MAKE LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR GREAT AGAIN.

Above:  Christ Blessing the Children, by Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli

Image in the Public Domain

Good Society, Part I

OCTOBER 13, 2024

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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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Leviticus 19:1-18 or 2 Kings 2:1-15

Psalm 68:1-6, 32-35

Hebrews 7:22-8:12

Mark 9:38-50

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–A sign I saw on a bulletin board in the copy room at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia, in 2019

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What else am I supposed to think when I cannot possibly reconcile the Biblical commandment to welcome the strangers among us with news stories about refugees at the southern border of the United States treated as criminals and worse than feral four-legged animals?

The divine law–the one we, as human beings, are supposed to have written on our hearts–teaches the following timeless principles, among others:

1. We depend entirely on God.
2. We depend on each other.
3. We are responsible to each other.
4. We are responsible for each other.
5. We have no right to exploit each other.

The Law of Moses abounds with culturally-specific examples of those timeless principles.  We can think of effective, culturally-specific ways of fulfilling those timeless principles in our societies, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, et cetera.  Whenever, wherever, and whoever one is, one has a divine vocation to practice the Golden Rule.  When one’s life ends, others will continue that vocation.

I ask you, O reader, to read Leviticus 19:1-18.  Identify the timeless principles and the culturally-specific examples of them.  Then ponder your society.  How could your society improve with the application of the timeless principles?  Ask yourself what the best tactics may be.  Examine yourself spiritually, also.  How could you improve with the application of the timeless principles?  Trust God to help you do so.

Society is people.  Society shapes people and influences their opinions.  However, people also shape society.

May we shape our societies for the better–for the common good and the glory of God–with the help of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 26, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANNE AND JOACHIM, PARENTS OF SAINT MARY OF NAZARETH

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/26/good-society-part-vi/

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Above:  Moses

Image in the Public Domain

Prelude to the Passion, Part III

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

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The Collect:

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Numbers 11:1-30 or Isaiah 45:14-25 or Jeremiah 4:19-31 or Zechariah 8:1-23

Psalm 68:11-31 (32-35) or Psalm 120 or Psalm 82

John 10:19-21 (22-30) 31-42

1 Corinthians 14:1-40

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The assigned readings, taken together, present a balanced picture of divine judgment and mercy.  Sometimes God’s judgment on one group is in the service of mercy on another group.  And, as much as God is angry with the Israelites in Numbers 11, He still provides manna to them and advises Moses to share his burden with 70 elders.  Judgment is dominant in Jeremiah 4, but mercy rules in Zechariah 8.

1 Corinthians 14, sexism aside, offers the timeless principle that all people do in the context of worship should build up the faith community.

As for the “Prelude to the Passion” part of this post, we turn to John 10.  Jesus survives an attempt to arrest (then execute) him for committing blasphemy, per Leviticus 24:10-16.  He was innocent of the charge, of course.  The story, however, does establish that Jesus kept avoiding death traps prior to Holy Week.

A point worth pondering is that the accusers of Jesus in John 10 were most likely sincere.  This should prompt us who read the account today to ask ourselves how often we are sincerely wrong while attempting to follow the laws of God.  Those who oppose God and agents thereof are not always consciously so.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 18, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT:  THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF MARC BOEGNER, ECUMENIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT GIULIA VALLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN

THE FEAST OF SAINT ISAAC HECKER, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/prelude-to-the-passion-part-iii/

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Above:  Christ Healing a Bleeding Woman

Image in the Public Domain

Empathy, Sympathy, and Community

JUNE 8, 2022

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The Collect:

Compassionate God, you have assured the human family of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Deliver us from the death of sin, and raise us to new life,

in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 39

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The Assigned Readings:

Jeremiah 8:14-22

Psalm 68:1-10, 19-20

Luke 8:40-56

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God, you rained down a shower of blessings,

when your heritage was weary you gave it strength.

Your family found a home, which you

in your generosity provided for the humble.

–Psalm 68:9-10, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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The lection from Jeremiah 8 is grim.  It comes from a section of prophecies of judgment against Jerusalem.  (Nevertheless, Hebrew puns are present.)  In some portions of the reading the identity of the speaker is unclear, but the tone is never vague–doom will arrive, and mourning will be abundant.

In Luke 8 grief and anguish give way to joy.  Jesus heals a ritually unclean woman with a gynecological condition.  He restores her to her community and ends her mental and emotional anguish.  Then he raises the daughter of Jairus, a leader of a synagogue, from the dead.  Our Lord and Savior restores the family of Jairus to wholeness and the daughter to life and community.

We mere mortals share our lives with each other when we live in community.  We might guard our privacy, but even those matters we choose not to disclose influence our lives in community.  Whenever we grieve and mourn, that affects others.  Likewise, whenever we rejoice and laugh, that affects others also.  May we support each other in positive living for the glory of God and the benefit of others, remembering that, as John Donne wrote so well,

No man is an island.

I think of the woman from Luke 8:42b-48.  The text informs us that she had endured her medical condition and the related stigma and stresses for twelve years.  How many people had tried to help her in any way?  And how many, guarding their ritual purity, had shunned her?  No woman is an island, even if she is ritually impure.

Sometimes politicians and pundits sneer at empathy, but it is a great virtue in short supply much of the time.  So is its cousin, sympathy.  Can we empathize or sympathize with a desperate father, a shunned woman, and a member of a doomed community?  How will we express that empathy or sympathy?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 4, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PAUL CUFFEE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY TO THE SHINNECOCK NATION

THE FEAST OF SAINT CASIMIR OF POLAND, PRINCE

THE FEAST OF EMANUEL CRONENWETT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARINUS OF CAESAREA, ROMAN SOLDIER AND CHRISTIAN MARTYR, AND ASTERIUS, ROMAN SENATOR AND CHRISTIAN MARTYR

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/empathy-sympathy-and-community/

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Above:  Jephthah

Image in the Public Domain

Liberty to Love Each Other in God

JUNE 6 and 7, 2022

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The Collect:

Compassionate God, you have assured the human family of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Deliver us from the death of sin, and raise us to new life,

in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 39

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The Assigned Readings:

Genesis 22:1-14 (Monday)

Judges 11:29-40 (Tuesday)

Psalm 68:1-10, 19-20 (Both Days)

Galatians 2:1-10 (Monday)

Galatians 2:11-14 (Tuesday)

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The upright rejoice in the presence of God,

delighted and crying out for joy.

Sing to God, play music to his name,

build a road for the Rider of the Clouds,

rejoice in Yahweh, dance before him.

–Psalm 68:3-4, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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Liberty in God is freedom to love God and our fellow human beings, to glorify God and work for the benefit of others, especially the vulnerable, those who need it the most, in society.  We are responsible to and for each other, regardless of whether we acknowledge that fact and behave accordingly.

The readings from Judges 11 and Genesis 22, which concern human sacrifice, are troublesome.  The famous and infamous story of the near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, his father, is a tale of a man who interceded on behalf of strangers yet not his son.  Abraham failed the test of faith; he should have argued.  The less well-known story from Judges 11 is the tale of Jephthah, who spoke before he thought.  Thus he ensnared himself in an oath to sacrifice his only child.  He, unlike Abraham, went through with it.  Among the lessons these stories teach is that Yahweh does not desire human sacrifice.

More broadly speaking, God does not desire any form of human exploitation.  Rather, God condemns all varieties of human exploitation.  They are inconsistent with interdependency and responsibility to and for each other.  That is a fine standard by which to evaluate any human or corporate action or policy, is it not?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 4, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PAUL CUFFEE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY TO THE SHINNECOCK NATION

THE FEAST OF SAINT CASIMIR OF POLAND, PRINCE

THE FEAST OF EMANUEL CRONENWETT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARINUS OF CAESAREA, ROMAN SOLDIER AND CHRISTIAN MARTYR, AND ASTERIUS, ROMAN SENATOR AND CHRISTIAN MARTYR

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/liberty-to-love-each-other-in-god/

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Above:  A Father and His Son

Image Source = Onkelbo

Compassion and the Family of God

OCTOBER 30, 2023

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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Romans 8:12-17 (Revised English Bible):

It follows, my friends, that our old nature has no claim on us. we are not obliged to live in that way.  If you do so, you must die.  But if by the Spirit you put to death the base pursuits of the body, then you will live.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  The Spirit you have received is not a spirit of slavery, leading you back into a life of fear, but a Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry “Abba!  Father!”  The Spirit of God affirms to our spirit that we are God’s children; and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ; but we must share his sufferings if we are also to share his glory.

Psalm 68:1-6, 19-20 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered;

let those who hate him flee before him.

2  Let them vanish like smoke when the wind drives it away;

as the wax melts at the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

3  But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God;

let them also be merry and joyful.

4  Sing to God, sing praises to his Name;

exalt him who rides upon the heavens;

YAHWEH is his Name, rejoice before him!

5  Father of orphans, defender of widows,

God in his holy habitation!

6  God gives the solitary a home and brings forth prisoners into freedom;

but the rebels shall live in dry places.

19  Blessed be the Lord day by day,

the God of our salvation, who bears our burdens.

20  He is our God, the God of our salvation;

God is the LORD, by whom we escape death.

Luke 13:10-17 (Revised English Bible):

He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath, and there was a woman there possessed by a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years.  She was bend double and quite unable to stand up straight.  When Jesus saw her he called her and said,

You are rid of your trouble,

and he laid hands on her.  Immediately she straightened up and began to praise God.  But the president of the synagogue, indignant with Jesus for healing on the sabbath, intervened and said to the congregation,

There are six working day:  come and be cured on one of them, and not on the sabbath.

The Lord gave him this answer:

What hypocrites you are!

he said.

Is there a single one of you who does not loose his ox or his donkey from its stall and take it out to water on the sabbath?  And here is this woman, a daughter of Abraham, who has been bound by Satan for eighteen long years:  was it not right for her to be loosed from her bonds on the sabbath?

At these words all his opponents were filled with confusion, while the mass of the people were delighted at all the wonderful things he was doing.

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The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; 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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In modern times we might say that the woman suffered from a psychosomatic condition.  We would, anyhow, offer a scientific explanation, not demonic affliction, a common diagnosis in the Hellenistic world.  That, however, is really beside the point.  Whatever ailed the woman, Jesus rid her of it on the sabbath, and he faced criticism for doing so.  It was a matter of timing, his critic said.  Why did you perform this good deed on the sabbath?

Jesus offered some excellent logic, which I find summarized on page 241 of Volume VIII of The Interpreter’s Bible (1952):

If it is right to care for domestic animals on the sabbath, it is right to relieve human distress.

This, as I understand it, is a very Jewish understanding of the sabbath.  I have heard of Jewish medical professionals who consider their sabbath shifts as ways of keeping the sabbath.  Yet Jesus was up against a narrower interpretation, one which said that is permissable to save a life but not to offer full first aid,much less a cure, on the sabbath.

This woman had lived in poverty, on the margins of society, for years because of her physical condition.  Jesus restored her to health, wholeness, and social standing, and one person dared to criticize him!  Where was this man’s compassion?

Paul, for a while now in Romans, has been extolling the virtues and consequences of grace–including its cost to God.  Now, in this day’s portion, he uses the analogy of adoption into the family of God and states the cost of grace for us:

…but we must share in his sufferings if we are also to share his glory.

The inheritance comes in two flavors:  pleasant and unpleasant.  My first thought as I typed that partial verse the first time was of Lutheran congregational names.  One of the common names of Lutheran churches I have seen in various places is “Cross and Crown.”  That sums it up, does it not?

Yet, by grace, we have the opportunity to be members of the household of God.  We can be children and heirs.  And how do members of functional families act toward each other?  They support, care for, and look out for each other, do they not?  They do not complain about a sabbath healing.

Karen Armstrong has said that the basic act of transcendence each of us needs to do is to transcend self and identify with other people.  This is compassion.  God has identified with us, hence the Incarnation.  Grace requires us to identify with others.  Where will compassion take us?  What will it cost us?

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/compassion-and-the-family-of-god/