Archive for the ‘Leviticus 19’ Tag
Above: Woodland Stream, by Alexander Demetrius Goltz
Image in the Public Domain
Holiness
NOVEMBER 5, 2023
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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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Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18
Psalm 1
1 Thessalonians 1:5b-10
Matthew 22:34-40 (41-46)
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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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Holiness, in the Bible, pertains to separation from the profane/common (Leviticus 10:10; 1 Samuel 21:5-6; Ezekiel 22:26; 44:23; etc.). Holiness is about complete devotion to God. Holiness, however, is not about legalism, self-righteousness, and serial contrariness. No, holiness is more about what it favors than what it opposes.
Holiness–in its proper sense–manifests itself in life:
- The Holiness code, as in Leviticus 19:1-37, includes honoring parents; keeping the sabbath; refraining from idolatry; offering a sacrifice of well-being properly; feeding the poor; dealing honestly with people; defrauding no one and stealing from nobody; not insulting the deaf; not placing a stumbling block before the blind; rendering impartial justice; loving one’s kinsman as oneself; not mixing different types of cattle, seeds, and cloth; refraining from sexual relations with a slave woman meant for another man; reserving the fruit of the food tree for God for the first three years; eating nothing with blood; avoiding divination and soothsaying; avoiding extreme expressions of grief and mourning; not forcing one’s daughter into harlotry; and eschewing necromancy. Most of the items on this list are absent from the assigned portion of Leviticus 19. Cultural contexts define them.
- “The man” (literal from the Hebrew text) is a student of the Torah. He finds his stability in God, in contrast to the unstable scoffers. When the scoffers find stability, they do not find it in God.
- Holiness is contagious in 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10.
- Jesus knew the influence of Rabbi Hillel (Matthew 22:34-40). Holiness manifests in how we treat each other.
In a dog-eat-dog world, more spiritually toxic since the advent of social media and internet comments sections one does well not to read, loving God fully and loving one’s neighbor as one loves oneself (assuming that one loves oneself, of course) does separate one from the profane/common. Holiness is love, not legalism. Many particulars of holiness vary according to context, but the timeless principles remain constant.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 22, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JACK LAYTON, CANADIAN ACTIVIST AND FEDERAL LEADER OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
THE FEAST OF JOHN DAVID CHAMBERS, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS HRYBORII KHOMYSHYN, SYMEON LUKACH, AND IVAN SLEZYUK, UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC BISHOPS AND MARTYRS, 1947, 1964, AND 1973
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN KEMBLE AND JOHN WALL, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYRS, 1679
THE FEAST OF SAINTS THOMAS PERCY, RICHARD KIRKMAN, AND WILLIAM LACEY, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 1572 AND 1582
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Communion of Saints
Image in the Public Domain
The Communion of Saints
NOVEMBER 1, 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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Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Psalm 149
Ephesians 1:11-23
Luke 6:20-31
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O blest Communion! Fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle; they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Hallelujah!
–William Walsham How (1823-1897), 1854
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A saint, in terms of the New Testament, is a Christian. The concept of Biblical sainthood is that being holy, as YHWH is holy (Leviticus 19:2). Saints (in Daniel 7:18) will receive the Kingdom of God (yes, in the apocalyptic sense of the kingdom).
The backdrop of three of the four readings (except 149) is apocalypse, or rather, the expectation of the apocalypse–the Day of the Lord (in Hebrew Biblical terms) and the eventual (yet delayed) return of Christ in the New Testament lessons. One function of apocalyptic language is to contrast the world order with God’s order, the Kingdom of God. Luke 6:20-31 hits us over the head with this contrast.
- The poor are blessed and will inherit the Kingdom of God. The rich, in contrast, are receiving their consolation. (I belong to monthly book group focused on the historical Jesus and the early church. According to what I have read, the correct translation is that the rich are receiving their consolation, not that they have received it.)
- The hungry are blessed and will be full. Those who are full will be hungry.
- Those who weep are blessed and will laugh. Those who laugh will mourn and weep.
- Those who endure hatred and exclusion on account of the Son of Man (a call back to Daniel) are blessed and should rejoice. Those who enjoy respect share accolades with false prophets.
- The Bible never says to hate enemies, despite the impressions one may get from certain angry texts, especially in the Book of Psalms. Nevertheless, love of enemies is a difficult commandment. It is possible only via grace.
- The Golden Rule is a timeless principle present in most of the world’s religions. Working around the Golden Rule is as ubiquitous as the commandment, unfortunately.
Christian saints are those who, trusting in Christ crucified, resurrected, and sovereign, follow him. They bear the seal of the Holy Spirit and fight spiritual battles daily. And when Christian saints rest from their labors, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gathers them up.
Think about saints you have known, O reader. They probably infuriated you at times. They were human and imperfect, after all. (So are you, of course.) They struggled with forces and problems you may not have been able to grasp. And they struggled faithfully. These saints did the best they could with what they had, as best they knew to do. And they brought joy to your life and helped you spiritually. You probably miss them. I miss mine, too.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 30, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JAMES MONTGOMERY, ANGLICAN AND MORAVIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF DIET EMAN; HER FIANCÉ, HEIN SIETSMA, MARTYR, 1945; AND HIS BROTHER, HENDRIK “HENK” SIETSMA; RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS
THE FEAST OF JAMES RUSSELL MACDUFF AND GEORGE MATHESON, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTERS AND AUTHORS
THE FEAST OF SARAH JOSEPHA BUELL HALE, POET, AUTHOR, EDITOR, AND PROPHETIC WITNESS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/30/the-communion-of-saints-part-iv/
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Above: Christ Blessing the Children, by Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli
Image in the Public Domain
Good Society, Part I
OCTOBER 13, 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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Leviticus 19:1-18 or 2 Kings 2:1-15
Psalm 68:1-6, 32-35
Hebrews 7:22-8:12
Mark 9:38-50
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MAKE LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR GREAT AGAIN.
–A sign I saw on a bulletin board in the copy room at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia, in 2019
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What else am I supposed to think when I cannot possibly reconcile the Biblical commandment to welcome the strangers among us with news stories about refugees at the southern border of the United States treated as criminals and worse than feral four-legged animals?
The divine law–the one we, as human beings, are supposed to have written on our hearts–teaches the following timeless principles, among others:
- We depend entirely on God.
- We depend on each other.
- We are responsible to each other.
- We are responsible for each other.
- We have no right to exploit each other.
The Law of Moses abounds with culturally-specific examples of those timeless principles. We can think of effective, culturally-specific ways of fulfilling those timeless principles in our societies, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, et cetera. Whenever, wherever, and whoever one is, one has a divine vocation to practice the Golden Rule. When one’s life ends, others will continue that vocation.
I ask you, O reader, to read Leviticus 19:1-18. Identify the timeless principles and the culturally-specific examples of them. Then ponder your society. How could your society improve with the application of the timeless principles? Ask yourself what the best tactics may be. Examine yourself spiritually, also. How could you improve with the application of the timeless principles? Trust God to help you do so.
Society is people. Society shapes people and influences their opinions. However, people also shape society.
May we shape our societies for the better–for the common good and the glory of God–with the help of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 26, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANNE AND JOACHIM, PARENTS OF SAINT MARY OF NAZARETH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/26/good-society-part-vi/
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Above: The Feast of Esther, by Jan Lievens
Image in the Public Domain
Hesed
OCTOBER 29, 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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Esther 7:1-10; 9:20-22 or Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Psalm 35:1-3, 9-18
1 Corinthians 13
Matthew 22:34-46
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Today’s readings from the Hebrew Bible reflect danger and divine deliverance. In Esther and Isaiah the agents of divine deliverance are human beings.
The appeal for divine deliverance is the request for hesed, or loving kindness, steadfast love, keeping of faith. That is a form of love that is covenantal and beyond sentimentality. That is the human love in 1 Corinthians 13. That is the love for God and neighbor in Matthew 22:34-40, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, and sounding much like the then-fairly recently deceased Rabbi Hillel.
Two words I often hear misused are “love” and “friend.” I like chocolate, not love it. In the age of social media “friend” has taken on superficial and shallow connotations. Regardless of how many “friends” one has on any given social media website, one is fortunate if one has a few friends face-to-face–people who will proverbially go through hell for one. I mean no disrespect to Joseph Scriven (1820-1886), author of the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Yet the passage,
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
is inaccurate. If we define a friend as an individual who behaves as a friend, those alleged friends in the hymn are actually enemies. If one has “friends” such as those, one joins the company of Job, afflicted by four enemies by the time the final author of that book wrote.
May we be agents of hesed to one another. May we have hesed for God. After all, God has hesed for all of us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JUTTA OF DISIBODENBERG, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND HER STUDENT, SAINT HILDEGARD OF BINGEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF GERARD MOULTRIE, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZYGMUNT SZCESNY FELINSKI, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF WARSAW, TITULAR BISHOP OF TARSUS, AND FOUNDER OF RECOVERY FOR THE POOR AND THE CONGREGATION OF THE FRANCISCAN SISTERS OF THE FAMILY OF MARY
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZYGMUNT SAJNA, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1940
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/09/17/hesed-part-iii/
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Above: Scroll
Image in the Public Domain
Go and Learn It
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
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The Collect:
God among us, we gather in the name of your Son
to learn love for one another. Keep our feet from evil paths.
Turn our minds to your wisdom and our hearts to the grace
revealed in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 48
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The Assigned Readings:
Exodus 23:1-9
Psalm 113
Romans 3:1-8
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Who is like the LORD our God, who sits enthroned on high,
but stoops to behold the heavens and the earth?
He takes up the weak out of the dust and lifts up the poor from the ashes.
He sets them with the princes, with the princes of his people.
–Psalm 113:5-7, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures one reads of the importance of obeying divine law faithfully. God commands obedience to the law and warns of the dire consequences of disobedience. Two kingdoms fall and, after the fact, the Jewish tradition repeats the theme of the importance of obedience to the law. I wonder, then, how to read St. Paul the Apostle in his Letter to the Romans. Perhaps his target was the legalistic interpretation and keeping of the Law of Moses. In Romans 2, for example, we read of the necessity of the circumcision of the heart. As a note in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011) informs me, that is consistent with Deuteronomy 10:16 and 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4, 9:25-26, and 38:33; and Ezekiel 44:7.
As for the portion of the Law of Moses we find in Exodus 23:1-9, it is timeless, with some culturally specific examples of principles.
- One must not bear false witness, commit perjury, or spread false rumors.
- One must speak the truth and act impartially, showing deference to nobody because of wealth or the lack thereof.
- One must return wandering livestock belonging to an enemy. (This commandment’s principle extends beyond livestock.)
- One must help and enemy raise his beast of burden which has collapsed. (This commandment’s principle also extends beyond livestock.)
- One must not subvert the rights of the poor.
- One must not make or support a false allegation.
- One must not send the innocent to execution.
- One must not accept bribes.
- One must not oppress strangers.
These are commandments, not suggestions.
I think of the famous story of Rabbi Hillel (110 B.C.E.-10. C.E.), who summarized the Torah by citing the commandment to love God fully (the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5) and the Golden Rule (Leviticus 19:18). Then he concluded,
The rest is commentary. Go and learn it.
That statement applies well to Exodus 23:1-9, some of the provisions of which are politically sensitive. Justice, however, is what it is. May we learn it and act accordingly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 19, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW BOBOLA, JESUIT MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT DUNSTAN OF CANTERBURY, ABBOT OF GLASTONBURY AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF KERMARTIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ADVOCATE OF THE POOR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/05/19/go-and-learn-it/
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Above: Vegetables
Image in the Public Domain
Nobility and Love
AUGUST 25 and 26, 2022
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The Collect:
O God, you resist those who are proud and give grace those who are humble.
Give us the humility of your Son, that we may embody
the generosity of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 46
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The Assigned Readings:
Proverbs 15:13-17 (Thursday)
Proverbs 18:6-12 (Friday)
Psalm 112 (Both Days)
1 Peter 3:8-12 (Thursday)
1 Peter 4:7-11 (Friday)
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How blessed is anyone who fears Yahweh,
who delights in his commandments!
–Psalm 112:1, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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These days’ readings, taken together, extol humility, love, and recognition of complete dependence upon God. As one saying from Proverbs states eloquently,
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love
Than a flattened ox where there is hate.
–15:17, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Like unto that is the commandment to
maintain constant love for one another
–1 Peter 4:8a, The New Revised Standard Version (1989),
which is consistent with the ethic of human responsibilities to and for each other, as in the Law of Moses.
Pride (hubris) goes before the fall. Humility is frequently difficult also, but it is the better path. Yes, each of us bears the image of God, but each of us also carries an imperfect nature. Depravity is not even an article of faith for me, for I have evidence for it, and therefore require no faith to recognize the reality of it. Nevertheless, as I heard growing up, God did not make any garbage. Yes, we humans are equally capable of both nobility and depravity, of love and of death. May we, by grace, succeed more often than not in following the paths of nobility and love.
St. Paul the Apostle offered timeless wisdom in his Letter to the Romans:
Never pay back evil for evil. Let your aims be such as all count honourable. If possible, so far as it lies with you, live at peace with all. My dear friends, do not seek revenge, but leave a place for divine retribution; for there is a text which reads, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay.” But there is another text: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; by doing so you will heap live coals on his head.” Do not let evil conquer you, but use good to conquer evil.
–12:17-21, The Revised English Bible (1989)
That passage cites Leviticus 19:18 and Proverbs 25:21-22. It is also compatible with Matthew 5:43-48.
St. Paul summarized an essential part of Christian ethics better than my capacity to paraphrase it. For that reason I leave you, O reader, with those noble words.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 24, 2016 COMMON ERA
MAUNDY THURSDAY
THE FEAST OF THOMAS ATTWOOD, “FATHER OF MODERN CHURCH MUSIC”
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIDACUS JOSEPH OF CADIZ, CAPUCHIN FRIAR
THE FEAST OF OSCAR ROMERO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF SAN SALVADOR, AND THE MARTYRS OF EL SALVADOR
THE FEAST OF PAUL COUTURIER, ECUMENIST
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/nobility-and-love/
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Above: Jesus and Nicodemus on a Rooftop, by Henry Ossawa Tanner
Image in the Public Domain
Timeless Principles
JULY 9, 2022
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The Collect:
O Lord God, your mercy delights us, and the world longs for your loving care.
Hear the cries of everyone in need, and turn our hearts to love our neighbors
with the love of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 42
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The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 19:1-4, 32-37
Psalm 25:1-10
John 3:16-21
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Direct me in your paths, Yahweh,
and teach me your paths.
Encourage me to walk in your truth and teach me
since you are the God who saves me.
–Psalm 25:4-5, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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The lection from Leviticus 19 commands the keeping of all of God’s laws. The specific orders in the designated verses are:
- To belong to God (literally, to be holy),
- To honor one’s parents,
- To keep the Sabbath,
- To refrain from idolatry,
- To respect the elderly,
- To love strangers as one loves oneself, and
- To deal honestly in business.
In other words, God should be in all that one does. These are some examples of how to live according to that principle, how to walk in the light, not the darkness.
Some people accused Jesus of violating the first and third items on the list above. According to some, our Lord and Savior was in league with evil forces and committed blasphemy. Furthermore, Jesus allegedly violated the Sabbath when he gathered food or healed someone on that day. Were hunger and illness holy!
Timeless principles have culturally specific examples. A common exegetical error is to confuse an example for a principle. Legalism takes hold needlessly and unfortunately. The grand organizing principles to follow are:
- Everybody depends on God completely,
- We depend on each other,
- We are responsible to each other,
- We are responsible for each other, and
- We have no right to exploit each other.
All of those principles are compatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Fulfilling a goal as lofty as obeying God’s laws is impossible by human power alone. Fortunately, we do not need to rely on our own power, for we have access to grace. May we accept that grace and its accompanying obligations relative to other people.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 14, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MATHILDA, QUEEN OF GERMANY
THE FEAST OF JOHN SWERTNER, DUTCH-GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMNAL EDITOR; AND HIS COLLABORATOR, JOHN MUELLER, GERMAN-ENGLISH MORAVIAN MINISTER, HYMN EDITOR, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/timeless-principles-2/
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Above: Parable of the Good Samaritan
Image in the Public Domain
Treating People Properly
OCTOBER 29 and 30, 2021
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The Collect:
Almighty God, you have taught us in your Son that love fulfills the law.
Inspire us to love you with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength,
and teach us how to love our neighbors as ourselves,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 51
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The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 19:32-37 (Friday)
Numbers 9:9-14 (Saturday)
Psalm 119:1-8 (Both Days)
Romans 3:21-31 (Friday)
Luke 10:25-37 (Saturday)
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Blessed are those whose way is blameless:
who walk in the law of the Lord.
Blessed are those who keep his commands:
and seek him with their whole heart;
those who do no wrong:
but walk in the ways of our God.
For you, Lord, have commanded us:
to persevere in all your precepts.
If only my ways were unerring:
towards the keeping of your statutes!
Then I should not be ashamed:
when I looked on all your commandments.
I will praise you with sincerity of heart:
as I learn your righteous judgements.
I will keep your statutes:
O forsake me not utterly.
–Psalm 119:1-8, The Alternative Service Book 1980
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How we treat each other matters. The most effective test of our standards in this field is how we treat vulnerable and marginalized people, such as the elderly, strangers, resident aliens, widows, orphans, and the poor. The readings from the Torah drive this point home well. My side reading in the Law of Moses led me to related verses, such as Exodus 22:20 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, 1985):
You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The following verses warn in strong and dire terms against mistreating a widow or an orphan and charging interest on a loan to a poor person.
Yet we human beings know how to create excuses for mistreating each other. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan alone, ritual purity (in the context of defilement by coming into contact with blood or a corpse), apathy, and fear of robbers hiding nearby are possible reasons for not helping the beaten and bleeding man. The hero of the parable is an outcast–a Samaritan, to be precise. His canon was truncated, he was a half-breed, and he did not worship in Jerusalem. Yet he did what the respectable religious people (in the parable) who worshiped in Jerusalem refused to do.
Exodus 12:43-49 made a big deal about circumcision in relation to the question of who may celebrate the Passover. In contrast, St. Paul the Apostle, writing in Romans 3:30 and elsewhere, downplayed the issue of circumcision. It was–and remains–a question of identity, hence its capacity to inspire strong emotions long ago as well as today. I side with St. Paul, however, for I favor removing barriers to bringing people to God. If one’s identity depends (even partially) on spiritual elitism, one has a problem.
No, may we welcome the strangers and the marginalized, recognizing the image of God in them. May we recognize our fellow members of the household of God regardless of any categories we have learned from others and might use to exclude people unjustly. Who are our Samaritans, people we would be shocked to think of as good? Our Lord and Savior’s parable challenges us to question our prejudices and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Stern commandments from the Law of Moses also remind us of our responsibilities to strangers and other vulnerable people. Will we make excuses for disobedience or will we seek to love our neighbors as we love ourselves?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 4, 2015 COMMON ERA
INDEPENDENCE DAY (U.S.A.)
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/07/04/treating-people-properly-2/
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Above: Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun and Her Daughter (1789), by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun
Love
The Sunday Closest to November 2
The Twenty-Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
OCTOBER 31, 2021
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FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #1
Ruth 1:1-22 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
In the days when the chieftains ruled, there was a famine in the land; and a man of Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the country of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and his two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion–Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. They came to the country of Moab and remained there.
Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth, and they lived there about ten years. Then those two–Mahlon and Chilion–also died; so the woman was left without her two sons and without her husband.
She started out with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab; for in the country of Moab she had heard that the LORD had taken note of His people and given them food. Accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living; and they set out on the road back to the land of Judah.
But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
Turn back, each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me! May the LORD grant that each of you find security in the house of a husband!
And she kissed them farewell. They broke into weeping, and said to her,
No, we will return with you to your people.
But Naomi replied,
Turn back, my daughters! Why should you go with me? Have I any more sons in my body who might be husbands for you? Turn back, my daughters, for I am too old to be married. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I were married tonight, and I also bore sons, should you wait for them to grow up? Should you on their account debar yourselves from marriage? Oh no, my daughters! My lot is far more bitter than yours, for the hand of the LORD has struck out against me.
They broke into weeping again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law farewell. But Ruth clung to her. So she said,
See, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. Go follow your sister-in-law.
But Ruth replied,
Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus and more may the LORD do to me if anything but death parts me from you.
When [Naomi] saw how determined she was to go with her, she ceased to argue with her; and the two went on until they reached Bethlehem.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole city buzzed with excitement over them. The women said,
Can this be Naomi?
She replied,
Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for Shaddai has made my lot very bitter. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. How can you call me Naomi, when the LORD has brought me back empty. How can you call me Naomi, when the LORD has dealt harshly with me, when Shaddai has brought misfortune upon me!
Thus Naomi returned from the country of Moab; she returned with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabite. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Psalm 146 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
2 Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth,
for there is not help in them.
3 When they breathe their last, they return to earth,
and in that day their thoughts perish.
4 Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help!
whose hope is in the LORD their God;
5 Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them;
who keeps his promise for ever.
6 Who gives justice to those who are oppressed,
and food to those who hunger.
7 The LORD sets the prisoner free;
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind;
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down.
8 The LORD loves the righteous;
the LORD cares for the stranger;
he sustains the orphan and the widow,
but frustrates the way of the wicked!
9 The LORD shall reign for ever,
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.
Hallelujah!
FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #2
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (Richard Elliott Friedman, 2001):
And this is the commandment, the laws, and the judgments that YHWH, your God, commanded to teach you to do in the land to which you’re crossing to take possession of it, so that you’ll fear YHWH, your God, to observe all His laws and His commandments that I’m commanding you: you and your child and your child’s child, all the days of your life, and so that your days will be extended. And you will shall listen, Israel, and and be watchful to it, that it will be good for you and that you’ll multiply very much, as YHWH, your fathers’ God, spoke to you: a land flowing with milk and honey.
Listen, Israel: YHWH is our God. YHWH is one. And you shall love YHWH, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. And you shall impart them to your children, and you shall speak about them when you sit in your house and when you go in the road and when you lie down and when you get up. And you shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall become bands between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and in your gates.
Psalm 119:1-8 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Happy are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD!
2 Happy are they who observe his decrees
and seek him with all their hearts!
3 Who never do any wrong,
but always walk in his ways.
4 You laid down your commandments,
that we should fully keep them.
5 Oh, that my ways were made so direct
that I might keep your statutes!
6 Then I should not be put to shame,
when I regard all your commandments.
7 I will thank you with an unfeigned heart,
when I have learned your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
SECOND READING
Hebrews 9:11-14 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once and for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but not his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
GOSPEL READING
Mark 12:28-34 (Revised English Bible):
Then one of the scribes, who had been listening to these discussions and had observed how well Jesus answered, came forward and asked him,
Which is the first of all the commandments?
He answered,
The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You must love your neighbour as yourself.” No other commandment is greater than these.
The scribe said to him,
Well said, Teacher. You are right in saying that God is one and beside him there is no other. And to love him with all your heart, all your understanding, and all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself–that means far more than any whole-offerings and sacrifices.
When Jesus saw how thoughtfully he answered, he said to him,
You are not far from the kingdom of God.
After that nobody dared put any more questions to him.
The Collect:
Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Some Related Posts:
Proper 26, Year A:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/proper-26-year-a/
Ruth 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/week-of-proper-15-friday-year-1/
Deuteronomy 6:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/week-of-proper-13-saturday-year-1/
Hebrews 9:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/week-of-2-epiphany-saturday-year-1/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/thirty-seventh-day-of-lent-wednesday-in-holy-week/
Mark 12:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/week-of-proper-4-thursday-year-1/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/twenty-first-day-of-lent/
Matthew 22 (Parallel to Mark 12):
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/proper-25-year-a/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/week-of-proper-15-friday-year-1/
Luke 10 (Parallel to Mark 12):
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/week-of-proper-22-monday-year-1/
A Prayer for Compassion:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/a-prayer-for-compassion/
Prayers for Those Who Suffer:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/prayers-for-those-who-suffer/
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The context for this Sunday’s reading from Mark is Holy Week; Jesus will die soon. This places the statement about the greatest commandments in a certain light and helps explain the lectionary committee’s decision to pair Hebrews 9:11-14 with Mark 12:28-34. And Jesus pulled the two greatest commandments from the Law of Moses–Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18, to be precise. Our Lord also agreed with his elder (and deceased) contemporary, Rabbi Hillel, on the question of the summary of the Law of Moses.
There are types of love in the Bible, and we see some of the best representatives of love in this Sunday’s readings. A daughter-in-law remains loyal to her mother-in-law. We read of the commandments to love God fully and our neighbors as ourselves, and of the depth of God’s love for us. I must add something else here to augment that thought. I write devotions in sequence, according to lectionaries (more or less). Very recently I wrote a devotion on Ephesians 5, which, while discussing marriage, commands the husband to love his wife. The text speaks of the two as one flesh:
He who loves his wife loves himself.–Ephesians 5:28b, New Revised Standard Version
We will love ourselves most or all of the time, unless we loathe ourselves, as some do. I suspect, though, that egotism is more rampant than self-loathing. So the main spiritual task for most of us is to place ourselves in proper context–not superior to others in the eyes of God–and to act compassionately toward others, as if toward ourselves. We are not isolated from others; what one does affects others. Yes, we are separate and unique in body and personality, but no, we are not isolated from others even in these matters. We have the power to build people up or to tear them down; may we, for the common good and the love of God, do the former, not the latter.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/love/
Above: Christ Healing the Blind Man, by Eustace Le Sueur
Restoration
The Sunday Closest to October 26
The Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost
OCTOBER 24, 2021
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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/
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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