Above: Flowering Herbs, 1597
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-71911
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The Collect:
Living God, in Christ you make all things new.
Transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives make known your glory,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 24
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 22:11-17
Psalm 120
Luke 11:37-52
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Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips
and from the deceitful tongue.
What shall be done to you, and what more besides,
O you deceitful tongue!
–Psalm 120:2-3, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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A callous heart is at least as bad as a deceitful tongue.
YHWH’s criticism of King Jehoahaz (a.k.a. Shallum) of Judah (reigned 609 B.C.E.) was that he cared about himself, not justice. King Josiah (reigned 640-609 B.C.E.), of whom biblical authors approved, had died in battle against the forces of Pharoah Neco II of Egypt. Shallum/Jehoahaz succeeded his esteemed father as King of Judah and reigned for about three months before the Pharaoh deposed him. Shallum/Jehoahaz died in captivity in Egypt. For full details, read 2 Kings 23:30-35 and 2 Chronicles 36:1-4, O reader.
More than once in the canonical Gospels Jesus condemns Pharisees for obsessing over minor regulations while neglecting commandments requiring social justice. There is some repetition from one synoptic Gospel to another due to duplication of material, but the theme repeats inside each of the Gospels. That theme is as germane today as it was when Jesus walked on the planet. Keeping certain commandments, although difficult, is easier than obeying others. The proverbial low-hanging fruit is easy to reach, but keeping other commandments proves to be inconvenient at best and threatening to one’s socio-economic standing at worst. This is one reason, for example, for many socially conservative Christians having emphasized individual holiness while doing little or nothing to oppose racism, slavery, sexism, child labor, and other social ills in the history of the United States. Yes, many Christians worked to end these problems, but many others accepted them or even used the Bible to justify them. Yet, as the Bible testifies again and again, God desires holiness and social justice.
YHWH and Jesus call for proper priorities. Love your neighbor as you love yourself, they command us. That is a difficult order.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 14, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALL CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL ISAAC JOSEPH SCHERESCHEWSKY, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF SHANGHAI
THE FEAST OF THOMAS HANSEN KINGO, DANISH LUTHERAN BISHOP, HYMN WRITER, AND “POET OF EASTERTIDE”
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Adapted from this post:
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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