Archive for the ‘St. John the Apostle’ 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: St. Peter Walking on Water, by Alessandro Allori
Image in the Public Domain
Love One Another
AUGUST 20, 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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1 Kings 19:9-18
Psalm 85:8-13 (LBW) or Psalm 28 (LW)
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33
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Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray,
and to give us more than we either desire or deserve.
Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask,
except through the merit of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26
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Almighty and everlasting God,
always more ready to hear than we to pray
and always ready to give more than we either desire or deserve,
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us the good things we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of 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), 74
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I am listening. What is Yahweh saying?
–Psalm 85:8a, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
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Quaker theology includes the Inner Light–the Holy Spirit within each person. God speaks. Quakers listen.
I assume that God is a chatterbox in search of an attentive audience. We are busy and/or distracted. God gives us assignments. Like Elijah, we do not complete most of them. Like St. Simon Peter, we look down at the chaos, not up at Jesus. We lose faith and sink into that chaos without Jesus, without God.
St. Paul the Apostle believed that the covenant had passed to Christians. His argument has not convinced me; the Jewish covenant has held. God has established a separate covenant for faithful Gentiles. Unfortunately, anti-Semitic misinterpretations of St. Paul’s words have fueled hatred and violence for nearly 2000 years.
What is God saying? One may experience difficulty knowing the answer to that question even when one is listening carefully. Assumptions and cultural programming get in the way. Distractions mean that we miss some messages, even repeated ones. Ego-defense mechanisms bristle against some messages. Even when we know the words, we need to interpret them in contexts.
In the middle 1980s, at one of the United Methodist congregations of which my father was the pastor, there was a man named Don. Don was hard of hearing. He heard parts of what my father said in sermons. Don frequently became incensed regarding what he did hear. He missed contexts and misheard certain words and passages. He heard (somewhat) and did not understand. And he assumed that my father was in the wrong. And Don frequently confronted my father.
Many of us are like Don; we hear partially, misunderstand greatly, and assume that we are correct. We are, of course, correct some of the time. A cliché says that even a broken clock is right twice a day. But why be content to be a broken clock?
Rabbi Hillel and Jesus were correct. The summary of the Law of Moses is to love God fully and one’s neighbor as oneself. Gentiles often neglect the second half of Rabbi Hillel’s statement, in full:
The rest is commentary. Go and learn it.
We Gentiles often stop after,
The rest is commentary.
Many of us tend not to want to study the Law of Moses. And when many of us do study it, we frequently misinterpret and misunderstand it. Well-meaning piety may mistake culturally-specific examples for timeless principles, resulting in legalism.
The most basic Biblical commandment is to love self-sacrifically. If we mean what we say when we affirm that all people bear the image of God, we will treat them accordingly. We will love them. We will seek the best for them. We will not treat them like second-class or third-class citizens. We will not discriminate against them. We will not deny or minimize their humanity. In Quaker terms, we will see the Inner Light in them.
According to a story that may be apocryphal, the aged St. John the Evangelist was planning to visit a house church somewhere. At the appointed time, the Apostle’s helpers carried him into the space where the congregation had gathered. The helpers sat St. John down in front of the people. The Apostle said:
My children, love one another.
Then St. John signaled for his helpers to take him away. As they did, one member of the congregation ran after St. John. This person asked an ancient equivalent of,
That’s it?
St. John replied:
When you have done that, I will tell you more.
The message is simple yet difficult. Yahweh tells us to love one another. The news tells us all we need to know about how poorly or well we are doing, based on that standard. We are selfish bastards more often than not, sadly. Or, like Don, we may be hard of hearing. Or maybe we have selective memories and attention spans.
Do not imagine, O reader, that I exempt myself from these criticisms. Rather, I know myself well enough to grasp my sinfulness. I confess that I am a flawed human being. I am “but dust.” I depend on grace.
We all do.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 21, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, JESUIT
THE FEAST OF CARL BERNHARD GARVE, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHARITIE LIES SMITH BANCROFT DE CHENEZ, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN JONES AND JOHN RIGBY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 1598 AND 1600
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: The Sanhedrin
Image in the Public Domain
Compassion and Selfishness
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022
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The Collect:
God among us, we gather in the name of your Son
to learn love for one another. Keep our feet from evil paths.
Turn our minds to your wisdom and our hearts to the grace
revealed in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 48
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The Assigned Readings:
Proverbs 14:12-31
Psalm 12
Acts 4:1-12
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“Because the needy are oppressed,
and the poor cry out in misery,
I will rise up,” says the LORD,
“and give them the help they long for.”
–Psalm 12:5, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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He who despises his fellow is wrong;
He who shows pity for the lowly is happy.
–Proverbs 14:21, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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The contents of Acts 4 continue a story begun in the previous chapter. Sts. John and Simon Peter healed a lame man (more than 40 years old and crippled from birth) at the Beautiful Gate, near the Temple at Jerusalem. They healed him in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. The healing astonished a crowd and created much excitement. Next, at the Portico of Solomon, St. Simon Peter preached about Jesus. Then the events described in Acts 4:1-12 occurred. Afterward the Sanhedrin cautioned the Apostles to cease teaching in the name of Jesus. The Apostles refused to obey the order.
Mighty acts of compassion frequently prompt humility in the New Testament. This is especially true if the healing occurs on the Sabbath. The display of divine power also unsettles many people who fear that which they cannot control. Furthermore, sometimes people define themselves in contrast to the sick and the handicapped among them. The healing of these neighbors therefore proves unsettling, for it pertains to identity. On the other hand, the appropriate response to such an event is to rejoice in the other person’s blessing. That is the difference between compassion and selfishness.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 19, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW BOBOLA, JESUIT MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT DUNSTAN OF CANTERBURY, ABBOT OF GLASTONBURY AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF KERMARTIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ADVOCATE OF THE POOR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/05/19/compassion-and-selfishness/
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Above: Canal
Image in the Public Domain
Service and Glory
AUGUST 27, 2022
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The Collect:
O God, you resist those who are proud and give grace those who are humble.
Give us the humility of your Son, that we may embody
the generosity of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 46
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The Assigned Readings:
Proverbs 21:1-4, 24-26
Psalm 112
Matthew 20:20-28
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How blessed is anyone who fears Yahweh,
who delights in his commandments!
–Psalm 112:1, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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The reading from Matthew 20 concerns the misguided quest for glory in lieu of service. In Matthew 20:20-28 St. Mary Salome, sister of St. Mary of Nazareth, asks her nephew (Jesus) to grant her sons (Sts. James and John) places of honor in the Kingdom of God. In Mark 10:35-45, however, Sts. James and John make the request instead. In each account our Lord and Savior’s reply is the same:
- “You do not understand what you are asking.”–The Revised English Bible (1989);
- That is not a decision for Jesus to make; and
- The request is misguided.
As the lection from Proverbs 21 reminds us,
Haughty looks–a proud heart–
The tillage of the wicked is sinful.
–Verse 4, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
May we seek instead to be like the channeled water of Proverbs 21:1–directed toward whatever God wishes. May we seek to glorify God and benefit our fellow human beings, not to glorify ourselves. Jesus has provided a fine example of service for us to emulate in our circumstances. If we are really Christians, we will seek to follow him more than we do already.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 24, 2016 COMMON ERA
MAUNDY THURSDAY
THE FEAST OF THOMAS ATTWOOD, “FATHER OF MODERN CHURCH MUSIC”
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIDACUS JOSEPH OF CADIZ, CAPUCHIN FRIAR
THE FEAST OF OSCAR ROMERO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF SAN SALVADOR, AND THE MARTYRS OF EL SALVADOR
THE FEAST OF PAUL COUTURIER, ECUMENIST
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/service-and-glory-2/
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Above: Nehemiah Viewing the Ruins of Jerusalem’s Walls, by Gustave Dore
Image in the Public Domain
For the Glory of God and the Benefit of Others
MAY 31, 2016
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The Collect:
Merciful Lord God, we do not presume to come before you
trusting in our own righteousness,
but in your great and abundant mercies.
Revive our faith, we pray; heal our bodies, and mend our communities,
that we may evermore dwell in your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 38
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The Assigned Readings:
Nehemiah 1:1-11
Psalm 5
Acts 3:1-10
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I wonder if the formerly lame man (the one lame from birth) in Acts 3 thought of a passage from Psalm 5 as he entered the Temple leaping and praising God:
But, so great is your faithful love,
I may come into your house,
and before your holy temple
bow down in reverence of you.
–Verse 7, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
That structure in Acts 3 was the Second Temple, erected during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah then expanded by order of King Herod the Great.
Nehemiah and the lame man received more than they sought. Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, served his community, and endured severe challenges to do so. Yet he helped to stabilize his community. Sts. Peter and John made the man lame from birth whole and gave him new dignity. Certainly he did not expect that much. Furthermore, his adaptation to his new reality must not have been entirely easy, but he was much better off than he had ever been. Nehemiah would have led an easier life as a royal cupbearer than he did as a Persian satrap, but he did what God called him to do. Fortunately, the monarch facilitated that vocation.
May each of us become what God has called us to become. May we understand that vocation and pursue it. May those in positions to facilitate that calling do so. Then may we do our best and succeed, by grace. May we do this for the glory of God and the benefit of others.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 29, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JEMIMA THOMPSON LUKE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER; AND JAMES EDMESTON, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF BERNHARDT SEVERIN INGEMANN, DANISH LUTHERAN AUTHOR AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD HOPPER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CASSIAN, DESERT FATHER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/for-the-glory-of-god-and-the-benefit-of-others/
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Above: Christ Pantocrator
Image in the Public Domain
Love, Not Vengeance
JUNE 22 and 23, 2023
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The Collect:
Teach us, good Lord God, to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
except that of knowing that we do your will,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 40
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 18:12-17 (Thursday)
Jeremiah 18:18-23 (Friday)
Psalm 69:7-10 [11-15], 16-18 (Both Days)
Hebrews 2:5-9 (Thursday)
Acts 5:17-26 (Friday)
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For your sake I have suffered reproach;
shame has covered my face.
–Psalm 69:8, Common Worship (2000)
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The desire for vengeance—directly by one’s own efforts or indirectly by those of God—is commonplace and frequently predictable and understandable. One finds it in the readings from Jeremiah and the Book of Psalms today, in fact. But it also poisons one’s soul. I have known that desire and the accompanying spiritual toxins. I have also known the grace to let go of that dark feeling. I recall what some people have done to me and refuse to deny objective reality regarding the past, but if anything bad happens to those individuals and I hear of it, I will have had nothing to do with it and I will take no delight in their misfortune. I have set my focus on the future.
Each of us is present on the planet to do great things for God and each other. Whether we fulfill that vocation is a separate question, of course. Sts. John the Evangelist and Simon Peter suffered as innocents for their good deeds, which upset the apple carts of some people. The Apostles, broken out of jail by the hand of God, simply returned to the tasks to which God had called them. And Jesus, another innocent—one which a legal system executed—not only rose from the dead but rejected vengeance. He returned to the work of God—the work of love.
That is our work also. May we, by grace, succeed more often than we fail.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 19, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW BOBOLA, JESUIT MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT DUNSTAN OF CANTERBURY, ARCHBISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF KERMARTIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ADVOCATE OF THE POOR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/love-not-vengeance/
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Above: The Good Samaritan, by Rembrandt van Rijn
The Primacy of Morality Over Sacrifices
JULY 18, 2022
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Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.
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Micah 6:1-9a (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
Hear what the LORD is saying:
Come, present [My] case before the mountains,
And let the hills hear you pleading.
Hear, you mountains, the case of the LORD–
You firm foundations of the earth!
For the LORD has a case against His people,
He has a suit against Israel.
My people!
What wrong have I done you?
What hardship have I caused you?
Testify against Me.
In fact,
I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
I redeemed you from the house of bondage,
And I sent before you
Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
My people,
Remember what Balak king of Moab
Plotted against you,
And how Balaam son of Beor
Responded to him.
[Recall your passage]
From Shittim to Gilgal–
And you will recognize
The gracious acts of the LORD.
With what shall I approach the LORD,
Do homage to God on high?
Shall I approach Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
With myriads of streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for my sins?
He has told you, O man, what is good,
And what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do justice
And to love goodness,
And to walk modestly with your God;
Then will your name achieve wisdom.
Psalm 14 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
All are corrupt and commit abominable acts;
there is none who does any good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon us al,
to see if there is any who is wise,
if there is one who seeks after God.
3 Every one has proved faithless;
all alike have turned bad;
there is none who does good; no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all those evildoers
who eat up my people like bread
and do not call upon the LORD?
5 See how they tremble with fear,
because God is in the company of the righteous.
6 Their aim is to confound the plans of the afflicted,
but the LORD is their refuge.
7 Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restored the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.
Matthew 12:38-42 (An American Translation):
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees addressed him [Jesus], saying,
Master, we would like to have you show us some sign.
But he answered,
Only a wicked and faithless age insists upon a sign, and no sign will be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was in the stomach of the whale for three days and nights, the Son of Man will be three days and nights in the heart of the earth. Men of Nineveh will rise with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, for when Jonah preached they repented, and there is more than Jonah here! The queen of the south will rise with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, for she came from the very ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and there is more than Solomon here!
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The Collect:
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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A Related Post:
Week of Proper 11: Monday, Year 1:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/week-of-proper-11-monday-year-1/
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Consider this:
To do what is right and just
Is more desired by the LORD than sacrifice.
–Proverbs 21:3, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
and this:
Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As much as in obedience to the LORD’s command?
Simply, obedience is better than sacrifice,
Compliance than the fat of rams.
–1 Samuel 15:22, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
I think also of something U.S. Presbyterian Shirley Guthrie wrote in his book, Christian Doctrine:
One danger of the sacrificial imagery is that the significance of Christ’s work can easily be corrupted in the same way the sacrificial system of the Old Testament was corrupted. It easily becomes a kind of bargaining with God. A sacrifice has been offered to satisfy his demands and appease him–so now we are free go go on being and doing anything we like without interference from him. How did the prophets protest against such a perversion of the sacrificial system? See Isaiah 1:10-31; Amos 5:21-24; Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8. Is the prophetic protest against the misuse of sacrifices relevant also to our understanding of the sacrifice of Christ? Would the prophets allow the split we sometimes make between preaching concerned with social action and preaching concerned with salvation from sin?–Christian Doctrine: Teachings of the Christian Church (Richmond, VA: CLC Press, 1968, pages 247-248)
Again and again we read that, although God does not object to rituals and sacrifices, these offend God when we do not accompany them with social justice, especially in the treatment of widows, orphans, and other vulnerable people. More than one Hebrew prophet made this point plainly. And yet people claiming to be of God have persecuted populations, discriminated against members of groups, and condoned violence in the name of God. It continues to this day.
These are not acts of goodness or justice. An honor killing, for example, is neither good nor just. Discrimination is neither good nor just. Terrorism is certainly far from goodness and justice. But feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned and the ill, housing the homeless, and comforting the grieving are good and just. The measurement of how good and just we are is how much better we leave our corner of the world relative to its state when we found it. Are the lives of those we encounter better because we were part of them? Are the marginalized included, and the unloved loved? This, according to prophets, is a standard of righteousness.
I am repeating myself, but that is unavoidable. The texts continue to beat the same drum, so what am I supposed to do? There is an old and perhaps apocryphal story about the elderly St. John the Apostle/Evangelist/Divine. He visited a congregation. The people gathered at the house where they met regularly. Expectations were high; what wisdom might the Apostle impart? When St. John did arrive, all he said was,
Love one another.
A disappointed congregant asked the ancient Greek equivalent of, “That’s it?” The Apostle replied,
When you do that, I will tell you more.
Loving one another seems quite difficult much of the time, does it not? This, I think, is why the book repeats itself so much on this theme. Finally, by grace, may we learn this basic lesson and act on it. That time cannot arrive soon enough.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/the-primacy-of-morality-over-sacrifices/
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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