Archive for the ‘Psalm 105’ Tag
Above: The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem, by David Roberts
Image in the Public Domain
The Apocalyptic Discourse, Part III
JULY 30, 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:
Deuteronomy 4:32:40 or Isaiah 65:10-16 (17-25) or Ezekiel 7:(1-9) 10-27 or Zechariah 14:(1-3) 4-9 (10-21)
Psalm 50:(7-8) 9-21 (22-23) or Psalm 105:(1-6) 12-15 (26) 27-36 (37, 43-45)
Matthew 24:15-22 or Mark 13:14-20 or Luke 21:20-24
1 Corinthians 10:(14-17) 18-11:1
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The ominous tone of judgment hangs over the readings for this Sunday. How dare those who have witnessed the power and the mercy of God disregard Him? Yet we find mercy combined with judgment. Besides apocalyptic destruction of the corrupt human order, based on violence and exploitation, precedes the establishment of God’s new order on Earth.
I think it important to point out that offenses in the readings are not just personal peccadilloes. Social injustice is a recurring theme in apocalyptic literature, which therefore emphasizes institutionalized sins. The pericope from 1 Corinthians reminds us of the truth that whatever we do affects other people. We should therefore act according to the moral obligation to consider the scruples of others. I propose that this is a fine principle one can take too far, for, if we become too sensitive regarding the scruples of others, we will do little or nothing, certainly little or nothing good. The guiding principle (from 10:31) is to behave for the glory of God.
There is no sin in glorifying God and effecting the common good. There is no sin in not exploiting anyone. There is no sin in loving one’s neighbors and recognizing one’s obligations to them in the societal web of interdependence. There is no sin in making love the rule of life (2 John 5b-6).
Doing so does not prompt the judgment of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 17, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, ABOLITIONIST AND FEMINIST; AND MARIA STEWART, ABOLITIONIST, FEMINIST, AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB AND DOROTHY BUXTON, FOUNDERS OF SAVE THE CHILDREN
THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER
THE FEAST OF MARY CORNELIA BISHOP GATES, U.S. DUTCH REFORMED HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/12/17/the-apocalyptic-discourse-part-iii/
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This is post #850 of ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS.
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Above: The Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, 1965
Photographer = Peter Pettus
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZ6-2329
Righteousness and Results
JUNE 19-21, 2023
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The Collect:
God of compassion, you have opened the way for us and brought us to yourself.
Pour your love into our hearts, that, overflowing with joy,
we may freely share the blessings of your realm and faithfully proclaim
the good news of your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 39
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The Assigned Readings:
Joshua 1:1-11 (Monday)
1 Samuel 3:1-9 (Tuesday)
Proverbs 4:10-27 (Wednesday)
Psalm 105:1-11, 37-45 (All Days)
1 Thessalonians 3:1-5 (Monday)
2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5 (Tuesday)
Luke 6:12-19 (Wednesday)
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Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his face continually.
–Psalm 105:4, Common Worship (2000)
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The Psalm tells us to seek God and divine strength continually. That is good advice at all times and in all places. It is also advice consistent with the rest of the assigned readings.
The lections from Joshua and Proverbs are overly optimistic. They follow a certain formula: Obey God and good results will follow; one will prosper, et cetera. This is the overly optimistic viewpoint which leads to the heresy of Prosperity Theology: love God, do the right things, and get rich.
Tell that to Jesus (crucified), St. Paul the Apostle (beheaded after many years of troubles), and most of the original twelve Apostles (the majority of whom died violently). Tell that to the Thessalonian Christians. Tell that to nearly 2000 years’ worth of Christian martyrs and about 5000 years’ worth of faithful Hebrews.
When we challenge social institutions and systems which violate th law of love we confront powerful forces. In so doing we challenge people who might even cite God in attempts to justify their unjustifiable actions and attitudes. And we place ourselves at great risk. We need divine strength to live faithfully and to avoid the pitfalls of hatred, vengeance, and misdirected anger. We should be angry sometimes, for righteous anger does exist. But we ought to channel it properly, lest it corrupt our cause and compromise us.
We can succeed only by the power of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 14, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS MAKEMIE, FATHER OF U.S. PRESBYTERIANISM
THE FEAST OF EDWARD HENRY BICKERSTETH, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF EXETER
THE FEAST OF JOHN ROBERTS/IEUAN GWYLLT, FOUNDER OF WELSH SINGING FESTIVALS
THE FEAST OF NGAKUKU, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/righteousness-and-results/
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Above: The Pieta, by Michelangelo Buonarroti
Image Source = Stanislav Traykov
The Christ and the Body
NOVEMBER 3 and 4, 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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COMPOSITE FIRST READING
Philippians 3:1b-4:1 (Revised English Bible):
To repeat what I have written to you before is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Be on your guard against those dogs, who do nothing but harm and who insist on mutilation–“circumcision” I will not call it; we are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, whose pride is in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the physical. It is not that I am myself without grounds for such confidence. If anyone makes claims of that kind, I can make a stronger case for myself: circumcised on the eighth day, Israelite by race, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born and bred; in the practice of the law a Pharisee, in zeal for religion a persecutor of the church, by the law’s standard of righteousness without fault. But all such assets I have written off because of Christ. More than that, I count everything sheer loss, far outweighed by the gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I did in fact forfeit everything. I count it so much rubbish, for the sake of gaining Christ and finding myself in union with him, with no righteousness of my own based on the law, nothing but the righteousness which comes from faith in Christ, given by God in response to faith. My own desire is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and to share his sufferings in growing conformity with his death, in hope of somehow attaining the resurrection from the dead.
It is not that I have already achieved this. I have not yet reached perfection, but I press on, hoping to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus once took hold of me. My friends, I do not claim to have hold of it yet. What I do say is this: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what lies ahead, I press towards the finishing line, to win the heavenly prize to which God has called me in Christ Jesus.
We who are mature should keep to this way of thinking. If on any point you think differently, this also God will make plain to you. Only let our conduct be consistent with what we have already attained.
Join together, my friends, in following my example. You have us for a model; imitate those whose way of life conforms to it. As I have often told you, and now tell you with tears, there are many whose way of life makes them enemies of the cross of Christ. They are heading for destruction, they make appetite their god, they take pride in what should bring shame; their minds are set on earthly things. We, by contrast, are citizens of heaven, and from heaven we expect our deliverer to come, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transfigure our humble bodies, and give them a form like that of his own glorious body, by that power which enables him to make all things subject to himself. This, my dear friends, whom I live and long for, my joy and crown, this is what it means to stand firm in the Lord.
RESPONSE FOR THURSDAY
Psalm 105:1-7 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him,
and speak of his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Search for the LORD and his strength;
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done;
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
O childrenof Jacob his chosen.
7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments prevail in all the world.
RESPONSE FOR FRIDAY
Psalm 122 (New Revised Standard Version):
I was glad when they said to me,
Let us go to the house of the LORD!
Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem–built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks for the name of the LORD.
For there the thrones of judgment were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say,
Peace be within you.
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
GOSPEL READING FOR THURSDAY
Luke 15:1-10 (Revised English Bible):
Another time, the tax-collectors and sinners were all crowding in to listen to Jesus; and the Pharisees and scribes began murmuring their disapproval:
This fellow,
he said,
welcomes sinners and eats with them.
He answered them with this parable:
If one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is missing until he finds it? And when he does, he lifts it joyfully on to his shoulders, and goes home to call his friends and neighbours together. ”Rejoice with me!” he cries. ”I have found my lost sheep.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be greater joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.
Or again, if a woman has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does she not light the lamp, sweep out the house, and look in every corner till she finds it? And when she does, she calls her friends and neighbours together, and says, “Rejoice with me! I have found the coin that I lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there is joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
GOSPEL READING FOR FRIDAY
Luke 16:1-8 (Revised English Bible):
Jesus said to his disciples,
There was a rich man who had a steward, and he received complaints that this man was squandering his property. So he sent for him, and said, “What is this that I hear about you? Produce your accounts, for you cannot be steward any longer.” The steward said to himself, “What am I to do now that my master is going to dismiss me from my post? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am too proud to beg. I know what I must do, to make sure that, when I am dismissed, there will be people who will take me into their homes.” He summoned his master’s debtor’s one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?” He replied, “A hundred jars of olive oil.” He said, “Here is your account. Sit down and make it fifty, and be quick about it.” Then he said to another, “And you, how much do you owe?” He said, “A hundred measures of wheat,” and was told, “Here is your account; make it eighty.” And the master applauded the dishonest steward for acting so astutely. For in dealing with their own kind the children of this world are more astute than the children of light.
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The Collect:
Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; 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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Some Related Posts:
Week of Proper 26: Thursday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/week-of-proper-26-thursday-year-1/
Week of Proper 26: Friday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/week-of-proper-26-friday-year-1/
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/when-i-survey-the-wondrous-cross/
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Paul’s critique of the Judaizers is a recurring theme in his writing, as in the cases of Philippians 3 and the Letter to the Galatians. Having covered Galatians already (beginning with https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/week-of-proper-22-monday-year-2-and-week-of-proper-22-tuesday-year-2/), I move along.
Others who troubled the church at Philippi were proto-Gnostics. They taught that material things were evil. So, according to them, the body, being composed of matter, was evil, so one could indulge a variety of unhealthy appetites without need for apology or repentance. These were those who, according to Philippians 3:19, made “appetite their god” and were headed for destruction.
Paul taught that one need neither mutilate the body through circumcision nor harm it via bad behavior. No, he said, he wanted to
know Christ in the power of his resurrection, and to share in his sufferings in growing conformity with his death, in hope of somehow attaining the resurrection from the dead.–3:10-11, Revised English Bible
This was not a goal of the proto-Gnostics, who denied that Jesus could have died on the cross, since, according to them, flesh was evil. So, if Jesus could not die, he could not be resurrected, and theology of atonement was null and void. They were wrong, of course.
The power of the resurrection is, among other things, the transformation of shame and disgrace into glory, death in renewed life, and suffering into a cause for rejoicing. It is a great mystery, one well worth exploring.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/the-christ-and-the-body/
Above: Hadrian’s Wall
No Outsiders in Jesus
OCTOBER 6-8, 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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I have chosen to preserve the unity of Galatians 3, instead of breaking it up into three parts, per the lectionary.–KRT
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COMPOSITE FIRST READING
Galatians 3:1-29 (Revised English Bible):
You stupid Galatians! You must have been bewitched–you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly displayed on the cross! Answer me one question: did you receive the Spirit by keeping the law or by believing the gospel message? Can you really be so stupid? You started with the spiritual; do you now look to the material to make you perfect? Is all you have experienced to come to nothing–surely not? When God gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you, is it because you keep the law, or is it because you have faith in the gospel message?
Look at Abraham: he put his faith in God, and that faith was counted to him as righteousness. You may take it, then, that it is those who have faith who are Abraham’s sons. And scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, declared the gospel to Abraham beforehand:
In you all nations shall find blessing.
Thus it is those with faith who share the blessing with faithful Abraham.
On the other hand, those who rely on obedience to the law are under a curse; for scripture says,
Cursed is everyone who does not persevere in doing everything that is in the book of the law.
It is evident that no one is ever justified before God by means of the law, because we read,
He shall gain life who is justified through faith.
Now the law does not operate on the basis of faith, for we read,
He who does this shall gain life by what he does.
Christ brought us freedom from the curse of the law by coming under the curse for our sake; for scripture says,
Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a gibbet.
The purpose of this was that the blessing of Abraham should in Jesus Christ be extended to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
My friends, let me give you an illustration. When a man’s will and testament has been duly executed, no one else can set it aside or add a codicil. Now, the promises to pronounced to Abraham and his “issue.” It does not say “issues” in the plural, but “your issue” in the singular; and by “issue” is meant Christ. My point is this: a testament, or covenant, has already been validated by God; a law made four hundred and thirty years later cannot invalidate it and so render its promises ineffective. If the inheritance is by legal right, then it is not by promise; but it was by promise that God bestowed it as a free gift on Abraham.
Then what of the law? It was added to make wrongdoing a legal offence; it was an interim measure pending the arrival of the “issue” to whom the promise was made. It was promulgated through angels, and there was an intermediary; one party acting alone, and God is one.
Does the law, then, contradict the promises? Of course not! If a law had been given which had power to bestow life, then righteousness should indeed have come from keeping the law. But scripture has declared the whole world to be prisoners in subjection to sin, so that faith in Jesus Christ should be the ground on which the promised blessing is given to those who believe.
Before this faith came, we were close prisoners in the custody of the law, pending the revelation of faith. The law was thus put in charge of us until Christ should come, when we should be justified through faith; and now that faith has come, its charge is at an end.
It is through faith that you are all sons of God in union with Christ Jesus. Baptized into union with him, you have all put on Christ like a garment. There is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female; for you are all one person in Christ Jesus, you are the “issue” of Abraham and heirs by virtue of the promise.
RESPONSES FOR THURSDAY: OPTIONS
Psalm 89:19-29 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
19 You spoke once in a vision and said to your faithful people:
“I have set the crown upon a warrior
and have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant;
with my holy oil have I anointed him.
21 My hand will hold him fast
and my arm will make him strong.
22 No enemy shall deceive him,
nor any wicked man bring him down.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and love shall be with him,
and he shall be victorious through my Name.
25 I shall make his dominion extend
from the Great Sea to the River.
26 He will say to you, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 I will make him my firstborn
and higher than the kings of the earth.
28 I will keep my love for him for ever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his line for ever
and his throne as the days of heaven.
Canticle 16 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
The Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79) plus the Trinitarian formula
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all he days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
RESPONSE FOR FRIDAY
Psalm 111:4-10 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
4 He makes his marvelous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He gives food to those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works
in giving them the lands of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithfulness and justice;
all his commandments are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever,
because they are done in truth and equity.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he commanded his covenant for ever;
holy and awesome is his Name.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
those who act accordingly have a good understanding;
his praise endures for ever.
RESPONSE FOR SATURDAY
Psalm 105:1-7 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him,
and speak of his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Search for the LORD and his strength;
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done;
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
O childrenof Jacob his chosen.
7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments prevail in all the world.
COMPOSITE GOSPEL READING
Luke 11:5-28 (The Jerusalem Bible):
He [Jesus] also said to them,
Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him in the middle of the night to say, ‘ My friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine on his travels has just arrived at my house and I have nothing to offer him;’ and the man answers from inside the house, ‘Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up to give it you.’ I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it him for friendship’s sake, persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants.
So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will have the door opened to him. What father among you would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or hand him a snake instead of a fish? Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg? If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
He [Jesus] was casting out a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said,
It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.
Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them,
Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?–Since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges, then. But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. So long a a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than he is attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.
He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.
When an unclean spirit goes out of a man it wanders through waterless country looking for a place to rest, and not finding one it says, ‘I will go back to the home I came from.’ But on arrival, finding it swept and tidied, it then goes off and bring seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they god in an set up house there, so that the man ends up being worse than he was before.
Now as he [Jesus] was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said,
Happy is the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!
But he replied,
Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!
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The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; 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 22: Thursday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/week-of-proper-22-thursday-year-1/
Week of Proper 22: Friday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/week-of-proper-22-friday-year-1/
Week of Proper 22: Saturday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/week-of-proper-22-saturday-year-1/
Prayers for Inclusion:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/prayers-for-inclusion/
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Edmond Browning, a retired Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, advocated a church without outsiders. He did not mean to expel the marginalized; rather, he spoke and wrote of expanding the margins. Everyone in the church, he said, ought therefore to be an insider. That was his inclusive vision of the church. It was a vision consistent with Galatians 3:26-29:
It is through faith that you are all sons of God in union with Christ Jesus. Baptized into union with him, you have all put on Christ like a garment. There is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female; for you are all one person in Christ Jesus, you are the “issue” of Abraham and heirs by virtue of the promise. (Revised English Bible)
In other words, to quote a great hymn:
In Christ there is no East or West,
in him no South or North,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
–John Oxenham, 1913
This is radical grace and inclusion, the breaking down of barriers and erasing of separate identities, some of them quite old and revered, even comfortable. So the removal of them quite old and revered, even comfortable. So the removal of them makes many of us uncomfortable, even within the Christian Church. So we fortify our walls and stand by our ramparts, so to speak. Sometimes we even commit schism to maintain these barriers which grace tears down. We like having a sense of who is an outsider (those other people) and who is an outsider (people like us).
I confess that I am not immune to this tendency. I catch myself in it more often than my conscience likes. So, when I condemn such exclusionary tendencies, I refer to mine as well as those of others. May God deliver us from this sin.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/no-outsiders-in-jesus/
Gallery of the Apostles, Temmenhausen Nikolauskirche
Teachers of Righteousness
JULY 6, 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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Hosea 10:1-15 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
Israel is a ravaged vine
And its fruit is like it.
When his fruit was plentiful,
He made altars aplenty;
When his land was bountiful,
Cult pillars abounded.
Now that his boughs are broken up,
He feels his guilt;
He himself pulls apart his altars,
Smashes his pillars.
Truly, now they say,
We have no king;
For, since we do not fear the LORD,
What can a king do to us?
So they conclude agreements and make covenants
With false oaths,
And justice degenerates into poison weeds,
Breaking out on the furrows of the fields.
The inhabitants of Samaria fear
For the calf of Beth-aven;
Indeed, its people and priestlings,
Whose joy it once was,
Mourn over it for the glory
That is departed from it.
It too shall be brought to Assyria
As tribute to a patron king;
Ephraim shall be chagrined,
Israel shall be dismayed
Because of his plans.
Samaria’s monarchy is vanishing
Like foam upon water,
Ruined shall be the shrines of [Beth-]aven,
That sin of Israel.
Thorns and thistles
Shall grow on their altars.
They shall call to the mountains,
Bury us!
To the hills,
Fall on us!
You have sinned more, O Isreal,
Than in the days of Gibeah.
They shall stand [as] at Gibeah!
Shall not they be overtaken
By a war upon scoundrels
As peoples gather against them?
When I chose [them], I broke them in,
Harnessing them for two furrows.
Ephraim became a trained heifer,
But preferred to thresh;
I placed a yoke
Upon her sleek neck.
I will make Ephraim do advance plowing;
Judah shall do [main] plowing!
Jacob shall do final plowing!
Sow righteousness for yourselves;
Reap the fruits of goodness;
Break for yourselves betimes fresh ground
Of seeking the LORD,
So that you may obtain a teacher of righteousness.
You have plowed wickedness,
You have reaped iniquity–
[And] you shall eat the fruits of treachery–
Because you relied on your way,
On your host of warriors.
But the din of war shall arise in your own people,
And all your fortresses shall be ravaged
As Beth-arbel was ravaged by Shalman
On a day of battle,
When mourners and babes were dashed to death together.
This is what Bethel has done to you
For your horrible wickedness:
At dawn shall Israel’s monarch
Utterly perish.
Psalm 105:1-7 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him,
and speak of his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Search for the LORD and his strength;
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done;
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
O childrenof Jacob his chosen.
7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments prevail in all the world.
Matthew 10:1-7 (An American Translation):
Then he [Jesus] called his twelve disciples to him, and gave them power over the foul spirits so that they could drive them out, and so that they could heal any disease or illness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector, James the son of Alpheus and Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot who afterward betrayed him.
James sent these twelve out, after giving them these directions:
Do not go among the heathen, or to any Samaritan town, but proceed instead to the lost sheep of Israel’s house. As you go about, preach and say, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”
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The Collect:
O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; 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 9: Wednesday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/week-of-proper-9-wednesday-year-1/
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The pronouncements of judgment continue in Hosea. Much of the content is familiar and repetitive to a student of the Hebrew Scriptures, so I will not rehash it here.
I am, however, following a lectionary, one which pairs this reading with Matthew 10, which tells of Jesus empowering his twelve Apostles and sending them out on a mission. The Apostles were diverse, including two cousins of Jesus, a former Roman tax collector, and a violent revolutionary against the Roman occupation.
Hosea 10:12, in TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, commands people to sow righteousness for themselves, to reap the fruits of goodness, and break the fallow ground of seeking YHWH “So that you may obtain a teacher of righteousness.” This is apparently a passage which lends itself to various translations, so that, in the New Revised Standard Version, the command concludes with “that he [YHWH] may come and rain righteousness upon you.”
Teachers of righteousness can come in various shapes and sizes and from various backgrounds. And, when God comes to rain righteousness upon us, the divine methodology might surprise us. Do we dare even to attempt to look past our preconceived notions and to recognize the methods of God and the identities of teachers of righteousness?
Righteousness is far from an abstract idea. It is lived, as is orthodoxy. Theology of a certain variety tells me that orthodoxy is right belief and that orthopraxy is right practice. But, if Paul was correct regarding faith, faith is active, not just intellectual, and is therefore lived. Ergo the proper situation is for orthopraxy and orthodoxy to be one and the same. Do I love my neighbor? My actions will tell, will they not? After all, we will know a tree by its fruits.
So, where do we find teachers of righteousness to lead us down the orthodoxy-orthopraxy trail? The union of these is righteousness. This righteousness is not individualistic, so that we can feel good and holy while the world around us goes to hell in a handbasket. No, this righteousness is socially transformative.
Our mission as Christians is to be salt and light–the best salt and the brightest light we can be by grace. What one person does affects others, and we are God’s, not our own. May we leave our corner of creation better than we found them. May we work in the corners of creation God has assigned to each of us. And may we be teachers of righteousness by words and deeds.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/reading-and-pondering-hosea-part-three/
Above: Constellation Perseus (February 1, 2011)
Image Source = Jet Propulsion Laboratory
“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear….”
NOVEMBER 18, 2023
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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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Wisdom of Solomon 18:14-16; 19:6-9 (Revised English Bible):
(Context = The Exodus from Egypt, beginning with the last plague)
All things were lying in peace and silence, and night in her swift course was half spent, when your all-powerful word leapt from your royal throne in heaven like a relentless warrior, bearing the sharp sword of your inflexible decree; with his head touching the heavens and his feet on earth he stood and spread death everywhere.
…
The whole creation, with all its elements, was refashioned in subservience to your commands, in order that your servants might be preserved unscathed. They gazed at the cloud that overshadowed the camp, at dry land emerging where before was only water, at an open road leading out of the Red Sea, and a grassy plain in place of stormy waves, across which the whole nation passed under the protection of your hand, after witnessing amazing portents. They were like horses at pasture, like skipping lambs as they praised you, O Lord, by whom they were rescued.
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him,
and speak of his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Search for the LORD and his strength;
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done;
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
O childrenof Jacob his chosen.
37 He led out his people with silver and gold;
in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad of their going,
because they were afraid of them.
39 He spread out a cloud for a covering,
and a fire to give light in the night season.
40 They asked, and quails appeared,
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water flowed,
so the river ran in dry places.
42 For God remembered his holy word
and Abraham his servant.
43 So he led forth his people with gladness,
his chosen with shouts of joy.
44 He gave his people the lands of the nations,
and they took the fruit of others’ toil,
45 That they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Hallelujah!
Luke 18:1-8 (Revised English Bible):
Jesus told them a parable to show that they should keep on praying and never lose heart.
In a certain city there was a judge who had no fear of God or respect for man, and in the same city there was a widow who kept coming before him to demand justice against her opponent. For a time he refused; but in the end he said to himself, “Although I have no fear of God or respect for man, yet this widow is so great a nuisance that I will give her justice before she wears me out with her persistence.” The Lord said, “You hear what the unjust judge says. Then will not God give justice to his chosen, to whom he listens day and night? I tell you, he will give them justice soon enough. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
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The Collect:
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Tradition holds that Jesus was born at midnight, hence Christmas Eve midnight masses. Indeed, these are lovely services, and Christmas for me lacks something crucial without having attended one. The midnight timeframe comes from a conflation of the Wisdom of Solomon 18:14-16, which speaks of the angel of death leaving to kill firstborn Egyptian sons, with the Lukan version of the birth narrative of Jesus.
“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” the great Christmas carol, features the traditional timeframe in its title. This hymn dates to 1849, when Edmund Hamilton Sears, a U.S. Unitarian pastor who believed in the deity of Jesus, wrote the words. (He published them the following year.) Reverend Sears, who opposed recently-completed U.S.-Mexican War, included an antiwar message in the hymn:
And man, at war with man, hears not
The tidings which they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!
Focusing on this Christmas carol is appropriate here, due to the timing of this devotional–one day before Proper 28 and eight days prior to the First Sunday of Advent. And, after Advent comes Christmas, of course.
The God of the Exodus and the Incarnation is active in human history. This is the God who cares. Psalm 14, in most English translations, states that a fool says, “There is no God.” Yet TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, the current translation from the Jewish Publication Society, renders that text to say that the fool states that “God does not care.” I have concluded that caring is part of the divine character. But, you might ask, why the difference in translations? The rabbinical notes in The Jewish Study Bible mention that atheism was quite rare in the ancient Near East. And a Presbyterian minister I know has mentioned to me the difficulty in translating much Hebrew. “Translating Hebrew is a bear,” he said.
And God cares very much in the reading from Luke 18. The judge was corrupt, rendering verdicts in response to bribes. But the woman got her justice by merely threatening him with violence. Jesus says, however, that we need not worry about whether God cares about us and will listen to us. Indeed, the fact of our Lord’s existence in human form (the Incarnation) constitutes evidence of divine caring. Maybe God says “no” or “not yet,” answers we might not like, but there is an answer. Nevertheless, good things happen to good people. The reality of the existence of God does not change that fact, but neither does it change the reality that God cares, that for God to exist is for God to care.
One of the major effects of prayer is to change the one who prays. And prayer, of course, is far more than “talking to God;” it is also listening to God and acting according to divine commands. In other words, prayer is responding positively to God. Some years ago I heard an interview with a Roman Catholic priest on National Public Radio. The good Father had taken Jesus at his word; the priest decided to visit a man in prison. The priest chose to visit a death row inmate, a violent man who, in time, died by the authority of the state. The inmate was just as violent and vile on the day he died as he was when the priest began to visit him, but the priest was a much better person for the visits. He had followed his Lord.
Jesus breaks into our lives in ways and at times we might not expect. We might not get a choir of angels, but, if we are sufficiently perceptive, we will hear and know the voice of God speaking. God has not ceased to speak, and we ought to listen more often than we do.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/it-came-upon-the-midnight-clear/
Above: NGC 3603
Image Source = Hubble Space Telescope
The Favor of God and What That Requires of Us
OCTOBER 21, 2023
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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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Romans 4:13-18 (Revised English Bible):
It was not through the law that Abraham and his descendants were given the promise that the world would be their inheritance, but through righteousness that came from faith. If the heirs of are those who hold by the law, then faith becomes pointless and the promise goes for nothing; law can bring only retribution, and where there is no law there can be no breach of law. The promise was made on the ground of faith in order that it might be valid for all Abraham’s descendants, not only for those who hold by the law, but also for those who have Abraham’s faith. For he is the father of all, as scripture says:
I have appointed you to be father of many nations.
In the presence of God, the God who makes the dead live and calls into being things that are not, Abraham had faith. When hope seemed hopeless, his faith was such that he became “father of many nations,” in fulfillment of the promise,
So shall your descendants be.
Psalm 105:5-10, 42-45 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
5 Remember the marvels the LORD has done,
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
O children of Jacob his chosen.
7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments prevail in all the world.
8 He has always been mindful of his covenant,
the promise he made for a thousand generations:
9 The covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath that he swore to Isaac,
10 Which he established as a statute for Jacob,
an everlasting covenant for Israel….
42 For God remembered his holy word
and Abraham his servant.
43 So he led forth his people with gladness,
his chosen with shouts of joy.
44 He gave his people the lands of the nations,
and they took the fruit of others’ toil,
45 That they might keep his statutes,
and observe his laws.
Hallelujah!
Luke 12:8-12 (Revised English Bible):
[Jesus continued,]
I tell you this: whoever acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but for him who slanders the Holy Spirit there will be no forgiveness.
When you are brought before synagogues and state authorities, do not worry about how you will conduct defence or what you will say. When that time comes the Holy Spirit will instruct you what to say.
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The Collect:
Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; 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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I have long been prone to sacramentalism. It should come as no surprise, then, that I chose to become and remain an Episcopalian. The catechism in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer defines sacraments as follows:
The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace.
Grace, in turn, is:
…God’s favor towards us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills.
Sacraments are primarily about what God has done, is doing, and will do. Consider baptism, for example. We baptize infants, thereby marking their entry into Christian community. There is confirmation, another sacrament, by which, in time, the chronologically more mature claim faith for themselves in public and enter into formal church membership. But none of this would mean anything if God had not acted first.
Divine grace scandalizes or at least shocks us sometimes. Why did God passover more likely candidates and choose a shepherd boy to be a king or a man with a speech impediment to be his messenger before the Pharaoh of Egypt? How did a former Roman collaborator become one of our Lord’s Apostles and an erstwhile persecutor of nascent Christianity one of its most influential evangelists? We might wonder: How dare God offer healing from leprosy to an enemy general by means of a great Hebrew prophet? And how did an impetuous fisherman become the leader of the Apostles at Pentecost?
This grace requires of us a faithful and affirmative response to God via free will, which God has implanted in us. Peter, the fisherman, died when people crucified him upside down. Matthew, the former collaborator, also died as a martyr. Moses bore the burden of leadership of his people for a generation, and David had to govern a kingdom. Naaman, the general, who had his life back, praised the God of a people foreign to himself.
What will grace require of you?
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/the-favor-of-god-and-what-that-requires-of-us/
Above: Map of Ancient Nineveh
Image Source = Fredarch
Scandalous Generosity
The Sunday Closest to September 21
The Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
SEPTEMBER 24, 2023
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FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #1
Exodus 16:2-15 (New Revised Standard Version):
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them,
If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
Then the LORD said to Moses,
I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.
So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites,
In the evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaining against the LORD. For what are we, that you complain against us?
And Moses said,
When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the LORD has heard the complaining that you utter against him– what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the LORD.
Then Moses said to Aaron,
Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.”
And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said,
I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.”
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,
What is it?
For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them,
It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him,
and speak of all his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Search for the LORD and his strength;
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done,
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
O children of Jacob his chosen.
37 He led out his people with silver and gold;
in all their tribes there was not one that stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad of their going,
because they were afraid of them.
39 He spread out a cloud for a covering,
and a fire to give light in the night season.
40 They asked, and quails appeared,
and he satisfied them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water flowed,
so the river ran in the dry places.
42 For God remembered his holy word
and Abraham his servant.
43 So he led forth his people with gladness,
his chosen with shouts of joy.
44 He gave his people the lands of the nations,
and they took the fruit of others’ toil.
45 That they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Hallelujah!
FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #2
Jonah 3:10-4:11 (New Revised Standard Version):
When God saw what the people of Nineveh did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said,
O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.
And the LORD said,
Is it right for you to be angry?
Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
The LORD God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said,
It is better for me to die than to live.
But God said to Jonah,
Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?
And he said,
Yes, angry enough to die.
Then the LORD said,
You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?
Psalm 145:1-8 (New Revised Standard Version):
1 I will exalt you, O God my King,
and bless your Name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless you
and praise your Name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;
there is no end to his greatness.
4 One generation shall praise your works to another
and shall declare your power.
5 I will ponder the glorious splendor of your majesty
and all your marvelous works.
6 They shall speak of the might of your wondrous acts,
and I will tell of your greatness.
7 They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness;
they shall sing of your righteous deeds.
8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
SECOND READING
Philippians 1:21-30 (New Revised Standard Version):
For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well– since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
GOSPEL READING
Matthew 20:1-16 (New Revised Standard Version):
Jesus said,
The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.
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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We like grace when we benefit from it, as in the case of the children of Israel, whom God fed in the wilderness. Yet often we object when others–especially our enemies and others unlike us–benefit from it, too.
Consider Jonah, one of the most interesting literary creations in the Bible. He was a satirical figure who epitomized the worst of post-Exilic Judaism, which had a strong dose of exclusivity about it. So, in the short book bearing the name “Jonah” the titular character receives a mandate from God to offer the people of Nineveh–traditional enemies–a chance to repent. Jonah runs away, but cannot escape from God. Finally, Jonah does as God demands, and finds success in this effort disappointing. Who is he without his traditional enemy? What is his identity now? This man cares more for a plant than for fellow human beings who are different from him, but whom God loves and to whom God reaches out.
This not merely about the scandal of grace extended to our enemies. Jesus told a parable about a vineyard owner who hired people during various times of day then paid everybody the same amount–the standard daily wage at the time and place. Those who had worked all day were upset, but the vineyard owner had not cheated them.
Why does God’s generosity scandalize us, or at least bother us? Perhaps we think that we are deserving, but those people over there are not. I have seen a sticker which reads,
GOD LOVES EVERYBODY, BUT I’M HIS FAVORITE.
This is supposed to be funny, which is how I interpret it. But some people believe it. In reality, however, we are just as deserving as those people are, which is to say that we are not deserving at all. This, however, is not how many of us like to think of ourselves.
Too often we define ourselves according to what we are not. We are not like those people. We are not those people. We are better than them, we tell ourselves. In reality, however, my identity, your identity, and the identity of the person least like us all exist in the context of God. We are children of God, and therefore siblings. So our quarrels exist within a family context. God, our Father-Mother (Metaphors relative to God are imperfect, and the Bible contains both masculine and feminine images for God.), loves us and does not give up on any of us. So we ought not to write anyone off. Yet we do.
We can be instruments of God voluntarily–like, Moses dealing with the ever-grumbling children of Israel, or Paul, bringing the message of Jesus to the Gentiles–or involuntarily–like Jonah, weeping over a dead plant while bemoaning the repentance of a population. If divine grace and generosity scandalize us, the fault is with us, not with God.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/scandalous-generosity/
Above: The Burning Bush Logo of the Church of Scotland
Image in the Public Domain
The Call of God
The Sunday Closest to August 31
The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost
SEPTEMBER 3, 2023
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FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #1
Exodus 3:1-15 (New Revised Standard Version):
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said,
I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.
When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush,
Moses, Moses!
And he said,
Here I am.
Then he said,
Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.
He said further,
I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the LORD said,
I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
But Moses said to God,
Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?
He said,
I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.
But Moses said to God,
If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?
God said to Moses,
I AM Who I AM.
He said further,
Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’
God also said to Moses,
Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name forever,
and this is my title for all generations.
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him,
and speak of all his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Search for the LORD and his strength;
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done,
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
O children of Jacob his chosen.
23 Israel came into Egypt,
and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.
24 The LORD made his people exceedingly fruitful;
he made them stronger than their enemies;
25 Whose heart he turned, so that they hated his people,
and dealt unjustly with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
45c Hallelujah!
FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #2
Jeremiah 15:15-21 (New Revised Standard Version):
O LORD, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance do not take me away;
know that on your account I suffer insult.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart;
for I am called by your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.
I did not sit in the company of merrymakers,
nor did I rejoice;
under the weight of your hand I sat alone,
for you had filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail.
Therefore thus says the LORD:
If you turn back, I will take you back,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall serve as my mouth.
It is they who will turn to you,
not you who will turn to them.
And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you, says the LORD.
I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.
Psalm 26:1-8 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Give judgment for me, O LORD,
for I have lived with integrity;
I have trusted in the LORD and not faltered.
2 Test me, O LORD, and try me;
examine my heart and my mind.
3 For your love is before my eyes;
I have walked faithfully with you.
4 I have not sat with the worthless,
nor do I consort with the deceitful.
5 I have hated the company of evildoers;
I will not sit down with the wicked.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence, O LORD,
that I may go in procession round your altar,
7 Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving
and recounting all your wonderful deeds.
8 LORD, I love the house in which you dwell
and the place where your glory abides.
SECOND READING
Romans 12:9-21 (New Revised Standard Version):
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
GOSPEL READING
Matthew 16:21-28 (New Revised Standard Version):
Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying,
God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.
But he turned and said to Peter,
Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.
Then Jesus told his disciples,
If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
The Collect:
Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
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The prophet Jeremiah was having a very bad day. He had been preaching the word of God for awhile. And, for all his trouble, he had faced rejection and persecution.
Be honest. Have you not turned to God and complained bitterly? Have you not accused God of being absent in your time of need? I have. So did Jeremiah. There is nothing wrong with this, for a relationship with God, if it is healthy, is honest.
And God answered Jeremiah’s lament. Get beyond yourself, God said. Get busy, God said. And I will be with you, God said.
This was also God’s message to Moses, a fugitive murderer on the run from Egyptian authorities. Moses received a straight-forward mandate: to return to Egypt, speak for God, and play a vital part in the divine plan to liberate the Hebrews from slavery. This was a daunting task, and Moses was a poor speaker. But Aaron was a better orator, and God would be with them.
God does not call the qualified; God qualifies the called.
Jeremiah had asked God to undertake vengeance upon his enemies. Paul, in Romans, reflects the opposite point of view. Vengeance, he says, is purely a matter for God. Followers of God are supposed to love their enemies, as well as their friends and other like-minded people. Vengeance is a natural desire, one I know well. But it does not help one glorify and enjoy God forever. Revenge is not Christ-like.
Speaking of Jesus…
Last week, https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/proper-16-year-a/, Peter had just become the first rock of human faith on the rock mass of God, and Jesus had just said how blessed the Apostle was. Then, in this week’s installment, Jesus predicted his own arrest, torture, execution, and resurrection. Peter, horrified, protested. Then Jesus rebuked the man he had just blessed. Jesus understood his own divine call, which was to atone for sin. This purpose came at a high cost to him. The mission of the Apostles was to follow their Lord, and most of them became martyrs.
God challenges us to move beyond ourselves, serve others, love others as ourselves–created in the divine image, and take on difficult tasks for a greater purpose. This is truly risky business, but Moses, Jeremiah, Jesus, and Simon Peter chose to remain faithful and to endure. Two of them died for it, one died in exile, and the fourth spent a generation in the Sinai Desert with a horde of grumblers. And all four are heroes of faith.
Jesus, of course, was and is far more than a hero of faith. And he calls us to assume risks. Each of us ought to take up a cross and follow him. We need to be the best disciples we can be. That is the call of God.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/the-call-of-god/
Above: A Scroll of the Book of Esther
Image in the Public Domain
“The Word is Near You….”
The Sunday Closest to August 10
The Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
AUGUST 13, 2023
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FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #1
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 (New Revised Standard Version):
Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. This is the story of the family of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph,
Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.
He answered,
Here I am.
So he said to him,
Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.
So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.
He came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him,
What are you seeking?
He said,
I am seeking my brothers; tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.
The man said,
They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.”
So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another,
Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying,
Let us not take his life.
Reuben said to them,
Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him
— that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers,
What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.
And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Give thanks to the LORD and call upon his Name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him,
and speak of all his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Search for the LORD and his strength;
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done,
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant,
O children of Jacob his chosen.
16 Then he called for a famine in the land
and destroyed the supply of bread.
17 He sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They bruised his feet in fetters;
his neck they put in an iron collar.
19 Until his prediction came to pass,
the word of the LORD tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21 He set him as a master over his household,
as a ruler over all his possessions,
22 To instruct his princes according to his will
and to teach his elders wisdom.
45b Hallelujah!
FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #2
1 Kings 19:9-18 (New Revised Standard Version):
At Horeb, the mount of God, Elijah came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
What are you doing here, Elijah?
He answered,
I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.
He said,
Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.
Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said,
What are you doing here, Elijah?
He answered,
I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.
Then the LORD said to him,
Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.
Psalm 85:8-13 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
8 I will listen to what the LORD God is saying,
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.
9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring up from the earth,
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 The LORD will indeed grant prosperity,
and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him,
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.
SECOND READING
Romans 10:5-15 (New Revised Standard Version):
Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that
the person who does these things will live by them.
But the righteousness that comes from faith says,
Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”
(that is, to bring Christ down)
or
“Who will descend into the abyss?”
(that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say?
The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says,
No one who believes in him will be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For,
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!
GOSPEL READING
Matthew 14:22-33 (New Revised Standard Version):
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying,
It is a ghost!
And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said,
Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.
Peter answered him,
Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.
He said,
Come.
So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out,
Lord, save me!
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him,
You of little faith, why did you doubt?
When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying,
Truly you are the Son of God.
The Collect:
Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; 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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I have chosen to take my focus from Romans. Thus I refer you, O reader, to the following links, for further details:
For Genesis–https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/week-of-proper-9-thursday-year-1/
For Matthew–https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/week-of-proper-13-monday-year-1/
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Consider these words, put into the mouth of Moses toward the end of the Israelite sojourn in the wilderness:
For this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say ‘Who will go over to the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, they you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you shall perish…. (Deuteronomy 30:11-18a, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition)
Paul was obviously familiar with this passage, for he channeled it in this day’s excerpt from Romans. God’s message is not remote, he says; it is near us. Indeed, the Hebrew prophets proclaimed this word, and many Jewish scriptures, originally oral tradition, did as well. So did Jesus, God incarnate. How much more concrete could God get than that? So, yes, the word is very near us. If we do not perceive it, we need to pay closer attention.
The reading from Deuteronomy describes following God as the path to life and the alternative as the route to death. Life and death are both physical and spiritual in this context. I typed only part of the germane passage; a portion I chose not to type concludes, “therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live….” (Deuteronomy 30:19) But we know how the story unfolded, do we not? Read the excerpt from 1 Kings; pious advocacy of monotheism by a portion of the population did not prevent the widespread practice of polytheism. Thus hindsight, in the wake of the Babylonian Exile, informs the theology of final, edited version of much of the Hebrew Bible: Spiritual infidelity led to the decline, division, and extinction of the Jewish kingdoms.
YHWH was a different kind of deity relative to the alleged members of pantheons. As Professor Richard Elliott Friedman writes in his Commentary on the Torah:
In comparing Israel’s monotheism to pagan religion, we must appreciate that the difference between one and many is not the same sort of thing as the difference between two and three or between six and twenty. It is not numerical. It is a different concept of what a god is. A God who is outside of nature, known through acts of history, a creator, unseeable, without a mate, who makes legal covenants with humans, who is one, is a revolution in religious conception. (Page 586)
The account from 1 Kings reinforces this point. Adherents of other deities believed that they made themselves known in forces of nature, such as earthquakes, fire, and mighty winds. But YHWH did the opposite. God does that often. We find God in silence, not noise. And we Christians worship God, who took on human form and became both fully human and fully divine. (I have given up trying to explain this mystery and chosen to revel in it instead.) God refuses to fit into our theological boxes. If we cannot deal with this reality in a healthy way, then we need to read the great J. B. Phillips book, Your God is Too Small.
The word is near us. It is present in the silence around us, as well as in any place we read or hear God speaking–certainly in the Bible, but not just there. The word can also be present in other literature, as well as in nature. The word is present anywhere the Holy Spirit speaks to us, including our minds. So the word is around us and inside us. Do we hear it? Do we really hear it?
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/the-word-is-very-near-you/
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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