Archive for the ‘The United Methodist Church’ Tag
Above: Cooks Union United Methodist Church, Miller County, Georgia
Image Source = Google Earth
Hard of Hearing
OCTOBER 30, 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 21:1-19 or Zechariah 7:4-14
Psalm 144:1-4, 9-15
Revelation 21:1-8
John 15:18-25
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My father served as the pastor of Cooks Union United Methodist Church, outside Colquitt, Georgia, from June 1985 to June 1986. One of the parishioners was Don, an elderly man. Don was hard of hearing. He frequently missed much of the contents of my father’s sermons and misheard other parts of those sermons. Don also missed much context, so, when we correctly heard what my father said, Don often misunderstood the meaning. Don frequently became upset with my father, accusing my father of having said X when my father had said Y. This was unfair, of course; my father had done nothing wrong.
Many people have been hard of hearing in matters pertaining to morality. Many still are. Morals need not be abstract. How do we treat one another? How do governments treat vulnerable people? What kinds of policies do politicians support? Living according to the Golden Rule is one way to earn the world’s enmity.
God is kinder to the vulnerable than many people and governments are. The divine preference for the poor recurs throughout the Bible. And economic injustice and judicial corruption frequently occur on lists of collective and individual sins, alongside idolatry, that God judges harshly. Yet, to hear many ministers speak, one would know that the Biblical authors spilled more ink condemning economic injustice and judicial corruption than various sexual practices.
May we, by grace, not be hard of hearing in matters of the Golden Rule.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 30, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF LESSLIE NEWBIGIN, ENGLISH REFORMED MISSIONARY AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT BATHILDAS, QUEEN OF FRANCE
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK OAKELEY, ANGLICAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINTS GENESIUS I OF CLERMONT AND PRAEJECTUS OF CLERMONT, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; AND SAINT AMARIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT JACQUES BUNOL, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/30/hard-of-hearing/
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Above: The Pool of Bethesda
Image in the Public Domain
Rich in Good Deeds
JUNE 19, 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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Zephaniah 1:1-18 or Proverbs 25:6-22
Psalm 119:73-77, 103-105
1 Timothy 6:9-21
John 5:1-18
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Idols abound. They include wealth, power, prestige, and foreign religions. Even the most well-meaning people are vulnerable to these temptations.
As we read in 1 Timothy 6, we should be rich in good deeds. As we read in Psalm 119, we should delight in the Law of God. And, as even much of Second Temple Judaism affirmed, performing a good deed on the Sabbath is acceptable.
Those who criticized Jesus for healing on the Sabbath in John 5:16f seemed not to have cared about that final detail. Sabbath laws were flexible in Second Temple Judaism, or at least in portions thereof. There were schools of Judaism. And, within each school, personal agendas informed how some people responded and reacted to various deeds on the Sabbath.
None of this should surprise us–especially Gentiles. I recall a saying from my formative years (as a United Methodist) in southern Georgia, U.S.A., in the Bible Belt:
There are Baptists, then there are Baptists.
So, may we lay aside the stereotype of Second Temple Judaism as a legalistic religion with works-based righteousness. May we do so as we follow the advice (from 1 Timothy 6) to be rich in good works. After all, one knows a tree by its fruits.
We can take nothing with us when we die. We can, at that time, however, leave a legacy of faithful, active love. We can leave a legacy of trust in God, love of God, and love of our fellow human beings. We can leave the world better than we found it. We can leave this life rich in good deeds.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 4, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ELIZABETH ANN SETON, FOUNDRESS OF THE AMERICAN SISTERS OF CHARITY
THE FEAST OF FELIX MANZ, FIRST ANABAPTIST MARTYR, 1527
THE FEAST OF SAINTS GREGORY OF LANGRES, TERTICUS OF LANGRES, GALLUS OF CLERMONT, GREGORY OF TOURS, AVITUS I OF CLERMONT, MAGNERICUS OF TRIER, AND GAUGERICUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
THE FEAST OF JOHANN LUDWIG FREYDT, GERMAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
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https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2021/01/04/devotion-for-the-ninth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-d-humes/
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/04/rich-in-good-deeds/
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Above: Herod Agrippa I
Image in the Public Domain
Glorifying God, Not Self
SEPTEMBER 24 and 25, 2021
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The Collect:
Generous God, your Son gave his life
that we might come to peace with you.
Give us a share of your Spirit,
and in all we do empower us to bear the name of
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 48
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The Assigned Readings:
Deuteronomy 1:1-18 (Friday)
Deuteronomy 27:1-10 (Saturday)
Psalm 19:7-14 (Both Days)
Acts 12:20-25 (Friday)
Matthew 5:13-20 (Saturday)
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The law of the LORD is perfect and revives the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent.
The statutes of the LORD are just and rejoice the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear and gives light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean and endures for ever;
the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold,
sweeter far than honey,
than honey in the comb.
By them also is your servant enlightened,
and in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can tell how often he offends?
cleanse me from my secret faults.
Above all, keep me from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me;
then shall I be whole and sound,
and innocent of a great offense.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.
–Psalm 19:7-14, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Herod Agrippa I (lived 10 B.C.E.-44 C.E.; reigned 37-44 C.E.) was a grandson of the notorious Herod the Great (reigned 37-4 B.C.E.) and a friend of the more notorious Caligula (reigned 37-41 C.E.). Herod Agrippa I, a king because the Roman Empire declared him so, persecuted nascent Christianity and dissatisfied his Roman masters by allying himself with Near Eastern rulers. He sought to glorify himself, not God, and succeeded in that goal. Then he died suddenly. Agrippa’s Roman masters did not mourn his passing.
The Deuteronomist placed pious words into the mouth of Moses. The contents of those words–reminders of divine faithfulness and of human responsibility to respond favorably–remain germane. That ethic, present in Psalm 19, contains a sense of the mystery of God, a mystery we mere mortals will never solve. President Abraham Lincoln (never baptized, by the way) grasped that mystery well, as evident in his quoting of Psalm 19 (“the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether”) in his Second Inaugural Address (1865), near the end of the Civil War.
Glorifying God–part of the responsibility to respond favorably to God–entails being salt and light in the world. Laying one’s ego aside and seeking to direct proper attention to God can prove to be difficult for many people, but it is part of what obedience to God requires.
I grew up in a series of United Methodist congregations in southern Georgia, U.S.A. In those settings I learned many invaluable lessons. Two of them were:
- Be wary of people with inadequate egos, and
- Be wary of people with raging egos.
Both types seek to use positions of power and/or authority in church to their advantage and get pastors moved needlessly. Those with raging egos seek to glorify themselves as a matter of course, and those with weak egos seek to feel better about themselves.
However, a person with a healthy ego can seek to glorify God more comfortably psychologically than one with an unbalanced sense of self-worth. One’s self-worth comes from bearing the image of God, so one’s sense of self-worth should derive from the same reality. When that statement summarizes one’s spiritual reality one is on the right path, the road of glorifying God via one’s life.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 1, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PAULI MURRAY, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY AND EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF CATHERINE WINKWORTH, TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF HARRIET BEECHER STOWE, ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF JOHN CHANDLER, ANGLICAN PRIEST, SCHOLAR, AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/glorifying-god-not-self/
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Above: St. Edward’s Episcopal Church, Lawrenceville, Georgia, October 19, 2014
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
Four Banquets
JULY 28, 2021
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The Collect:
Gracious God, you have placed within the hearts of all your children
a longing for your word and a hunger for your truth.
Grant that we may know your Son to be the true bread of heaven
and share this bread with all the world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 25:6-10a
Psalm 111
Mark 6:35-44
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He has provided food for his worshippers;
he remembers his covenant for ever.
–Psalm 111:5, Harry Mowvley, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers (1989)
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This is a post about four banquets: the divine coronation feast in Isaiah 25:6-10a, the sordid feast of Herod Antipas in Mark 6:14-29, the Feeding of the 5000 (Plus) in Mark 6:30-44, and the Holy Eucharist.
The reading from Isaiah 25 speaks of a time immediately after Yahweh has defeated pride, evil, and sorrow, and established the Kingdom of God, in its fullness, on the Earth. This is a time in our future. All people are welcome at Yahweh’s coronation feast, to take place on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem. All is well, except for those whom God has vanquished, namely the Moabites (25:10).
Our next two banquets, which stand is stark contrast to each other, come from Mark 6. The first is a sordid event, with Herod Antipas lusting after the seductive Salome (whose name and image come to us via archaeology, not the Bible) and making a hasty promise which leads to the execution of St. John the Baptist. The Herodian family tree was complicated, for both Herodias and her daughter, Salome, were granddaughters of Herod the Great via different women. Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great via a third woman, married Herodias, who had been the wife of a half-brother of Herod Antipas. Thus Salome was the step-daughter and a cousin of Herod Antipas.
I will not attempt to explain the Feeding the 5000 (Plus) rationally, for doing that constitutes seeking an answer to the wrong question. (And I am more of a rationalist than a mystic.) Neither will I try to explain Jesus walking on water (next in Mark 6) logically, for the same reason. No, I am interested in answering the question which compelled one of my spiritual mentors whenever he studied any passage of scripture:
What is really going on here?
The Markan account of the Feeding of the 5000 men (no word about the number of women and children) uses imagery from elsewhere in the Bible. Jesus is the Good Shepherd feeding the flock. His feeding of the multitude exceeds Elisha’s feeding of 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44) and Elijah’s miracle of the refilling jug of oil (1 Kings 17:8-16). The messianic banquet, an echo of Isaiah 25:6-10a, recurs in the wilderness motif in subsequent pseudipigraphal works, such as in 2 Baruch 29:4 and 4 Ezra 6:52. Two main ideas stand out in my mind:
- Jesus is greater than Elijah and Elisha (see Mark 6:15, in which some people thought that Jesus was Elijah), and
- Nothing we bring to Jesus is inadequate in his capable hands. There will be leftovers after he has finished working with it. We are insufficient by ourselves yet more than sufficient in Christ. That is what grace can effect.
The eucharistic imagery in Mark 6 points to the fourth banquet, which I, as an Episcopalian, celebrate at least once weekly. The Holy Eucharist has constituted the core of my spiritual life since childhood. One reason I left the United Methodism of my youth was to have the opportunities to partake of the sacrament more often. In the Holy Eucharist I meet Jesus in the forms of bread and wine and swear loyalty to him again. No, I am not worthy on my merit (such as it is) to do this, but I rely on his merits to make me worthy to do so. The first step to becoming worthy is acknowledging one’s unworthiness.
The contrast between human systems built on the foundation of violence, exploitation, and oppression on one hand and the Kingdom of God on the other hand is clear. Injustice and artificial scarcity characterize the former, but justice and abundance for all distinguish the latter. We can experience a foretaste of the Kingdom of God, which is partially present already, but we await the fullness of the Kingdom. Until then we can, at least, leave the world better off than we found it. No effort toward this goal is too little in Christ’s capable hands.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 6, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF CARTHAGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF DANIEL G. C. WU, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MISSIONARY TO CHINESE AMERICANS
THE FEAST OF FREDERIC BARKER, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF SYDNEY
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/four-banquets/
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Above: Ahasuerus and Haman at Esther’s Feast, by Rembrandt van Rijn
Image in the Public Domain
Two Kings
NOVEMBER 27, 2023
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The Collect:
God of power and might, your Son shows us the way of service,
and in him we inherit the riches of your grace.
Give us the wisdom to know what is right and
the strength to serve the world you have made,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 53
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The Assigned Readings:
Esther 2:1-18
Psalm 7
2 Timothy 2:8-13
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I will bear witness that the LORD is righteous;
I will praise the Name of the LORD Most High.
–Psalm 7:18, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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This is a devotion for the day after Christ the King Sunday. Pope Pius XI created that festival in 1925, when dictators governed much of Europe, interwar tensions were rising, and the Holy Father perceived the need to issue a reminder that God is in control, despite appearances. The original date was the last Sunday in October, opposite Reformation Sunday in many Protestant churches, but the Roman Catholic Church moved the date to the Sunday before Advent in 1969. In the middle of the twentieth century many U.S. Protestants observed Christ the King Sunday on the last Sunday in August. I have found evidence of this in the official materials of the reunited Methodist Church (1939-1968). Today observance of Christ the King Sunday (on the Sunday before Advent) is common in many non-Roman Catholic communions. I have detected in the Revised Common Lectionary and the Common Lectionary before that, as well as in official materials of Anglican/Episcopal, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, Cooperative Baptist, Evangelical Covenant, and other denominations.
In contrast to Christ the King we have the fictional Ahasuerus, a pompous figure whose courtiers manipulate him. He and others figure in the Book of Esther, which the germane notes in The Jewish Study Bible (2004) refer to as a low comedy with burlesque elements, as well as a serious side. (Comedy has a serious side much of the time.) The Book of Esther pokes fun at authority figures, one of the oldest pastimes. Ahasuerus, humiliated when Queen Vashti refuses his summons, decides angrily to replace her. Before he can reverse that decision, his advisers intervene. This opens the narrative door for Esther to become the secretly Jewish Queen of Persia just in time for Haman to plot to kill the Jews. Esther might have been a tool of schemers initially, but she becomes an instrument of God.
St. Paul the Apostle might not have written 2 Timothy, but the letter is of the Pauline tradition. Certainly the Apostle did suffer hardship due to his obedience to God and agreed, as the text says:
If we have died with [Christ Jesus], we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful–
for he cannot deny himself.
–2:11b-13, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Regardless of the situations of our daily life and how they became our reality, may we obey God and do the right thing. This might prove to be quite dangerous, leading even to death, but so did the path of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SHEPHERD KNAPP, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN DUCKETT AND RALPH CORBY, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS IN ENGLAND
THE FEAST OF NIKOLAI GRUNDTVIG, HYMN WRITER
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Two Kings
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Above: Samuel Ryeschenski, Nine-Year-Old Chess Player, at the United States Capitol, April 6, 1922
Photographer = Harris & Ewing
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-hec-31620
Seeking the Common Good
SEPTEMBER 18-20, 2023
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The Collect:
O Lord God, merciful judge, you are the inexhaustible fountain of forgiveness.
Replace our hearts of stone with hearts that love and adore you,
that we may delight in doing your will,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 47
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 48:8-22 (Monday)
Genesis 49:29-50:14 (Tuesday)
Genesis 50:22-26 (Wednesday)
Psalm 133 (All Days)
Hebrews 11:23-29 (Monday)
Romans 14:13-15:2 (Tuesday)
Mark 11:20-25 (Wednesday)
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Oh, how good and pleasant it is,
when brethren live together in unity!
It is like fine oil upon the head
that runs down upon the beard,
Upon the beard of Aaron,
and runs down upon the collar of his robe.
It is like the dew of Hermon
that falls upon the hills of Zion.
For there the LORD has ordained the blessing:
life for evermore.
–Psalm 133, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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So then, let us be always seeking the ways which lead to peace and the ways in which we can support each other. Do not wreck God’s work for the sake of food.
–Romans 14:19-20a, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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The ethic of building up the common good is part of the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Law of Moses we have responsibilities to and for each other. A healthy communitarianism respects individual consciences while avoiding rugged individualism on hand and the tyranny of the majority on the other hand. Our human reality is that we depend on God for everything and on each other. We are, therefore, dependent and interdependent. May we behave toward each toward each other according to the ethic of seeking the best for each other. Joseph sought the best for his family members, even those who had almost killed him. He should have sought the best for the Egyptians instead of reducing them to a state of serfdom in Genesis 47, however. (The man was not entirely heroic.)
Sometimes the common good works via authority figures; sometimes it works around them. Joseph’s boss was sympathetic to him, but the Pharaoh whom Moses knew was hostile. Under the best possible circumstances authority figures will function as agents of the common good, but often we humans must work around them or even replace them. Such is life. If we can muster enough faith we will discover that God’s grace is more than sufficient for our required tasks.
As we go about the work of seeking the common good and building each other up, may we avoid ridiculous extremes which function mainly as fodder for criticisms of religion. I recall that, when I was quite young, my sister and I were not supposed to play in the parsonage yard on Sunday afternoons. My father was the local United Methodist pastor in a conservative rural community, some members of which retained overly strict–Puritanical, even–notions regarding Sabbath-keeping. I mention this example to make a point: If we place too much emphasis on what others think, we will restrict our own range of options (and that of our children, if we have any) needlessly. Spiritually uptight people will have to deal with the consequences of their own constipation of the soul for themselves, without cramping my style. Besides, my personal life is quiet, quite boring by many standards of what is “interesting,” and nobody’s business. So I will persist in my behaviors, which according to many killjoys through the ages, are sinful: playing chess, reading novels, dancing on occasion, eating meat, drinking tea, watching movies, et cetera. I like intellectual stimulation, artistic fulfillment, antioxidants, and the taste of meat, none of which cause moral harm to anyone. So why should anyone object?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 16. 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN DIEFENBAKER AND LESTER PEARSON, PRIME MINISTERS OF CANADA; AND TOMMY DOUGLAS, FEDERAL LEADER OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
THE FEAST OF JOHN JONES OF TALYSARN, WELSH CALVINISTIC METHODIST MINISTER AND HYMN TUNE COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF BROTHER ROGER OF TAIZE, FOUNDER OF THE TAIZE COMMUNITY
THE FEAST OF THE HOLY WOMEN OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
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Bloga Theologica version
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Above: Couples Dancing the Jitterbug, 1938
Photographer = Alan Fisher
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-134893
Stumbling Blocks
JULY 1, 2023
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The Collect:
O God, you direct our lives by your grace,
and your words of justice and mercy reshape the world.
Mold us into a people who welcome your word and serve one another,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 40
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 28:1-4
Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18
Luke 17:1-4
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Happy are the people who know the shout of triumph;
they walk, O Lord, in the light of your contenance.
In your name they rejoice all day long
and are exalted in your righteousness.
For you are the glory of their strength,
and in your favour you lift up our heads.
Truly the Lord is our shield;
the Holy One of Israel is our king.
–Psalm 89:15-18, Common Worship (2000)
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[Jesus] said to his disciples, “There are bound to be causes of stumbling; but woe betide the person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone round his neck than to cause the downfall of one of these little ones. So be on your guard. If your brother does wrong, reprove him; and if he repents, forgive him. Even if he wrongs you seven times in a day and comes back to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you are to forgive him.”
–Luke 17:1-4, The Revised English Bible (1989)
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Years ago I saw a cartoon on a church office door. A man was standing at the Pearly Gates of Heaven. St. Peter said to him,
No, that’s not a sin either. You must have worried yourself to death.
There are varieties of stumbling blocks.
One type is obsessing over activities which are not sinful. I have read of congregational leaders calling members to account for playing Bridge or hosting a dance at home in the 1800s. In the early 1990s a United Methodist minister told me about an experience he had had in the 1960s, when he was a pastor in rural Houston County, Georgia. Parents in the community, in an effort to provide safe activities for their children, had organized a series of Saturday night chaperoned dances at the fellowship hall of the local Methodist Church. One night a local Southern Baptist pastor made a scene outside as he complained loudly about the sinful dancing going on indoors. I suppose that he thought he was reproving people in the spirit of Luke 17, but his congregation fired him shortly thereafter. Many of the people in the Methodist fellowship hall that night, O reader, were his parishioners.
Obsessing over small fries which are not even sinful as if they are detracts one from actual sins.
Many people have long mistaken medical problems, such as addictions and dependencies, as moral failings, and therefore sins. Yet having a medical condition—a physical illness (including mental illness, which has organic causes)–is no sin. One should strive to fulfill one’s responsibility to be a better person—including not caving into certain cravings—of course, but having a problem of that sort is no sin.
Neither is acting according to or having a characteristic with which one is born and over which one has no control sinful. The option to do one thing or another is part of what makes some deeds sinful. Where there is option there is no sin, which is doing the wrong thing when one can do the right thing.
False prophecy is a sin. The Bible names many prophets who said that which was convenient and politically expedient and who led people astray. And I can think of some false prophets with ministerial titles and television shows in my own time. Many of the broadcast of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), where the hair is big and much of the furniture, in the words of someone I heard speak in the late 1990s, would fit in at a New Orleans bordello. (I assume that the metaphor had mostly to do with furniture in pre-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.)
One can also erect stumbling blocks of the excessively permissive variety. I refer not so much to peccadilloes (not that they do not matter) as to patterns and structures in society. Peccadilloes, which are bad and therefore require correction, constitute low-hanging fruit. The real challenge is to climb the tree. The Bible contains more material about money, the uses of it, and economic injustice (including the exploitation of people) than it does about sexual practices and proclivities. One should, then, hear more about economics than sexuality from the pulpit, but often reality is the other way around. Not reproving people complicit in economic exploitation constitutes a failure on one’s part. Allegations of engaging in class warfare aside, engaging in such reproof is the right thing to do.
We humans exist chiefly to glorify and enjoy God forever. The Psalm speaks to that point from the Westminster Catechism. Forgiveness—something frequently difficult—is a vital part of approaching that goal—for both the one who pardons and he or she who receives the forgiveness. And so is appropriate reproof. Inappropriate reproof, however, does not help. May we, by grace, see through our blind spots and bad cultural programming to recognize that which is proper. Then may we affirm it and act accordingly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 23, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DESIDERIUS/DIDIER OF VIENNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT GUIBERT OF GORZE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN BAPTIST ROSSI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, SCIENTIST
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/stumbling-blocks/
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Above: Landscape with the Parable of the Sower, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder
Image in the Public Domain
Deuteronomy and Matthew, Part XIII: Loyalty and Identity
OCTOBER 15-17, 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 13:1-18 (October 15–Protestant Versification)
Deuteronomy 13:2-19 (October 15–Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Versification)
Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23; 14:28-15:15 (October 16)
Deuteronomy 15:19-16:22 (October 17)
Psalm 123 (Morning–October 15)
Psalm 15 (Morning–October 16)
Psalm 36 (Morning–October 17)
Psalms 30 and 86 (Evening–October 15)
Psalms 48 and 4 (Evening–October 16)
Psalms 80 and 27 (Evening–October 17)
Matthew 13:1-23 (October 15)
Matthew 13:24-43 (October 16)
Matthew 13:44-58 (October 17)
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Here is a summary of the contents of Deuteronomy 13:1-16:22:
- Execute any false prophet or dream-diviner. (13:1-6/2-7)
- Execute anyone who entices another person to commit idolatry. (13:6-11/7-12)
- Execute the inhabitants of idolatrous towns, burn those towns, and destroy all spoil. Do not rebuild at any of those sites. (13:12-18/13-19)
- Avoid mourning rituals associated with pagan peoples. (14:1-2)
- Eat only ritually clean foods. (14:3-21)
- Pay a tenth of your crops and livestock to God. (14:22-26)
- Provide for the needy and the Levites. (14:27-29)
- Provide debts and free slaves every seventh year. (15:1-18)
- Sacrifice all male firstlings born into your flock to God, assuming that it is a proper physical specimen. (15:19-23)
- Keep a detailed festival calendar and the accompanying instructions. (16:1-17)
- Appoint magistrates who will govern honestly and justly, taking no bribes. (16:18-20)
- Erect no posts, as in honor to Astarte. (16:21-22)
I have mixed feelings about that material. On one hand, I approve of the social justice imperative parts of it. I find even the acceptance of any form of slavery offensive and the command to execute people intolerable. I know that one theme of the Law of Moses is absolute loyalty to God, so idolatry equaled treason, but some commands seem barbaric to me. So far as dietary laws are concerned, I note that I have never cared about them. Proper refrigeration negates some health concerns, as does thorough cooking. One analysis of the forbidden list says that those animals did not fit nearly into certain categories. Assuming that the analysis is correct, what was the problem? Besides, I like to eat ham and intend to continue to do so.
In Matthew 13 we read a series of mostly agricultural parables: the sower and the seed, the darnel and the mustard seed, the treasure in the field, the merchant and the pearls, and the fish of mixed quality. And, at the end of the chapter, people in Nazareth lack faith him. Perhaps they know too much to realize even more.
From those parables I glean certain lessons:
- One should remain focused on God, not allowing anything or anyone to function as a distraction.
- The good and the bad will grow up together and come mixed together. God will sort everything into the correct categories at the right time. That task does not fall to us, mere mortals.
- Nothing is more important than seeking, finding, and keeping the Kingdom of God.
I detect much thematic overlap between that material and Deuteronomy 13:1-16:22, with the notable absence of commands about when to execute or destroy. Yes, Matthew is more riveting reading than Deuteronomy.
I read the Law of Moses as a Gentile, specifically an Episcopalian who grew up a United Methodist. The Law was like a household servant who raised children, St. Paul the Apostle tells us. Now that Christ has arrived on the scene, I have only two commandments, not over 600. So, as long as I am growing via grace into loving God fully and my neighbor as myself, that ham sandwich should not bother my conscience. And I refuse to execute anyone, for I serve an executed and resurrected Lord and Savior. To him I am loyal. In him, not a law code, do I find my identity.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 7, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMITIAN OF HUY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP
THE FEAST OF HARRIET STARR CANNON, COFOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITYN OF SAINT MARY
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROSE VENERINI, FOUNDER OF THE VENERINI SISTERS
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODARD OF NARBONNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP; AND SAINTS JUSTUS AND PASTOR, MARTYRS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/deuteronomy-and-matthew-part-xiii-loyalty-and-identity/
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Above: Saul and David, by Rembrandt van Rijn
Image in the Public Domain
1 Samuel and 1 Corinthians, Part IV: Mercy and Discipline
AUGUST 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 everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Samuel 26:1-25
Psalm 103 (Morning)
Psalms 117 and 139 (Evening)
1 Corinthians 5:1-13
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1 Samuel 26 resembles Chapter 24 closely. The two are probably variants of the same incident, actually. 1 Samuel and some other books of the Hebrew Bible, being composed of documentary sources edited together, contain such doublets. Anyhow, it is good to read another account (or variant of a story) of mercy.
In contrast, we have 1 Corinthians 5, in which we read of idolatry, greed, incest, slander, drunkenness, and dishonesty–all within the Corinthian church. Paul orders the banishment of the offenders. Indeed, those behaviors destroy self and others, unlike sparing the life of a person who has tried to kill one. And it is true that negative influences in a group can grow if one does not remove them, just as positive influences can spread.
Once I heard of a United Methodist congregation in Columbus, Georgia. Membership had not increased in years because of the negative activities of a small number of people, who had been chiefly responsible for a series of short pastorates. In the 1980s or 1990s the newly appointed minister managed to compel most of these trouble makers to leave the congregation. Membership and attendance increased substantially and the remaining (former) trouble makers became rather quiet.
Sometimes one must remove from fellowship (for the sake of the group) those who will not reform. Yet one must never forget the imperative of showing mercy to those who have changed their negative and destructive ways.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 16, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALL CHRISTIAN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
THE FEAST OF HUGH LATIMER, NICHOLAS RIDLEY, AND THOMAS CRANMER, ANGLICAN MARTYRS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/1-samuel-and-1-corinthians-part-iv-mercy-and-discipline/
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Above: The Sacrifice of Isaac (1603 version), by Caravaggio
Image in the Public Domain
Arguing With God
JULY 6, 2023
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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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Genesis 22:1-19 (An American Translation):
Some time after this [the covenant with Abimelech] God put Abraham to the test.
Abraham!
he said to him.
Here am I,
he said.
Take your son,
he said,
your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and there offer him as a burnt-offering on one of the hills which I shall designate to you.
So next morning Abraham rose early, and harnessing his ass, he took two of his servants with him and his son Isaac, and having cut wood for the burnt-offering, he started off for the sanctuary which God had designated to him. On the third day, when Abraham raised his eyes, he saw the sanctuary in the distance. So Abraham said to his servants,
Stay here with the ass, while I and the boy go yonder to perform our devotions, after which we shall return to you.
So Abraham took the wood for the burnt-offering and put on the back of his son Isaac, while he carried in his own hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them went off together.
Father!
said Isaac to his father Abraham.
Yes, my son,
he responded.
Here are the fire and the wood,” he said, “but where is the sheep for a burnt-offering?
Abraham said,
God will provide himself with the sheep for a burnt-offering, my son.
Thereupon the two of them proceeded on their way together.
When they had arrived at the sanctuary which God had designated to him, Abraham built the altar there, arranged the wood, and binding his son Isaac, laid him on the altar on top of the wood. But as Abraham put out his hand to grasp the knife to slay his son, the angel of the LORD called to him from the heavens,
Abraham, Abraham!
He replied,
Here I am.
He said,
Do not lay hands on the boy; do nothing of the sort to him; for I know now that you revere God, in that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.
When Abraham raised his eyes, he saw behind him a ram caught in the brushwood by its horns! So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt-offering in place of his son. Then Abraham called the name of that sanctuary Yahweh-jireh, which today is interpreted as
At the hill of the LORD provision is made.
A second time the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from the heavens,
I swear by myself
–that is the oracle of the LORD–
that since you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and will surely make your descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky, or the sands of that are on the seashore, so that your descendants shall take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your descendants all the nations of the earth shall invoke blessings on one another–just because you have heeded my injunction.
Abraham then returned to his servants, and together they started off for Beersheba; and in Beersheba Abraham made his home.
Psalm 116:1-8 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 I love the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplication,
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.
2 The cords of death entangled me;
the grip of the grave took hold of me;
O came to grief and sorrow.
3 Then I called upon the Name of the LORD;
“O LORD, I pray you, save my life.”
4 Gracious is the LORD and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
5 The LORD watches over the innocent;
I was brought very low, and he helped me.
6 Turn again to your rest, O my soul,
for the LORD has treated you well.
7 For you have rescued my life from death,
my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
8 I will walk in the presence of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Matthew 9:1-8 (An American Translation):
So he [Jesus] got into the boat and crossed the sea, and returned to his own city.
Some people came bringing to him on a bed a man who was paralyzed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic,
Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.
Some of the scribes said to themselves,
This man is talking blasphemy!
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said,
Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But would you know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth.”
Then he said to the paralytic,
Get up, pick up your bed, and go home!
And he got up and went home. And when the crowd saw it, they were filled with awe, and praised God for giving such power to men.
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The Collect:
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant to us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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I attended Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia, from 1993 to 1996. During that time I belonged to and attended Christ Episcopal Church, across the street from the campus. One year I attended the passion play at Park Avenue United Methodist Church. The opening scene of “God Hath Provided the Lamb” was the near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. The play reflected a traditional Christian interpretation of this horrible story, that of prefiguring the sacrifice of Jesus. (The play also embraced Penal Substitutionary Atonement, another bad idea.)
Today, December 17, 2010, for the second time in a few days, I have typed out the entire text of Genesis 22:1-19. The previous time I typed out the text according to the New Revised Standard Version for the Proper 8, Year A, Revised Common Lectionary post. This is one reading that rips out my heart every time. How would you, O reader, feel if you were Isaac? Abraham bargains with God for the lives of strangers in Genesis 18 yet never for that of his own flesh and blood. The concept of obedience to God has that strong a hold over him.
Obviously, I reject the premise that God told Abraham to sacrifice his son. Only a sadistic deity would do such a thing, and my image of God comes from Jesus, love incarnate.
Once I heard a brief comparison of Islam and Judaism. The chief value in Islam is submitting to God, but people argue with God in Judaism. I like arguing with God. And what better time is there to argue with God than in defense of a family member? If the argument does nothing else, it might clear up any confusion: “Did you, O God, really command me to sacrifice my son?” The best way to get an answer to ask a question.
In Matthew 9:1-8 Jesus is back home in Capernaum, where some friends bring a paralyzed man to be healed. A common belief at the time and place held that physical ailments had their origin in sin, so perhaps the paralyzed man believed this. His condition might have been psychosomatic. Jesus addresses both sides–the spiritual/psychological and the physical–and receives criticism from religiously orthodox people of the time and place. Was Jesus committing blasphemy by forgiving sins?
I note that these critics focused on their narrow theological concerns, not the well-being of the paralyzed man. Therein resided their wickedness. They needed to care about people more than abstract theology. They failed to understand that the best theology finds expression not only in words but in compassionate deeds as well.
In Matthew 9:1-8 we have an example of when arguing with God was inappropriate. Lest we content ourselves with praising Jesus and condemning his critics, we need to ask ourselves some difficult questions: Who are we in this story? Are we so bound to our own traditions that, if, were we of a different time, place, and culture, we would probably defend traditions and propositions we reject today? These are questions of personality and spiritual type.
I answer for myself, and for myself alone. I do not know where I would have stood in relation to Jesus under such hypothetical circumstances. I like to think that I would have followed him, but this is just a hope. I suspect that I would have been agnostic at best and critical at worst, for I prefer certain traditions.
Knowing when to argue with God can be difficult. May we choose wisely.
KRT
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/arguing-with-god/
ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS 
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