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
God exceeds our wildest imaginations. Yet God pities us, heals us, calls us become more than we are, and empowers us to accomplish that purpose. God calls us to be a people of priests. God equips us to shine the divine light into the world of the nonevangelized and the apostate, and to disciple the converted.
You, O reader, almost certainly do not read these devotions in the same manner in which I do. I know how much, contrary to my aversion to much repetition, I repeat myself. I know how often I repeat myself in these posts based on different lectionaries. I know that I have already repeated myself many times regarding the Gospel pericope for this Sunday as I repeat myself yet again–this time, regarding an ancient, supposedly orthodox hermeneutical tradition that is wrong because it violates the dogma of the perfection of Jesus.
At least since the time of St. Ephrem of Edessa (306/307-373), Jesus initially rejected the plea of the Syro-Phoenician woman heal her daughter, but the woman changed our Lord and Savior’s mind through her persistence . This tradition has informed every analysis of the pericope I have read in commentaries and heard in sermons, regardless of how liberal or conservative they were. St. Ephrem was orthodox, certainly according to the standards of his time.
That element of supposed orthodoxy is heretical. (That charge means much coming from me, one who owns a shirt that reads, “heretic.”) The thought of Jesus honestly calling he woman a “little bitch” (the closest translation in English) is one that runs afoul of sound Christology.
Jesus, who had purposefully entered Gentile territory, was testing the woman. He was making comments so she would refute them. He liked her answer, the one he wanted to hear. Then he healed her child.
Sometimes we need to say something, to express our faith audibly.
God exceeds our wildest imaginations. It welcomes and beckons those who are similar to us and those who have little in common with us. If that makes us uncomfortable, we have a spiritual problem. If we do, we need to take it to Jesus.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 24, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THOMAS À KEMPIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN NEWTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH, U.S. BAPTIST MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN OF THE SOCIAL GOSPEL
THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE
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
Testing God by violating commandments is a sin, as is accusing Jesus of being demon-possessed. Yet, as in the case of Job, complaining while innocent yet suffering is not (see Job 42:7-8). Nevertheless, one ought not to misinterpret the titular character of that book as being devoid of error. The error of Job and his alleged friends (who obviously misunderstood the course of his suffering) is also an error: presuming to know how God acts or should at least act. The test for us is the same as the test for Job: to have proper perspective.
Here is another test, one from St. Paul the Apostle: Are we living the life of faith? The answer key for that test is recognizing that Christ is among us. That is certainly a proper perspective! If we see Christ in others, we will treat them as we should. But do we recognize Christ in ourselves? The Golden Rule does command us to love others as we love ourselves. Each human being carries the image of God. Do we recognize it and act accordingly?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 20, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF BERNARD ADAM GRUBE, GERMAN-AMERICAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, COMPOSER, AND MUSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT BAIN OF FONTANELLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, MONK, MISSIONARY, AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF JOHANN FRIEDRICH HERTZOG, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
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
you call us to obey you, and you favor us with true freedom.
Keep us faithful to the ways of your Son, that,
leaving behind all that hinders us,
we may steadfastly follow your paths,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 41
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The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 9:22-10:11 (Thursday)
2 Kings 1:1-16 (Friday)
Deuteronomy 32:15-27, 39-43 (Saturday)
Psalm 16 (All Days)
2 Corinthians 13:5-10 (Thursday)
Galatians 4:8-20 (Friday)
Luke 9:21-27 (Saturday)
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To Yahweh I say, “You are my Lord,
my happiness is in none of the sacred spirits of the earth.”
–Psalm 16:2-3a, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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St. Paul the Apostle was perplexed with the Galatian Church. Many members of it had reverted to idolatry or to the Law of Moses, both of which he considered to be forms of spiritual slavery. As he instructed the Corinthian Church, the proper course of action was to pass the test and remember that they carried Jesus Christ inside them. In Christ, according to St. Paul, was liberation, although not to engage in negative activities, but to build up the faith community, and to pursue virtue (2 Corinthians 12:19-21).
The theme of rebelling against God unites these days’ readings. Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, laid incense upon their fire pans in violation of divine instructions. This constituted sacrilege and an attempt to control God.
Further, the sin of the two brothers was not simply that they went too far in their super-piety. Rather, they acted in utter disregard for the deity. God intended that the manifestation of His Presence would ignite the altar fire, marking His acceptance of His people’s devotion. Their intent was for the divine fire to ignite their own pans; that is, they were attempting to arrogate control of the deity for themselves.
—The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014), page 216
Divine fire consumed the two priests.
Disregard for God was present in the population as a whole. Idolatry and arrogance were difficult habits to break. This was true in Biblical times, as in the days of Elisha. It was true in the time that Jesus of Nazareth walked the face of the earth.
It remains true today, for human nature is a constant factor.
God is a consuming fire. Fire is a destructive force, reducing much to ashes. Yet destruction is frequently part of a creative process, as in the renewal of ecosystems in forests. Divine fire destroys the corrupt and idolatrous, and arrogant so that seeds of fidelity, justice, and humility may germinate.
Jesus faced a difficult decision, and he resolved to take up his cross. His challenge to the Apostles to do likewise has applied to members of generations for nearly 2000 years. Will we be faithful or will we seek the easy way out? Will we turn away from the truth, or will we act as people with Jesus Christ in them? Will we follow the fire of the Holy Spirit or will we risk the fire of divine punishment?
The choice is ours.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 8, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT, JULIA ANNE ELLIOTT, AND EMILY ELLIOTT, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITERS
THE FEAST OF SAINT HUMPHREY OF PRUM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF THEROUANNE
THE FEAST OF JOHN HAMPDEN GURNEY, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF GOD, FOUNDER OF THE BROTHERS HOSPITALLERS OF SAINT JOHN OF GOD
Above: Paul Writing His Epistles, by Valentin de Boulogne
Image in the Public Domain
Scolding Unto Repentance
MAY 28, 2024
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The Collect:
Loving God, by tender words and covenant promise
you have joined us to yourself forever,
and you invite us to respond to your love with faithfulness.
By your Spirit may we live with you and with one another
in justice, mercy, and joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37
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The Assigned Readings:
Hosea 14:1-9 (Protestant versification)/Hosea 14:2-10 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox versification)
Psalm 45:6-17
2 Corinthians 11:1-15
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Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your reign;
you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
–Psalm 45:6-7a, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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The arrangement of 2 Corinthians is not chronological, so Chapter 11 is part of a painful letter which St. Paul the Apostle wrote prior to Chapters 1 and 2. The tone of Chapters 10-13–scolding and sometimes threatening (as in 10:6)–comes from a place of disappointment. Sometimes a scolding is appropriate, for it can bring us back to our senses. Underlying the scolding is hope that it will have a positive effect.
Hope of return and restoration drives the conclusion of the Book of Hosea. God is willing to forgive Israel, a nation, which God calls to repent–to change its mind, to turn around–and to accept God’s generous love.
St. Paul loved the Corinthian Church, so he scolded it even as he stayed away to avoid causing needless pain. He called them to repent. The historical record indicates, however, that the Corinthian Church struggled with factionalism as late as a generation after the martyrdom of St. Paul. St. Clement of Rome wrote a letter to the congregation circa 100 C.E. In the opening of that document he made the following statement:
Because of our recent series of unexpected misfortunes and set-backs, my dear friends, we feel there has been some delay in turning our attention to the causes of dispute in your community. We refer particularly to the odious and unholy breach of unity among you, which is quite incompatible with God’s chosen people, and which a few hot-headed and unruly individuals have inflamed to such a pitch that your venerable and illustrious name, so richly deserving of everyone’s affection, has been brought into such disrepute.
—Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers (Penguin Books, 1987, page 23)
When God calls us to repent–even scolds us–may we respond more favorably.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 1, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF DANIEL MARCH, SR., U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS
and you invite us to respond to your love with faithfulness.
By your Spirit may we live with you and with one another
in justice, mercy, and joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37
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The Assigned Readings:
Hosea 3:1-5
Psalm 45:6-17
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11
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Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your reign;
you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
–Psalm 45:6-7a, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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St. Paul the Apostle had visited Corinth and had a difficult experience with the church there–or rather, with certain members of the church there. Then he wrote a scolding letter (Chapters 10-13 of 2 Corinthians, a book with a non-chronological organization). Afterward, to avoid causing more pain, the Apostle stayed away. His absence was, according to some, evidence of the Apostle’s vacillating nature. (Some people seem to thrive on criticizing others!) St. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1 and 2, explaining his rationale for staying away and announcing that he had forgiven the ringleader of the critics. The Apostle also encouraged his allies to forgive that person. The dispute had injured the body (to use a Pauline metaphor for the church), so continuing the unhappiness would make a bad situation worse.
Forgiveness is a difficult grace to bestow on the offender and on oneself much of the time. I know this difficulty firsthand and wonder why letting go of a burden as great as a grudge is frequently so hard. I have arrived at no satisfactory answer, but I do know that a grudge hurts the person who holds it.
The reading from Hosea is ambiguous regarding the identity of Hosea’s platonic female friend yet the metaphor is clear: that human relationship is like God’s relationship with Israel. Difficult times will occur, but restoration will become the new reality. Israel will
thrill over the LORD and over His bounty in the days to come.
–Hosea 3:5b, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The restoration of offenders can be a sensitive subject, for forgiveness seems to deny justice. Sometimes, I agree, offenders must face the consequences of their actions. Yet, much of the time, radical forgiveness is the best way into the future for the community, the society, the nation-state, and the individual. (I think especially of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the Republic of South Africa.) Taking an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth might curtail otherwise unrestrained vengeance, but should anyone seek revenge? Does not the quest for vengeance reveal the seeker’s protestation of righteousness to be a lie?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 1, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF DANIEL MARCH, SR., U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS
Almighty and eternal God, you show perpetual lovingkindness to us your servants.
Because we cannot rely on our own abilities,
grant us your merciful judgment,
and train us to embody the generosity of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 48
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The Assigned Readings:
Nahum 1:1, 14-2:2 (Thursday)
Nahum 2:3-13 (Friday)
Zephaniah 2:13-15 (Saturday)
Psalm 145:1-8 (All Days)
2 Corinthians 13:1-4 (Thursday)
2 Corinthians 13:5-10 (Friday)
Matthew 19:23-30 (Saturday)
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The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
–Psalm 145:8, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Death, desolation and destruction.
–Nahum 2:10a, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Those four words summarize the Old Testament readings for these days. The (Neo-)Assyrian Empire, notorious for its violence, had fallen. The Chaldeans/Neo-Babylonians, who had conquered them, were almost as bad, but two Biblical authors rejoiced at the fall of Assyria and declared that event to be God’s judgment.
Warnings precede judgments much of the time, especially in the Bible. 2 Corinthians 13, for example, contains a warning (verse 2) and calls for repentance. The Corinthian congregation was a notoriously troublesome assembly. Indeed, it remained so for decades (at least). You, O reader, might wish to consult the (First) Letter to the Corinthians (circa 100 C.E.) of St. Clement I of Rome (died circa 101 C.E.), which is authentic, for evidence of continued difficulties. A major problem was factionalism, one variety of attachment.
Attachments are of the essence in this post. The Assyrian rulers were attached to violence. One man in Matthew 20 was attached to money and possessions. Others were attached to relationships. No attachment should interfere with recognizing one’s total dependence on God and one’s reliance on other human beings and responsibilities to them.
These texts, among others, function as warnings to us today. Will we heed the notice and amend our ways as necessary and proper?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 16. 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN DIEFENBAKER AND LESTER PEARSON, PRIME MINISTERS OF CANADA; AND TOMMY DOUGLAS, FEDERAL LEADER OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
THE FEAST OF JOHN JONES OF TALYSARN, WELSH CALVINISTIC METHODIST MINISTER AND HYMN TUNE COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF BROTHER ROGER OF TAIZE, FOUNDER OF THE TAIZE COMMUNITY
Above: Hands of God and Adam, from the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican (Painted by Michelangelo)
In the Image of God
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
JUNE 4, 2023
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The Assigned Readings for This Sunday:
Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Psalm 8 or Canticle 13 from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Matthew 28:16-20
The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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As I read the assigned readings for Trinity Sunday in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary I came to focus on first creation myth from Genesis. This is a beautiful tale about human nature and divine nature, not a science text.
Next I poured over study notes in The Jewish Study Bible (available from Oxford University Press) and Professor Richard Elliott Friedman’s Commentary on the Torah (available from HarperCollins). I commend all these notes to anyone.
One note from The Jewish Study Bible stood out in my mind:
In the ancient Near East, the King was often said to be the “image” of the god and thus to act with divine authority. (page 14)
Then the note explains that the Biblical command is to care for nature, not exploit it.
In Genesis all people–not just monarchs–bear the image of God. This statement carries great implications for ethics. If we really believe that we bear the image of God, we will treat ourselves and each other with great respect.
Yet we need to balance the reality of the image of God with the fact of our sinfulness and weakness, the reality that we are dust. In Genesis God pronounced creation, of which we are part, “good.” So we are good, but we are flawed, too. We cannot save ourselves, but neither are we beyond hope. We might be lost, but we can be found. There is good news and there is bad news; to place excessive emphasis one side or to ignore the other is to misunderstand our spiritual reality.
Our spiritual reality is that, as St. Augustine of Hippo stated, our souls are restless until they rest in God. We came from God. From God we have strayed. And to God we need to return.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 21, 2010 COMMON ERA
Published originally at SUNDRY THOUGHTS OF KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on June 21, 2010
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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