According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  U.S. Highway 93, Near Ely, Nevada

Image Source = Google Earth

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Isaiah 40:1-10

Psalm 85 (LBW) or Psalm 19 (LW)

2 Peter 3:8-14

Mark 1:1-8

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Stir up in our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son. 

By his coming give us strength in our conflicts

and shed light on our path through the darkness of the world; 

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 13

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Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of your only-begotten Son

that at his second coming we may worship him in purity;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 11

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The assigned readings for this week, taken together, are more positive in tone than last week’s readings.  God forgives us, both individually and collectively.  In Isaiah 40, the focus is on the impending end of the Babylonian Exile, followed by a second Exodus.  Yet none of this absolves us–individually and collectively–of our obligations to God and each other.  The seeming delay in divine actions is to our advantage, we read.  We–individually and collectively–need to use this gift of time well.  And, when God does act, the manner of that action may not be what we–individually and collectively–expect.  So, we may miss it if we are not properly attentive.

Expectations can be tricky.  They establish a standard of human satisfaction or disappointment.  This standard may be unfair.  We human beings are entitled to our informed opinions.  Alas, many expectations flow from uninformed opinions.  Therefore, we may unwittingly set ourselves–individually and collectively–up for disappointment.  Then we complain to God, as if God is responsible for our disappointment.

Arguing faithfully with God is my second favorite aspect of Judaism.  (Monotheism is my first.)  I, as a Christian, embrace arguing with God as part of my inheritance from Judaism.  Yet I grasp that arguing faithfully differs from merely arguing.  Merely arguing can function as a distraction from admitting how little I know.

Isaiah 40:8, in Robert Alter’s translation, reads:

Grass dries up, the flower fades,

but the word of our God stands forever.

The “word,” in this case, means what God says, not any particular canon of scripture.  The word of God, whom we can describe partially and never fully understand, stands forever.  In other words, God is faithful forever.  And God refuses to fit inside any theological box.

Does that disappoint us?  If so, it is our problem, not God’s.

I know an Episcopal priest who deals deftly with people who tell him they do not believe in God.  He asks these individuals to describe the God in whom they do not believe.  They invariably describe a deity in whom the priest does not believe either.

God created us in the divine image.  We have imagined God in our image.  Then we have become disappointed with this false image of God while mistaking it for God.  This is one of those forms of “unperceived guilt” (Psalm 19:13, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures) of which we need God to clear us.

By grace, may we perceive and frolic in the gracious surprises of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SEVENTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF ANNA JULIA HAYWARD COOPER AND ELIZABETH EVELYN WRIGHT, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EDUCATORS

THE FEAST OF MARY LYON, U.S. CONGREGRATIONALIST FEMINIST AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH BADGER, SR., U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER; FIRST MISSIONARY TO THE WESTERN RESERVE

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL SIMON SCHMUCKER, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND SOCIAL REFORMER

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN CASSIAN AND JOHN CLIMACUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS AND SPIRITUAL WRITERS (TRANSFERRED FROM FEBRUARY 29)

THE FEAST OF SAINT LUIS DE LEON, SPANISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN (TRANSFERRED FROM FEBRUARY 29)

THE FEAST OF PATRICK HAMILTON, FIRST SCOTTISH PROTESTANT MARTYR, 1528 (TRANSFERRED FROM FEBRUARY 29)

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Adapted from this post

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Advertisement

According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  Icon of the Second Coming of Jesus

Image in the Public Domain

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Isaiah 63:16b-17; 64:1-8

Psalm 80:1-7 (LBW) or Psalm 98 (LW)

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Mark 13:33-37 or Mark 11:1-10

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Stir up your power, O Lord, and come.

Protect us by your strength and

save us from the threatening dangers of our sins,

for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 13

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Stir up, we implore you, your power, O Lord, 

and come that by your protection

we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins

and be saved by your mighty deliverance;

for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 10

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These assigned readings, taken together, portray God as being faithful and fearful–not a warm fuzzy.  Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance.

1. Isaiah 63:16b-17 and 64:1-8 come from Third Isaiah, from the time in which Jewish Exiles had begun to return to their ancestral homeland.  The text indicates great disillusionment as well as the confession that Judea did not live up to long-held expectations of a verdant, fertile paradise.  Yet consider, O reader, that God had ended the Babylonian Exile.
2. Psalms 80 and 98 have different tones.  Psalm 80 fits tonally with the lesson from Isaiah.  Yet Psalm 98 has a triumphant, celebratory tone.
3. The pleasant tone of the introduction of St. Paul the Apostle’s First (really Second) Epistle to the Corinthians belies the corrective tone that commences in 1:10. The focus on the faithfulness of God in the introduction meshes with the other readings.
4. Assigning the account of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the First Sunday of Advent is a tradition in lectionaries of the Lutheran and Moravian churches.  The faithfulness of God exists in the flesh in the reading.
5. Mark 13:33-37 reminds us that God is faithful, so we need to be faithful, too.

I do not fixate on the Second Coming of Jesus, for I know too much about the tradition of failed expectations and specific dates to play that game.  Also, I affirm that God will attend to all matters of the Second Coming.  Meanwhile, feeding hungry people and working for righteousness/social justice is a better use of time than attending any prophecy conference or reading any book about prophecy.  Besides, much of the content to the interpretation of prophecy is dubious, as the passage of time proves.  And righteousness is right relationship with God, self, others, and all creation.  Biblically, righteousness and justice are interchangeable.  Certainly, working for righteousness is more important than guessing the identity of the Antichrist.

The early part of Advent is about the Second Coming of Jesus.  The latter part is about the First Coming of Jesus.  Much of the challenge of Advent is not to become distracted by the busyness of December, with all its shopping, advertising, materialism, and parties.  These distract–or can distract–one from simple, quiet faithfulness to God, who is faithful.  God may not always act according to our expectations.  That is our problem, not God’s.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 27, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF NICHOLAR FERRAR, ANGLICAN DEACON AND FOUNDER OF LITTLE GIDDING; GEORGE HERBERT, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND METAPHYSICAL POET; AND ALL SAINTLY PRIESTS

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANNE LINE AND ROGER FILCOCK, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 1601

THE FEAST OF FRED ROGERS, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HOST OF MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD

THE FEAST OF SAINT GABRIEL POSSENTI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PENITENT

THE FEAST OF MARIAN ANDERSON, AFRICAN-AMERICAN SINGER AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT RAPHAEL OF BROOKLYN, SYRIAN-AMERICAN RUSSIAN ORTHODOX BISHOP OF BROOKLYN

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Adapted from this post

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I covered 150 psalms in 82 posts.

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART LXXXII

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Psalms 146, 147, 148, 149, and 150

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Psalms 146-150 constitute the concluding doxology of the Hebrew Psalter.  Pulling these texts together, a partial list of statements about God emerges:

1. God heals, restores, and delivers individuals and communities.
2. God, the Creator, is evident in nature and history.
3. Nature itself praises God.
4. God is universal and sovereign.
5. God, who grants military victory, punishes the wicked.

These themes recur in the Hebrew Psalter, from Psalm 1 to Psalm 145.  Rather than repeat many comments from previous posts in this series, I prefer to focus on a point that has become prominent in my theology and prayers.  This is also a point about which I have written in this series.  Some repetition is inevitable in this series.

I grew up learning about sin.  It seemed abstract to me for a long time.  The sins about which I learned were mostly personal peccadilloes; collective, institutional sins received less attention.  As I aged and read more deeply, I began to focus less on personal peccadilloes (without ignoring them) and to focus more on collective, institutional sins.  My inner Reinhold Niebuhr asserted itself.  Later, I incorporated sin and repentance into my concept of “God’s best.”  I came to think of congregations, communities, et cetera enjoying God’s best for them, and to pray that God’s best for them would be their reality.  So, repentance and amendment of life are not mostly about angering or grieving God, lest punishment ensue.  No, repentance and amendment of life are mostly about responding faithfully to God in love, awe, and loyalty, and growing into full potential in God.  “God’s best” is shalom–complete well-being.

Thank you, O reader, for joining me on this journey through the Book of Psalms.  As we take leave of each other, I wish you shalom.  May you and yours grow into your full potential in God.  May God’s best for you–both individually and in community–become your reality.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 25, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FOURTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS THE ELDER, SAINT NONNA, AND THEIR CHILDREN: SAINTS GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS THE YOUNGER, CAESARIUS OF NAZIANZUS, AND GORGONIA OF NAZIANZUS

THE FEAST OF BERNHARDT SEVERIN INGEMANN, DANISH LUTHERAN AUTHOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT FELIX VARELA, CUBAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND PATRIOT

THE FEAST OF JOHN ROBERTS, EPISCOPAL MISSIONARY TO THE SHOSHONE AND ARAPAHOE

THE FEAST OF KARL FRIEDRICH LOCHNER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF THEODOR FLIENDER, RENEWER OF THE FEMALE DIACONATE; AND ELIZABETH FEDDE, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN DEACONESS

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART LXXXI

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Psalm 145

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Psalm 145 teaches a profound thought: God’s faithfulness holds creation together.  God is the glue and the binding force of the universe.  This faithfulness manifests in daily reliability to human beings, we read.  So, the God of Psalm 145 is simultaneously transcendent and imminent.

To repeat Psalm 145 is to confess the insufficiency of self and the sovereignty of God.  It is, in a real sense, to live in a different world–not in an escapist sense, but in the sense that God’s claims, values, and priorities inevitably put us at odds with a prevailing culture that promotes autonomy.  In other words, Psalm 145 invites us to live in the world of God’s reign, the world where the fundamental reality and pervasive power is the gracious, compassionate, and faithful love of God.

–J. Clinton McCann, Jr., in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 4 (1996), 1261

St. Augustine of Hippo understood the truth of Psalm 145 well:

…because you made us for yourself, and our hearts find no place until they rest in you.

When we mere mortals engage in delusions of grandeur and self-sufficiency, we miss the truth of our existence.  God is, to borrow a term from Paul Tillich, the Ground of Being.  God loves us.  God defines us.  We are precious to God.  All this should suffice.  Yet, for many people, it does not.

You, O reader, are precious to God.  I am precious to God for the same reason you are.  And we all depend upon God, as well as each other.  Interdependency should be obvious on both the micro- and the macroscales.  Soldiers depend upon each other.  In a global economy, a recession in Country A affects its trading partners.  And people depend upon the labor of others.  We all live in a web of connectedness.

Each human being is precious to God.  Yet many people are not precious to themselves.  And many other people are precious to themselves.  And many other people are precious to themselves, yet they seem to think that few others are precious.  Even the most pious and benevolent saint may experience thinking of some people as being precious, even to God.  So, we have a spiritual challenge to confess to God.  May God help us to recognize ourselves and each other for what we are: precious.  Then may we treat each other accordingly.  And may we rest in God, in this life and the next one.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 24, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE THIRD DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF SAINT MATTHIAS THE APOSTLE, MARTYR

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

Above:  Rose Dhu Cemetery, Vidette, Georgia

Image Source = Google Earth

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PART LXXX

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Psalms 143 and 144

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Sometimes in the Hebrew Psalter, identifying the singular voice can be challenging.  The psalms are poetry (Duh!), and personification is a poetic device.  So, the singular voice, seemingly of a person, may be the personified voice of the Jewish exiles or former exiles, for example.  This may be the case in Psalm 144, in which the singular pronouns give way to plural pronouns.  Alternatively, Psalm 144 may be an edited and re-edited text.  Or both hypotheses may be accurate.

As we approach the conclusion of the Book of Psalms, we continue to encounter motifs common in the Psalter.  The dead, in Sheol, cannot praise God.  Preserve my life, please, O God.  Save me from my enemies, O YHWH.  Destroy my foes, too.  Human beings are transitory; God is forever.  These are motifs I have addressed in previous posts in this series.

These psalms acknowledge the contrast between divine righteousness and human righteousness.  Hesed–steadfast love–is a defining characteristic of God.  Psalms keep referring to hesed.  It delivers the faithful from enemies.  Hesed guides the people of God, too.  Hesed forgives.  Then there are people.  Regardless of how pious many of them are, human beings are still like a breath–or, as Psalm 103 tells us, “dust.”  Our days are like a passing shadow (Psalm 144:4).

I have walked in old cemeteries and read headstones.  Reading some of these headstones has proven difficult because of the toll the elements have taken on grave markers.  The people buried in many of these graves lived so long ago that no living person remembers them.  In one sense, these deceased persons are as if they had never lived.

Eventually, O reader, you and I will join them in that status.  Our days are like passing shadows.  Yet our righteousness matters; it is faithful response to God.  And our lives matter, for we affect people we meet and many others whom we will never encounter.  As I ponder my family tree, I understand how two great-grandfathers I never met and one grandfather who died when I was three years old contributed to shaping my character, for both good and ill.  Our days are like passing shadows, butour shadows linger after we die.

So, O reader, make you contribution as positive as possible.  You can succeed, by grace.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 23, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF SAINTS IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, POLYCARP OF SMYRNA, AND IRENAEUS OF LYONS, BISHOPS AND MARTYRS, 107/115, 155/156, AND CIRCA 202

THE FEAST OF SANT ALEXANDER AKIMETES ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF AUSTIN CARROLL (MARGARET ANNE CARROLL), IRISH-AMERICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN, AUTHOR, AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL WOLCOTT, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, MISSIONARY, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT STEFAN WICENTY FRELICHOWSKI, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945

THE FEAST OF SAINT WILLIGIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF MAINZ; AND SAINT BERNWARD, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF HILDESHEIM

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART LXXIX

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Psalm 139

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We’re all bastards, but God loves us anyway.

—Will Campbell (1924-2013)

Psalm 139 gives me theological whiplash.  It opens with pious introspection and praise of God.  Then the text expresses hatred for the wicked and those who hate God.  The psalmist wishes that God would “slay the wicked.”  Then Psalm 139 concludes with a pious prayer for divine guidance.

In my adopted tradition, the following prayer occurs early in the Holy Eucharist, Rite II:

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and no secrets are hid:  Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), 355

Wickedness is the rejection of divine generosity.  Therefore, the wicked cannot be generous.  They are greedy.  When the wicked give, they do so in a stingy manner.  They imagine that they mut rely on their own strength, resources, and devices.  These are the people whom the psalmist wishes God would slay.  These are the people the psalmist hates.

Examine me, O God, and know my mind;

probe me and know my thoughts.

See if I have vexatious ways,

and guide me in ways everlasting.

–Psalm 139:23-24, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

One may imagine that God considers such hatred “vexatious.”

Nevertheless, I understand such emotional outbursts and strong feelings.   I recall a painful period of my life more than a decade ago:  A man whom I did not know, by doing his job, as he believed was proper, pushed me to the edge of suicide.  I do not think warm and positive thoughts about him as I write this post.  I even think some profane titles for him.  I spare you those titles and leave them to hour imagination, O reader.  So, yes, I understand this psalm and others like it.  My foe may not have been wicked, but I care about the result more than the intention.

We mere mortals, in our limited knowledge, may inadvertently commit horrible deeds, thereby damaging other people.  Not all abuse is intentional.  So, by grace, may we avoid harming one another as much as possible.  And, when we feel hatred or animosity rising internally, may we take our darker feelings to God.  May we never permit these feelings to define or to overwhelm us.  We can never escape or hide from God, who loves us, knows us better than we know ourselves, and in whom we can become the best possible versions of ourselves.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 22, 2023 COMMON ERA

ASH WEDNESDAY

THE FEAST OF HANS SCHOLL, SOPHIE SCHOLL, AND CHRISTOPH PROBST, ANTI-NAZI MARTYRS AT MUNICH, GERMANY, 1943

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGARET OF CORTONA, PENTIENT AND FOUNDER OF THE POOR ONES

THE FEAST OF CHARLES JOHN VINCENT, JR., ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF GEORGE CLEMENT MARTIN, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT PRAETEXTATUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF ROUEN

THE FEAST OF THOMAS BINNEY, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND “ARCHBISHOP OF NONCONFORMITY”

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART LXXVIII

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Psalms 135, 136, and 138

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Psalms 135 and 136 are both litanies.  The primary difference between them is that Psalm 136 uses only response.  Robert Alter’s translation of that response is:

for His kindness is forever.

In TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures, the response is:

His steadfast love is eternal.

Psalms 135 and 136 praise God, the Creator, active in history.  They recall God’s mighty acts of deliverance.  One may reasonably imagine a postexilic Temple liturgy as returned exiles struggled to rebuild their lives in their ancestral homeland.  As they recalled what God had done, they waited for what God would do next.  Some of the people praying did so impatiently; why had God not done more and done it sooner?

Psalm 138, an individual prayer, shares a link with Psalm 136.  Psalm 138:8 reads:

The LORD will settle accounts for me.

O LORD, Your steadfast love is eternal;

do not forsake the work of Your hands.

—TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures 

This prayer follows praise of God and remembrance of deliverance from enemies of God.  The psalmist needs rescue again.

Why has God not done more and done it sooner?  Why is divine deliverance necessary again?  This is the tension in which many individuals, families, congregations, and communities live.   Yet we recall what God has done and hope for what God will do next.  Such impatience is predictable.  I know the feeling of such impatience.  Perhaps you, O reader, know it, also.  Such impatience does not constitute an offense in my theology; it recurs throughout the Psalter and finds a relative in the Book of Job.  The spiritual issue which demands attention is what we do with it.  Do we, like Job and the Psalter, take it to God?  If so, we handle this impatience properly.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 21, 2023 COMMON ERA

SHROVE TUESDAY

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST-CARDINAL

THE FEAST OF SAINT ARNULF OF METZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT GERMANUS OF GRANFEL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND MARTYR, 677

THE FEAST OF HENRY JOHN GAUNTLETT, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERT SOUTHWELL, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1595

THE FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS PORMORT, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1592

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

Above:  The Logo of The United Methodist Church

Image in the Public Domain

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PART LXXVII

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Psalm 133

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Psalm 133 extols the virtues of restored community–in this case, after the dedication of the Second Temple in 516 B.C.E.  The text also holds out hope for the restoration of all the tribes.  That hope remains unfulfilled as of the writing of this post.

The unity of faith community is frequently elusive.  The Pauline tradition tells us down the corridors of time that Jesus erases barriers separating groups of people from each other.  Yet the record of the Church from shortly after the beginning includes people erecting and maintaining boundaries.  The complete erasure of denominational identities is unrealistic, but denominations and congregations can cooperate or common goals.

I am a convert to The Episcopal Church.  I am a contented Episcopalian; I am on this planet to be an Episcopalian.  The Episcopal Church suits my personality, intellectual bent, sacramental tendencies, and social conscience.  My autobiography reveals, however, that my initial spiritual formation occurred in The United Methodist Church, but that my rising Roman Catholic tendencies led to my amicable departure for the The Episcopal Church when I was 18 years old.  That autobiography also reveals subsequent theological developments (Single Predestination, for example) which prevent me from maintaining intellectual honesty and identifying as a Methodist of any stripe.

The slow-motion schism in The United Methodist Church pains me.  Those who commit schism from the UMC in the name of faithfulness either imply or state overtly that people who think as I do (Apostolic Succession, Single Predestination, Transsubstantiation, and a 73-book canon of scripture notwithstanding) are apostates.  I argue this point because, if I were still a United Methodist and an intellectually honest one, the schismatics would be getting away from people such as me.  I fail doctrinal purity tests.  The Global Methodist Church, if it were honest, would call itself the Donatistic Methodist Church.  The intention of having a big tent is noble.  Unfortunately, many people do not want to live under it.

The hope of Psalm 133 remains elusive in more than one way.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 20, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HENRI DE LUCAC, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, CARDINAL, AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF HEALEY WILLAN, CANADIAN ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT STANISLAWA RODZINSKA, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN AND MARTYR, 1945

THE FEAST OF SAINT WULFRIC OF HALELBURY, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART LXXVI

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Psalm 132

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Psalm 132 is a prayer for the restoration of the Davidic Dynasty, the last king of which was Zedekiah (reigned 597-586 B.C.E.).  The text, therefore, comes from either the Babylonian Exile or afterward.  A date prior to the dedication of the Second Temple (516 B.C.E.) is probable, based on the text.

The historical record indicates that the Davidic Dynasty never returned to power.  Regarding the question of the anointed one (The Messiah)–the Davidic heir or regnant monarch–the Hebrew prophetic literature diverges in interpretation.  Depending on the prophet one believes, there will either be a Davidic heir and regnant monarch in Jerusalem or the covenantal promises came to apply to the people of Judea–a royal nation.

Psalm 132 calls to mind historical nostalgia, hindsight Biblical authors could not have had, and the Biblical tradition of reinterpreting prophecies.  So be it.  As Psalm 132 teaches, the moral mandates of the Law of Moses remain in force.  Salvation for the Jews (collectively) is a matter of divine choice.  However, dropping out is a matter of persistent and unrepentant disregard of those moral obligations, according to Covenantal Nomism.

I, as a Gentile, stand outside Covenantal Nomism; I come under the New Covenant in Jesus.  However, the same moral mandates Jews have apply to Gentiles, both collectively and individually.  And Gentiles face consequences for disregarding those mandates, too.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 19, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINT NERSES I THE GREAT, CATHOLICOS OF THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH; FAND SAINT MESROP, BIBLE TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AGNES TSAO KOU YING, AGATHA LIN ZHAO, AND LUCY YI ZHENMEI, CHINENSE ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHISTS AND MARTYRS, 1856, 1858, AND 1862; SAINT AUGUSTE CHAPDELAINE, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MISSIONARY, AND MARTYR, 1856; AND SAINT LAURENTIUS BAI XIAOMAN, CHINESE ROMAN CATHOLIC CONVERT AND MARTYR, 1856

THE FEAST OF BERNARD BARTON, ENGLISH QUAKER POET AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH C. CLEPHANE, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN HUMANITARIAN AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH PARRY, WELSH CONGREGATIONALIST ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF MASSEY H. SHEPHERD, JR., EPISCOPAL PRIEST, ECUMENIST, AND LITURGIST; DEAN OF AMERICAN LITURGISTS

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