Archive for the ‘St. John the Baptist’ Tag
Above: Jeremiah, from the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo Buonaroti
Image in the Public Domain
Blessedness in Persecution
SEPTEMBER 10, 2023
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Jeremiah 15:15-21
Psalm 26 (LBW) or Psalm 119:105-112 (LW)
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:21-26
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O God, we thank you for your Son,
who chose the path of suffering for the sake of the world.
Humble us by his example,
point us to the path of obedience,
and give us strength to follow his commands;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 27
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Lord of all power and might, Author and Giver of all good things,
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and bring forth in us the fruit of 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), 78
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The assigned readings for this Sunday speak of obeying God and suffering for doing so. Recall, O reader, the fate of the prophet Jeremiah–involuntary exile in Egypt. Consider, too, the crucifixion of Jesus. And, given that I publish this post on the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, consider the execution of that saint.
Persecution of the Church was usually intermittent in Roman times. Empire-wide persecutions were rare. Regional persecutions came and went. Yet the pall of persecution–actual or possible–hung over the writing of the New Testament. The Church was young, small, and growing. Pulling together in mutuality was good advice.
It remains good advice. No bad context for mutuality exists. Reading past Romans 12:8, every day is a good day to avoid evil, to practice brotherly love, to regard others as more important than oneself, to work conscientiously with an eager spirit, to be joyful in hope, to persevere in hardship, to pray regularly, to share with those in need, and to seek opportunities, to be hospitable.
The results of taking up one’s cross and following Jesus are predictable, in general terms. Details vary according to circumstances. To take up one’s cross and follow Jesus is to reorder one’s priorities so that they become Jesus’s priorities. Doing so invites an adverse reaction from agents of the morally upside-down world order, constrained by conventional wisdom.
Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.
–Matthew 5:11-12, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
Who can make the point better than that?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 24, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Tear Ducts
Image in the Public Domain
The Tears of the Christ
SEPTEMBER 11, 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 13:1-16 or Ezra 1:1-7; 3:8-13
Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26
Revelation 7:9-17
John 11:1-3. 16-44
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Jesus wept.
–John 11:35, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun nor scorching wind will ever plague them because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears like their eyes.
–Revelation 7:16-17, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
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I could take so many paths through the assigned readings for this week. These readings are rich texts. I will take just one path, however.
Before I do, here are a few notes:
- Abraham waited for God to tell him which land to claim. Abraham chose well.
- Lot chose land on his own. He chose poorly. However, at the time he seemed to have chosen wisely; he selected fertile land.
- I agree with Psalm 136. Divine mercy does endure forever.
- The chronology of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah weaves in and out of those books. I know, for I blogged my way through them in chronological order at BLOGA THEOLOGICA last year.
For the record, the chronological reading order of Ezra-Nehemiah follows:
- Ezra 1:1-2:70; Nehemiah 7:6-73a;
- Ezra 3:1-4:5;
- Ezra 5:1-6:22;
- Ezra 4:6-24;
- Nehemiah 1:1-2:20;
- Nehemiah 3:1-4:17;
- Nehemiah 5:1-19;
- Nehemiah 6:1-7:5;
- Nehemiah 11:1-12:47;
- Nehemiah 13:1-31;
- Nehemiah 9:38-10:39;
- Ezra 7:1-10:44; and
- Nehemiah 7:73b-9:38.
I take my lead in this post from the New Testament readings. Tears are prominent in both of them. Tears are on my mind during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are also on my mind as I continue to mourn the violent death of my beloved. Her departure from this side of the veil of tears has left me shaken and as forever changed me.
The full divinity and full humanity of Jesus are on display in John 11. We read that Jesus wept over the death of his friend, St. Lazarus of Bethany. We also read of other people mourning and weeping in the immediate area. We may not pay much attention to that. We may tell ourselves, “Of course, they grieved and wept.” But two words–“Jesus wept”–remain prominent.
There is a scene in The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964) that fits this theme. At the time, Hollywood studios had recently released technicolor movies about a Jesus who had no tear ducts yet had an impressive command of Elizabethan English while resembling a Northern European. Yet Pier Paolo Pasolini, who committed about half of the Gospel of Matthew to film, presented a Jesus who had tear ducts. Immediately after the off-camera decapitation of St. John the Baptist, the next shot was a focus on Christ’s face. He was crying. So were the men standing in front of him.
Jesus wept.
We weep. Jesus weeps with us until the day God will wipe away all tears of those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 23, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE ALMSGIVER, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA
THE FEAST OF CHARLES KINGSLEY, ANGLICAN PRIEST, NOVELIST, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD GRUBB, ENGLISH QUAKER AUTHOR, SOCIAL REFORMER, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JAMES D. SMART, CANADIAN PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF PHILLIPS BROOKS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF MASSACHUSETTS, AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/23/the-tears-of-the-christ/
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Above: Archelaus
Image in the Public Domain
Two Kingdoms II
NOVEMBER 14, 2021
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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1 Samuel 31:1-9 or Lamentations 3:1-9, 14-33
Psalm 114
Romans 15:14-33
Luke 19:11-27
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As I have written many times, the judgment and mercy of God exist in a balance of justice/righteousness. (As I have also written ad infinitum, justice and righteousness are the same word in the Bible. I keep repeating myself.) Mercy for the persecuted and oppressed may be judgment on the persecutors and oppressors. Actions and inaction have consequences. Not serving God has negative consequences. Serving God may have some negative consequences in this life, but God rewards the faithful in the afterlife.
Now I will focus on the Gospel lesson. The Parable of the Pounds may seem like a parallel version of the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), but it is not. The Parable of the Talents is about personal spiritual responsibility. The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX (1995), labels Luke 19:11-27 as the “Parable of the Greedy and Vengeful King.”
Follow the proverbial bouncing balls with me, O reader.
Herod the Great (reigned 47-4 B.C.E.), a Roman client king, had died, leaving sons:
- Archelaus;
- Herod Antipas, full brother of Archelaus; and
- Philip (the Tetrarch), half-brother of Archelaus and Herod Antipas.
Archelaus wanted to succeed his father as a client king. Before he departed for Rome, Archelaus had about 3000 people killed. A delegation of 50 Jews also went to Rome, to argue against Archelaus’s petition to Emperor Augustus. The emperor made Archelaus the Ethnarch of Idumea, Judea, and Samaria instead. Archelaus was too brutal, even by Roman imperial standards. Augustus deposed him in 6 C.E. and exiled the would-be-king to Gaul.
Herod Antipas served as the Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C.E. to 39 C.E. He ordered the execution of St. John the Baptist, who had objected to the incestuous marriage to Herodias. (She was the former wife of Philip the Tetrarch, as well as as Herod Antipas’s half-niece. Salome was, therefore, Herod Antipas’s step-daughter and great-half-niece.)
Philip was the Tetrarch of Northern Transjordan from 4 B.C.E. to 34 C.E. His territory became Herod Agrippa I’s realm in 37 C.E. (Herod Agrippa I was Philip’s half-nephew and Herodias’s brother.) Herod Agrippa I held the title of king from 37 to 44 C.E.
The transfer of that territory to Herod Agrippa I made Herodias jealous. So did the act by which Emperor Tiberius had granted Lysanius, the Tetrarch of Abilene, the title of king in 34 C.E. (Lysanius was not a member of the Herodian Dynasty.) Herodias and Herod Antipas traveled to Rome in 39 C.E. to request that Caligula grant Herod Antipas the title of king, too. Herod Agrippa I sent emissaries to oppose that petition. Caligula deposed Herod Antipas and exiled the couple to Gaul. The emperor also added the territory of Herod Antipas to that of Herod Agrippa I. Then, in 41 C.E., Emperor Claudius (I) added Judea and Samaria to the realm of Herod Agrippa I. Herod Agrippa died in 44 C.E.
Jesus and his audience knew the story of Archelaus, the model for the would-be-king in the Parable of the Pounds/Greedy and Vengeful King. Likewise, the original audience for the Gospel of Luke (written circa 85 C.E.) knew the story of Herod Antipas’s ill-fated quest for the title of king. They brought that story to this parable, too.
Not every parable of Jesus features a stand-in for God. The newly-appointed king in the parable was not a role model. The parable presents us with a study in contrasts between two kingdoms–the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God. The kingdom of this world depends on violence, exploitation, injustice, and artificial scarcity. The Kingdom of God is the polar opposite of the kingdom of this world.
R. Alan Culpepper, writing about this parable in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX (1995), 364, proposes that
The enemies of the kingdom of God will be punished no less severely than if they had opposed one of the Herods, but in God’s kingdom the greedy will be driven out of the Temple and the generous will be rewarded.
After all, we reap what we sow.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2020 COMMON ERA
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 CHARLES FRIEDRICH HASSE, GERMAN-BRITISH MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
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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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/05/02/two-kingdoms-ii/
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Above: Jael and Sisera, by Jacopo Amigoni
Image in the Public Domain
God’s Surprises
JUNE 27, 2021
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Judges 4:1-9, 15-21 or Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 84
Romans 1:1-15
Luke 7:18-35
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Four of the five assigned readings contain surprises.
- Not only did Sisera die at the hands of a woman–a woman!–but she was Jael, not Deborah, a prophetess.
- Jeremiah thought he was too young for the vocation God had assigned him. Youth and inexperience proved to be irrelevant, for God qualified the called.
- Much to the shock and dismay of many, St. Paul the Apostle had a mission to the Gentiles. That vocation would have shocked Saul of Tarsus.
- St. John the Baptist had identified Jesus as the one to follow, as the Lamb of God. Yet even he, languishing in one of Herod Antipas’s prison cells, had doubts. The proof of Jesus’ pudding, so to speak, was in the surprising results he produced. A prisoner having doubts was not surprising, though.
As our flesh and hearts cry out for God and seek evermore to dwell in the courts of the divine, may we, by grace, avoid the trap of functional fixation. May we not be oblivious to divine surprises. May our piety not become a spiritual obstacle. May we avoid the erroneous assumption that God fits into our categories. May we recognize and delight in God’s surprises.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 12, 2020 COMMON ERA
EASTER SUNDAY
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS NEPHEW, WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID URIBE-VELASCO, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927
THE FEAST OF GODFREY DIEKMANN, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, ECUMENIST, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/12/gods-surprises-iii/
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Above: Herod Antipas
Image in the Public Domain
Honor and Prestige
AUGUST 4, 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 14:5-31 or 2 Samuel 18:5-33
Exodus 15:1-21
2 Corinthians 8:1-15
Mark 6:14-29
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Honor and prestige are of limited value. When we derive honor from the opinions of others, it does not reflect our character. Furthermore, human prestige does not impress God.
Herod Antipas had honor and prestige, but he was far from noble, in the sordid tale in Mark 6 reveals. He had incarcerated St. John the Baptist for publicly objecting to the client ruler’s marriage to his half-niece and former sister-in-law, Herodias. Salome, the daughter of Herodias, was, therefore, his grand half-niece and his step-daughter. In a rash moment, he chose to save face rather than spare the life of St. John the Baptist, a noble man, in the highest since of “noble.”
Honor and prestige underlie the reading from 2 Corinthians 8. We are to follow the example of Jesus the Christ, who exemplified humility yet not timidity. We are supposed to trust in God, not wealth, and to walk humbly before God.
Absalom, son of David, had honor and prestige, but not nobility of character. David’s knowledge that his sin had brought about the rebellion of Absalom then the death of that errant son must have added much guilt to the monarch’s grief.
Slaves had no honor and prestige, but Hebrew slaves in Egypt had divine favor. Unfortunately, they began to grumble before they left Egypt. This did not bode well for the future.
God is faithful to us. Divine favor–grace–is superior to human honor and prestige. Will we try to be faithful to God?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 23, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN, FOUNDRESS OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HIGH SAVIOR; AND HER DAUGHTER, SAINT CATHERINE OF SWEDEN, SUPERIOR OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HIGH SAVIOR
THE FEAST OF ADELAIDE TEAGUE CASE, PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP EVANS AND JOHN LLOYD, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF THEODOR LILEY CLEMENS, ENGLISH MORAVIAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, AND COMPOSER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/07/23/honor-and-prestige/
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Above: Embrace of Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary
Image in the Public Domain
Humility and Arrogance
MAY 31, 2023
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The Collect:
Almighty God, in choosing the virgin Mary to be the mother of your Son,
you made known your gracious regard for the poor and the lowly and the despised.
Grant us grace to receive your Word in humility, and so made one with your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 33
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Samuel 2:1-10
Psalm 113
Romans 12:9-16b
Luke 1:39-57
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Depending on the date of Easter, and therefore of Pentecost, the Feast of the Visitation can fall in either the season of Easter or the Season after Pentecost.
The history of the Feast of the Visitation has been a varied one. The feast, absent in Eastern Orthodoxy, began in 1263, when St. Bonaventure introduced it to the Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans), which he led. Originally the date was July 2, after the octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24). Pope Urban VI approved the feast in 1389, the Council of Basel authorized it in 1441, propers debuted in the Sarum breviary of 1494, and Pope Pius V added the feast to the general calendar in 1561. In 1969, during the pontificate of Paul VI, Holy Mother Church moved the Feast of the Visitation to May 31, in lieu of the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which Pope Pius XII had instituted in 1954. The Episcopal Church added the Feast of the Visitation to its calendar in The Book of Common Prayer (1979). The feast had long been July 2 in The Church of England and much of Lutheranism prior to 1969. Subsequent liturgical revision led to the transfer of the feast to May 31 in those traditions.
The corresponding Eastern Orthodox feast on July 2 commemorates the placing of the Holy Robe of the Mother of God in the church at Blachernae, a suburb of Constantinople.
The theme of humility is prominent in the assigned readings and in the Lutheran collect I have quoted. A definition of that word might therefore prove helpful. The unabridged Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language (1951), a tome, defines humility as
Freedom from pride and arrogance; humbleness of mind; a modest estimate of one’s own worth; also, self-abasement, penitence for sin.
Humility refers to lowliness and, in the Latin root, of being close to the ground. God raising up the lowly is a Lukan theme, as is God overthrowing the arrogant. After all, the woes (Luke 6:24-26) follow the Beatitudes (6:20-25), where Jesus says,
Blessed are you who are poor,
not
Blessed are you who are poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3).
The first will be last and the last will be first, after all.
Wherever you are, O reader, you probably live in a society that celebrates the boastful, the arrogant. The assigned readings for this day contradict that exultation of the proud, however. They are consistent with the ethic of Jeremiah 9:22-23:
Yahweh says this,
“Let the sage not boast of wisdom,
nor the valiant of valour,
nor the wealthy of riches!
But let anyone who wants to boast, boast of this:
of understanding and knowing me.
For I am Yahweh, who acts with faithful love,
justice, and uprightness on earth;
yes, these are what please me,”
Yahweh declares.
—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
St. Paul the Apostle channeled that ethic in 1 Corinthians 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17, among other passages.
That which he understood well and internalized, not without some struggle, remains relevant and timeless.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 1, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR, CHRISTIAN APOLOGIST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAMPHILUS OF CAESAREA, BIBLE SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL STENNETT, ENGLISH SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST MINISTER AND HYMN-WRITER; AND JOHN HOWARD, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON OF SYRACUSE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/devotion-for-the-feast-of-the-visitation-of-mary-to-elizabeth-years-a-b-c-and-d-humes/
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Above: Moses and the Burning Bush
Image in the Public Domain
Human Traditions and Divine Authority
NOVEMBER 5, 2022
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The Collect:
O God, our eternal redeemer, by the presence of your Spirit you renew and direct our hearts.
Keep always in our mind the end of all things and the day of judgment.
Inspire us for a holy life here, and bring us to the joy of the resurrection,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 52
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The Assigned Readings:
Exodus 3:13-20
Psalm 17:1-9
Luke 20:1-8
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Weigh my heart, summon me by night,
melt me down, you will find no impurity in me.
–Psalm 17:3, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Moses had been a fugitive from Egyptian justice from Exodus 2. Egyptian juris prudence frowned upon killing taskmasters in charge of slaves (2:11-15). Moses was safely distant from Egypt and hopefully happily married when God called him to return to Egypt, to participate in the liberation of the Hebrews. In reply to the request for a name, God provided a non-name, indicating the absence of human control over the divine.
Throughout the long narrative of the Bible prophets were frequently inconvenient to people in authority. There were false prophets who agreed with the monarchs who favored them, but prophets of God were often in the faces of kings. St. John the Baptist, standing in this tradition, ran afoul of religious authorities and Herod Antipas. Jesus, greater than the prophets, had many confrontations with religious authorities and proved to be a better debater than any of them. God was doing a new thing via Jesus, and religious authorities, wedded to their traditions and collaborating with the Roman Empire, found it threatening.
Tradition itself is not bad; neither is it inherently good. Tradition is simply that which one generation passes down to another. The best question to ask in this context is the one which evaluates any given tradition on its merits. May we avoid becoming so attached to our traditions that we oppose the work of God, who is beyond our control.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 3, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILL CAMPBELL, AGENT OF RECONCILIATION
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LIPHARDUS OF ORLEANS AND URBICIUS OF MEUNG, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS
THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MORAND OF CLUNY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND MISSIONARY
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/human-traditions-and-divine-authority/
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Above: Archelaus
Image in the Public Domain
Deeds and Creeds
NOVEMBER 2, 2022
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The Collect:
Merciful God, gracious and benevolent,
through your Son you invite all the world to a meal of mercy.
Grant that we may eagerly follow this call,
and bring us with all your saints into your life of justice and joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 52
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The Assigned Readings:
Amos 5:12-14
Psalm 50
Luke 19:11-27
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“Consider this well, you who forget God,
lest I rend you and there be none to deliver you.
Whoever offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me;
but to those who keep in my way will I show the salvation of God.”
–Psalm 50:23-24, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The traditional title for the pericope from Luke 19 is the Parable of the Pounds. That reading is superficially similar to the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), which teaches the imperative of diligence in the work of God. In the case of Luke 19:11-27, however, the real point is quite different.
Textual context matters. Immediately prior to the parable we read of our Lord and Savior’s encounter with Zacchaeus, a man who worked as a tax collector for the Roman Empire. He was a literal tax thief, although, as we read, he changed his ways and made more restitution than the Law of Moses required. Immediately after the parable Jesus enters Jerusalem at the beginning of that fateful Holy Week. The story of Zacchaeus explains verse 11a (“As they were listening to this”); the context of the impending Triumphal Entry is crucial to understanding the pericope which Volume IX (1995) of The New Interpreter’s Bible calls “The Parable of the Greedy and Vengeful King.”
The nobleman in the parable resembles members of the Herodian Dynasty, especially Archelaus (reigned 4 B.C.E.-6 C.E.), son of Herod the Great (reigned 47-4 B.C.E.), Governor of Galilee then the client king of the Jews. Herod the Great, who traveled to Rome to seek the title of king, reigned as one because the Roman Republic then Empire granted him that title. He was also a cruel man. Biblical and extra-Biblical sources agree on this point, constituting a collection of stories of his tyranny and cruelty. In Matthew 2 he ordered the Massacre of the Innocents, for example. Archelaus, a son of Herod the Great, ruled as the Roman-appointed ethnarch of Idumea, Judea, and Samaria, after traveling to Rome. Archelaus sought the title of King, which the Emperor Augustus denied him after meeting with a delegation of Jews. Archelaus, mentioned by name in Matthew 2:22, was also cruel and tyrannical, victimizing Jews and Samaritans alike. On one day alone he ordered the massacre of 3000 people at the Temple precinct in Jerusalem. Eventually Augustus deposed him. Herod Antipas, full brother of Archelaus, ruled on behalf of the Roman Empire as the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C.E. to 39 C.E., when he sought the title of King and found himself banished to Gaul instead. Antipas, a chip off the old block, ordered the execution of St. John the Baptist (Matthew 14:3-10) and sought to kill Jesus, who called the tetrarch “that fox” (Luke 13:32).
A trope in the interpretation of parables of Jesus is that one of the characters represents God. That does not apply accurately to the parable in Luke 19:11-27. In fact, the unnamed nobleman, who orders the execution of his political opponents, is an antitype of Jesus, who enters Jerusalem triumphantly in the next pericope and dies on the cross a few days later, at the hands of Roman officials. The Kingdom of God is quite different from the Roman Empire, built on violence and exploitation. The kingship of Jesus is quite different from the model that the Roman Empire offers.
Amos 5 condemns those in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah who profess to follow Yahweh, yet oppose the establishment of justice, especially for the needy. There is nothing wrong with religious rituals themselves, but engaging in them while perpetuating injustice makes a mockery of them. God is unimpressed, we read.
God, in Psalm 50, addresses those who recite divine statutes yet do not keep them, who think wrongly that God is like them. They will not find deliverance in God, we read. That Psalm fits well with Amos 5, of course. Then there are the evildoers who do not even pretend to honor God and do not change their ways. Their path is doomed in the long run also.
One must reject the false dichotomy of deeds versus creeds. In actuality, I argue, deeds reveal creeds. One might detect a dichotomy between deeds and words, but, barring accidents, no dichotomy between deeds and creeds exists.
What do your deeds reveal about your creeds, O reader?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 1, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL STENNETT, ENGLISH SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER; AND JOHN HOWARD, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR, APOLOGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAMPHILUS OF CAESAREA, BIBLE SCHOAR AND TRANSLATOR; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON OF SYRACUSE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/deeds-and-creeds/
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Above: Map of the Seleucid Empire
Image in the Public Domain
Dashed Hopes and the Faithfulness of God
NOVEMBER 20, 2021
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The Collect:
Almighty and ever-living God,
you anointed your beloved Son to be priest and sovereign forever.
Grant that all the people of the earth,
now divided by the power of sin,
may be united by the glorious and gentle rule of Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 53
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The Assigned Readings:
Daniel 7:1-8, 15-18
Psalm 93
John 3:31-36
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You, O LORD, are Sovereign;
you have put on splendid apparel;
you, O LORD, have put on your apparel
and girded yourself with strength.
You have made the whole world so sure
that it cannot be moved;
ever since the world began, your throne has been established;
you are from everlasting.
The waters have lifted up, O LORD,
the waters have lifted up their voice;
the waters have lifted up their pounding waves.
Mightier than the sound of many waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea,
mightier is the LORD who dwells on high.
Your testimonies are very sure,
and holiness adorns your house, O LORD,
forever and forevermore.
–Psalm 93, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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Sometimes our expectations exceed reality as events unfold.
The expectations in Daniel 7:1-8 and 15-18 was that, after the fall of the Seleucid Empire (extant 312-64 B.C.E.),
holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess the kingdom forever–forever and ever.
–Daniel 7:18, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The Seleucid Empire fell for several reasons, including weak leadership, pressures from the Armenians, and the expansion of the Roman Republic, soon to become the Roman Empire. The fully realized Kingdom of God on Earth did not come to pass in 64 B.C.E. or at any time between then and the day I am writing these words.
St. John the Baptist had apocalyptic expectations regarding Jesus (Luke 3). The clearly labeled voice of the forerunner said in John 3:30 (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989),
He must increase, but I must decrease.
But who is speaking in John 3:31-36? My reading has revealed three possibilities:
- St. John the Baptist, for the text indicates no change of speaker;
- Jesus, perhaps cut and pasted from the conversation with Nicodemus earlier in the chapter; or
- the author of the Fourth Gospel, making one of his occasional explanatory comments to the readers.
Either way, the pericope’s comment about the fidelity of God is what interest me. Jesus did not fulfill the apocalyptic expectations of St. John the Baptist, but that fact did nothing to belie the fidelity of God. The apocalyptic expectations of Daniel 7:1-8 and 15-18 proved baseless, but that fact has not disproved the fidelity of God. Sometimes we human beings hope for events which never happen, at least as we anticipate. Some of these dashed expectations have passed into the canon of scripture. Nevertheless, the hope that one day God will abolish the world order built on violence and artificial scarcity and replace it with justice remains a valid promise. God will keep it faithfully in divine time, if not according to human expectations.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 10, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN SCHEFFLER, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF GEORG NEUMARK, GERMAN LUTHERAN POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN HINES, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/dashed-hopes-and-the-faithfulness-of-god/
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Above: Icon of Christ in Majesty
Image in the Public Domain
Prejudices and Prophecy
OCTOBER 21-23, 2021
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The Collect:
Eternal light, shine in our hearts.
Eternal wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance.
Eternal compassion, have mercy on us.
Turn us to seek your face, and enable us to reflect your goodness,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 51
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 23:9-16 (Thursday)
Jeremiah 26:12-24 (Friday)
Jeremiah 29:24-32 (Saturday)
Psalm 126 (All Days)
Hebrews 7:1-10 (Thursday)
Hebrews 7:11-22 (Friday)
Mark 8:22-26 (Saturday)
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When the Lord turned again the fortunes of Zion:
then we were like men restored to life.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter:
and our tongue with singing.
Then said they among the heathen:
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
Truly the Lord has done great things for us:
and therefore we rejoiced.
Turn again our fortunes, O Lord:
as the streams return to the dry south.
Those that sow in tears:
shall reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping bearing the seed:
shall come again in gladness, bringing his sheaves with him.
–Psalm 126, Alternative Prayer Book 1984
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The prophet Jeremiah labored faithfully for and argued with God during especially dangerous times. The Kingdom of Judah was a vassal state, false prophets were numerous, and true prophets were targets of the theocratic royal regime. The process of exiling populations had begun, and the full-scale Babylonian Exile had not started yet. False prophets predicted a glorious future and condemned faithful prophets. Yet even Jeremiah, who predicted doom and gloom, stated that divine deliverance and restoration would come in time.
The appearance of Melchizedek in Genesis 14:17-21 linked Abram/Abraham to the Davidic Dynasty, for Melchizedek was the King of Salem (Jerusalem). Hebrews 7 linked Melchizedek to Jesus (“resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever”–verse 3b, The New Revised Standard Version). At the end of the line of faithful Hebrew prophets (ending with St. John the Baptist) stands Jesus, greater than all of them. He is, as Hebrews 7:22 states,
the guarantee of a better covenant.
—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Jesus, permanently a priest (7:24), is the Messiah (“Christ” in Greek) unbounded by time. Now he exists beyond human capacity to harm him, but he did die via crucifixion. There was a resurrection, fortunately.
Often we mortals desire to hear words which confirm our prejudices and belie hard truths. Perhaps we know sometimes that what we want to hear is inaccurate, but we accept it anyway because doing so is bearable. Or perhaps we are so deluded that we cannot distinguish between true and false prophecy, prophecy often having more to do with the present day and the near future than the more distant future. Yet, even when we seek to distinguish between true and false prophecy, our ignorance can prove to be a major obstacle. I know of no easy way out of this conundrum. No, the best advice I can offer is to seek to live according to affirming human dignity and loving others as one loves oneself. Following the Golden Rule is sound advice. One might err in the execution of it, but I propose that God will not condemn one for loving one’s neighbors. As for the details of prophecy, they will unfold according to course.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 4, 2015 COMMON ERA
INDEPENDENCE DAY (U.S.A.)
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/07/04/prejudices-and-prophecy/
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ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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