Archive for the ‘Matthew 13’ Tag
Above: The Parable of the Net
Image in the Public Domain
Good News and Bad News
AUGUST 6, 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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1 Kings 3:5-12
Psalm 119:129-136
Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 13:44-52
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O God, your ears are always open to the prayers of your servants.
Open our hearts and minds to you,
that we may live in harmony with your will
and receive the gifts of your Spirit;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26
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O God, the Protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy,
increase and multiply your mercy on us,
that with you as our Ruler and Guide,
we may so pass through things temporal,
that we lose not the things eternal;
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), 71
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Redeem me from human oppression….
–Psalm 119:134a, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible (2019)
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Good news and bad news come together.
- The reading from 1 Kings 3 marinates in hindsight and the wasted potential of King Solomon, who had come to power like Michael Corleone, settling disputes with murder. One may reasonably speculate that King Solomon had already cast his die before 1 Kings 3. Nevertheless, hope springs eternal, to quote a cliché.
- We read a portion of Psalm 119, in which the author extols God’s commandments in the context of human oppression.
- Single Predestination (Romans 8:28-30) is to Heaven. Those not so predestined have the witness of the Holy Spirit available to them.
- We read that, at the end of the age, the angels will separate the wicked from the righteous. This is good news for the righteous and bad news for the wicked. Divine judgment and mercy exist in balance.
I paid little attention to predestination when I was a Methodist. My theology has shifted, however, into Anglican-Lutheranism, which includes Single Predestination. After growing up ignoring passages such as Romans 8:28-30, I have embraced them.
The good news of Single Predestination, paired with the witness of the Holy Spirit, is grace. Those predestined receive one form of grace. Those not predestined receive another form of grace. Their free will to accept or reject the witness of the Holy Spirit exists because of grace. Everything boils down to grace.
We human beings do not have to earn everything. We cannot earn grace. If we accept it, we also accept its demands on our lives. Grace is free, not cheap.
Good news and bad news come together. We mere mortals make our bad news and some of our good news. God brings us good news. Are we receptive to it?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYL0R
JUNE 18, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM BINGHAM TAPPAN, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER. POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF ADOLPHUS NELSON, SWEDISH-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF BERNARD MIZEKI, ANGLICAN CATECHIST AND CONVERT IN SOUTHERN RHODESIA, 1896
THE FEAST OF JOHANN FRANCK, HEINRICH HELD, AND SIMON DACH, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITERS
THE FEAST OF RICHARD MASSIE, HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF VERNARD ELLER, U.S. CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Tares
Image in the Public Domain
Trust in God
JULY 30, 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 44:1-8
Psalm 86:11-17 (LBW) or Psalm 119:57-64 (LW)
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-30 (36-43)
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Pour out upon us, O Lord,
the spirit to think and to do what is right,
that we, who cannot even exist without you,
may have the strength to live according to your will;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
OR
O God, you see how busy we are with many things.
Turn us to listen to your teachings
and lead us to choose the one thing which will not be taken from us,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26
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Grant us, Lord, the Spirit to think
and to do always such things as are pleasing in your sight,
that we, who without you cannot do anything that is good,
may by you be enabled to live according to your will;
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), 70
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Second Isaiah’s insistence upon strict monotheism is consistent with Psalmists’ trust in God, especially during difficult times. St. Paul the Apostle’s encouraging words tell us that the Holy Spirit comes to our aid in our weakness and intercedes for us.
I have been writing lectionary-based posts for more than a decade. In that time, I have covered the Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) a few times.
All these posts are available at this weblog.
To turn to the topic at hand, trust in God is a theme in the Parable of the Weeds. We may trust God to remove the darnel. If we are fortunate, we are not poisonous weeds. If we are unfortunate, we are darnel, and God will remove us in time.
All the readings speak of trust in God during perilous times. Romans 8:26-27 exists in the context of what precedes it immediately: suffering and hardship as birth pangs of a renewed creation. Isaiah 44:6-8 exists in the context of the waning months of the Babylonian Exile. Psalm 86 speaks of
a brutal gang hounding me to death
–verse 14, The Jerusalem Bible (1966).
Matthew 13 refers to poisonous weeds that initially resemble wheat in the Parable of the Weeds. Who is wheat and who is darnel may not always be possible or easy to tell. (I do know, however, that I habitually fail doctrinal purity tests. Many people classify me as darnel. So be it.) Given the outward similarity of wheat and darnel, whom should one trust? And, as we read in Psalm 11i:61,
…the nets of the wicked ensnare me.
—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible (2019)
Fortunately, we are not alone. The Holy Spirit comes to our aid in our weakness and intercedes for us. Do we trust that this is true? Do we trust in God?
I can answer only for myself. My answer to this question is,
Yes, usually.
What is your answer, O reader?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 17, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL BARNETT, ANGLICAN CANON OF WESTMINSTER, AND SOCIAL REFORMER; AND HIS WIFE, HENRIETTA BARNETT, SOCIAL REFORMER
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 MARK HOPKINS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, EDUCATOR, AND PHYSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINTS TERESA AND MAFALDA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESSES, QUEENS, AND NUNS; AND SAINT SANCHIA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESS AND NUN
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: St. Paul the Apostle
Image in the Public Domain
The Renewal of All Things
JULY 23, 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 55:10-11
Psalm 65
Romans 8:18-25
Matthew 13:1-9 (18-23)
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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 in faith and hope and love;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
or
Lord God, use our lives to touch the world with your love.
Stir us, by your Spirit, to be neighbors to those in need,
serving them with willing hearts;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 25
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O almighty and most merciful God,
of your bountiful goodness keep us, we pray,
from all things that may hurt us that we,
being ready in both body and soul,
may cheerfully accomplish whatever things you want done;
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), 69
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When reading the assigned lessons in preparation for drafting a post, I often notice that one lesson is an outlier. Today I choose to focus on the outlier. The theme of God sowing, complete with the Matthean version of the Parable of the Sower/the Four Soils, is a topic about which I have written and posted more than once. You, O reader, may access my analysis of that parable by following the germane tags attached to this post. I also refer you to this post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA.
Romans 8:18-25 flows from what precedes it immediately: Christians are heirs–sons, literally–of God, through Jesus, the Son of God. The gendered language is a reflection of St. Paul the Apostle’s cultural setting, in which sons, not daughters, inherited. As “sons of God,” we Christians bear witness with the Holy Spirit that we are members of the household of God.
Literally, Christians are “sons of God” or have received the “spirit of sonship” in verses 14, 15, and 23. We are “children of God” in verses 16, 17, and 21, though. (I checked the Greek texts.) These distinctions are obvious in translations that do not neuter the Greek text. I check genders (male, female, and neuter) via the Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002). My historical training tells me that before I can interpret a document in context, I must know what the document says.
Romans 8:18-30, from which we extract 8:18-25, tells of the renewal of all things. In the midst of suffering, the future glory of the human race in God still awaits. The renewal of creation itself awaits. The sufferings are birth pangs. Meanwhile, Christians must wait with patience and expectation.
For obvious reasons, I leave comments about birth pangs to women who have given birth.
St. Paul the Apostle understood suffering for Christ. St. Paul the Apostle mustered optimism in dark times, by grace. This has always astounded me. I, having endured suffering less severe than that of St. Paul the Apostle, have found depression and pessimism instead.
I write this post during dark times for the world. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage around the world. Authoritarian forces endanger representative governments around the world. Polarization has increased to the point that opposite camps have their own facts. (Objective reality be damned!) I have found more causes for depression and pessimism than for optimism.
Yet St. Paul the Apostle, speaking to us down the corridors of time, tells us that these are birth pangs of a better world. I hope that is correct. I pray that these are not birth pangs of a dystopia.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 18, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JACQUES ELLUL, FRENCH REFORMED THEOLOGIAN AND SOCIOLOGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT CELESTINE V, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINT DUNSTAN OF CANTERBURY, ABBOT OF GLASTONBURY AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF GEORG GOTTFRIED MULLER, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MINISTER AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF KERMARTIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ATTORNEY, PRIEST, AND ADVOCATE FOR THE POOR
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
Hearing and Listening
NOT OBSERVED IN 2018
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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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Ezekiel 2:6-3:4
Psalm 3
Revelation 10:1-11
Matthew 13:10-17
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LORD, how many adversaries I have!
how many there are who rise up against me!
–Psalm 3:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Do not be afraid of their words and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious breed; but speak My words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.
–Ezekiel 2:6b-7, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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The imagery of eating a scroll indicates accepting a prophetic call from God. Often the vocation of the prophet entails being unpopular, for speaking uncomfortable truths leads to that result. Also, speaking such truths might place the life and liberty of the prophet at risk.
For some time the passage from Ezekiel has haunted me, so to speak. The imagery of the bitter scroll tasting as sweet as honey, indicating Ezekiel’s glad acceptance of his commission, has come to mind often. This imagery, echoed in Revelation 10, has reminded me of the mix of the bitter and sweet lives in while following God. It has challenged me to accept bitterness as sweetness in the service of God. I have not lived fully into that challenge yet.
The passage in Luke 13 reminds us of the difference between hearing and listening. We might hear, but we might not listen. Listening is much harder work, after all. And, assuming that we do listen to the prophetic words of God via Ezekiel, Jesus, or anyone else, we might not like them. How we respond or react to them is spiritually telling.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 3, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIE-LEONIE PARADIS, FOUNDER OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM WHITING, HYMN WRITER
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Also known as Devotion for the Sixth Sunday After the Epiphany
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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: Landscape with the Parable of the Sower, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder
Image in the Public Domain
Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part XIII: Loyalty and Identity
OCTOBER 15-17, 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 everlasting 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:
Deuteronomy 13:1-18 (October 15–Protestant Versification)
Deuteronomy 13:2-19 (October 15–Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Versification)
Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23; 14:28-15:15 (October 16)
Deuteronomy 15:19-16:22 (October 17)
Psalm 123 (Morning–October 15)
Psalm 15 (Morning–October 16)
Psalm 36 (Morning–October 17)
Psalms 30 and 86 (Evening–October 15)
Psalms 48 and 4 (Evening–October 16)
Psalms 80 and 27 (Evening–October 17)
Matthew 13:1-23 (October 15)
Matthew 13:24-43 (October 16)
Matthew 13:44-58 (October 17)
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Here is a summary of the contents of Deuteronomy 13:1-16:22:
- Execute any false prophet or dream-diviner. (13:1-6/2-7)
- Execute anyone who entices another person to commit idolatry. (13:6-11/7-12)
- Execute the inhabitants of idolatrous towns, burn those towns, and destroy all spoil. Do not rebuild at any of those sites. (13:12-18/13-19)
- Avoid mourning rituals associated with pagan peoples. (14:1-2)
- Eat only ritually clean foods. (14:3-21)
- Pay a tenth of your crops and livestock to God. (14:22-26)
- Provide for the needy and the Levites. (14:27-29)
- Provide debts and free slaves every seventh year. (15:1-18)
- Sacrifice all male firstlings born into your flock to God, assuming that it is a proper physical specimen. (15:19-23)
- Keep a detailed festival calendar and the accompanying instructions. (16:1-17)
- Appoint magistrates who will govern honestly and justly, taking no bribes. (16:18-20)
- Erect no posts, as in honor to Astarte. (16:21-22)
I have mixed feelings about that material. On one hand, I approve of the social justice imperative parts of it. I find even the acceptance of any form of slavery offensive and the command to execute people intolerable. I know that one theme of the Law of Moses is absolute loyalty to God, so idolatry equaled treason, but some commands seem barbaric to me. So far as dietary laws are concerned, I note that I have never cared about them. Proper refrigeration negates some health concerns, as does thorough cooking. One analysis of the forbidden list says that those animals did not fit nearly into certain categories. Assuming that the analysis is correct, what was the problem? Besides, I like to eat ham and intend to continue to do so.
In Matthew 13 we read a series of mostly agricultural parables: the sower and the seed, the darnel and the mustard seed, the treasure in the field, the merchant and the pearls, and the fish of mixed quality. And, at the end of the chapter, people in Nazareth lack faith him. Perhaps they know too much to realize even more.
From those parables I glean certain lessons:
- One should remain focused on God, not allowing anything or anyone to function as a distraction.
- The good and the bad will grow up together and come mixed together. God will sort everything into the correct categories at the right time. That task does not fall to us, mere mortals.
- Nothing is more important than seeking, finding, and keeping the Kingdom of God.
I detect much thematic overlap between that material and Deuteronomy 13:1-16:22, with the notable absence of commands about when to execute or destroy. Yes, Matthew is more riveting reading than Deuteronomy.
I read the Law of Moses as a Gentile, specifically an Episcopalian who grew up a United Methodist. The Law was like a household servant who raised children, St. Paul the Apostle tells us. Now that Christ has arrived on the scene, I have only two commandments, not over 600. So, as long as I am growing via grace into loving God fully and my neighbor as myself, that ham sandwich should not bother my conscience. And I refuse to execute anyone, for I serve an executed and resurrected Lord and Savior. To him I am loyal. In him, not a law code, do I find my identity.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 7, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMITIAN OF HUY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP
THE FEAST OF HARRIET STARR CANNON, COFOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITYN OF SAINT MARY
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROSE VENERINI, FOUNDER OF THE VENERINI SISTERS
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODARD OF NARBONNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP; AND SAINTS JUSTUS AND PASTOR, MARTYRS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-xiii-loyalty-and-identity/
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Above: Jeremiah
Prophets, True and False
JULY 29, 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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Jeremiah 26:1-9 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
At the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came from the LORD:
Thus said the LORD: Stand in the court of the House of the LORD, and speak to [the men of] all the towns of Judah, who are coming to worship in the House of the LORD, all the words which I command you to speak to them. Do not omit anything. Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from his evil way, that I may renounce the punishment I am planning to bring upon them for their wicked acts.
Say to them: Thus said the LORD: If you do not obey Me, abiding by the Teaching that I have set before you, heeding the words of My servants the prophets whom I have been sending to you persistently–but you have not heeded–then I will make this House like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.
The priests and prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the House of the LORD. And when Jeremiah finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, shouting,
You shall die! How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD that this House shall become like Shiloh and this city be made desolate, without inhabitants?
And all the people crowded about Jeremiah in the House of the LORD.
Psalm 70 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me;
O LORD, make haste to help me.
2 Let those who seek my life be ashamed
and altogether dismayed;
let those who take pleasure in my misfortune
draw back and be disgraced.
3 Let those who say to me “Aha!” and gloat over me turn back,
because they are ashamed.
4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
let those who love your salvation say to for ever,
“Great is the LORD!”
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
come to me speedily, O God.
6 You are my helper and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not tarry.
Matthew 13:53-58 (J. B. Phillips, 1972):
When Jesus had finished these parables, he left the place, and came into his own country. Here he taught the people in their own synagogue, till in their amazement they said,
Where does this man get this wisdom and these powers? He’s only the carpenter’s son. Isn’t Mary his mother, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? And aren’t all his sisters living here with us? Where did he get all this?
And they were deeply offended with him.
But Jesus said to them,
No prophet goes unhonoured except in his own country and in his own home!
And he performed very few miracles there because of their lack of faith.
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The Collect:
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; 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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A Related Post:
Week of Proper 12: Friday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/week-of-proper-12-friday-year-1/
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This day’s reading from Jeremiah requires some background for understanding. King Jehoiakim was a puppet king installed by the Pharaoh of Egypt. Jehoiakim also served the Babylonian king before rebelling against Babylonia. The Kingdom of Judah fell to Babylonia twelve years after he died. So, at the time of the events of Jeremiah 26, the Kingdom of Judah was on its last legs. So, when Jeremiah proclaimed impending boom and destruction, he was both accurate and unpopular. Time, however, has vindicated the prophet.
Over time many prophets have called their cultures and societies to proper reform or revolution. There have also been false prophets, who have called their cultures and societies to forms of tyranny in the name of God. Theocrats have been chief among them. Those who have favored discrimination in the name of God have not taught righteousness, in so far as they denied human equality. May we heed the words of the true prophets and not those of false prophets.
KRT
Above: Pottery
Image Source = Derek Jensen
God, the Potter
JULY 28, 2022
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Jeremiah 18:1-6 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Go down to the house of a potter, and there I will impart My words to you.
So I went down to the house of a potter, and found him working at a wheel. And if the vessel he was making was spoiled, as happens to clay in the potter’s hands, he would make it into another vessel, such as the potter saw fit to make.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
O House of Israel, can I not deal with you like this potter?
–says the LORD.
Just like clay in the hands of the potter, so are you in My hands, O House of Israel!
Psalm 146:1-5 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
2 Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth,
for there is not help in them.
3 When they breathe their last, they return to earth,
and in that day their thoughts perish.
4 Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help!
whose hope is in the LORD their God;
5 Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them;
who keeps his promise for ever.
Matthew 13:47-53 (J. B. Phillips, 1972):
[Jesus continued,]
Or the kingdom of Heaven is like a big net thrown into the sea collecting all kinds of fish. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore and sit down and pick out the good ones for the barrels, but they throw away the bad. This is how it will be at the end of this world. The angels will go out and pick out the wicked from among the good and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be tears and bitter regret.
Have you grasped all this?
They replied,
Yes.
Jesus returned,
You can see, then, how everyone who knows the Law and becomes a disciple of the kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who can produce from his store both the new and the old.
When Jesus had finished these parables he left the place, and came into his own country.
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The Collect:
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; 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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A Related Post:
Week of Proper 12: Thursday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/week-of-proper-12-thursday-year-1/
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Here we have another analogy for God: the potter. Or, as the note in The Jewish Study Bible says,
God is the master craftsman while Israel is the inanimate clay! (page 963)
If Israel (in this case, Judah, had repented–turned around or changed its mind–the potter would have remolded it, made something new out of the raw materials. Yet none of that happened in time to prevent the fall of Judah. That is the message of God and Jeremiah in this passage.
When we turn to Matthew 13:47-53, we read about the value of both the old and the new. We (plural and singular) come to God with some background. This background is not entirely worthless. Even the worst, basest past can provide useful lessons. Yet we must move forward, retaining the best of the old while adding the new which is worthwhile.
The union of these two passages tells us that, if we allow God to mold us, retaining that which is meritorious and adding the necessary new elements, we will, by grace, become something wonderful and suited for the service of God. This is not Jesus-and-Meism, for we exist to be good salt and bright light for the common god and the glory of good. Through good and righteous people a reformation of society can occur. It has occurred more than once. For example, racism (at least its explicit forms) used to be publicly acceptable. People used to send postcards depicting lynchings through the U.S. mail. Once upon a time, the suggestion that people, regardless of skin pigmentation, ought to be social and legal equals, met with widespread disapproval. Interracial marriages were illegal in many U.S. states until the late 1960s. Yet, in 2011, the situation has changed greatly, racism carries a severe stigma, and many racists feel compelled to resort to code speech.
And, when prevailing social attitudes change, so do the factors which shape the attitudes of the young. For example, those who grow up in a society where unapologetic racism prevails are likely to think differently than do those raised to accept racial equality. So yes, a person can make an important difference.
I wonder what will happen next, which old biases will fall away properly, only for love and equality to replace them. Time will tell.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/god-the-potter/
Above: Fists
Complaining Against God
JULY 27, 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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Jeremiah 15:10, 15-21 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
(Jeremiah speaking)
Woe is me, my mother, that you ever bore me–
A man of conflict and strife with all the land!
I have not lent,
And I have not borrowed;
Yet everyone curses me.
…
O LORD, you know–
Remember me and take thought of me,
Avenge me on those who persecute me;
Do not yield to Your patience,
Do not let me perish!
Consider how I have borne insult
On Your account.
When Your words were offered, I devoured them;
Your words were offered, I devoured them;
Your word brought me the delight and joy
Of knowing that Your name is attached to me,
O LORD, God of Hosts.
I have not sat in the company of revelers
And made merry!
I have sat lonely because of Your hand upon me,
For You have filled me with gloom.
Why must my pain be endless,
My wound incurable,
Resistant to healing?
You have been to me like a spring that fails,
Like waters that cannot be relied on.
Assuredly, thus said the LORD:
If you turn back, I shall take you back
And you shall stand before Me;
If you produce what is noble
Out of the worthless,
You shall be My spokesman.
They shall come back to you
As a fortified wall of bronze:
They shall attack you
But they shall not overcome you,
For I am with you to deliver and save you
–declares the LORD.
I will save you from the hands of the wicked
And rescue you from the clutches of the violent.
Psalm 59:1-4, 18-20 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Rescue me from my enemies, O God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.
2 Rescue me from evildoers
and save me from those who thirst for my blood.
3 See how they lie in wait for my life,
how the mighty gather together against me;
not for any offense or fault of mine, O LORD.
4 Not because of any guilt of mine
they run and prepare themselves for battle.
18 For my part, I will sing of your strength;
I will celebrate your love in the morning;
19 For you have become my stronghold,
a refuge in the day of my trouble.
20 To you, O my Strength, will I sing;
for you, O God, are my stronghold and my merciful God.
Matthew 13:44-46 (J. B. Phillips, 1972):
[Jesus continued,]
Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like some treasure which has been buried in a field. A man finds it and buries it again, and goes off overjoyed to sell all his possessions to buy himself that field.
Or again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he has found a single pearl of great value, he goes and sells all his possessions and buys it.
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The Collect:
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Some Related Posts:
Week of Proper 12: Wednesday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/week-of-proper-12-wednesday-year-1/
A Prayer for Those Who Have Harmed Us:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/a-prayer-for-those-who-have-harmed-us/
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Jeremiah had a difficult vocation. He delivered the bad news God had told him to utter. For his trouble the prophet faced not only rampant unpopularity but persecution. So here we find him in Chapter 15, at a breaking point. Is this self-pity, for which he needs to repent, or is it a legitimate complaint? Many Bible commentaries argues the former, but I side with the latter. There is nothing wrong with demanding answers from God when one deserves them. There is no error in shaking one’s fist at God and screaming, “Why!?!” If the relationship is troubled, at least it exists.
Some, out of piety (surely a good motive), have stated that one ought not to argue with God. Submit to God passively, they claim. But the Old Testament contains stories of people who struggled with God and emerged stronger spiritually. Consider Israel and Job, for example. God was with them before, during, and after their struggles. And God was with Jeremiah after the prophet’s complaint.
Did Jeremiah come dangerously close to committing blasphemy? Some think so. May we take a useful lesson away from the reading from Jeremiah 15: Be honest, but do not commit blasphemy or come close to doing so.
KRT
Above: Jeremiah, from the Sistine Chapel Paintings by Michelangelo Buonarroti
What We Need to Hear
JULY 26, 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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Jeremiah 14:17-22 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
And do you speak to them thus:
Let my eyes run with tears,
Day and night let them not cease,
for my hapless people has suffered
A grievous injury, a very painful wound.
If I go out to the country–
Lo, the slain of the sword.
If I enter the city–
Lo, those who are sick with famine.
Both priest and prophet roam the land,
They know not where.
Have You, then, rejected Judah?
Have You spurned Zion?
Why have you smitten us
So that there we hope for happiness,
But find no good;
For a time of healing,
And meet terror instead?
We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD–
The iniquity of our fathers–
For we have sinned against You.
For Your name’s sake, do not disown us;
Do not dishonor Your glorious throne.
Remember, do not annul Your covenant with us.
Can any of the false gods of the nations give rain?
Can the skies of themselves give showers?
So we hope in You,
For only You made all these things.
Psalm 79:17-22 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
9 Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your Name;
deliver us and forgive us our sins, for your Name’s sake.
10 Why should the heathen say, “Where is their God?”
Let it be known among the heathen and in our sight
that you avenge the shedding of your servant’s blood.
11 Let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before you,
and by your great might spare those who are condemned to die.
12 May the revilings with which they reviled you, O Lord,
return seven-fold into their bosoms.
13 For we are your people and the sheep of your pasture;
we will give you thanks for ever
and show forth your praise from age to age.
Matthew 13:36-43 (J. B. Phillips, 1972):
Later, he left the crowds and went indoors, where his disciples came and said,
Please explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.
Jesus replied,
The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the whole world. The good seed? That is the sons of the kingdom, while the weeds are sons of the evil one of this world. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of this world. The reapers are angels.
Just as weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire so will it happen at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will uproot from the kingdom everything that is spoiling it, and all those who live in defiance of its laws, and will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be tears and bitter regret. Then the good will shine out like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. The man who has ears should use them!
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The Collect:
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; 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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A Related Post:
Week of Proper 12: Tuesday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/week-of-proper-12-tuesday-year-1/
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Jeremiah prophesied in the context of many false prophets who claimed that the Babylonians would not conquer Judah. Maybe they quoted the Book of Isaiah and interpreted the defeat of the Assyrians as the fulfillment of certain prophesies. Maybe they understood the Book of Isaiah in that way; perhaps they interpreted it so in public while being insincere. Regardless of their motivations, however, they were mistaken, as history tells us.
There is a basic psychological explanation for people’s preference for the false prophets instead of Jeremiah: Good news is more appealing than bad news. Yet sometimes the bearers of bad news tell us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear. By grace, may we distinguish between genuine good news and false prophesy, between warnings we ought to heed and unreliable cries that the sky is falling. The stakes are so high and the costs of making a mistake are severe.
KRT
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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