Archive for the ‘Psalm 91’ Tag
Above: Icon of Christ Pantocrator
Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Suffering and Spiritual Doltage
OCTOBER 20, 2024
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 53:10-12
Psalm 91:9-16
Hebrews 4:9-15
Mark 10:35-45
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Almighty and everlasting God,
in Christ you revealed your glory among the nations.
Preserve the works of your mercy,
that your Church throughout the world may persevere
with steadfast faith in the confession of your name;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 28
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Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us
that we may continually be given to good works;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 86
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In historical context, (Second) Isaiah 53:10-12 is about the Jews–a seemingly unimportant group of people–as they approached the conclusion of the Babylonian Exile. They had suffered greatly. Yet they, having survived, had suffered in such a way as to benefit exiles. Second Isaiah, writing circa 540 B.C.E., looked ahead about one year, to freedom, not five and a half centuries, to Jesus of Nazareth.
Suffering is also a theme in Psalm 91. Biblically, well-being is in God. So, suffering for the sake of righteousness does not preclude the maintenance of well-being.
Speaking of suffering and Jesus, we turn to the New Testament. The inappropriate request of Sts. James and John (sons of Zebedee and first cousins of Jesus) immediately follows Mark 10:32-34, a prediction of the Passion of Jesus. The other bookend is Mark 10:46-52, in which Jesus heals a blind man. The bookends comment upon the lection in Mark: Sts. James and John were blind to the Passion of Jesus and the cost of discipleship shortly prior to the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-11).
Yet Sts. James, John, and the other disciples did not have a monopoly on spiritual doltage. So, as we turn to ourselves and to the Epistle to the Hebrews, may we also turn to Jesus, the sinless high priest who empathizes with us. Are we as forgiving of our foibles and ourselves as Jesus is? Are we as forgiving of the foibles and sins of other people as Jesus is? And, returning to the theme of suffering, do we identify our suffering with that of Jesus, who identifies with us–as individuals, communities, and a species?
All these questions may present challenges. So be it. We need not face these challenges on our own strength. Indeed, we cannot do so.
Let us, then, approach the throne of grace with confidence to receive mercy and to find grace in time f need.
–Hebrews 4:16, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-FOURTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA; PATRIARCH; AND SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, PATRIARCH AND “FATHER OF ORTHODOXY”
THE FEAST OF CHARLES SILVESTER HORNE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH HASSE, GERMAN-BRITISH MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF ELIAS BOUDINOT, IV, U.S. STATESMAN, PHILANTHROPIST, AND WITNESS FOR CIVIL JUSTICE
THE FEAST OF JULIA BULKLEY CADY CORY, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Jeremiah
Image in the Public Domain
Human Agents of God
JULY 2, 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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Jeremiah 20:7-13
Psalm 69:1-20 (LBW) or Psalm 91 (LW)
Romans 5:12-15
Matthew 10:24-33
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O God our defender,
storms rage about us and cause us to be afraid.
Rescue your people from despair,
deliver your sons and daughters from fear,
and preserve us all from unbelief;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 25
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O Lord, whose gracious presence never fails to guide
and govern those whom you have nurtured
in your steadfast love and worship,
make us ever revere and adore your holy name;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 66
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Following God is frequently a guarantee that one will experience rejection, often from devout people. The Golden Rule exists in most of the world’s religions. Yet, O reader, practice the Golden Rule and notice how much criticism you receive from some adherents to some of these religions, including your own.
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.
Faith has the power to transform people. Religion often reinforces positive and negative tendencies people have. God or a deity frequently functions as a justification for what one wants to do anyway. People often create God in their image.
Jeremiah did not create God in his image. The Weeping Prophet struggled with God, complaining while obeying. The authors of the assigned texts from the Hebrew Bible wrote of divine protection. Divine protection kept Jeremiah alive yet did not prevent his involuntary exile in Egypt. And Jesus died horribly via crucifixion.
Martyrs populate Christian calendars of saints. This is consistent with various sayings of Jesus from the canonical Gospels. Commandments to deny oneself, take up one’s cross, and follow Jesus dovetail with Matthew 10:24:
No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master.
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Yet, in sovereignty, God makes unjust suffering work for a positive end. Persecutions and martyrdoms water the church. Redemption comes via the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Often, social injustice prompts a backlash in favor of social justice. The New Testament depicts the violent, oppressive Roman Empire as an involuntary tool of God. God works with what is available.
As much as I enjoy forces of evil functioning involuntarily as agents of God, I assert that being a voluntary agent of God is superior. I try to be one of these voluntary agents of God. To the extent I succeed, I do so by grace. May you, O reader, succeed by grace, in that effort, too.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 4, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CEFERINO JIMENEZ MALLA, SPANISH ROMANI MARTYR, 1936
THE FEAST OF ANGUS DUN, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF WASHINGTON, AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT BASIL MARTYSZ, POLISH ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945
THE FEAST OF SAINT JEAN-MARTIN MOYË, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MISSIONARY IN CHINA, AND FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE AND THE CHRISTIAN VIRGINS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN HOUGHTON, ROBERT LAWRENCE, AUGUSTINE WEBSTER, HUMPHREY MIDDLEMORE, WILLIAM EXMEW, AND SEBASTIAN NEWDIGATE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 1535
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: The Herodian Temple and the Antonia Fortress
Image in the Public Domain
How Long, O Lord?
OCTOBER 15 and 16, 2021
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The Collect:
Sovereign God, you turn your greatness into goodness for all the peoples on earth.
Shape us into willing servants of your kingdom,
and make us desire always and only your will,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 47:1-9 (Friday)
Isaiah 47:10-15 (Saturday)
Psalm 91:9-16 (Both Days)
Revelation 17:1-18 (Friday)
Luke 22:24-30 (Saturday)
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In the Life of Brian (1979), a brilliant spoof of organized religion and of old-school Biblical movies, but not of Jesus or the Bible, Jewish Palestinian rebels meet to discuss how little the Roman Empire has done for them. The partisans come up with a long list, however. The scene is funny, but it does not constitute a defense of imperialism. The fact is that imperialism can bring many benefits to the conquered and occupied populations, but a host of indignities and abuses accompanies the benefits. For all the roads, schools, bridges, and aqueducts, living under occupation comes with a psychological burden. This reality indicates that the main beneficiary of imperialism is the imperial power.
On a literal level Isaiah 47 condemns the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire and Revelation 17 does the same with regard to the Roman Empire. In a broader sense, however, they condemn all authorities based on violence, oppression, and hubris. Such authorities exist, as some always have at any given time. Names, locations, and ideological foundations change, but such tyranny has never ceased to exist since the dawn of human governments.
Our Lord and Savior rejected the standards of these authorities. They claim to be benefactors, he said, but they are not. Jesus went on to propose a different standard of greatness: service.
But he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them and are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
–Luke 22:25-27, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Psalm 91 seems too optimistic to me, for it speaks of the faithful finding deliverance (via God) from peril. This happens sometimes and has occurred often, of course, but many of the faithful have become martyrs instead. I think of the martyrs in Heaven in the Revelation of John asking “how long?” Nevertheless, I affirm that God provides justice for the faithful eventually and that all violent regimes collapse in time–frequently too late for my taste, however. That is an issue to take up with God faithfully, in the tradition of other Psalms and those martyrs from the Apocalypse of John.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 4, 2015 COMMON ERA
INDEPENDENCE DAY (U.S.A.)
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/07/04/how-long-o-lord/
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Above: Abraham and Melchizedek, by Dieric Bouts the Elder
Image in the Public Domain
Jews, Gentiles, and Gentiles’ Gentiles
OCTOBER 14, 2021
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The Collect:
Sovereign God, you turn your greatness into goodness for all the peoples on earth.
Shape us into willing servants of your kingdom,
and make us desire always and only your will,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 14:17-24
Psalm 91:9-16
Romans 15:7-13
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Because they have set their love upon me,
therefore will I deliver them;
I will lift them up, because they know my name.
They will call upon me, and I will answer them;
I am with them in trouble,
I will deliver them and bring them to honour.
–Psalm 91:14-15, Common Worship (2000)
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Who was Melchizedek? He was a mysterious figure, the King of Salem (Jerusalem) and a “priest of the Most High” (Genesis 14:18, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures). “The God Most High” might have been Yahweh; the text is ambiguous. So Melchizedek, to whom the victorious warrior and patriarch Abram (Abraham) paid a tithe might have belonged to a pagan cult. If so, the patriarch paid homage to a pagan deity. On the other hand, Melchizedek might have been a Gentile devotee of Yahweh. Sometimes one wishes that certain Biblical texts were unambiguous.
Interpreting “the God Most High” to mean Yahweh meshes well with Romans 15:7-13. St. Paul the Apostle, who quoted, in order, Psalm 18:49, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 117:1, and Isaiah 11:10 (all from the Septuagint; sometimes that translation contains some words crucial to his point and absent from other versions), argued that God calls both Jews and Gentiles. The Gospel is therefore inclusive.
Romans 15:7-13 brings up issues far beyond Jewish-Christian relations. During the time of St. Paul Christianity was a Jewish sect, albeit one open to Gentiles. Furthermore, the Apostle was always Jewish. He dealt with issues of identity, some of which went back to the time of Abraham. Would permitting uncircumcised Gentile men to convert to Christianity without first becoming Jews threaten Jewish identity? Many Jews (including Christians) thought so. Passages such as the pericope from Romans took on greater and different significance after the formal split of Christianity from Judaism during the Second Jewish War in 135 C.E.
Within Christianity the pericope remains significant. We, the Gentiles, have our own “Gentiles,” whom we define according to a variety of standards, including race, ethnicity, gender, language, culture, and physical capabilities. Labeling as outsiders those whom God calls insiders is sinful. It harms them and hinders the community of faith while making those who label narrowly feel good about themselves in the context of their imagined exclusive status. And most of us who call ourselves Christians have engaged in this unfortunate behavior or will do so, given sufficient time.
May God forgive us, help us to do better, and create a more inclusive community of faith, for the glory of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 3, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF HENRY THOMAS SMART, ENGLISH ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH FERRARD, ANGLICAN DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF IMMANUEL NITSCHMANN, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MINISTER AND MUSICIAN; HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, JACOB VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN MORAVIAN BISHOP, MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS SON, WILLIAM HENRY VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP; HIS BROTHER, CARL ANTON VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS DAUGHTER, LISETTE (LIZETTA) MARIA VAN VLECK MEINUNG; AND HER SISTER, AMELIA ADELAIDE VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF JOHN CENNICK, BRITISH MORAVIAN EVANGELIST AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/jews-gentiles-and-gentiles-gentiles/
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Above: Christ Pantocrator
Image in the Public Domain
Religious Identity
NOVEMBER 20, 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:
Daniel 1:1-21
Psalm 65 (Morning)
Psalms 125 and 91 (Evening)
Matthew 28:1-20
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Daniel 1 contains some historical inaccuracies and depicts Nebuchadnezzar (Nebuchadrezzar) II (reigned 605-562 BCE) in a more positive light at the end than one might expect at the beginning. These might prove to be difficulties for biblical literalists yet not for me.
The real meat, so to speak, of the chapters is kosher food laws. Keeping them constituted one way in which many exiled Jews maintained their identity. So this is a story about maintaining religious identity.
I wonder about the sense of identity of those who concocted a cover story for the Resurrection of Jesus. Who did they see when they saw a reflection? How dud they understand themselves when they were honest with themselves?
My religious identity is in Christ. In him I recognize the only one to follow to the end, whenever and however that will happen. In him I see victory over evil and death. In him I recognize atonement for sin. In him I see the Incarnation of God. In him I recognize ultimate wisdom. These matters are primary for me. The others (many of them still quite important) are secondary.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 4, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS CARACCIOLO, COFOUNDER OF THE MINOR CLERKS REGULAR
THE FEAST OF JOHN XXIII, BISHOP OF ROME
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/religious-identity/
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Above: The Right Reverend Robert C. Wright, Bishop of Atlanta, Participating in the Stations of the Cross, Atlanta, Georgia, Good Friday, March 29, 2013
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part XVI: Serving Others for God
OCTOBER 22 AND 23, 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 21:1-23 (October 22)
Deuteronomy 24:10-25:10 (October 23)
Psalm 54 (Morning–October 22)
Psalm 65 (Morning–October 23)
Psalms 28 and 99 (Evening–October 22)
Psalms 125 and 91 (Evening–October 23)
Matthew 16:1-12 (October 22)
Matthew 16:13-28 (October 23)
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Deuteronomy 21:1-23 and 24:10-25:10 contain the usual unpleasantness, such as when to stone people (see 21:18-21, for example, then contrast it with Luke 15:11-32, the Parable of the Prodigal Son) yet also many practical rules about helping the less fortunate and the vulnerable. Thus, for example, even female captives have rights, as do wives, and laborers of various national origins. Furthermore, childless widows can find security via levirate marriage. There was an ethic that all Israelites were slaves of God, so they each had obligations to his or her fellow human beings; therein resided the formula for a stable and just society.
Jesus, in Matthew 16, offered a model of service and self-sacrifice in contrast to the teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
In serving one another we find true freedom to become what we ought to be: those who recognize the image of God in each other and act accordingly. The details of how to that properly and effectively vary according to time and place, but the principle is everlasting and constant. So may each of us take up his or her cross and follow Jesus, who came to serve, not to be served.
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/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-xvi-serving-others-for-god/
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Above: Dives and Lazarus
God and the Marginalized
The Sunday Closest to September 28
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
SEPTEMBER 25, 2022
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 and Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
or
Amos 6:1a, 4-7 and Psalm 146
then
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31
The Collect:
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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/2011/03/25/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-nineteenth-sunday-after-pentecost/
Prayer of Confession:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/the-greater-our-greed-becomes/
Prayer of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-nineteenth-sunday-after-pentecost/
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There is hope in God.
- Then Prophet Jeremiah understood this when he purchased a field. Yes, the invaders were still going to arrive, the king was still going to become a captive, and the kingdom was still going to fall, but there was still hope in God.
- The other readings focus on the hope of the economically marginalized. The combination of great wealth and a dearth of sensitivity to human needs explains the lessons from Amos, Luke, and 1 Timothy. Indeed, such insensitivity leads not only to the destruction of the insensitive person but to that of others. Yet the poor man in the parable does receive his reward in the his afterlife while the heartless rich man suffers punishment after dying. Even the the rich man still does not care about the poor man.
The divine preference for the poor is part of the Bible. I suspect that one reason for this is that the poor are among the most easily noticed marginalized populations. Our Lord and Savior found much support among the marginalized and less among those who defined them as marginal. On that broad point I choose to found this blog post. Are we marginalized? Or are we among those who define others are marginal or consent passively to that reality? In other terms, do we care enough about others to draw the circle wider, thereby including those whom God includes already?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 19, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MURIN OF FAHAN, LASERIAN OF LEIGHLIN, GOBAN OF PICARDIE, FOILLAN OF FOSSES, AND ULTAN OF PERONNE, ABBOTTS; AND OF SAINTS FURSEY OF PERONNE AND BLITHARIUS OF SEGANNE, MONKS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALPHEGE OF CANTERBURY, ARCHBISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY OF THE INCARNATION, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON BARSABAE, BISHOP; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/god-and-the-marginalized/
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Above: Baptism of Christ, by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Image Source = James G. Howes
Original text : © by James G. Howes, July 26, 2007.
Malachi and Matthew, Part I: Proper Attitudes Toward God
SEPTEMBER 25, 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:
Malachi 1:1-14
Psalm 65 (Morning)
Psalms 125 and 91 (Evening)
Matthew 3:1-17
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We read of substandard, scornfully offered sacrifices at the Second Temple in Malachi 1. These anger God, who, speaking through a messenger, accuses people of degrading the table to the Lord with blind animals and other indications of misplaced priorities. I notice the Lamb of God (not called that in Matthew 3) in the Gospel lection and the deferential attitude of St. John the Baptist. His was a proper mindset.
I do not have Jesus standing in front of me or the Temple to visit in Jerusalem, but I do see people as I drive, walk, and look around. The Temple of God is within each of them and me, for all of us bear the image of God. Therefore how I think of other people and act toward them indicates my spiritual state. Those are forms of ritual sacrifice, in a way. Sometimes I offer unblemished animals. Yet I have offered blind ones too. And I do not always see Jesus in those around me. I do not always recognize the image of God in them.
There is grace, fortunately, so we can improve. May we want to do so and behave accordingly. Sometimes altering one’s actions changes one’s mind.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 17, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY EUPHRASIA PELLETIER, FOUNDER OF THE CONTEMPLATIVES OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
THE FEAST OF PARDITA MARY RAMABAI, SOCIAL REFORMER IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERT OF CHAISE DIEU, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/malachi-and-matthew-part-i-proper-attitudes-toward-god/
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Above: Yoked Oxen, 1860-1900
Image Source = Library of Congress
1 Kings and 2 Corinthians, Part V: Proper Companions
AUGUST 28, 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:
1 Kings 11:1-26
Psalm 65 (Morning)
Psalms 125 and 91 (Evening)
2 Corinthians 6:1-18
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Do not harness yourselves in an uneven team with unbelievers; how can uprightness and law-breaking be partners, or what can light and darkness have in common?
–2 Corinthians 6:14, The New Jerusalem Bible
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Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter–Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Phoenician, and Hittite women, from the nations of which the LORD had said to the Israelites, “None of you shall join them and none of them shall join you, lest they turn your heart away to follow their gods.” Such Solomon clung to and loved. He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned his heart away.
–1 Kings 11:1-3, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
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Those who study 2 Corinthians closely and honestly–critically, in the highest sense of that word–know that its arrangement is odd; someone or some people cut and pasted at least two epistles and perhaps former parts of 1 Corinthians. Indeed, 2 Corinthians 6:11-18 is a fine example of this practice, given what precedes and succeeds it. In fact, those verses fit neatly with 1 Corinthians 7. A plea for open hearts precedes and follows 2 Corinthians 6:11-18, so this passage seems especially out-of-place. This matter of cutting and pasting is a worthy matter of academic study of 2 Corinthians. But this is a devotional blog, not one focused on academic analysis. I mention this academic matter to indicate that I know of it and accept objective reality. Now I move along to my main point.
As I plan these devotions, I read the assigned texts and ask one question:
What theme unites these lections?
The answer today is foolish partnerships. Solomon’s kingdom, in one part of the narrative, of 1 Kings, began to crumble because of his faithlessness, which flowed partially from the influences of pagan, foreign women. (May we not ignore Solomon’s weaknesses.) The Hebrew Bible spoke elsewhere of foreign women in favorable terms. Ruth, for example, adopted the Hebrew religion and became an ancestor of David, Solomon, and Jesus. But Solomon’s women retained their ways and influenced him negatively. That was one type of uneven partnership mentioned in 2 Corinthians 6.
Now I will state something obvious: We human beings influence each other. We are role models. We will be role models. But will we be good or bad ones? Children influence each other in school. Coworkers influence each other in offices, et cetera. Sociologists know that there are some things people are more likely to do in a group context than alone. The pressure to conform can be very strong, especially at certain ages and upon people with certain personality types. Many of those who choose to resist these pressures risk bullying by insensitive conformists.
And, in the realm of romance (in which I have limited experience), people certainly influence each other. One of the key ingredients of a healthy relationship is shared values. I have paid close attention to relationship advice for long-term married people; they make that point.
We humans are social creatures; may we choose our companions well, so far as we have the power to decide.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 15, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PROXMIRE, UNITED STATES SENATOR
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/1-kings-and-2-corinthians-part-v-proper-companions/
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Above: David and Goliath, by Gustave Dore
Image in the Public Domain
1 Samuel and Acts, Part VII: The Triumph of Faith Over Physical Strength
JULY 31-AUGUST 2, 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:
1 Samuel 16:1-23 (July 31)
1 Samuel 17:1-19 (August 1)
1 Samuel 17:20-47 (August 2)
Psalm 65 (Morning–July 31)
Psalm 143 (Morning–August 1)
Psalm 86 (Morning–August 2)
Psalms 125 and 4 (Evening–July 31)
Psalms 81 and 116 (Evening–August 1)
Psalms 6 and 19 (Evening–August 2)
Acts 25:13-27 (July 31)
Acts 26:1-23 (August 1)
Acts 26:24-27:8 (August 2)
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I was small among my brothers,
and the youngest in my father’s house;
I tended my father’s sheep.
My hands made a harp;
my fingers fashioned a lyre.
And who will tell my Lord?
The Lord himself; it is he who hears.
It was he who sent his messenger
and took me from my father’s sheep,
and anointed me with his anointing oil.
My brothers were handsome and tall,
but the Lord was not pleased with them.
I went out to meet the Philistine,
and he cursed me by his idols.
But I drew my own sword;
I beheaded him, and took away
disgrace from the people of Israel.
–Psalm 151, New Revised Standard Version
Saul knows David at the end of 1 Samuel 16 yet has not met him at the beginning of Chapter 17. This is a major narrative discrepancy, evidence of the weaving together of different documents. That is a scholarly matter, and I like such things. But this is a devotional blog, so I focus my attentions in that direction.
A note on page 592 of The Jewish Study Bible (2004) begins
The story of David and Goliath demonstrates the triumph of faith over physical strength.
That excellent sentence provides a means for understanding not only 1 Samuel 17 but the life of St. Paul as a Christian. One man proved crucial to Christian and world history. The might of the Roman Empire, which executed him, proved powerless to quash Christianity.
As for St. Paul in Acts 25:13-26:32, he stood before Herod Agrippa II, the last of the Herodian Dynasty and a client ruler for the Roman Empire. Herod Agrippa II’s realm shifted according to Roman imperial decisions, but he did reign from 50 to 100 CE. He, considered a religious leader, appointed the High Priest yet carried on an incestuous relationship with Bernice, his sister. Yet this was the man who noted that St. Paul, if he had not appealed to the Emperor, could have gone free. Unfortunately, the Emperor was Nero.
Yet, as Psalm 125:3 (The New Jerusalem Bible) reads,
The sceptre of the wicked will not come to rest
over the heritage of the upright….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 5, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS OF ASIA
THE FEAST OF HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK, NORTHERN BAPTIST PASTOR
THE FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH, 1972
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/1-samuel-and-acts-part-vii-the-triumph-of-faith-over-physical-strength/
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ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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