Above:  The Canaanite Woman

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 19:1-20 (October 20)

Deuteronomy 20:1-20 (October 21)

Psalm 67 (Morning–October 20)

Psalm 51 (Morning–October 21)

Psalms 46 and 93 (Evening–October 20)

Psalms 85 and 47 (Evening–October 21)

Matthew 15:1-20 (October 20)

Matthew 15:21-39 (October 21)

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Some Related Posts:

Matthew 15:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/fourth-day-of-advent/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/week-of-proper-13-tuesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/week-of-proper-13-wednesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/proper-15-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/week-of-proper-13-wednesday-year-2-and-week-of-proper-13-thursday-year-2/

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Jesus of Nazareth, our Lord and Savior, showed great compassion in the stories collected in Matthew 15.  He focused on inner purity or lack thereof (as opposed to ritual purity or impurity), healed a Gentile’s daughter and many suffering people then fed four thousand men plus uncounted women and children.  His heart went out to people (not just the 4000+).  So Jesus acted.

Meanwhile, back in Deuteronomy, we find the usual combination of mercy and proscribed violence. For the latter, O reader, see 20:10-14, where the alternative to death is forced labor.  Yes, I disagree with these laws which command killing or forced labor.  Why should I not do so?  Whom would Jesus kill or enslave?  After all, his heart went out to people.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 8, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT II, BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF DAME JULIAN OF NORWICH, SPIRITUAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MAGDALENA OF CANOSSA, FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY AND THE SONS OF CHARITY

THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER OF TARENTAISE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/devotion-for-october-20-and-21-lcms-daily-lectionary/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Northern Views, Site of the Feeding of the Five Thousand

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mpc2004004126/PP/)

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-05555

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 17:1-20 (October 18)

Deuteronomy 18:1-22 (October 19)

Psalm 13 (Morning–October 18)

Psalm 56 (Morning–October 19)

Psalms 32 and 139 (Evening–October 18)

Psalms 100 and 62 (Evening–October 19)

Matthew 14:1-21 (October 18)

Matthew 14:22-36 (October 19)

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Some Related Posts:

Deuteronomy 18:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/fourth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-b/

Matthew 14:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/devotion-for-the-eleventh-and-twelfth-days-of-lent-lcms-daily-lectionary/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/week-of-proper-12-saturday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/proper-13-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/week-of-proper-13-monday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/proper-14-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/week-of-proper-12-saturday-year-2/

The Feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, Martyr (August 29):

http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/feast-of-the-beheading-of-st-john-the-baptist-martyr-august-29/

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I have become convinced that the best way to read the Law of Moses is in small doses, usually in reference to narrative Bible stories.  Yet the main purpose of a lectionary is to guide the orderly reading of the Bible, even books one might avoid otherwise.  So I continue.

These days in Deuteronomy we read about court procedures.  There must be at least two witnesses, in a capital case, for a person who has committed idolatry must die.  Levites will settle baffling cases, and the king will have no role in justice.  We read also of Levites and prophets, whose authority came from God, not any other source.

Speaking of prophets—yes, more than a prophet—we read of Jesus feeding the five thousand men plus an uncounted number of women and children with a small amount of food and ending up with more leftovers than the original supply of food.  Then we read of Jesus walking on water then curing many people.  That material completes a chapter which begins with the execution of St. John the Baptist due to a rash promise made at a tawdry party.  The sublime grace and a great power of God at work in Jesus exists among violent men and women.  That is the story I detect uniting Matthew 14.

There is also violence—albeit carefully regulated violence—in Deuteronomy 17.  I continue to object to executing people for committing idolatry either.  But, if human life is as valuable as some parts of the Law of Moses indicate, why is so much stoning demanded there?  I read of how Jesus helped people from various backgrounds (often marginalized individuals) and think of his great compassion.  Surely executing someone for working on the Sabbath or committing idolatry is inconsistent with that ethic.

But at least the Levites got to eat.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 8, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT II, BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF DAME JULIAN OF NORWICH, SPIRITUAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MAGDALENA OF CANOSSA, FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY AND THE SONS OF CHARITY

THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER OF TARENTAISE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/devotion-for-october-18-and-19-lcms-daily-lectionary/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Landscape with the Parable of the Sower, by Pieter Brueghel the Elder

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Some Related Posts:

Deuteronomy 15:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/proper-25-year-b/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/04/10/devotion-for-september-20-and-21-lcms-daily-lectionary/

Matthew 13:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/25/proper-10-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/proper-11-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/week-of-proper-11-wednesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/week-of-proper-11-thursday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/week-of-proper-11-friday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/week-of-proper-11-saturday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/proper-12-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/week-of-proper-12-monday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/week-of-proper-12-tuesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/week-of-proper-12-wednesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/week-of-proper-12-thursday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/week-of-proper-12-friday-year-1/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Here is a summary of the contents of Deuteronomy 13:1-16:22:

1. Execute any false prophet or dream-diviner.  (13:1-6/2-7)
2. Execute anyone who entices another person to commit idolatry.  (13:6-11/7-12)
3. 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)
4. Avoid mourning rituals associated with pagan peoples.  (14:1-2)
5. Eat only ritually clean foods.  (14:3-21)
6. Pay a tenth of your crops and livestock to God.  (14:22-26)
7. Provide for the needy and the Levites.  (14:27-29)
8. Provide debts and free slaves every seventh year.  (15:1-18)
9. Sacrifice all male firstlings born into your flock to God, assuming that it is a proper physical specimen.  (15:19-23)
10. Keep a detailed festival calendar and the accompanying instructions.  (16:1-17)
11. Appoint magistrates who will govern honestly and justly, taking no bribes.  (16:18-20)
12. 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:

1. One should remain focused on God, not allowing anything or anyone to function as a distraction.
2. 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.
3. 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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/07/devotion-for-october-15-16-and-17-lcms-daily-lectionary/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Diocesan Confirmation, the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia, April 28, 2013

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

(https://plus.google.com/photos/114749828757741527421/albums/5872391793912748097/5872399703548608706?banner=pwa)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 11:26-12:12 (October 13)

Deuteronomy 12:13-32 (October 14–Protestant Versification)

Deuteronomy 12:13-13:1 (October 14–Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Versification)

Psalm 19 (Morning–October 13)

Psalm 136 (Morning–October 14)

Psalms 8 and 113 (Evening–October 13)

Psalms 97 and 112 (Evening–October 14)

Matthew 12:22-37 (October 13)

Matthew 12:38-50 (October 14)

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Some Related Posts:

Deuteronomy 11-12:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/proper-4-year-a/

Matthew 12:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/week-of-proper-11-monday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/week-of-proper-11-tuesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/week-of-proper-11-monday-year-2/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek,

and neither slave nor free,

both male and female heirs are made,

and all are kin to me.

–John Oxenham, 1913

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The letter of the Law of Moses is culturally specific.  So, given the passage of time and the fact of living in a different place, undertanding the spirit of the Law can require some reading of well-researched commentaries.  Such reading has made much of the content of Deuteronomy 12 clear to me.  Now, for example, two themes of which I choose to write stand out in my mind:

1. The Israelites were to avoid emulating the Caananites.  Thus, for example, there was to be one legitimate sanctuary, not a plethora of them.
2. The Israelites were to recognize God as the owner of everything.  They were stewards and tenants.

As the unfolding narrative of the Hebrew Bible reveals, of course, the great majority of Israelites disregarded those principles, both of which pertained to identity relative to God and Gentiles.

Jesus, in Matthew 12, faced questions relative to God and Gentiles.  Hence the Sabbath question was a major issue in 12:1-21.  Also, if Jesus was God, what did that fact say about his religious critics?  Of whom were they?  That issue fed much sustained opposition to our Lord and Savior, for carping apparently proved easier than converting.  Even members of our Lord’s family (a vital unit in that and other societies) misunderstood him.  But, for Jesus, the more important family identity was spiritual and fictive.

Within societies our place relative to others defines us, of course.  It can be no other way.  But our more important identity is the one relative to God, in whose house there are many rooms.  May we honor God more than any human considerations which counter it.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 6, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF MIDDLETON BARNWELL STUART, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF GEORGIA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS EDBERT AND EADFRITH OF LINDISFARNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST IF SAINTS EDWARD JONES AND ANTHONY MIDDLETON, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF JEANNETTE RANKIN, UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/devotion-for-october-13-and-14-lcms-daily-lectionary/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Jesus Healing the Man with a Withered Hand

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 11:1-25

Psalm 104 (Morning)

Psalms 118 and 111 (Evening)

Matthew 12:1-21

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Some Related Posts:

Deuteronomy 11:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/proper-4-year-a/

Matthew 12:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/week-of-proper-10-friday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/30/week-of-proper-10-saturday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/week-of-proper-10-friday-year-2/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/week-of-proper-10-saturday-year-2/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Deuteronomy 11:1-25 impresses upon the audience the importance of obeying the Law of Moses–prosperity and peace for obedience and the opposite for disobedience.  That formula strikes me as being false and simplistic, for many (including in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament) have suffered for keeping God’s ways and calling scofflaws to account.  But I digress.

Part of the Law of Moses was keeping the Sabbath.  At the time of Jesus schools of Palestinian Judaism offered varying interpretations of how rigorously to observe that day.  But all understood the proper observance of the Sabbath to be a distinctive marker of being an observant Jew.  Deuteronomy 23:23-25 allowed for the poor and the hungry to glean food from the fields of others on that day, for eating was necessary and compassion was part of the Sabbath formula.

For I desire goodness, not sacrifice;

Obedience to God, rather than burnt offerings.

–Hosea 6:6, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

Jesus, an observant Jew, quoted that passage in response to criticism in Matthew 12.  Since when was it wrong to perform a good deed on the Sabbath?  It was lawful, according to strict interpretations of Sabbath laws, to save human lives and to rescue livestock on that day.  So was not human life more valuable than sheep life?  Besides, the man with the withered hand had suffered enough, had he not?

Every day is a good day to live compassionately.  May theological orthodoxy, whether or not combined with identity politics, stand in the way of performing compassionate deeds.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 2, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT

THE FEAST OF SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF JAMES LEWIS MILLIGAN, HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCULF OF NANTEUIL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/devotion-for-october-12-lcms-daily-lectionary/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  The Adoration of the Golden Calf, by Nicolas Poussin

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 9:1-22 (October 10)

Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22 (October 11)

Psalm 97 (Morning–October 10)

Psalm 51 (Morning–October 11)

Psalms 16 and 62 (Evening–October 10)

Psalms 142 and 65 (Evening–October 11)

Matthew 11:1-19 (October 10)

Matthew 11:20-30 (October 11)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Some Related Posts:

Deuteronomy 10:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/independence-day-u-s-a-july-4/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/week-of-proper-14-monday-year-1/

Matthew 11:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/eleventh-day-of-advent/

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/twelfth-day-of-advent/

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/thirteenth-day-of-advent/

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/fifteenth-day-of-advent-third-sunday-of-advent-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/proper-9-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/25/week-of-proper-10-monday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/26/week-of-proper-10-tuesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/week-of-proper-10-wednesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/week-of-proper-10-thursday-year-1/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dark clouds surround the readings for these days.  In Deuteronomy 9:6 (TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures) Moses tells the Israelites:

Know then that it is not for any virtue that your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Subsequently described events confirm that statement.  And only the intercessions of Moses, who suffered for the people, spare them from destruction by God.

Speaking of suffering intercessors, we have Jesus in Matthew 11.  He fasts and critics accuse him of excessive asceticism.  He eats and drinks and critics allege that he is a glutton and a drunkard.  What is a Son of God and Son of Man to do?  Whatever he does, someone criticizes him.  Yet he finds a more responsive audience among many Gentiles.  At least St. John the Baptist, distressed at the end of his life, had an honest question, not a predisposition to carping and to finding fault.

Many people are impossible to please.  Others are merely extremely difficult to please.  Still others are more persuadable via good evidence and are therefore less likely to prove unpleasant.  I hope that I fall into the last category, not either of the first two, in God’s estimation.  What more than that what God has done already must God do to persuade?  Was liberating the Israelites insufficient?  Was feeding them and providing water in the desert not enough?  Is the Incarnation not to our liking?  How stiff are our necks?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 2, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT

THE FEAST OF SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF JAMES LEWIS MILLIGAN, HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCULF OF NANTEUIL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/devotion-for-october-10-and-11-lcms-daily-lectionary/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, by John Martin

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 6:10-25 (October 7)

Deuteronomy 7:1-19 (October 8)

Deuteronomy 8:1-20 (October 9)

Psalm 5 (Morning–October 7)

Psalm 42 (Morning–October 8)

Psalm 89:1-18 (Morning–October 9)

Psalms 84 and 29 (Evening–October 7)

Psalms 102 and 133 (Evening–October 8)

Psalms 1 and 33 (Evening–October 9)

Matthew 9:18-38 (October 7)

Matthew 10:1-23 (October 8)

Matthew 10:24-42 (October 9)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Some Related Posts:

Deuteronomy 6:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/week-of-proper-13-saturday-year-1/

Deuteronomy 8:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/thanksgiving-day-u-s-a/

Matthew 9-10:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/sixth-day-of-advent/

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/seventh-day-of-advent/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/proper-5-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/proper-6-year-a/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/week-of-proper-9-monday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/week-of-proper-9-tuesday-year-1/

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The God of Deuteronomy 6-8 is a fearsome warrior, one who tells people in stern tones to obey–OR ELSE.  And, to complicate matters further, genocide (allegedly approved of by God) is part of the mix.  So destruction for godless ways is a prominent theme there.  I choose not to repeat my detailed disapproval of such material as being inconsistent with the Golden Rule, for I have written of it many times.

Jesus, in Matthew 9:18-10:42, heals people, raises a girl from the dead, sends his twelve Apostles on a mission (with detailed instructions), and tells them to leave unbelievers to God’s wrath.  I notice that they are not do anything to those who reject them.  And I cannot escape mention of God’s wrath in the material for these days.

Jesus,as I think of him automatically, was a generally jolly fellow who used humor to cope with great stresses and sorrows.  He was fully human, I affirm, and we humans need humor.  So I imagine him and his Apostles sharing jokes, perhaps the following one among them:

Q:  How many Pharisees does it take to change oil lamp?

A:  One one, but he never does it on the Sabbath.

Yet I know that the darker, more serious side of the Gospel message was always there.  I affirm this also, without the genocide and with more forgiveness than in Deuteronomy 6-8.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 2, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT

THE FEAST OF SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF JAMES LEWIS MILLIGAN, HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCULF OF NANTEUIL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

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Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/devotion-for-october-7-8-and-9-lcms-daily-lectionary/

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Above:  Jesus Healing a Paralytic, by Bernhard Rode

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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 5:22-6:9

Psalm 103 (Morning)

Psalms 117 and 139 (Evening)

Matthew 9:1-17

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Some Related Posts:

Deuteronomy 6:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/week-of-proper-13-saturday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/proper-26-year-b/

Matthew 9:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/third-day-of-lent/

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Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9 is a generally positive lection with a dark cloud hanging over it.  We readers know (or at least we should know) that the good intentions will not last long and that the consequences will be dire and predictable.

I suppose that our Lord and Savior’s critics thought that they were on the side of righteousness and that Jesus was not.  Perhaps they thought of the consequences of collective apostasy and in the Hebrew Bible.  Maybe they feared that Jesus was leading people astray.  They were wrong, of course, for they represented a corrupt religious system.  And Jesus, with his authority, challenged theirs.  He also challenged basic assumptions regarding fasting, table fellowship, ritual purity, and the cause of the paralyzed man’s suffering.  He redefined holiness to be more inclusive than exclusive, drawing people into the big tent rather than consigning large populations to the category of the hopelessly lost.

It is easy and frequently tempting to define one’s self as belonging to an elite club of holy people.  To do so is certainly ego-reinforcing. Yet it is a trap for one’s self and a careless disregard for others who bear the image of God.

So I challenge you, O reader, to ask yourself some questions.  Who are the people you blame unjustly for their problems?  Who are the people you exclude unjustly?  Who are the people from whom you keep a distance so that they will not “contaminate” you by their presence?  I ask myself the same questions about how I think of and act toward others.  Yes, we will not get along with all people; that is a morally neutral fact of life.  And we will have little in common with many individuals.  But we must not assume that anyone is hopelessly lost to God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 1, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS

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Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/devotion-for-october-6-lcms-daily-lectionary/

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Above:  Christ Pantocrator

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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 5:1-21

Psalm 61 (Morning)

Psalms 138 and 98 (Evening)

Matthew 8:18-34

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Some Related Posts:

Matthew 8:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/week-of-proper-8-monday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/week-of-proper-8-tuesday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/week-of-proper-8-wednesday-year-1/

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I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before the gods will I sing praise to you.

I will bow down toward your holy temple and praise your name,

because of your love and faithfulness;

for you have glorified your name and your word above all things.

In the day I called to you, you answered me;

you put new strength in my soul.

–Psalm 138:1-3 (The Book of Common Prayer, 2004)

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I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart:

before the gods I will sing your praises.

I will bow down toward your holy temple,

and give thanks because of your love and faithfulness:

for you have exalted your name and your word above all things.

On the day I called, you answered me:

and put new strength within me.

–Psalm 138:1-3 (A New Zealand Prayer Book, 1989)

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You shall not have other gods before my face.

–Deuteronomy 5:7 (Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah)

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Scholars of the Hebrew Scriptures argue whether Deuteronomy 5:7 and its counterpart, Exodus 20:3, are monotheistic statements.  Does the command mean to worship only YHWH yet to acknowledge the existence of other deities?  Or does it mean that one should worship only YHWH because there is only YHWH?  In other words, is it monotheistic (as Richard Elliott Friedman insists) or monolatric (as The Jewish Study Bible and The New Interpreter’s Study Bible argue).  The Bible is an anthology of texts from various periods and perspectives, so if it did indicated monolatry (my historical position) could it not mean monotheism now?  The widespread practice of monotheism did come relatively late (about 25,000 years ago) to the Hebrew people.  The theology existed long before that, of course, but the widespread practice, as the texts of the Hebrew Bible attest, came fairly late.

Psalm 138 seems to be the work of an Israelite (perhaps King David) present where people worship heathen deities.  He affirms his loyalty to YHWH.

Jesus, in Matthew 8:18-34, performs mighty acts and demands total loyalty.  He did have a house at Capernaum, but frequently lacked a place to lay his head; he did travel often.

There is only one deity, the one I know as God, YHWH, Adonai, etc.  Human theology on that topic has changed yet the reality has remained constant.  And Christian discipleship is following Jesus, not just affirming his ethics.  The demand from YHWH in Deuteronomy 5 and from Jesus in Matthew 8 is the same:  follow me.  That is a call to do something active.  May we obey it.  And, if we have begun to do so, may we remain on that spiritual path.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 1, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS

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Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/devotion-for-october-5-lcms-daily-lectionary/

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Above: Jesus Cleansing a Leper, by Jean-Marie Melchior Doze

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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 4:21-40

Psalm 85 (Morning)

Psalms 25 and 40 (Evening)

Matthew 8:1-17

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Some Related Posts:

Deuteronomy 4:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/week-of-proper-13-friday-year-1/

Matthew 8:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/second-day-of-advent/

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Lord, you were gracious to your land;

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

You forgave the offence of your people

and covered their sins.

You laid aside all your fury

and turned from your wrathful indignation.

–Psalm 85:1-3 (The Book of Common Prayer, 2004)

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Lord, you were once gracious to your land:

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

You forgave the offence of your people:

and covered all their sin.

You put away all your displeasure:

and turned from your bitter wrath.

–Psalm 85:1-3 (A New Zealand Prayer Book, 1989)

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For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, an impassioned God.

–Deuteronomy 4:24 (TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures)

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Deuteronomy 4:21-40 continues in the judgment-mercy balance vein of which I wrote in the previous post (http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/devotion-for-october-2-and-3-lcms-daily-lectionary/).  I see no need to write any more of that matter here.

As much as Deuteronomy 4:24 emphasizes what Richard Elliott Friedman calls the

harsh, frightening side of God

–Commentary on the Torah, HarperCollins, 2001, page 577,

Matthew 8:1-17 focuses on the gentle, healing side of God.  Jesus heals a leper, a centurion’s servant, St. Peter’s mother-in-law, and many people with problems described at the time as demonic possession.  (Modern diagnoses would be mostly psychiatric and medication would follow.)  Jesus restored them to wholeness physically and/or psychiatrically plus socially.

May we, so far as we are able, function as agents of divine grace in the restoration of people to themselves, their friends, their relatives, and their society.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 1, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS

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Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/devotion-for-october-4-lcms-daily-lectionary/

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