Above:  Christ Pantocrator

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Faithful Servants of God, Part III

JUNE 11, 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 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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Ecclesiastes 7:1-4, 11-18 or Ezekiel 34:1-10

Psalm 9:1-10

Galatians 4:1-16

Matthew 5:38-48

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As Koheleth and Jesus tell us, the way of the world is that righteous people suffer, both the righteous and the wicked prosper, and God is in control.  The combination of those three statements might seem incongruous.  Throughout the Book of Psalms righteous people cry out to God for deliverance from oppression.  Often they are understandably angry, but Christ tells us to pray for our persecutors and to love our enemies.  Interestingly, nowhere does the Hebrew Bible command anyone to love one’s enemies, and, as we have read previously in this series of posts, God prospers that the wicked change their ways and find mercy.  Yet many of the wicked refuse to repent, so the divine deliverance of the oppressed becomes bad news for oppressors.

The call to radical love thunders off the pages of the Sermon on the Mount.  We are to trust in God, not ourselves, and be so loving as to seem foolish to many.  Such love breaks the cycle of anger, resentment, revenge, and violence.  We, as inheritors, by grace, and adopted members of the household of God, are free to do that, if we dare.

May we dare accordingly.  Then we, by grace, will be suited for our purpose, or, as Matthew 5:48 puts it, perfect.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 21, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, AND JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH, COMPOSERS

THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF FLÜE AND HIS GRANDSON, SAINT CONRAD SCHEUBER, SWISS HERMITS

THE FEAST OF SAINT SERAPION OF THMUIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON, ENGLISH MUSIC EDUCATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER

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Adapted from this post:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2018/03/21/devotion-for-the-seventh-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a-humes/

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Above:  Haman Begging the Mercy of Esther, by Rembrandt van Rijn

Image in the Public Domain

Esther VII:  Enemies

JULY 27, 2022

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The Collect:

Almighty and ever-living God, you are always more ready than we are to pray,

and you gladly give more than we either desire or deserve.

Pour upon us your abundant mercy.

Forgive us those things that weigh on our conscience,

and give us those good things that come only through your Son,

Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43

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The Assigned Readings:

Esther 7:7-8:17

Psalm 55:16-23

Matthew 5:43-48

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You, God, will thrust them down

to the abyss of destruction,

men bloodthirsty and deceptive,

before half their days are spent.

–Psalm 55:23, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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In Matthew 5:43-48, part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands his followers to love their enemies and to pray for their persecutors.  Those instructions contradict the psalm and the designated portion of the Book of Esther.

In the Book of Esther Haman meets his grisly end and King Ahasuerus grants permission to Mordecai and Queen Esther to revoked the first royal edict and order anything (in his name) they deem appropriate.  Ahasuerus remains a figure through whom others govern.  The monarch orders the execution of Haman and his sons and gives his property to Queen Esther.  She and Mordecai write the second royal edict (as contained in Chapter E, as The New American Bible labels it) in the name of Ahasuerus.  They authorize Jews living in the Persian Empire to attack their (the Jews’) enemies.  Mordecai receives special honors, and, throughout the empire, Jews rejoice and their enemies do not.

How much of this is justice and how much is revenge?  In the Law of Moses the penalty for perjury to convict someone falsely is symmetrical:

If the man who testified is a false witness, if he has testified falsely against his fellow, you shall do to him as he schemed to do to his fellow.  Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst; others will hear and be afraid, and such evil things will not again be done in your midst.  Nor must you show pity; life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

–Deuteronomy 19:18b-21, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Nevertheless, there is a difference between justice and revenge.  I grasp the punishment of Haman yet wonder about the bloodbath reported subsequently in the Book of Esther.    “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” leaves the world blind and toothless in time.

I, as a Christian, read the Bible through what the late Donald Armentrout called the “Gospel glasses.”  The four canonical Gospels contextualize the rest of the Bible for me.  The ethics of Jesus therefore override contradictory texts in my mind.  I am still working on loving my enemies as I understand the distinction between justice and revenge on one hand and revenge and a rescue operation on the other.  Some people will not cease from oppressing because others appeal to their consciences, which might not exist.  Nevertheless, is even necessary violence something to celebrate?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 17, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, BISHOP OF ARMAGH

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/17/esther-vii-enemies/

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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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Above: The Arch, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

Image Source = Josh Hallett

Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part III:  For the Benefit of Others

SEPTEMBER 30, 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 1:37-2:15

Psalm 62 (Morning)

Psalms 73 and 8 (Evening)

Matthew 6:1-15

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Jesus, in Matthew 6:1-15, sets the tone with the first verse:

Be careful not to parade your religion before others; if you do, no reward awaits you with your Father in heaven.

—The Revised English Bible

This does not mean that religion is or should be a purely private matter, for the truth remains that as one thinks, so one behaves.  The point pertains to motivation.

Aside:  Purely private religion is the opposite of theocracy, of which I am also very critical.  

Evangelicalism, as I have experienced it, is very extroverted.  I, on the other hand, am introverted.  So I have felt out of place around many Evangelicals  much of the time for this and other reasons, including rampant anti-intellectualism (not on my part) and discomfort (also not on my part) with the number and nature of theological questions I am fond of asking and exploring.  I am an Episcopalian, so I like to ask questions.  And I, as an introvert, am especially loathe to wear my religion on my sleeve, but am obviously not reluctant to be openly religious in public.  I do prefer, however, to be so in a generally quiet manner.  And I will not knock on doors as part of an effort to convert others, for I dislike it when others knock on my door for that purpose.  Besides, many people whom I have encountered do not know how to take “no” for an answer; their bad manners offend me.  (Certain Mormons have been especially guilty of such rudeness at my front door.)  That which I do not like others to do to me I try not to do them.  How is that for attempting to live according to the Golden Rule?

One problem of which we read in Deuteronomy 1:37-2:15 is flouting the commandments of God.  There was no public-private distinction in this case, for the the flouting was both public and private.

Doing good deeds in secret, for the benefit of another or others, not for one’s own glory, is righteous and selfless.  It is pure, or at least as close to pure as a human act of kindness can be.  Being sincere before God and not showing off one’s religiosity is honest.  And it does not constitute flouting the commandments of God.

I choose to write about one more aspect of the Matthew lection.  One command of God I have experienced great difficulty in not flouting is forgiving certain people.  It is easy to forgive some yet not others.  But my mandate is is not to make such distinctions.  This struggle continues for me, but spiritual progress has occurred, by grace.  I detect much room for further progress, but I take this opportunity to rejoice in that spiritual progress which has taken place.

It can be difficult to forgive those who have harmed us.  I have my own list of such people; it includes a small group of professors at the Department of History of The University of Georgia.  Their deeds were perfidious; I will not claim otherwise and nothing can change the reality of their perfidy.  But they have only as much power over me now, years after the fact, as I grant them.  And I grant them none.  I refuse to carry grudges against them, for the burdens have proved too heavy for me to shoulder.  I do hope and pray that these professors have, for their sake and those of others, abandoned their perfidious ways.  If they have not done so, that is a matter for God and others to address; my own issues fill my time.

As I think so I am.  As I think, so I behave.  As you think, O reader, so you are and behave.  May we, by grace, be and behave as God approves, for the benefit of others.

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-iii-for-the-benefit-of-others/

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https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/uga-and-me/

Above: Design Drawing for Stained-Glass Window Showing the Sermon on the Mount

From J. & R. Lamb Studios, 1857-1999

Image Source = Library of Congress

Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part II:  Acting Confidently in God

SEPTEMBER 29, 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 1:19-36

Psalm 110 (Morning)

Psalms 66 and 23 (Evening)

Matthew 5:21-48

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But in truth God has heart me;

he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

–Psalm 66:17, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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Psalm 66:17 reflects confidence in God.  Yet Moses, speaking in Deuteronomy 1:19-36, notes instances of a lack of confidence in God.  The TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures translation refers to sulking and complaining, in fact.  These are not the responses of confident people.  No, they indicate fear.

Matthew 5:21-48, using culturally specific examples, encourages confident (in God) responses to others.  We can forgive others and not seek vengeance, for example, when he have confidence in God.  We can love our enemies when we leave divine justice to God, knowing that God might forgive, not avenge.  And we can treat others fairly and with their best interests in mind when we are confident of God’s provision for us.

When we act out of fear we are more likely to sin against God and each other, to behave cruelly or at least apathetically.  Then we harm ourselves also.  Then we injure the image of God not only in others but in ourselves.  And that is wrong.

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-ii-acting-confidently-in-god/

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Above:  Men Working in a Salt Mine, Circa 1893

A Photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864-1952)

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-USZC4-5217

Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part I:  Salt and Light

SEPTEMBER 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:

Deuteronomy 1:1-18

Psalm 122 (Morning)

Psalms 141 and 90 (Evening)

Matthew 5:1-20

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With this post I begin a series of reflections based on the juxtaposition of Deuteronomy and the Gospel of Matthew–thirty-five days–through November 1.  This seems to be an appropriate pairing, for the Gospel of Matthew is quite Jewish in character.  I wonder what insights will flow from the Deuteronomy-Matthew juxtaposition.

Today little happens in the assigned portion of Deuteronomy.  Moses sets the stage in his address, speaking of sharing authority so that the burden of leadership will be bearable.

The link between that lection and the one from the New Testament becomes clear from a close reading of Matthew 5:1-20.  There we find the Beatitudes and a teaching about being salt and light in the world.  Indeed, those who live the Beatitudes are salt and light in the world.  And the Hebrews from the time of Moses were supposed to be that also.  Yet, too often, many of them were the opposite.  The Law of Moses was a culturally specific set of guidelines of how to be salt and light.  It was an imperfect set of guidelines, for it was sexist and condoned slavery, but it was a beginning.  And it was the law code which Jesus came to fulfill (in general principles) and to affirm, not to destroy.

My cultural context differs greatly from that of both Jesus and the Law of Moses, but timeless principles continue to apply in a variety of settings.  The most basic such principle is that all of us belong to God, so we ought to think of and behave toward each other with empathy.  Yes, the Law of Moses acknowledged the existence of slavery, but it did place restrictions on that practice.  That was at least a beginning.  And I propose that a combination of scarce resources for the community and a heightened (relative to that in the United States of America in 2013) sense of what constituted grave offenses (in the light of belonging to God) accounted for so many capital crimes.  But the Law of Moses also required many humane measures to aid the poor and prevent others from falling into poverty.  The Law of Moses remains relevant (in a way), even though Christ has fulfilled it.  This explains why I ponder its principles while wearing a polyester shirt and eating a pork chop yet not experiencing cognitive dissonance.

The proposition that we belong to God,  not to ourselves, remains true.  So a person who annoys me greatly also belongs to God.  My worst enemy also belongs to God.  My best friend also belongs to God.  And I have the same obligation toward them that they have toward me:  to love them actively as bearers of the image of God.  That proves difficult much of the time, but such a reality does not constitute an excuse for me not to try.

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/2013/05/28/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-i-salt-and-light/

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