Above:   The Temple of Solomon

Image Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Christ, the Temple of Yahweh

MAY 26, 2016

MAY 27, 2016

MAY 28, 2016

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

The Collect:

Merciful Lord God, we do not presume to come before you

trusting in our own righteousness,

but in your great and abundant mercies.

Revive our faith, we pray; heal our bodies, and mend our communities,

that we may evermore dwell in your Son,

Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 38

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

The Assigned Readings:

1 Kings 6:23-38 (Thursday)

1 Kings 8:14-21 (Friday)

1 Kings 8:31-40 (Saturday)

Psalm 96:1-9 (All Days)

2 Corinthians 5:11-17 (Thursday)

2 Corinthians 11:1-6 (Friday)

Luke 4:31-37 (Saturday)

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

Great is Yahweh, worthy of all praise,

more awesome than any of the gods.

All the gods of the nations are idols.

–Psalm 96:4-5a, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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

King Solomon presided over the construction of the first Temple at Yahweh.  That process entailed forced labor, unfortunately.  That structure functioned both religiously, housing the Ark of the Covenant, and politically, boosting the monarchy.  The crown controlled the place where God dwelt, according to the orthodoxy of the day.  How convenient was that?

Jesus engaged in conflicts with people attached to the successor of Solomon’s Temple.  The Second Temple, expanded by the order of King Herod the Great as a political and self-serving policy, was the seat of collaboration with the occupying Roman forces.  Yes, much of the Jewish populace of Palestine had great respect for the Temple, but the fact of the exploitative system rooted in that place remained.  That Jesus competed with the Temple and the priesthood, healing people and offering reconciliation with God, contributed to animosity between him and people invested in the Temple system financially.

Christ became the new Temple, the figure via whom people can become new creations.  He was the figure whom St. Paul the Apostle proclaimed jealously, defending his version of the Christian gospel.  Christ became the timeless Temple free of corruption, the Temple no power can control or destroy.

May all nations worship God at that Temple.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 28, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C 

THE FEAST OF THOMAS BINNEY, ENGLISH CONFORMIST MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND “ARCHBISHOP OF NONCONFORMITY”

THE FEAST OF ANDREW REED, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, HUMANITARIAN, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ANNA JULIA HAYWOOD COOPER AND ELIZABETH EVELYN WRIGHT, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EDUCATORS

THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH C. CLEPHANE, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER

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

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/christ-the-temple-of-yahweh/

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

Above:  Boaz, by Rembrandt van Rijn

Image in the Public Domain

Responsibilities, Insiders, and Outsiders

NOVEMBER 8-10, 2021

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

The Collect:

O God, you show forth your almighty power

chiefly by reaching out to us in mercy.

Grant to us the fullness of your grace,

strengthen our trust in your promises,

and bring all the world to share in the treasures that come

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

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 52

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

The Assigned Readings:

Ruth 1:1-22 (Monday)

Ruth 3:14-4:6 (Tuesday)

Ruth 4:7-22 (Wednesday)

Psalm 94 (All Days)

1 Timothy 5:1-8 (Monday)

1 Timothy 5:9-16 (Tuesday)

Luke 4:16-30 (Wednesday)

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

The Lord will not cast off his people:

nor will he forsake his own.

For justice shall return to the righteous man:

and with him to all the true of heart.

–Psalm 94:14-15, The Alternative Service Book 1980

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

The composite pericope from 1 Timothy comes from a particular place and time, so some of the details do not translate well into contemporary Western settings.  May we, therefore, refrain from falling into legalism.  Nevertheless, I detect much of value in that reading, which acknowledges the existence of both collective and individual responsibilities and sorts out the boundary separating them in a particular cultural context.  One principle from that text is that relatives should, as they are able, take care of each other.  Another principle present in the reading is mutuality–responsibility to and for each other.

The lack of a support system, or at least an adequate one, is a major cause of poverty and related ills.  The support system might be any number of things, including:

1. the social safety net (the maintenance and strengthening of which I consider to be a moral imperative),
2. friends,
3. relatives,
4. neighbors,
5. the larger community,
6. a faith community,
7. non-governmental organizations, or
8. a combination of some of the above.

In the Book of Ruth Naomi and Ruth availed themselves of effective support systems.  They moved to Bethlehem, where Ruth was a foreigner but Naomi had relatives.  The women also gleaned in fields.  There Ruth met Boaz, a landowner and a kinsman of Naomi.  He obeyed the commandment from Deuteronomy 24:19 and left grain for the poor.  The story had a happy ending, for Ruth and Boaz married and had a son.  Naomi, once bitter, was thrilled.

One hypothesis regarding the Book of Ruth is that the text dates to the postexilic period.  If this is accurate, the story of the marriage of Ruth and Boaz functions as a criticism of opposition to intermarriage between Hebrews and foreigners and serves as a call for the integration of faithful foreigners into Jewish communities.  The Jewish support system, this perspective says, should extend to Gentiles.

Sometimes the call to exercise individual responsibility and to fulfill one’s role in collective responsibility becomes challenging, if not annoying.  One difficulty might be determining the line between the two sets of responsibilities.  Getting that detail correct is crucial, for we are responsible to and for each other.  The Pauline ethic (as in 2 Corinthians 8:7-15) which holds that those who have much should not have too much and that those who have little should not have too little is a fine goal toward which to strive, but who determines how much is too much and how little is too little?  And what is the best way to arrive at and maintain that balance?  These seem like communal decisions, given the communal ethos of the Bible.

If all that were not enough, we might have responsibilities to and for more people than we prefer or know we do.  John Donne wrote,

No man is an island,

Entire of itself,

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thy friend’s

Or of thine own were:

Any man’s death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind,

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.

Do we dare to live according to the standard that anyone’s death diminishes us?  Do we dare to recognize foreigners and other “outsiders” as people whom God loves and whom we ought to love as we love ourselves?  Do we dare to think of “outsiders” as people to whom and for whom we are responsible?  If we do, how will we change the world for the better?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 6, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE

THE FEAST OF ISAIAH, BIBLICAL PROPHET

THE FEAST OF JAN HUS, PROTO-PROTESTANT MARTYR

THE FEAST OF OLUF HANSON SMEBY, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/07/06/responsibilities-insiders-and-outsiders/

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

Above:  A Question Mark

Image in the Public Domain

More Questions Than Answers

JUNE 24-26, 2021

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

The Collect:

Almighty and merciful God,

we implore you to hear the prayers of your people.

Be our strong defense against all harm and danger,

that we may live and grow in faith and hope,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 41

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

The Assigned Readings:

Lamentations 1:16-22 (Thursday)

Lamentations 2:1-12 (Friday)

Lamentations 2:18-22 (Saturday)

Psalm 30 (All Days)

2 Corinthians 7:2-16 (Thursday)

2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (Friday)

Luke 4:31-37 (Saturday)

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

Weeping may spend the night,

but joy comes in the morning.

While I felt secure I said,

“I shall never be disturbed.

You, LORD, with your favor, made me as strong as the mountains.”

Then You hid your face,

and I was filled with fear.

–Psalm 30:6-8, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition (1996) defines theodicy as

A vindication of God’s goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil.

Defenses of divine goodness and justice also occur in the context of misfortune attributed to God’s judgment of sinful people.  It is present in the readings from Lamentations and in Psalm 30, for example.  The anonymous authors of Lamentations wept over sins, wrote bitterly that the foe had triumphed, and thought that God had acted as a foe.  Yet the book ends:

Take us back, O LORD, to Yourself,

And let us come back;

Renew our days as of old!

–Lamentations 5:22b, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

The titular character in the Book of Job says of God:

He may well slay me; I may have no hope;

Yet I will argue my case before Him.

In this too is my salvation:

That no impious man can come into His presence.

–Job 13:15-16, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Modern translations of the Bible, with some exceptions, depart from the King James rendering, which is:

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him….,

which comes from a marginal note in the Masoretic Text.  Saying

I may have no hope

differs from uttering

yet I will trust in him,

at least superficially.  The first translation fits Job 13:15 better than does the second rendering, but pressing the lawsuit against God indicates some hope of victory.

But I know that my Vindicator lives;

In the end He will testify on earth–

This, after my skin will have been peeled off.

But I would behold God while still in my flesh.

I myself, not another, would behold Him;

Would see with my own eyes:

My heart pines within me.

–Job 19:25-27, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Job, in that passage, speaks of a divine hearing within his lifetime.  During that proceeding a defender (presumably not a relative, since his sons had died and his surviving kinsmen had abandoned him) will speak on his behalf.  The translation of this passage from The Jerusalem Bible gets more to the point, for it has an Avenger, not a Vindicator.  These rendering differ from the familiar King James text, which George Frederick Handel set to music in The Messiah (1742) as a reference to Jesus:

For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth….

We who claim to follow God ought to proceed carefully when defending God.  First, God does not require the defenses which mere mortals provide.  Second, many human defenses of God depict God erroneously, as either a warm fuzzy on one hand or a cosmic bully or thug on the other hand.  Often our attempts to justify God to ourselves and others obstruct a healthy relationship with God and dissuade others from following God.  We need to question inadequate God concepts.

The God of Luke 4:31-37, who, through Jesus, delivers people from illnesses allegedly caused by demonic possession is the same God who has blessings and woes just two chapters later (Luke 6:20-26).  This is the same God who encourages repentance–the act of turning around or changing one’s mind.  Apologizing for one’s sins is a fine thing to do, but repentance must follow it if one is to follow God.

I do not pretend to have worked out all or even most of the answers to difficult and uncomfortable questions regarding God and human-divine relationships.  No, I acknowledge that my doubts and unanswered questions in these realms outnumber my answers.  Furthermore, some of my answers are certainly wrong.  I am, however, comfortable with this reality.  I can repent of my errors, by grace, and progress spiritually.  Besides, knowledge is not the path to salvation, as in Gnosticism.  No, grace is the path to salvation.  God has the answers.  That is fine with me.  I remain inquisitive, however, for the journey itself has much merit.

I pray that my conduct of my spiritual journey will encourage others in their pilgrimages with God and prompt others to begin, not have a negative affect on anyone.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 27, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF CHARLES VILLIERS SANFORD, COMPOSER, ORGANIST, AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF CHARLES HENRY BRENT, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF WESTERN NEW YORK

THE FEAST OF JOHN MARRIOTT, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT RUPERT OF SALZBURG, APOSTLE OF BAVARIA AND AUSTRIA

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

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/more-questions-than-answers/

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

Above:  The Old Main Building at Andrew College, Cuthbert, Georgia

Image Source = Robbie Honerkamp

Jealousy and Wrangling

AUGUST 30 and 31, 2022

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

NOTE:

Andrew College takes its name from Bishop James Osgood Andrew, a slaveholder.  His case triggered the 1844-1845 schism in the Methodist Episcopal Church and the 1845 formation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which allowed its bishops to own slaves, at least until 1865 and the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  The Southern denomination reunited with its parent body in 1939, however, and both groups are predecessor bodies of The United Methodist Church (1968-present).

I grew up United Methodist, steeped in that denomination’s history.

KRT

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

Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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

FIRST READING FOR TUESDAY:

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (The Jerusalem Bible):

These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.  After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God.  Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us.  Therefore we teach, not in the way which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us:  we teach spiritual things spiritually.  An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God:  he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit.  A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men.  As scripture says:

Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him?

But we are those who have the mind of Christ.

FIRST READING FOR WEDNESDAY

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (The Jerusalem Bible):

Brothers, I myself was unable to speak to you as people of the Spirit:  I treated you as sensual men, still infants in Christ.  What I fed you with was milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it; and indeed, you are still not ready for it since you are still unspiritual.  Isn’t that obvious from all the jealousy and wranglin that there is among you, from the way that you go on behaving like ordinary people?  What could be more unspiritual than your slogans,

I am for Paul

and

I am for Apollos?

After all, what is Apollos and what is Paul?  They are servants who brought the faith to you.  Even the difficult ways in which they brought it were assigned to them by the Lord.  I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God made things grow.  Neither the planter nor the waterer matters:  only God, who makes things grow.  It is all one who does the planting and who does the watering, and each will duly be paid according to his share in the work.  We are fellow workers with God; you are God’s farm, God’s building.

RESPONSE FOR TUESDAY

Psalm 145:8-15 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,

slow to anger and of great kindness.

9 The LORD is loving to everyone

and his compassion is over all his works.

10  All your works praise you, O LORD,

and your faithful servants bless you.

11 “Hear, O daughter; consider and listen closely;

forget your people and your father’s house.

12 The king will have pleasure in your beauty;

he is your master; therefore do him honor.

13 The people of Tyre are here with a gift,

the rich among the people seek your favor.”

14 All glorious is the princess as she enters;

her gown is cloth-of-gold.

15 In embroidered apparel she is brought to the king;

after her the bridesmaids follow in procession.

RESPONSE FOR WEDNESDAY

Psalm 62 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  For God alone my soul in silence waits;

from him comes my salvation.

2  He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my stronghold, so that I shall not be greatly shaken.

3  How long will you assail me to crush me,

all of you together,

as if you were a leaning fence, a toppling wall?

4  They seek only to bring me down from my place of honor;

lies are their chief delight.

5  They bless with their lips,

but in their hearts they curse.

6  For God alone my soul in silence waits;

truly, my hope is in him.

7  He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.

8  In God is my safety and my honor;

God is my strong rock and my refuge.

9  Put your trust in him always, O people,

pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.

10  Those of high degree are but a fleeting breath,

even those of low estate cannot be trusted.

11  On the scales they are lighter than a breath,

all of them together.

12  Put no trust in extortion;

in robbery take no empty pride;

though wealth increases, set not your heart upon it.

13  God has spoken once, twice have I heard it,

that power belongs to God.

14  Steadfast love is yours, O Lord,

for you repay everyone according to his deeds.

GOSPEL READING FOR TUESDAY

Luke 4:31-37 (The Jerusalem Bible):

He [Jesus] went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath.  And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice,

Ha!  What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are:  the Holy One of God.

But Jesus said sharply,

Be quiet!  Come out of him!

And the devil, throwing the man in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all.  Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another,

What teaching!  He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.

And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.

GOSPEL READING FOR WEDNESDAY

Luke 4:38-44 (The Jerusalem Bible):

Leaving the synagogue he went to Simon’s house.  Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and they asked him to do something for her.  Leaning over her he rebuked the fever and it left her.  And she immediately got up and began to wait on them.

At sunset  all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another brought them to him, and laying his hands on each he cured them.  Devils too came out of many people, howling,

You are the Son of God.

But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.

When daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place.  The crowds went to look for him, and when they had caught up with him they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered,

I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.

And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.

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

The Collect:

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

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

\The Corinthian church suffered from factionalism.  This, Paul wrote, was unspiritual.  Factionalism persists, as the existence of denominations and “non-denominational” traditions persists.  I belong to a denomination–one I have chosen–and I am satisfied with my choice.  As an Episcopalian, I notice the lack of a well-developed liturgy and the too-infrequent celebration of the Holy Eucharist in many congregations of other traditions.  So, although I am an ecumenist–breaking bread gladly with other types of Christians, I retain my affiliation affirmatively.  I do all of this I know that my coreligionists and I have more in common than not.  Yes, I belong to a tribe, but that does not lead me to pursue intertribal warfare.  So, when I recognize deceased Christians as saints on my calendar of saints’s days and holy days at SUNDRY THOUGHTS OF KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR, the blog from which I spun this one off, I have Baptists, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Calvinists, Moravians, Anabaptists, and even a few Unitarians sharing the calendar year.

Often the arguments do seem to concern major and spiritual points, at least from the point of view of partisans.  Consider the following examples.:

1. Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and other Christians in the U.S. South formed regional denominations in support of slavery from 1845 to 1861.  (The Methodists reunited in 1939 and the Presbyterians in 1983, by the way.  The Southern Baptist Convention, formed in 1845 on the proposition that slaveholders should be able to serve as missionaries, apologized in 1995, at the urging of Billy Graham.  The probability of a Baptist reunion is nihl.)
2. In the 1700s, Presbyterians argued about the theological validity of hymns–not any given hymns–but hymns themselves, in lieu of settings of psalms.  (This is mostly a non-issue these days.)
3. The Oxford Movement within Anglicanism won in the 1800s and 1900s, but not before some opponents of it went so far as to consider it of the Devil.

As time passes, one might wonder how anyone could defend slavery from the Bible, argue against hymns themselves, or object to lighting a few more candles, but people did–vehemently.  I wonder how time will shape reflections on our current spats, hissy fits, and schisms.  Not favorably, I predict.

All of us who claim the label “Christian” should focus on Christ first and other religious leaders second, and therefore be genuine.  We need to have the mind of Christ, which is available only via God.  “Jealousy and wrangling” (1 Corinthians 2:3) do not bring glory to God and attract people to Jesus.  Those through whom we have come to God and deepened our spiritual development have played their parts; may we likewise play ours.  This work can take many forms; all of them, if of God, are valid.  May we remember that and act accordingly, supporting and encouraging one another in our spiritual vocations and eschewing “jealousy and wrangling.”

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/jealousy-and-wrangling/

Above:  View of Nazareth (1842), by David Roberts

The Jesus Who Offends

AUGUST 29, 2022

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

Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (The Jerusalem Bible):

As for me, brothers, when I came to you, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed.  During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ.  Far from relying on any power of my own, I came among you in great “fear and trembling” and in my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the spirit.  And I did this so that your faith should not depend on human philosophy but on the power of God.

Psalm 119:97-104 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

97  Oh, how I love your law!

all the day long it is in my mind.

98  Your commandment has made me wiser than my enemies,

and it is always with me.

99  I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for your decrees are my study.

100  I am wiser than the elders,

because I observe your commandments.

101  I restrain my feet from every evil way,

that I may keep your word.

102  I do not shrink from your judgments,

because you yourself have taught me.

103  How sweet are your words to my taste!

they are sweeter than honey to my mouth.

104  Through your commandments I gain understanding;

therefore I hate every lying way.

Luke 4:16-30 (The Jerusalem Bible):

He [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did.  He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,

for he has anointed me.

He has sent me bring the good news to the poor,

to proclaim liberty to the captives

and to the blind new sight,

to set the downtrodden free,

to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down.  And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him.  Then he began to speak to them,

This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.

And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips.

They said,

This is Joseph’s son, surely?

But he replied,

No doubt you will quote the saying, “Physician, heal yourself” and tell me, “We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own countryside.”

And he went on,

I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.

There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of those; he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town.  And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.

When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged.  They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

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

The Collect:

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

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

The Feast of Saint James of Jerusalem, Bishop and Martyr (October 23):

http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/feast-of-st-james-of-jerusalem-bishop-and-martyr-october-23/

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

With this post the Canadian Anglican lectionary leaves the Gospel of Matthew behind, for, if we continue in that book, we will commence the Passion Narrative.  This is Ordinary Time, not the latter part of Lent.  So we begin readings from Luke, another commendable book.  The rejection of Jesus at Nazareth is set at the beginning of his ministry, shortly after the temptation in the wilderness.

It begins well.  Jesus enters the synagogue and reads from Isaiah 61.  Then he announces that the people assembled are witnesses of the fulfillment of that text.  So far, so good.  As verse 22 tells us,

…he won the approval of all.

Yet the approval had a short lifespan.  Some began to murmur; how could Joseph’s boy say such a thing?  Who did he think he was?  Even worse, from a certain point of view, Jesus proceeded to speak kindly of Gentiles.  As we read in verse 28,

…everyone in the synagogue was enraged.

Okay, there is probably some hyperbole here.  It is possible that not everyone approved of Jesus or then became enraged.  One or two people (at least) might have stood out from the crowd.  Yet Jesus did face rejection.

The audience for the Gospel of Luke was Gentile, so it is no accident that, of the three versions of this story (the others being Mathew 13:54-58 and Mark 6:1-6), this is the only one to include the Gentile element.  Its inclusion here testified to the inclusion of faithful Gentiles among God’s redeemed people, a fact which proved quite contentious in the early decades of the Jesus movement.  Our Lord’s brother, St. James of Jerusalem, who became a martyr circa 62 C.E., stirred up much controversy by insisting that Gentile converts to Christianity not have to become Jews first.  He died for this.

We read in 1 Corinthians that the Christian message is about Jesus–not any Apostle or evangelist–and that  it

should not depend on human philosophy but on the power of God.

That power of God encompasses Jews and Gentiles, those who agree with us and those who disagree with us, those we like and those we dislike, heterosexuals and homosexuals, the native-born and the foreign-born.  If that offends us, we need to examine ourselves spiritually.

Have we, who have grown up immersed in Christianity, become so familiar with one overly simplistic, manageable understanding of Jesus that the full reality of our Lord and Savior offends some of our sensibilities?  I am convinced that the Jesus of my childhood Sunday School classes in rural southern Georgia was a domesticated fiction.  The actual Jesus was much more interesting–and even offensive.  That is my Jesus–a Messiah worth following and a character worthy of the title “Savior.”

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/the-jesus-who-offends/

Above:  A Satellite View of the Site of Ancient Colossae

http://deeperstudy.com/img/colossae_tell.jpg

Insignificance?  What Insignificance?

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

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

Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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

Colossians 1:1-8 (The Jerusalem Bible):

From Paul, appointed to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy, to the saints in Colossae, our faithful brothers in Christ:  Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

We have never failed to remember you in our prayers and to give thanks for you to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you show towards all the saints because of the hope which is stored up for you in heaven.  It is only recently that you heard this, when it was announced in the message of the truth.  The Good News which has reached you is spreading all over the world and producing the same results as it has among you ever since the day when you head about God’s grace and understood what this really is.  Epaphras, who taught you, is one of our closest fellow workers and a faithful deputy for us as Christ’s servant, and it was he who told us all about your love in the Spirit.

Psalm 34:9-22 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

9 Fear the LORD, you that are his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger,

but those who seek the LORD lack nothing that is good.

11 Come, children, and listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 Who among you loves life

and desires long life to enjoy prosperity?

13 Keep your tongue from evil-speaking

and your lips from lying words.

14 Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous,

and his ears are open to their cry.

16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,

to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears them

and delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

will save those whose spirits are crushed.

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.

Luke 4:38-44 (The Jerusalem Bible):

Leaving the synagogue he went to Simon’s house.  Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and they asked him to do something for her.  Leaning over her he rebuked the fever and it left her.  And she immediately got up and began to wait on them.

At sunset  all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another brought them to him, and laying his hands on each he cured them.  Devils too came out of many people, howling,

You are the Son of God.

But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.

When daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place.  The crowds went to look for him, and when they had caught up with him they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered,

I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.

And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.

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

The Collect:

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

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

The message of Jesus was beginning to spread.  This process began early in his ministry and found reception outside his hometown, Nazareth.  The message spread throughout the Galilee and Judea.  What was the message?  It was the word concerning God and spiritual liberation.  This message also had a socio-economic-political element, which explains why a Roman Procurator ordered our Lord’s execution and Roman soldiers carried it out.

It is relatively easy to execute a person, but much more difficult to kill an idea.  This is especially true when considering the work of the Apostle Paul, who preached Christ crucified and resurrected.  (Aside:  Let us not focus so much on the crucifixion that we give short shrift to the resurrection.  Without the resurrection we have dead Jesus and no atonement.)

And Paul was not alone.  One Epaphras, a faithful Christian, had founded the Gentile congregation in Colossae, located in the valley of the Lycus River in western Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey.  Colossae, an insignificant town, had once been an important city in that region.  But the church there was important, for from it sprang congregations in neighboring towns and cities.  Paul had never been to Colossae.  Indeed, he wrote the Letter to the Colossians from prison, probably in Rome, perhaps no later than 60 C.E. He knew of the Colossian church because Epaphras had informed him in person.

This day’s reading from Colossians is part of the friendly greeting.  Paul got down to business very quickly.  But let us not get ahead of the content.  The message was spreading, and no imperial efforts had prevented this.

On the surface Jesus looked like an insignificant person.  But he was quite the opposite, obviously.  And Colossae was a town whose glory days were long past, but from that place the word concerning Jesus spread throughout one region of Asia Minor.  Do you think yourself insignificant?  You are not.  Do you live in a proverbial armpit or the middle of nowhere?  Your location is still a vital outpost in the Kingdom of God.  What will you do for God where you are?  And how far will the impact of your work spread?

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/insignificance-what-insignificance/

Above:  Map of Galilee in the First Century C.E.

Image in the Public Domain

Community Life in Christ

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

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

Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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

1 Thessalonians 5:1-28 (The Jerusalem Bible):

You will not be expecting us to write anything to you, brothers, about time and seasons, since you know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night.  It is when people are saying, “How quiet and peaceful it is that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will be no way for anybody to evade it.

But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief.  No, you are like all sons of light and sons of the day:  we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober.  Night is the time for sleepers to sleep and drunkards to be drunk, but we belong to the day and we should be sober; let us put on faith and love for a breastplate, and the hope of salvation for a helmet.  God never meant us to experience the Retribution, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that, alive or dead, we should live united to him.  So give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another, as you do already.

We appeal to you, my brothers, to be considerate to those who are working amongst you and are above you in the Lord as your teachers.  Have the greatest respect and affection for them because of their work.

Be at peace among yourselves.  And this is what we ask you to do, brothers:  warn the idlers, give courage to those who are apprehensive, care for the weak and be patient with everyone.  Make sure that people do not try to take revenge; you must all think of what is best for each other and for the community.  Be happy at all times; pray constantly; and for all things give thanks to God, because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.

Never try to suppress the Spirit or treat the gift of prophecy with contempt; think before you do anything–hold on to what is good and avoid every form of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfect and holy; and may you all be kept safe and blameless, spirit, soul, and body, for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God has called you and he will not fail you.

Pray for us, my brothers.

Greet all the brothers with the holy kiss.  My orders, in the Lord’s name, are that this letter is to be read to all the brothers.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Psalm 27:1-6, 17-18 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;

whom then shall I fear?

the LORD is the strength of my life;

of whom then shall I be afraid?

2 When evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh,

it was they, my foes and my adversaries, who stumbled and fell.

3 Though an army should encamp against me,

yet my heart shall not be afraid;

4 And though war should rise up against me,

yet I will put my trust in him.

5 One thing I have asked of the LORD;

one thing I seek;

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life;

6 To behold the fair beauty of the LORD

and to seek him in his temple.

17 What if I had not believed

that I should see the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living!

18 O tarry and await the LORD’s pleasure;

be strong, and he shall comfort your heart;

wait patiently for the LORD.

Luke 4:31-37 (The Jerusalem Bible):

He [Jesus] went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath.  And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice,

Ha!  What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are:  the Holy One of God.

But Jesus said sharply,

Be quiet!  Come out of him!

And the devil, throwing the man in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all.  Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another,

What teaching!  He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.

And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.

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

The Collect:

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

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

The Hellenistic world was a demon-haunted one.  Popular beliefs held that evil spirits caused many unfortunate conditions.  Today we understand these to have down-to-earth causes.  The origins of schizophrenia, multiple personalities, epilepsy, and various mental illnesses are matters of record in the Western world to which I belong.  The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment inform my thinking in these matters.

Our Lord’s first miracle, according to the Gospel of Luke, was an exorcism.  Today we would use a different term, saying perhaps that the man had epilepsy and maybe an accompanying mental illness, if not a great deal of stress.  The important part of this event was that he found wholeness, and could thus reintegrate into his community.

Paul, in Chapter 5 of 1 Thessalonians, provided an excellent checklist of harmonious Christian community life:

• Be considerate of whose who are working amongst you and are above you in the Lord as your teachers; respect them for their work.
• Be at peace among yourselves.
• Warn those who are so heavenly-minded that they are of little or no earthly good.
• Give courage to those who are apprehensive.
• Care for the weak.
• Be patient with everyone.
• Make sure that people do not try to take revenge.
• Think of  what is best for each other and for the community.
• Be happy at all times.
• Pray constantly.
• Give thanks for all things to God.
• Never try to suppress the Holy Spirit.
• Never treat the gift of prophecy with contempt.
• Think before you do anything.
• Hold on to what is good.
• Avoid every form of evil.

Some of these are difficult.  But if we fulfill them our lives will become prayer, for prayer is far more than speaking to God.  And if, by grace, we succeed, we will lead holy lives.

I was more individualistic when I was younger.  But as I age I become more communitarian.  All of us rely on God and each other.  Self-sufficiency in all matters is an illusion, for what one person does influences others.  So we need to think beyond ourselves and focus on the common good without falling into the tyranny of majority, which tramples the rights of individuals of minority and dissident status.  The key word here is balance–the balance of the needs of the one and the needs of the community.

Besides, our common and individual identities are in God alone.  May respect for each other and ourselves, all bearers of the image of God, feed a great sense of commonweal.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/community-life-in-christ/

Above:  Graveyard and Church

Image in the Public Domain

Death Has No Dominion

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

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

Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (The Jerusalem Bible):

We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus:  God will bring them with him.  We can tell you this from the Lord’s own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord’s coming will not have any advantage over those who have died.  At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them, to meet the Lord in the air.  So we shall stay with the Lord for ever.  With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.

Psalm 96 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all the whole earth.

2 Sing to the LORD and bless his Name;

proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations

and his wonders among all peoples.

4 For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;

he is more to be feared than all gods.

5 As for the gods of the nations, they are but idols;

but it is the LORD who made the heavens.

6 Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence!

Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary!

7 Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples;

ascribe to the LORD honor and power.

8 Ascribe to the LORD the honor due his Name;

bring offerings and come into his courts.

9 Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness;

let the whole earth tremble before him.

10 Tell it out among the nations:  “The LORD is King!

he has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved;

he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

let the sea thunder and all that is in it;

let the field be joyful and all that is therein.

12 Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy

before the LORD when he comes,

when he comes to judge the earth.

13 He will judge the world with righteousness

and the peoples with his truth.

Luke 4:16-30 (The Jerusalem Bible):

He [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did.  He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,

for he has anointed me.

He has sent me bring the good news to the poor,

to proclaim liberty to the captives

and to the blind new sight,

to set the downtrodden free,

to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down.  And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him.  Then he began to speak to them, “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.”  And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips.

They said,

This is Joseph’s son, surely?

But he replied,

No doubt you will quote the saying, “Physician, heal yourself” and tell me, “We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own countryside.”  And he went on, “I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.  There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of those; he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town.  And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.”

When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged.  They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

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

The Collect:

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

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

The spirit of the Lord Yahweh has been given to me,

for Yahweh has anointed me.

He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,

to bind up hearts that are broken;

to proclaim liberty to captives,

freedom to those in prison;

to proclaim a year of favour from Yahweh,

a day of vengeance for our God,

to comfort all those who mourn and to give them

for ashes a garland;

for mourning robe the oil of gladness,

for despondency, praise.

–Isaiah 61:1-3a (The Jerusalem Bible)

The story of our Lord and Savior’s rejection in his hometown appears in all three synoptic gospels.  In Mark and Matthew, however, the rejection is immediate.  (Follow the links in “Some Related Posts” to read those texts.)  But Jesus finds immediate adulation in the Lukan account.  Only after he keeps talking about the extension of grace to Gentiles does he face rejection.

None of this bothers me, for I am not a Biblical literalist.  In these devotions I read the accounts in their literary context, not as a great, unified harmony of the gospels.  Minor differences exist among parallel readings, but so be it.  I have my eyes on more important matters.

With this post I follow the Canadian Anglican lectionary into the Gospel of Luke.  The story before this reading is simple:  Mary becomes pregnant.  So does her cousin Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist.  Both women give birth.  Prophecies unfold.  Shepherds visit shortly after the birth of Jesus.  At age 12, Jesus astounds scholars of the Scriptures at the Jerusalem Temple.  Jesus grows up, and eighteen years pass.  John the Baptist announces the coming of the Messiah, baptizes Jesus, and speaks out against the tetrarch Herod, who sends John to prison.  Jesus then goes into the wilderness, passes the test of temptations, and begins to preach, to much acclaim.

So we come to this day’s reading from Luke.  The quote from Isaiah 61 matches one of the central concerns of the Lukan Gospel:  God’s care for the poor.  And let us remember another theme of the book:  The Jews are the chosen people, but God calls Gentiles, too.

Now, for 1 Thessalonians…

You and I, O reader, have an advantage that the Thessalonian Christians of circa 50-51 C.E. lacked.  We have the benefits of subsequent history and theological development.  Christian theology was in its infancy during the time of Paul.  A common expectation among followers of Jesus at the time was that the Lord would return very soon.  But people who had come to faith in Christ began to die.  There was some concern in the Thessalonian church that the deceased believers would be a great disadvantage upon the Second Coming.  This is where history comes in:  Those alive at the time of the writing of 1 Thessalonians died without seeing the Second Coming either.

Paul assured the members of the Thessalonian church that nobody who trusted in Jesus, whether he or she have a pulse or not, was at a disadvantage.  Death did not break the relationship of faith.  Those who have predeceased us are still alive in God.

And, as Luke reminds us, those who can come to this faith include Gentiles.  So God places no obstacles–not even death–in the way of a continued faith life.  Neither race nor ethnicity nor cultural background nor death have dominion.  Jesus came to preach a liberating message, the best news of all.  It is for you, and it is for me.  And Jesus keeps his promises.  Deo gratias!

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/death-has-no-dominion/