Archive for the ‘John 10’ Tag
Above: The Tribute Money, by Titian
Image in the Public Domain
Images of Gods
NOVEMBER 21, 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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Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 100
Colossians 1:11-20
Luke 20:20-26
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The application of imagery reserved for YHWH in the Hebrew Bible to Jesus in the New Testament makes sense, given Trinitarian theology. Psalm 100 lauds God (YHWH), the Good Shepherd. YJWH is the Good Shepherd in Jeremiah 23:1-6. Jesus is the self-identified Good Shepherd in John 10, not one of today’s assigned readings. Jesus, like YHWH in various Psalms, has primacy in creation, according to Colossians 1:15.
I will turn to the Gospel reading next.
This reading, set early in Holy Week, is one in which Jesus evades a trap:
Is it permissible for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?
–Luke 20:23b, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
“Yes” and “no” were dangerous answers. If Jesus had replied, “no,” he would have made himself a target for Romans, who were swarming in Jerusalem that week. On the other hand, if Jesus had responded, “yes,” he would have offended those who interpreted the Law of Moses to read that paying such taxes was illegal.
Jesus evaded the trap and ensnared those trying to ensnare him. Why did the spies carry Roman denarii into the Temple complex? A denarius, an idol, technically. That year, the image on the coin was that of Emperor Tiberius. The English translation of the Latin inscription was,
Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, Augustus.
Jesus asked a seemingly obvious question with a straight-forward answer.
Show me a denarius. Whose head and name are on it?
–Luke 20:25, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
The answer was obvious. Our Lord and Savior’s answer was one for the ages:
Well then, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar–and to God what belongs to God.
–Luke 20:25, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
The coin bore the image of Tiberius Caesar. He was welcome to have it back.
Each of us bears the image of God. Each of us belongs to God. Each of us has a mandate to be faithful to God in all matters. All areas of human life fall under divine authority. Human, temporal authority is limited, though.
One of the features of segments of Christianity in the United States of America that disturbs me is the near-worship (sometimes worship) of the nation-state. I refer not exclusively to any given administration and/or nation-state. Administrations come and go. Nation-states rise and fall. The principle of which I write remains constant. In my North American context, the Americanization of the Gospel in the service of a political program and/or potentate dilutes and distorts the Gospel. The purposes of the Gospel include confronting authority, not following it blindly. True Judeo-Christian religion has a sharp prophetic edge that informs potentates how far they fall short of God’s ideals and that no nation-state is the Kingdom of God.
We have only one king anyway. That monarch is YHWH, as N. T. Wright correctly insists in Jesus and the Victory of God (1996). Jesus defies human definitions of monarchy. This is a prominent theme in the Gospel of John. Yet the theme of Christ the King Sunday is timeless. Despite appearances to the contrary, God remains sovereign.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA, PATRIARCH; AND SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, PATRIARCH AND “FATHER OF ORTHODOXY”
THE FEAST OF CHARLES SILVESTER HORNE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHARLES FRIEDRICH HASSE, GERMAN-BRITISH MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF JULIA BULKLEY CADY CORY, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/05/02/images-of-gods/
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Above: Candle Flame
Image in the Public Domain
The Light of God
OCTOBER 22, 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 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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Ecclesiastes 1:3-11
Psalm 119:145-152
James 1:2-11
John 10:31-42
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Much of life consists of familiar and transitory details. They are familiar because they are similar to what has come before. Given that we they are transient, we ought not to become too attached to them. Yet we do. They become idols and psychological crutches. Possessions will eventually cease to belong to us, even as we belong to them. They might have value, but the crucial issue is perspective. That which has the greatest value is intangible–is God. Relationships also have great value, but they are also temporary, unlike God.
One might deepen a relationship with God during times of hardship, perhaps oppression or merely being at the wrong place at the wrong time. God is always with us, but we are more receptive on certain occasions than on others. It is also possible that the greater the need, the greater the grace. Either way, the light of God seems brighter at night than in broad daylight. That reality is itself a manifestation of grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 20, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF BERNARD ADAM GRUBE, GERMAN-AMERICAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, COMPOSER, AND MUSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT BAIN OF FONTANELLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, MONK, MISSIONARY, AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF JOHANN FRIEDRICH HERTZOG, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/the-light-of-god/
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Above: Moses
Image in the Public Domain
Prelude to the Passion, Part III
SEPTEMBER 3, 2023
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Numbers 11:1-30 or Isaiah 45:14-25 or Jeremiah 4:19-31 or Zechariah 8:1-23
Psalm 68:11-31 (32-35) or Psalm 120 or Psalm 82
John 10:19-21 (22-30) 31-42
1 Corinthians 14:1-40
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The assigned readings, taken together, present a balanced picture of divine judgment and mercy. Sometimes God’s judgment on one group is in the service of mercy on another group. And, as much as God is angry with the Israelites in Numbers 11, He still provides manna to them and advises Moses to share his burden with 70 elders. Judgment is dominant in Jeremiah 4, but mercy rules in Zechariah 8.
1 Corinthians 14, sexism aside, offers the timeless principle that all people do in the context of worship should build up the faith community.
As for the “Prelude to the Passion” part of this post, we turn to John 10. Jesus survives an attempt to arrest (then execute) him for committing blasphemy, per Leviticus 24:10-16. He was innocent of the charge, of course. The story, however, does establish that Jesus kept avoiding death traps prior to Holy Week.
A point worth pondering is that the accusers of Jesus in John 10 were most likely sincere. This should prompt us who read the account today to ask ourselves how often we are sincerely wrong while attempting to follow the laws of God. Those who oppose God and agents thereof are not always consciously so.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 18, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT: THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF MARC BOEGNER, ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT GIULIA VALLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF SAINT ISAAC HECKER, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/prelude-to-the-passion-part-iii/
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Above: Jehoiakim
Image in the Public Domain
Good and Bad Shepherds
NOVEMBER 18 and 19, 2022
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The Collect:
O God, our true life, to serve you is freedom, and to know you is unending joy.
We worship you, we glorify you, we give thanks to you for your great glory.
Abide with us, reign in us, and make this world into a fit habitation for your divine majesty,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 53
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The Assigned Readings:
Zechariah 11:1-17 (Friday)
Jeremiah 22:18-30 (Saturday)
Psalm 46 (Both Days)
1 Peter 1:3-9 (Friday)
Luke 18:15-17 (Saturday)
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God is our refuge and our strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved,
and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea;
Though its waters rage and foam,
and though the mountains tremble at its tumult.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
–Psalm 46:1-4, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The reading from Second Zechariah is an allegory of a selfish and foolish shepherd who, instead of protecting the sheep of his flock, sells them to their slaughterer for the sum of thirty shekels of silver. The identification of the shepherd (code for political leader) is open-ended, and the price for which he sells the sheep of his flock to their doom is the same amount Judas Iscariot went on to receive for betraying Jesus in Matthew 26:14-16. One might surmise correctly that many members of Matthew’s audience, being Jews familiar with their scriptural heritage, would have recognized the echo of Zechariah 11.
Perhaps Second Zechariah was thinking of monarchs such as Jehoiakim (reigned 608-598 B.C.E.), of whom one can read in Jeremiah 22:13-19, 2 Kings 23:36-24:7, and 2 Chronicles 36:5-8, and of his son, Jeconiah/Jehoiachin (reigned 597 B.C.E.), of whom one can read in Jeremiah 22:20-30, 2 Kings 24:8-17, and 2 Chronicles 36:9-10. Jehoiachin was the penultimate King of Judah, and, by the time of his deposition by a foreign potentate, the realm Kingdom of Judah was obviously independent in name only.
Of Jehoiakim, father of Jehoiachin, Jeremiah 22 says in part:
Woe to him who builds his house on wrong,
his terraces on injustice;
Who works his neighbor without pay,
and gives him no wages.
Who says, “I will build myself a spacious house,
with airy rooms,”
Who cuts out windows for it,
panels it with cedar,
and paints it with vermillion.
–Verses 13-14, The New American Bible (1991)
Such shepherds abound, unfortunately. I refer not to those who strive to do the right thing for their populations yet fail to accomplish their goals, but to those to operate not out of any sense of seeking the common good but out of greed, self-aggrandisement, and indifference toward justice, especially that of the economic variety.
Among the most familiar images of Jesus in the Gospels is that of the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21), who not only watches his flock attentively but lays down his life for it. The Good Shepherd is the polar opposite of the shepherd in Zechariah 11. The Good Shepherd is Jesus in 1 Peter 1 and the figure who points to powerless children as spiritual models in Luke 18. The Good Shepherd is one consistent with the description of God in Psalm 46.
To be a sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd is wonderful indeed.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 7, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK LUCIAN HOSMER, U.S. UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY GIANELLI, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARIES OF SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI AND THE SISTERS OF MARY DELL’ORTO
THE FEAST OF CHARLES AUGUSTUS BRIGGS, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN PASTOR THEN EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERT OF NEWMINSTER, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND PRIEST
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/good-and-bad-shepherds/
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Above: Sky with Rainbow
Image in the Public Domain
Redemption and Related Responsibilities
SEPTEMBER 8-10, 2022
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The Collect:
O God, overflowing with mercy and compassion,
you lead back to yourself all those who go astray.
Preserve your people in your loving care,
that we may reject whatever is contrary to you
and may follow all things that sustain our life in
your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 47
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 6:1-6 (Thursday)
Genesis 7:6-10; 8:1-5 (Friday)
Genesis 8:20-9:7 (Saturday)
Psalm 51:1-10 (All Days)
1 Timothy 1:1-11 (Thursday)
2 Peter 2:1-10a (Friday)
John 10:11-21 (Saturday)
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Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth,
a sinner from my mother’s womb.
–Psalm 51:6, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The comedian Lewis Black told a joke explaining why God seems more violent in the Hebrew Bible than in the New Testament. Having a son calmed him down. That is, of course, bad theology, for it falls under the heading of the Arian heresy. Furthermore, the God of the Book of Revelation is not the deity of “Kum ba Yah,” a song I despise for several reasons. The Smiter-in-Chief is in full form in the composite story of Noah, based on older stories.
Rewritten folklore and mythology in the Bible presents us with the opportunity to ponder profound theology. We might think that we know a particular tale better than we actually do, so we ought to avoid switching on the automatic pilot. Human immorality saddens God’s heart in Genesis 6:6, but Noah has found favor with God. “Noah,” in Hebrew, is “favor” spelled backward. A note in The Jewish Study Bible–Second Edition (2014) tells me that this
indicates that human perversion and divine grief will not be the last word.
–page 19
Furthermore, the Hebrew word for the ark occurs in just one other story in the Hebrew Bible. It applies also to the basket containing young Moses in Exodus 2. Again The Jewish Study Bible–Second Edition (2014) helps me dig deeper into the scriptures:
Noah foreshadows Moses even as Moses, removed from the water, foreshadows the people Israel, whom he leads to safety through the death-dealing sea that drowns their oppressors (Exod. chs 14-15). The great biblical tale of redemption occurs first in a shorter, universal form, then in a longer, particularistic one.
–page 20
The author of Psalm 51 (traditionally King David, but knows for sure?) understood human sinfulness well. So did the author of 1 Timothy, writing under the name of St. Paul the Apostle. Laws, he noted,
are not framed for people who are good.
–1:9, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
That statement applies to divine law, certainly. Indeed, in context, it pertains to the Law of Moses. That code, containing timeless principles and culturally specific examples thereof, sometimes becomes a confusing array of laws. Many people mistake culturally specific examples for timeless principles, thereby falling into legalism. The pillars of that code are:
- We mere mortals are totally dependent on God,
- We humans depend upon each other also,
- We humans are responsible for each other, and
- We humans are responsible to each other.
Turning to John 10, we read of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. The sheep need the shepherd, who protects them and lays down his life for them. The sheep also know the shepherd’s voice. I, as a Christian, am one of the sheep. I know my need for God and the ease with which I yield to many temptations. The laws of God exist for people such as me. Divine guidance and redemption play out in my life.
The individual part of religion is important, of course, but it is hardly everything. The collective aspect is crucial also. This truth is especially evident in Judaism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Roman Catholicism. Much of Protestantism, however, has gone overboard with regard to individualism. Redemption is not just my story or your story. No, it is our story as we relate to God and God relates to us. Society exerts a powerful influence upon our notions of morality and reverence; it shapes us, just as we influence it. May we be salt and light, shaping society according to the four pillars of the Law of Moses and according to the unconditional and free (yet not cheap) love of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 18, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MALTBIE DAVENPORT BABCOCK, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN I, BISHOP OF ROME
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/05/18/redemption-and-related-responsibilities/
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Above: Carpe Diem Sundial
Image Source = aewolf from Denver
Ecclesiastes and John, Part VII: Carpe Diem
JUNE 3, 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:
Ecclesiastes 11:1-10
Psalm 51 (Morning)
Psalms 85 and 47 (Evening)
John 10:22-42
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The title of the notes to Ecclesiastes 11:1-10 in The Jewish Study Bible is
Seize the day, for the future is dark and uncertain.
That summarizes the text accurately. Youth is fleeting, it says. Hard work does not guarantee success, it says. All of this rings with truth and accuracy for many people, including me. I wish that it did otherwise, but such is reality. One need not have lost youth to know frustration over fruitless efforts. Yet one does need to have achieved a certain age to realize the fleeting nature of age. For me that moment came on the day I looked at the birth dates of my students one Fall Semester and realized that most of them were either infants or fetuses when I graduated from high school. Sprouting white hairs at the temples and on my chin reinforced my sense of age. Nevertheless, I think that white hairs on my chin look rather distinguished.
Jesus, for all his hard work, faced a near-stoning in John 10. In the same chapter and at a different locale he found believers. Hard work does not guarantee success, as Koheleth wrote:
…you don’t know which is going to succeed, the one or the other, or if both are equally good.
–Ecclesiastes 11:6b, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
The best any of us can do will have to suffice. So, while we are here on this planet, may we strive to do our best at whatever we do. May our goals be socially useful ones which help people practically, affirm their dignity as bearers of the divine image, and meet real needs. May each of us do his or her part, including helping others do theirs. And, whether we succeed or fail partially or completely, may the effort (at least) have been worth it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 6, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE
THE FEAST OF ISAIAH, BIBLICAL PROPHET
THE FEAST OF JAN HUS, PROTO-PROTESTANT MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT PALLADIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/ecclesiastes-and-john-part-vii-carpe-diem/
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Above: Design Drawing for Stained-Glass Window Showing Cross with Crook and Lambs with Text, ” I am the Good Shepherd”
Image Source = Library of Congress
Ecclesiastes and John, Part VI: Jesus or Koheleth?
JUNE 2, 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:
Ecclesiastes 10:1-20
Psalm 67 (Morning)
Psalms 46 and 93 (Evening)
John 10:1-21
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Some Related Posts:
Litany of the Good Shepherd:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/litany-of-the-good-shepherd/
O Thou Who Art the Shepherd:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/o-thou-who-art-the-shepherd/
Shepherd of Tender Youth:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/shepherd-of-tender-youth/
Very Bread, Good Shepherd, Tend Us:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/very-bread-good-shepherd-tend-us/
Shepherd of Souls:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/09/07/shepherd-of-souls-by-james-montgomery/
The King of Love My Shepherd Is:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/the-king-of-love-my-shepherd-is/
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Ecclesiastes 10 consists of assorted sayings regarding various topics. One set (verses 5-7) considers disregard of hierarchy an “evil.” Koheleth’s denunciation of disregard for hierarchy provides the link between Ecclesiastes 10 and John 10. The Incarnation meant (and continues to mean) a great deal, but certainly (yet not exclusively) the disregard of hierarchy.
The Son of Man came to serve and not to be served….
and
The shepherd lays down his life for his sheep….
These are not the sayings of one who insisted on his rights and privileges as part of a hierarchy. After all, the greatest among us must be the servant of all, as the youngest, and therefore the one with the least power, if any.
Jesus or Koheleth? I choose Jesus.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 4, 2012 COMMON ERA
INDEPENDENCE DAY (U.S.A.)
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/ecclesiastes-and-john-part-vi-jesus-or-koheleth/
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ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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