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

Above:  Tares

Image in the Public Domain

Trust in God

JULY 30, 2023

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Isaiah 44:1-8

Psalm 86:11-17 (LBW) or Psalm 119:57-64 (LW)

Romans 8:26-27

Matthew 13:24-30 (36-43)

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Pour out upon us, O Lord,

the spirit to think and to do what is right,

that we, who cannot even exist without you,

may have the strength to live according to your will;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

OR

O God, you see how busy we are with many things. 

Turn us to listen to your teachings

and lead us to choose the one thing which will not be taken from us,

Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26

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Grant us, Lord, the Spirit to think

and to do always such things as are pleasing in your sight,

that we, who without you cannot do anything that is good,

may by you be enabled to live according to your will;

through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 70

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Second Isaiah’s insistence upon strict monotheism is consistent with Psalmists’ trust in God, especially during difficult times.  St. Paul the Apostle’s encouraging words tell us that the Holy Spirit comes to our aid in our weakness and intercedes for us.

I have been writing lectionary-based posts for more than a decade.  In that time, I have covered the Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) a few times.

All these posts are available at this weblog.

To turn to the topic at hand, trust in God is a theme in the Parable of the Weeds.  We may trust God to remove the darnel.  If we are fortunate, we are not poisonous weeds.  If we are unfortunate, we are darnel, and God will remove us in time.

All the readings speak of trust in God during perilous times.  Romans 8:26-27 exists in the context of what precedes it immediately:  suffering and hardship as birth pangs of a renewed creation.  Isaiah 44:6-8 exists in the context of the waning months of the Babylonian Exile.  Psalm 86 speaks of

a brutal gang hounding me to death

–verse 14, The Jerusalem Bible (1966).

Matthew 13 refers to poisonous weeds that initially resemble wheat in the Parable of the Weeds.  Who is wheat and who is darnel may not always be possible or easy to tell.  (I do know, however, that I habitually fail doctrinal purity tests.  Many people classify me as darnel.  So be it.)  Given the outward similarity of wheat and darnel, whom should one trust?  And, as we read in Psalm 11i:61,

…the nets of the wicked ensnare me.

—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible (2019)

Fortunately, we are not alone.  The Holy Spirit comes to our aid in our weakness and intercedes for us.  Do we trust that this is true?  Do we trust in God?

I can answer only for myself.  My answer to this question is,

Yes, usually.

What is your answer, O reader?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 17, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL BARNETT, ANGLICAN CANON OF WESTMINSTER, AND SOCIAL REFORMER; AND HIS WIFE, HENRIETTA BARNETT, SOCIAL REFORMER

THE FEAST OF EDITH BOYLE MACALISTER, ENGLISH NOVELIST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT EMILY DE VIALAR, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT JOSEPH OF THE APPARITION

THE FEAST OF JANE CROSS BELL SIMPSON, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN POET AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF MARK HOPKINS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, EDUCATOR, AND PHYSICIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINTS TERESA AND MAFALDA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESSES, QUEENS, AND NUNS; AND SAINT SANCHIA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESS AND NUN

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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA

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all nations.

Above:  Jacob Struggles with the Angel, from the Gutenberg Bible

Image in the Public Domain

Wrestling with God

JULY 30, 2023

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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Genesis 32:3-31 or Isaiah 14:5-20

Psalm 15

1 Corinthians 3:10-23

Matthew 10:1-15

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Jacob had been wrestling all his life.  In the womb he and his brother Esau had struggled with each other.  Jacob had, so to speak, wrestled with Esau during childhood and adulthood.  Jacob had also been wrestling with himself.  On the eve of what turned out to be reconciliation with Esau, Jacob literally wrestled with God or an angel in human form and received a blessing, as well as a limp.  Jacob, literally “supplanter,” also became Israel, literally “may God rule.”

I admire Judaism, from which I learn much.  One aspect of Judaism I find especially helpful is struggling with God as part of a relationship with God.  One finds evidence of that collective struggle throughout the Hebrew Bible.  One also finds evidence of divine judgment and mercy, hence restoration following exile.  The reading from Isaiah 14 is a song of taunting against the defeated Babylonian/Neo-Chaldean monarch.

According to the high standards of Psalm 15, not one of we mere mortals has any hope, except via grace.  Moral perfectionism is an impossible standard, but we should still strive to be the best versions of ourselves we can be.

St. Paul the Apostle wrote to the quarrelsome Corinthian church that it was God’s temple.  (The “you” is plural in the reading.)  That congregation needed to shape up and come closer to its spiritual potential.  Unfortunately, as anyone who has studied the (First) Letter to the Corinthians from St. Clement (I) of Rome (circa 100) should know, the congregation remained quarrelsome and troublesome for at least a generation after St. Paul’s demise.

As my father taught me, troubled people cause trouble..  They are like Jacob.  They are wrestling, metaphorically, with themselves and others.  Perhaps they are wrestling with God also.  In the meantime, in the context of congregational life, are holding a church back, and other members of that community are permitting them to do so.  This is a dynamic present in come congregations I have observed.

One progression in the Gospel of Matthew is the expansion of the audience for the message.  The audience in 7:6 consists of Jews.  Yet, in 28:19, the audience is

I, as a Gentile, am grateful for this expansion of the audience.  Through it the wisdom of Judaism, has come to me.  As I struggle with God, others, and myself, I hope that I cause no trouble in churches.  I hope that I am improving spiritually.  I hope that people will recognize the light of Christ in me.  To the extent any of this comes true, God deserves all the glory.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 24, 2018 COMMON ERA

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

THE FEAST OF JOHN NEWTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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

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

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/07/24/wrestling-with-god-part-ii/

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Above:   Apollo and Artemis

Image in the Public Domain

Choices

JULY 30, 2023

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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Judges 7:2-8, 19-23

Psalm 83

Acts 19:21-41

John 5:25-29

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Let them know that you alone,

whose name is the LORD,

are the Most High over all the earth.

–Psalm 83:18, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

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All glory belongs to God; that is a Biblical principle.  We find it, for example, in Psalm 83.  We read of Gideon’s diminishing army in Judges 7.  All glory belongs to God.  The preaching of St. Paul the Apostle threatens the economic status of artisans who create idols for the cult of Artemis in Acts 19.  All glory belongs to God.

Encountering the divine glory imposes certain responsibilities upon one.  Grace is indeed free yet certainly not cheap.  How should we respond to the glory of God?  Will one accept it for what it is and acknowledge one’s inadequacy or will one double down on one’s idolatry?  The choice one makes will have consequences for one.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 17, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF EDITH BOYLE MACALISTER, ENGLISH NOVELIST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT EMILY DE VIALAR, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT JOSEPH OF THE APPARITION

THE FEAST OF JANE CROSS BELL SIMPSON, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN POET AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINTS TERESA AND MAFALDA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESSES, QUEENS, AND NUNS; AND SANCHIA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESS AND NUN

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/choices/

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Above:  The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem, by David Roberts

Image in the Public Domain

The Apocalyptic Discourse, Part III

JULY 30, 2023

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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 life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 4:32:40 or Isaiah 65:10-16 (17-25) or Ezekiel 7:(1-9) 10-27 or Zechariah 14:(1-3) 4-9 (10-21)

Psalm 50:(7-8) 9-21 (22-23) or Psalm 105:(1-6) 12-15 (26) 27-36 (37, 43-45)

Matthew 24:15-22 or Mark 13:14-20 or Luke 21:20-24

1 Corinthians 10:(14-17) 18-11:1

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The ominous tone of judgment hangs over the readings for this Sunday.  How dare those who have witnessed the power and the mercy of God disregard Him?  Yet we find mercy combined with judgment.  Besides apocalyptic destruction of the corrupt human order, based on violence and exploitation, precedes the establishment of God’s new order on Earth.

I think it important to point out that offenses in the readings are not just personal peccadilloes.  Social injustice is a recurring theme in apocalyptic literature, which therefore emphasizes institutionalized sins.  The pericope from 1 Corinthians reminds us of the truth that whatever we do affects other people.  We should therefore act according to the moral obligation to consider the scruples of others.  I propose that this is a fine principle one can take too far, for, if we become too sensitive regarding the scruples of others, we will do little or nothing, certainly little or nothing good.  The guiding principle (from 10:31) is to behave for the glory of God.

There is no sin in glorifying God and effecting the common good.  There is no sin in not exploiting anyone.  There is no sin in loving one’s neighbors and recognizing one’s obligations to them in the societal web of interdependence.  There is no sin in making love the rule of life (2 John 5b-6).

Doing so does not prompt the judgment of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 17, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, ABOLITIONIST AND FEMINIST; AND MARIA STEWART, ABOLITIONIST, FEMINIST, AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB AND DOROTHY BUXTON, FOUNDERS OF SAVE THE CHILDREN

THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER

THE FEAST OF MARY CORNELIA BISHOP GATES, U.S. DUTCH REFORMED HYMN WRITER

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/12/17/the-apocalyptic-discourse-part-iii/

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This is post #850 of ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS.

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Above:  Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, by Heinrich Hofmann

Image in the Public Domain

Attachments

JULY 28-30, 2022

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The Collect:

Benevolent God, you are the source, the guide, and the goal of our lives.

Teach us to love what is worth loving,

to reject what is offensive to you,

and to treasure what is precious in your sight,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 44

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The Assigned Readings:

Proverbs 23:1-11 (Thursday)

Proverbs 24:1-12 (Friday)

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 (Saturday)

Psalm 49:1-12 (All Days)

Romans 11:33-36 (Thursday)

Ephesians 4:17-24 (Friday)

Mark 10:17-22 (Saturday)

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In prosperity people lose their good sense,

they become no better than dumb animals.

So they go on in their self-assurance,

right up to the end they are content with their lot.

–Psalm 49:12-13, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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The assigned readings, taken together, caution against becoming attached to temporal and transitory things, trusting in one’s imagined self-sufficiency, and endangering the resources of orphans.  We should, rather, focus on and trust in God, whose knowledge is inscrutable and ways are unsearchable.  One of the timeless principles of the Law of Moses is complete human dependency upon God.  Related to that principle are the following ones:

1. We are responsible to each other,
2. We are responsible for each other, and
3. We have no right to exploit each other.

In Mark 10 Jesus encounters a wealthy man who has led a moral life.  He has not killed, committed adultery, stolen, borne false witness, defrauded anyone, or dishonored his parents.  Yet the man is attached to his money and possessions.  Our Lord and Savior tells him to detach himself by ridding himself of his wealth.  The man, crestfallen, leaves.

I ponder that story and ask myself how it would be different had the man been poor.  He still would have had some attachment of which to rid himself.  The emphasis of the account, therefore, is attachments, not any given attachment.  These attachments are to appetites, whether physical, psychological, or spiritual.

The challenge is, in the words of Ephesians, to clothe ourselves

with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

–4:24, The Revised English Bible (1989)

Fortunately, we have access to grace.  We also have a role model, Jesus.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 18, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT LEONIDES OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR; ORIGEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN; SAINT DEMETRIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT ALEXANDER OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANSELM II OF LUCCA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, BISHOP, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL OF CYPRUS, EASTERN ORTHODOX MARTYR

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/attachments/

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Above:  Agape Feast

Image in the Public Domain

Insensitivity to Human Needs

JULY 29-31, 2021

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The Collect:

O God, eternal goodness, immeasurable love,

you place your gifts before us; we eat and are satisfied.

Fill us and this world in all its need with the life that comes only from you,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 44

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The Assigned Readings:

Exodus 12:33-42 (Thursday)

Exodus 12:43-13:2 (Friday)

Exodus 13:3-10 (Saturday)

Psalm 78:23-29 (All Days)

1 Corinthians 11:17-22 (Thursday)

1 Corinthians 11:27-34 (Friday)

Matthew 16:5-12 (Saturday)

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So mortals ate the bread of angels;

he provided for them food enough.

–Psalm 78:25, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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The Passover meal, from which we Christians derive the Holy Eucharist, originates from the context of divine liberation of slaves from an empire founded upon violence, oppression, and exploitation.  The Passover meal is a communal spiritual exercise, a rite of unity and a reminder of human dependence on God.

The readings from 1 Corinthians 11 refer to abuses of the agape meal, or the love feast, from which the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist evolved.  There was a sacred potluck meal inside house churches.  The idea was that people gave as they were able and received as they had need to do so.  There was enough for everybody to have enough–a spiritual principle of the Kingdom of God–when all went was it was supposed to do.  Unfortunately, in the Corinthian church, some of the wealthy members were eating at home prior to services, thus they chose not to share with less fortunate, who did not have access to enough good meals.  This bad attitude led to the love feast becoming a means of division–especially of class distinctions–not of unity, and therefore of unworthy consumption of the sacrament by some.  Is not becoming drunk at a love feast an example of unworthy consumption?  And is not partaking of the sacrament with a selfish attitude toward one’s fellow church members an example of unworthy consumption?

“The leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6) refers to forms of piety which depend upon wealth, thereby writing off the poor “great unwashed” as less pious and defining the self-proclaimed spiritual elites as supposedly holier.  The Pharisees and the Sadducees, who collaborated with the Roman occupiers, could afford to pay religious fees, but most people in Judea lived a hand-to-mouth existence.  The combination of Roman and local taxes, fees, and tolls was oppressive.  And keeping the purity codes while struggling just to survive was impossible.  Jesus argued against forms of piety which perpetuated artificial inequality and ignored the reality that all people depend entirely on God, rely on each other, and are responsible to and for each other.

To this day teaching that we depend entirely upon God, rely on each other, and are responsible to and for each other will get one in trouble in some churches.  I recall some of the congregations in which I grew up.  I think in particular of conversations between and among parishioners, many of whom considered such ideas too far to the theological and political left for their comfort.  Many of them labored under the illusion of rugged individualism and embraced the “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” mentality.  Those ideas, however, were (and remain) inconsistent with the biblical concepts of mutuality and recognition of total dependence upon God.  May we put those idols away and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 6, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF CARTHAGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR

THE FEAST OF DANIEL G. C. WU, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MISSIONARY TO CHINESE AMERICANS

THE FEAST OF FREDERIC BARKER, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF SYDNEY

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Adapted from this post:

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/insensitivity-to-human-needs/

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Above:  Antonius Felix

1 Samuel and Acts, Part VI:  Rejection and Violence

Image in the Public Domain

JULY 28-30, 2023

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

1 Samuel 13:1-18 (July 28)

1 Samuel 14:47-15:9 (July 29)

1 Samuel 15:10-35 (July 30)

Psalm 67 (Morning–July 28)

Psalm 51 (Morning–July 29)

Psalm 54 (Morning–July 30)

Psalms 46 and 93 (Evening–July 28)

Psalms 85 and 47 (Evening–July 29)

Psalms 28 and 99 (Evening–July 30)

Acts 23:12-35 (July 28)

Acts 24:1-23 (July 29)

Acts 24:24-25:12 (July 30)

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In 1 Samuel we read two accounts of how Samuel and Saul fell out with each other. (These things happen in parts of the Hebrew Scriptures due to the editing together of different sources.)  The first story tells of Saul making an offering Samuel should have performed.  The other version entails Samuel and his soldiers not killing enough people and livestock.  How making an offering or not killing more people and livestock is supposed to offend God eludes me beyond a purely historical-literary critical level of understanding texts and traditions, for I am a liberal Christian and a generally peaceful person.  Violence offends me and ritual sacrifices are foreign to me.

But the rejection of Saul by God occupies the readings from 1 Samuel.  The story of Saul, which ended badly, began with Samuel warning the people that they really did not want a monarch.  Saul’s reign seems to have proven Samuel’s case.  And the reigns of subsequent kings did likewise.

Rejection and violence also figure prominently in the Acts lessons.  Paul evaded plots on his life yet remained in custody for two years.  His offense was, as The New Jerusalem Bible translates part of 24:5, being

a perfect pest.

That did not justify such extreme measures, though.

Rejection and violence unify the sets of readings.  The God of these lessons is, in the words of Psalm 99:4 (The New Jerusalem Bible), one who

loves justice

and has

established honesty, justice and uprightness.

I recognize that description in Acts 23-25 but not in 1 Samuel 13-15.  That does not indicate a fault within me.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 5, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS OF ASIA

THE FEAST OF HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK, NORTHERN BAPTIST PASTOR

THE FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH, 1972 

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/1-samuel-and-acts-part-vi-rejection-and-violence/

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Above:  An Old Family Bible

Image Source = David Ball

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God of glory,

as we prepare to study the Bible,

may we approach the texts with our minds open,

our intellects engaged,

and our spirits receptive to your leading,

so that we will understand them correctly

and derive from them the appropriate lessons.

Then may we act on those lessons.

For the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Amen.

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KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 7, 2011 COMMON ERA

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

THE FEAST OF FRED KAAN, HYMNWRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHN WOOLMAN, ABOLITIONIST

Above: The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, by Caravaggio, 1608

Risks of Prophesy

JULY 30, 2022

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

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Jeremiah 26:11-16, 24 (TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures):

The priests and prophets said to the officials and to all the people,

This man deserves the death penalty, for he has prophesied against this city, as you yourselves have heard.

Jeremiah said to the officials and to all the people,

It was the LORD who sent me to prophesy against this House and this city all the words you heard.  Therefore mend your ways and your acts, and heed the LORD your God, that the LORD may renounce the punishment He has decreed for you.  As for me, I am in your hands:  do to me what seems good and right to you.  But know that if you put me to death, you and this city and its inhabitants will be guilty of shedding the blood of an innocent man.  For in truth the LORD has sent me to you, to speak all these words to you.

Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and prophets,

This man does not deserve the death penalty, for he spoke to us in the name of the LORD our God.

…

However, Ahikam son of Shapan protected Jeremiah, so that he was not handed over to the people for execution.

Psalm 140:1-5 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers;

protect me from the violent,

2  Who devise evil in their hearts

and stir up strife all day long.

3  They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent;

adder’s poison is under their lips.

4  Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;

protect me from the violent,

who are determined to trip me up.

5  The proud have hidden a snare for me

and stretched out a net of cords;

they have set traps for me along the path.

Matthew 14:1-13 (J. B. Phillips, 1972)

About this time Herod, governor of the province, heard the reports about Jesus and said to his men,

This must be John the Baptist:  he has risen from the dead.  That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.

For previously Herod had arrested John and had him bound and put in prison, all on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip.  For John had said to him,

It is not right for you to have this woman.

Herod wanted to kill him for this, but he was afraid of the people, since they all thought John was a prophet.  But during Herod’s birthday celebrations Herodias’ daughter delighted him by dancing before his guests, so much that he swore to give her anything she liked to ask.  And she, prompted by her mother, said,

I want you to give me, here and now, on a dish, the head of John the Baptist!

Herod was appalled at this, but because he had sworn in front of his guests, he gave orders that she should be given what she had asked.  So he sent men and had John beheaded in the prison.  Then his head was carried in on a dish and presented to the young girl who handed it to her mother.  Later, John’s disciples came, took his body and buried it.  Then they went and told the news to Jesus.  When he heard it he went away by boat to a deserted place, quite alone.

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The Collect:

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Week of Proper 12:  Saturday, Year 1:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/week-of-proper-12-saturday-year-1/

Feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (August 29):

http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/feast-of-the-beheading-of-st-john-the-baptist-martyr-august-29/

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Jeremiah was just one prophet proclaiming the word of YHWH.  Another one was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim, who, like Jeremiah, faced the possibility of execution.  Uriah had fled to Egypt, but officials of King Jehoiakim had brought him back, killed him, and thrown his body into “the burial place of the common people” (26:23).  Yet Jeremiah lived, thanks to protection from Ahikam, son of King Josiah’s scribe, Shaphan.

Saint John the Baptist had condemned Herod Antipas, a client ruler for the Roman Empire, for entering into an incestuous marriage.  Antipas, a man of bad character, allowed the execution of John rather than lose face.  Contrast this behavior with Old Testament depictions of God as one who prefers mercy to an inexorable pronouncement of judgment.

Saint John the Baptist lacked a human protector, but one such person saved Jeremiah’s life.  May we, if opportunity presents itself, save the prophets among us, or at least refuse to be silent when we can speak up for them.

KRT

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

Image in the Public Domain

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

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

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

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

We pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That

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

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

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

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

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

That we may be good stewards of Mother Earth,

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

We intercede for

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

I invite your prayers, silent or aloud.

(Pause)

We pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

We thank you for

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

I invite your thanksgivings, silent or aloud.

(Pause)

We pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

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

we pray to you, O God,

Hear our prayer.

The celebrant concludes with a collect.