According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
One may use the word “mystery” in at least two ways. One may think of a situation in which gathering more information will eliminate confusion and enable arriving at a firm answer. The Holy Trinity is a mystery, but not in that way. Even if we mere mortals had all the information about the nature of God, we could not understand it. We can barely grasp what we do know, and what we know raises more questions than it resolves. So be it. The second meaning of “mystery” is an ancient definition: One can know something only by living into it. One can know God by faith, for example.
The Feast of the Holy Trinity is the only Christian feast of a doctrine. It is more than that, though. Lutheran minister and liturgist Philip H. Pfatteicher recommends thinking of Trinity Sunday as:
…the celebration of the richness of the being of God and the occasion of a thankful review of the now completed mystery of salvation, which is the work of the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.
—Commentary on theLutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its Ecumenical Context (1990), 301
A doctrine–especially the Holy Trinity–can seem abstract. Some people (including moi) like abstractions. However, abstractions leave others cold and spiritually unmoved. Salvation is not abstract, however; it is tangible. And how it works is a mystery in at least the second meaning of the word.
Happy Trinity Sunday!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 27, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY; AND HIS SON, WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ALBANY; HYMN WRITERS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTONY AND THEODOSIUS OF KIEV, FOUNDERS OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MONASTICISM; SAINT BARLAAM OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT; AND SAINT STEPHEN OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET AND RELIGIOUS WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND SAINTS OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZITA OF TUSCANY, WORKER OF CHARITY
I have written many devotions for Trinity Sunday over more than a decade. Not repeating myself has become impossible,
Here it goes, then.
Many people think of the doctrine of the Trinity as theological prose. They are mistaken; it is theological poetry. I do not presume to claim to understand the mechanics of the Trinity. No human brain can grasp those details. And, if one consults a history of Christian theology, one will read that Trinitarian heresies originated with attempts to explain it.
Love God and enjoy the theological poetry, O reader.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 12, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH
THE FEAST OF SAINT AELRED OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF RIEVAULX
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HENRY ALFORD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
I aspire never to diminish the glorious mystery of God, or to attempt to do so. The doctrine of the Trinity, which the Church developed over centuries via debates, interpretation, and ecumenical councils, is the best explanation for which I can hope. However, the Trinity still makes no logical sense. For example, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are co-eternal. Yet the Son proceeds from the Father. And, depending on one’s theology, vis-à-vis the filoque clause, the Spirit proceeds either from the Father or from the Father and the Son. Huh?
No, the Trinity is illogical. So be it. I frolic in the illogical, glorious mystery of God, who adopts us as sons (literally, in the Greek text), and therefore as heirs. I frolic in the mystery of the Holy Spirit, in whom is new new life. I frolic in the mystery and worship the unity.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 29, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL APOSTLES AND MARTYRS
before the foundation of the universe and the beginning of time
you are the triune God:
Author of creation, eternal Word of creation, life-giving Spirit of wisdom.
Guide us to all truth by your Spirit,
that we may proclaim all that Christ has revealed
and rejoice in the glory he shares with us.
Glory and praise to you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 5:15-24
Psalm 29
John 15:18-20, 26-27
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The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice;
the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.
–Psalm 29:4, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Ah,
Those who call evil good
And good evil;
Who present darkness as light
And light as darkness;
Who prevent bitter as sweet
And sweet as bitter!
–Isaiah 5:20, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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I am a student of history, especially that of the ecclesiastical variety. Much of that content troubles me. In my library I have documents justifying perfidy in the name of Jesus and more broadly in the name of God. I think of a sermon, “God the Original Segregationist” (1954), which the minister continued to sell via mail as late as 1971. I think also of sermons defending chattel slavery while quoting the Bible. And I own a reprint of an article from the magazine of the National Association of Evangelicals in 1960 arguing that no Roman Catholic should serve as the President of the United States.
I consider my family tree, which includes a slaveholder and Georgia state senator who, in the 1860s, complained in writing to Governor Joseph Brown that the state had drafted his (the senator’s) slaves’ labor yet been slow to compensate the senator for their work. My relative was a deacon of the Fort Gaines Baptist Church, Fort Gaines, Georgia. I assume that he thought of himself as a good Christian.
Fortunately, overt racism has fallen out of favor in many quarters, but covert racism remains ubiquitous. Slavery, furthermore, has few prominent defenders of which I am aware in American Christianity. Nevertheless, some prominent American Evangelicals defended the Crusades–orgies of violence, religious intolerance, and even some cannibalism–with much energy recently.
Dressing up darkness as light is an ancient sin which remains contemporary. Even many who condemn slavery commit homophobia. Some are malevolent, saying openly that homosexuals ought to have fewer civil rights and liberties than heterosexuals. Certain malevolent homophobes go as far as to advocate executing or imprisoning homosexuals. Others, however, act out of outdated mindsets based on erroneous assumptions and are not malevolent. They are still wrong, of course.
The biblical call to justice, present in the works of the prophets and elsewhere requires us to reject the forms of bigotry we have learned from cultures. To love our neighbors as we love ourselves and act toward them as we would have them behave toward us entails laying aside our negative biases and recognizing the image of God in them then acting accordingly. This can prove risky when cultures, governments, and social institutions perpetuate bigotry and discrimination.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world–therefore the world hates you.
–John 15:19, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
I have learned negative biases and unlearned some of them. The main difficulty when dealing with one’s assumptions is trying to recognize one’s moral blind spots, especially those which are socially unacceptable. Defense mechanisms interfere with this process, perpetuating the illusion that one is holier than one actually is. Yet a faithful pilgrimage with God requires that one, by grace, face oneself honestly. Hopefully this will result in an accurate self-appraisal and lead to repentance, that is, changing one’s mind, turning around. That can be difficult, but it is possible via the power of God.
before the foundation of the universe and the beginning of time
you are the triune God:
Author of creation, eternal Word of creation, life-giving Spirit of wisdom.
Guide us to all truth by your Spirit,
that we may proclaim all that Christ has revealed
and rejoice in the glory he shares with us.
Glory and praise to you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 1:1-4, 16-20 (Thursday)
Isaiah 2:1-5 (Friday)
Psalm 29 (Both Days)
Romans 8:1-8 (Thursday)
Romans 8:9-11 (Friday)
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The LORD shall give strength to his people;
the LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace.
–Psalm 29:11, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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St. Paul the Apostle, at the end of Romans 7, lamented that, although he often knew right from wrong and wanted to act properly, he behaved sinfully much of the time. He lived in a “body of death,” he wrote, and his deliverance from it came via Jesus Christ.
The conclusion that we humans are slaves to the law of God in our minds yet slaves to the law of sin in our flesh precedes the “therefore” clause in Romans 8:1:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Christ, St. Paul the Apostle wrote, has freed us from the law of sin and death. Yes, there remains the dichotomy of the Spirit (God) and the flesh (all that pertains to human beings). Yes, we are all “in the flesh,” during this life, but we need not live “according to the flesh,” which sin has compromised. Righteousness comes from God.
We, turning to the Isaiah pericopes, find human disobedience, a divine call for obedience and social justice, a reminder of how much better the situation can become, a statement of how bad it can become, and a vision of what the future will entail when the Kingdom of God has become fully realized on Earth. In Isaiah, as in Romans, righteousness comes from God and we mere mortals fall far short of that divine standard.
None of this negates the importance of free will, for the desire to obey God and act justly matters greatly. It is a positive development and something with which God can work–multiply like loaves and fishes. A faithful response to God is, in itself, inadequate, but it is something, at least. And we rely on God’s strength, not ours. Martin Luther, who knew much firsthand about the conflict between the higher and lower natures, affirmed correctly the principle of relying on the faithfulness of God. I am content to do as he advised in that matter, for the alternatives lead me to negative spiritual destinations, which range from hopelessness to a lack of any spirituality to the vain and frustrating quest for moral perfection or something approximate to it in this life (hence my strong objections to Pietism).
We are all broken and in need of God, so why pretend to the contrary? A healthy spiritual quest begins where one is. I prefer to acknowledge that point of origin without excuses, delusions, or self-recrimination. Acknowledging one’s sin and confessing it need not turn into spiritual self-flagellation. I have learned that admitting the reality of my spiritual state, with all its negatives and positive aspects, refraining from berating myself yet handing the burdens over to God instead is a good way to begin. This life is short, anyway, so I seek to spend as much of it as possible enjoying and glorifying God.
Almighty Creator and ever-living God: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One,
and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three.
Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all adversity,
and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
or
God of heaven and earth, before the foundation of the universe
and the beginning of time you are the triune God:
Author of creation, eternal Word of salvation, life-giving Spirit of wisdom.
Guide us to all truth by your Spirit, that we may proclaim all that Christ has revealed
and rejoice in the glory he shares with us.
Glory and praise to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37
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The Assigned Readings:
Job 38:39-39:12 (Monday)
Job 39:13-25 (Tuesday)
Job 39:26-40:5 (Wednesday)
Psalm 29 (All Days)
1 Corinthians 12:1-3 (Monday)
1 Corinthians 12:4-13 (Tuesday)
John 14:25-26 (Wednesday)
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Ascribe to the Lord, you powers of heaven,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the honour to his name;
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
–Psalm 29:1-2, Common Worship (2000)
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I do not like the portrayal of God in the Book of Job. There God permits a faithful man, Job, to suffer—not for anything Job did, however. Then, after a series of alleged friends has made Job’s life more miserable by blaming him for his suffering and Job has complained of his mistreatment, God gives him his
I’m God and you’re not
speech. The character of Job deserves a better answer than that.
We find a pleasant depiction of part of the mystery of God in the other readings. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate or Comforter—our defense attorney, more or less. The Holy Spirit imparts a variety of spiritual gifts—all
to be used for the general good.
–1 Corinthians 12:7b, The New Jerusalem Bible
The best description of the inspiration of scripture I have heard is that people had powerful encounters with God then had to write from them. Thus human perspectives shaped the development and contents of the sacred canon. Thus the Bible is a very human book—one to which we can relate powerfully. The Biblical authors and editors were not secretaries taking dictation, as in,
Put a comma there.
This human influence contributes to the variety of perspectives in that sacred anthology, parts of which I argue with from time to time. But I have faith that God seeks to build us up for good purposes, is much greater than we are, and expects us to work for the common good as we love our neighbors.
Somewhere in there I feel free to argue with God, true to my spiritual inheritance from my elder siblings in faith, the Jews. I note that, in the Book of Job, God speaks at length to only one character, the only one who had asked intelligent questions.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 16, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANDREW FOURNET AND ELIZABETH BICHIER, COFOUNDERS OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE CROSS; AND SAINT MICHAEL GARICOITS, FOUNDER OF THE PRIESTS OF THE SACRED HEART OF BETHARRAM
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN NEPOMUCENE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, 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:
Isaiah 8:9-9:6/7 (depending on versification)
Psalm 5 (Morning)
Psalms 84 and 29 (Evening)
1 Peter 4:1-9
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There will be grave trouble for Judah one day, Isaiah said. It might not happen soon, but that day will come. And it did. Yet, in the midst of that gloomy prediction, there was a second, happy one: There will be a ruler through whom God will deliver the people. Scholars debate what the vague references meant, and the reading assumes a certain character if one reads it outside of Christological interpretations, but none of that is germane to my purpose here, today. My point is this: There is hope in the darkest darkness, thanks to God.
Speaking of difficult times, the audience of 1 Peter knew suffering for the faith (4:12-19). Yet God was with them, not only spiritually via the Holy Spirit, but also through each other. We human beings ought to help each other to, in the words of 1 Peter 4:8,
preserve an intense love for each other (The New Jerusalem Bible)
and use our gifts from God for the common good. What does Jesus look like? Hopefully, he looks like you, O reader, like me, and like many other people. As we prepare, to celebrate the arrival of Christ nearly two thousand years ago, may we first recognize those through whom Christ is present with us today.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 3, 2011 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN OWEN SMITH, UNITED METHODIST BISHOP IN GEORGIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY IN ASIA
In Jeremiah 5 God defends the impending destruction of Jerusalem. There is nobody who acts justly and seeks integrity, God says in 5:1. Not only are people unrighteous, but they are also unrepentant.
That sounds like an accurate description of those who peppered our Lord and Savior with questions while trying to entrap him inside his own words in Matthew 22. He beat them at their own game, of course. Whenever someone puts God to the test, God passes with flying colors.
I have tried to read Matthew 22:23-46 as a member of that gospel’s original audience might have done. That audience consisted of Jewish Christians marginalized from their Hebrew community looking back at the life of Jesus in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple therein at the end of the First Jewish War. From that position of spiritual and human conflict–resentment even–such an account must have seemed like a prelude to the cataclysmic events of that war and the words from Jeremiah 5 might have echoed in more than one head. But that is not my perspective. And I take caution to avoid such a point of view, for I have clear and unpleasant memories of televangelists and others making tacky, insensitive, and judgmental statements of that sort after disasters of both human and natural origins–Hurricane Katrina (2005), the September 11 attacks (2001), etc. No, my impulse is toward love. As for judgment, I leave that matter to God, who is infinitely wiser than any human being.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 24, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF IDA SCUDDER, REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA MEDICAL MISSIONARY IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF EDWARD KENNEDY “DUKE” ELLINGTON, COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JACKSON KEMPER, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF WISCONSIN
THE FEAST OF MOTHER EDITH, FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE SACRED NAME
The God of Deuteronomy 6-8 is a fearsome warrior, one who tells people in stern tones to obey–OR ELSE. And, to complicate matters further, genocide (allegedly approved of by God) is part of the mix. So destruction for godless ways is a prominent theme there. I choose not to repeat my detailed disapproval of such material as being inconsistent with the Golden Rule, for I have written of it many times.
Jesus, in Matthew 9:18-10:42, heals people, raises a girl from the dead, sends his twelve Apostles on a mission (with detailed instructions), and tells them to leave unbelievers to God’s wrath. I notice that they are not do anything to those who reject them. And I cannot escape mention of God’s wrath in the material for these days.
Jesus,as I think of him automatically, was a generally jolly fellow who used humor to cope with great stresses and sorrows. He was fully human, I affirm, and we humans need humor. So I imagine him and his Apostles sharing jokes, perhaps the following one among them:
Q: How many Pharisees does it take to change oil lamp?
A: One one, but he never does it on the Sabbath.
Yet I know that the darker, more serious side of the Gospel message was always there. I affirm this also, without the genocide and with more forgiveness than in Deuteronomy 6-8.
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
The miracle stories regarding Elijah and Elisha violate the standards of credulity which I, as a product of the Enlightenment, accept. But, when I look beneath the surface, I find timeless lessons. For example, I read of Elijah making an iron ax head float then utilizing his clairvoyance and deceiving an invading force with the help of God via a blinding light. But these texts from 2 Kings predate scientific thinking, so getting into the spirit of them unlocks meanings.
In learn, for example, that iron was precious–therefore expensive–and that most members of Elisha’s band of prophets were poor. So the prophet who borrowed the ax head needed to recover it so that he could return it and avoid financial hardship. We should help others as we are able.
And leading an enemy army into hostile territory then treating the members thereof to a banquet is one way of deterring war. Loving one’s enemies is sound moral teaching.
I criticized Elisha for cruelty and insensitivity in the previous post in this series, but I have no such cause today The verse from Philippians which I have highlighted summarizes Elisha’s behavior in 2 Kings 6 well if one substitutes Yahweh for Christ. May we who call ourselves Christians behave consistently in ways which are worthy of the gospel of Christ, for we might be the most influential emissaries of Jesus some people will encounter.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 3, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF NICHOLAS KASATKIN, ORTHODOX ARCHBISHOP OF ALL JAPAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANSKAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF HAMBURG-BREMEN
THE FEAST OF GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA, COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF MILLARD FULLER, FOUNDER OF HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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