Above: Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, by Heinrich Hofmann
Image in the Public Domain
The Individual and the Collective
SEPTEMBER 30, 2019
OCTOBER 1, 2019
OCTOBER 2, 2019
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The Collect:
O God, rich in mercy, you look with compassion on this troubled world.
Feed us with your grace, and grant us the treasure that comes only from you,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 49
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The Assigned Readings:
Amos 6:8-14 (Monday)
Hosea 9-15 (Tuesday)
Hosea 12:2-14 (Wednesday)
Psalm 62 (All Days)
Revelation 3:14-22 (Monday)
James 5:1-6 (Tuesday)
Matthew 19:16-22 (Wednesday)
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For God alone my soul in silence waits;
truly, my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and salvation,
my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.
In God is my safety and honor;
God is my strong rock and my refuge.
Put your trust in him always, people,
pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.
–Psalm 62:6-9, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The assigned readings for these three days, taken together, condemn the following:
- Collective hubris (Amos 6),
- Collective iniquity, especially economic injustice (Hosea 10 and 12, James 5),
- Collective iniquity, especially idolatry (Hosea 12),
- Collective lukewarmness in relation to God (Revelation 3), and
- Trusting in wealth, not God (James 5, Matthew 19).
One might notice that four of the five sins are collective and that the fifth sin has both collective and individual elements. This is a partial list of sins, of course, but it is a fine beginning to one’s process of spiritual self-examination or another stage in that process. Does one have hubris? If so, that is a sin. Does one participate in collective hubris? If so, one needs to confess and to repent of that sin. One can repeat those forms of questions for the remaining four items on the list above.
Protestantism, for all of its virtues, does place too much emphasis on the individual and too little stress on the collective elements of spiritual life. May we strive to seek the proper balance between the two and succeed, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 20, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALCUIN OF YORK, ABBOT OF TOURS
THE FEAST OF JOHN JAMES MOMENT, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF LUCY ELIZABETH GEORGINA WHITMORE, BRITISH HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/05/20/the-individual-and-the-collective/
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Above: Dives and Lazarus
God and the Marginalized
The Sunday Closest to September 28
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
SEPTEMBER 29, 2019
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 and Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
or
Amos 6:1a, 4-7 and Psalm 146
then
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31
The Collect:
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Some Related Posts:
Prayer of Praise and Adoration:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-nineteenth-sunday-after-pentecost/
Prayer of Confession:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/the-greater-our-greed-becomes/
Prayer of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-nineteenth-sunday-after-pentecost/
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There is hope in God.
- Then Prophet Jeremiah understood this when he purchased a field. Yes, the invaders were still going to arrive, the king was still going to become a captive, and the kingdom was still going to fall, but there was still hope in God.
- The other readings focus on the hope of the economically marginalized. The combination of great wealth and a dearth of sensitivity to human needs explains the lessons from Amos, Luke, and 1 Timothy. Indeed, such insensitivity leads not only to the destruction of the insensitive person but to that of others. Yet the poor man in the parable does receive his reward in the his afterlife while the heartless rich man suffers punishment after dying. Even the the rich man still does not care about the poor man.
The divine preference for the poor is part of the Bible. I suspect that one reason for this is that the poor are among the most easily noticed marginalized populations. Our Lord and Savior found much support among the marginalized and less among those who defined them as marginal. On that broad point I choose to found this blog post. Are we marginalized? Or are we among those who define others are marginal or consent passively to that reality? In other terms, do we care enough about others to draw the circle wider, thereby including those whom God includes already?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 19, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MURIN OF FAHAN, LASERIAN OF LEIGHLIN, GOBAN OF PICARDIE, FOILLAN OF FOSSES, AND ULTAN OF PERONNE, ABBOTTS; AND OF SAINTS FURSEY OF PERONNE AND BLITHARIUS OF SEGANNE, MONKS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALPHEGE OF CANTERBURY, ARCHBISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY OF THE INCARNATION, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON BARSABAE, BISHOP; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/god-and-the-marginalized/
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