O LORD, you have duped me, and I have been your dupe;

Above:  Icon of Jeremiah

Image in the Public Domain

Arguing Faithfully with God

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1 Samuel 12:19-24 or Jeremiah 20:7-18

Psalm 107:1-15

Romans 8:26-39

Luke 12:49-13:9

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Relationships with God can be difficult; read today’s lesson from Jeremiah, for example.  It starts with,

you have outwitted me and have prevailed.

A few verses later, one reads,

But the LORD is on my side, strong and ruthless,

therefore my persecutors shall stumble and fall powerless.

Nevertheless, a few verses later, one reads,

A curse on the day when I was born!

This is vintage Jeremiah.  It is stronger than Psalm 107, consistent with our reading from Jeremiah.  The reading from Romans 8, in contrast, is upbeat:

If God is on our side, who is against us?…for I am convinced that…nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

–Verses 31, 38, and 39, The Revised English Bible (1989)

I suppose that, depending on the time of day, Jeremiah, a prophet of God, changed his mind about whether God was on his side.  That was fine, for Jeremiah had a relationship with God, at least.

My second favorite aspect of Judaism is arguing faithfully with God.  (Monotheism is my favorite aspect of Judaism.)  Islam is about submitting to God.  In Judaism, however, one can kvetch at God and be pious.  One can also be pious in the same way in Christianity, fortunately.  After all, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Repentance remains vital, though.  Although nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, divine judgment and mercy remain in balance.  We human beings retain our free will; may we use it wisely.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 24, 2020 COMMON ERA

GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE

THE FEAST OF SAINT EGBERT OF LINDISFARNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK; AND SAINT ADALBERT OF EGMONT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF SAINT FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN, CAPUCHIN FRIAR AND MARTYR, 1622

THE FEAST OF JOHANN WALTER, “FIRST CANTOR OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH”

THE FEAST OF SAINT MELLITUS, BISHOP OF LONDON, AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/arguing-faithfully-with-god-part-iii/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Fresco of Samuel

Image in the Public Domain

The Individual and the Collective

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1 Samuel 8:4-20; 11:14-15 or Jeremiah 19:1-6, 10-12a

Psalm 106:1-16, 19-23, 47-48

Romans 8:1-11

Luke 12:35-48

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

These assigned readings pertain to collective matters–sins, punishment for sins, and life in the Holy Spirit.  The context is that of a group–a faith community, a kingdom, et cetera.  All of that is consistent with the Biblical theme of mutuality.  We are responsible to and for each other.

Collective guilt and responsibility may seem unfair, assuming a certain perspective.  For example, sometimes a court releases a wrongly-convicted person who has spent years in prison yet whom evidence has exonerated.  Perhaps an expert witness lied under oath.  Maybe DNA has proven the prisoner’s innocence.  Perhaps the prisoner pleaded guilty to a lesser charge to avoid a certain conviction on a more severe charge.  Maybe the testimony of eyewitnesses proved to be unreliable, as it frequently does.  Perhaps the prosecutor engaged in professional misconduct by withholding exculpatory evidence.  Either way, taxpayers have borne the financial costs of what went wrong, leading to the incarceration of an innocent person.  And taxpayers may bear the financial costs of paying reparations to the wrongly convicted.  We not begrudge giving a liberated, wrongly-convicted person a fresh start and the financial means to begin a new life, do we?  We know, after all, that the wrongly-convicted person has paid for the actions of others with time in prison.

Whatever one person does affects others, whether one behaves as a private citizen or in an official capacity.  Likewise, society is people.  What society does wrong and sinfully does affect even those members of it who vocally oppose those sinful actions.  Those activists for justice also suffer when their society incurs punishment for its sins.

On the other hand, given that society is people, individuals can change their society.  Individuals can improve their society or make it worse.

May all of us leave our societies better than we found them.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 23, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF TOYOHIKO KAGAWA, RENEWER OF SOCIETY AND PROPHETIC WITNESS IN JAPAN

THE FEAST OF JAKOB BÖHME, GERMAN LUTHERAN MYSTIC

THE FEAST OF MARTIN RINCKART, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA MARIA OF THE CROSS, FOUNDRESS OF THE CARMELITE SISTERS OF SAINT TERESA OF FLORENCE

THE FEAST OF WALTER RUSSELL BOWIE, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, SEMINARY PROFESSOR, AND HYMN WRITER

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/23/the-individual-and-the-collective-v/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  The Parable of the Rich Fool, by Rembrandt van Rijn

Image in the Public Domain

Abundance, Overabundance, and Scarcity

SEPTEMBER 5, 2021

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1 Samuel 3:1-20 or Jeremiah 18:1-11

Psalm 104:1-6, 14-24

Romans 7:12-25

Luke 12:13-21

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Abundance is of God.  Scarcity is a human creation.

The society in which Jesus lived consisted mostly of poor people.  A small portion of the population controlled most of the wealth.  The middle class was very small.  The society in which Jesus lived resembled many contemporary societies in these ways.  The rich fool in the parable hoarded much more food than he needed; he should have kept what he needed for himself and shared the rest.  That was his moral obligation to the poor, according to the Law of Moses and the testimony of the Hebrew prophets.  The rich fool was not bereft of teaching of the law and the testimony of the prophets.  He chose to disregard them.

Assuming that one (1) recognizes the voice of God, and (2) understands what that voice tells one to do, obeying that voice may prove challenging, as St. Paul the Apostle knew.  Temptation is strong, after all.  The temptation to trust in that which is tangible is hardwired into human psychology.  Human psyches frequently stand between us and our potential in God.  This overarching problem is both psychological and spiritual.  It holds back individuals and societies, to common detriment.  However, assuming that one does not recognize the voice of God or what that voice tells one to do, one is like the rich fool in the parable.  Obliviousness to God is a spiritual and societal affliction.

In Augustinian terms, sin is disordered love.  God is worthy of the most love.  People, hobbies, et cetera, are worthy of less love.  To love anyone or anything more than one ought to do is to have disordered love and to commit idolatry, to draw love away from God.  Hoarding, as in the parable, is a psychological and a spiritual ailment.

Life does not consist of the abundance of possessions, Jesus teaches us.I know hoarding when I see it, based on other people’s houses in which I have been present, as well as on some reality television programs.  I have never been a hoarder.  Nevertheless, I know the negative consequences of having collected too many possessions.  I also know the joys of downsizing.  I know the sensation of having become the possession of the inanimate objects, as well as the joys of removing many of them, revealing walls and floors.  I rejoice in seeing uncluttered surfaces and walls with a few, spaced-out pictures on them.  I understand that overabundance is antithetical to abundant life.  Overabundance leads one to serve possessions and to swear fealty to them, not to God.

Abundance is of God.  There is enough of everything for all people to have what they need.  Scarcity is a sinful, human creation.  It is the inevitable result of overabundance, rooted in idolatry.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 22, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GENE BRITTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF DONALD S. ARMENTROUT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF HADEWIJCH OF BRABERT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC

THE FEAST OF KATHE KOLLWITZ, GERMAN LUTHERAN ARTIST AND PACIFIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT VITALIS OF GAZA, MONK, HERMIT, AND MARTYR, CIRCA 625

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/22/abundance-overabundance-and-scarcity/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Jeremiah

Image in the Public Domain

Fearlessly

AUGUST 29, 2021

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1 Samuel 2:18-26 or Jeremiah 17:5-10

Psalm 102:18-28

Romans 6:12-23

Luke 12:1-12

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In the context of the balance of divine judgment and mercy, an evergreen Biblical theme, we read another evergreen Biblical theme:  Be your best selves in God.  This applies both individually and collectively.  Be your best self in God.  Be the best family possible in God.  Be the best congregation possible in God.  Be the best ____ possible in God.

Fearlessness, grounded in faith and bound by mutual responsibility, is part of achieving human potential in God.  May we be fearless in loving our neighbors as we love ourselves in good times and during crises.  May we build up each other fearlessly.  May we speak and hear the truth in love, fearlessly. May we proclaim Christ in words and deeds, fearlessly.  May we eschew all bigotry, fearlessly.  May we hold irresponsible authority figures to account for the common good, fearlessly.  May we fearlessly cooperate with God in building societies that are more just, especially for the vulnerable and the impoverished.

May we remember and act fearlessly on the truth that we are precious to God and should, therefore, be precious to each other.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 21, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ROMAN ADAME ROSALES, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927

THE FEAST OF SAINT CONRAD OF PARZHAM, CAPUCHIN FRIAR

THE FEAST OF GEORGE B. CAIRD, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST THEN UNITED REFORMED MINISTER, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, AND HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF GEORGIA HARKNESS, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, ETHICIST, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON BARSABAE, BISHOP; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS, 341

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/21/fearlessly/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:   Give Us This Our Daily Bread Print, Currier & Ives, 1872

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-USZC2-2453

Spiritual Nutrition

JUNE 25, 2023

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Genesis 41:9-40

Psalm 37:23-28a

Acts 6:1-7

Mark 8:14-21

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Depart from evil, and do good,

so you shall abide forever.

For the LORD loves justice;

he will not forsake his faithful ones.

The righteous shall be kept safe forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

–Psalm 37:27-28, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

David Ackerman omits the second part (the passage contrasting the righteous and the children of the wicked) in Beyond the Lectionary (2013).

On another topic, the Psalmist might not have seen the children of the righteous begging for bread, but I have.  I am not alone in this.

The Joseph of the Book of Genesis bears little resemblance to the figure of whom I have read in many a book of Bible stories retold for children.  I read Genesis 37 and 39-50 (the Joseph Epic) and encounter a spoiled brat who grew up because he had no choice.  I also meet an interpreter of dreams who rose to a position of prominence, reunited his family, and in Chapter 47, fed the Egyptian population during a time of severe drought by returning their food (which he had ordered confiscated) to them in exchange for serfdom.   Joseph is an imperfect protagonist.

The surviving Apostles (plus St. Matthias) feed the hungry then decide to focus on preaching and teaching.  So they appoint deacons to wait tables.  This is the origin of the Christian diaconate.  There is no insistence upon serfdom here.  No, we find quite the opposite.

When we turn to the reading from Mark 8 it is useful to understand that we pick up immediately following Jesus feeding “about four thousand people” with seven loaves and a few small fish.  There are many leftovers.  Then some Pharisees demand, of all things, a sign.  Jesus warns his Apostles against the yeast–a metaphor for diffused or veiled evil (see Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6; and Galatians 5:9) of the Pharisees.  The literal-minded Apostles, confused, think that Christ refers to bread.  Jesus is angry with them.

The depiction of the Apostles in the Gospel of Mark is interesting and part of a larger theme.  The earliest canonical Gospel argues that those who think they are insiders might not be that.  There are the condemnations of the religious establishment, of course.  Furthermore, those closest to Jesus do not understand him.  To the contrary, evil spirits recognize him immediately.  This depiction of the twelve Apostles as being clueless is stronger in Mark than in Luke-Acts, for narrative reasons.

A sufficient supply of food is essential to sustaining life.  Too little food leads to starvation, just as an excess of it leads to obesity.   Furthermore, the wrong type of food leads to health problems.  Likewise, improper spiritual nutrition leads to negative consequences.  Do we not yet understand this?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 16, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE BERKELEY, IRISH ANGLICAN BISHOP AND PHILOSOPHER; AND JOSEPH BUTLER, ANGLICAN BISHOP AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF JOHN FRANCIS REGIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF NORMAN MACLEOD, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS COUSIN, JOHN MACLEOD, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF RUFUS JONES, QUAKER THEOLOGIAN

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/spiritual-nutrition/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  The Fall of the Rebel Angels, by Hieronymus Bosch

Image in the Public Domain

The Apocalyptic Discourse, Part V

AUGUST 13, 2023

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Genesis 6:1-8 or Zechariah 9:1-8 (9-10) 11-17

Psalm 37:(1-2) 12-38 (39-40)

Matthew 24:(36-44) 45-51 or Luke 12:(35-40) 41-48

1 Corinthians 11:2-22 (23-26) 27-34

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Destruction (and the threat thereof) by God for rampant collective sin is prominent in Genesis 6 and Zechariah 9.  Individual sin and divine displeasure over it are prominent in the Gospel readings.  God is full of surprises, we read, and we have an obligation to remain on task spiritually.  God’s timing is not ours, so, if we are on a positive spiritual track, we should be patient.

As for 1 Corinthians 11, the best approach to the material begins with understanding the difference between a timeless principle and a culturally specific example thereof.  For example, do not go to church wearing a hairstyle such as that associated with promiscuous women or pagan priestesses, unless one covers one’s hair, is culturally specific example of a timeless principle regarding decorum in worship.  Furthermore, one should not become intoxicated at the communion meal at the house church.  That is also about decorum in worship, a matter of respect for God and regard for one’s fellow worshipers.

If one respects God, one seeks to obey divine commandments.  The fulfillment of them is love one’s neighbors (Romans 13).  One might also think of love (agape) in 1 Corinthians 13.  Saying “love your neighbors” is easy, of course, but acting on that advice can be challenging.  For example, what does that entail in a given circumstance?  One can be sincerely wrong regarding that point.  May we, by grace, know in each circumstance what one must do to love one’s neighbors as effectively as possible, for their benefit and God’s glory.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 17, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, ABOLITIONIST AND FEMINIST; AND MARIA STEWART, ABOLITIONIST, FEMINIST, AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB AND DOROTHY BUXTON, FOUNDERS OF SAVE THE CHILDREN

THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER

THE FEAST OF MARY CORNELIA BISHOP GATES, U.S. DUTCH REFORMED HYMN WRITER

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/12/17/the-apocalyptic-discourse-part-v/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Jeremiah

Image in the Public Domain

Waiting for God, Part II

AUGUST 10, 2022

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Collect:

Almighty God, you sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your church.

Open our hearts to the riches of your grace,

that we may be ready to receive you wherever you appear,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 44

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Jeremiah 33:14-26

Psalm 89:1-18

Luke 12:41-48

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I shall sing the faithful love of Yahweh for ever,

from age to age my lips shall declare your constancy,

for you have said:  love is built to last for ever,

you have fixed your constancy firm in the heavens.

–Psalm 89:1-2, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The theme of waiting for God overlaps with the theme of keeping the covenant.  Violating the covenant has dire consequences for the people of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah in the Hebrew Bible.  We read the Book of Jeremiah in the knowledge that his warnings fell mostly on deaf ears.  One obstacle to keeping the covenant is the perception that God’s timing is delayed.  Some might think that God will never keep divine promises.

Why keep divine commandments?,

they might wonder.  From that thought flows disobedience.

Such impatience is a spiritual weakness.  God (A) is never late and (B) relates to time differently than we do.  I, as a mere mortal, am unqualified to know exactly how God relates to time.  In that respect God is other and unknowable.  If God seems late, the problem is with our perception and expectations, not with God.

Learning to trust in God, often despite all we do not know, is challenging.  I do not pretend to have mastered it, for I struggle with it often.  Even the reality of those struggles is positive, for it indicates a constructive engagement with God.  It is something, at least, and something is more than nothing.  God can work with something and multiply it.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 23, 2016 COMMON ERA

WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK

THE FEAST OF GEORGE RUNDLE PRYNNE, ANGLICAN PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR, PATRIARCH OF ARMENIA

THE FEAST OF HEINRICH VON LAUFENBERG, GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT TURIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/waiting-for-god-part-ii/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Lilies of the Field

Image in the Public Domain

Lilies of the Field

AUGUST 3, 2022

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Collect:

Benevolent God, you are the source, the guide, and the goal of our lives.

Teach us to love what is worth loving,

to reject what is offensive to you,

and to treasure what is precious in your sight,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 44

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, 13-14

Psalm 127

Luke 12:22-31

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If Yahweh does not build a house

in vain do its builders toil.

If Yahweh does not guard a city

in vain does its guard keep watch.

–Psalm 127:1, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We will all age and die, Koheleth reminds us.  Pursuits we might think are important and accomplishments we might think are permanent are actually fleeting and futile, we read.

Perhaps Koheleth overcorrected excessive optimism, such as we find in the Book of Proverbs and some of the psalms, but the point is valid.  Nevertheless, what we do or do not do matters, at least in the moment.  Frequently the effects are long-term, even intergenerational.  Yet the vast majority of us will, in time, become as if we had never existed.  Our names will pass into anonymity.  So be it.

Nevertheless, God loves us.  The passage from Luke 12 might seem unduly optimistic, given the nature of poverty across the planet.  The problem is distribution, not supply.  Those are matters of human responsibility.  Too often we fail miserably in them, do we not?

Koheleth also instructs us accordingly:

This is the end of the matter:  you have heard it all.  Fear God and obey his commandments; this sums up the duty of mankind.  For God will bring everything we do to judgement, every secret, whether good or bad.

–Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, The Revised English Bible (1989)

Among those commandments is to provide for the less fortunate.  This is a sacred duty, one which requires people working together to accomplish.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 18, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT LEONIDES OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR; ORIGEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN; SAINT DEMETRIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT ALEXANDER OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANSELM II OF LUCCA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, BISHOP, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL OF CYPRUS, EASTERN ORTHODOX MARTYR

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/18/lilies-of-the-field/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

Above:  Jeremiah, from the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo Buonarroti

Image in the Public Domain

Love and Vengeance

JUNE 24, 2023

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Collect:

Teach us, good Lord God, to serve you as you deserve,

to give and not to count the cost,

to fight and not to heed the wounds,

to toil and not to seek for rest,

to labor and not to ask for reward,

except that of knowing that we do your will,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 40

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Jeremiah 20:1-6

Psalm 69:7-10 [11-15], 16-18

Luke 11:53-12:3

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Draw me out of the mire, that I sink not;

let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters.

–Psalm 69:16, Common Worship (2000)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jesus was very smart—sufficently intelligent to avoid becoming trapped in his own words and able to turn the tables on his would-be ensnarers in the process. The prophet Jeremiah was in literal stocks for doing what God had told him to do. Obeying the will of God leads sometimes to the creation of enemies, who would rather double down than repent.

Revenge and judgment, along with forgiveness, are activities of God, who knows better than we do. We are also to forgive, of course, for it is especially good for us and our communities. But revenge and personal judgment are for God alone to mete out. This does not satisfy many people, but it does avoid human error as well as the spiritual toxins which the desire for revenge release in one. Besides, I would rather err on the side of generosity of spirit than on the side of anger and vengeance. How about you, O reader?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 23, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT DESIDERIUS/DIDIER OF VIENNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT GUIBERT OF GORZE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN BAPTIST ROSSI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, SCIENTIST

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/love-and-vengeance/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Lillies, 1597

Illustrator = John Gerard

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-60476

Confidence, Struggles, and Altruism

MAY 29-31, 2023

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Collect:

God of tender care, like a mother, like a father, you never forget your children,

and you know already what we need.

In all our anxiety give us trusting and faithful hearts,

that in confidence we may embody the peace and justice

of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Deuternonomy 32:1-14 (Monday)

1 Kings 17:1-16 (Tuesday)

Isaiah 66:7-13 (Wednesday)

Psalm 104 (All Days)

Hebrews 10:32-39 (Monday)

1 Corinthians 4:6-21 (Tuesday)

Luke 12:22-31 (Wednesday)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O Lord, how manifold are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

There is the sea, spread far and wide,

and there move creatures beyond number, both small and great.

There go the ships, and there is that Leviathan

which you have made to play in the deep.

All of these look to you

to give them their food in due season.

When you give it to them, they gather it;

you open your hand and they are filled with good.

When you hide your face they are troubled;

when you take away their breath,

they die and return again to the dust.

When you send forth your spirit they are created,

and you renew the face of the earth.

–Psalm 104:26-32, Common Worship (2000)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Monotheism I affirm while acknowledging a difficulty inherent in it: God is responsible for both good and bad—at least the existence of the bad and the evil as well as the positive. Others—such as polytheists—have no such problem, for they can blame bad deities for evil while affirming the pure goodness of others. But Yahweh is on the hook. That is part of my tradition. This is an issue with which I struggle. Yet an honest theological and spiritual struggle can be a sign of a healthy faith.

We read in the Psalm and in 1 Kings that sometimes God causes misfortunes to happen. Yet they also tells us that God sends aid. Sometimes that help comes via unexpected means, so we ought to avoid becoming fixated on certain criteria.

Another theme unifying these readings is maintaining faithfulness during difficult times. God will provide, we read, so we ought to avoid thinking too much about ourselves and our needs at the expense of other people. And we should recall that which God has done. Sometimes we become so caught up in the moment that we lose perspective, assuming that we ever had any.

I, as a student of history, know that many of the worst instances of human cruelty have come in the context of conflict related to resources. These resources have been either scarce or perceived to be scarce. Other such instances have occurred during times of a threat, real or perceived. In all such circumstances of human cruelty people have harmed each other—sometimes by passive neglect, other times via actions—all while seeking to preserve oneself. Altruism has been absent.

Yet our Lord and Savior told us plainly that, whenever we aid the least of those among us, we do so to him. Likewise the negative form of the previous sentence is true. By our selfishness, fear, and lack of altuism we condemn ourselves. By wise altruism—the variety rooted in confidence in God and in the quest to do for people what they need (not necessarily what they want)–we respond faithfully in difficult times. We thereby function as vehicles of grace to others and act in accordance with the moral mandate to love our neighbors as ourselves.

That can prove quite challenging. It is, actually, possible only via grace. Sometimes merely trying to do the right thing in a difficult circumstance eludes us, so we fail. Yet I know that I ought to try again and that God knows that I am but dust. Moral perfection is not among my goals, but striving for moral improvement is.

As for God being on the hook for the problems of suffering (sometimes) and the existence of evil (always), such matters are too great for me. Perhaps the most to which I can aspire are intellectual and spiritual honesty, as unsatisfactory as they might prove.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 10, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THEODORE PARKER, ABOLITIONIST AND MAVERICK UNITARIAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTONY PIEROZZI, A.K.A. ANTONINUS OF FLORENCE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF FLORENCE

THE FEAST OF JOHN GOSS, ANGLICAN CHURCH COMPOSER AND ORGANIST; AND WILLIAM MERCER, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS LUDWIG VON ZINZENDORF, RENEWER OF THE CHURCH

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/confidence-struggles-and-altruism/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++