Archive for the ‘John 6’ Tag
Above: Marriage Cross
Image in the Public Domain
Being Subject to One Another
AUGUST 25, 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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Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18
Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 5:21-31
John 6:60-69
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God of all creation,
you reach out to call people of all nations to your kingdom.
As you gather disciples from near and far,
count us also among those
who boldly confess your Son Jesus Christ as Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 27
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O almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life,
grant us without doubt to know your Son Jesus Christ
to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life
that, following his steps,
we may steadfastly walk in the say that leads to eternal life;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 77
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Cultural context is crucial. Consider that assertion, O reader, as we ponder Ephesians 5:21-31.
- Patriarchy was ubiquitous. The text did not question it. We may justly question patriarchy, though.
- A household was like a small fortress with bolted outer gates and inner doors. These security measures were necessary because the society lacked domestic police forces.
- Wives were frequently much younger than their husbands.
- So, the theme of reciprocal service and protection within marriage was relatively progressive. The husband had the duty to sacrifice himself to protect his wife, if necessary.
David Bentley Hart translates 5:21 to read:
Being stationed under one another in reverence for the Anointed, ….
The Revised New Jerusalem Bible offers a variation on the standard English-language translation:
Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
J. B. Phillips‘s final translation (1972) of the New Testament provides a different and thought-provoking version of this verse:
And “fit in with” each other, because of your common reverence for Christ.
Clarence Jordan‘s version of this epistle, the Letter to the Christians in Birmingham, renders this verse as follows:
Put yourselves under one another with Christ-like respect.
I, without justifying ancient social norms I find objectionable, do try to understand them in context. I also recognize that a text says what it says, not what (a) I wish it ways, and (b) what it may superficially seem to say. So, within the context of ancient Roman society, we have a text about reciprocal service and protection within marriage. The text makes clear that there is no room for exploitation in marriage. The model for the husband is Jesus, who laid down his life.
Speaking of Jesus, he lost some followers in John 6:66. Yet may we say with St. Simon Peter:
Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we know that you are the Holy One of God.
—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible
The theme of the importance of following God exists in Joshua 24, a book edited together from various sources after the Babylonian Exile. The Book of Joshua benefits from centuries of hindsight. Other portions of the Hebrew Bible tell us which choice–polytheism–adherents of the Hebrew folk religion made for centuries. Yet the authorial voice in the sources of the Hebrew Bible is that of the priestly religion. This is appropriate.
Serve God and God alone, that authorial voice repeats. Avoid idolatry and practical atheism, it tells us again and again. This is a message for the community first and the individual second. Western rugged individualism is alien to the Bible.
If we apply the advice to be subject to one another/fit in with each other/be stationed under one another/put ourselves under one another out of reverence for Christ–or God, if you, O reader, prefer–to our communities, congregations, and mature (as opposed to casual or immature) relationships, we will have stronger communities, congregations, and mature relationships. To value other people because of who they are–not what they can do for us–is to orientate relationships in a mutually healthy direction. Everyone benefits, regardless of the cultural context, with its societal norms. This approach, if it becomes normative, will transform those societal norms for the common good.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 14, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE SIXTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD THOMAS DEMBY AND HENRY BEARD DELANY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHIPS FOR COLORED WORK
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTHONY, JOHN, AND EUSTATHIUS OF VILNIUS, MARTYRS IN LITHUANIA, 1347
THE FEAST OF GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL, COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT LUCIEN BOTOVASOA, MALAGASY ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1947
THE FEAST OF SAINT WANDREGISILUS OF NORMANDY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT LAMBERT OF LYONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENAIDA OF TARSUS AND HER SISTER, SAINT PHILONELLA OF TARSUS; AND SAINT HERMIONE OF EPHESUS; UNMERCENARY PHYSICIANS
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Calvary Episcopal Church, Americus, Georgia, December 24, 2017
Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Three Banquets, Part II
AUGUST 18, 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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Proverbs 9:1-6
Psalm 34:9-14
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58
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Almighty and ever-loving God,
you have given great and precious promises to those who believe.
Grant us the perfect faith, which overcomes all doubts,
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26
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Merciful Father,
since you have given your only Son as the sacrifice for our sin,
also give us grace to receive with thanksgiving
the fruits of this redeeming work
and daily follow in his way;
through your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 75-76
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The four assigned readings, taken together, proclaim a straight-forward message: Listen to God. Receive divine wisdom. Love righteousness, not evil ways. All that is easier to summarize than to do.
Defining some terms may help to elucidate this matter.
- Righteousness is right relationship with God, self, others, and all of creation. Biblically, righteousness and justice are interchangeable.
- Wickedness is the rejection of divine generosity. Therefore, the wicked cannot be generous. They also deny that they depend upon God for everything, so they imagine that they must take care of themselves. This attitude opens the door to amoral, harmful, and exploitative actions toward others. The wicked perform evil deeds–bad, malicious, and perverse actions. Yet they take care of themselves. Or do they, ultimately?
The beginning of wisdom and morality, therefore, is the acknowledgment of (a) complete dependence on God, and (b) mutuality. We all depend upon God and each other. We are all responsible to and for each other, also. What one person does affects others. And nobody has the moral right to exploit anyone.
Food is a theme in Proverbs 9 and John 6. Proverbs 9 tells of two banquets. Lady Wisdom invites people to her banquet in verses 1-12. Then Lady Folly’s banquet fills verses 13-18. Lady Wisdom invites people to eat her food and drink her wine. The first chapter of the Gospel of John links Jesus (the Logos, or Word, of God) to Lady Wisdom. (However, Sarah Ruden’s lively translation translates Logos in John 1 as “true account.”) Jesus, in John 6, speaks at length about the bread of life and the flesh and the blood of the Son of Man. This language is unmistakably Eucharistic. I, having Anglo-Catholic tendencies, affirm Transubstantiation.
Another link between Proverbs 9 and John 6 stands out in my mind. Those who attend Lady Folly’s banquet at in Sheol (Proverbs 9:19). Yet:
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
–John 6:54, The New American Bible–Revised Edition
I immediately recall the refrain to Suzanne Toolan’s hymn, “I Am the Bread of Life,” based on John 6:
And I will raise you up,
And I will raise you up,
and I will raise you up on the last day.
–Quoted in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006)
The crucifixion of Jesus carries more than one meaning simultaneously. One of these meanings is the reminder that Jesus died unjustly. The Gospel of Luke drives this point home; a veritable parade of people attests to the innocence of Jesus in the Lucan Passion narrative. How often do we perpetuate injustice, perhaps in the name of God and Christ? As often as we do so, we act as the wicked do; we join the ranks of the evil and the guests at Lady Folly’s banquet.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 13, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FIFTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH BARBER LIGHTFOOT, BISHOP OF DURHAM
THE FEAST OF HENRI PERRIN, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC WORKER PRIEST
THE FEAST OF JOHN GLOUCESTER, FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER
THE FEAST OF LUCY CRAFT LANEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN EDUCATOR AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARTIN I, BISHOP OF ROME, AND MARTYR, 655; AND SAINT MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR, EASTERN ORTHODOX MONK, ABBOT, AND MARTYR, 662
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROLANDO RIVI, ROMAN CATHOLIC SEMINARIAN AND MARTYR, 1945
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Elijah in the Wilderness, by Washington Allston
Image in the Public Domain
Eternal Life and Communal Life
AUGUST 11, 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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1 Kings 19:4-8
Psalm 34:1-8
Ephesians 4:30-5:2
John 6:41-51
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Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray,
and to give us more than we either desire or deserve.
Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask,
except through the merit of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26
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Almighty and everlasting God,
always more ready to hear than we to pray
and always ready to give more than we either desire or deserve,
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us the good things we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of 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), 74
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Just as the Kingdom of God is simultaneously present and future in the Synoptic Gospels, eternal life is present for those who follow Jesus. “Eternal” carries a range of meanings in the Bible, depending upon the author one reads. In the Johannine tradition, it means “of God,” and eternal life is knowing God via Jesus. This definition differs from the Pauline tradition of eternal life–a blessed afterlife. Yet consider, O reader, that the present tense of eternal life in the Gospel of John is consistent with the Realized Eschatology of the Johannine Gospel.
Amen, Amen, I say to you,
one who believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
–John 6:47-48, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible
Ephesians 5:1 tells us–collectively, in context–to “become imitators of God.” The textual context, flowing from chapter 4, is mutuality under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Forgiveness is a key feature of this model of communal life (4:32). This is bold living. In the historical context of the Epistle to the Ephesians, this is bold living amid a hostile culture. So, amid hostility and persecution, the faith community could pray, in the words of Psalm 34:3:
In the LORD do I glory.
Let the lowly hear and rejoice.
–Robert Alter
Boldness had defined Elijah’s actions as recently as 1 Kings 18. Yet, not surprisingly, Elijah’s massacre of the prophets of Baal Peor had displeased Queen Jezebel of Israel. So, Elijah had abandoned all boldness, started hiding out in the wilderness, and commenced a pity party. The prophet forgot about the one hundred prophets of YHWH safely hidden and supplied with food and drink in two caves (1 Kings 18:4). If Queen Jezebel had succeeded in having Elijah killed, one hundred prophets of YHWH would have carried on his work.
Fear and ego may blind us to a key fact: Although each of us has work from God, that work will continue via other people (agents of God) if we move away, chicken out, et cetera. God’s work does not depend solely on you, O reader, or on me. Nevertheless, you and I have an obligation to God to fulfill faithfully the work God has assigned us.
I lived in Athens, Georgia, for sixteen years and two months. While there, I became so active in St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church that I became part of the woodwork, so to speak. Immediately before I left, I had been teaching a lectionary discussion class, serving as the parish librarian, and scheduling the lectors and the money counters for a few years. The COVID-19 pandemic had abruptly terminated the sixth year of my parish movie series in March 2020. The film series had not resumed when I left Athens in October 2021. Before I left, more than one person asked me how the work I did in the parish would continue. I reassured them that the work would continue. After I left, four people replaced me within short order. Then a fifth person started a new movie series.
God is central. Also, in faith community, each person is important, yet nobody is irreplaceable. God grants spiritual gifts as necessary. So, lest we forget this, we may need to get over ourselves. Eternal life is her; may we–as faith communities and as individuals–frolic in it and in so doing, become imitators of God, like beloved children. May we not grieve the Holy Spirit.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 12, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS NEPHEW, WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF CARL F. PRICE, U.S. METHODIST HYMNOLOGIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID URIBE-VELASCO, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA OF JESUS OF THE ANDES, CHILEAN ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Manna
Image in the Public Domain
Short and Selective Memories
AUGUST 4, 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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Exodus 16:2-15
Psalm 78:23-29 (LBW) or Psalm 119:89-104 (LW)
Ephesians 4:17-24
John 6:24-35
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Gracious Father,
your blessed Son came down from heaven
to be the true bread which gives life to the world.
Give us this bread,
that he may live in us and we in him,
Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
OR
Almighty God, judge of us all,
you have placed in our hands the wealth we call our own.
Give us such wisdom by your Spirit
that our possessions may not be a curse in our lives,
but an instrument for blessing;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26
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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;
for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 73
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Human memories can be notoriously short and selective. The grumbling in the wilderness is one example. We may recall that the Exodus itself was impressive and that this was only one manifestation of divine action and presence. Yet we read of grumbling and a lack of confidence in God. We who have read the Torah understand that the quail and the manna did not terminate the grumbling.
Then we turn to John 6:24-35, set on the day after the Feeding of the Five Thousand. We can read verse 14, in the immediate context of the miracle:
This is indeed the prophet who is come into the world.
—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible
Then we can move to the next day and to verses 30-31, in which some of the people whom Jesus had fed asked him:
What sign will you do, that we may see and believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers ate manna in the desert….
—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible
Some memories are simultaneously long and notoriously short and selective. These two examples have the vibe of,
What will you do for me today?
Psalm 78, Psalm 119, and Ephesians 4:17-24 teach a different way: Remember then act accordingly. Recall what God has done and respond faithfully–both collectively and individually. Psalm 119 uses first-person singular pronouns liberally. Psalm 78 opens with an appeal to “my people.” And the audience for the Epistle to the Ephesians was also collective. (The earliest copies lack “in Ephesus” in 1:1, but we are still reading a letter intended for at least one congregation.)
By grace, may we–both collectively and individually–recall what God has done for others and for us–for our forebears and in living memory. May this recollection inspire us to trust in God, even when we occupy a spiritual wilderness or another period of uncertainty. Besides, what we think we may need and what God knows we need may differ from each other.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 12, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS NEPHEW, WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF CARL F. PRICE, U.S. METHODIST HYMNOLOGIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID URIBE-VELASCO, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA OF JESUS OF THE ANDES, CHILEAN ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: The Meeting of Esau and Jacob, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
Seeing the Face of God and Living
JULY 28, 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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Exodus 24:3-11
Psalm 145 (LBW) or Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26 (LW)
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16
John 6:1-15
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O God, your ears are always open to the prayers of your servants.
Open our hearts and minds to you,
that we may live in harmony with your will
and receive the gifts of your Spirit;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26
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O God, the Protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy,
increase and multiply your mercy on us,
that with you as our Ruler and Guide,
we may so pass through things temporal,
that we lose not the things eternal;
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), 71
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This Sunday we read the Johannine version of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Plus). You, O reader, may recall that we read the Markan account of that miracle last Sunday. With that comment, I move along to other material.
Besides, I have written about the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Plus) frequently at this weblog.
The reading from Exodus 24 (source = E) agrees with Ephesians 4 regarding the three-tiered cosmos. In Exodus 24, the mythological explanation for the sky being blue is that the sky, as the floor of God’s palace, is like a pavement of sapphire. The Bible is not a science book. To quote the great Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who got into deep trouble for distinguishing between science and theology following the Protestant Reformation,
The Bible tells us how to go to Heaven, not how the Heavens go.
Mythology aside, can one see God and live? The Hebrew Bible, consisting of sources, disagrees with itself. Not only do sources contradict each other, but sometimes the same source may not of one mind. We read in Exodus 24:9-11 (source = E) that the answer is affirmative. We read in Exodus 33:11 (source = E) that God spoke to Moses
face to face, as one man speaks to another.
Yet we read in Exodus 33:20-24 (source = E, or not, depending on which exegete one believes) that no human being may see God and live, that nobody may see God’s face, and that Moses saw God’s back.
Nevertheless, as often as anyone saw Jesus of Nazareth in the flesh, one saw God–with a face, even.
God is gracious, the assigned readings tell us. So, we who follow God have an obligation to practice such graciousness. David Bentley Hart’s translation of Ephesians 4:2-3 reads:
…With all humility and gentleness, with magnanimity, bearing with one another in love, Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace….
In a way, following that advice constitutes seeing the face of God and living. We read of the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 33. We read that, following decades of enmity and the plausible fear of violence from Esau, Jacob the erstwhile trickster told his brother:
…for to see your face is like seeing the face of God….
–Genesis 33:10, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
That line from the story of Jacob and Esau deserves more attention that most readers of Genesis 33 give it.
We–in our families, congregations, communities, et cetera–need to live the principles of Ephesians 4:2-3. This is the essence of righteousness, which is right relationship with God, self, others, and all of creation. This is righteousness, which is synonymous with justice in the Bible. By grace, may it be our reality.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 10, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, SCIENTIST, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT BADEMUS, PERSIAN MARTYR, 376
THE FEAST OF SAINT BONIFACY ZUKOWSKI, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC FRIAR AND MARTYR, 1942
THE FEAST OF SAINT FULBERT OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF HENRY VAN DYKE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF HOWARD THURMAN, U.S. PROTESTANT THEOLOGIAN
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Za’atri Refugee Camp for Syrian Refugees, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, July 18, 2013
Image in the Public Domain
Image Source = United States Department of State
Gratitude and the Golden Rule
NOVEMBER 24, 2022
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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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Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 126
Philippians 4:4-9
John 6:25-35
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All we have comes from God. The Biblical ethic of mutuality begins here. It continues by teaching that we are all responsible to and for each other. We, therefore, have no right to exploit or victimize anyone.
These texts take us–you, O reader, and me–into the realm of collective responsibility. That gets us into laws, policies, and politics. Deuteronomy 26 points to immigrants and refugees, in particular. Nativism and xenophobia are not proper Biblical values, but they are staples of many laws and policies (especially immigration laws and policies) and much political activity. This constitutes a violation of the Golden Rule.
Philippians 4 offers wonderful communal advice. Christian toleration (not of evil, of course) should be a defining characteristic of faith community and society. People ought to fill their minds with that which is noble, good, and pure.
Repaying God for all the blessings God has bestowed is impossible. God does not command repayment, fortunately. A faithful response is in order, though. Gratitude is part of that faithful response. One may properly express that gratitude in more than one way. Words and thoughts of “thank you” are appropriate. Participation in corporate worship, when possible and when responsible, according to public health concerns, is crucial, also. Keeping divine commandments is a mandated expression of love for God in both Testaments. And both Testaments teach that love for God and love for our fellow human beings are intertwined.
So, how grateful are we, collectively and individually? And how many types of people are we willing to love in the name of God? Furthermore, how politically controversial will living according to the Golden Rule be?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANSKAR AND RIMBERT, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOPS OF HAMBURG-BREMEN
THE FEAST OF ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER, ENGLISH POET AND FEMINIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALFRED DELP, GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945
THE FEAST OF JEMIMA THOMPSON LUKE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER; AND JAMES EDMESTON, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL DAVIES, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/02/03/gratitude-and-the-golden-rule/
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Above: Icon of Noah’s Ark
Image in the Public Domain
The Peace of God
JULY 31, 2022
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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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Genesis 6:9-22 or Acts 22:21-30
Psalm 127
Revelation 2:18-29
John 6:60-71
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Context matters.
Thyatira was a frontier city and a center of commerce. Idolatry was also commonplace, as in meat sacrificed to false deities. St. Paul the Apostle had addressed other churches regarding this matter. He recognized that, given the non-existence of those gods and goddesses, one could, in good conscience, eat meat sacrificed to them. St. Paul the Apostle also treated that matter cautiously. He knew that many people, still strongly influenced by their culture, did not know that there was only one God.
Whether to consume meat offered to idols remained an issue for many Christians. In my cultural context, however, that is a non-issue. Nevertheless, the question of what an equivalent issue in my time and place may be germane.
Ernest Lee Stoffel, in The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), wrote about improper compromises the Church makes with culture–an evergreen issue. The Church made unacceptable compromises with culture during the age of Christendom. The Church of 2021, increasingly on the margins of society in places where it used to be prominent, has continued to face the pressure to make improper compromises.
May we of the Church be careful, both collectively and individually. May we avoid mistaking being serial contrarians for being faithful disciples of Jesus. The larger culture is not wrong about everything.
And may we never lose faith that God is in charge. God still cares about us and remains with us. We may or may not receive protection from unfortunate events. Nevertheless, God will be with us. we still depend entirely on God. We continue to depend on each other and to be responsible to and for each other. Together, with God’s help, we will come through storms of life, even if they consume us physically, emotionally, and/or economically.
Consider Jesus and St. Paul the Apostle, O reader. Both of them suffered terribly. St. Paul died as a martyr. Jesus died on a cross. (He did not remain dead for long, of course.) As Daniel Berrigan (1921-2016) said, Christians should look good on wood.
I have heard of certain Evangelical megachurches without a cross in sight. Crosses are depressing, some people have explained. How do such people think Jesus felt?
The servant is not greater than the master.
The peace of God, it is no peace,
But strife closed in the sod.
Yet, brothers, pray for but one thing:
The marvelous peace of God.
–William Alexander Percy (1885-1942), 1924; quoted in Pilgrim Hymnal (1958), #340
Amen.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 18, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE CONFESSION OF SAINT PETER THE APOSTLE
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/18/the-peace-of-god-part-ii/
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Above: The Stoning of Saint Stephen, by Rembrandt Van Rijn
Image in the Public Domain
Wickedness
JULY 24, 2022
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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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Genesis 6:1-8 or Acts 22:1-22
Psalm 125
Revelation 2:12-17
John 6:41-59
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The Humes lectionary divides Genesis 6 across two Sundays: Today’s portion of Genesis 6 includes the debut of the Nephilim in the Bible. This is an example of pagan folklore adapted for scriptural purposes. And Richard Elliott Friedman, in his Commentary on the Torah (2001), describes stories of the Nephilim as being elements of a larger story
widely separated, distributed across great stretches of the narrative.
–33
According to Dr. Friedman, Genesis 6:1-5 links to Numbers 13:33, Joshua 11:21-22, and 1 Samuel 17:4. Dr. Friedman describes Goliath of Gath as the last of the Nephilim, the final one to go down to defeat.
The big idea in Genesis 6:1-8 is the increasing wickedness of the human race. “Wicked” and “wickedness” are words many use casually, with little or not thought about what they mean. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (1973) offers various definitions of “wicked.” The most helpful one, in this context is:
evil or morally bad in principle or in practice; sinful; vicious; iniquitous.
In Jewish theology, wickedness (or one form of it) flows from the conviction that God does not care what we do, therefore we mere mortals are on our own. The dictionary’s definition of wickedness as being evil in principle or practice is helpful and accurate. Moustache-twirling villains exist in greater numbers in cartoons than in real life. Most people who commit wickedness do not think of themselves as being wicked or or having committed wickedness. Many of them think they have performed necessary yet dirty work, at worst. And many others imagine that they are doing or have done God’s work.
One may point to Saul of Tarsus, who had the blood of Christians on his hands before he became St. Paul the Apostle. One lesson to take away from St. Paul’s story is that the wicked are not beyond repentance and redemption.
On a prosaic level, each of us needs to watch his or her life for creeping wickedness. One can be conventionally pious and orthodox yet be wicked. One can affirm that God cares about how we treat others and be wicked. One can sin while imagining that one is acting righteously.
Unfortunately, some of the references in Revelation 2:12-17 are vague. Time has consumed details of the Nicolaitian heresy, for example. And the text does not go into detail regarding what some members of the church at Pergamum were doing. According to Ernest Lee Stoffel, The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), the offense was probably a perceived license to sin, predicated on salvation by grace–cheap grace, in other words. Grace is cheap yet never cheap.
Moral compartmentalization is an ancient and contemporary spiritual ailment. The challenge to be holy on Sunday and on Monday remains a topic on the minds of many pastors. Related to this matter is another one: the frequent disconnect between private morality and public morality. Without creating or maintaining a theocracy, people can apply their ethics and morals in public life. The main caveat is that some methods of application may not work, may be of limited effectiveness, and/or may have negative, unintended consequences. I feel confident, O reader, in stating that the idealistic aspects of the movement that gave birth to Prohibition in the United States of America did not not include aiding and abetting organized crime. But they had that effect.
By grace, may we seek to avoid wickedness and succeed in avoiding it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 16, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERTO DE NOBOLI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BERARD AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS IN MOROCCO, 1220
THE FEAST OF EDMUND HAMILTON SEARS, U.S. UNITARIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF GUSTAVE WEIGEL, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF RICHARD MEUX BENSON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND COFOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST; CHARLES CHAPMAN GRAFTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, COFOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST, AND BISHOP OF FOND DU LAC; AND CHARLES GORE, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF WORCESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND OXFORD; FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE RESURRECTION; AND ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND WORLD PEACE
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/16/wickedness/
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Above: Ruins of Ephesus
Image Source = Google Earth
Keeping Faith
JULY 17, 2022
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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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Genesis 4:1-16 or Acts 21:8-15
Psalm 124
Revelation 2:8-11
John 6:25-40
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Keep the faith, we read. Keep the faith, even though a congregation is small in membership and poor by economic standards. Keep the faith even though one or one’s fellow congregants must suffer and perhaps die for the faith. Keep the faith while enemies of the people of God assail them. Keep the faith in the name of Jesus, the bread of life.
Why does God prefer X to Y? The answer may never become obvious to we mere mortals, as in the matter of the sacrifices Cain and Abel made to God. What is clear, however, is how people respond or react to God’s choosing. One may respond well, as in Acts 2:14:
The Lord’s will be done.
—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible (2019)
Or one may respond badly.
Keep the faith amid disappointment and anger, we read. Keep the faith when hopes and realities do not resemble each other. Do not lash out and behave in an unfortunate and indefensible manner.
Ernest Lee Stoffel, writing in 1981, wrote words (based on Revelation 2:8-11) that are more applicable to the state of the church in 2021.
The church’s present “poverty” in the world–declining membership, gaining little attention in the world, losing her place as a dominant institution in most communities–may be the way to her becoming “rich,” to the recovery of her real power in Christ’s power. The way of bigness and wealth (and this is not to inveigh against large, rich churches) may not be the way. Sometimes it is when we have nothing, when we have been stripped of our securities, and feel no affirmation at all, that we have the most power. The way may be the way of “poverty” before Christ, standing before him, stripped of any affirmation or security.
—The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), 29
After all, we all depend entirely on God, who is faithful. May we keep the faith.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 16, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERTO DE NOBOLI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BERARD AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS IN MOROCCO, 1220
THE FEAST OF EDMUND HAMILTON SEARS, U.S. UNITARIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF GUSTAVE WEIGEL, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF RICHARD MEUX BENSON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND COFOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST; CHARLES CHAPMAN GRAFTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, COFOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST, AND BISHOP OF FOND DU LAC; AND CHARLES GORE, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF WORCESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND OXFORD; FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE RESURRECTION; AND ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND WORLD PEACE
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/16/keeping-faith-part-ii/
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Above: Ruins of Ephesus
Image Source = Google Earth
Deeds and Creeds
JULY 10, 2022
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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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Genesis 3:1-19 or Acts 20:17-38
Psalm 123
Revelation 2:1-7
John 6:16-24
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Words have power. Libel and slander are threats. Some words build up. Other words tear down. Some words make truths plain. Other words confuse. Some words heal, but other words harm. And misquoting God is always a bad idea.
Consider Genesis 2:16-17, O reader:
The LORD God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden, except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From it you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Then, O reader, consider Genesis 3:2-3:
The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, “You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die!”
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
God said nothing about touching the fruit in Genesis 2:16-17.
Misquoting God opens a door that should remain closed.
Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make; you have less love than you used to.
–Revelation 2:4, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Concern for resisting heresy can come at a high cost, if a congregation, person, et cetera, goes about affirming orthodoxy the wrong way. That cost is too little love. This is also a moral in Morris West’s novel Lazarus (1990), about the fictional Pope Leo XIV, a harsh yet extremely orthodox man.
The late Presbyterian minister Ernest Lee Stoffel offered useful analysis of the message to the church at Ephesus:
This is to say that a church can lose its effectiveness if it has no love. As I think about the mission of the church, as I hear calls for “more evangelism” and a stronger application of the Gospel to the social issues of the day, I wonder if we can do either unless we can love first–love each other and love the world, for Christ’s sake.
—The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), 27
To quote St. Paul the Apostle:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
–1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
Orthodoxy without love is devoid of value. May we who say we follow Jesus really follow him. May we love as he did–unconditionally and selflessly. May we–collectively and individually–love like Jesus. May our orthodoxy and our orthopraxy be like sides of one coin. May our deeds reveal our creeds and not belie our professions of faith.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 15, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND MARTYR, 1968
THE FEAST OF ABBY KELLEY FOSTER AND HER HUSBAND, STEPHEN SYMONDS FOSTER, U.S. QUAKER ABOLITIONISTS AND FEMINISTS
THE FEAST OF BERTHA PAULSSEN, GERMAN-AMERICAN SEMINARY PROFESSOR, PSYCHOLOGIST, AND SOCIOLOGIST
THE FEAST OF GENE M. TUCKER, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF JOHN COSIN, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF COSIN
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/15/deeds-and-creeds-v/
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ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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