Above: The Crucifix I Wear to Church
Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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The Collect:
Faithful God, most merciful judge,
you care for your children with firmness and compassion.
By your Spirit nurture us who live in your kingdom,
that we may be rooted in the way of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 41:21-29 (Thursday)
Isaiah 44:9-17 (Friday)
Isaiah 44:18-20 (Saturday)
Psalm 86:11-17 (All Days)
Hebrews 2:1-9 (Thursday)
Hebrews 6:13-20 (Friday)
Hebrews 7:15-20 (Saturday)
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Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
knit my heart to you that I may fear your Name.
I will thank you, O LORD my God, with all my heart,
and glorify your Name for evermore.
–Psalm 86:11-12, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The readings from Jeremiah speak of idolatry. Idols are abominations, their works are nothing, and their images are empty wind the lessons (especially 41:21-29) tell us. Jesus warns against false religious teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, in Matthew 7:15-20. These false teachers, like idols, distract people from God. And the author of Hebrews points to Christ, through whom we have redemption.
Above: Part of My Liturgical Library, Decorated by Crucifixes, June 2014
Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
I perceive the need to distinguish between icons and idols. Icons, whether two-dimensional (as in Eastern Orthodoxy) or three-dimensional (as in Roman Catholicism), are objects of reverence through which we see God. We are, after all, visually oriented creatures. I have a collection of Madonnas and crucifixes, as well as an Eastern Orthodox-style image of Jesus. Some would label these idols, but those individuals would be mistaken. Icons can also be habits, activities, and other objects. The Bible, for example, is properly an icon.
Idols are whatever stand between one and God. If one fixates on something–an object, a habit, an activity, et cetera–instead of God, it is, for that person, an idol. Unfortunately, the Bible functions as an idol in the lies of many people. This, I am confident, is not what God intends.
May each of us examine self spiritually and, by grace, succeed in identifying all of one’s idols. And may all of us succeed, also by grace, in resisting the temptation to commit idolatry any longer.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 13, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTONY OF PADUA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF G. K. (GILBERT KEITH) CHESTERTON, AUTHOR
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Adapted from This Post:
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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