Archive for the ‘Psalm 45’ Tag
Above: A Yoke
Image in the Public Domain
Yokes
JULY 16, 2023
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Zechariah 9:9-12
Psalm 45:1-2 (3-13), 14-22 (LBW) or Psalm 119:137-144 (LW)
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:25-30
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God of glory, Father of love, peace comes from you alone.
Send us as peacemakers and witnesses to your kingdom,
and fill our hearts with joy in your promises of salvation;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 25
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Grant, Lord, that the course of this world
may be so governed by your direction
that your Church may rejoice
in serving you in godly peace and quietness;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 68
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Zechariah 9:9-12 depicts a future scene, in which the Messiah, an ideal king, approaches Jerusalem at the culmination of history–the Day of the LORD. This is the scene Jesus reenacted during his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, without being a regnant type of Messiah.
The image of YHWH as king exists in the assigned readings from Psalms.
In Romans 7:15-25a we read St. Paul the Apostle’s confession of his struggles with sins. We may all relate to those struggles.
My tour of the readings brings me to Matthew 11:25-30 and the topic of yokes.
Literally, a yoke was a wooden frame, loops of ropes, or a rod with loops of rope, depending on the purpose. (See Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3; and Jeremiah 28:10.) A yoke fit over the neck of a draft animal or the necks of draft animals. Alternatively, a captive or a slave wore a yoke. (See Jeremiah 28:10; 1 Kings 12:9; 2 Chronicles 10:4; and 1 Timothy 6:1). Also, a yoked pair of oxen was a yoke. (See 1 Samuel 11:7; 1 Kings 19:21; Luke 14:19).
Metaphorically, a yoke had a variety of meanings, depending on the circumstances. It often symbolized servitude and subjection. Forced labor was an unjust yoke (1 Kings 11:28; 12:11, 14). Slavery was a yoke (Sirach 33:27). Hardship was a yoke (Lamentations 3:27; Sirach 40:1). The oppression and humiliation of one nation by another was the yoke of bondage (Jeremiah 27:8; 28:4; Hosea 11:7; Deuteronomy 28:48; and Isaiah 47:6). To break out of subjugation or slavery was to break the yoke (Jeremiah 28:2; Isaiah 9:4; 14:25). God promised to break the yoke of Egypt in Ezekiel 30:18. To break away from God was to break God’s yoke (Jeremiah 2:20; 5:5; Sirach 51:39). Sin was also a yoke (Lamentations 1:14).
The yokes of God and Christ carry positive connotations. The yoke of obedience to God is easy. It is also the opposite of the yoke of subordination and subjugation. This positive yoke is the yoke in Matthew 11:28-30. It is the yoke St. Paul the Apostle wore (Philippians 4:3). It is the yoke in Psalm 119:137-144.
Draw near to me, you who are untaught,
and lodge in my school.
Why do you say you are lacking in these things,
and why are your souls very thirsty?
I opened my mouth and said,
Get these things for yourselves without money.
Put your neck under the yoke,
and let your souls receive instruction;
it is to be found close by.
See with your eyes that I have labored little
and found for myself much rest.
Get instruction with a large sum of silver
and you will gain by it much gold.
May your soul rejoice in his mercy,
and may you not be put to shame when you praise him.
Do your work before the appointed time,
and in God’s time he will give you your reward.
–Sirach 51:23-30, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
You, O reader, will serve somebody or something. That is not in question. Whom or what you will serve is a germane question. Why not serve God, the greatest king? In so doing, you will find your best possible state of being. The path may be difficult–ask St. Paul the Apostle, for example–but it will be the best path for you.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 14, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS MAKEMIE, FATHER OF AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANISM AND ADVOCATE FOR RELIGIOUS TOLERATION
THE FEAST OF SAINT CARTHAGE THE YOUNGER, IRISH ABBOT-BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA DOMINICA MAZZARELLO, CO-FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODORE I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINTS VICTOR THE MARTYR AND CORONA OF DAMASCUS, MARTYRS IN SYRIA, 165
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: The Preaching of St. John the Baptist, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1566
Image in the Public Domain
Clinging to the Faithfulness of God
MAY 26, 2021
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The Collect:
Loving God, by tender words and covenant promise
you have joined us to yourself forever,
and you invite us to respond to your love with faithfulness.
By your Spirit may we live with you and with one another
in justice, mercy, and joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 45:6-17
John 3:22-36
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Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your reign;
you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
–Psalm 45:6-7a, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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I have no idea who is speaking in John 3:31-36. Father Raymond E. Brown’s Anchor Bible volume on John 1-12 (538 pages long!) claims that Jesus is the speaker and offers much textual evidence for that assertion. John 3:31-36, Brown writes, is an isolated discourse of Jesus which the Evangelist placed behind the scene with St. John the Baptist to interpret it. Brown might be correct. Or the speaker might be St. John the Baptist, for there is thematic consistency in 3:22-30 and 3:31-36. On a third hand, 3:31-36 might be in the voice of the Evangelist, addressing the audience directly. I leave that dispute to New Testament scholars, for this is a devotional weblog.
Regardless of the identity of the speaker, John 3:31-36 exists in a theological context of living in exile in one’s homeland. So does Isaiah 62:1-5, for life in the homeland after the Babylonian Exile was far from the idealized scenes some canonical texts predicted. Judea was a backwater province in one empire after another for successive centuries, except for the period of the Hasmonean theocracy.
Yet the hopes for a bright future persisted. Was Jesus the one to inaugurate that future? Was the Messiah a political-military figure? Many thought so, although Palestinian Jews were not of one mind regarding the nature of Messiahship, much less whether there would be a Messiah. And Jesus became caught up in politics, which was intertwined with economics and religion. The Roman Empire crucified him, so certain imperial authorities must have thought of him as a threat to law and order.
The throne of David remained vacant after exiles began to return to their ancestral homeland. The revival of the Davidic Dynasty, as predicted in Hosea 3:5, never happened. The Roman Empire crucified Jesus, but God resurrected him. Nevertheless, the Roman Empire remained in power. Hoped-for happy futures remain unrealized dreams of better times. Yet we must, if we are to persevere faithfully, trust that God will remain faithful. Perhaps we have misunderstood. Maybe we are simply impatient. But God is faithful and reliable.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 1, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF DANIEL MARCH, SR., U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/clinging-to-the-faithfulness-of-god/
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Above: Paul Writing His Epistles, by Valentin de Boulogne
Image in the Public Domain
Scolding Unto Repentance
MAY 25, 2021
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The Collect:
Loving God, by tender words and covenant promise
you have joined us to yourself forever,
and you invite us to respond to your love with faithfulness.
By your Spirit may we live with you and with one another
in justice, mercy, and joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37
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The Assigned Readings:
Hosea 14:1-9 (Protestant versification)/Hosea 14:2-10 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox versification)
Psalm 45:6-17
2 Corinthians 11:1-15
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Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your reign;
you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
–Psalm 45:6-7a, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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The arrangement of 2 Corinthians is not chronological, so Chapter 11 is part of a painful letter which St. Paul the Apostle wrote prior to Chapters 1 and 2. The tone of Chapters 10-13–scolding and sometimes threatening (as in 10:6)–comes from a place of disappointment. Sometimes a scolding is appropriate, for it can bring us back to our senses. Underlying the scolding is hope that it will have a positive effect.
Hope of return and restoration drives the conclusion of the Book of Hosea. God is willing to forgive Israel, a nation, which God calls to repent–to change its mind, to turn around–and to accept God’s generous love.
St. Paul loved the Corinthian Church, so he scolded it even as he stayed away to avoid causing needless pain. He called them to repent. The historical record indicates, however, that the Corinthian Church struggled with factionalism as late as a generation after the martyrdom of St. Paul. St. Clement of Rome wrote a letter to the congregation circa 100 C.E. In the opening of that document he made the following statement:
Because of our recent series of unexpected misfortunes and set-backs, my dear friends, we feel there has been some delay in turning our attention to the causes of dispute in your community. We refer particularly to the odious and unholy breach of unity among you, which is quite incompatible with God’s chosen people, and which a few hot-headed and unruly individuals have inflamed to such a pitch that your venerable and illustrious name, so richly deserving of everyone’s affection, has been brought into such disrepute.
—Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers (Penguin Books, 1987, page 23)
When God calls us to repent–even scolds us–may we respond more favorably.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 1, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF DANIEL MARCH, SR., U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/scolding-unto-repentance/
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Above: Hosea
Image in the Public Domain
Forgiveness and Restoration
MAY 24, 2021
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The Collect:
Loving God, by tender words and covenant promise
you have joined us to yourself forever,
and you invite us to respond to your love with faithfulness.
By your Spirit may we live with you and with one another
in justice, mercy, and joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 37
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The Assigned Readings:
Hosea 3:1-5
Psalm 45:6-17
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11
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Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever,
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your reign;
you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
–Psalm 45:6-7a, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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St. Paul the Apostle had visited Corinth and had a difficult experience with the church there–or rather, with certain members of the church there. Then he wrote a scolding letter (Chapters 10-13 of 2 Corinthians, a book with a non-chronological organization). Afterward, to avoid causing more pain, the Apostle stayed away. His absence was, according to some, evidence of the Apostle’s vacillating nature. (Some people seem to thrive on criticizing others!) St. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1 and 2, explaining his rationale for staying away and announcing that he had forgiven the ringleader of the critics. The Apostle also encouraged his allies to forgive that person. The dispute had injured the body (to use a Pauline metaphor for the church), so continuing the unhappiness would make a bad situation worse.
Forgiveness is a difficult grace to bestow on the offender and on oneself much of the time. I know this difficulty firsthand and wonder why letting go of a burden as great as a grudge is frequently so hard. I have arrived at no satisfactory answer, but I do know that a grudge hurts the person who holds it.
The reading from Hosea is ambiguous regarding the identity of Hosea’s platonic female friend yet the metaphor is clear: that human relationship is like God’s relationship with Israel. Difficult times will occur, but restoration will become the new reality. Israel will
thrill over the LORD and over His bounty in the days to come.
–Hosea 3:5b, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The restoration of offenders can be a sensitive subject, for forgiveness seems to deny justice. Sometimes, I agree, offenders must face the consequences of their actions. Yet, much of the time, radical forgiveness is the best way into the future for the community, the society, the nation-state, and the individual. (I think especially of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the Republic of South Africa.) Taking an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth might curtail otherwise unrestrained vengeance, but should anyone seek revenge? Does not the quest for vengeance reveal the seeker’s protestation of righteousness to be a lie?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 1, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF DANIEL MARCH, SR., U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS
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This is post #650 of ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS.
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/forgiveness-and-restoration/
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Above: Tanya Allen (as Audrey) and Ken Finkleman (as George Findlay) from Campaign (1997), Episode #13 of The Newsroom (1996-1997)
This image is a screen captures I took via PowerDVD and a legal, purchased disc.
Hearers and Doers of the Word
The Sunday Closest to August 31
The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost
AUGUST 29, 2021
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FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #1
Song of Solomon 2:8-13 (New Revised Standard Version):
The voice of my beloved!
Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away;
for now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
Psalm 45:1-2, 7-10 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 My heart is stirring with a noble song;
let me recite what I have fashioned for the king;
my tongue shall be the pen of a skilled writer.
2 You are the fairest of men;
grace flows from your lips,
because God has blessed you for ever.
7 You throne, O God, endures for ever and ever,
a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom;
you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
8 Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
9 All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia,
and the music of strings from ivory palaces makes you glad.
10 Kings’ daughters stand among the ladies of the court;
on your right hand is the queen,
adorned with the gold of Ophir.
FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #2
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 (New Revised Standard Version):
Moses said:
So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.
You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.
Psalm 15 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
who may abide upon your holy hill?
2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from his heart.
3 There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend;
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
4 In his sight the wicked is rejected,
but he honors those who fear the LORD.
5 He has sworn to do no wrong
and does not take back his word.
6 He does not give his money in hope of gain,
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
7 Whoever does these things
shall never be overthrown.
SECOND READING
James 1:17-27 (New Revised Standard Version):
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
GOSPEL READING
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (New Revised Standard Version):
Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalemgathered around Jesus, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him,
Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?
He said to them,
Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.
Then he called the crowd again and said to them,
Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.
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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Some Related Posts:
Proper 17, Year A:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/proper-17-year-a/
Deuteronomy 4:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/nineteenth-day-of-lent/
James 1:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/week-of-6-epiphany-tuesday-year-2/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/week-of-6-epiphany-wednesday-year-2/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/week-of-proper-1-tuesday-year-2/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/week-of-proper-1-wednesday-year-2/
Mark 7:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/week-of-5-epiphany-tuesday-year-1/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/week-of-5-epiphany-wednesday-year-1/
Matthew 15 (Parallel to Mark 7):
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/week-of-proper-13-tuesday-year-1/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/proper-15-year-a/
1 Peter 4:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/week-of-8-epiphany-friday-year-2/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/fortieth-day-of-lent-holy-saturday/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/week-of-proper-3-friday-year-2/
New Every Morning is the Love:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/new-every-morning-is-the-love-by-john-keble/
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Consider this:
…for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness….But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves….Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.–James 1:20a, 22, 27, New Revised Standard Version
and this:
For it is within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.–Mark 7:21-23, New Revised Standard Version
and this:
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life….–Deuteronomy 4:9a, New Revised Standard Version
and this:
Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.–1 Peter 4:8, New Revised Standard Version
Among my favorite television series is The Newsroom, all of which I own of DVDs. Set in a Toronto, Ontario, television newsroom, the series focuses on George Findlay, an amoral (if not immoral) News Director, and his staff, most of which is also weak. People lie to each other constantly, stab each other in the back, and put out a nightly news broadcast with mostly sensational content. If it bleeds, it leads. If it scares, it leads. If it is mindless, it leads. The writing of the series is sharp (drawing even from European art films), there is (mercifully) no laugh track, and the acting is spectacular.
The Newsroom presents a (hopefully) exaggerated view of human foibles, including some of those which contribute to one’s self-defilement. One, alas, does not need to resort to fiction to find examples of destructive and defiling behaviors. Sometimes all one has to do is review one’s own past or even one’s own present.
Checklist morality is the easy and bad way out. Moral living consists of far more than doing X, Y, and Z, and not not doing A, B, and C. Jesus boiled the Law of Moses down to two commandments, both about how we think, and therefore how we act. If we love God fully and love our neighbors as ourselves, we will keep the law. We will want to do right by our neighbors and by God, so we will act accordingly. And, as we read in 1 Peter,
Love covers a multitude of sins.
If we nurture love, we will not feed unrighteous anger.
Anger is a powerful emotion. Sometimes it sustains us in the short term, but it becomes spiritually toxic as time passes. I have reached a point in my spiritual development that anger repels me most of the time. Yes, there is righteous anger, the sort which Jesus expressed and which propels social reform movements. (One should be angry about the denial of basic human rights, for example.) But the anger which fuels much of alleged news programming on television and radio repels me, so I choose not to consume it. I do this in a positive way, not an angry one.
The most effective way to be a hearer and a doer of the word of God in Jesus is to love God fully and and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. This is active, not theoretical. This is something we must do daily. What tone of voice, for example, do we use? What do we say, and what do we leave unsaid? What do we write, and what do we leave unwritten? And do we leave our corner of the world a better place, or do we opt for sensationalism and inanity? Do we respect others with our words and deeds?
It is that simple–and that challenging.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/hearers-and-doers-of-the-word/
Above: Paul Writing His Epistles (1500s C.E. Painting)
Image in the Public Domain
The Victory Belongs to God Alone
The Sunday Closest to July 6
The Sixth Sunday After Pentecost
JULY 9, 2023
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FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #1
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 (New Revised Standard Version):
The servant said to Laban,
I am Abraham’s servant. The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has. My master made me swear, saying, `You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’
I came today to the spring, and said, `O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also” — let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’
Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, `Please let me drink.’ She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, `Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. Then I asked her, `Whose daughter are you?’ She said, `The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms. Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.
And they called Rebekah, and said to her,
Will you go with this man?
She said,
I will.
So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes.
Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb. Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming. And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, and said to the servant,
Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?
The servant said,
It is my master.
So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
AND
Psalm 45:11-18 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
11 “Hear, O daughter; consider and listen closely;
forget your people and your father’s house.
12 The king will have pleasure in your beauty;
he is your master; therefore do him honor.
13 The people of Tyre are here with a gift,
the rich among the people seek your favor.”
14 All glorious is the princess as she enters;
her gown is cloth-of-gold.
15 In embroidered apparel she is brought to the king;
after her the bridesmaids follow in procession.
16 With joy and gladness they are brought,
and enter into the palace of the king.
17 “In place of fathers, O king, you shall have sons;
you shall make them princes over all the earth.
18 I will make your name to be remembered
from one generation to another;
therefore nations will praise you for ever and ever.”
OR
Song of Solomon 2:8-13 (New Revised Standard Version):
The voice of my beloved!
Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away;
for now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
FIRST READING AND PSALM: OPTION #2
Zechariah 9:9-12 (New Revised Standard Version):
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war-horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.
For I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will arouse your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, O Zion,
and wield you like a warrior’s sword.
Psalm 145:8-15 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
9 The LORD is loving to everyone
and his compassion is over all his works.
10 All your works praise you, O LORD,
and your faithful servants bless you.
11 They make known the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your power;
12 That the peoples may know of your power
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
your dominion endures throughout all ages.
14 The LORD is faithful in all his words
and merciful in all his deeds.
15 The LORD upholds all those who fall;
he lifts up those who are bowed down.
SECOND READING
Romans 7:15-25a (New Revised Standard Version):
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law oat war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.
GOSPEL READING
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 (New Revised Standard Version):
Jesus said to the crowd,
To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.”
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.
At that time Jesus said,
I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
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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Sometimes I can tie all lectionary readings for a day together neatly via a common thought. This unifying theme might be easy or difficult to locate, but I can find it–much of the time. Proper 9, Year A, is an exception to this rule. So I state quickly that genuine romantic love between adult human beings, especially those bound to each other by the sacrament of marriage, is beautiful and that God is present there. Now I move along to Zechariah, Paul, and Matthew.
I take these readings in chronological order.
The Book of Zechariah exists in two parts: Chapters 1-8 and 9-14, each section having separate authorship. Zechariah 9-14 contains prophesies about how God will deal with the Jewish people from the time of Hellenistic domination of the Holy Land to the coming of the Messiah. The texts say that God will act, so the victory will belong to God. Worthless shepherds will not obstruct these deeds, for God will replace them with a worthy shepherd, the Messiah.
Jesus, of course, was (and is) that Messiah. People criticized him for many reasons: he ate and drank too much or he fasted too much; he healed on the Sabbath; the man could not satisfy some people regardless of how good he was. Some people will find fault with anyone, even Jesus. But he was (and is) the Good Shepherd, and through him God has made atonement for sins.
Speaking of sins, Paul struggled with them. I know this feeling, but I take it as more positive than negative. The term “immoral” indicates that one knows the difference between right and wrong, and chooses the latter. But “amoral” indicates that one cannot make the distinction. At least the person who is immoral at least some to the time knows the difference, and God can work with that. It is vital to try and to want to do the right thing. We humans are deeply flawed, “but dust” as the Book of Psalms says, but we also bear the image of God (Genesis 1). So we need to honor the divine image within ourselves and each other, and to trust God to help us distinguish between right and wrong, and to believe that God will help us choose what is correct.
Culture can affect our perceptions of morality, sometimes for the worse. As a student of U.S. history, I know that many Antebellum Southerners thought that keeping slaves was moral, and that anyone who said or thought otherwise did not understand the Bible correctly. Also, I have a book containing a 1954 sermon from Texas entitled “God the Original Segregationist.” The pastor continued to sell copies of this sermon via the mail through at least 1971. It is easy for me to point out these moral misunderstandings, but I am blind to my own.
So I read Paul’s confession and identify with it. And I take comfort that the victory is God’s work, and that neither I nor anyone else will stand in its way. But I hope I am not and will never be a would-be obstacle God must sweep aside. No, I want to be on God’s side. By grace, may as many of us as possible be there.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/the-victory-belongs-to-god-alone/
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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