Above: Jesus Blessing the Children (1891)
W21597 U.S. Copyright Office
Image Source = Library of Congress
(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003688894/)
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-pga-01427
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The Collect:
Lord God, our strength, the struggle between good and evil rages within and around us,
and the devil and all the forces that defy you tempt us with empty promises.
Keep us steadfast in your word, and when we fall, raise us again and restore us
through your Son, 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 26
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 51
Matthew 18:1-7
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Some Related Posts:
Isaiah 58:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/09/fifth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/first-day-of-lent-ash-wednesday/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/third-day-of-lent/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/fourth-day-of-lent/
Matthew 18:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/week-of-proper-14-tuesday-year-1/
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Give me the joy of your saving help again
and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
I shall teach your ways to the wicked,
and sinners shall return to you.
–Psalm 51:13-14, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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To repent is to turn around, to change one’s mind. Apologizing for and acknowledging error are parts of the process yet one ought never to confuse those parts of the whole. No, repentance is active. And action is what Isaiah 58:1-12 advises. The mandated deeds include helping the less fortunate and bringing about justice, in contrast to the rampant economic exploitation and judicial and political corruption.
Those sins remain commonplace in contemporary societies, unfortunately. Political corruption creates and perpetuates much poverty. Wars lead to famines much of the time. Judicial corruption imprisons people unjustly and places the poor accused at greater risk than the wealthy accused, who can accord bail and skilled attorneys. Third Isaiah’s condemnations in 58:1-12 apply to my nation-state as much as they did to the kingdom in which he lived.
The greatest in the Kingdom of God, our Lord and Savior said, was as a powerless child, not anyone in a position of authority and prestige. This profoundly counter-cultural message of nearly 2000 years ago remains just as subversive today as it was then. God’s ways differ from dominant human standards of respectability and political legitimacy. And witnesses from the Bible and times subsequent to its writing have reminded successive generations of our responsibilities to and for each other, especially the less fortunate and more vulnerable. Such as these, Jesus said, are the greatest in the Kingdom of God.
I like the Kingdom of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 7, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
THE FEAST OF HERBERT F. BROKERING, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENT LIEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT WILLIBRORD, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF UTRECHT
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Adapted from this post:
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