Above: A Shepherd
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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:
Ezekiel 33:1-20 (January 11)
Ezekiel 34:1-24 (January 12)
Psalm 51 (Morning–January 11)
Psalm 104 (Morning–January 12)
Psalms 142 and 65 (Evening–January 11)
Psalms 118 and 111 (Evening–January 12)
Romans 3:1-18 (January 11)
Romans 3:19-31 (January 12)
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Some Related Posts:
Ezekiel 33:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/proper-18-year-a/
Ezekiel 34:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/proper-29-year-a/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/week-of-proper-15-wednesday-year-2/
Romans 3:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/proper-4-year-a/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/week-of-proper-23-thursday-year-1/
O Thou Who Art the Shepherd:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/o-thou-who-art-the-shepherd/
Shepherd of Tender Youth:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/shepherd-of-tender-youth/
Very Bread, Good Shepherd, Tend Us:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/very-bread-good-shepherd-tend-us/
Shepherd of Souls:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/09/07/shepherd-of-souls-by-james-montgomery/
The King of Love My Shepherd Is:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/the-king-of-love-my-shepherd-is/
Litany of the Good Shepherd:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/litany-of-the-good-shepherd/
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God’s saving justice was witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, but now it has been revealed altogether apart from law: God’s saving justice given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
–Romans 3:21-22, The New Jerusalem Bible
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I Myself will graze my flock, and I Myself will let them lie down–declares the Lord GOD. I will look for the lost, and I will bandage the injured, and I will sustain the weak; and the fat and the healthy ones I will destroy, and I will tend them rightly.
–Ezekiel 34:15-16, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
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I have written one post to cover material for two days because, after having written many devotional blog entries, I do not know what else to say about the January 11 content. The texts, I think, make their points succinctly. Yet the January 12 content does lend itself to my comments.
Pauline theology holds that the Law of Moses served its purpose in its time. Yet now that Jesus has arrived on the scene, a new stage of salvation history has begun. That is a simplification, but hopefully not an excessive one. Linking Romans 3:19-31 with Ezekiel 34:1-24 works well, for the prophet, channeling God, condemned false and bad shepherds, such as certain kings. A good and divine shepherd, identified as God, would step in, set matters right, and find the stray sheep. And, of course, the Good Shepherd is an image for Jesus in the Gospels.
We modern readers, especially those not in frequent contact with sheep or shepherds, need to recall that shepherds were not highly respected people in the times of Ezekiel, Jesus, and Paul. Shepherds were necessary, but they were not respectable. They were, in fact, smelly. Yet this profession provided imagery for God (Yahweh/Adonai) and Jesus. One might draw several useful points from this fact, but I focus on one here. Channeling an attitude from Ezekiel 34, we ought not to look down upon those among us who perform necessary work we might deem undesirable. The job titles vary from place to place. In Georgia, my home, the “shepherds” are Latin American migrants who work mostly on farms. These individuals merit our respect, not our disdain.
Each of us bears the image of God; may we think of and treat each other accordingly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 15, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZACHARY, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF EDMUND MUSKIE, UNITED STATES SENATOR AND SECRETARY OF STATE
THE FEAST OF SAINT LOUISE DE MARILLAC, COFOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY
BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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