Archive for the ‘Jeremiah 31’ Tag
Above: The Healing of the Blind Man of Jericho
A Mosaic in Ravenna, Italy
Image in the Public Domain
Imagination and Perfection
OCTOBER 27, 2024
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm 126
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:46-52
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Almighty and everlasting God,
increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity;
and, that we may obtain what your promise,
make us love what you command;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 29
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Almighty God, we pray,
show your humble servants your mercy,
that we, who put no trust in our own merits,
may be dealt with not according to the severity of your judgment
but according to your mercy;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 87
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…he learnt obedience, Son though he was, through his sufferings; when he had been perfected, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek.
–Hebrews 5:8-10, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible
Perfection, in this case, indicates suitability for one’s task(s). This is the same definition of perfection according to which sacrificial animals who fulfill the standards are perfect and the Bible says we should be perfect.
We have, then, questions to consider. What are our tasks, properly? What does God expect us and equip us (both collectively and individually) to do? And how can we discern these vocations?
The formerly blind man of Jericho understood his new vocation; he followed Jesus into Jerusalem for that fateful Passover Week. The narrative drops the man after Mark 10:52, but we can imagine how the erstwhile blind man felt about what he saw and how these experiences altered his life.
The readings from the Hebrew Bible speak of God restoring ancient Israel. Jeremiah 31:7-9 envisions the restoration of the remnant of the northern Kingdom of Israel into the Judean community. This matter raises the question of human willingness to welcome those brothers and sisters back into the fold.
May we refrain from overdoing individualism. The dominant ethos in the Bible is communitarian. So, may the individualistic focus subordinate to the communal focus as we ponder what God calls and equips us to do. Besides, we can accomplish more together than alone. The question is not, “What does God call and equip me to do?” as often as it is, “What does God call and equip us to do?”
People live in situations, not abstractions. Therefore, faithful response to this divine call will look different from place and time to place and time. The challenges and circumstances of one community may differ from those of another. So be it. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, not the cooking. Results matter.
One application of this principle of collectively responding faithfully to God is to the church as membership declines and budgets reduce. As I write this post, inflation is another challenge to already-tight congregational budgets. How can we best be the church when and where we are? How must we change? What must never change? The Episcopal catechism lists lay members as ministers before it lists ordained people as ministers. Yet, in a sacramental tradition, sacramentalists are crucial. So, a congregation lacking a priest has an additional challenge. Yes, such a congregation can rent a prieset for any given Sunday, but that is not the same as having a regular priestly presence.
Often we need something intangible more than we require something tangible. We need the imagination to think anew and to recognize what we have that is tangible and how to use it most effectively. We require the imagination to perceive God calling us and God’s call to us. We need the imagination to believe that we can fulfill the vocation(s) for which God equips us.
Then we will be perfect–suitable for our tasks.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 3, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF CAROLINE CHISHOLM, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF ANTONIN DVORÁK, CZECH ROMAN CATHOLIC COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH HODGES, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, LITURGIST, ORGANIST, AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF MARIE-LÉONIE PARADIS, FOUNDER OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MAURA AND TIMOTHY OF ANTINOE, MARTYRS, 286
THE FEAST OF SAINT TOMASSO ACERBIS, CAPUCHIN FRIAR
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: The Parable of the Unjust Steward, by Jan Luyken
Image in the Public Domain
Perplexing Readings
OCTOBER 10, 2021
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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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1 Samuel 15:1-23 or Jeremiah 31:27-34
Psalm 109:1-5, 21-27, 30-31
Romans 11:1-21
Luke 16:1-15
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We have some perplexing readings this Sunday. Seldom does a lectionary load a Sunday with difficult lessons.
- The attack on the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15 was to avenge an Amalekite attack on Israelites centuries prior, in Exodus 17:8-16.
- According to Deuteronomy 20:16-18 and 25:17-19, King Saul and his forces, engaged in a holy war (Is there such a thing?), should have killed all enemies, taken no prisoners, and taken no booty. They took booty and spared the life of King Agag, though. This, according to 1 Samuel 15, led to God’s final rejection of Saul, who had blamed others for his violation of the law. (Are we not glad that leaders everywhere no longer deflect blame for their errors? That is a sarcastic question, of course.)
- The tone in Psalm 109 is relentlessly unforgiving.
- We read in Romans 11:1-21 that Gentile believers are, by the mercy of God, a branch grafted onto the Jewish tree. Yet the Gentile branch is not exempt from the judgment of God. The Gentile branch also has a long and shameful record of anti-Semitism.
- The Parable of the Unjust Steward/Corrupt Manager is a challenging text. The titular character is not a role model, after all. Yet he is intelligent and able to secure his future by committing favors he can call in when he needs to do so. One point is that we should be astute, but not corrupt. Naïveté is not a spiritual virtue.
- Money is a tool. It should never be an idol, although it frequently is. Greed is one of the more common sins.
I admit my lack of comfort with 1 Samuel 15 and its background. As Amy-Jill Levine says, people did things differently back then.
I also know well the desire for divine vindication, as well as the unwillingness to forgive. And, when I want to forgive, I do not always know how to do so. This reminds me of the predicament of St. Paul the Apostle in Romans 7:19-20.
Each of us is susceptible to many forms of idolatry. Something or someone becomes an idol when one treats something of someone as an idol. Function defines an idol.
And what about that parable? In the context of the Gospel of Luke, one needs also to consider teachings about wealth–blessed are the poor, woe to the rich, et cetera. The theme of reversal of fortune is germane. Also, the order not to exalt oneself, but to be kind to those who cannot repay one (Luke 14:7-14) constitutes a counterpoint to the dishonest/corrupt/astute manager/steward. Remember, also, that if the fictional manager/steward had been honest, he would have kept his job longer, and we would not have that parable to ponder as we scratch our heads.
Obeying the Golden Rule, being as innocent as doves, and being as wise as serpents seems like a good policy. May we heed the law of God written on our hearts, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 27, 2020 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 MAASTRICT 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
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/27/perplexing-readings/
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Above: Effects of Acid Rain on a Forest in the Czech Republic, 2006
Photographer = Lovecz
The Sins of the Fathers
OCTOBER 6, 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 34:1-10 or 1 Kings 22:29-43
Psalm 62:1-8, 11-12
Hebrews 5:12-6:12
Mark 9:30-37
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The key mark of discipleship is servanthood.
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Some themes recur in the readings for this week:
- God is faithful.
- Trust in God.
- Do not commit apostasy.
- People reap what they sow.
- Christ is the exemplar of the type of service that defines greatness.
Exodus 34:7 requires unpacking. The principle that God punishes or forgives members of subsequent generations based on the sins of an ancestor exists also in 1 Kings 21:29, Nehemiah 9:17, Deuteronomy 5:9, Numbers 14:18, Psalm 103:8, Joel 2:13, and Jonah 4:2. Yet we read the opposite view–individual moral responsibility–in Ezekiel 18 and Jeremiah 31:29-30. The Bible contradicts itself sometimes.
The best explanation for the opinion we read in Exodus 34:7 comes from Professor Richard Elliot Friedman: effects of one’s actions are apparent generations later. I recognize ways in which actions of two of my paternal great-grandfathers influence me indirectly. This is one example of something, that, from a certain point of view, looks like intergenerational punishment and reward by God.
The decisions of others influence us. Some of them even restrict our options. We may suffer because of the decisions of those who have preceded us; we may suffer because of their sins. This is the way of the world. Yet we are morally responsible for ourselves and each other, not those who have died. No, they are responsible for their sins, just as we are responsible for ours.
May we–individually and collectively–refrain from visiting the consequences of our sins on those who will succeed us. We owe them that much, do we not?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 25, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES BAR-ZEBEDEE, APOSTLE AND MARTYR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/the-sins-of-the-fathers-part-ii/
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Above: Wittenberg in 1540
Image in the Public Domain
Schism and Reconciliation
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The Feast of the Reformation, celebrated first in the Brunswick church order (1528), composed by Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-1558), died out in the 1500s. Initially the dates of the commemoration varied according to various church orders, and not all Lutherans observed the festival. Original dates included November 10 (the eve of Martin Luther‘s birthday), February 18 (the anniversary of Luther’s death), and the Sunday after June 25, the date of the delivery of the Augsburg Confession. In 1667, after the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), Elector of Saxony John George II ordered the revival of the commemoration, with the date of October 31. Over time the commemoration spread, and commemorations frequently occurred on the Sunday closest to that date.
The feast used to function primarily as an occasion to express gratitude that one was not Roman Catholic. However, since 1980, the 450th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute (of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement) and the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau have favored observing the feast as a time of reconciliation and of acknowledging the necessity of the Reformation while not celebrating the schism.
This perspective is consistent with the position of Professor Phillip Cary in his Great Courses series of The History of Christian Theology (2008), in which he argues that Protestantism and Roman Catholicism need each other.
I, as an Episcopalian, stand within the Middle Way–Anglicanism. I am convinced, in fact, that I am on this planet for, among other reasons, to be an Episcopalian; the affiliation fits me naturally. I even hang an Episcopal Church flag in my home. I, as an Episcopalian, am neither quite Protestant nor Roman Catholic; I borrow with reckless abandon from both sides–especially from Lutheranism in recent years. I affirm Single Predestination (Anglican and Lutheran theology), Transubstantiation, a 73-book canon of scripture, and the Assumption of Mary (Roman Catholic theology), and reject both the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Virgin Birth of Jesus. My ever-shifting variety of Anglicanism is sui generis.
The scandal of schism, extant prior to 1517, but exasperated by the Protestant and English Reformations, grieves me. Most of the differences among denominations similar to each other are minor, so overcoming denominational inertia with mutual forbearance would increase the rate of ecclesiastical unity. Meanwhile, I, from my perch in The Episcopal Church, ponder whether organic union with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is feasible and wise. It is a question worth exploring. At least we are natural ecumenical partners. We already have joint congregations, after all. If there will be organic union, it will require mutual giving and taking on many issues, but we agree on most matters already.
Time will tell.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PETER OF CHELCIC, BOHEMIAN HUSSITE REFORMER; AND GREGORY THE PATRIARCH, FOUNDER OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH
THE FEAST OF GODFREY THRING, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JANE CREWDSON, ENGLISH QUAKER POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF NARAYAN SESHADRI OF JALNI, INDIAN PRESBYTERIAN EVANGELIST AND “APOSTLE TO THE MANGS”
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Almighty God, gracious Lord, we thank you that your Holy Spirit renews the church in every age.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on your faithful people.
Keep them steadfast in your word, protect and comfort them in times of trial,
defend them against all enemies of the gospel,
and bestow on the church your saving peace,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 46
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 58
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Revelation 14:6-7
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36 or Matthew 11:12-19
—Lutheran Service Book (2006), xxiii
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Originally published at SUNDRY THOUGHTS
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Above: St. Paul Preaching in Athens, by Raphael
Image in the Public Domain
The Age of Divine Patience
OCTOBER 13, 2022
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The Collect:
O Lord God, tireless guardian of your people,
you are always ready to hear our cries.
Teach us to rely day and night on your care.
Inspire us to seek your enduring justice for all the suffering world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 54:11-17
Psalm 121
Acts 17:22-34
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I lift up my eyes to the hills;
from where is my help to come?
My help comes from the LORD,
the maker of heaven and earth.
–Psalm 121:1-2, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The reading from Isaiah 54, echoing Jeremiah 31:33-35 in verse 13, offers high hopes for the future of post-exilic Jerusalem. Divine anger has come and gone, it says, and the day of extravagant mercy is at hand. The reality of Jerusalem and Judea after the Babylonian Exile did not match high expectations, as history tells us, but one might hope for that bright future in days to come.
That theme of the balance of divine judgment and mercy continues in Acts 17:29-31. Mennonite theology has done much with the concept that this is the time of divine patience, with the understanding that such patience, with the understanding that such patience will come to an end. St. Paul the Apostle, we read, understood the time of divine patience to have ended already and the end times to have begun. You, O reader, and I know, however, that from the perspective of 2016, nearly 2000 years have transpired since the events of the Acts of the Apostles. We have nearly 2000 reasons for disagreeing with St. Paul’s assumptions regarding the timing of the parousia.
We live in the age of God’s patience. May we, by grace, not try or exploit it much more often than we have already. May our relationship to God be like the one described in Psalm 121 instead.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/the-age-of-divine-patience/
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Above: Autumn
Image in the Public Domain
Building Up Our Neighbors, Part VI
AUGUST 11, 2021
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The Collect:
Gracious God, your blessed Son came down from heaven
to be the true bread that gives life to the world.
Give us this bread always,
that he may live in us and we in him,
and that, strengthened by this food,
may live as his body in the world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 44
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 31:1-6
Psalm 81
John 6:35-40
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I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said,
“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
–Psalm 81:10, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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In the assigned readings for this day and the previous six days (including Sunday) in the Revised Common Lectionary (Sunday and daily) God provides physical sustenance, directly or indirectly. The collect from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006) picks up on this fact and on John 6:35-40, and uses food as a metaphor. Jesus is the bread of life, we read. This is nearly identical to Eucharistic language; the bread is the body of Jesus, the bread of heaven, and the wine is the blood of Christ, which fills the cup of salvation. (I take those statements literally.) The theme of the lectionary readings for seven days culminates in a glorious metaphor.
I have entitled the Thursday-Saturday and Monday-Wednesday posts “Building Up Our Neighbors,” for that is where the readings have led me. What builds up hungry and thirsty people more than providing proper food and drink? One must sustain one’s body if one is to live in it, after all. Yet there is more than literal food and drink people require, for we humans are both physical and spiritual beings. Building up our neighbors includes a necessary and proper element of spiritual food and drink also. Confusing the two categories of needs leads to unfortunate results. Rumi (1207-1273) understood this fact well. He wrote:
Stay bewildered in God,
and only that.
Those of you are scattered,
simplify your worrying lives. There is one
righteousness: Water the fruit trees,
and don’t water the thorns. Be generous
to what nurtures the spirit and God’s luminous
reason-light. Don’t honor what causes
dysentery and knotted-up tumors.
Don’t feed both sides of yourself equally.
The spirit and the body carry different loads
and require different attentions.
Too often
we put saddlebags of Jesus and let
the donkey run loose in the pasture.
Don’t make the body do
what the spirit does best, and don’t let a big load
on the spirit that the body could carry easily.
–The Essential Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne, A. J. Arberry, and Reynold Nicholson, HarperCollins, 1995; paperback, 1996; page 256
As my brethren in the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) have understood well for centuries, there is a porous boundary between the secular and the sacred and the physical and the spiritual. A mundane act can be morally neutral or expressive of deep spirituality, depending on the context. For example, preparing good food can be just that or an act of great kindness which provides proper nutrition for someone and saves his or her life. Performing otherwise morally neutral mundane acts in the name of Jesus, the bread of life, whose body is the bread of heaven and whose blood fills the cup of salvation is one way of building up one’s neighbors and of glorifying God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 28, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN H. W. STUCKENBERG, LUTHERAN PASTOR AND SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF EDWIN POND PARKER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGARET POLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/building-up-our-neighbors-part-vi/
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Above: Ruins of Babylon, 1932
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-13231
Jeremiah and Matthew, Part XI: Getting On With Life
NOVEMBER 14-16, 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:
Jeremiah 29:1-19 (November 14)
Jeremiah 30:1-24 (November 15)
Jeremiah 31:1-17, 23-24 (November 16)
Psalm 36 (Morning–November 14)
Psalm 130 (Morning–November 15)
Psalm 56 (Morning–November 16)
Psalms 80 and 27 (Evening–November 14)
Psalms 32 and 139 (Evening–November 15)
Psalms 100 and 62 (Evening–November 16)
Matthew 26:36-56 (November 14)
Matthew 26:36-56 (November 15)
Matthew 27:1-10 (November 16)
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The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom then shall I be afraid?
–Psalm 27, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)
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The Prophet Jeremiah relayed advice from God to those exiled from the Kingdom of Judah to Chaldea in 597 BCE: Get on with life. The wicked will perish, a faithful remnant will see divine deliverance, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem will occur. None of the members of the original audience lived to see that day, but it did come to pass.
Jeremiah prophesied during dark days which preceded even darker ones. “Dark days which preceded even darker ones” summarized the setting of the Matthew readings accurately. But, after the darker days came and went wondrously and blessedly brighter ones arrived.
I know firsthand of the sting of perfidy and of the negative consequences of actions of well-intentioned yet mistaken people. Sometimes anger is essential to surviving in the short term. Yet anger poisons one’s soul after remaining too long. Slipping into vengeful thoughts feels natural.
O daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy the one who repays you
for all you have done to us;
Who takes your little ones,
and dashes them against the rock.
–Psalm 137:8-9, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)
Yet such an attitude obstructs the path one must trod when getting on with life and remaining faithful to God therein. Leaving one’s enemies and adversaries to God for mercy or judgment (as God decides) and getting on with the daily business of living is a great step of faithfulness.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 4, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS CARACCIOLO, COFOUNDER OF THE MINOR CLERKS REGULAR
THE FEAST OF JOHN XXIII, BISHOP OF ROME
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/jeremiah-and-matthew-part-xi-getting-on-with-life/
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Above: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, by Rembrandt Van Rijn
The Efficacy of Prayer
The Sunday Closest to October 19
Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost
OCTOBER 16, 2022
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 31:27-34 and Psalm 119:97-104
or
Genesis 32:22-31 and Psalm 121
then
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8
The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; 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/2011/03/30/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-twenty-second-sunday-after-pentecost/
Prayer of Confession:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/prayer-of-confession-for-the-twenty-second-sunday-after-pentecost/
Prayer of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-twenty-second-sunday-after-pentecost/
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You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just. Justice, justice you shall pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving to you.
–Deuteronomy 16:18-20, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
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Through your commandments I gain understanding;
Therefore I hate every lying way.
–Psalm 119:104, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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A judge was supposed to issue impartial rulings, but the woman in the parable from Luke 18:1-8 had to resort to threats of physical violence (slapping the judge in the face or giving him a black eye), to get justice. Extraordinary circumstances required extraordinary methods. But God, as Jesus tells us, is impartial. Deuteronomy 10:17-19 agrees and imposes a set of obligations on the people:
For the LORD your God is God supreme and Lord supreme, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who shows no favor and takes no bribe, but upholds the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and befriends the stranger, providing him with food and clothing. You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures)
There is a profound link between how we regard God and how we act toward one another, not that Atheists cannot be moral people and agents of what the Lutheran confessions of faith call civic righteousness. Yet, if we love God, we will love one another actively.
Another theme in the readings for this Sunday is persistence in prayer. But what is prayer? The Book of Common Prayer (1979) defines it as
…responding to God, by thought and deeds, with or without words. (page 856)
Christian prayer, according to the same page of the same volume, is
…response to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is a state of being. It is how we think and therefore act. Prayer is far more than the definition I heard in children’s Sunday School:
talking to God.
No, prayer is really about the covenant God has written on our hearts.
So, according to that definition, how is your prayer life? You might struggle with God, O reader, but that is fine. In Islam people submit to Allah, but in Judaism they struggle and argue with God. I, being a strong-minded person, enjoy that part of my religious heritage. At least there is a relationship with God through all that struggling. And a transformed state awaits each of us at the end. A trickster came to play a prominent role in salvation history. And one gains much valuable understanding through the struggles.
May we persist in our struggles with God and in our efforts to behave justly, for the glory of God and the benefit of others. The process will transform us, making us better. That is one valid way to understand the efficacy of prayer.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 8, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT II, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF DAME JULIAN OF NORWICH, SPIRITUAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAGDALENA OF CANOSSA, FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY AND THE SONS OF CHARITY
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER OF TARENTAISE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/the-efficacy-of-prayer/
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Above: Christ Healing the Blind Man, by Eustace Le Sueur
Restoration
The Sunday Closest to October 26
The Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost
OCTOBER 27, 2024
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FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #1
Job 42:1-6, 10-17 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
Job said in reply to the LORD:
I know that You can do everything,
That nothing you propose is impossible for You.
Who is this who obscures counsel without knowledge?
Indeed, I spoke without understanding
Of things beyond me, which I did not know.
Hear now, and I will speak;
I will ask, and You inform me.
I had heard You with my ears,
But now I see You with my eyes;
Therefore I recant and relent,
Being but dust and ashes.
…
The LORD restored Job’s fortunes when he prayed on behalf of his friends, and the LORD gave Job twice what he had before.
All his brothers and sisters and all his former friends came to him and had a meal with him in his house. They consoled, and comforted him for all the misfortune that the LORD had brought upon him. Each gave him one kesitah and each one gold ring.Thus the LORD blessed the latter years of Job’s life more than the former. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand she-asses. He also had seven sons and three daughters. The first he named Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. Nowhere in the land were women as beautiful as Job’s daughters to be found. Their father gave them estates together with their brothers. Afterward, Job lived one hundred and forty years to see four generations of sons and grandsons. So Job died old and contented.
Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22) (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the humble hear and rejoice.
3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD;
let us exult his Name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me out of all my terror.
5 Look upon him and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
6 I called in my affliction and the LORD heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encompasses those who fear him,
and he will deliver them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are they who trust in him.
19 Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the LORD will deliver him out of them all.
20 He will keep all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 The LORD ransoms the life of his servants,
and none will be punished who trust in him.
FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #2
Jeremiah 31:7-9 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
For thus said the LORD:
Cry out in joy for Jacob,
Shout at the crossroads of the nations!
Sing aloud in praise, and say:
Save, O LORD, Your people,
The remnant of Israel.
I will bring them in from the northland,
Gather them from the ends of the earth–
The blind and the lame among them,
Those with child and those in labor–
In a vast throng they shall return here.
They shall come with weeping,
And with compassion will I guide them.
I will lead them to streams of water,
by a level road where they will not stumble.
For I am ever a Father to Israel,
Ephraim is My first-born.
Psalm 126 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
then were we like those who dream.
2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy.
3 Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
4 The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are glad indeed.
5 Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses of the Negev.
6 Those who sowed with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
7 Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed,
will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.
SECOND READING
Hebrews 7:23-28 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; for he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been make perfect for ever.
GOSPEL READING
Mark 10:46-52 (Revised English Bible):
They came to Jericho; and as he was leaving the town, with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was seated at the roadside. Hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout,
Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me!
Many of the people told him to hold his tongue; but he shouted all the more,
Son of David, have pity on me.
Jesus stopped and said,
Call him;
so they called the blind man:
Take heart,
they said.
Get up; he is calling you.
At that he threw off his cloak, jumped to his feet, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him,
What do you want me to do for you?
The blind man answered,
Rabbi, I want my sight back.
Jesus said to him,
Go; your faith as healed you.
At once he recovered his sight and followed him on the road.
The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; 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:
Proper 25, Year A:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/proper-25-year-a/
Job 42:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/week-of-proper-21-friday-year-2-and-week-of-proper-21-saturday-year-2/
Hebrews 7:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/week-of-2-epiphany-thursday-year-1/
Mark 10:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/week-of-8-epiphany-thursday-year-1/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/week-of-8-epiphany-thursday-year-2/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/week-of-proper-3-thursday-year-1/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/week-of-proper-3-thursday-year-2/
Luke 18 (Parallel to Mark 10):
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/week-of-proper-28-monday-year-1/
Prayers for Inclusion:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/prayers-for-inclusion/
A Prayer for the Blind:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/a-prayer-for-the-blind/
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The theme for Proper 25, Year B, is restoration. Job, who had lost so much, got much more back. Descendants of the original Judean exiles would return to their ancestral homeland. And a blind man sought and received his sight back in the last healing by Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Mark.
Blindness was common in the ancient world, and it resulted from various causes. It was, in Jewish custom of the time, a ritual blemish, rendering one unfit to serve as a priest (Leviticus 21:18). And a blind animal was not suitable for ritual sacrifice (Leviticus 22:22 and Deuteronomy 15:21). So the blind man was, in the estimation of many people in his culture, defective, perhaps even punished by God. That must have taken an emotional toll on the man. Yet the Law (in Leviticus 19:14) forbade placing an obstacle in the way of the blind, so those who told the blind man to be quiet violated the Law of Moses.
Healing stories involving Jesus are about more than correcting the physical, emotional, and psychological disorders of people. They also speak of the restoration to society. The blind man no longer had a ritual blemish; he was no longer allegedly defective or punished by God.
As I write these words, I belong to a culture which considers itself fairly enlightened. It is, in many ways. We even have the Americans with Disabilities Act. And, based on the architecture of certain church buildings in which I have worshiped, I recognize a lack of concern for handicapped access in the late 1800s and early 1900s yet a keen attention to this issue in structures from more recent decades. Yet the disabled still face many challenges in getting from Point A to Point B, entering many buildings, and using many restrooms. Our lack of concern for them forces many of them to the margins; we are not as enlightened as we like to think we are.
Jesus restored people to society; we ought to do the same, as we are able.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/restoration/
Above: Nicodemus and Jesus, by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov
Born from Above
AUGUST 3 and 4, 2022
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Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.
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FIRST READING FOR WEDNESDAY
Jeremiah 31:1-7 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
At that time
–declares the LORD–
I will be God to all the clans of Israel, and they shall be My people.
Thus said the LORD:
The people escaped from the sword,
Found favor in the wilderness;
When Israel was marching homeward
The LORD revealed Himself to me of old.
Eternal love I conceived for you then;
Therefore I continue My grace to you.
I will build you firmly again,
O Maiden Israel!
Again you shall take up your timbrels
And go forth to the rhythm of the dancers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
On the hills of Samaria;
Men shall plant and live to enjoy them.
For the day is coming when watchmen
Shall proclaim on the heights of Ephraim:
Come, let us go up to Zion,
To the LORD our God!
For thus said the LORD:
Cry out in joy for Jacob,
Shout at the crossroads of the nations!
Sing aloud in praise, and say:
Save, O LORD, Your people,
The remnant of Israel.
FIRST READING FOR THURSDAY
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
See, a time is coming
–declares the LORD–
when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers, when I took them out of the land of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, though I espoused them
–declares the LORD.
But such is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after these days
–declares the LORD:
I will put My Teaching into their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts. Then I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No longer will they need to teach one another and say to one another, “Heed the LORD”; for all of them, from the least of them to the greatest, shall heed Me
–declares the LORD.
For I will forgive their iniquities,
And remember their sins no more.
RESPONSE FOR WEDNESDAY
Psalm 121 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills;
from where is my help to come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved
and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.
4 Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep;
5 The LORD himself watches over you;
the LORD is your shade at your right hand,
6 So that the sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
it is he who shall keep you safe.
8 The LORD shall watch over your going out and your coming in,
from this time forth for evermore.
RESPONSE FOR THURSDAY
Psalm 51:11-18 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
11 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
12 Cast me not away from your presence
and take not your holy Spirit from me.
13 Give me the joy of your saving help again
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
14 I shall teach your ways to the wicked,
and sinners shall return to you.
15 Deliver me from death, O God,
and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
O God of my salvation.
16 Open my lips, O Lord,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
17 Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice,
but you take no pleasure in burnt-offerings.
18 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
GOSPEL READING FOR WEDNESDAY
Matthew 15:21-28 (J. B. Phillips, 1972)
Jesus then left that place and retired into the Tyre and Sidon district. There a Canaanite woman from those parts came to him crying at the top of her voice,
Lord, son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is in a terrible state–a devil has got into her!
Jesus made no answer, and the disciples came up to him and said,
Do not send her away–she’s still following us and calling out.
Jesus replied,
I was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Then the woman came and knelt at his feet.
Lord, help me,
she said.
It is not right, you know,
Jesus replied,
to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.
She returned,
Yes, Lord, I know, but even the dogs live on the scraps that fall from their master’s table!
Jesus returned,
You certainly don’t lack faith; it shall be as you wish.
And at that moment her daughter was healed.
GOSPEL READING FOR THURSDAY
Matthew 16:13-23 (J. B. Phillips, 1972):
When Jesus reached the Caesarea-Philippi district he asked his disciples a question.
Who do people say the Son of Man is?
They told him,
Well, some say John the Baptist. Some say Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
He said to them,
But what about you? Who do you say that I am?
Simon Peter answered,
You? You are Christ, the Son of the Living God!
Jesus said,
Simon, son of Jonah, you a fortunate man indeed! For it was not your own nature but my Heavenly Father who revealed this truth to you! Now I tell you that you are Peter the rock, and it is on this rock that I am going to found my Church, and the powers of death will never have the power to destroy it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in Heaven and whatever you permit on earth will be what is permitted in Heaven!
Then he impressed on his disciples that they should not tell anyone that he was Christ.
From that time onwards Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem, and endure much suffering from the elders, chief priests and scribes, and finally be killed; and be raised to life again on the third day.
Then Peter took him on one side and started to remonstrate with him over this.
God bless you, Master! Nothing like this must happen to you!
Then Jesus turned round and said to Peter,
Out of my way, Satan!…you stand right in my path, Peter, when you think the thoughts of man and not those of God.
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The Collect:
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; 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 solemnly assure you,
no one can see the kingdom of God
without being begotten from above.
–John 3:3, The Anchor Bible
Jeremiah 31 speaks of, among other things, an internalized relationship and covenant with God. Words will cease to be necessary, for the relationship will be intrinsic. Both passages from that chapter remind me of an often misunderstood concept from John 3. The Evangelical misapprehension of “born from above,” thereby transforming it into “born again,” as in the perceived necessity of a dramatic or defined conversion experience, is an error. There are many of us who lack such an experience yet who are close to God, and who are hopefully getting nearer.
The Gentile woman understood something profound. So did Simon Peter, although he had no idea of the full implication of what he confessed. At least it was a start. We humans are spiritual beings having physical experiences, so how can we not brush up against God?
And it is no wonder to me that God slips into our minds, bypassing our five senses. I have assumed this for years, and circumstances (inside my cranium) have confirmed my conclusion. If we are open to God, we will learn quite a bit just by being quiet. And not all of us will require metaphorical conks over the heard to draw nearer and nearer to God. Yes, some people do have dramatic experiences with God, and therefore clearly defined conversions. Yet one ought not to assume that one cannot be a Christian without such an experience.
Perhaps Single Predestination applies to this theme. Some of us come to God via the witness of the Holy Spirit, which works in many ways, some of them subtle. Others of us are among the predestined to Heaven. There is no need for a conversion experience in such cases, is there?
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/born-from-above/
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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