Archive for the ‘Richard Elliott Friedman’ Tag
Above: Female Symbol
Image in the Public Domain
Dignity
OCTOBER 6, 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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Genesis 2:18-24
Psalm 128 (LBW) or Psalm 119:49-56 (LW)
Hebrews 2:9-11 (12-18)
Mark 10:2-16
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Our Lord Jesus, you have endured
the doubts and foolish questions of every generation.
Forgive us for trying to be judge over you,
and grant us the confident faith to acknowledge you as Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 28
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O God, whose almighty power is made known chiefly
in showing mercy and pity,
grant us the fullness of your grace
that we may be partakers of your heavenly treasures;
through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 84
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For me to write about wives may seem or be ironic, for I have never married. I have, however, had a girlfriend, whom I loved dearly and struggled to keep alive for a decade, until her suicide. So, some of the material for this Sunday rings true for me in tangible ways.
Richard Elliott Friedman, in his Commentary on the Torah (2001), refers to Eve not as a helper for Adam but as
a strength corresponding to him.
Friedman notes that the Hebrew root ezer can mean both “helper” and “strength.” Then he continues to justify his translation choice by citing Genesis 1 (both males and females bear the image of God) and Genesis 2 (males and females are corresponding strengths).
Psalm 128 is not palatable to modern, egalitarian sensibilities, such as mine:
Your wife is like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your house,
your children like young olive trees
around your table.
Look, it is thus
that the man is blessed who fears the LORD.
–Verses 3-4, Robert Alter
In Psalm 128, a pious wife stays home and bears and raises children.
The teachings of Jesus about marriage, divorce, remarriage, and children came in a cultural context. Some wealthy people used divorce and remarriage to increase their wealth and land holdings at the expense of others. And women and children were vulnerable members of their patriarchal society. Jesus affirmed the value and dignity of women, children, and the home.
Jesus also affirmed human dignity via the Incarnation:
It was essential that he should in this way be made completely like his brothers so that he could become a compassionate and trustworthy high priest for their relationship to God, able to expiate the sins of the people.
–Hebrews 2:16, The New Jerusalem Bible
“Expiate” is not a household word. It means:
An atoning sacrifice which obliterates sin from God’s sight and so restores to holiness and the divine favor.
–Raymond Abba, in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, E-J (1962), 200
Such love requires of us who benefit from us who benefit from it that we love God. This faithful response manifests in how we treat each other.
So, how do we treat each other? Do we habitually affirm the dignity of people, especially those who differ from us? How do we think about matters of the equality of races, genders, et cetera? Do we recognize the image of God in all people? If so, how does that affect our attitudes and actions toward them? Or do we persist in harboring hateful prejudices, acting on them, and perhaps citing religion as a justification?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 27, 2024 COMMON ERA
THE NINETEENTH DAY OF EASTER
THE FEAST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY; AND HIS SON, WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ALBANY; HYMN WRITERS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTONY AND THEODOSIUS OF KIEV, FOUNDERS OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MONASTICISM; AND SAINT STEPHEN OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET AND RELIGIOUS WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF MAASTRICT, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND SAINTS OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZITA OF TUSCANY, WORKER OF CHARITY
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: The Stoning of Saint Stephen, by Rembrandt Van Rijn
Image in the Public Domain
Wickedness
JULY 24, 2022
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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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Genesis 6:1-8 or Acts 22:1-22
Psalm 125
Revelation 2:12-17
John 6:41-59
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The Humes lectionary divides Genesis 6 across two Sundays: Today’s portion of Genesis 6 includes the debut of the Nephilim in the Bible. This is an example of pagan folklore adapted for scriptural purposes. And Richard Elliott Friedman, in his Commentary on the Torah (2001), describes stories of the Nephilim as being elements of a larger story
widely separated, distributed across great stretches of the narrative.
–33
According to Dr. Friedman, Genesis 6:1-5 links to Numbers 13:33, Joshua 11:21-22, and 1 Samuel 17:4. Dr. Friedman describes Goliath of Gath as the last of the Nephilim, the final one to go down to defeat.
The big idea in Genesis 6:1-8 is the increasing wickedness of the human race. “Wicked” and “wickedness” are words many use casually, with little or not thought about what they mean. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (1973) offers various definitions of “wicked.” The most helpful one, in this context is:
evil or morally bad in principle or in practice; sinful; vicious; iniquitous.
In Jewish theology, wickedness (or one form of it) flows from the conviction that God does not care what we do, therefore we mere mortals are on our own. The dictionary’s definition of wickedness as being evil in principle or practice is helpful and accurate. Moustache-twirling villains exist in greater numbers in cartoons than in real life. Most people who commit wickedness do not think of themselves as being wicked or or having committed wickedness. Many of them think they have performed necessary yet dirty work, at worst. And many others imagine that they are doing or have done God’s work.
One may point to Saul of Tarsus, who had the blood of Christians on his hands before he became St. Paul the Apostle. One lesson to take away from St. Paul’s story is that the wicked are not beyond repentance and redemption.
On a prosaic level, each of us needs to watch his or her life for creeping wickedness. One can be conventionally pious and orthodox yet be wicked. One can affirm that God cares about how we treat others and be wicked. One can sin while imagining that one is acting righteously.
Unfortunately, some of the references in Revelation 2:12-17 are vague. Time has consumed details of the Nicolaitian heresy, for example. And the text does not go into detail regarding what some members of the church at Pergamum were doing. According to Ernest Lee Stoffel, The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), the offense was probably a perceived license to sin, predicated on salvation by grace–cheap grace, in other words. Grace is cheap yet never cheap.
Moral compartmentalization is an ancient and contemporary spiritual ailment. The challenge to be holy on Sunday and on Monday remains a topic on the minds of many pastors. Related to this matter is another one: the frequent disconnect between private morality and public morality. Without creating or maintaining a theocracy, people can apply their ethics and morals in public life. The main caveat is that some methods of application may not work, may be of limited effectiveness, and/or may have negative, unintended consequences. I feel confident, O reader, in stating that the idealistic aspects of the movement that gave birth to Prohibition in the United States of America did not not include aiding and abetting organized crime. But they had that effect.
By grace, may we seek to avoid wickedness and succeed in avoiding it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 16, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERTO DE NOBOLI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BERARD AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS IN MOROCCO, 1220
THE FEAST OF EDMUND HAMILTON SEARS, U.S. UNITARIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF GUSTAVE WEIGEL, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF RICHARD MEUX BENSON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND COFOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST; CHARLES CHAPMAN GRAFTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, COFOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST, AND BISHOP OF FOND DU LAC; AND CHARLES GORE, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF WORCESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND OXFORD; FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE RESURRECTION; AND ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND WORLD PEACE
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/16/wickedness/
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Above: Effects of Acid Rain on a Forest in the Czech Republic, 2006
Photographer = Lovecz
The Sins of the Fathers
OCTOBER 6, 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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Exodus 34:1-10 or 1 Kings 22:29-43
Psalm 62:1-8, 11-12
Hebrews 5:12-6:12
Mark 9:30-37
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The key mark of discipleship is servanthood.
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Some themes recur in the readings for this week:
- God is faithful.
- Trust in God.
- Do not commit apostasy.
- People reap what they sow.
- Christ is the exemplar of the type of service that defines greatness.
Exodus 34:7 requires unpacking. The principle that God punishes or forgives members of subsequent generations based on the sins of an ancestor exists also in 1 Kings 21:29, Nehemiah 9:17, Deuteronomy 5:9, Numbers 14:18, Psalm 103:8, Joel 2:13, and Jonah 4:2. Yet we read the opposite view–individual moral responsibility–in Ezekiel 18 and Jeremiah 31:29-30. The Bible contradicts itself sometimes.
The best explanation for the opinion we read in Exodus 34:7 comes from Professor Richard Elliot Friedman: effects of one’s actions are apparent generations later. I recognize ways in which actions of two of my paternal great-grandfathers influence me indirectly. This is one example of something, that, from a certain point of view, looks like intergenerational punishment and reward by God.
The decisions of others influence us. Some of them even restrict our options. We may suffer because of the decisions of those who have preceded us; we may suffer because of their sins. This is the way of the world. Yet we are morally responsible for ourselves and each other, not those who have died. No, they are responsible for their sins, just as we are responsible for ours.
May we–individually and collectively–refrain from visiting the consequences of our sins on those who will succeed us. We owe them that much, do we not?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 25, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES BAR-ZEBEDEE, APOSTLE AND MARTYR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/the-sins-of-the-fathers-part-ii/
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Above: Absalom Conspires Against David
Image in the Public Domain
Prelude to the Passion, Part IV
SEPTEMBER 10, 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:
Exodus 28:15-30 or 2 Samuel 15:30-37; 16:15-19, 23; 17:1-23 or 2 Chronicles 30:1-27
Psalm 141
John 11:(45) 46-57
1 Corinthians 16:1-24
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The tone of the readings, taken together, darkens. However, the lesson from 1 Corinthians, part of the continuous reading of that epistle, stands apart from the other readings. Exodus 28:15-30, a description of Aaron’s priestly vestments, makes sense in the context of 28:2, which specifies that the purpose of vestments is “for glory and beauty,” as Richard Elliott Friedman translates in Commentary on the Torah (2001). As Dr. Friedman writes:
Beauty inspires. Building beautiful places for the practice of religion is a valuable thing. Of course this does not mean building great edifices at the expense of the starving masses, nor does it mean focusing on the outer trappings and missing the content and spirit that they serve. There must be balance–wisdom. But we must recognize the value of art and beauty: the building, the priests’ clothing, the music, the smells, the tastes. Religion is not the enemy of the senses.
–Page 266
At least religion should not be the enemy of the senses. I have had some unfortunate discussions with Southern Baptists who have disagreed with Dr. Friedman and me.
Part of the beauty of ritual played out at the Temple at Jerusalem during Passover each year. Passover was the annual celebration of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. At the time of Jesus this commemoration took place under the observant eyes of agents of the occupying Roman Empire, with Temple officials in cohorts with the Romans. Something was out of balance.
The desperate tone of Psalm 141 fits the Passion narrative well. It also suits the plight of King David, on the run from Absalom, his son. David won that conflict and mourned his son, who died when his hair became caught in a tree. Absalom was not innocent, but Jesus was.
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-iv/
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©Photo. R.M.N. / R.-G. Ojda
Above: The Exorcism
Image in the Public Domain
Faithfulness and Faithlessness
JUNE 3, 2018
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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:
Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27 or Isaiah 5:8-17
Psalm 142
Matthew 17:9-20 or Mark 9:9-29 or Luke 9:18-27 (28-36) 37-45
Philippians 2:14-30
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A typically Jewish way of speaking and writing about God is to recall what God has done. After all, God is like what God has done. Furthermore, we are like what we have done, although we are far more than the worst deeds we have committed. The relevant issue is the pattern of what we have done and of what we are doing. Repentance is possible, after all, and the past is not necessarily accurate in predicting the future.
Consider with me, O reader, the assigned readings for this Sunday. The two options for the First Reading proclaim divine judgment upon the faithless, for whom God has done much. The faithless should know better. Perhaps they do know better, but they are not acting as if they do. The lection from Isaiah 5 follows the famous passage likening rebellious Israel to a well-tended vineyard that yields wild grapes. God will judge that vineyard, we read. Likewise, we read of faithless Israel in Deuteronomy. If Richard Elliott Friedman is correct, lurking in the background of the text is a condemnation of polytheism. God is, after all, insistent upon monotheism in the Hebrew Bible. If Dr. Friedman is correct, faithlessness to YHWH entails turning to supposedly subordinate deities, members of the divine council–a concept Hebrew prophets opposed vigorously.
In contrast to those lections we read Psalm 142, the lament of a dying man whom other mortals have abandoned. This man, contemplating the imminent unknown, turns to God alone. One may assume safely that God is faithful to those who demonstrate fidelity.
The passage from Philippians belongs to a section of that epistle in which one finds advice regarding how to live faithfully in community. People are to think about each other and model their lives after Jesus, whose humility and selflessness is certainly challenging to emulate. In this context the customary verses about people with polysyllabic names take on more importance than they might otherwise; these verses model the attitudes and behaviors the preceding verses extol. People are like what they do.
The three options for the Gospel reading are parallel versions of the same story, set immediately after the Transfiguration of Jesus. One might fixate on the typically Hellenistic diagnosis of epilepsy as demonic possession, but to do so would be to miss the point. In the narrative the Apostles have just learned of Christ’s true identity in all of its glory, yet they have not grasped this revelation, and were therefore ineffective. The lesson for we who read these stories thousands of years later is to ponder whether we grasp who Jesus is and whether we are as effective as we can be in our discipleship.
Our challenge in this regard is to render proper thanksgiving to God in our lives. We can do this only be grace, of course, but our desire to pursue this course of action is also essential. Obstacles include laziness, fear, selfishness, cultural conditioning, the pressure to conform, and simple obliviousness. If we are to grow into our full spiritual stature, however, we must seek to follow and honor God and to trust in divine grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 16, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTIETH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF GUSTAF AULEN, SWEDISH LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT FILIP SIPHONG ONPHITHAKT, ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR IN THAILAND
THE FEAST OF MAUDE DOMINICA PETRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MODERNIST THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF RALPH ADAMS CRAM AND RICHARD UPJOHN, ARCHITECTS; AND JOHN LAFARGE, SR., PAINTER AND STAINED GLASS MAKER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/faithfulness-and-faithlessness/
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Above: Christ and His Apostles, 1890
Image in the Public Domain
Doing the Right Thing
JUNE 12-14, 2023
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The Collect:
O God, you are the source of life and the ground of our being.
By the power of your Spirit bring healing to this wounded world,
and raise us to the new life of your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 38
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The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 15:25-31; 22:1-19 (Monday)
Hosea 8:11-14; 10:1-2 (Tuesday)
Hosea 14:1-9 (Wednesday)
Psalm 40:1-8 (All Days)
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:2 (Monday)
Hebrews 13:1-16 (Tuesday)
Matthew 12:1-8 (Wednesday)
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Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
who does not turn to the proud that follow a lie.
–Psalm 40:4, Common Worship (2000)
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Turning is of the essence.
The Kingdom of Israel was prosperous and militarily strong under King Jeroboam II. Yet all was far from well. Idolatry and economic exploitation were commonplace and the alliance with Assyria was dangerous. God, through the prophet Hosea, called the populaton to repent—to change their minds, to turn around. They did not do this, of course, and fearful consequences came to pass. Yet there was also the assurance of forgiveness.
Other assigned radings also concern unwise associations and those perceived to be thus. The lesson from Leviticus 15 demonstrates the antipathy of the Law of Moses toward female biology—in the context of ritual impurity. There were many causes of ritual impurity in that law code. Touching a corpse, coming into contact with a bodily emissions, et cetera, rendered one impure and therefore unfit to fulfill various holy functions. Not doing certain acts just so also resulted in ritual impurity, something contagious. As Jewish Bible scholar Richard Elliott Friedman wrote regarding Leviticus 15:23:
…This tells us something about the nature of impurity. It spreads throughout a person or object. And it is not any kind of creature, like bacteria. It is a pervasive condition.
—Commentary on the Torah (2001), page 365
The fear of bad influences present in Hosea and Leviticus exists also in the New Testament readings. Indeed, we ought to care deeply about the nature of our peer groups and our intimate partners, for they do influence us. But we should never forget that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, scandalized respectable people by associationg with marginalized and disreputable people. The sick need a doctor, he said. If we who call ourselves Christians mean what our label indicates, how many respectable people will we offend and scandalize?
We ought also to avoid using piety (such as keeping the Sabbath in Matthew 12:1-8) as an excuse for missing the point. Human needs mater. Sometimes they prove incompatible with a form of piety which only those of a certain socio-economic status can afford to keep. And we should never use piety as an excuse not to commit a good deed, as one character in the Parable of the Good Samaritan did. If the man lying by the side of the raod had been dead, the priest would have become ritually impure by touching him. Then the cleric would have been unfit to conduct certain rites. Human needs matter more, or at least they should.
May we repent of using any excuse for not doing the right thing. May our active love for each other spread like a contagion—a good one.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 14, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS MAKEMIE, FATHER OF U.S. PRESBYTERIANISM
THE FEAST OF EDWARD HENRY BICKERSTETH, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF EXETER
THE FEAST OF JOHN ROBERTS/IEUAN GWYLLT, FOUNDER OF WELSH SINGING FESTIVALS
THE FEAST OF NGAKUKU, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/doing-the-right-thing/
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Above: Christ Pantocrator
Image in the Public Domain
Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part VII: Loyalty and Discipleship
OCTOBER 5, 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 5:1-21
Psalm 61 (Morning)
Psalms 138 and 98 (Evening)
Matthew 8:18-34
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I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods will I sing praise to you.
I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name,
because of your love and faithfulness;
for you have glorified your name and your word above all things.
In the day I called to you, you answered me;
you put new strength in my soul.
–Psalm 138:1-3 (The Book of Common Prayer, 2004)
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I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart:
before the gods I will sing your praises.
I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks because of your love and faithfulness:
for you have exalted your name and your word above all things.
On the day I called, you answered me:
and put new strength within me.
–Psalm 138:1-3 (A New Zealand Prayer Book, 1989)
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You shall not have other gods before my face.
–Deuteronomy 5:7 (Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah)
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Scholars of the Hebrew Scriptures argue whether Deuteronomy 5:7 and its counterpart, Exodus 20:3, are monotheistic statements. Does the command mean to worship only YHWH yet to acknowledge the existence of other deities? Or does it mean that one should worship only YHWH because there is only YHWH? In other words, is it monotheistic (as Richard Elliott Friedman insists) or monolatric (as The Jewish Study Bible and The New Interpreter’s Study Bible argue). The Bible is an anthology of texts from various periods and perspectives, so if it did indicated monolatry (my historical position) could it not mean monotheism now? The widespread practice of monotheism did come relatively late (about 25,000 years ago) to the Hebrew people. The theology existed long before that, of course, but the widespread practice, as the texts of the Hebrew Bible attest, came fairly late.
Psalm 138 seems to be the work of an Israelite (perhaps King David) present where people worship heathen deities. He affirms his loyalty to YHWH.
Jesus, in Matthew 8:18-34, performs mighty acts and demands total loyalty. He did have a house at Capernaum, but frequently lacked a place to lay his head; he did travel often.
There is only one deity, the one I know as God, YHWH, Adonai, etc. Human theology on that topic has changed yet the reality has remained constant. And Christian discipleship is following Jesus, not just affirming his ethics. The demand from YHWH in Deuteronomy 5 and from Jesus in Matthew 8 is the same: follow me. That is a call to do something active. May we obey it. And, if we have begun to do so, may we remain on that spiritual path.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 1, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-vii-loyalty-and-discipleship/
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Above: Jesus Cleansing a Leper, by Jean-Marie Melchior Doze
Image in the Public Domain
Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part VI: Restoration to Wholeness
OCTOBER 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:
Deuteronomy 4:21-40
Psalm 85 (Morning)
Psalms 25 and 40 (Evening)
Matthew 8:1-17
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Lord, you were gracious to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the offence of your people
and covered their sins.
You laid aside all your fury
and turned from your wrathful indignation.
–Psalm 85:1-3 (The Book of Common Prayer, 2004)
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Lord, you were once gracious to your land:
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the offence of your people:
and covered all their sin.
You put away all your displeasure:
and turned from your bitter wrath.
–Psalm 85:1-3 (A New Zealand Prayer Book, 1989)
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For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, an impassioned God.
–Deuteronomy 4:24 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures)
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Deuteronomy 4:21-40 continues in the judgment-mercy balance vein of which I wrote in the previous post. I see no need to write any more of that matter here.
As much as Deuteronomy 4:24 emphasizes what Richard Elliott Friedman calls the
harsh, frightening side of God
—Commentary on the Torah, HarperCollins, 2001, page 577,
Matthew 8:1-17 focuses on the gentle, healing side of God. Jesus heals a leper, a centurion’s servant, St. Peter’s mother-in-law, and many people with problems described at the time as demonic possession. (Modern diagnoses would be mostly psychiatric and medication would follow.) Jesus restored them to wholeness physically and/or psychiatrically plus socially.
May we, so far as we are able, function as agents of divine grace in the restoration of people to themselves, their friends, their relatives, and their society.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 1, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-vi-restoration-to-wholeness/
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Above: Moses Views the Holy Land, by Frederic Leighton
Image in the Public Domain
Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part V: Hearing and Doing, Judgment and Mercy
OCTOBER 2 AND 3, 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 3:1-29 (October 2)
Deuteronomy 4:1-20 (October 3)
Psalm 96 (Morning–October 2)
Psalm 116 (Morning–October 3)
Psalms 132 and 134 (Evening–October 2)
Psalms 26 and 130 (Evening–October 3)
Matthew 7:1-12 (October 2)
Matthew 7:13-29 (October 3)
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If you, Lord, were to mark what is done amiss,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you shall be feared.
–Psalm 130:2-3 (The Book of Common Prayer, 2004)
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If you should keep account of what is done amiss:
who then, O Lord, could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you:
therefore you shall be revered.
–Psalm 130:3-4 (A New Zealand Prayer Book, 1989)
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But the LORD was wrathful with me on your account and would not listen to me. The LORD said to me, “Enough! Never speak to Me of this matter again!….
–Deuteronomy 3:26 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures)
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Deuteronomy 3-4 functions well as one unit, as does Matthew 7. Lectonaries are wonderful, helpful guides to reading the Bible intelligently, but sometimes they become too choppy. They work well because one of the best ways to read one part of the Bible is in the context of other portions thereof, thereby reducing the risk of prooftexting.
There is much to cover, so let us begin.
I start with the violence–er, genocide–in Deuteronomy 3. I notice the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12 also. Genocide is, of course, inconsistent with doing to others that which one wants done to one’s self. So I side with the Golden Rule over genocide.
The main idea which unites Deuteronomy 3-4 with Matthew 7 is the balance between divine judgment and divine mercy. In simple terms, there is much mercy with God, but justice requires a judgment sometimes. Mercy exists in Matthew 7:7-11 yet judgment takes central stage in 7:24-27. And divine judgment is prominent in Deuteronomy 3:23-28 and chapter 4, mixed in with mercy.
One tradition within the Torah is that the sin which kept Moses out of the Promised Land was a lack of trust in God, for the leader had struck a rock twice–not once–to make water flow from it. He had drawn attention and glory away from God in the process back in Numbers 20:6-12. A faithless and quarrelsome generation had died in the wilderness. Yet their children inherited the Promised Land. Judgment and mercy coexisted.
Richard Elliott Friedman’s Commentary on the Torah informs me of textual parallels and puns. For example, Moses imploring God for mercy is like Joseph’s brothers imploring the Vizier of Egypt for the same in Genesis 42. And the Hebrew root for “Joseph” is also the root for the divine instruction to stop speaking to God about entering the Promised Land. God is cross at Moses for asking to cross the River Jordan–the only time that a certain Hebrew word for anger occurs in the Torah. That word becomes evident in Friedman’s translation of Deuteronomy 3:25-26 and 27b:
“Let me cross and see the good land that’s across the Jordan, this good hill country and the Lebanon.” But YHWH was cross at me for your sakes and He would not listen to me. “Don’t go on speaking to me anymore of this thing…..you won’t cross this Jordan.”
The TANAKH rendering is more stately, but Friedman’s translation does bring out the double entendres nicely.
I do not even pretend to understand how divine judgment and mercy work. Both, I think, are part of divine justice. I, as a matter of daily practice, try not to pronounce divine judgment o others, for that is God’s task. So I try to extend the assumption of mercy toward them with regard to this life and the next one, so as to avoid the sin of hypocrisy mentioned in Matthew 7:1-5 and to work toward living according t the Golden Rule more often. For, as I think so I do. As William Barclay wrote in his analysis of Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus demands hearing and doing (The Gospel of Matthew, Revised Edition, Volume 1, Westminster Press, 1975, pages 291-292). That is the same requirement of the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 4.
Hearing and doing the commandments of God is difficult. May we succeed by a combination of divine grace and human free will. And, when we err, may we do so on the side of kindness, not cruelty, anger, and resentment. May we leave the judgment to God. I would rather err in forgiving the unforgivable than in being improperly wrathful.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 1, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-v-hearing-and-doing-judgment-and-mercy/
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Above: The Front of the U.S. $100 Bill
Image in the Public Domain
Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part IV: God, Mammon, and Killing
OCTOBER 1, 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 2:16-37
Psalm 13 (Morning)
Psalms 36 and 5 (Evening)
Matthew 6:16-34
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How priceless is your love, O God!
Your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
–Psalm 36:7, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Deuteronomy 2:16-37 seemed dull until I arrived at the end of that lection and found a reference to the supposedly divine-sanctioned killing of all men, women, and children and the complete destruction of property in war. The Richard Elliott Friedman Commentary of the Torah (2001) informed me that
In contexts that do not have to do with war, the Hebrew word herem refers to something that is devoted to God (Lev. 27:21, 28-29; Num. 18:14). In contexts of war, as in this verse, herem refers to the rule, in divinely commanded wars only, against taking spoils or slaves, but rather destroying all of these and thus dedicating them to the deity. Then point: the war is not for profit.
–page 569
That did not cause me to feel better or to think kindly about the text.
Yet the not-for-profit theme fits well with Matthew 6:16-34. Fasting should not be for the purpose of amassing social capital. One should value God more than wealth, can be a tool for good, bad, and neutral purposes. As 6:21 (The Revised English Bible) tells us,
For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.
William Barclay wrote succinctly and correctly,
…wealth is always a subordinate good.
—The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 (Chapters 1-10), Revised Edition (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1975, page 252)
But it can become an idol. Anything can become an idol if one treats it accordingly.
One of the great principles of the Law of Moses is that everything belongs to God; we are merely stewards. Yes, there is value in not becoming a moral hazard or an unnecessary burden upon others if possible. That is one reason for purchasing various forms of insurance policies. But a proper spiritual perspective on wealth and all that it can buy is that they belong to God. Lasting profit is spiritual, for we cannot take our money and our possessions to the afterlife. How effectively have we cared for others collectively and individually? (To set one against the other is to create a false dichotomy.)
To bring this post back full circle, I propose that killing people then claiming to have dedicated to God is unacceptable at all times and places, Deuteronomy 2 not withstanding. The Golden Rule overrides that understanding of herem. And conducting a massacre is neither for one’s spiritual profit nor the benefit of the massacred.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-iv-god-mammon-and-killing/
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ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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