Archive for the ‘Psalm 111’ Tag
Above: Mina of Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Image in the Public Domain
Team God
NOVEMBER 17, 2024
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Daniel 7:9-10
Psalm 111
Hebrews 13:20-21
Mark 13:24-31
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Almighty and ever-living God,
before the earth was formed and even after it ceases to be,
you are God.
Break into our short span of life
and let us see the signs of your final will and purpose;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 30
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Almighty and ever-living God,
since you have given exceedingly great and precious promises
to those who believe,
grant us so perfectly and without all doubt
to believe in your Son Jesus Christ
that our faith in your sight may never be reproved;
through our Savior, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Lutheran Worship (1982), 92
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The apocalyptic theme of the victory of suffering love (from last Sunday) continues this week. God will win in the end, the apocalyptic genre teaches. Hence, the genre is inherently optimistic.
The reading from Daniel 7 makes more sense if we add verses 8 and 11 for textual context. YHWH (the Ancient of Days) sits enthroned in glory amid arrogant kings. The “little horn” in Daniel 7:9 and 11 is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175-164 B.C.E.), the bête noire of the First, Second, and Fourth Books of the Maccabees. The text of Daniel 7 slightly postdates the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, hence the interpretation of him in the chapter. Notice, O reader, that the “little horn” does not endure long in the presence of God (Daniel 7:11).
Pairing Mark 13:24-31 with Daniel 7:13-14 (from next week) would have made sense, but the ILCW Lectionary committee did not make that decision.
The handiwork of God is truth and justice, we read in Psalm 111. There we also read that divine precepts are trustworthy, staunch for all time, and fashioned in truth and right. The Epistle to the Hebrews adds:
…may [the God of peace] prepare you to do his will in every kind of good action; effecting in us all whatever is acceptable to himself through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.
–Verse 21, The New Jerusalem Bible
May we be on Team God. May we be agents of divine truth and justice. May we do the will of God in every kind of good action. May others recognize God working through us. May we be humble, not arrogant, before God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 12, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE THIRTY-FOURTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF SAINT GERMANUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, AND DEFENDER OF ICONS
THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY OF OSTIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT, CARDINAL, AND LEGATE; AND SAINT DOMINIC OF THE CAUSEWAY, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT
THE FEAST OF PAUL MAZAKUTE, FIRST SIOUX EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF ROGER SCHÜTZ, FOUNDER OF THE TAIZÉ COMMUNITY
THE FEAST OF SYLVESTER II, BISHOP OF ROME
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Saul and David, by Rembrandt van Rijn
Image in the Public Domain
Regarding King Saul
OCTOBER 24, 2021
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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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1 Samuel 17:57-18:16 or Jeremiah 32:36-41
Psalm 111
Romans 12:1-8
Luke 17:1-19
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The Books of Samuel, in the final form (probably edited by Ezra; this is an ancient theory with contemporary academic champions), consist of various sources. If one knows this, one can notice many of the seams. Inconsistencies become obvious. For example, one may notice that King Saul knew that David was a son of Jesse in 1 Samuel 16:20 and that David played the lyre for the monarch in 16:23. One may also notice that Saul did not recognize David in 17:33 or whose son he was in 17:56. One may notice, furthermore, that David had to identify himself to Saul in 17:58.
I know too much to affirm spiritual inerrancy or infallibility.
I also know that King Saul was similar to many potentates in many lands and at many times. I read in the composite text that Saul was a terrible public servant. (So were almost all of his successors in Israel and Judah.) Truth and justice should prosper under a good ruler. A good ruler should try, at least. A good ruler knows that he or she is a servant holding a temporary job. A good ruler seeks to make responsible decisions and does not mistake events as being about himself or herself. A good ruler thinks about the long-term common good. Consequences of short-sighted leaders are frequently disastrous, as in Jeremiah 32:36-41.
What passes for a psychiatric or psychological diagnosis of King Saul comes from 1 Samuel 16:23–an evil spirit. Cultural anthropology tells us that they, in modern times, can mean anything from severe stress to a mental illness. Either way, the description of Saul is that of a man unfit to rule. After all, those who govern are still servants. God is really the king.
Despite all the bad press about King Saul, I feel somewhat sympathetic for him. I read about him and remember that he never sought the job (1 Samuel 12). I recall that Saul seems not so bad, compared to Solomon. I think of Saul, doing his best yet failing. I know the feeling of working hard yet failing. I ask myself how Saul may have succeeded in life. He seems to have needed counseling, at least.
Tragedy, in the Greek sense, has a particular definition. A good person tries to make good decisions (most of the time, anyway) and fails spectacularly, dooming himself or herself. The accounts of King Saul do not fit that definition exactly, but Greek tragedy does help me understand the first Israelite monarch. I read stories while making a combination of good and bad decisions and often trying to decide wisely. I read of a man with defective judgment. I read of a man whose demise was not inevitable when he became the first King of Israel.
I, like David, mourn for Saul (2 Samuel 1).
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 29, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC AND RELIGIOUS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS BOSA OF YORK, JOHN OF BEVERLEY, WILFRID THE YOUNGER, AND ACCA OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
THE FEAST OF JAMES EDWARD WALSH, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY BISHOP AND POLITICAL PRISONER IN CHINA
THE FEAST OF SIMON B. PARKER, UNITED METHODIST BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF TIMOTHY REES, WELSH ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND BISHOP OF LLANDAFF
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/regarding-king-saul/
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Above: Moses Prays for the Healing of Miriam
Image in the Public Domain
Inclusion and Exclusion
OCTOBER 8, 2022
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The Collect:
Almighty and most merciful God, your bountiful goodness fills all creation.
Keep us safe from all that may hurt us,
that, whole and well in body and spirit,
we may with grateful hearts accomplish all that you would have us to do,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
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The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 14:33-53 (Thursday)
Numbers 4:34-5:4 (Friday)
Psalm 111 (Both Days)
2 Timothy 1:13-18 (Thursday)
2 Timothy 2:1-7 (Friday)
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Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.
–Psalm 111:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The word “leprosy,” in the Bible, has a broad definition, applying to a variety of diseases of the skin. Such conditions also fall under the heading of ritual impurity (consult Numbers 5:2a) and require a time of isolation before one returns to one’s community and to a state of ritual purity (consult Leviticus 13).
In Numbers 12 Miriam spoke negatively of Moses. Her punishment was a bad case of snow-white scales, which usually would have caused her to go away for two weeks. It became seven days, however, due to the intercession of her esteemed brother. The rabbinical name for her condition was metzora, from motzi’ shem ra’, or “uttering an evil name.” Her sin was slander, but the object of that offense pleaded to God on her behalf. A time of removal from the community was inevitable, but the goal of the leadership of that community was always restoration.
In Luke 5 Jesus healed a man with some kind of skin disease. It was not leprosy, in the narrow, clinical definition of that term, but it was enough to render the man ritually impure and to isolate him from his community. Then Jesus commanded him to obey the requirements of Leviticus 14 and not to tell anyone (other than the priest, per Leviticus 14). Perhaps the man went to the priest, but he certainly spread the word, causing crowds to deny Jesus as much solitude as he needed.
Salvation was Christ’s primary task on the Earth; healing was something he did. Did crowds come to him mostly to hear the words of salvation or to seek healing? Quite often they flocked to him for the latter purpose. There was nothing wrong with seeking wholeness and restoration, of course, but there was much more to Christ’s mission than individual wholeness and restoration. There was, for example, collective wholeness and restoration.
A community cannot be at its best when people who should be part of it are not. Such people might be outsiders by their choice or the decisions of others. Many people are outsiders because self-identified insiders exclude them, often wrongly. Frequently we human beings define ourselves negatively–according to who or what we are not. This practice harms us and those we exclude improperly. As Professor Luke Timothy Johnson says, one message in the Gospel of Mark is that those who think they are insiders might actually be outsiders. And, as Edmond Browning, a former Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, writes, in Christ there are no outsiders.
May we who follow God (or at least attempt to do so) identify as children of God who bear the divine image and respect the image of God in our fellow human beings. Theological and personality differences will persist, of course, but we need not seek to define ourselves negatively and, by extension, others in the same way.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/inclusion-and-exclusion/
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Above: The Tabernacle
Image in the Public Domain
Of Ritual Purity and Impurity
OCTOBER 6 and 7, 2022
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The Collect:
Almighty and most merciful God, your bountiful goodness fills all creation.
Keep us safe from all that may hurt us,
that, whole and well in body and spirit,
we may with grateful hearts accomplish all that you would have us to do,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
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The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 14:33-53 (Thursday)
Numbers 4:34-5:4 (Friday)
Psalm 111 (Both Days)
2 Timothy 1:13-18 (Thursday)
2 Timothy 2:1-7 (Friday)
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Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.
–Psalm 111:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Merely approaching the place of worship is impossible for some people in Numbers 5. The precincts of the Tabernacle are to be ritually pure, excluding
anyone with an eruption or a discharge and anyone defiled by a corpse.
–Verse 2a, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
This rule reflects the fear of ritual impurity as a contagion, albeit a temporary one. A build up of ritual impurity would, the prevailing voice of Numbers 5:2a feared, endangered the Presence of God in the community. That contagion even spread to walls affected by mildew or rot (Leviticus 14:33-53). In Numbers 5, however, the carriers of ritual impurity were those with skin diseases, sexual discharges, and those defiled by a corpse.
When I consider healing stories in the Bible, especially those involving Jesus, the first criterion of ritual impurity is frequently germane; the second criterion is relevant at least once. The healing of the afflicted person is in part a restoration of him or her to wholeness, community, and centers of worship.
I, as a Gentile, seldom think about ritual purity or purity in general, except in negative terms. The self-proclaimed theologically pure seem always to define people of my perspective as impure, after all. And, when I think deeply about ritual purity, I find that the concept offends me. Why, for example, should a gynecological or dermatological condition render one ritually impure? I know that the purpose of the ritual purity system in the Torah is to separate human matters of sex and death from the experience of encountering God. To restate that, the purpose of the Biblical ritual purity system is to heighten one’s God-like state temporarily, therefore making one temporarily eligible to enter the Presence of God in the designated place of worship. Yet what about the spiritual anguish of the good people among the ritually impure?
As much as I approve of the practice of approaching God with full reverence (including in one’s attire at worship) and therefore appreciate the sense of awe with which the Law of Moses treats the Tabernacle, I also detect an exclusionary tone. That bothers me, for the grounds for exclusion seem to be biological and medical, not moral. They seem immoral to me, therefore. I have none of the conditions which might render me ritually impure, but I am nevertheless always ineligible to enter the Presence of God in worship, except by grace. I, as a Christian, understand this grace to have much to do with Jesus of Nazareth. That is a sound teaching.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/of-ritual-purity-and-impurity/
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Above: St. Edward’s Episcopal Church, Lawrenceville, Georgia, October 19, 2014
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
Four Banquets
JULY 28, 2021
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The Collect:
Gracious God, you have placed within the hearts of all your children
a longing for your word and a hunger for your truth.
Grant that we may know your Son to be the true bread of heaven
and share this bread with all the world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 25:6-10a
Psalm 111
Mark 6:35-44
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He has provided food for his worshippers;
he remembers his covenant for ever.
–Psalm 111:5, Harry Mowvley, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers (1989)
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This is a post about four banquets: the divine coronation feast in Isaiah 25:6-10a, the sordid feast of Herod Antipas in Mark 6:14-29, the Feeding of the 5000 (Plus) in Mark 6:30-44, and the Holy Eucharist.
The reading from Isaiah 25 speaks of a time immediately after Yahweh has defeated pride, evil, and sorrow, and established the Kingdom of God, in its fullness, on the Earth. This is a time in our future. All people are welcome at Yahweh’s coronation feast, to take place on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem. All is well, except for those whom God has vanquished, namely the Moabites (25:10).
Our next two banquets, which stand is stark contrast to each other, come from Mark 6. The first is a sordid event, with Herod Antipas lusting after the seductive Salome (whose name and image come to us via archaeology, not the Bible) and making a hasty promise which leads to the execution of St. John the Baptist. The Herodian family tree was complicated, for both Herodias and her daughter, Salome, were granddaughters of Herod the Great via different women. Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great via a third woman, married Herodias, who had been the wife of a half-brother of Herod Antipas. Thus Salome was the step-daughter and a cousin of Herod Antipas.
I will not attempt to explain the Feeding the 5000 (Plus) rationally, for doing that constitutes seeking an answer to the wrong question. (And I am more of a rationalist than a mystic.) Neither will I try to explain Jesus walking on water (next in Mark 6) logically, for the same reason. No, I am interested in answering the question which compelled one of my spiritual mentors whenever he studied any passage of scripture:
What is really going on here?
The Markan account of the Feeding of the 5000 men (no word about the number of women and children) uses imagery from elsewhere in the Bible. Jesus is the Good Shepherd feeding the flock. His feeding of the multitude exceeds Elisha’s feeding of 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44) and Elijah’s miracle of the refilling jug of oil (1 Kings 17:8-16). The messianic banquet, an echo of Isaiah 25:6-10a, recurs in the wilderness motif in subsequent pseudipigraphal works, such as in 2 Baruch 29:4 and 4 Ezra 6:52. Two main ideas stand out in my mind:
- Jesus is greater than Elijah and Elisha (see Mark 6:15, in which some people thought that Jesus was Elijah), and
- Nothing we bring to Jesus is inadequate in his capable hands. There will be leftovers after he has finished working with it. We are insufficient by ourselves yet more than sufficient in Christ. That is what grace can effect.
The eucharistic imagery in Mark 6 points to the fourth banquet, which I, as an Episcopalian, celebrate at least once weekly. The Holy Eucharist has constituted the core of my spiritual life since childhood. One reason I left the United Methodism of my youth was to have the opportunities to partake of the sacrament more often. In the Holy Eucharist I meet Jesus in the forms of bread and wine and swear loyalty to him again. No, I am not worthy on my merit (such as it is) to do this, but I rely on his merits to make me worthy to do so. The first step to becoming worthy is acknowledging one’s unworthiness.
The contrast between human systems built on the foundation of violence, exploitation, and oppression on one hand and the Kingdom of God on the other hand is clear. Injustice and artificial scarcity characterize the former, but justice and abundance for all distinguish the latter. We can experience a foretaste of the Kingdom of God, which is partially present already, but we await the fullness of the Kingdom. Until then we can, at least, leave the world better off than we found it. No effort toward this goal is too little in Christ’s capable hands.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 6, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF CARTHAGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF DANIEL G. C. WU, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MISSIONARY TO CHINESE AMERICANS
THE FEAST OF FREDERIC BARKER, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF SYDNEY
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/four-banquets/
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Above: The Covenant Confirmed, by John Steeple Davis
Image in the Public Domain
Faith Communities
JULY 27, 2021
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The Collect:
Gracious God, you have placed within the hearts of all your children
a longing for your word and a hunger for your truth.
Grant that we may know your Son to be the true bread of heaven
and share this bread with all the world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
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The Assigned Readings:
Exodus 24:1-11
Psalm 111
Romans 15:22-33
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Hallelujah!
I will acknowledge the LORD with my whole being,
in the assembly, the gathering of honest men.
–Psalm 111:1, Harry Mowvley, The Psalms Introduced and Translated for Today’s Readers (1989)
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St. Paul the Apostle planned to travel to Jerusalem then to Rome then to Spain. Events of his time in Jerusalem led to his permanent relocation to Rome, where he died, however.
The pericope from Exodus 24 describes part of the ceremony by which the former Hebrew slaves accepted the covenant. The theology of that text holds that divine holiness was lethal to most mortals (Moses being a notable exception), but that the people saw a reflection of God safely. God was like the Sun in that way in that passage. On the other hand, Jesus, as God incarnate, was among people, with many of whom he ate, so the theology of lethal divine holiness did not apply in the Gospels. Theology changed between the Book of Exodus and the Gospel of Mark.
My main point in this post concerns communities of faith, however. St. Paul longed to travel to Rome to find spiritual refreshment at the congregation there. The covenant in Exodus was between God and the people. Too much emphasis on individualism, an aspect of Western civilization, has long hampered a correct understanding of parts of the Bible in the global West. Roman Catholicism has understood the focus on faith community well, fortunately, but my encounters with certain fundamentalist Protestants with “Jesus-and-me” theology have proven to be discouraging.
We humans have responsibilities to and for each other. We also depend on God for everything and rely on each other’s labor. Nobody is a self-made person, therefore. These principles apply to faith communities also; we need each other. May we know this to be true then act accordingly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 5, 2015 COMMON ERA
EASTER SUNDAY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF MILNER BALL, PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, LAW PROFESSOR, WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, AND HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT NOKTER BALBULUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/faith-communities/
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Above: Abraham and the Three Angels, by Gustave Dore
Image in the Public Domain
God’s Surprises
JULY 26, 2021
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The Collect:
Gracious God, you have placed within the hearts of all your children
a longing for your word and a hunger for your truth.
Grant that we may know your Son to be the true bread of heaven
and share this bread with all the world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 18:1-15
Psalm 111
Philippians 4:10-20
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Reverence for the LORD is the first step to wisdom,
good success comes to all who obey his laws.
His people will never stop praising him.
–Psalm 111:10, Harry Mowvley, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers (1989)
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Sometimes, however, distress comes to those who obey God’s laws. Consider, O reader, St. Paul the Apostle, who suffered death threats, incarceration, beatings, a shipwreck, and an execution. Consider also, O reader, the church he planted at Philippi. That congregation had to contend with internal and external threats, from anti-Christian authorities to Gnostics. Yet the Philippian church, for all its struggles, was generous of spirit and helped St. Paul in tangible ways.
Depending on our expectations, some of God’s methods might surprise us. One might expect a persecuted and struggling community to be preoccupied with its own troubles. And, as for Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18, a pregnancy certainly falls into the category of the unexpected. The spiritual lesson I offer based on these readings is that we ought to open our minds and move beyond our usual expectations regarding what God might do and how God might do it. We have certainly missed some blessings because we have not been looking in the right place at the right time.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 5, 2015 COMMON ERA
EASTER SUNDAY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF MILNER BALL, PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, LAW PROFESSOR, WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, AND HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT NOKTER BALBULUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/gods-surprises/
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Above: The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. 70 (1850), by David Roberts (1796-1864)
Jeremiah and Matthew, Part VII: Mercy and Repentance
NOVEMBER 8 AND 9, 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:
Jeremiah 20:1-18 (November 8)
Jeremiah 22:1-23 (November 9)
Psalm 51 (Morning–November 8)
Psalm 104 (Morning–November 9)
Psalms 142 and 65 (Evening–November 8)
Psalms 118 and 111 (Evening–November 9)
Matthew 24:29-51 (November 8)
Matthew 25:1-13 (November 9)
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The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod daily lectionary I am following provides a table for selecting Psalms for each day. During Ordinary Time there is a rotation over a period of four weeks. Then the cycle begins again. So sometimes the appointed Psalms (or at least some of them) seem not to fit with the main readings.
God is mad in the Jeremiah and Matthew lections. The Kingdom of Judah will rise. The current king will go first, however. When God acts many–evildoers–will have an ample supply of reasons for laments. When God becomes the king in such a way that people recognize the divine kingship many people will consider this fact bad news, for it will be bad news for them. But how else is God supposed to clean the slate and to rescue the oppressed righteous when evildoers refuse to change their minds and ways, to cease from oppressing?
The assigned Psalms range from a confession of sin to praises of God for being merciful and bountiful in dispensing blessings. Actually, all of them fit the main readings well, for:
- One should confess sins, especially in the face of judgment;
- Confession of sins can lead to repentance, something God encourages in the Bible; and
- Judgment and mercy coexist–judgment for some and mercy for others, according to the absence or presence of repentance.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 3, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MORAND OF CLUNY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LIPHARDUS OF ORLEANS AND URBICIUS OF MEUNG, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS
THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA
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This is post #550 of this weblog.–KRT
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/jeremiah-and-matthew-part-vii-mercy-and-repentance/
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Above: The Healing of the Ten Lepers, by James Tissot
The Universal God
The Sunday Closest to October 12
Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost
OCTOBER 9, 2022
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 and Psalm 66:1-11
or
2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c and Psalm 111
then
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Luke 17:11-19
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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Some Related Posts:
Prayer of Praise and Adoration:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-twenty-first-sunday-after-pentecost/
Prayer of Confession:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/hostility-fractures-the-body/
Prayer of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-twenty-first-sunday-after-pentecost/
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Grace for outsiders is a potent and often politically unpopular theme. Much of the time the outsiders are enemies, perhaps nationals of hostile realms. Such was the case regarding Naaman. And what about the Prophet Jeremiah’s advice to seek the welfare of the soon-to-be-conquering empire? And, although Samaritans lived within the borders of the Roman Empire (as did Palestinian Jews), there was a long-standing hostile relationship between them and Jews. A Samaritan receiving good press in the Gospels was scandalous indeed.
Yet the God of Judaism and Christianity is for all people, although far from all of them worship and revere God. For all of them Christ died and with him all the potential (often unrealized) to live and reign. For, as St. Simon Peter said at Caesarea,
…God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him does what is right is acceptable to him.
–Acts 10:34b-35, New Revised Standard Version
God has many sheep. I belong to just one flock. And I wonder how many other sheep and flocks there are as I hope that I will never mistake any of them for not being of God. I interpret the “other sheep” to be Gentiles in the original context. But who, other than God, knows what really goes on inside others spiritually? Many of the officially observant are just putting up facades. And many people have faith of which God alone knows. What I do not know outweighs what I do know.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JAMES LEWIS MILLIGAN, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCULF OF NANTEUIL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/the-universal-god/
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Above: Jesus Healing the Man with a Withered Hand
Image in the Public Domain
Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part XI: Compassion
OCTOBER 12, 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 11:1-25
Psalm 104 (Morning)
Psalms 118 and 111 (Evening)
Matthew 12:1-21
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Deuteronomy 11:1-25 impresses upon the audience the importance of obeying the Law of Moses–prosperity and peace for obedience and the opposite for disobedience. That formula strikes me as being false and simplistic, for many (including in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament) have suffered for keeping God’s ways and calling scofflaws to account. But I digress.
Part of the Law of Moses was keeping the Sabbath. At the time of Jesus schools of Palestinian Judaism offered varying interpretations of how rigorously to observe that day. But all understood the proper observance of the Sabbath to be a distinctive marker of being an observant Jew. Deuteronomy 23:23-25 allowed for the poor and the hungry to glean food from the fields of others on that day, for eating was necessary and compassion was part of the Sabbath formula.
For I desire goodness, not sacrifice;
Obedience to God, rather than burnt offerings.
–Hosea 6:6, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
Jesus, an observant Jew, quoted that passage in response to criticism in Matthew 12. Since when was it wrong to perform a good deed on the Sabbath? It was lawful, according to strict interpretations of Sabbath laws, to save human lives and to rescue livestock on that day. So was not human life more valuable than sheep life? Besides, the man with the withered hand had suffered enough, had he not?
Every day is a good day to live compassionately. May theological orthodoxy, whether or not combined with identity politics, stand in the way of performing compassionate deeds.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JAMES LEWIS MILLIGAN, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCULF OF NANTEUIL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-xi-compassion/
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ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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