Above:  St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Milledgeville, Georgia, April 30, 2017

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

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Incarnated God, thank you for the precious gift of Jesus.

Thank you, also, for the seven sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, in which our Lord, your Son, is present with us.

We are what we consume.  May we, by eating the body and drinking the blood of Jesus in transubstantiated forms, become more like Jesus.

And thank you for all spiritual blessings you have imparted to us via this blessed sacrament.

In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity.  Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 31, 2010 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

Published originally at GATHERED PRAYERS COLLECTED BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

Above:  Government (1896), by Elihu Vedder, from the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA

Image in the Public Domain

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Gracious God, you have taught us to love one another actively and effectively, binding us together in common life.

We pray for–not about–all who seek or hold public office.

We ask that they will seek and understand correctly the common good and the most effective and morally acceptable ways to accomplish that goal.  When traditions work well, may they persist.  But when the quiet dogmas of the past prove ineffectual in the stormy present, may our leaders–and we–think anew and act anew.

May those who seek or hold public office appeal to the higher angels of our nature, eschewing appeals to our prejudices, hatreds, and unfounded antipathies, which detract from the common good.  May our leaders and prospective leaders safeguard civil rights and liberties for all persons, protecting inalienable rights and avoiding the tyranny of the majority.

And may we, as a people, be patient when that is appropriate.  Many solutions require time to work themselves out.  Rome was not built in a day, and major problems did not arise overnight; so why should all fixes be quick ones?

In your name we pray.  Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 13, 2010 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JEREMY TAYLOR

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NOTE:  If you are quite observant and well-informed in early U.S. history, O reader, you will recognize references to the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln.  Long have I loved that part of my nation’s character which enunciates high ideals and struggles to live up to them, improving with time.  No amount of idealism can erase the baser elements of human nature, but they can show us a better way.–KRT

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Published originally at GATHERED PRAYERS COLLECTED BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on August 13, 2010

Above:  Terebinth Trees (Such as Those at Mamre)

Image in the Public Doman

Nothing is Too Wonderful for God

JULY 1, 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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FIRST READING:  Genesis 18:1-15 (An American Translation):

The LORD appeared to him [Abraham] at the terebinth of Mamre, as he was sitting at the doorway of his tent in the heat of the day.  Raising his eyes, he saw three men standing near him.  On seeing them, he ran from the door of his tent to meet them, and bowing to the earth, said,

O sirs, if perchance I find favor with you, please do not pass by without stopping with your servant.  Let a little water be brought to wash your feet, and stretch yourselves out under the tree, while I fetch a bit of food that you may refresh yourselves.  Afterward you may proceed on your way, since you will then have paid your servant a visit.

They said,

Do as you propose.

So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said,

Quick, three seahs of the best flour!  Knead it, and make it into cakes.

Abraham then ran to the heard, and picked out a bullock, tender and plump, which he gave to a servant, who quickly prepared it.  Then, taking curds and milk and the bullock that he had prepared, he set them before them, and as he waited on them under the tree, they ate.

Where is your wife Sarah?

they said to him.

Inside the tent there,

said he.

Then he said,

I will come back to you at the time for life to appear, when your wife Sarah shall have a son.

Now Sarah was behind the door of the tent listening.  Since both Abraham and Sarah were old, being well advanced in life, and women’s periods had ceased with Sarah, Sarah laughed to herself, saying,

Now that I am worn out and my husband old, can there be marriage pleasure for me?

The LORD said to Abraham,

Why is it that Sarah laughs, saying, ‘Can I really bear a child when I am so old?’  Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?  I will come back to you at the appointed time, at the time for life to appear, and Sarah will have a son.

Because she was afraid, Sarah denied it, saying,

I did not laugh.

He said,

No, but you did laugh.

RESPONSE, OPTION #1:  Canticle 15 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

(The Magnificat, Luke 1:46-55)

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed;

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and his lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel,

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

The promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

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.

RESPONSE, OPTION #2:  Psalm 123 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 To you I lift up my eyes,

to you enthroned in the heavens.

2 As the eyes of the servants look to the hand of their masters,

and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

3 So our eyes look to the LORD our God,

until he show us his mercy.

4 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy,

for we have had more than enough of contempt,

5 Too much of the scorn of the indolent rich,

and of the derision of the proud.

GOSPEL READING:  Matthew 8:5-17 (An American Translation):

When he [Jesus] got back to Capernaum, a Roman captain came up and appealed to him,

My servant, sir, is lying sick with paralysis at my house, in great distress.

He said to him,

I will come and cure him.

But the captain answered,

I am not a suitable person,sir, to have you come under my roof, but simply say the word, and my servant will be cured.  For I am myself under the orders of others and I have soldiers under me, and I tell one to go, and he comes, and my slave to do something, and he does it.

When Jesus heard this he was astonished, and said to his followers,

I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such faith as this.  And I tell you, many will come from the east and from the west and take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of of Heaven, while the heirs to the kingdom will be driven into the darkness outside, there to weep and grind their teeth!

Then Jesus said to the captain,

Go!  You shall find it just as you believe!

And the servant was immediately cured.

Jesus went into Peter’s house, and there he found Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with fever.  And he touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and waited on him.

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The Collect:

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

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First, a technical note:  There is much similarity between the content of Genesis 17 (from the previous post) and that of Genesis 18 (from this post).  The most likely reason for this is that the two chapters come from different sources.  Professor Richard Elliott Friedman identifies Genesis 17 as coming from the Priestly source and Genesis 18 as having Yahwistic origin.  I have no reason to doubt these conclusions.

But let us not become so preoccupied with higher biblical criticism that we forget to read the Bible for formation, not just information.  The purpose of this post is devotional, after all.  So, without further ado, I turn to my theme for today.  That theme is “Nothing is too wonderful for God.”

In Genesis 18, God, whom Abraham knows as El Shaddai, or God of the Mountains, appears in the flesh.  This is a mysterious incarnation; whether the author (J) means to say that God is all three men or that God and two angels visit, is vague.  Anyhow, God appears to Abraham in the flesh and delivers good news to Abraham and Sarah.  Abraham extends his visitors the hospitality his culture requires, thereby demonstrating great respect.  And Sarah, eavesdropping, laughs when she hears that she will be a mother.  It is a laugh of doubt, one God does not seem to hold against her.

The pairing of the Magnificat with Genesis 18:1-15 is appropriate.  Although Mary and Sarah were at different stages of life, the pregnancy of each was a profound grace for each and for succeeding generations.  Both lives demonstrate the grace is the great leveler, and that God is very generous.

With that thought fresh in mind, let us continue to Matthew 8:5-17.  The Roman Centurion was, by profession, an agent of the oppression and occupation of the Jews.  Yet Jesus found great faith in the man, who asked healing for his paralyzed servant, not for himself.  Then our Lord and Savior healed the mother-in-law of Simon Peter.  Jesus extended grace to Jews and Gentiles alike.  The text does not indicate whether the servant believed in the healing power of Jesus, or if the mother-in-law did.  It does say, however, that the centurion believed and implies that Peter did, also.

Nothing is too wonderful for God.  Sometimes we doubt this, given our circumstances and our interpretation of them.  God can break through our doubts and confirm the faith of others, however.  God’s best plan for us is more wonderful than anything we can imagine.  By grace, may we embrace the divine imagination and dream with God.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/nothing-is-too-wonderful-for-god/

Chrysalis

(Photograph by Pollinator)

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I wrote this prayer in 2007, after my life had collapsed.  To post this prayer now seems appropriate, given the substance of the devotion for Proper 4, Year A.

KRT

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Everything I once considered certain

Is uncertain;

What I once thought I knew

Was wrong.

Earthquakes have shaken my

My presumptions and illusions.

I am dying,

Only to be reborn—

But as what and as whom and when?

Death hurts;

Rebirth is painful, too.

Yet I trust in God—

Most of the time.

Yet I am at peace—

Some of the time.

Dear God, I implore you,

Please forgive me

For my inconstancy,

Comfort me in my pain and grief,

And guide me along your

Path to serenity.

Amen.

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Rien je songais être certain

Est certain;

Tout j’imagais que je savais

Furent incorrect.

Des tremblements de terre ébranlerent

Mes présumptions et mes illusions.

Je meurs,

Seulement éprouver une renaissance—

Mais a quoi et a qui et quand?

La mort fait du mal;

La renaissance fait souffrir aussi.

Mais je met confiance en Dieu—

Ordinairement.

Mais je suis en paix—

Quelquefois.

Mon Dieu, je vous implore,

S’il vous plait pardonnez-moi

Pour mon caractère changeant,

Consolez-moi en ma peine et ma douleur,

Et guidez-moi en votre

Chemin à la sérénité.

Amen.

Kenneth Randolph Taylor

May 2007

Loving God, anger is seductive

and our self-defense mechanisms lead us frequently

to ignore inconvenient facts and truths.

And, when people confront us,

sometimes we become rude and obnoxious.

Parts of the mass media feed off this tendency.

Yet reality is objective,

and no amount of repetition of mantras, doctrines, and dogmas

can change this fact.

Furthermore, nobody is entirely correct or incorrect all the time.

So may we have enough humility to recognize when we are objectively wrong

and others are objectively right.

May we embrace love, empathy, and compassion, seeking active virtue.

May our lives become prayer pleasing to you.

May we become Jesus to each other.

May we value people more than objects,

and the intangible more than the tangible.

May we reject all phobias and isms which denigrate people.

May we have what Martin Luther King, Jr., called a “revolution of values.”

In the name of the God.  Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 3, 2010 COMMON ERA

FEAST OF STS. JOANNA, MARY MAGDALENE, AND SALOME, WITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTION

Published Originally at GATHERED PRAYERS COLLECTED BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on August 3, 2010

Above:  The Madonna in Sorrow, by Sassoferrao, Seventeenth Century

Image in the Public Domain

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You learned you were pregnant

Outside of wedlock?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

The anonymous, thronging crowds

Ignored you in your hour of need in Bethlehem?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You experienced birth pangs,

As well as the stresses of parenthood?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

Your eldest son confused you,

Then seemed to reject you?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You watched your eldest son die?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You buried your eldest son?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You discovered your resurrected son?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You ascended and became

Queen of Heaven?

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O Blessed Mother,

Strong and humble,

Faithful and human,

Intercede for us.

Amen.

Kenneth Randolph Taylor

May 30, 1997

Above:  The Good Samaritan, by Rembrandt

Image in the Public Domain

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Embracing God,

you show no partiality in the sense we humans do.

All people who follow you are acceptable to you,

regardless of human-imposed labels.

Yet we, in our sinfulness,

insist on such destructive and judgmental standards.

Forgive us, I pray, and transform our vision,

so that we will, like you,

look inwardly, not superficially.

May we drop our self-defensive religious practices,

which serve to harm and denigrate others,

and embrace long ones consistent with your ethic.

I pray this in the name of

our Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ,

who violated destructive religious practices routinely.

I pray this in the name of

the One whom I have promised to follow.

Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 19, 2010 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF MACRINA THE YOUNGER

Published Originally at GATHERED PRAYERS COLLECTED BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on July 19, 2010

Above:  “Shalom” in Hebrew

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O Yahweh, may we who seek you find you.

May your Shalom envelop and pervade us,

ooze out of our pores and flow from all our words and deeds.

May we become instruments of divinely-inspired love and wholeness,

making no space for improper confrontation and all insults and hatred.

May individuals, familes, congregations, communities,clans,  tribes, and nations be whole

and justice plentiful in all its forms.

May this occur for the common benefit of all and your glory.

And, by grace, may I play my part faithfully in this sacred endeavour.  Amen.

Kenneth Randolph Taylor

March 9, 2010 (The Feast of Saint Gregory of Nyssa)

Loving God, we pray for those who, in their times of need,

have only the Holy Spirit to intercede for them.

May they know that you love them,

are present with them,

and hold them in your loving arms.

Send to them, we ask of you, agents of your grace,

so that they may know this tangibly.

In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritu Sancti.  Amen.

Kenneth Randolph Taylor

October 31, 2009

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

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Compassion is inherently active, and therefore evident or absent in deeds.

KRT

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Passionate God of the Incarnation,

you have reminded us repeatedly

of how much you care for and about us,

and of what you expect of us.

We have heard the call to love one another as we love ourselves

and we have read the scriptural injunctions against economic injustice.

So why have not more of us heeded these calls more often?

Why do we support systems of economic injustice

and perpetuate racial, ethnic, and religious bigotry?

Forgive us, dear Lord.

And may we, by grace,

act compassionately and effectively to create

a beloved community of human justice founded on divine compassion,

so that we may revel in each other compassionately in this life

and glorify and enjoy you forever.

AMEN.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 COMMON ERA

THE FEASTS OF ANNA E. B. ALEXANDER (EPISCOPAL DEACONESS), CHRISTIAN X OF DENMARK AND HAAKON VII OF NORWAY (KINGS), PAULINE SPERRY (MATHEMATICIAN AND POLITICAL ACTIVIST), AND ROBERT MCAFEE BROWN (ECUMENIST)

Published originally at GATHERED PRAYERS COLLECTED BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on September 24, 2010