Archive for the ‘2 Corinthians 5’ Tag
Above: Israeli Stamp of David
Image in the Public Domain
Repentance
JULY 28, 2024
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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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Exodus 12:1-14 or 2 Samuel 11:26-12:15
Psalm 52
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Mark 6:1-13
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Repentance, as any theologically literate person should,know, is changing one’s mind and turning around. Repentance does not necessarily negate temporal consequences of sins, however. We still reap what we sow. If we sow love rather than evil, we will reap love rather than evil. We may still suffer for various reasons, ranging from the evil of others to the no cause we can discern, but we will suffer in the company of God, at least.
I choose to focus on a few aspects I noticed in some of the readings.
David was a troublesome character, as the story we began to read about him last week and finished this week made clear. Yet he accepted the uncomfortable words from the prophet Nathan. Other kings had yes-men for prophets, but David had Nathan.
One cannot use the imagery of the Jesus as the Passover Lamb to justify Penal Substitutionary Atonement and be intellectually honest. If one pays attention, one notices that the blood of the original Passover lambs saved the Hebrews from the consequences of Egyptians’ sins, not their sins.
St. Augustine of Hippo, writing about our Lord and Savior’s instructions to his Apostles in Mark 6:6b-13, offered this gem of wisdom:
They ought to walk not in duplicity, but in simplicity.
—The Harmony of the Gospels 2.32.75
May we refrain from walking in hypocrisy and duplicity before God and each other. May we walk in honest piety and simplicity instead. May we repent of hypocrisy and duplicity.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 23, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN, FOUNDRESS OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HIGH SAVIOR; AND HER DAUGHTER, SAINT CATHERINE OF SWEDEN, SUPERIOR OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HIGH SAVIOR
THE FEAST OF ADELAIDE TEAGUE CASE, PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP EVANS AND JOHN LLOYD, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF THEODOR LILEY CLEMENS, ENGLISH MORAVIAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, AND COMPOSER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/repentance-part-vii/
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Above: The Plague of Flies, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
The Individual and the Collective, Part II
JULY 21, 2024
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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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Exodus 8:1-15 or 2 Samuel 11:1-17
Psalm 50:16-23
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Mark 5:21-43
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Judgment and Mercy are both individual and collective. They are individual in Psalm 50:16-23, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, and Mark 5:21-43. They are, however, collective in Exodus 8:1-15 and 2 Samuel 11:1-17, in which innocent people pay the stiff penalty for the sins of others or another person–a monarch, in particular.
Collective punishment that affects the innocent is not fair, at least from one perspective. I subscribe to that point of view. I also acknowledge that life is not fair. This is a truth with which more than one Psalmist wrestled and that the authors of layers of the Book of Job addressed in sometimes contradictory ways. We mere mortals have the right to complain–to kvetch, even–about it to God. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, with its richness, arguing with God has become an art form.
All that anyone of us does affects others, for good and for ill. Of course, reward and punishment have collective components; we cannot segregate ourselves entirely in any given society. This is objective reality.
May God deliver us from ourselves and each other.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 23, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN, FOUNDRESS OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HIGH SAVIOR; AND HER DAUGHTER, SAINT CATHERINE OF SWEDEN, SUPERIOR OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HIGH SAVIOR
THE FEAST OF ADELAIDE TEAGUE CASE, PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP EVANS AND JOHN LLOYD, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF THEODOR LILEY CLEMENS, ENGLISH MORAVIAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, AND COMPOSER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/the-individual-and-the-collective-iii/
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Above: The Temple of Solomon
Image Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Christ, the Temple of Yahweh
MAY 26, 2016
MAY 27, 2016
MAY 28, 2016
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The Collect:
Merciful Lord God, we do not presume to come before you
trusting in our own righteousness,
but in your great and abundant mercies.
Revive our faith, we pray; heal our bodies, and mend our communities,
that we may evermore dwell in your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 38
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Kings 6:23-38 (Thursday)
1 Kings 8:14-21 (Friday)
1 Kings 8:31-40 (Saturday)
Psalm 96:1-9 (All Days)
2 Corinthians 5:11-17 (Thursday)
2 Corinthians 11:1-6 (Friday)
Luke 4:31-37 (Saturday)
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Great is Yahweh, worthy of all praise,
more awesome than any of the gods.
All the gods of the nations are idols.
–Psalm 96:4-5a, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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King Solomon presided over the construction of the first Temple at Yahweh. That process entailed forced labor, unfortunately. That structure functioned both religiously, housing the Ark of the Covenant, and politically, boosting the monarchy. The crown controlled the place where God dwelt, according to the orthodoxy of the day. How convenient was that?
Jesus engaged in conflicts with people attached to the successor of Solomon’s Temple. The Second Temple, expanded by the order of King Herod the Great as a political and self-serving policy, was the seat of collaboration with the occupying Roman forces. Yes, much of the Jewish populace of Palestine had great respect for the Temple, but the fact of the exploitative system rooted in that place remained. That Jesus competed with the Temple and the priesthood, healing people and offering reconciliation with God, contributed to animosity between him and people invested in the Temple system financially.
Christ became the new Temple, the figure via whom people can become new creations. He was the figure whom St. Paul the Apostle proclaimed jealously, defending his version of the Christian gospel. Christ became the timeless Temple free of corruption, the Temple no power can control or destroy.
May all nations worship God at that Temple.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 28, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF THOMAS BINNEY, ENGLISH CONFORMIST MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND “ARCHBISHOP OF NONCONFORMITY”
THE FEAST OF ANDREW REED, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, HUMANITARIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF ANNA JULIA HAYWOOD COOPER AND ELIZABETH EVELYN WRIGHT, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EDUCATORS
THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH C. CLEPHANE, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/christ-the-temple-of-yahweh/
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Above: The Two Reports of the Spies
Image in the Public Domain
God, Affliction, Judgment, and Mercy
JUNE 3 and 4, 2021
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The Collect:
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
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/god-affliction-judgment-and-mercy/
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Above: In Memory of Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Who Gave His Life for Another Human Being Near Selma, Alabama, in 1965
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
Reconciliation
OCTOBER 9 and 10, 2023
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The Collect:
Beloved God, from you come all things that are good.
Lead us by the inspiration of your Spirit to know those things that are right,
and by your merciful guidance, help us to do them,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 49
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 19:10-14 (Monday)
Isaiah 27:1-6 (Tuesday)
Psalm 144 (Both Days)
1 Peter 2:4-10 (Monday)
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (Tuesday)
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May there be no breaching of the walls, no going into exile,
no wailing in the public squares.
Happy are the people of whom this is so!
happy are the people whose God is the LORD!
–Psalm 144:15-16, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The Old Testament readings use the imagery of vineyards to describe the people of God. In Ezekiel 19 this is the meaning of that metaphor, with the Kingdom of Judah as a vine therein and the ill-fated King Zedekiah as a stem. Exile came, of course. And we read in Isaiah 27 that the future vineyard will be a glorious and Godly one, that redemption will come. Yet the consequences of sin will stay play out.
Redemption via Christ Jesus is the topic in the readings from 1 Peter 2 and 2 Corinthians 5. Christ reconciles us to God. Jesus is the innocent Lamb of God, the cornerstone of faith for Christians and a stumbling block for others. Our spiritual tasks as the redeemed include functioning as agents of divine reconciliation. Grace is free, but not cheap. As I consider the honor roll of reconcilers in the name of Jesus I notice the names of many martyrs and other persecuted people. Jesus is there, of course, as is St. Paul the Apostle. In recent decades martyred reconcilers have included Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador (died in 1980) and Jonathan Myrick Daniels (died in 1965) and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (died in 1968), of the United States. Others, such as Nelson Mandela (died in 2013) spent long terms in prison then did much to heal the wounds of their societies.
Judgment and mercy coexist in the Bible. The first comes then the second follows; that is a recurring pattern in the Old and New Testaments. Reconciling, not seeking revenge, is the way to break the cycle of violence and to start the cycle of love and peace. Relinquishing our bloodlusts can prove difficult, but the price of not doing so is both avoidable and terrible.
May we reconcile with God and, as much as possible, with each other. The latter will prove impossible sometimes, due to conditions such as the death, inability, or unwillingness of the other party or parties. In such cases at least one person can surrender the grudge; that is progress, at least. And grace enables not only that but reconciliation in other cases.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 25, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MICHAEL FARADAY, SCIENTIST
THE FEAST OF BAYARD RUSTIN, WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/reconciliation/
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Above: The Meeting of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
Artwork from 1899
Reproduction Number = LC-USZC4-5226
Copyright by The U.S. Printing Co.
Image Source = Library of Congress
1 Kings and 2 Corinthians, Part IV: Decisions and Their Consequences
AUGUST 27, 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 Kings 9:1-9; 10:1-13
Psalm 54 (Morning)
Psalms 28 and 99 (Evening)
2 Corinthians 5:1-21
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The story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba reaches its peak in 1 Kings 9-10. God talks to him, the monarch is fabulously wealthy, and the Queen of Sheba visits. 1 Kings 9:1-9 provides foreboding foreshadowing: Disobedience to God will lad to national disaster. One needs to be careful here, lest one blame natural disasters frustrated by foolish human decisions (often regarding infrastructure or where to live) on homosexuality, not on the climate and what we humans are doing to change it. But 1 Kings 9:1-9 addressed political forces, not natural ones. Those verses date from a time after which people had experienced national collapse and exile, so they constitute hindsight also. They come from a place of loss and introspection, of being humble before God and of grieving over losses.
Yet, as Paul reminds us, our life is in God. Our only proper boasts are in God–in Jesus, specifically. (That part about Jesus did not apply in the BCE years, of course.) And our confidence is properly in God, in whom we have reconciliation not only to God but to each other. So there is always hope in God, who seeks us by a variety of means over time.
Our decisions matter. Although nobody is the captain of his or her soul, our decisions matter greatly. How we respond to God is important. Here I take my cues from Hebrew Prophets: Will we commit idolatry? Will we condone and/or practice economic exploitation? Will we condone and/or condone corruption? Will we become so enamored of ourselves and our institutions that we will fall into hubris? Or will we recognize the Image of God in each other and serve God by serving each other? Society is concrete, not abstract; it is merely people. Societies can and do change. So the choice is ours.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 14, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT VENANTIUS HONORIUS CLEMENTIUS FORTUNATUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF POITIERS
THE FEAST OF CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/1-kings-and-2-corinthians-part-iv-decisions-and-their-consequences/
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Above: Christ Pantocrator
Jesus Shall Reign
The Sunday Closest to June 15
The Third Sunday After Pentecost
JUNE 13, 2021
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FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #1
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 (New Revised Standard Version):
Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
The Lord said to Samuel,
How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.
Samuel said,
How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.
And the Lord said,
Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.
Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said,
Do you come peaceably?
He said,
Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.
And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought,
Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.
But the Lord said to Samuel,
Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said,
Neither has the Lord chosen this one.
Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said,
Neither has the Lord chosen this one.
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse,
The Lord has not chosen any of these.
Samuel said to Jesse,
Are all your sons here?
And he said,
There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.
And Samuel said to Jesse,
Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.
He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said,
Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
Psalm 20 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 May the LORD answer you the day of trouble;
the Name of the God of Jacob defend you;
2 Send you help from his holy place
and strengthen you out of Zion;
3 Remember all your offerings
and accept your burnt sacrifice;
4 Grant you your heart’s desire
and prosper all your plans.
5 We will shout for joy at your victory
and triumph in the Name of our God;
may the LORD grant all your requests.
6 Now I know that the LORD gives victory to his anointed;
he will answer him out of his holy heaven,
with the victorious strength of his right hand.
7 Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we will call upon the Name of the LORD our God.
8 They collapse and fall down,
but we will arise and stand upright.
9 O LORD, give victory to the king
and answer us when we call.
FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #2
Ezekiel 17:22-24 (New Revised Standard Version):
Thus says the LORD God:
I myself will take a sprig
from the lofty top of a cedar;
I will set it out.
I will break off a tender one
from the topmost of its young twigs;
I myself will plant it
on a high and lofty mountain.
On the mountain height of Israel
I will plant it,
In order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Under it every kind of bird will live;
in the shade of its branches will nest
winged creatures of every kind.
All the trees of the filed shall know
that I am the LORD.
I bring low the high tree;
I make high the low tree;
I dry up the green tree
and make the dry tree flourish.
I the LORD have spoken;
I will accomplish it.
Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD,
and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;
2 To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning
and of your faithfulness in the night season;
3 On the psaltery, and on the lyre
and to the melody of the harp.
4 For you have made me glad by your acts, O LORD;
and I shout for joy because of the works of your hands.
11 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon.
12 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
13 They shall still bear fruit in old age;
they shall be green and succulent;
14 That they may show how upright the LORD is,
my Rock, in whom there is no fault.
SECOND READING
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17 (New Revised Standard Version):
We are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord– for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.
[Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.] For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
GOSPEL READING
Mark 4:26-34 (New Revised Standard Version):
Jesus said,
The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.
He also said,
With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
The Collect:
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Some Related Posts:
Proper 6, Year A:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/proper-6-year-a/
1 Samuel 15-16:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/week-of-2-epiphany-tuesday-year-2/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/fourth-sunday-in-lent-year-a/
Mark 4:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/week-of-3-epiphany-friday-year-1/
Matthew 13 (Parallel to Mark 4):
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/proper-12-year-a/
The Remnant:
http://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/the-remnant/
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Yea, Amen! let all adore thee,
High on thine eternal throne;
Saviour, take the power and glory;
Claim the kingdom for thine own:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and thou alone.
–Charles Wesley, “Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending,” 1758, adapted
A mustard seed is quite small–not actually the smallest of seeds, for we humans know of smaller seeds–but it is minute. Yet from it comes a mighty weed, a mustard plant, which goes where it will and offers shade and housing to a wide variety of wildlife. The Kingdom of God, Jesus said, is like this giant weed: unstoppable and containing a heterogeneous population.
He did not liken the Kingdom of God to a cedar of Lebanon, a mighty and lovely tree. We will not ignore that species; I will, in fact, get to it very soon.
One of the options for the Old Testament lesson is the familiar story of Samuel anointing David, the most unlikely (in human estimation) candidate for kingship. Yet, as the text reminds us, God and we human beings see differently.
From that tender sprout came a dynasty (likened to a cedar of Lebanon), one which fell on hard times within a few generations. This brings me to the reading from Ezekiel. 17:22-24 flows naturally from 17:1-21, so I summarize those initial verses now. The Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire had exiled King Jehoichin in 597 B.C.E. and installed Zedekiah, another member of the Davidic Dynasty, as King of Judah. But Zedekiah rebelled. So, in 586 B.C.E., the Chaldeans ended the existence of the Kingdom of Judah. The Babylonian Exile began. Many years later, the prophet Ezekiel predicted that through the Davidic line the world would, in time, come to worship God alone. The days of glory of David and Solomon were over, but divine glory the likes of which no one alive had witnesses would become public and widespread.
This brings me to 2 Corinthians 5:6-17, which needs no summary. Just read it again, for the text speaks for itself.
It is obvious that the prediction of universal worship of God has yet to come true. We human beings can cooperate with God in helping that day become reality, but we cannot stand in its way. Tyrants have tried. They have murdered many Jews and Christians over thousands of years, but the Judeo-Christian tradition remains quite alive. The mustard plant keeps going where it will. One day, certainly after my lifetime, it will have gone everywhere on this planet.
Until then my fellow Christians and I can anticipate the day when these great words by Isaac Watts become reality:
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
–“Jesus Shall Reign,” 1719
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/jesus-shall-reign/
Above: Saint Paul Writing His Epistles (1500s Painting)
Persistence
The Sunday Closest to June 8
The Second Sunday After Pentecost
JUNE 6, 2021
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FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #1
1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15), 16-20 (11:14-15) (New Revised Standard Version):
All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him,
You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said,
Give us a king to govern us.
Samuel prayed to the LORD, and the LORD said to Samuel,
Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only– you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.
So Samuel reported all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said,
These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; [and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers.] He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.
But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said,
No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.
[Samuel said to the people,
Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship.
So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the LORD, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.]
Psalm 138 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with my whole heart;
before the gods I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and praise your Name,
because of your love and faithfulness;
3 For you have glorified your Name
and your word above all things.
4 When I called, you answered me;
you increased my strength within me.
5 All the kings of the earth will praise you, O LORD,
when they have heard the words of your mouth.
6 They will sing of the ways of the LORD,
that great is the glory of the LORD.
7 Though the LORD be high, he cares for the lowly;
he perceives the haughty from afar.
8 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me safe;
you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies;
your right hand shall save me.
9 The LORD will make good his purpose for me;
O LORD, your love endures for ever;
do not abandon the works of your hands.
FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #2
Genesis 3:8-15 (New Revised Standard Version):
The man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him,
Where are you?
He said,
I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
He said,
Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?
The man said,
The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.
Then the LORD God said to the woman,
What is this that you have done?
The woman said,
The serpent tricked me, and I ate.
The LORD God said to the serpent,
Because you have done this,
cursed are you among all animals
and among all wild creatures;
upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.
Psalm 130 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 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.
2 If you , LORD, were to note what is done amiss,
O Lord, who could stand?
3 For there is forgiveness with you;
therefore you shall be feared.
4 I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him;
in his word is my hope.
5 My soul waits for the LORD,
more than watchmen in the morning,
more than watchmen in the morning.
6 O Israel, wait for the LORD,
for with the LORD there is mercy;
7 With him there is plenteous redemption,
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.
SECOND READING
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 (New Revised Standard Version):
Just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture–
I believed, and so I spoke
— we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
GOSPEL READING
Mark 3:20-35 (New Revised Standard Version):
The crowd came together again, so that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying,
He has gone out of his mind.
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said,
He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.
And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables,
How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin
— for they had said,
He has an unclean spirit.
Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him,
Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.
And he replied,
Who are my mother and my brothers?
And looking at those who sat around him, he said,
Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.
The Collect:
O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; 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 Costs:
Proper 5, Year A:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/proper-5-year-a/
1 Samuel 8:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/week-of-1-epiphany-friday-year-2/
Genesis 3:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/week-of-5-epiphany-friday-year-1/
Mark 3:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/week-of-3-epiphany-monday-year-1/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/week-of-3-epiphany-tuesday-year-1/
O Blessed Mother:
http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/o-blessed-mother/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/o-blessed-mother/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/o-blessed-mother/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/o-blessed-mother/
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Losing heart can be easy. You, O reader, might know the feeling–I do–the recurring impression that beating one’s head against a wall, although painful and self-injurious, would at least yield observable results, which is more than one can say honestly about one’s current, recent, and long-standing efforts. Yes, there are valid times to change tactics and therefore to cut one’s losses, and persistence which lasts too long can constitute beating a dead horse. Yet sometimes one needs to persist longer before seeing positive results. The problem, of course, is how to know the difference.
Paul faced much opposition to his Christian work and even argued with congregations. Jesus dealt daily with dense Apostles. Today I, as a Christian, stand on their shoulders, for the Apostles (minus Judas Iscariot) spread the word far and wide after our Lord’s death and Paul took the message to the Gentiles, of whom I am one. And, of course, the Pauline tradition accounts for 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament. Their persistence paid off.
Think about how patient and persistent God must be with you. (I ponder how patient and persistent God has been and is with me.) One of the themes in the Bible is focusing more on who one can be rather than who one is. Simon Peter, an impetuous hothead, became a leader of the early Church. Paul, once an oppressor of “the Way,” became perhaps its greatest missionary. David went from tending his father’s flock of sheep to ruling a great kingdom. Mary, an obscure young woman, became the Mother of God, the woman who had the greatest influence on how Jesus turned out.
May we discern God’s call to us and support each other in our divine vocations. May we be patient with one another, persist through trials (without beating dead horses), and recognize each other’s potential then nourish it. May we do all this for the common good and the glory of God.
KRT
Above: Salvador Dali’s Painting of the Crucifixion (1954)
God Permeates the Created Order
JUNE 17, 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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2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (An American Translation):
It is Christ’s love that controls me, for I have become convinced that as one has died for all, all have died, and he died for all that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again.
So from that time on, I have estimated nobody at what he seemed to be outwardly; even though I once estimated Christ in that way, I no longer do so. So if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new being; the old state of things has passed away; there is a new state of things. All this comes from God, who through Christ has reconciled me to himself, and has commissioned me to proclaim this reconciliation–how God through Christ reconciled the world to himself, refusing to count men’s offenses against them, and entrusted me with the message of reconciliation.
It is for Christ, therefore, that I am an envoy, seeing that God makes his appeal through me. On Christ’s behalf I beg you to be reconciled to God. He made him who knew nothing of sin to be sin, for our sake, so that through union with him we might become God’s uprightness.
Psalm 103:1-12 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins
and heals all your infirmities.
4 He redeems your life from the grave
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness.
5 He satisfies you with good things,
and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
6 The LORD executes righteousness
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moses
and his works to the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is full of compassion and mercy,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
9 He will not always accuse us,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.
Matthew 5:33-37 (An American Translation):
[Jesus continued,]
Again, you have heard that the men of old were told, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but you must fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’ But I tell you not to swear at all, either by heaven, for it is God’s throne, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. You must not swear by your own head, for you cannot make one single hair white or black. But your way of speaking must be ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ Anything that goes beyond that comes from the evil one.
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The Collect:
O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; 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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I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
–The Presidential Oath of Office, verbatim form Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States of America
Some Christian traditions (such as the Quakers) take Jesus’ prohibition against swearing oaths literally. So the Presidential Oath of Office, as the Constitution establishes it, grants the President the option of either swearing or affirming. And, not to get off topic for long, “so help me God” at the end of the oath is a tradition, not a formal part of said oath. Furthermore, Amendment XX, Section 1 (1933) establishes that the President’s term of office begins at Noon (regardless of what is happening on the dais at that time or how the Chief Justice delivers the oath) on January 20, which is Inauguration Day. The Constitution is a treasure trove of fun civics facts.
Now, for my main idea: God permeates creation. We cannot evade God.
Swearing by God indicated that a person intended to fulfill a promise. Swearing such an oath made God a party to the vow, and this was a serious matter. Yet some wanted to preserve the appearance of seriousness without its substance. Swearing by one’s head, for example, meant nothing, and swearing by Jerusalem or the heavens seemed to invoke God but did not; it was an evasion. All of this superficial swearing constituted playing games. Jesus cut to the chase, again; he said to be honest, to say what one means, and to mean what one says.
This is a timeless and valuable lesson.
Behind it lies a profound truth: God is in Jerusalem, and the heavens, and everywhere else. God permeates everything in creation. And compartmentalization is a fool’s errand. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians that we must be reconciled to God and must live for Christ, who died for us. So Christ is in everything for Paul. We who claim to follow God must bless God with our attitudes, words, and deeds.
This is a difficult vocation, one possible to fulfill only by grace. But God supplies that, fortunately. The words of Psalm 139:6-11 fit this occasion:
6 Where can I go then from your Spirit?
where can I flee from your presence?
7 If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
8 If I take the wings of the morning,
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
9 Even there your will lead me
and your right hand hold me fast.
10 If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
and the light around me turn to night,”
11 Darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day;
darkness and light to you are both alike.
This indicates mercy, does it not? We, then, ought not to play mind and word games with God. Instead, we have an obligation to seek out God in ourselves, those around us, and in nature, and to treat ourselves, each other, and nature with all such respect. These indicate reverence for God, whether or not we swear or affirm.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/god-permeates-the-created-order/
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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