Above: Yael Killing Sisera, by Palma the Younger
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Almighty God, you give us the joy of celebrating our Lord’s resurrection.
Give us also the joys of life in your service,
and bring us at last to the full joy of life eternal,
through 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 32
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The Assigned Readings:
Judges 4:17-23; 5:24-31a
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Revelation 12:1-12
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The reading from Revelation, told in the language of symbols, is about the persecution of Christians. Martyrs in Heaven have conquered evil forces by dying, but their counterparts in the Church Militant remain vulnerable. Their day to sing, in the words of Psalm 118:16 (The Book of Common Prayer, 1979),
The right hand of the LORD has triumphed!
the right hand of the LORD is exalted!
the right hand of the LORD has triumphed!
resides in the future.
Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, knew how to triumph. She used a mallet to drive a tent pin through the temple of Sisera, the Canaanite army commander, until the pin went into the ground.
This is a devotion for Tuesday in Easter Week. Liturgically the death and resurrection of Jesus are therefore recent events. According to the Classic Theory of the Atonement, or Christus Victor for short, the proper emphasis falls on the reality that Jesus was dead only briefly. His resurrection thwarted evil plots, making clear the superior power of God, of perfect love. Jesus was a sacrifice, not a person committing or condoning deadly violence.
As I have written online many times, I am not naive. I understand that some evildoers will refuse to amend their ways. I grasp that human sinfulness necessitates a rescue operation sometimes, and that such missions have body counts much of the time. Yet I cannot imagine Jesus advocating for needless violence and militant religion. He was, after all not a zealot, a member of that group which sought to expel the Romans from Palestine forcefully.
The call to love my neighbors as I love myself reminds me that even those who would destroy me are my neighbors. Jesus interceded on behalf of such as these; should any of us who claim to follow him do any less?
The battle is God’s. We have the right to defend ourselves against threats, but may we never give in to hatred, a greater foe.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 18, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARC BOEGNER, ECUMENIST
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Adapted from this post:
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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