Archive for the ‘Psalm 84’ Tag
Above: The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, by Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow (1788-1862)
Image in the Public Domain
Eschatological Ethics
NOT OBSERVED IN 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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Amos 5:18-24
Psalm 63:1-8 (LBW) or Psalm 84:1-7 (LW)
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (15-18)
Matthew 25:1-13 (LBW, LW) or Matthew 23:37-39 (LW)
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Lord, when the day of wrath comes
we have no hope except in your grace.
Make us so to watch for the last days
that the consumation of our hope may be
the joy of the marriage feast of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 29
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O Lord, we pray that the visitation of your grace
may so cleanse our thoughts and minds
that your Son Jesus, when he shall come,
may find us a fit dwelling place;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 89
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We have, in the church calendar, turned toward Advent. The tone in readings has shifted toward the Day of the Lord (Old Testament) and the Second Coming of Jesus (New Testament). In Matthew, both options, set in the days leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus, have taken a dark turn.
The Psalms are the most upbeat readings.
Amos 5:18-24 issues a collective warning. Putting on airs of piety while perpetuating and/or excusing social injustice–especially economic injustice, given the rest of the Book of Amos–does not impress God. It angers God, in fact. Sacred rituals–part of the Law of Moses–are not properly talismans.
Matthew 23:37-39 includes a denunciation of supposedly pious people executing messengers God has sent. We readers know that Jesus was about to meet the same fate. We also read Jesus likening himself to a mother hen–being willing to sacrifice himself for the metaphorical chicks.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) teaches individual spiritual responsibility. This is consistent with the collective spiritual authority in Amos 5 and Mattthew 23. Despite the reality of collective spiritual authority, there are some tasks to which one must attend.
My position on how much of the Church–Evangelicalism and fundamentalism, especially–approaches the Second Coming of Jesus and teaches regarding that matter is on record at this weblog. Evangelicalism and fundamentalism get eschatology wrong. The rapture is a nineteenth-century invention and a heresy. Dispensationalism is bunk. The books of Daniel and Revelation no more predict the future than a bald man needs a comb.
I affirm that the Second Coming will occur eventually. In the meantime, we need to be busy living the Golden Rule collectively and individually. In the meantime, we need to increase social justice and decrease social injustice–especially of the economic variety–collectively and individually. In the meantime, we need to work–collectively and individually–at leaving the world better than we found it. We can do that much, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 23, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARTIN DE PORRES AND JUAN MACIAS, HUMANITARIANS AND DOMINICAN LAY BROTHERS; SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, HUMANITARIAN AND DOMINICAN SISTER; AND SAINT TURIBIUS OF MOGREVEJO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA
THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCISZEK DACHTERA, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1944
THE FEAST OF THEODORE O. WEDEL, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR; AND HIS WIFE, CYNTHIA CLARK WEDEL, U.S. PSYCHOLOGIST AND EPISCOPAL ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF THOMAS AUGUSTINE JUDGE, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST; FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARY SERVANTS OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, THE MISSIONARY SERVANTS OF THE MOST BLESSED TRINITY, AND THE MISSIONARY CENACLE APOSTOLATE
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Jael and Sisera, by Jacopo Amigoni
Image in the Public Domain
God’s Surprises
JUNE 27, 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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Judges 4:1-9, 15-21 or Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 84
Romans 1:1-15
Luke 7:18-35
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Four of the five assigned readings contain surprises.
- Not only did Sisera die at the hands of a woman–a woman!–but she was Jael, not Deborah, a prophetess.
- Jeremiah thought he was too young for the vocation God had assigned him. Youth and inexperience proved to be irrelevant, for God qualified the called.
- Much to the shock and dismay of many, St. Paul the Apostle had a mission to the Gentiles. That vocation would have shocked Saul of Tarsus.
- St. John the Baptist had identified Jesus as the one to follow, as the Lamb of God. Yet even he, languishing in one of Herod Antipas’s prison cells, had doubts. The proof of Jesus’ pudding, so to speak, was in the surprising results he produced. A prisoner having doubts was not surprising, though.
As our flesh and hearts cry out for God and seek evermore to dwell in the courts of the divine, may we, by grace, avoid the trap of functional fixation. May we not be oblivious to divine surprises. May our piety not become a spiritual obstacle. May we avoid the erroneous assumption that God fits into our categories. May we recognize and delight in God’s surprises.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 12, 2020 COMMON ERA
EASTER SUNDAY
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS NEPHEW, WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID URIBE-VELASCO, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927
THE FEAST OF GODFREY DIEKMANN, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, ECUMENIST, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/12/gods-surprises-iii/
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Above: Belshazzar’s Feast, by Mattia Preti
Image in the Public Domain
Humility Before People and God
OCTOBER 24-26, 2022
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The Collect:
Holy God, our righteous judge, daily your mercy
surprises us with everlasting forgiveness.
Strengthen our hope in you, and grant that all the
peoples of the earth may find their glory in you,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 51
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Samuel 2:1-10 (Monday)
Daniel 5:1-12 (Tuesday)
Daniel 5:13-31 (Wednesday)
Psalm 84:8-12 (All Days)
1 Peter 4:12-19 (Monday)
1 Peter 5:1-11 (Tuesday)
Matthew 21:28-32 (Wednesday)
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O LORD of hosts,
happy are they who put their trust in you!
–Psalm 84:12, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Do not be arrogant, the readings for these three days tell us. Trust in God instead, we read. Daniel 5 tells us of Belshazzar, viceroy under this father, King Nabonidus (reigned 556-539 B.C.E.) of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. God, the story tells us, found Belshazzar wanting. Furthermore, we read, God delivered the empire to the Persians and the Medes, and the Babylonian Exile ended shortly thereafter.
Cease your proud boasting,
let no word of arrogance pass your lips,
for the LORD is a God who knows;
he governs what mortals do.
Strong men stand in mute dismay,
but those who faltered put on new strength.
Those who had plenty sell themselves for a crust,
and the hungry grow strong again.
The barren woman bears seven children,
and the mother of many sons is left to languish?
–1 Samuel 2:3-5, The Revised English Bible (1989)
That is a timeless lesson. We read of Jesus telling certain professional religious people that penitent tax collectors and the prostitutes will precede them in the Kingdom of God. Later in 1 Peter, we read of the imperative to clothe ourselves in humility, when dealing with each other and God. As Proverbs 3:34-35 tells us,
Toward the scorners he [God] is scornful,
but to the humble he shows favor.
The wise will inherit honor,
but stubborn fools, disgrace.
—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Persecution might come, but one must remain faithful. That is a recurring message in the Bible, from Jeremiah to the Books of the Maccabees to the Gospels to 1 Peter to Hebrews to the Revelation of John. It can also be a difficult lesson on which to act, as many chapters in the history of Christianity attest. Fortunately, God is merciful than generations of Donatists (regardless of their formal designations) have been. That lack of mercy flows from, among other sources, pride–the pride which says,
I persevered. Why did you not do likewise? I must be spiritually superior to you.
We all need to acknowledge, confess, and repent of our sins. We all need to change our minds and turn around spiritually. We all need to be humble before God and each other.
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/humility-before-people-and-god/
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Above: The Embrace of Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary
Image in the Public Domain
The Balance of Judgment and Mercy
OCTOBER 20-22, 2022
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The Collect:
Holy God, our righteous judge, daily your mercy
surprises us with everlasting forgiveness.
Strengthen our hope in you, and grant that all the
peoples of the earth may find their glory in you,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 51
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 9:1-16 (Thursday)
Jeremiah 9:17-26 (Friday)
Jeremiah 14:1-6 (Saturday)
Psalm 84:1-7 (All Days)
2 Timothy 3:1-9 (Thursday)
2 Timothy 3:10-15 (Friday)
Luke 1:46-55 (Saturday)
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Happy are the people whose strength is in you!
whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.
–Psalm 84:4, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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And woe to those who hearts are not set on the pilgrims’ way. They are deceitful, advancing from evil to evil. They cheat each other and lie. They wear themselves out by working iniquity. Those of them who claim to be religious preserve an empty, outward shell of religion. God, who scatters the proud in their conceit and casts the mighty from their thrones, is not impressed with such people:
Speak thus–says the LORD:
The carcasses of men shall lie
Like dung upon the fields,
Like sheaves behind the reaper,
With none to pick them up.
–Jeremiah 9:21, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Yet this same deity is also God the merciful. In the midst of judgment we read the following words:
For what else can I do because of My poor people?
–Jeremiah 9:6c, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Later we read:
Thus said the LORD:
Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom;
Let not the strong man glory in his strength;
Let not the rich man glory in his riches.
But only in this should one glory:
In his earnest devotion to Me.
For I the LORD act with kindness,
Justice, and equity n the world;
For in these I delight–declares the LORD.
–Jeremiah 9:22-23, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Furthermore, as Luke 1:46-55 (the Magnificat), echoing the song of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, reminds us, God has filled hungry people with good things, sent the rich away empty, and remained faithful to divine promises.
What is one supposed to make of this seeming contradiction between divine judgment and mercy? I propose, as I have written repeatedly in weblog posts, that good news for the oppressed is frequently bad news for the unrepentant oppressors. Furthermore, one should consider the issue of discipline, for a responsible parent does not permit a child to get away with everything. Judgment and mercy exist in balance with each other; God is neither an abuser nor a warm fuzzy. God is God.
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/the-balance-of-judgment-and-mercy/
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Above: A Candle Stump
Image Source = J. Samuel Burner
Light in the Darkness
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2017
NOT OBSERVED IN 2018
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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, 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
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Above: Jeremiah from the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo
Image in the Public Domain
Jeremiah and Matthew, Part III: Putting God to the Test
NOVEMBER 4, 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 5:1-9
Psalm 5 (Morning)
Psalms 84 and 29 (Evening)
Matthew 22:23-46
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Shall I not punish such deeds?
–says the LORD–
Shall I not bring retribution
On a nation such as this?
–Jeremiah 5:9, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
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For you are God who takes no pleasure in wickedness;
no evil can dwell in you.
–Psalm 5:4, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)
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For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness:
no one who is evil can be your guest.
–Psalm 5:4, A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989)
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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
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/jeremiah-and-matthew-part-iii-putting-god-to-the-test/
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Above: Design Drawing for a Stained -Glass Window with the Publican
Image Source = Library of Congress
Designed by J. & R. Lamb Studios between 1857 and 1999
Grace, Divine and Human
The Sunday Closest to October 26
Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
OCTOBER 23, 2022
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The Assigned Readings:
Joel 2:23-32 and Psalm 65
or
Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 35:12-17 or Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22 and Psalm 84
then
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14
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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Some Related Posts:
Prayer of Praise and Adoration:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-twenty-third-sunday-after-pentecost/
Prayer of Confession:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/prayer-of-confession-for-the-twenty-third-sunday-after-pentecost/
Prayer of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-twenty-third-sunday-after-pentecost/
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The biblical texts contain many repeated themes. Among them is the command to obey God’s laws coupled with warnings of the consequences for not doing so followed by those consequences. The Prophet Jeremiah, aware of those sins and their consequences, asked God for mercy on the people in Chapter 14. In Jeremiah 15, however, God paid “no” in many words.
Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 35, which speaks of the divine preference for the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the wronged, begins with:
To keep the law is worth many offerings;….—35:1, The Revised English Bible
Much of the Old Testament tradition agrees with that statement. So does the Pharisee from the parable in Luke 18:9-14. He has kept the Law of Moses as best he knows how, as his tradition has told him to do. But he misses one thing, another element of the Old Testament tradition: humility before God.
You desire no sacrifice, or I would give it:
But you take no delight in burnt offerings.
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit:
A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
–Psalm 54:16-17, A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989)
St. Paul the Apostle understood all this well. What admirers wrote in his name after he died the Apostle could have said during his lifetime:
I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith;….—2 Timothy 4:7, The New Jerusalem Bible
The crown of righteousness is a matter of grace; we do not earn it. Yes, James 2:24 (The Revised English Bible) tells us:
You seen then it is by action and not by faith alone that a man is justified.
But faith, in that formulation, is intellectual, so words are necessary for justification to God. In the Pauline tradition, however, faith is inherently active, so:
For all alike have sinned, and are justified by God’s free grace alone, through his act of liberation in the person of Christ Jesus.
–Romans 3:23-24, The Revised English Bible
Therefore:
What room then is left for human pride? It is excluded. And on what principle? The keeping of the law would not exclude it, but faith does. For our argument is that people are justified by faith quite apart from any question of keeping the law.
–Romans 3:27-28, The Revised English Bible
According to St. Paul, the Law of Moses did its job until Christ did his, so Jesus has fulfilled the Law.
Even in judgment there can be hope, hence the lection from Joel. The judgment which Jeremiah hoped would not come did arrive. Later, however, so did mercy in extravagant doses. Grace indeed!
Grace is also something we are supposed to extend to each other.
In January 2013 Jim McGown, a friend (now deceased), gave me a good book, the last of a sequence of fine volumes he imparted to me. The last book is a daily devotional guide for Lent, Year C, by Bishop N. T. Wright. The following lines come from Wright’s discussion of the parable from Luke:
Wasn’t the poor chap [the Pharisee] simply doing what God had told him to do?
Well, from one point of view, yes. But Jesus was constantly nudging people, or positively shoving them, towards seeing everything differently. Prayer is about loving God, and the deepest Jewish traditions insist that loving God is something you do with your hart, mind, soul and strength, and your neighbour as yourself, not calculating whether you’ve done everything just right and feeling smug because your neighbour hasn’t managed it so well.
—Lent for Everyone: Luke, Year C—A Daily Devotional (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2012, pages 77-78; published originally in the United Kingdom in 2009 by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge)
So I extend to you, O reader, a small portion of grace which a friend, at God’s prompting, gave to me. Each of us is called to respond positively to God, who has done much for us. Part of this sacred vocation is extending grace to our fellow human beings. We have an excellent role model: Jesus of Nazareth. May we follow him.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 8, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT II, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF DAME JULIAN OF NORWICH, SPIRITUAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAGDALENA OF CANOSSA, FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY AND THE SONS OF CHARITY
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER OF TARENTAISE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/grace-human-and-divine/
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Above: The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, by John Martin
Image in the Public Domain
Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part IX: God’s Wrath
OCTOBER 7, 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 6:10-25 (October 7)
Deuteronomy 7:1-19 (October 8)
Deuteronomy 8:1-20 (October 9)
Psalm 5 (Morning–October 7)
Psalm 42 (Morning–October 8)
Psalm 89:1-18 (Morning–October 9)
Psalms 84 and 29 (Evening–October 7)
Psalms 102 and 133 (Evening–October 8)
Psalms 1 and 33 (Evening–October 9)
Matthew 9:18-38 (October 7)
Matthew 10:1-23 (October 8)
Matthew 10:24-42 (October 9)
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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
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-ix-gods-wrath/
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Above: An Ax
Image Source = b.gliwa
2 Kings and Philippians, Part II: Conduct Worthy of the Gospel
SEPTEMBER 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:
2 Kings 6:1-23
Psalm 5 (Morning)
Psalms 84 and 29 (Evening)
Philippians 1:21-2:11
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Whatever happens, let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ….
–Philippians 1:27, Revised English Bible
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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
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/2-kings-and-philippians-part-ii-conduct-worthy-of-the-gospel/
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Above: Statue of Samson
Image in the Public Domain
Judges and Galatians, Part III: Gentiles and Fidelity
JULY 14-16, 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:
Judges 14:1-20 (July 14)
Judges 15:1-16:3 (July 15)
Judges 16:4-30 (July 16)
Psalm 103 (Morning–July 14)
Psalm 5 (Morning–July 15)
Psalm 42 (Morning–July 16)
Psalms 117 and 139 (Evening–July 14)
Psalms 84 and 29 (Evening–July 15)
Psalms 102 and 133 (Evening–July 16)
Galatians 3:1-22 (July 14)
Galatians 3:23-4:11 (July 15)
Galatians 4:12-31 (July 16)
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Samson boasted of his own strength, gave God no credit much of the time, and had bad taste in women. His first love pleased him. She was, according to the Alexandrian Greek text of Judges 14:1,
…the right one in his eyes.
She was also a Gentile.
The full view of Gentiles in the Hebrew Scriptures is not
Jews good, Gentiles bad.
Rahab the prostitute recognized Yahweh as God, so the Israelite forces spared her and her family. Later in the Bible, Ruth, a Moabite, became an ancestor of King David. Both women were, according to the beginning of Matthew 1, ancestors of Jesus. The reality that most Gentiles would continue in their traditions led to the command for Jews to choose life partners faithful to God.
The Law of Moses defined that fidelity for a long time. The Law, in Pauline theology, was like a house slave responsible for raising children. No matter how capable that disciplinarian was, the children outgrew their need for him or her. And Jesus, in whom there is no longer a distinction between Jew or Greek, has fulfilled the Law.
I do not pretend to understand all the implications of the previous statement, but that is fine. Reliance on knowledge for salvation is Gnosticism, a grave heresy. Rather, I accept readily the limits of my understanding and leave the details to God, who does grasp them.
I do know at least one thing, however: seeking companionship of various forms with people who are faithful to God remains crucial.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 7, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT VICTRICIUS OF ROUEN, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR AND ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIXTUS II, BISHOP OF ROME, AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF JOHN MASON NEALE, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERHOOD OF SAINT MARGARET
THE FEAST OF MARION HATCHETT, LITURGIST AND EPISCOPAL PRIEST
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/judges-and-galatians-part-iii-gentiles-and-fidelity/
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ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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