Above: Return of the Spies from the Land of Promise, by Gustave Dore
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Almighty and ever-living God, increase in us your gift of faith,
that, forsaking what lies behind and reaching out to what lies ahead,
we may follow the way of your commandments
and receive the crown of everlasting joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
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The Assigned Readings:
Deuteronomy 5:1-21 (Thursday)
Deuteronomy 5:22-33 (Friday)
Psalm 90:12-17 (Both Days)
Hebrews 3:17-19 (Thursday)
Hebrews 4:1-11 (Friday)
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FYI: Those of you who compare and contrast versification in translations of the Bible might notice that Deuteronomy 5:1-30 in Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox versions equals 5:1-33 in Protestant translations.
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So teach us to number our days
that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
–Psalm 90:12, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)
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Trust and obedience to God undergird the readings for these two days.
Deuteronomy 5, which contains the Ten Commandments, concludes with these words:
Be careful, then, to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left: follow only the path that the LORD your God has enjoined upon you, so that you may thrive and that it may go well with you and that you may long endure in the land you are to possess.
–Verses 29-30, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
One had to arrive first, however. In Numbers 14, after spies had returned from their mission to Canaan, fear and faithlessness spread through the population.
I the LORD have spoken: Thus will I do to all that wicked band that has banded together against Me: in this very wilderness they shall die to the last man.
–Numbers 14:35, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews, who assumed that David had written Psalm 95, referred to that text:
Forty years I was provoked by that generation;
I thought, “They are a senseless people;
they would not know my ways.”
Concerning them I swore in anger,
“They shall never come to my resting-place!”
–Verses 10-11, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The Promised Land is the resting-place in Psalm 95, as is one meaning of the Greek word katapausis in the readings from Hebrews. There are two words for “rest” in them; the other refers to sabbath rest. Katapausis has two other meanings in the Letter to the Hebrews:
- The rest God took after the sixth day of creation; this definition has eschatological overtones; and
- The peace of God.
The latter is the ultimate meaning of katapausis in the readings from Hebrews. Entrance into the peace of God requires trust and obedience.
But what does that mean in practical terms? Many voices compete to answer that question. Many of them horrify me. Those, for example, who argue that fidelity to God requires mutilating offenders and killing heretics and unbelievers appall me. (Some of those sources quote the Bible word-for-word while ignoring inconvenient passages.) Those who justify their violence by placing a false stamp of divine approval on it offend me. I do not pretend to know the mind of God, for I affirm the mystery of the divine. Yet I state clearly that one can, by considering the example of Jesus, learn much about the requirements for being a Christian. Loving one’s neighbors as one loves oneself (presuming, of course, that one loves oneself) is part of obeying God, I affirm.
The author of Hebrews referred to Joshua, son of Nun, in 4:8. May we who call ourselves Christians follow our Joshua–Jesus–into the peace of God. May we lay aside the fear which leads to disobedience to and lack of trust in God. May we, by grace, come into that divine rest and lead others to it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 3, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF HENRY THOMAS SMART, ENGLISH ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH FERRARD, ANGLICAN DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF IMMANUEL NITSCHMANN, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MINISTER AND MUSICIAN; HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, JACOB VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN MORAVIAN BISHOP, MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS SON, WILLIAM HENRY VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP; HIS BROTHER, CARL ANTON VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND EDUCATOR; HIS DAUGHTER, LISETTE (LIZETTA) MARIA VAN VLECK MEINUNG; AND HER SISTER, AMELIA ADELAIDE VAN VLECK, U.S. MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF JOHN CENNICK, BRITISH MORAVIAN EVANGELIST AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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