philopater (reigned 187-175 B.C.E.). Seleucus IV did have a son before he died. That son Demetrius, the rightful heir. But Demetrius was a hostage in Rome when his father died, and his uncle, the younger son Antiochus III, usurped the throne to become Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175-164 B.C.E.).

Antiochus IV Epiphanes was an ambitious man. There is nothing wrong with having ambition; indeed, I distrust a person who lacks it. Ambition drives people to bigger and better goals when one harnesses it properly. But does one harness one’s ambition or does one’s ambition harness one? Ambition and foolishness compelled Antiochus IV to break with precedent and try to suppress non-Hellenistic cultures within his empire, and thus inspired opposition. Jews, for example rebelled. This rebellion weakened the empire and contributed to king’s bad health and therefore his death. Indeed, the medical link between high levels of stress and increased susceptibility to diseases is well-documented.

And so Antiochus IV Epiphanes died in 164 B.C.E. His immediate successor was another usurper, his son, Antiochus V Eupator, a boy who met a bad end in 162 B.C.E. Demetrius, the rightful heir since 175 B.C.E., finally escaped from Rome and returned home that year, when he became Demetrius I Soter, reigning until 150 B.C.E.). He met a bad end, too, when Alexander Balas, a son Antiochus IV Epiphanes, killed him and reigned for five years.

That seems like a great deal of trouble to go through for not much reward, does it not? Why struggle to become king, only to have to struggle to keep the throne and lose it anyway? The rewards seemed to have been short-term only and the miseries long-term.

There is, however, a better way, which is to seek those riches which are intangible, and therefore do not rust or decay and which no earthly thief can take away. To find one’s identity in God is to locate position in which one will find fulfillment and from which nobody can oust one. The Seleucid Empire has dwelt in the dustbin of history for over two thousand years; where is the glory of its kings now? Yet, each year, faithful Jews celebrate Hanukkah and recall the rededication of the Temple by the Hasmoneans. The fatal ambition of Antiochus IV Epiphanes brought on the necessity to rededicate the Temple and started a Jewish war for independence from the Seleucid Empire. I know who won and who lost this case.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/the-end-of-antiochus-iv-epiphanes/

Posted May 29, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, November 25

Tagged with 1 Maccabees 6, Luke 20, Psalm 124

Week of Proper 28: Friday, Year 1 8 comments

Above: Giotto di Bondone’s Painting of Jesus Expelling the Money Changers

Image in the Public Domain

Cleansing the Temple

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

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THE FIRST READING:

1 Maccabees 4:36-38, 52-59 (Revised English Bible):

(Context = after the Hasmoneans have defeated a Seleucid force and recaptured the desecrated Temple in Jerusalem)

Judas [Maccabeus]and his brothers said,

Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to the cleanse and rededicate the temple.

When the whole army had assembled, they found the temple laid waste, the altar desecrated, the gates burnt down, the courts overgrown like a thicket or wooded hillside, and the priests’ rooms in ruin.

…

Early on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev, in the year 148 [also known as 164 B.C.E.], sacrifice was offered, as laid down by the law, on the newly constructed altar of whole-offerings. On the anniversary of the day of its desecration by the Gentiles, on that very day it was dedicated with hymns of thanksgiving, to the music of harps and lutes and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves in worship and gave praise to Heaven for prospering their cause.

They celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days; there was rejoicing as they brought whole-offerings and thanks-offerings. They decorated the front of the temple with gold garlands and ornamental shields. They renovated the gates and restored the priests’ rooms, fitting them with doors. At the lifting of the disgrace brought on them by the Gentiles there was very great rejoicing among the people.

Judas, his brothers, and the whole congregation of Israel decree that, at the same season each year, the dedication of the temple should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days, beginning on the twenty-fifth of Kislev.

THEN RESPONSE #1:

Canticle 9 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

(Isaiah 12:2-6 plus the Trinitarian formula)

Surely it is God who saves me;

I will trust in him and not be afraid.

For the Lord is my strength and my sure defense,

and he will be my Savior.

Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing

from the springs of salvation.

And on that day you shall say,

Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;

Make his deeds known among the peoples;

see that they remember that his Name is exalted.

Sing the praises of the Lord, for he has done great things,

and this is known in all the world.

Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy,

for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

OR RESPONSE #2:

Psalm 113 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Hallelujah!

Give Praise, you servants of the LORD;

praise the Name of the LORD.

2 Let the Name of the LORD be blessed,

from this time forth for evermore.

3 From the rising of the sun to its going down

let the Name of the LORD be praised.

4 The LORD is high above all nations,

and his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the LORD our God, who sits enthroned on high,

but stoops to behold the heavens and the earth?

6 He takes up the weak out of the dust

and lifts up the poor from the ashes.

7 He sets them with the princes,

with the princes of his people.

8 He makes the woman of a childless house

to be a joyful mother of children.

THEN THE GOSPEL READING:

Luke 19:45-48 (Revised English Bible):

(Set shortly after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem; the Last Supper occurs in Chapter 22)

Then Jesus went into the temple and began driving out the traders, with these words:

Scriptures says, “My house shall be a house of prayer;” but you have made it a bandits’ cave.

Day by day he taught in the temple. The chief priests and scribes, with the support of the leading citizens, wanted to bring about his death, but found that they were helpless, because the people all hung on his words.

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The Collect:

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Some Related Posts:

Hanukkah (Chanukah):

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/from-the-hanukkah-chanukah-service/

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/for-the-sabbath-in-hanukkah-chanukah/

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From the reign of King Solomon to 70 C.E., except for the time between destruction of the first Temple by the Assyrian Empire and the construction of the second Temple during the Persian period, the Temple at Jerusalem occupied the heart of the Jewish faith. So it was important to Judas Maccabeus (literally “the hammer”) and his brothers, sons of the late Mattathias, to restore and rededicate the Temple, which Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes had ordered defiled. From the actions of Judas and his brothers, as the text from 1 Maccabees describes them, comes the Jewish holy time called Hanukkah.

Jesus, who in Luke’s gospel was just a few days away from his execution, expelled money changers from the Temple complex, which Herod the Great, hardly a pious individual, had ordered expanded greatly. The Temple of Jesus’ time was also the seat of collaboration with the Roman Empire. The Temple complex even sat next to a towering Roman fortress. The architectural message was plain: The empire is watching; be very careful.

Jesus was not very careful, by that standard. Indeed, his deeds that day contributed greatly to his death. And what was the issue with the money changers? They converted Roman currency (technically idols) so that poor Jews could purchase sacrificial animals for the Passover, which celebrated God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. All this occurred under the watchful eyes of Roman soldiers. And the money changers turned a profit, as did the corrupt senior priest. This was the collision of corruption and economic exploitation on one hand with liberation and sincere piety on the other.

There is no longer a Temple complex, and most Jews have moved on. Rabbis reformed Judaism out of necessity after the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. And I, as a Christian, understand Jesus to have rendered the functions of the Temple moot. And, through Christ, we who follow him become tabernacles of God. May we, by grace, be properly cleansed ones.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/cleansing-the-temple/

Posted May 28, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, November 24

Tagged with 1 Maccabees 4, Chanukah, Hannukah, Isaiah 12, Luke 19, Psalm 113

Week of Proper 28: Thursday, Year 1 7 comments

Above: Mattathias

Image in the Public Domain

A Time for Intellectual Honesty

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

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1 Maccabees 2:15-28 (Revised English Bible):

The king’s officers who were enforcing apostasy came to the town of Modin to see that sacrifice was offered. Many Israelites went over to them, but Mattathias and and all his sons stood apart. The officers addressed Mattathias :

You are a leader here, a man of mark and influence in this town, with your sons and brothers at your back. Now you be the first to come forward; carry out the king’s decree as all the nations have done, as well as the leading men in Judaea and the people left in Jerusalem. Ten you and your sons will be enrolled among the king’s Friends; you will all receive high honours, rich rewards of silver and gold, and many further benefits.

In a ringing voice Mattathias replied:

Though every nation within the king’s dominions obeys and forsakes its ancestral worship, though all have chosen to submit to his commands, yet I my sons and my daughters will follow the covenant made with our forefathers. Heaven forbid that we should ever abandon the law and its statutes! We will not obey the king’s command, nor will we deviate one step from our way of worship.

As he finished speaking, a Jew came forward in full view of all to offer sacrifice on the pagan altar at Modin, in obedience to the royal decree. The sight aroused the zeal of Mattathias, and, shaking with passion and in a fury of righteous anger, he rushed forward and cut him down on the very altar. At the same time he killed the officer sent by the king to enforce sacrifice, and demolished the pagan altar. So Mattathias showed his fervent zeal for the law, as Phinehas had done when he killed Zimri son of Salu. He shouted for the whole town to hear,

Follow me, all who are zealous for the law and stand by the covenant!

Then he and his sons took to the hills, leaving behind in the town all they possessed.

Psalm 129 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 “Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth.”

let Israel now say;

2 “Greatly have they oppressed me since my youth,

but they have not prevailed against me,”

3 The plowmen plowed upon my back

and made their furrows long.

4 The LORD, the Righteous One,

has cut the cords of the wicked.

5 Let them be put to shame and thrown back,

all those who are enemies of Zion.

6 Let them be like grass upon the housetops,

which withers before it can be plucked;

7 Which does not fill the hand of the reaper,

nor the bosom of him who binds the sheaves;

8 So that those who go by say not so much as,

“The LORD prosper you,

We wish you will in the Name of the LORD.”

Luke 19:41-44 (Revised English Bible):

When Jesus came in sight of Jerusalem, he wept over it ans aid,

If only you had known this day the way that leads to peace! But no; it is hidden from your sight. For a time will come upon you, when your enemies will set up siege-works against you; they will encircle you and hem you in at every point; they will bring you to the ground, you and your children within your walls, and not leave you one stone standing on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s visitation.

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The Collect:

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Let us–especially those of us who call ourselves–believers–be intellectually honest. The “new atheists” who point to contradictions and bloody passages in the Bible are not entirely mistaken in the factual points of their claims. Read the Hebrew Scriptures and notice how many times the authors claim that God ordered massacres of civilian populations and pagan priests. And how many capital offenses are there in the Law of Moses? Sometimes, of course, some of these “new atheists” ignore textual and contextual subtleties, so not all of their facts are accurate.

I am an Episcopalian, a nearly compulsive student of the Bible, and a frequent church-goer. An an Episcopalian, I reject the Reformation claim of sola scriptura in favor of scripture, tradition, and reason. A common name for this formula is the three-legged stool, but that is misleading, for the scripture leg is longer than the other two; one would fall off the stool easily. So a tricycle is a better analogy. Using the Episcopalian tricycle, I can work my way through the contradictions between “wipe out civilian populations when you move back into Canaan” and our Lord’s command to love my neighbors as I love myself, with everybody being my neighbor. I am Christian; I try to follow Christ, who did not condone genocide.

A few years ago, at a Eucharistic Ministers’ conference in the Diocese of Georgia, I heard Dr. Donald Armentrout speak. Armentrout, a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, works as a professor at the Episcopal seminary at The University of the South. He used the analogy of putting on the “Gospel glasses” when reading the Bible; not all parts of the Bible are equal, he said. I agree; Jesus takes precedence over Elijah, for example.

So let us consider the readings for this day. The psalm is angry, as I have been. But anger proves corrosive after a very short while. It does not behoove one or others. Mattathias, original leader of the Hasmonean rebellion which, after his death, liberated Judea from Seleucid rule, killed a fellow Jew to prevent him from making a pagan sacrifice. And the Gospel of Luke dates to after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., during the First Jewish War. That event must have had some effect on the writing of Luke 19:41-44. The dominant theme here is how to respond or react under occupation and oppression, and the readings exist in the shadow of violence.

Violence is a reality we can reduce by practicing nonviolence and loving our neighbors (that is, everybody) as we love ourselves, by grace, of course. And, as Paul wrote in Romans 13, love fulfills the law. We follow our Lord, who died by an act of violence and whom God raised from the dead, thereby reversing that deed. As the Moravians say,

Our lamb has conquered; let us follow him.

And let us do it with intellectual honesty, love of ourselves and our neighbors, and obedience to God.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/a-time-for-intellectual-honesty/

Posted May 28, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, November 23

Tagged with 1 Maccabees 2, Luke 19, Psalm 129, Sola Scriptura

Week of Proper 28: Wednesday, Year 1 11 comments

Above: Herod Archelaus

Image in the Public Domain

A Foretaste of the Feast of Christ the King

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

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2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31, 39-42 (Revised English Bible):

Another incident concerned the arrest of seven brothers along with their mother. They were being tortured by the king with whips and thongs to force them to eat pork, contrary to the law.

…

The mother was the most remarkable of all, and she deserves to be remembered with special honour. She watched her seven sons perish within the space of a single day, yet she bore it bravely, for she trusted in the Lord. She encouraged each in turn in her native language; filled with noble resolution, her woman’s thoughts fired by a manly spirit, she said to them:

You appeared in my womb, I know not how; it was not I who gave you life and breath, not I who set in order the elements of your being. The Creator of the universe, who designed the beginning of mankind and devised the origin of all, will in his mercy give you back again breath and life, since now you put his laws above every thought of self.

Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt and suspected an insult in her words. As the youngest brother was still left, the king, not content with appealing to him, even assured him on oath that once he abandoned his ancestral customs he would make him rich and enviable by enrolling him as a king’s Friend and entrusting him with high office. Since the youth paid no regard whatsoever, the king summoned the mother and urged her to advise her boy to save his life. After much urging from the king, she agreed to persuade her son. She leant towards him and, flouting the cruel tyrant, said in her native language:

Son, take pity on me, who carried you nine months in the womb, nursed you for three years, reared you and brought you up to your present age. I implore you, my child, to look at the heavens and the earth; consider all that is in them, and realize that God did not create them from what already existed and that a human being comes into existence in the same way. Do not be afraid of this butcher; accept death willingly and prove yourself worthy of your brothers, so that by God’s mercy I may receive back you and them together.

She had barely finished when the young man spoke out:

What are you all waiting for? I will not submit to the king’s command; I obey the command of the law given through Moses to our forefathers. And you, King Antiochus, who have devised all manner of atrocities for the Hebrews, you will not escape God’s hand….

Roused by this defiance, the king in his fury used him worse than the others, and the young man, putting his whole trust in the Lord, died without having incurred defilement.

Last of all, after her sons, the mother died.

Then must conclude our account of the eating of entrails and the monstrous tortures.

Psalm 17:1-8 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD;

give heed to my cry;

listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.

2 Let my vindication come forth from your presence;

let your eyes be fixed on justice.

3 Weigh my heart, summon me by night,

melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.

4 I give no offence with my mouth as others do;

I have heeded the words of your lips.

5 My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law;

in your paths my feet shall not stumble.

6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me;

incline your ear to me and hear my words.

7 Show me your marvelous loving-kindness,

O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand

from those who rise up against them.

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;

hide me under the shadow of your wings.

Luke 19:11-28 (Revised English Bible):

While they were listening to this, Jesus went on to tell them a parable, because he was now close to Jerusalem and they [the crowd who disapproved of him eating with Zacchaeus] thought the kingdom of God might dawn at any moment. He said,

A man of noble birth went on a long journey abroad, to have himself appointed king and then return. But first he called then of his servants and gave each a sum of money, saying, “Trade with this while I am away.” His fellow-citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, “We do not want this man as our king.” He returned however as king, and sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made. The first came and said, “Your money, sir, has increased tenfold.” “Well done,” he replied, “you are a good servant, trustworthy in a very small matter, you shall have charge of ten cities.” The second came and said, “Here is your money, sir; I kept it wrapped up in a handkerchief. I was afraid of you because you are a hard man: you draw out what you do not put in and reap what you do not sow.” “You scoundrel!” he replied. “I will condemn you out of your own mouth. You knew me to be a hard man, did you, drawing out what I never put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put my money on deposit, and I could have claimed it with interest when I came back?” Turning to his attendants he said, “Take the money from him and give it to the man with the most.” “But sir,” they replied, “he has ten times as much already.” “I tell you,” he said, “everyone one has will be given more; but whoever has nothing will forfeit even what he has. But as for those enemies of mine who did not want me for their king, bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.”

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The Collect:

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Some Related Posts:

This is My Father’s World:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/this-is-my-fathers-world/

Torture:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-are-tortured/

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-inflict-torture/

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U.S. Presbyterian minister and humanitarian Maltbie Davenport Babcock adored nature and wrote many poems. He died in 1901, after which his widow arranged for the publication of many of these works. Among them was the text of the great hymn, “This is My Father’s World.” One verse is especially germane to this day’s readings:

This is my Father’s world,

O let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong

God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world:

The battle is not done;

Jesus who died shall be satisfied,

And earth and heaven be one.

Antiochus Epiphanes was a tyrant, as was Herod the Great, a Roman client king who died in 4 B.C.E. Three sons took up their father’s role, each in his own district, with Roman approval, of course. Herod Archelaus governed much of the territory the modern State of Israel covers, with his capital at Jerusalem. He was the basis of the parable Jesus told, for a delegation of fifty men from the region traveled to Rome to ask they Archelaus not become the client ruler.

The Parable of the Pounds in Luke 19 is similar to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. For more about latter, follow the germane links I have provided. In Luke 19, however, there is a unique twist; the king is clearly the villain, and one identified with a member of the notorious Herodian Dynasty. This parable is set as Jesus nears his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and therefore his crucifixion a few days later. The tyranny of the Roman Empire and its rule, whether direct or indirect, was on his mind.

The 1920s were difficult. Democracies were few and far between in Europe, and some of those were weak. The Weimar Republic teetered in Germany and the Fascists reigned supreme in Italy. Japan was on the militaristic and imperialistic path in the Pacific Basin, and Stalin was consolidating his power in the Soviet Union. In this context, in 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King, meant, among other things, to serve as a reminder that, as Babcock wrote,

God is the ruler yet.

This is a timeless lesson.

There is a wonderful song, which, according to some sources, is an old Quaker hymn: “How Can I Keep from Singing?”

1. My life flows on in endless song,

Above earth’s lamentation;

I hear the real though far-off song

That hails a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife

I hear that music ringing;

It sounds an echo in my soul,

How can I keep from singing?

2. What though the tempest loudly roars,

I hear the truth, it liveth;

What though the darkness round me close,

Songs in the night it giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that rock I’m clinging,

Since love is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

3. When tyrants tremble when they hear

The bells of freedom ringing;

When friends rejoice both far and near

How can I keep from singing?

In prison cell and dungeon vile

Our thoughts to them are winging,

When friends by shame are undefiled,

How can I keep from singing?

–From Songs of the Spirit (1978), of the Friends General Conference

Christ the King Sunday is Proper 29, the last Sunday of the Western Christian year. I am close to writing the devotion for that day, given where I am in the lectionary cycle. But, despite the heavy tone of the readings for this day, Wednesday in the Week of Proper 28, Year 1, we have a foretaste of the Feast of Christ the King.

Here ends the lesson.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/a-foretaste-of-the-feast-of-christ-the-king/

Posted May 26, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, November 22

Tagged with 2 Maccabees 7, Christ the King, How Can I Keep from Singing?, Luke 19, Maltbie Davenport Babcock, Psalm 17, This is My Father's World, Torture

Week of Proper 28: Tuesday, Year 1 10 comments

Above: A Sycamore Tree in Jericho

Image Source = Bonio

Of Food and Ritual Propriety

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

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2 Maccabees 6:18-31 (Revised English Bible):

Eleazar, one of the leading teachers of the law, a man of great age and distinguished bearing, was forced to open his mouth to eat pork; but preferring death with honour to life with impiety, he spat it out and voluntarily submitted to the torture. So should men act who have the courage to reject which despite a natural desire to save their lives it is not lawful to eat. Because of their long acquaintance with them, the officials in charge of this sacrilegious meal had a word with Eleazar in private; they urged him to bring meat which he was permitted to eat and had himself prepared; he need only pretend to comply with the king’s order to eat the sacrificial meat. In that way he would escape death by taking advantage of the clemency which their long-standing friendship merited. But Eleazar made an honourable decision, one worthy of his years and the authority of old age, worthy of the grey hairs he had attained to and wore with such distinction, worthy of his faultless conduct from childhood, but above all worthy of the holy and God-given law; he replied at once:

Send me to my grave! If I went through with this pretence at my time of my life, many of the young might believe that at the age of ninety Eleazar had turned apostate. If I practiced deceit for the sake of a brief moment of life, I should lead them astray and stain my old age with dishonour. I might for the present avoid man’s punishment, but alive or dead I should never escape the hand of the Almighty. If I now die bravely, I shall show that I have deserved my long life and leave to the young a noble example; I shall be teaching them how to die a good death, gladly and nobly, for our revered and holy laws.

With these words he went straight to the torture, while those who a short time before had shown him friendship now turned hostile because, to them, what he said was madness. When Eleazar was on the point of death from the blows he had received, he groaned aloud and said:

To the Lord belongs all holy knowledge; he knows what terrible agony I endure in my body from this flogging, though I could have escaped death; yet he knows also that in my soul I suffer gladly, because I stand in awe of him.

So he died; and by his death he left a noble example and a memorial of virtue, not only to the young but also to the great mass of his countrymen.

Psalm 3 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 LORD, how many adversaries I have!

how many there are who rise up against me!

2 How many there are who say of me,

“There is no help for him in his God.”

3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me;

you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.

4 I call aloud to the LORD,

and he answers me from his holy hill;

5 I lie down and go to sleep;

I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

6 I do not fear the multitudes of people

who set themselves against me all around.

7 Rise up, O LORD; set me free, O my God;

surely, you will strike all my enemies across my face,

you will break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Deliverance belongs to the LORD.

Your blessing be upon your people!

Luke 19:1-10 (Revised English Bible):

Entering Jericho Jesus made his way through the city. There was a man there named Zacchaeus; he was superintendent of taxes and very rich. He was eager to see what Jesus looked like; but, being a little man, he could not see him for the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycomore tree in order to see him, for he was to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said,

Zacchaeus, be quick to come down, for I must stay at your house today.

He climbed down as quickly as he could and welcomed him gladly. At this time there was a general murmur of disapproval.

He has gone in to be the guest of a sinner,

they said. But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,

Here and now, sir, I give half my possessions to charity; and if I have defrauded anyone, I will repay him four times over.

Jesus said to him,

Today salvation has come to this house–for this man too is a son of Abraham. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what is lost.

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The Collect:

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Some Related Posts:

Torture:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-inflict-torture/

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-are-tortured/

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There is much that is wearisome about the four Books of the Maccabees. Consider elderly Eleazar’s speech, set in the context of his flogging to death. Really, do you think that someone would be so eloquent in such a circumstance? By the way, there are more over-the-top righteous speeches in 4 Maccabees. But such speeches made the books of the Maccabees popular with many Christians, living under the threat of persecution, during the earliest centuries of the faith.

So Eleazar preferred to die while keeping the Law of God, as he understood it, rather than even pretend to obey the royal command to eat pork–and pork sacrificed to idol. The Apostle Paul, writing in 1 Corinthians 8, did not become upset about eating meat sacrificed to idols, for, as he wrote, there is only God. Yet he recommended not consuming such meat, so as not to confuse those who thought that pantheons were real. Eating such meat was lawful for him, but not permitted. Then there is Simon Peter’s vision of ritually unclean food in Acts 10:9-16.

What God has made clean, you must not call profane,

God said.

I am a Gentile–one raised Protestant. So, not only do I enjoy an occasional pork chop and a ham sandwich, but I even eat before Eucharist and consume meat on Fridays, including Good Friday. Food prohibitions beyond those associated with health concerns seem superfluous to me. Nevertheless, none of these facts negate the faith of Eleazar or the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes.

Speaking of food…

Jesus invited himself to eat with Zacchaeus, a tax collector and, in so doing, caused a scandal. The reason for the scandal was the profession of his host, Roman tax collecting. The Roman imperial tax collection system at the time encouraged corruption, for tax collectors lived off the excess funds they gathered. Zacchaeus seems to have especially corrupt and understandably despised, but he sought Jesus, who recognized potential in him and responded to that. Zacchaeus acted to make his repentance plain, for he volunteered to made resitution at a higher level than the Law of Moses required. Four-fold restitution was the rate mandatory for violent and deliberate destruction (Exodus 22:1), but two-fold restitution was the assigned rate for run-of-the-mill theft (Exodus 22:4 and 7). And Leviticus 6:5 and Numbers 5:7 specified that the rate of restitution in the case of voluntary confession and repayment was the amount stolen plus one-fifth.

I wonder what else Zacchaeus did. The Biblical narrative is silent on the matter, but one can assume safely that it reflected the positive impact of Jesus on his life. Our Lord ate with people such as Zacchaeus, thereby keeping “bad” company. One was not supposed to eat with “bad” company, according to respectable social norms at the time and place.

Jesus disregarded the appearance of propriety when he reached out to Zacchaeus. Eleazar gave his life when he maintained such appearances and obeyed his faith. I propose that there is a rule governing whether one ought to maintain the appearance of propriety: Why is one doing it? If the rationale is compassion, maintaining the appearance of propriety is probably justifiable, for many people cannot distinguish between appearances and reality. But if one is doing this to make one’s self look good, it is probably not justifiable. Would you, O reader, rather be Zacchaeus or Jesus at the dinner, or someone scoffing at the reality of that meal?

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/of-food-and-ritual-propriety/

Posted May 26, 2011 by neatnik2009 in 2023, Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1, November 21

Tagged with 2 Maccabees 6, Luke 19, Psalm 3, Torture, Zacchaeus

ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS REGNUM DEI/THE SEASON AFTER PENTECOST/"THE LONG GREEN SEASON"

Archive for the ‘Canadian Anglican Lectionary Year 1’ Category

Week of Proper 29: Friday, Year 1, and Week of Proper 29: Saturday, Year 1 13 comments

Week of Proper 29: Thursday, Year 1 16 comments

Week of Proper 29: Wednesday, Year 1 12 comments

Week of Proper 29: Tuesday, Year 1 15 comments

Week of Proper 29: Monday, Year 1 14 comments

Week of Proper 28: Saturday, Year 1 11 comments

Week of Proper 28: Friday, Year 1 8 comments

Week of Proper 28: Thursday, Year 1 7 comments

Week of Proper 28: Wednesday, Year 1 11 comments

Week of Proper 28: Tuesday, Year 1 10 comments

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