Archive for the ‘Luke 8’ Tag
Above: The Parable of the Sower
Image in the Public Domain
Being Good Soil
JUNE 18, 2023
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 6:(8) 9-13 or Ezekiel 17:22-24 or Daniel 4:1-37
Psalm 7
Matthew 14:10-17 (18-33) 34-35 or Mark 4:1-25 or Luke 8:4-25; 13:18-21
Ephesians 4:17-24 (26-32; 5:1-2) 3-7 or 2 Peter 2:1-22
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Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth.
–Ephesians 4:23-24, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
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Much of the content of the assigned readings, with their options, functions as commentary on that summary statement. To borrow a line from Rabbi Hillel, we ought to go and learn it.
The commission of (First) Isaiah might seem odd. Does the text indicate that God is commanding Isaiah to preach to the population but not to help them avoid the wrath of God? Or, as many rabbis have argued for a long time, should one read imperative verbs as future tense verbs and the troublesome passage therefore as a prediction? I prefer the second interpretation. Does not God prefer repentance among sinners? The pairing of this reading with the Parable of the Sower and its interpretation seems to reinforce this point. I recall some bad sermons on this parable, which is not about the sower. The sower did a bad job, I remember hearing certain homilists say. To fixate on the sower and his methodology is to miss the point. The name of the story should be the Parable of the Four Soils, a title I have read in commentaries. One should ask oneself,
What kind of soil am I?
Am I the rocky soil of King Zedekiah (in Ezekiel 17:11-21) or the fertile soil of the betrayed man in Psalm 7? A mustard seed might give rise to a large plant that shelters many varieties of wildlife, and therefore be like the Davidic dynastic tree in Ezekiel 17:22-24 and Nebuchadnezzar II in Daniel 4, but even a mustard seed needs good soil in which to begin the process of sprouting into that plant.
One might be bad soil for any one of a number of reasons. One might not care. One might be oblivious. One might be hostile. One might be distracted and too busy. Nevertheless, one is bad soil at one’s own peril.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 16, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTIETH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF GUSTAF AULEN, SWEDISH LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT FILIP SIPHONG ONPHITHAKT, ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR IN THAILAND
THE FEAST OF MAUDE DOMINICA PETRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MODERNIST THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF RALPH ADAMS CRAM AND RICHARD UPJOHN, ARCHITECTS; AND JOHN LAFARGE, SR., PAINTER AND STAINED GLASS MAKER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/being-good-soil-2/
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Above: Esther, by John Everett Millais
Image in the Public Domain
Esther IV: Fear Itself
JULY 23, 2022
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The Collect:
Almighty and ever-living God, you are always more ready than we are to pray,
and you gladly give more than we either desire or deserve.
Pour upon us your abundant mercy.
Forgive us those things that weigh on our conscience,
and give us those good things that come only through your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
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The Assigned Readings:
Esther 4:1-17
Psalm 138
Luke 8:22-25
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Though I live surrounded by trouble
you give me life–to my enemies’ fury!
You stretch out your right hand and save me,
Yahweh will do all things for me.
Yahweh, your faithful love endures for ever,
do not abandon what you have made.
–Psalm 138:7-8, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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The story in the Book of Esther resumes with the fourth chapter and includes the Greek addition The New American Bible labels Chapter C. Mordecai and Esther digest the royal decree of genocide against the Jews. Mordecai is not safe; neither is Esther, although she is the queen consort. If she goes to visit Ahasuerus without him summoning her first, she risks death. And if he does not order her death for that reason, he might have her killed for being Jewish. In Chapter C Mordecai prays for God to deliver the Jews and Esther prays for guidance and for deliverance from fear.
Deliverance from fear occupies the core of Luke 8:22-25, in which Jesus calms a storm. Although I affirm the proposition that he could have done that, I find the metaphor in the story helpful and the question of the literal story irrelevant to this post. We experience storms in life. Sometimes God delivers us from them. On other occasions, however, God accompanies us through them and delivers us from fear instead.
Esther was correct to know fear. Ahasuerus had probably ordered the death of Queen Vashti, whose offense had been to refuse to degrade herself. He was also an easily manipulated monarch through whom others, especially Haman, governed. Ahasuerus was not powerless, however, for he had the authority to order the execution of someone who went to him uninvited. Furthermore, he had just ordered genocide against Esther’s people, the Jews. She could have yielded to fear and laid low. Esther could have preserved herself at the expense of her fellow Jews, but she found her courage and prayed,
O God, whose power is over all, hear the voice of those in despair. Save us from the power of the wicked, and deliver me from my fear.
–Esther C:30, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
On March 4, 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said,
…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself–nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
Out of fear we human beings become more stingy and selfish. Out of fear we think and act hatefully toward others or merely condone the hateful actions of others. Out of fear we retreat into passivity when the occasion demands courageous actions. Out of fear we violate the Golden Rule, often while assuring ourselves of our imagined righteousness.
May we trust in God and act courageously, according to the Golden Rule.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 17, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, BISHOP OF ARMAGH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/17/esther-iv-fear-itself/
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Above: The Parable of the Sower
Image in the Public Domain
Grace and Character Flaws
JULY 14-16, 2022
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The Collect:
Eternal God, you draw near to us in Christ, and you make yourself our guest.
Amid the cares of our lives, make us attentive to your presence,
that we may treasure your word above all else,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 12:10-20 (Thursday)
Genesis 13:1-18 (Friday)
Genesis 14:1-16 (Saturday)
Psalm 15 (All Days)
Hebrews 5:1-6 (Thursday)
Ephesians 3:14-21 (Friday)
Luke 8:4-10 (Saturday)
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Yahweh, who can find a home in your tent,
who can dwell on your holy mountain?
Whoever lives blamelessly,
who acts uprightly,
who speaks the truth from the heart,
who keeps the tongue under control,
who does not wrong a comrade,
who casts no discredit on a neighbour,
who looks with scorn on the vile,
but honours those who fear Yahweh,
who stands by an oath at any cost,
who asks no interest on loans,
who takes no bribe to harm the innocent.
No one who so acts can ever be shaken.
–Psalm 15, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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Abram (later Abraham) was a fascinating, contradictory, and frequently puzzling figure, for he was a human being. In Genesis 12-14 alone he pretended that Sarai (his wife) was his sister, lied to the Pharaoh (who, unlike Abram, suffered because of the lie), prospered (in large part due to that lie), remained in Canaan and engaged in warfare while Lot, his nephew, moved to Sodom. At the end of Chapter 14 Abram encountered Melchizedek, hence one reason for the reading from Hebrews 5, I suppose.
The traditional name of the reading from Luke 8 is the Parable of the Sower. Nevertheless, the emphasis in the story is the soils, so, as some commentators I have read have argued, we should refer to the Parable of the Four Soils. Each of us is, under the best circumstances, good soil, albeit not entirely so. That is a fact of human nature. Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah had serious defects of character, as did St. Paul the Apostle. Likewise, you, O reader, and I have character flaws. Nevertheless, may the lovely prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 be others’ prayer for us and our prayer for others.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 16, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ADALBALD OF OSTEVANT, RICTRUDIS OF MARCHIENNES, AND THEIR RELATIONS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ABRAHAM KIDUNAIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT, AND MARY OF EDESSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ANCHORESS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/grace-and-character-flaws/
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Above: Christ Healing a Bleeding Woman
Image in the Public Domain
Empathy, Sympathy, and Community
JUNE 8, 2022
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The Collect:
Compassionate God, you have assured the human family of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Deliver us from the death of sin, and raise us to new life,
in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 39
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 8:14-22
Psalm 68:1-10, 19-20
Luke 8:40-56
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God, you rained down a shower of blessings,
when your heritage was weary you gave it strength.
Your family found a home, which you
in your generosity provided for the humble.
–Psalm 68:9-10, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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The lection from Jeremiah 8 is grim. It comes from a section of prophecies of judgment against Jerusalem. (Nevertheless, Hebrew puns are present.) In some portions of the reading the identity of the speaker is unclear, but the tone is never vague–doom will arrive, and mourning will be abundant.
In Luke 8 grief and anguish give way to joy. Jesus heals a ritually unclean woman with a gynecological condition. He restores her to her community and ends her mental and emotional anguish. Then he raises the daughter of Jairus, a leader of a synagogue, from the dead. Our Lord and Savior restores the family of Jairus to wholeness and the daughter to life and community.
We mere mortals share our lives with each other when we live in community. We might guard our privacy, but even those matters we choose not to disclose influence our lives in community. Whenever we grieve and mourn, that affects others. Likewise, whenever we rejoice and laugh, that affects others also. May we support each other in positive living for the glory of God and the benefit of others, remembering that, as John Donne wrote so well,
No man is an island.
I think of the woman from Luke 8:42b-48. The text informs us that she had endured her medical condition and the related stigma and stresses for twelve years. How many people had tried to help her in any way? And how many, guarding their ritual purity, had shunned her? No woman is an island, even if she is ritually impure.
Sometimes politicians and pundits sneer at empathy, but it is a great virtue in short supply much of the time. So is its cousin, sympathy. Can we empathize or sympathize with a desperate father, a shunned woman, and a member of a doomed community? How will we express that empathy or sympathy?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 4, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PAUL CUFFEE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY TO THE SHINNECOCK NATION
THE FEAST OF SAINT CASIMIR OF POLAND, PRINCE
THE FEAST OF EMANUEL CRONENWETT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARINUS OF CAESAREA, ROMAN SOLDIER AND CHRISTIAN MARTYR, AND ASTERIUS, ROMAN SENATOR AND CHRISTIAN MARTYR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/empathy-sympathy-and-community/
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Above: Landscape with the Parable of the Sower, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder
Image in the Public Domain
Being Good Soil
JUNE 5, 2021
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The Collect:
All-powerful God, in Jesus Christ you turned death into life and defeat into victory.
Increase our faith and trust in him,
that we may triumph over all evil in the strength
of the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 39
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 2:4b-14
Psalm 130
Luke 8:4-15
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O Israel, wait for the LORD,
for with the LORD there is mercy;
there is plenteous redemption with the LORD,
who shall redeem Israel from all their sins.
–Psalm 130:7-8, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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If one focuses on the sower in the Parable of the Sower, one misses the point. Yes, God is a better gardener in Genesis 2:4b-14 than a sower in Luke 8:4-5, but broadcast sowing, which the parable describes, was commonplace, therefore useful for our Lord and Savior’s parable. After all, parables did use details from daily life. And, as Bishop N. T. Wright wrote,
…what Jesus was doing was not commenting on farming problems but explaining the strange way in which the kingdom of God was arriving.
—Luke for Everyone (2004), page 93
The emphasis on the parable is on the soils, not the sower. Donald G. Miller, author of the volume on Luke (1959) in The Layman’s Bible Commentary, was correct to refer to the story as the Parable of the Four Soils. The parable challenges us to ask ourselves what kind of soil we are, not to question the agricultural method the story mentions.
Yes, I know that the explanation of the parable (verses 11-15) postdates the material preceding and succeeding it and represents a subsequent level of interpretation, but it is a useful level of interpretation. It tells us that we, to pursue deep spiritual lives in Christ, must not only welcome him but have an excellent attention span for him in a range of circumstances.
What kind of soil are you, O reader?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 17, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF ARMAGH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/being-good-soil/
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Above: A Depiction of the Parable of the Sower, Which Precedes Matthew 13:10-17
Image in the Public Domain
Harsh Realities
JULY 19, 2023
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The Collect:
Almighty God, we thank you for planting in us the seed of your word.
By your Holy Spirit help us to receive it with joy,
live according to it, and grow if faith and love,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 42
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The Assigned Readings:
Proverbs 11:23-30
Psalm 92
Matthew 13:10-17
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LORD, how great are your works!
your thoughts are very deep.
The dullard does not know,
nor does the fool understand,
that though the wicked grow like weeds,
and all the workers of iniquity flourish,
They flourish only to be destroyed for ever;
but you, O LORD, are exalted for evermore.
–Psalm 92:5-7, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The reading from Matthew 13:10-17 has parallels in Mark 4:10-12 and Luke 8:9-10 while quoting Isaiah 6:9-10. (Actually, Matthew 13:10-17 quotes the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the original Hebrew text, hence differences in renderings within the same English version.) The Isaiah, Mark, and Luke texts seem to indicate speaking to people for the purpose of confusing them, not calling them to repentance and thereby preventing the wrath of God from coming to fruition. Or do these texts speak of consequences as if they were purposes?
I take these as statements of reality, not of purpose, per the presentation in the Gospel of Matthew. This fits well with the reading from Proverbs 11, which I summarize as
What comes around, goes around.
These are lessons about reality, as grim as that is much of the time.
Behind these verses [in Matthew] is the harsh fact that Jesus came into an alien age. His teaching, to men of earthly motives, was a riddle. What could awaken them? Only his death!…The ultimate truth pierces us from the Cross.
—The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII (1951), page 411-412
May we prove perceptive, so that our hearts will not be dull and so that we will understand and turn, so that God will heal us. May we succeed in this spiritual endeavor by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 13, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTONY OF PADUA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF G. K. (GILBERT KEITH) CHESTERTON, AUTHOR
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Harsh Realities
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Above: Elijah in the Wilderness, by Washington Allston
Terrifying Grace
The Sunday Closest to June 22
Second Sunday After Pentecost
JUNE 19, 2022
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Kings 19:1-4 (5-7), 8-15a and Psalms 42 and 43
or
Isaiah 65:1-9 and Psalm 22:18-27
then
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 8:26-39
The Collect:
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Some Related Posts:
Prayer of Praise and Adoration:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-fifth-sunday-after-pentecost/
Prayer of Confession:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/prayer-of-confession-for-the-fifth-sunday-after-pentecost/
Prayer of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-fifth-sunday-after-pentecost/
1 Kings 19:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/week-of-proper-5-friday-year-2/
Isaiah 65:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/devotion-for-january-4-lcms-daily-lectionary/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/twenty-third-day-of-lent/
Galatians 3:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/week-of-proper-22-thursday-friday-and-saturday-year-2/
Luke 8:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/devotion-for-the-nineteenth-twentieth-and-twenty-first-days-of-easter-lcms-daily-lectionary/
The Remnant:
http://taylorfamilypoems.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/the-remnant/
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As I took notes on the readings then pondered connections the first unifying thread I noticed was fear. To begin with the Old Testament options, Elijah was a fugitive from the wrath of Queen Jezebel after the contest with the priests of Baal. Yet God, who was present in the silence, not the storm, encouraged the prophet and gave him more tasks to complete. Third Isaiah reminded his audience that a remnant of the faithful would survive the destruction of the wicked. So the faithful needed not to fear, although the wicked did.
In the Gospel of Luke Jesus healed a demoniac (whatever his modern psychiatric label would be) and killed a herd of swine. Then fearful locals asked our Lord to depart the premises. What scared them? The loss of the swine, economic assets, disturbed some obvious reasons. And the demonstration of such power certainly disturbed others. But the healing was the scariest part of the sequence of events. Who were the locals relative to the man if he, once ill, was now well?
Change disturbs many people profoundly. We become accustomed to the status quo, even if we know that it is imperfect. But at least it is familiar. Some things, of course, should remain constant, so discomfort with some change is healthy and proper. But resistance to change in general constitutes a spiritual dysfunction. Besides, life is replete with change. One who likes things just so and constant will not cope well with life. And an organism that is not changing is dead.
Speaking of change, Christ Jesus overrides a variety of distinctions, such as slave and free person, male and female, and Jew and Gentile. Opposites such as these cease to matter in the context of our Lord. That causes me great joy. Yet many others find that breaking down barriers frightening. If we define ourselves by who and what we are not rather than by who and what we are, it is terrifying news.
Grace scandalizes many of us. It calls us as we are and leads us to become a new creation. Grace ignores categories we use to make sense of the world and destroys our illusion that we know more than we do. Grace tell sus that we need not hide from our enemies if God is with us. We still might die–the Romans did crucify Jesus–but divine power remains unrivaled. And God will preserve a remnant of the faithful as the wicked perish. The members of that remnant will have a responsibility to minister grace to others, for grace is free, not cheap.
Dare we embrace this potentially upsetting and terrifying grace? Or do we prefer the comfortable fictions and realities which comfort us while afflicting others?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 16, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF RUFUS JONES, QUAKER THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN FRANCIS REGIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH BUTLER, ANGLICAN BISHOP
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/terrifying-grace/
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Above: Sherman Booth, U.S. Abolitionist (Died in 1904)
Legacies
SEPTEMBER 19-21, 2022
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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.
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FIRST READING FOR MONDAY
Proverbs 3:27-35 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
Do not withhold good from one who deserves it
When you have the power to do it [for him].
Do not say to your fellow,
Come back again;
I’ll give it to you tomorrow,
when you have it with you.
Do not quarrel with a man for no cause,
When he has done you no harm.
Do not envy a lawless man,
Or choose any of his ways;
For the devious man is an abomination to the LORD,
But He is intimate with the straightforward.
The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the abode of the righteous.
At scoffers He scoffs,
But to the lowly He shows grace.
The wise shall obtain honor,
But dullards get disgrace as their portion.
FIRST READING FOR TUESDAY
Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
Like channeled water is the mind of the king in the LORD’s hand;
He directs it to whatever He wishes.
All the ways of a man seem right to him,
But the LORD probes the mind.
To do what is right and just
Is more desired by the LORD than sacrifice.
Haughty looks, a proud heart–
The tillage of the wicked is sinful.
The plans of the diligent make only for gain;
All rash haste makes only for loss.
Treasures acquired by a lying tongue
Are like driven vapor, heading for extinction.
…
The desire of the wicked is set upon evil;
His fellowman finds no favor in his eyes.
When a scoffer is punished, the simple man is edified;
When a wise man is taught, he gains insight.
The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked man;
He subverts the wicked to their ruin.
Who stops his ears at the cry of the wretched,
He too will call and not be answered.
FIRST READING FOR WEDNESDAY
Proverbs 30:5-9 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
Every word of God is pure,
A shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Do not add to His words,
Lest He indict you and you be proved a liar.
Two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die;
Keep lies and false words far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches,
But provide me with my daily bread,
Les, being sated, I renounce, saying,
Who is the LORD?
Or, being impoverished, I take to theft
And profane the name of my God.
RESPONSE FOR MONDAY
Psalm 15 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
who may abide upon your holy hill?
2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from his heart.
3 There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend;
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
4 In his sight the wicked is rejected,
but he honors those who fear the LORD.
5 He has sworn to do no wrong
and does not take back his word.
6 He does not give his money in hope of gain,
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
7 Whoever does these things
shall never be overthrown.
RESPONSE FOR TUESDAY
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.
RESPONSE FOR WEDNESDAY
Psalm 24:1-6 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it,
the world and all who dwell therein.
2 For it is who founded it upon the seas
and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.
3 “Who can ascend the hill of the LORD?
and who can stand in his holy place?”
4 “Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,
who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,
nor sworn by what is a fraud.
5 They shall receive a blessing from the LORD
and a just reward from the God of their salvation.”
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
GOSPEL READING FOR MONDAY
Luke 8:16-18 (The Jerusalem Bible):
[Jesus continued,]
No one lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or put it under a bed. No, he puts it on a lamp-stand so that people may see the light when they come in. For nothing is hidden but it will be made clear, nothing secret but it will be known and brought to light. So take care how you hear; for anyone who has will be given more; from anyone who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.
GOSPEL READING FOR TUESDAY
Luke 8:19-21 (The Jerusalem Bible):
His [Jesus’] mother and his brothers came looking for him, but they could not get to him because of the crowd. He was told,
Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.
But he said in answer,
My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.
GOSPEL READING FOR WEDNESDAY
Luke 9:1-6 (The Jerusalem Bible):
He [Jesus] called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them,
Take nothing the journey; neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave the town shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.
So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and healing everywhere.
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The Collect:
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; 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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To do what is right and just
Is more desired by the LORD than sacrifice.
–Proverbs 21:3, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
As a student of history, I know well that secrets (the documented ones, at least), emerge in time. Our lives contain patterns, and we will not be able to conceal our true selves forever. So it is best, from a purely selfish point of view, not to have deep, dark secrets. Rather, if we are to go down to scorn or risk doing so, may we do so for doing the right thing, for acting justly and righteously. Then the scorn will reflect harshly on the ones who heap scorn, not on the scorned.
There are many cases of this in the Bible. A few–Tobit, Jeremiah, Elijah, Jesus, and John the Baptist–come to mind immediately. A more recent example is Sherman Booth, who made himself a criminal to free a fugitive slave in 1854. Booth has obtained honor while those who persecuted (and prosecuted) him him have earned disgrace. All this is appropriate.
May we–you, O reader, and I–live in such a way as to obtain honor.
The wise shall obtain honor,
But dullards get disgrace as their portion.
–Proverbs 3:35, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/legacies/
Above: Women at the Empty Tomb (Fra Angelico)
Resurrection of the Dead
SEPTEMBER 17, 2022
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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.
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1 Corinthians 15:35-49 (The Jerusalem Bible):
Someone may ask,
How are dead people raised, and what sort of body do they have when they come back?
These are stupid questions. Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come; you sow a bare grain, say of wheat or something like that, and then God gives it the sort of body that he has chosen: each sort of seed gets its own sort of body.
Everything that is flesh is not the same flesh: there is human flesh, animals’ flesh, the flesh of birds and the flesh of fish. Then there are heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the heavenly bodies have a beauty of their own and the earthly bodies a different one. The sun has its brightness, the moon a different brightness, and the stars a different brightness, and the stars differ from each other in brightness. It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is perishable but what is raised is imperishable; the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; the thing that is sown is weak but what is raised is powerful; when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies the spirit.
If the soul has its own embodiment, so dies the spirit have its own embodiment. The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.
Psalm 30:1-5 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 I will exalt you, O LORD,
because you have lifted me up
and have not let my enemies triumph over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried out to you,
and you restored me to health.
3 You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead;
you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.
4 Sing to the LORD, you servants of his;
give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness.
5 For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,
his favor for a lifetime.
Luke 8:4-15 (The Jerusalem Bible):
With a large crowd gathering and people from every town finding their way to him, he used this parable:
A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.
Saying this he cried,
Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!
His disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said,
The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest there are only parables, so that
they may see but not perceive,
listen but not understand.
This, then is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and the devil comes and carries away from the word their hearts in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
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The Collect:
O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; 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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Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49, addresses a question common throughout time:
What will happen to the faithful after they die?
His answer, which refutes both reincarnation and the proto-Gnostic idea that the soul leaves a body behind forever, requires some explanation. The Jerusalem Bible, in verse 44, uses “soul” for the body:
If the soul has its own embodiment, so does the spirit have its own embodiment.
Contrast that with the translation from The Anchor Bible:
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
The note regarding verse 44, in particular the “natural body,” reads in part,
The Greek word almost defies translation. (page 343)
There are subtleties in the Greek text. One could explore them for a long time; some have. But, for the purposes of this post, I will focus on the main idea. First, however, I had to get that issue out my system, for my eyes latched on to that verse in The Jerusalem Bible.
After consulting commentaries, I have learned that, in the words of The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 10, page 245, Paul refers to
the birth of the human individual.
After we die, Paul wrote, we will exist as improved individuals. Corruption will yield to incorruption, perishability to imperishability, sinfulness to perfection. The afterlife will be different from this life, and we will more closely resemble Jesus. We already bear the image of God, but this will be more prominent after the resurrection of the dead.
I have only scratched the surface of the text. That, however, is fine. It is enough, for now, to ponder one aspect of the reading: God wants us to become better and to share in Heavenly glory. Jesus, God incarnate, is, as Paul wrote,
the first-fruits from the dead.
God has made plans and put them into effect. This is wonderful news. Should we not embrace it gratefully?
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/resurrection-of-the-dead/
Above: St. Mary Magdalene at the Foot of the Cross (Circa 1528-1530), a Detail from a Pieta by Angelo Bronzino (1503-1572)
Misreading Scripture Due to Hearsay
SEPTEMBER 15 and 16, 2022
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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.
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COMBINED FIRST READING FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
1 Corinthians 15:1-20 (The Jerusalem Bible):
Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you–believing anything else will not lead to anything.
Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five thousand of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.
I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others; but what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed.
Now if Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ himself cannot have been raised, and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless; indeed, we are shown up as witnesses who have committed perjury before God, because we swore in evidence before God that he had raised Christ to life. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.
But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
RESPONSES
Psalm 118:14-29 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
14 The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
15 There is a sound of exultation and victory
in the tents of the righteous:
16 “The right hand of the LORD has triumphed!
the right hand of the LORD is exalted!
the right hand of the LORD has triumphed!”
17 I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
18 The LORD has punished me sorely,
but he did not hand me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the LORD.
20 “This is the gate of the LORD;
he who is righteous may enter.”
21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 On this day the LORD has acted;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Hosanna, LORD, hosanna!
LORD, send us now success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 God is the LORD; he has shined upon us;
form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar.
28 “You are my God, and I will thank you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.”
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his mercy endures for ever.
Psalm 17:1-7 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD;
give heed to my cry;
listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.
2 Let my vindication come forth from your presence;
let your eyes be fixed on justice.
3 Weigh my heart, summon me by night,
melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.
4 I give no offence with my mouth as others do;
I have heeded the words of your lips.
5 My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law;
in your paths my feet shall not stumble.
6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me;
incline your ear to me and hear my words.
7 Show me your marvelous loving-kindness,
O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand
from those who rise up against them.
COMBINED GOSPEL READING FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
Luke 7:36-8:3 (The Jerusalem Bible):
One of the Pharisees invited him to a meal. When he arrived at the Pharisee’s house and took his place at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in the town. She had heard he was dining with the Pharisee and had brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment. She waited behind him at his feet, weeping, and her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them away with her hair; then she covered his feet with kisses and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,
If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him and what a bad name she has.
Then Jesus took him up and said,
Simon, I have something to say to you.
He replied,
Speak, Master.
Jesus said,
There was once a creditor who had two men in his debt; one owed him five hundred denarii, the other fifty. They were unable to pay, so he pardoned them both. Which of them will love him more?
Simon answered,
The one who was pardoned more, I suppose.
Jesus said,
You are right.
Then he turned to the woman.
Simon,
he said,
do you see this woman? I came into your house, and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured out her tears over my feet and wiped them away with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever since I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. For this reason I tell you that her sins, her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It is the man who is forgiven little who shows little love.
Then he said to her,
Your sins are forgiven.
Those who were with him at table began to say to themselves,
Who is this man, that he even forgives sins?
But he said to the woman,
Your faith has saved you; go in peace.
Now after this he [Jesus] made his way through towns and villages preaching, and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God. With him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, form whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and several others who had provided for them out of their own resources.
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The Collect:
O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; 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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Regarding the reading from 1 Corinthians, I have little to write. What can I say that Paul did not express more eloquently? So I leave that as it stands and move along.
Each canonical Gospel contains an account–each quite similar, by the way–of a woman anointing Jesus. The citations, for the record, are:
- Luke 7:36-50
- Matthew 26:9-13
- Mark 14:3-9
- John 12:1-8
In the Lukan account, an unnamed prostitute anoints the feet of our Lord at the home of Simon the Pharisee. In the accounts from Mark and Matthew, however, an unnamed woman (without hint of bad reputation) anoints our Lord’s head at the home of Simon the Leper. And, in the Johannine Gospel, Mary of Bethany anoints our Lord’s feet at her home. There is certainly no hint of a bad reputation in John 12:1-8.
In the Lukan Gospel, immediately after 7:36-50, we read of various female disciples and financial backers of Jesus, among them St. Mary of Magdala, a.k.a. St. Mary Magdalene. Tradition, begun by Pope St. Gregory I (“the Great”) associates the prostitute at the end of Luke 7 with St. Mary Magdalene. This association is erroneous. Yet many readers and students of the Bible insist that the Good Book labels St. Mary Magdalene a reformed prostitute.
We who grew up with the Bible and Bible stories learned a great deal, some of it erroneous. If we are to learn accurately what the Bible says about any given topic, we need to turn off the proverbial tapes running inside our heads, stop skipping ahead in a “I already know this part” fashion, and pay very close attention. I endeavor to do this, with mixed results, I am sure. I invite you, O reader, to join me in striving to improve. May our expectations not prevent us from learning what we need to learn in the canonized texts.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/misreading-scripture-due-to-hearsay/
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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