Archive for the ‘Mark 7’ Tag
Above: Jesus and His Disciples
Image in the Public Domain
Agents of God
SEPTEMBER 8, 2024
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 35:4-71
Psalm 146
James 1:17-22 (23-25)
Mark 7:31-37
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Almighty and eternal God,
you know our problems and our weaknesses
better than we ourselves.
In your love and by your power help us in our confusion,
and, in spite of our weaknesses, make us firm in faith;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 27
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Grant, merciful Lord, to your faithful people pardon and peace
that they may be cleansed from all their sins
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 79
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The Epistle of James may be the ultimate New Testament text about shaping up morally, in community context. Its orientation toward works has commended it to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. That orientation has also made many Protestants, still hung over theologically over 1517, squirm in their chairs. So be it.
God is central. God has issued decrees for our own benefit. God demands social justice, especially of the economic variety. God, in Isaiah 34, vowed to transform the lands of Judah’s enemies into a desert. In Isaiah 35, however, God promised to transform the desert into a blooming, well-watered place in time for the exodus following the termination of the Babylonian Exile. God acts in surprising ways sometimes.
Mark 7:31-37 tells us of Jesus healing a deaf man. This man could not participate in his community until Christ healed him. And, of course, people were going to spread news of this healing, with its dramatic results.
You, O reader, and I may not be able to give any deaf person the sense the hearing, but we can reach out to marginalized people and treat them with dignity. God may provide some form of healing, through us, and experience may transform us positively, too. What we do matters. What we do not do also matters. The ways in which God acts through us may surprise us.
Will we cooperate with God?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 17, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE NINTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF EMILY COOPER, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF LUCY LARCOM, U.S. ACADEMIC, JOURNALIST, POET, EDITOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MAX JOSEF METZGER, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1944
THE FEAST OF WILBUR KENNETH HOWARD, MODERATOR OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Mine de plomb et lavis sur papier (Exterior of Arm and Washing on Paper), by Auguste Rodin
Image in the Public Domain
Minor Matters and Weightier Issues
SEPTEMBER 1, 2024
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8
Psalm 15 (LBW) or Psalm 119:129-136 (LW)
Ephesians 6:10-20
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
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O God, we thank you for your Son,
who chose the path of suffering for the sake of the world.
Humble us by his example,
point us to the path of obedience,
and give us strength to follow his commands;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 27
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Lord of all power and might, 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, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 78
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You shall not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I enjoin upon you.
–Deuteronomy 4:2, The New Jerusalem Bible 1985)
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The author of the Gospel of Mark was mistaken; not all Jews practiced ritual handwashing prior to eating. In fact, this handwashing, absent from the Law of Moses, was a habit of Pharisees, a minority sect of Judaism at the time of Christ. So, when Pharisees observed disciples of Jesus not engaging in ritual handwashing prior to eating, they saw disciples behaving as most Jews did.
Mark 7:1-23 (including verses the ILCW Lectionary omits) contrasts being persnickety over such a practice–not in the Law of Moses–with violation of weightier matters, such as honoring one’s parents, a provision of the Law of Moses. In this context, the charge of hypocrisy against critics of Christ’s disciples still rings down the corridors of time.
Holiness is about being separate and set apart. Defilement is about being common. This is a point which J. B. Phillips‘s New Testament in Modern English (1972) makes clear:
Why do your disciples refuse to follow the ancient tradition, and eat their bread with ‘common’ hands?
–Mark 7:5
Other than the point that the “ancient tradition” was not ancient, we have a profound lesson, one with which the ancient traditions of Judaism agreed: the crucial role of the moral code in the Law of Moses. Violations of this moral code arise from within people. The spiritual creepy-crawlies defile people–make them common.
Torah, in the broad definition–as in Psalm 119–is the teaching of God. This divine instruction includes the Law, still binding in Judaism. And, in Christianity, the fulfillment of the Law by Jesus has not nullified any moral obligations to God and people.
I write this post not to lambaste dead people and feel morally superior. I could add many Christians to the Pharisees in Mark 7 as I critique people who have fixated on minor matters and neglected greater issues. I know of a small, conservative denomination founded officially on theological orthodoxy against the heresy that for men to wear neckties to church was acceptable, according to the Bible. The “authority of scripture” as the definition of matters including neckties was the standard of theological orthodoxy for those who committed schism in this case. I also think of a small, conservative Reformed denomination that finally decided in 1982 that not all dancing–ballet, in this case–was sinful. And I know of a small, conservative Lutheran denomination that continues to condemn all dancing as being sinful.
I write this post not only to lambaste legalistic fun-damn-mentalists and Evangelicals and to feel morally superior. They deserve a degree of lambasting. Yes, fishing with dynamite may be fun and momentarily satisfying, but I take the next step. I ask where I fixate on minor matters at the expense of weightier issues. I deserve a degree of lambasting, too, for fixating on minor matters at the expense of weightier issues. No person, congregation, denomination, society, culture, or religious tradition is immune from such an error in choosing where to fixate.
May we, by grace, see the error of our ways, repent, and follow in the correct path.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 14, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE SIXTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD THOMAS DEMBY AND HENRY BEARD DELANY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHIPS FOR COLORED WORK
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTHONY, JOHN, AND EUSTATHIUS OF VILNIUS, MARTYRS IN LITHUANIA, 1347
THE FEAST OF GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL, COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT LUCIEN BOTOVASOA, MALAGASY ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1947
THE FEAST OF SAINT WANDREGISILUS OF NORMANDY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT LAMBERT OF LYONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENAIDA OF TARSUS AND HER SISTER, SAINT PHILONELLA OF TARSUS; AND SAINT HERMIONE OF EPHESUS; UNMERCENARY PHYSICIANS
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: World Map (1570)
Image in the Public Domain
Not Getting the Memo
AUGUST 27, 2023
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
Psalm 67
Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28
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Almighty and ever-loving God,
you have given great and precious promises to those who believe.
Grant us the perfect faith, which overcomes all doubts,
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26
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Merciful Father,
since you have given your only Son as the sacrifice for our sin,
also give us grace to receive with thanksgiving
the fruits of this redeeming work
and daily follow in his way;
through your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 75-76
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The story of the Syro-Phoenician woman (Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30) is a topic of which I have written repeatedly already. I refer you, O reader, to those posts for those comments.
As Amy-Jill Levine points out correctly, Judaism has long welcomed the faith of Gentiles who follow God. Isaiah 56:1-8 is one of the texts Levine cites in making this case. And Psalm 67 speaks of the people of the world praising God.
Unfortunately, not everyone got the memo. This was evident in the New Testament. St. Simon Peter received the memo relatively late, for example.
I come not to criticize Judaism or any other religion. No, I come to set the record straight and to criticize all who are simultaneously zealous for yet uninformed of their religious traditions. I am a Christian. Many non-Christians think of Christians as being judgmental. Yet, Christianity, properly lived, is not judgmental. Nevertheless, many judgmental Christians exist, hence the stereotype.
Have you, O reader, missed any memos from God? Is your piety misdirected, despite your best intentions? Consequences matter more than intentions.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 22, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALBAN, FIRST BRITISH MARTYR, CIRCA 209 OR 305
THE FEAST OF DESIDERIUS ERASMUS, DUTCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, BIBLICAL AND CLASSICAL SCHOLAR, AND CONTROVERSIALIST; SAINT JOHN FISHER, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC CLASSICAL SCHOLAR, BISHOP OF ROCHESTER, CARDINAL, AND MARTYR, 1535; AND SAINT THOMAS MORE, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC CLASSICAL SCHOLAR, JURIST, THEOLOGIAN, CONTROVERSIALIST, AND MARTYR, 1535
THE FEAST OF GERHARD GIESCHEN, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF JAMES ARTHUR MACKINNON, CANADIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 1965
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICETAS OF REMESIANA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OR REMESIANA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAULINUS OF NOLA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF NOLA
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Jesus and the Woman of Canaan, by Michael Angelo Immenraet
Image in the Public Domain
The Scandal of Grace
SEPTEMBER 1, 2024
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Exodus 19:2-8 or 1 Kings 8:1-21
Psalm 56
2 Corinthians 13:5-14
Mark 7:24-37
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God exceeds our wildest imaginations. Yet God pities us, heals us, calls us become more than we are, and empowers us to accomplish that purpose. God calls us to be a people of priests. God equips us to shine the divine light into the world of the nonevangelized and the apostate, and to disciple the converted.
You, O reader, almost certainly do not read these devotions in the same manner in which I do. I know how much, contrary to my aversion to much repetition, I repeat myself. I know how often I repeat myself in these posts based on different lectionaries. I know that I have already repeated myself many times regarding the Gospel pericope for this Sunday as I repeat myself yet again–this time, regarding an ancient, supposedly orthodox hermeneutical tradition that is wrong because it violates the dogma of the perfection of Jesus.
At least since the time of St. Ephrem of Edessa (306/307-373), Jesus initially rejected the plea of the Syro-Phoenician woman heal her daughter, but the woman changed our Lord and Savior’s mind through her persistence . This tradition has informed every analysis of the pericope I have read in commentaries and heard in sermons, regardless of how liberal or conservative they were. St. Ephrem was orthodox, certainly according to the standards of his time.
That element of supposed orthodoxy is heretical. (That charge means much coming from me, one who owns a shirt that reads, “heretic.”) The thought of Jesus honestly calling he woman a “little bitch” (the closest translation in English) is one that runs afoul of sound Christology.
Jesus, who had purposefully entered Gentile territory, was testing the woman. He was making comments so she would refute them. He liked her answer, the one he wanted to hear. Then he healed her child.
Sometimes we need to say something, to express our faith audibly.
God exceeds our wildest imaginations. It welcomes and beckons those who are similar to us and those who have little in common with us. If that makes us uncomfortable, we have a spiritual problem. If we do, we need to take it to Jesus.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 24, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THOMAS À KEMPIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN NEWTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH, U.S. BAPTIST MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN OF THE SOCIAL GOSPEL
THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/24/the-scandal-of-grace-vi/
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Above: Jethro and Moses, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
Active Faith
AUGUST 25, 2024
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Exodus 18 or 1 Kings 3:16-28
Psalm 55:1-8, 16-19, 22
2 Corinthians 12:2-20
Mark 7:1-23
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The condemnation of those who have knowledge of God yet do not put their knowledge into practice is more severe. Even sin committed in ignorance is not without risk.
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Faith must be active to have any power. Faith that includes the law to honor one’s elders, for example, must lead to actions indicating honor of one’s elders. Faith that adjures people to be positive influences must express itself in ways including good advice. Faith that mandates justice must lead to that result.
People are still people, with their weaknesses, of course. We continue to be petty, cruel, selfish, et cetera. These and other negative characteristics detract us from our high callings from God. Do we really want to bicker, as the Corinthian Church did? Perhaps we do. Yet we could do much better than that, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 24, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THOMAS À KEMPIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN NEWTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH, U.S. BAPTIST MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN OF THE SOCIAL GOSPEL
THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/24/active-faith-vi/
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Above: The Adoration of the Golden Calf
Image in the Public Domain
“And Out Came This Calf!”
JULY 2, 2023
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Exodus 32:15-34
Psalm 44:1-3
Acts 7:35-43
Mark 7:9-13
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When Moses broke the tablets containing what TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985) calls “the Pact” (32:15), he demonstrated divine anger and the nullification of the covenant due to human rebellion. Related to this particular rebellion was refusing to accept responsibility, as in Aaron’s dodge,
So I said to them, “Whoever has gold, take it off.” They gave it to me and I hurled it into the fire and out came this calf!
–Exodus 32:24, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The golden bull-calf replaced Moses, not YHWH. That fact, however, was a minor matter. The idolatry was the main issue.
Idolatry assumes many forms. For many people wealth is the primary idol. That is relevant to the lesson from Mark 7, in which Jesus criticizes certain scribes and Pharisees for accepting financial gifts to the Temple in the knowledge that, in so doing, they are contributing to the poverty of innocent people. These religious leaders are manipulating the Law of Moses to benefit themselves while maintaining the facade of holiness. In so doing they are violating the spirit of the Law with regard to helping the poor and the vulnerable. Their fixation on the minor to the detriment of the major rings as hollow as
…and out came this calf!
In which ways are we–you, O reader, and I–guilty of committing idolatry, dodging responsibility, and condoning unjust economic practices that harm the poor?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 17, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF EDITH BOYLE MACALISTER, ENGLISH NOVELIST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT EMILY DE VIALAR, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT JOSEPH OF THE APPARITION
THE FEAST OF JANE CROSS BELL SIMPSON, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS TERESA AND MAFALDA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESSES, QUEENS, AND NUNS; AND SANCHIA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESS AND NUN
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/and-out-came-this-calf/
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Above: Christ Pantocrator
Image in the Public Domain
Missing the Point, Part II
JUNE 25, 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 29:1-24 or 59:1-21
Psalm 55
Matthew 15:1-20 or Mark 7:1-20
1 Timothy 4:1-6
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But you, O God, will make them descend to the sludgy Pit.
Let not men of idols and figurines live out their days.
For my part, I trust in you.
–Psalm 55:24, Mitchell J. Dahood, Psalms II (1968)
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A recurring theme in the Psalms is the sliminess of Sheol. That is the kind of detail one can learn from Biblical scholars.
Those “men of idols and figurines” missed the point. All evildoers who think vainly that God does not know their plans have missed the point. Those who perpetuate social injustice and imagine that God has not noticed have missed the point. Those who obsess over minor details of ritual purity laws while condoning the practice of denying necessary funds to people have missed the point. (This is an echo of a theme from certain Hebrew prophets.) Those who teach deceitful doctrines have missed the point.
One might miss the point for any one of a set of reasons. One might be one of the blind led by other blind people and worse, leading other blind people, to borrow and expand upon a figure of speech from the Gospels. One might be defending tradition as one understands God to have handed it down, as in 1 Timothy 4. One might not care about not missing the point. Or one might be self-serving and prone to interpreting morality through that distorted lens.
Heresies are legion, as they have been for a very long time. A few generalizations regarding them are worth pondering:
- Objective religious truth exists. For lack of a better name, let us call it God.
- The degree to which we can know doctrinal truth is restricted, due to the fact that we are mere mortals.
- The definition of orthodoxy changes over time, even within any given ecclesiastical institution. Consider, for example, O reader, the evolution of theology in Roman Catholicism. Some of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, who were orthodox in their time, became heretics ex post facto.
- Objective truth does not change.
- Many heresies began as attempts to pronounce orthodoxy in specific circumstances.
- Every person is somebody’s heretic.
- Every person is somewhat heretical.
We are left to do our best, trusting in God’s grace and commanded to love one another. Christ is our Savior and exemplar. The historical figure known as Jesus of Nazareth was the incarnate form of the Second Person of the Trinity, however that worked. To be a Christian is to follow Christ, who not only spoke of loving one’s neighbors but modeled that behavior, even unto death.
Jesus did not miss the point.
By grace, may we not miss it either.
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/missing-the-point-part-ii/
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Above: The Canaanite Woman
Image in the Public Domain
Faithful Foreigners
JUNE 1, 2016
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 56:1-8
Psalm 5
Mark 7:24-30
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But joy for all who take refuge in you,
endless songs of gladness!
You shelter them, they rejoice in you,
those who love your name.
–Psalm 5:11, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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Those who take refuge in God include faithful foreigners.
The main two readings for today include favorable words regarding faithful foreigners. These are two of many such passages from the canon of scripture, from the entire Book of Ruth to parts of the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles. The context of the reading from Isaiah 56 is the immediate aftermath of the Babylonian Exile. Returned exiles, in their zeal to live faithfully, ought not to shun Gentiles attracted to Judaism, according to the passage. All who follow God are acceptable to God, regardless of national origin, the lection says.
Immediately prior to Mark 7:24-30 Jesus declared all food to be ritually clean. Then he entered Gentile territory voluntarily. If only the author of the Gospel of Mark had mentioned tones of voice! Nevertheless, he did provide useful textual context. Jesus, I surmise from context, uttered that seemingly rude comment about dogs to test the Gentile woman, and she passed, much to his approval. His hope was that she rebut the original statement. He found faith in a Gentile, and he praised her for it.
Will we welcome those who follow God yet seem not to belong to the club, so to speak, or will we think of those insiders as outsiders? In other words, who are our Gentiles?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 29, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JEMIMA THOMPSON LUKE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER; AND JAMES EDMESTON, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF BERNHARDT SEVERIN INGEMANN, DANISH LUTHERAN AUTHOR AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD HOPPER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CASSIAN, DESERT FATHER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/faithful-foreigners/
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Above: Icon of Moses
Image in the Public Domain
Cleansing from Evil that Arises Within Ourselves, Part III
AUGUST 30 and 31, 2021
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
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The Collect:
O God our strength, without you we are weak and wayward creatures.
Protect us from all dangers that attack us from the outside,
and cleanse us from the outside,
and cleanse us from all evil that arises from within ourselves,
that we may be preserved through your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 46
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The Assigned Readings:
Deuteronomy 4:9-14 (Monday)
Deuteronomy 4:15-20 (Tuesday)
Deuteronomy 4:21-40 (Wednesday)
Psalm 106:1-6, 13-23, 47-48 (All Days)
1 Timothy 4:6-16 (Monday)
1 Peter 2:19-25 (Tuesday)
Mark 7:9-23 (Wednesday)
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We have sinned like our forebears;
we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
–Psalm 106:6, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)
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The contents of this post flows naturally from the previous one. God, whom the Torah depicts vividly as compassionate yet prone to smite faithless people and blame many people for the sins of others, exceeds human comprehension and preconceptions. Any impression to the contrary is mistaken. Holding to divine commandments–sometimes despite the discouraging attitudes, words, and deeds of others–is a great virtue.
Yet we mere mortals interpret that law in our cultural contexts, so we excuse the unjustifiable in the name of God sometimes. In 1 Peter 2:18-25, for example, we find instructions to slaves to obey their masters. Verse 18, which the lectionary omits, reads:
Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.
—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
I refuse to defend such a passage.
Other injustices have been conscious violations of divine law, not ones born out of cultural blindness. The practice of Corban was the act of donating wealth or property to the religious establishment. It was innocent and sincere sometimes, but mean-spirited much of the time. A person, under the cover of holiness, could deprive his family of necessary financial resources. Jesus knew this, and he said so. That which defiles one, our Lord and Saviour said, comes from within, not without. The metaphorical source of defilement is one’s heart, so, as in the previous post, entering the headquarters of Pontius Pilate would have defiled nobody. No, those who handed Jesus over to Pilate had defiled themselves already.
May we not defile ourselves. May we love each other as we love ourselves. May we respect the image of God in others and in ourselves. May we encourage each other in our vocations from God. And may we refuse to shift the blame for that for which we are responsible. Making scapegoats out of people solves no problems, creates more of them, and violates the moral imperative to respect the dignity of every human being.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 2, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARGARET E. SANGSTER, HYMN WRITER, NOVELIST, AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF LYONS (A.K.A. BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS)
THE FEAST OF REINHOLD NIEBUHR, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT STEPHEN OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY, BISHOP, AND MARTYR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/cleansing-from-evil-that-arises-within-ourselves-part-iii/
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Above: An Illustration from Ralph Kirby, The Bible in Pictures (1952), Page 82
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
That Which Defiles
JUNE 28 and 29, 2021
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 21:1-15 (Monday)
Leviticus 15:19-31 (Tuesday)
Psalm 88 (Both Days)
2 Corinthians 8:16-24 (Monday)
2 Corinthians 9:1-5 (Tuesday)
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But as for me, O LORD, I cry to you for help;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
–Psalm 88:14, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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What makes one unclean? What defiles a person? To use the germane Greek idiom, what makes a person common?
The Law of Moses lists offenses which make a person common. Today’s readings from Leviticus provide the following causes for defilement:
- Menstruation and contact with the discharge;
- Contact with discharged blood;
- Priestly contact with corpse, except that of a near relative;
- Priestly incest;
- Certain forms of grooming for priests;
- Priestly cutting of his own flesh;
- Priestly marriage to a harlot, a divorced woman, or a woman otherwise not a virgin on the day of the wedding to the priest;
- A priest’s daughter committing harlotry, thereby defiling her father and warranting her death; and
- Priestly baring of his head or rending of vestments.
The Law of Moses does not like female biology, does it?
The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) includes a priest who refused to violate the third item on that list, for fear that the man lying by the side of the road might be dead. That priest would have become ritually unclean, therefore not fit to perform sacred rituals for a few days, according to Leviticus 21. The priest was not the hero of our Lord and Savior’s story.
What really makes one unclean, defiled? Jesus answered that question in Matthew 15:18-19:
But the things that come out of a man’s mouth come from his heart and mind, and it is they that really make a man unclean. For it is from a man’s mind that evil thoughts arise–murder, adultery, lust, theft, perjury, and slander.
–J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English–Revised Edition (1972)
Mark 7:15 contains a succinct statement:
There is nothing outside a man which can enter him and make him “common.” It is the things which come out of a man that make him “common”!
–J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English–Revised Edition (1972)
The list from Matthew 15 describes how to harm others and oneself in the process. Building up others (and therefore oneself in the process), as in the readings from 2 Corinthians, does the opposite of defiling one, therefore. The priest in the Parable of the Good Samaritan should have thought of that.
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
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/that-which-defiles/
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ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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