According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
One may use the word “mystery” in at least two ways. One may think of a situation in which gathering more information will eliminate confusion and enable arriving at a firm answer. The Holy Trinity is a mystery, but not in that way. Even if we mere mortals had all the information about the nature of God, we could not understand it. We can barely grasp what we do know, and what we know raises more questions than it resolves. So be it. The second meaning of “mystery” is an ancient definition: One can know something only by living into it. One can know God by faith, for example.
The Feast of the Holy Trinity is the only Christian feast of a doctrine. It is more than that, though. Lutheran minister and liturgist Philip H. Pfatteicher recommends thinking of Trinity Sunday as:
…the celebration of the richness of the being of God and the occasion of a thankful review of the now completed mystery of salvation, which is the work of the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.
—Commentary on theLutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its Ecumenical Context (1990), 301
A doctrine–especially the Holy Trinity–can seem abstract. Some people (including moi) like abstractions. However, abstractions leave others cold and spiritually unmoved. Salvation is not abstract, however; it is tangible. And how it works is a mystery in at least the second meaning of the word.
Happy Trinity Sunday!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 27, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY; AND HIS SON, WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ALBANY; HYMN WRITERS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTONY AND THEODOSIUS OF KIEV, FOUNDERS OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MONASTICISM; SAINT BARLAAM OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT; AND SAINT STEPHEN OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET AND RELIGIOUS WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND SAINTS OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZITA OF TUSCANY, WORKER OF CHARITY
Trinity Sunday is the creation of Bishop Stephen of Liege (in office 903-920). The feast, universal in Roman Catholicism since 1334 by the order of Pope John XXII, is, according to the eminent Lutheran liturgist Philip H. Pfatteicher, author of the Commentary on the Lutheran Book of Worship (1990), not so much about a doctrine but
the now completed mystery of salvation, which is the work of the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.
–page 301
Famously the word “Trinity” appears nowhere in the Bible, and no single verse or passage gives us that doctrine. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the result of much debate, some fistfights, ecumenical councils, Roman imperial politics, and the pondering of various passages of scripture. The conclusion of 2 Corinthians and Matthew are two of those passages. Perhaps the best summary of that process in the fourth chapter in Karen Armstrong‘s A History of God (1994).
I, being aware that a set of heresies has its origin in pious attempts to explain the Trinity, refrain from engaging in any of those heresies or creating a new one. No, I stand in awe of the mystery of God and affirm that the Trinity is as close to an explanation as we humans will have. We cannot understand the Trinity, and God, I assume, is more than that.
The great myth in Genesis 1:1-2:4a, itself a modified version of the Enuma Elish, affirms, among other key theological concepts, (1) the goodness of creation and (2) the image of God in human beings. We are not an afterthought. No, we are the pinnacle of the created order. These themes carry over into Psalm 8. The standard English-language translation of one verse (which one it is depends on the versification in the translation one reads) is that God has created us slightly lower than the angels. That is a mistranslation. TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985) renders the germane passage as
The Hebrew word is Elohim, originally a reference to the council of gods, and therefore a remnant of a time before Jews were monotheists. An alternative translation is English is
a little lower than God,
which is better than
a little lower than the angels.
Studies of religious history should teach one that Elohim eventually became a synonym for YHWH.
“Little less than divine” seems like an optimistic evaluation of human nature when I consider the past and the present, especially when I think about environmental destruction and human behavior. But what if Pfatteicher is correct? What if the work of salvation is complete? What if the image of God is a great portion of our nature than the actions of many of us might indicate?
In Christ we can have liberation to become the people we ought to be. In Christ we can achieve our spiritual potential–for the glory of God and the benefit of others.
May we, by grace, let the image of God run loose.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 13, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CLIFFORD BAX, POET, PLAYWRIGHT, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT EUGENIUS OF CARTHAGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF JOHANNES RENATUS VERBEEK, MORAVIAN MINISTER AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF PETER RICKSEEKER, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, MUSICIAN, MUSIC EDUCATOR, AND COMPOSER; STUDENT OF JOHANN CHRISTIAN BECHLER, MORAVIAN MINISTER , MUSICIAN, MUSIC EDUCATOR, AND COMPOSER; FATHER OF JULIUS THEODORE BECHLER, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, MUSICIAN, EDUCATOR, AND COMPOSER
Trinity Sunday is frequently a difficult occasion to preach, for many heresies have their origin in attempts to explain the Trinity. Yet on this day, the only Christian feast devoted to a doctrine, one must say something.
The Bible offers a variety of images for God from Genesis to Revelation. Abraham and God, we read, took walks together and engaged in conversations. Yet, as we read in Exodus, the understanding of God had become one of a remote figure whose holiness was fatal to most people–Moses excepted. We read of the heavenly court, modeled after earthly royal courts, in Psalm 89. And we read in John 5 that Jesus and YHWH/God the Father have a relationship.
The full nature of divinity exceeds human capacity to grasp it, but we can know some truths. Hebrews 11 reminds us of the faithfulness of God in relating to we human beings. By faith, we read, people have committed great deeds that have glorified God and benefited others, even long past the lifespans of those who have committed those great deeds. The theme of relationship is also present in the Song of Songs (a book I advise reading in TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, 1985). The relationship in Song of Songs 8 is between a man and a woman (marital status unknown), whose love has placed their lives at risk. Love and death are linked for them.
Let me be a seal upon your heart,
Like the seal upon your hand.
For love is fierce as death,
Passion is mighty as Sheol;
Its darts are darts of fire,
A blazing flame.
Vast floods cannot quench love,
Nor rivers drown it.
If a man offered all his wealth for love,
He would be laughed to scorn.
–Song of Songs 8:6-7, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Neither can anything quench or drown divine love for us, despite our frequent lack of love for God. Yet for a relationship to be healthy, more than one figure must be engaged in maintaining it. May we embrace the mystery of the Holy Trinity and pursue and deepen a healthy relationship with God, whose goodness and mercy alone pursue us in Psalm 23.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 15, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN ELLERTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF CARL HEINRICH VON BOGATSKY, HUNGARIAN-GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LANDELINUS OF VAUX, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AUBERT OF CAMBRAI, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; URSMAR OF LOBBES, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND MISSIONARY BISHOP; AND DOMITIAN, HADELIN, AND DODO OF LOBBES, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS
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:
1 Kings 9:1-9, 11:1-13 or Ecclesiastes 8:1-17
Psalm 35
John 15:18-25 (26-27); 16:1-4a
2 Corinthians 12:11-21; 13:1-10 (11-13)
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One might suffer for any of a number of reasons. One might, as did Solomon, suffer for one’s sins; actions do have consequences, after all. Or one might suffer because of the sins of at least one other person. This is one reason one might suffer for the sake of righteousness. Or perhaps one might suffer for merely being at the wrong place at the wrong time. On other occasions there might be no apparent reason for one’s suffering.
This is a devotion for Trinity Sunday. Many attempts to explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity have resulted in heresy. I have resolved to cease trying to explain it and to revel in the glorious mystery instead. God is greater and more glorious than I can imagine; thanks be to God!
I do feel comfortable in making some comments, however. For example, Jesus of Nazareth (the historical figure) was the incarnated form of the Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son. I do not pretend to grasp the mechanics of the Godhead, but so be it. Jesus suffered and died, but not because of any sin of his; he committed none. God suffered due to human sinfulness and made something wondrous out of something brutal and base.
That extravagant grace imposes certain obligations on those who benefit from it. Among these obligations is building each other up. St. Paul the Apostle’s words on that topic remain as applicable today as they were in Corinth nearly 2000 years ago. Christ Jesus is in me. He is also in you, O reader. He is also in those around us. How will we treat them? We have Jesus, a role model, to emulate. Where would the human race be without him?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 16, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTIETH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF GUSTAF AULEN, SWEDISH LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT FILIP SIPHONG ONPHITHAKT, ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR IN THAILAND
THE FEAST OF MAUDE DOMINICA PETRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MODERNIST THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF RALPH ADAMS CRAM AND RICHARD UPJOHN, ARCHITECTS; AND JOHN LAFARGE, SR., PAINTER AND STAINED GLASS MAKER
Compassionate God, you have assured the human family of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Deliver us from the death of sin, and raise us to new life,
in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 39
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The Assigned Readings:
2 Samuel 14:1-11 (Thursday)
2 Samuel 14:12-24 (Friday)
2 Samuel 14:25-33 (Saturday)
Psalm 30 (All Days)
Acts 22:6-21 (Thursday)
Acts 26:1-11 (Friday)
Matthew 9:2-8 (Saturday)
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To you, Yahweh, I call,
to my God I cry for mercy.
–Psalm 30:8, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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We read of forgiveness in the lections from the New Testament. Saul of Tarsus receives forgiveness and a new mandate from God. (Grace is free yet not cheap.) Jesus forgives a man’s sins during a healing in Matthew 9. Critics who are present think that our Lord and Savior is committing blasphemy, for their orthodoxy makes no room for Jesus. The healed man becomes a former paralytic, but Christ’s critics suffer from spiritual paralysis.
The language of 2 Samuel 14 indicates that King David has not reconciled with his son Absalom, who had killed his (Absalom’s) half-brother, Amnon, who had raped his (Absalom’s) sister, Tamar, in the previous chapter before he (Absalom) had gone into exile. The entire incident of pseudo-reconciliation had been for the benefit of Joab. The false reconciliation proved to be as useless as false grace, for Absalom, back from exile, was plotting a rebellion, which he launched in the next chapter.
The juxtaposition of Saul of Tarsus/St. Paul the Apostle, the paralyzed man, and Absalom is interesting and helpful. Both Saul/Paul and Absalom had egos, but the former struggled with his self-image as he made a pilgrimage with Jesus. Absalom, in contrast, did not strive to contain his ego. No, he permitted it to control him. We know little about the paralyzed man, but we may assume safely that a runaway ego was not among his problems.
If we are to walk humbly with God, we must contextualize ourselves relative to God. We are, in comparison, but dust, and God is the proper grounding for human identity. Proper actions will flow from appropriate attitudes.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 4, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PAUL CUFFEE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY TO THE SHINNECOCK NATION
THE FEAST OF SAINT CASIMIR OF POLAND, PRINCE
THE FEAST OF EMANUEL CRONENWETT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARINUS OF CAESAREA, ROMAN SOLDIER AND CHRISTIAN MARTYR, AND ASTERIUS, ROMAN SENATOR AND CHRISTIAN MARTYR
All-powerful God, in Jesus Christ you turned death into life and defeat into victory.
Increase our faith and trust in him,
that we may triumph over all evil in the strength
of the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 39
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 28:9-13 (Thursday)
Deuteronomy 1:34-40 (Friday)
Psalm 130 (Both Days)
1 Peter 4:7-19 (Thursday)
2 Corinthians 5:1-5 (Friday)
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Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD
LORD, hear my voice;
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.
If you, LORD, were to note what is done amiss,
O Lord, who could stand?
–Psalm 130:1-2, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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Who indeed?
We read of judgment, mercy, and affliction in the pericopes for these two days. Faithfulness to God, especially when the depiction of God is that of one with a short fuse, is especially dangerous. And even when texts depict God as having more patience, persistent faithlessness remains perilous. The readings from the New Testament add the element of enduring suffering for the sake of righteousness faithfully. Trust in God and rejoice, they advise.
I recognize that judgment and mercy exist in God. Sometimes the former precedes the latter, but, on other occasions, mercy for some entails judgment on others. I prefer a utopia in which all is peace, love, mutuality, faithfulness to God, and other virtues, but that is not this world. If, for example, the oppressors refuse to refrain from oppressing, is not the deliverance of the oppressed sometimes the doom of the oppressors? We human beings make our decisions and must live with the consequences of them. Nevertheless, I choose to emphasize the mercy of God, but not to the exclusion of judgment. (I am not a universalist.) The depiction of God in much of the Torah disturbs me, for the divine temper seems too quick. I prefer the God of Psalm 130.
Nevertheless, enduring suffering for the sake of righteousness patiently and with rejoicing is something I have not mastered. I am glad that my circumstances have not led to such suffering. Yet I have endured some suffering with great impatience, finding God to be present with me during the ideal. I have rejoiced in the spiritual growth I have experienced in real time and after the fact, with the benefit of hindsight. Divine mercy has been especially evident in difficult circumstances.
I conclude that trusting God to fulfill divine promises is wise, for God is faithful. None of my doubts have led to divine retribution, fortunately. God has never failed me, but I have failed God often. Reducing the number of instances of failure is among the spiritual goals I am pursuing via grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 17, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF ARMAGH
and your words of justice and mercy reshape the world.
Mold us into a people who welcome your word and serve one another,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 40
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Kings 21:1-16 (Monday)
1 Kings 21:17-29 (Tuesday)
Psalm 119:161-168 (Both Days)
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 (Monday)
1 John 4:1-6 (Tuesday)
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Princes have persecuted me without a cause,
but my heart stands in awe of your word.
I am as glad of your word
as one who finds great spoils.
As for lies, I hate and abhor them,
but your law do I love.
–Psalm 119:161-163, Common Worship (2000)
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The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.
–Leviticus 25:23, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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But we belong to God….
–1 John 4:6a, The Revised English Bible (1989)
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As for brotherly love, there is no need to write to you about that, since you have yourselves learnt from God to love another….
–1 Thessalonians 4:9, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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One of the great lessons of the Bible is that we belong to God, the world belongs to God, and we are only tenants and stewards responsible to God and each other. The Law of Moses, in Leviticus 25:23-28, addresses the issue of the ownership, sale, purchase, and redemption of land in the light of that ethic. God is watching us and we have no right to exploit or trample each other. If God is our parental figure metaphorically (usually Father yet sometimes Mother; both analogies have merit), we are siblings. Should we not treat each other kindly and seek to build each other up?
King Ahab and his Canaanite queen, Jezebel, abused their power and violated the ethic I just described. Neither one was of good character. Jezebel plotted perjury, false accusations, and the execution of an innocent man. Ahab consented to this plan. His responsibility flowed partially from his moral cowardice, for he could have prevented his wife’s plot from succeeding. And he, of course, could have been content with what he had already in the beginning of the story. The man was the monarch, after all.
Many of us seek after wealth or try to retain it while laboring under the misapprehension that it does or should belong to us. Actually, all of it belongs to God. Yes, there is a moral responsibility in all societies to provide a basic human standard of living for all people, given the ethic of mutuality and the fact that there is sufficient wealth for everyone to have enough to meet his or her needs. (I do not presume that there is one way all societies must follow to accomplish this goal.) And, if more of us thought of ourselves as stewards and tenants answerable to God, not as lords and masters, a greater number of our fellow citizens would be better off. That is a fine goal to which to strive en route to the final destination of a society based on mutuality.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 24, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF IDA SCUDDER, REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA MEDICAL MISSIONARY IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF EDWARD KENNEDY “DUKE” ELLINGTON, COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JACKSON KEMPER, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF WISCONSIN
THE FEAST OF MOTHER EDITH, FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE SACRED NAME
As we have read elsewhere in Ecclesiastes, everybody will die. This has a negative connotation in that text, as if death is not a desirable life transition. For many people it is not one, but I have a different opinion. Yes, the manner of one’s exit can be unpleasant and fearsome. Consider the case of Jesus, en route to Jerusalem in John 11; he was a few days away from a crucifixion.
As for Lazarus, he had died. He was indisputably dead. Mary and Martha, his sisters, cared very much about his fact. Yet, as the rest of Chapter 11 tells us, it was not an irreversible state in his case. The man would die again, but not before his raising showed Christ’s power.
It is one thing to fear being dead and other to fear dying. I fear certain ways of dying yet have no fear of being dead. I have approached death’s door a few times. These experiences have liberated me from my fear of death itself and enabled me to embrace life itself. Life is far more than the opposite of death. To love life for what it is, not what it is not, is appropriate. And to do this is one way to express Christ’s power in us and to testify to it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 6, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE
THE FEAST OF ISAIAH, BIBLICAL PROPHET
THE FEAST OF JAN HUS, PROTO-PROTESTANT MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT PALLADIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
You shall not pollute the land in which you live; for blood pollutes the land, and the land can have no expiation for blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.
The Law of Moses is a peculiar code. It contains death penalties for a variety offenses yet provides cities of refuge for those who have committed manslaughter. Its violence is not universal. Yet a murderer must die, the Law says, for bloodshed pollutes the land and invites divine wrath. Oddly enough, the logic of the Law of Moses requires more bloodshed to expiate for the initial bloodshed of murder. So, since life is sacred and blood shed pollutes the land, people shed more blood. Huh? I do not understand.
I do not understand for several reasons. Some might note correctly that I am a practicing and professing liberal, one who recalls certain quotes from great men. Thaddeus Stevens, who argued for equality before God for all people, regardless of race or economics in the United States until his death in 1868, opposed capital punishment in Pennsylvania in the early 1840s, saying,
Society should know nothing of vengeance.
Mohandas Gandhi, who hopefully needs no introduction, commented that “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” leaves the world blind and toothless. And Martin Luther King, Jr., who really ought to need no introduction, said on April 4, 1967, that one cannot create peace via violent means. Mine is a Christian liberalism. The same Jesus who died via crucifixion did not return to life with a vengeful attitude. He seemed, in fact, quite forgiving. and he did not die by manslaughter. No, his was a judicial killing, a political execution. I do not perceive the moral difference between an execution and a murder. Jesus changes everything, including how I perceive the world. The Jesus I know bears little resemblance to the one of which I hear from Fundamentalists. No, he is much more complex, interesting, and forgiving.
With this post I end one sequence of posts; the lectionary will pair two different books beginning with the next post. If I have helped you, O reader, encounter the Jesus I know, I have succeeded. And I hope that the next sequence of posts will yield the same result.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 27, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CORNELIUS HILL, ONEIDA CHIEF AND EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE GEORGIAN, ABBOT; AND SAINTS EUTHYMIUS OF ATHOS AND GEORGE OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN, ABBOTS AND TRANSLATORS
THE FEAST OF PHILIP MELANCHTON, GERMAN LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN [WITH THE PRESENTATION OF THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION]
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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