A broken clock is right twice a day.

Above:  St. Augustine of Hippo, by Ambito Lombardo

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year 2

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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)

Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)

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O God, who in the glorious Transfiguration of thy only begotten Son,

hast confirmed the mysteries of the faith by the testimony of the fathers,

and who, in the voice that came from the bright cloud,

didst in a wonderful manner vouchsafe to make us co-heirs with the King of his glory,

and bring us to the enjoyment of the same;

through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord,

who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit,

ever one God, world without end.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 134

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Job 28:1-28

Psalm 119:49-64

1 Corinthians 10:1-14

Matthew 15:14-29

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How should one interpret Job 28?  It does not flow from Chapter 27.  “He” (God) in 28:3 has no antecedent in Job 27.  And the identity of the speaker is uncertain.  Chapter 28 sits between Job 27 and Job 29, of the titular character.  Is the speaker Job, one of his alleged friends, or someone else?

The identity of the speaker is crucial.  To know who speaks in a particular passage of the Book of Job is to know how to read or hear that passage.  Job’s alleged friends are objectively wrong on many points within the Book of Job and within the full canon of Jewish scripture.  Yet they are right sometimes, too.  To quote a cliché, 

A note in The Jewish Study Bible hypothesizes that the speaker is Elihu, a character shoe-horned into the Book of Job between Job’s concluding argument to God (at the end of Chapter 31) and the beginning of God’s reply to job in Chapter 38.  The epilogue to the Book of Job names Eliphz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite (42:9) yet never Elihu.

[God] said to man,

“See!  Fear of the Lord is wisdom;

To shun evil is understanding.

–Job 28:28, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

That verse is consistent with Psalm 119.

The trials you have had to bear are no more than people normally have.  You can trust God not to let you be tried beyond your strength, and with any trial he will give you a way out of it and the strength to bear it.

–1 Corinthians 10:13, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)

I have heard a consistent misinterpretation of that verse for many years.  

To read “you” as singular is wrong.  1 Corinthians is a letter to a congregation, not an individual.  Individualistic assumptions of my Western culture may lead one to misread and mishear “you” as singular.  Reading the passage in a romance language helps to clear up the matter, too.

Aucune tentation ne vous est survenue qui n’ait été humaine; Dieu est est fidèle et ne permettra pas que vous soyez téntes au-delà de vos forces….

–1 Corinthiens 10:13a, Nouvelle Version Segond Révisée (1978)

Vous is plural, not formal singular, in this case.

Within the context of faith community, all the necessary spiritual resources exist.  The variety of spiritual gifts and the presence of God can fulfill each person’s spiritual needs.  Mutuality remains a theme.

Regarding Matthew 15:21-28, I refer you, O reader, to the category for Matthew 15.  Follow it to find my analysis of that story.

I prefer to focus on another aspect of the Gospel reading.  The dark side of human nature defiles one–makes one unclean–makes one “common,” as J. B. Phillips translated the Greek word.  The list in Matthew 19 is representative, not comprehensive.  One may ask what fornication, theft, perjury, and slander have in common.  They are ways to harm others–emotionally, legally, socially, economically, and physically.  They work against the model of mutuality in 1 Corinthians 10:13.

To tie up the readings with a figurative bow, mutuality fits with Job 28:28 and Psalm 119.  We should shun evil, individually and collectively.  And standing in awe of God (a better translation than “fearing God”) is wisdom.

As St. Augustine of Hippo wrote at length and more eloquently than I write, those who love God as they should can do whatever they want and still please God.  They want to live in faith community defined by mutuality.  These spiritual giants want to help, not harm.  They are in tune with God.

I make no pretense of being one of these spiritual giants.  I do, however, know in visceral, practical terms how mutuality works in a congregation.  I know how to give and receive.  Both are blessings from God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 10, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE TWELFTH DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF KARL BARTH, SWISS REFORMED MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR; AND HIS SON, MARKUS BARTH, SWISS LUTHERAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF HOWELL ELVET LEWIS, WELSH CONGREGATIONALIST CLERGYMAN AND POET

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN ROBERTS, WELSH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYR, 1610

THE FEAST OF PAUL EBER, GERMAN LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ROBERT MURRAY, CANADIAN PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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Advertisement

But you told me that Joseph was dead!

Above:  The Woman of Canaan, by Michael Angelo Immenraet

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Ninth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970

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Grant, we beseech thee, merciful God, that thy church, being gathered together in unity by the Holy Spirit,

may manifest thy power among all peoples, to the glory of thy name:

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with thee and the same Spirit,

one God, world without end.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 120

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Genesis 45:16-28

1 Corinthians 10:1-12

Mark 9:24-37

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The partial family reunion continued in Genesis 45.  Meanwhile, off-screen, so to speak, Jacob must have had an uncomfortable conversation that must have included,

Do not test God, or else, we read in 1 Corinthians 10.  Sometimes God tests us, though.  Will we pass the test?  Which destiny will we choose?

Jesus was perfect, sinless, fully divine, and fully human, I affirm.  Those theological assumptions have informed my reading of Mark 7:24-37.  Jesus, who had chosen t go where Gentiles were, did not insult the woman.  He was not insensitive.  No, he wanted her to reply as she did.  She passed the test, Jesus never changed his mind during that encounter; neither did the mother change hers during that incident.  She chose her destiny and that of her daughter.

The deaf man with a speech impediment had help en route to his altered destiny.  The Markan has depicted him as a passive figure, but who is to say that the man did not go to Jesus?

Grace surrounds us.  Will we embrace it?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 19, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JAMES ARTHUR MACKINNON, CANADIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

THE FEAST OF ALFRED RAMSEY, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF CHARITIE LEES SMITH BANCROFT DE CHENEZ, HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PIERSON MERRILL, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SOCIAL REFORMER, AND HYMN WRITER

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Above:  St. Peter Paying the Temple Tax

Image in the Public Domain

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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Genesis 43:1-15, 26-30 or Isaiah 55:1-13

Psalm 28

1 Corinthians 10:19-33

Matthew 17:22-18:5

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We have obligations to each other.  Even what we do (or do not do) in private affects other people.  We should, for example, want scoundrels and wicked people to repent (as in Isaiah 55:7), not give up on them (as in Psalm 28:4).  We should seek reconciliation, as Joseph was preparing to instigate, in Genesis 43.  We should not abuse our freedom to the detriment of others.  In Christ we are free to become our best selves.

The story in Matthew 17:24-27 requires unpacking.

The tax in question was the Temple tax of one didrachmon–a half-shekel.  Every Jewish male was to pay it annually, although enforcement was not rigorous.  The scriptural basis of the Temple tax was Exodus 30:13.  It was a controversial tax for more than one reason.  For the poor the tax–two days’ wages of a laborer–was a burden.  Essenes argued that the tax was properly a once-in-a-lifetime payment.  Sadducees thought that the tax should be voluntary.  Jesus, who seemed to have a low opinion of taxation (see also Matthew 22:15-22), nevertheless decided not to cause offense.

I have no difficulty accepting this story as genuine.  Yet it, like so many stories, carries more than one meaning, depending on the time of the reading or hearing of it.  Consider, O reader, the year of the composition of the Gospel of Matthew–85 C.E. or so.

There was no more Temple yet a version of tax remained.  Roman forces had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 C.E.  A two-drachma tribute to Rome was due annually, and Roman authorities enforced tax laws.  In the Christian context giving to the church was properly voluntary.  For Jewish Christians, marginal within Judaism, their identity remained Jewish; they did not seek to offend.

In my cultural-political setting–North America in 2018–the culture is moving in more than one direction simultaneously.  On one hand politics and culture are coarsening.  On the other hand efforts to avoid causing offense are become more prominent, sometimes to ridiculous extremes.  Meanwhile, people from various points on the spectrum have become more likely to take offense.  “Snowflakes” come in various political stripes.  Everything is controversial; there is probably nothing that does not offend somebody, somewhere.

I, as a human being, have responsibilities to my fellow human beings, who have responsibilities to me.  I, for example, have no moral right to spout racial and ethnic slurs and/or stereotypes, not that I would ever do that.  Quoting them in certain contexts, in which one’s disapproval is plain, is justifiable, however.  I have a responsibility to consider the sensibilities of others–to a reasonable point.  Yet I know that, whatever I do, I will offend someone, for somebody will be of a mind to take offense.  I am responsible for doing my best to be respectful.  I am also responsible to others not to be ridiculously sensitive, thereby doing nothing or too little.

Where should one draw the line separating responsible self-restraint in the name of not offending the consciences of others from overdoing it and still failing in not causing offense because some people are snowflakes?  The answer to that question varies according to circumstances.  One, relying on grace, should do one’s best.  If one needs to do better, one can do that, by grace.  One is not responsible for the thin skins of others.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 28, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF AMBROSE OF MILAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; SAINT MONICA OF HIPPO, MOTHER IF SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO; AND SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF HIPPO REGIUS

THE FEAST OF DENIS WORTMAN, U.S. DUTCH REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF LAURA S. COPERHAVER, U.S. LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER AND MISSIONARY LEADER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MOSES THE BLACK, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, AND MARTYR

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/08/28/devotion-for-proper-21-year-a-humes/

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Above:  Sunlight Through Trees with Building Ruins

Photographer = Theodor Horydczak

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-H824-T-1927-005

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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Genesis 42:1-26 or Isaiah 49:1-13

Psalm 26

1 Corinthians 10:1-17

Matthew 16:13-28

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God raises the stakes.  One would think (in Isaiah 49) that, for the people of Israel, identified as the servant of God, restoring the survivors of Israel after the Babylonian Exile would be a sufficiently daunting challenge.  But no!  The mission of the people of Israel in Isaiah 49 is to be a light to the nations.  In Matthew 16 we read of the Confession of St. Peter (yes, the rock upon which Christ built the Church) and Jesus’s immediate rebuke of St. Peter, who failed to understand the meanings of messiahship and discipleship.  Each of us has a calling to take up his or her cross and follow Jesus.  One who does not do that is not a follower of Jesus.  In Genesis 42 we read of most of Joseph’s brothers.  Their challenge, we read, is really to face themselves.  That is our greatest challenge, is it not?  Can each of us deal effectively with the person in the mirror?

The main words in 1 Corinthians 10:1-17 are “idols” and “idolatry.”  Idols, for us, are whatever we treat as such.  Everyone has a set of them.  The test of idolatry is whether an object, practice, idea, et cetera distracts one from God, who calls us to lay idols aside.  How can we follow Christ and be lights of God when pursuing idols instead?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 28, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF AMBROSE OF MILAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; SAINT MONICA OF HIPPO, MOTHER IF SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO; AND SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF HIPPO REGIUS

THE FEAST OF DENIS WORTMAN, U.S. DUTCH REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF LAURA S. COPERHAVER, U.S. LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER AND MISSIONARY LEADER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MOSES THE BLACK, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, AND MARTYR

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/08/28/devotion-for-proper-20-year-a-humes/

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Above:  The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem, by David Roberts

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 4:32:40 or Isaiah 65:10-16 (17-25) or Ezekiel 7:(1-9) 10-27 or Zechariah 14:(1-3) 4-9 (10-21)

Psalm 50:(7-8) 9-21 (22-23) or Psalm 105:(1-6) 12-15 (26) 27-36 (37, 43-45)

Matthew 24:15-22 or Mark 13:14-20 or Luke 21:20-24

1 Corinthians 10:(14-17) 18-11:1

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The ominous tone of judgment hangs over the readings for this Sunday.  How dare those who have witnessed the power and the mercy of God disregard Him?  Yet we find mercy combined with judgment.  Besides apocalyptic destruction of the corrupt human order, based on violence and exploitation, precedes the establishment of God’s new order on Earth.

I think it important to point out that offenses in the readings are not just personal peccadilloes.  Social injustice is a recurring theme in apocalyptic literature, which therefore emphasizes institutionalized sins.  The pericope from 1 Corinthians reminds us of the truth that whatever we do affects other people.  We should therefore act according to the moral obligation to consider the scruples of others.  I propose that this is a fine principle one can take too far, for, if we become too sensitive regarding the scruples of others, we will do little or nothing, certainly little or nothing good.  The guiding principle (from 10:31) is to behave for the glory of God.

There is no sin in glorifying God and effecting the common good.  There is no sin in not exploiting anyone.  There is no sin in loving one’s neighbors and recognizing one’s obligations to them in the societal web of interdependence.  There is no sin in making love the rule of life (2 John 5b-6).

Doing so does not prompt the judgment of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 17, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, ABOLITIONIST AND FEMINIST; AND MARIA STEWART, ABOLITIONIST, FEMINIST, AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB AND DOROTHY BUXTON, FOUNDERS OF SAVE THE CHILDREN

THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER

THE FEAST OF MARY CORNELIA BISHOP GATES, U.S. DUTCH REFORMED HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/12/17/devotion-for-proper-12-year-d/

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Above:   Icon of Ezekiel

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

O God, the protector of all who trust in you,

without you nothing is strong, nothing is holy.

Embrace us with your mercy, that with you as our ruler and guide,

we may live through what is temporary without losing what is eternal,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 53

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The Assigned Readings:

Ezekiel 11:14-25 (Monday)

Ezekiel 39:21-40:4 (Tuesday)

Ezekiel 43:1-12 (Wednesday)

Psalm 141 (All Days)

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 (Monday)

1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1 (Tuesday)

Matthew 23:37-24:14 (Wednesday)

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But my eyes are turned to you, Lord GOD;

in you I take refuge;

do not strip me of my life.

–Psalm 141:8, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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The reading from Matthew is apocalyptic and Psalm 141 is also bleak.  These texts come from difficult times.  Oppressed people pray for God to destroy their enemies.  The textual context in Matthew is the impending crucifixion of Jesus.  From the perspective of the composition of the Gospel itself, however, there is wrestling with fading expectations of Christ’s imminent Second Coming.  One also detects echoes of reality for Matthew’s audience, contending with persecution (or the threat thereof) and conflict with non-Christian Jews.

We read of mercy following judgment in Ezekiel 11, 39, 40, and 43.  Punishment for societal sins will ensue, but so will restoration.  In the end, God’s Presence returns to Jerusalem, which it departed in Chapters 10 and 11.

Those sins included not only idolatry but judicial corruption and economic injustice, which, of course, hurt the poor the most.  Not seeking the common good violated the Law of Moses.  Seeking the common good defined the assigned readings from Ephesians and 1 Corinthians.

“Everything is lawful,” but not everything is beneficial.  “Everything is lawful,” but not everything builds up.  No one should seek his own advantage, but that of his neighbor.

–1 Corinthians 10:23-24, The New American Bible (1991)

We also read, in the context of how we treat each other:

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, for that Spirit is the seal with which you were marked for the day of final liberation.

–Ephesians 4:30, The Revised English Bible (1989)

Those are fine guiding principles.  Some of the details in their vicinity in the texts might not apply to your circumstances, O reader, but such lists are not comprehensive and some examples are specific to cultures and settings.  Timeless principles transcend circumstances and invite us to apply them when and where we are.  May we live them in love of God and our fellow human beings, daring even to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-48).  That is a difficult standard to meet, but it is possible via grace.

There must be no limit to your goodness, as your heavenly Father’s goodness knows no bounds.

–Matthew 5:48, The Revised English Bible (1989)

Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 6, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF FRANKLIN CLARK FRY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA AND THE LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA

THE FEAST OF SAINT CLAUDE OF BESANCON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MONK, ABBOT, AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF HENRY JAMES BUCKOLL, AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM KETHE, PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/devotion-for-monday-tuesday-and-wednesday-after-proper-28-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/

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Above:  Return of the Spies from the Land of Promise, by Gustave Dore

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

God of the covenant, in the mystery of the cross

you promise everlasting life to the world.

Gather all peoples into your arms, and shelter us with your mercy,

that we may rejoice in the life we share in 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 27

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The Assigned Readings:

Numbers 14:10b-24

Psalm 105:1-15 [16-41] 42

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

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Remember the marvels God has done,

the wonders and the judgments of God’s mouth,

O offspring of Abraham, God’s servant,

 children of Jacob, God’s chosen.

–Psalm 105:5-6, Book of Common Worship (1993)

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Yet the generation of Israelites who left Egypt as free people retained a slave mentality.  Members of that generation witnessed many astonishing acts of God on their behalf yet reacted fearfully when they learned that they might have to act faithfully, to do something, albeit with divine assistance.  They feared to enter Canaan, so their desire not to go there became their punishment from God.

As a cliché tells us, be careful what you wish for; you might get it.

St. Paul the Apostle, engaging in the tradition of interpreting biblical stories metaphorically, used accounts from the Torah to encourage Christians at Corinth to live faithfully, to refrain from sin as much as possible, and to cease from grumbling.  The Apostle, convinced that the end of evil times was near, wrote:

If you think you are standing firm, take care, or you may fall.  So far you have faced no trial beyond human endurance; God keeps faith and will not let you be tested beyond your powers, but when the test comes he will at the same time provide a way out and so enable you to endure.

–1 Corinthians 10:12-13, The Revised English Bible (1989)

That passage contains two major points.  First, people ought to avoid spiritual complacency.  That is always excellent counsel.  Second, “you,” as in

So far you have faced no trial beyond human endurance…,

is plural.  The pericope from 1 Corinthians 10 addresses a congregation, not an individual.  The plural nature of “you” in this passage is clear in the Nouvelle Version Segond Revisee (1978), in which the pronoun is the plural vous, not the singular tu.

The walk of faith is one a person takes as part of a spiritual community, not as a rugged individualist.  One depends on the other members of the spiritual community, to whom and for whom they one is responsible, and on God, on whom one depends entirely.  One’s strength is in God and spiritual community, not in oneself.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 17, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHANN CHRISTIAN TILL, U.S. MORAVIAN ORGANIST, COMPOSER, AND PIANO BUILDER; AND HIS SON, JACOB CHRISTIAN TILL, U.S. MORAVIAN PIANO BUILDER

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Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/devotion-for-tuesday-after-the-second-sunday-in-lent-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/

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Above:  Moses

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

O God, rich in mercy, by the humiliation of your Son

you lifted up this fallen world and rescued us from the hopelessness of death.

Lead us into your light, that all our deeds may reflect your love,

through 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 28

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The Assigned Readings:

Exodus 15:22-27 (Monday)

Numbers 20:1-13 (Tuesday)

Isaiah 60:15-22 (Wednesday)

Psalm 107:1-16 (All Days)

Hebrews 3:1-6 (Monday)

1 Corinthians 10:6-13 (Tuesday)

John 8:12-20 (Wednesday)

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Some sat in darkness and deep gloom,

bound fast in misery and iron;

Because they rebelled against the words of God

and despised the counsel of the Most High.

So he humbled their spirits with hard labor;

they stumbled and there was none to help.

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

He led them out of darkness and deep gloom

and broke their bonds asunder.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his mercy

and the wonders he does for his children.

For he shatters the doors of bronze

and breaks in two the iron bars.

–Psalm 107:10-16, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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Some of the assigned readings for these three days overlap with the content of the previous new post, so I refer you, O reader, to those comments while I pursue a different line of thought here.

A motif of bickering and murmuring recurs in the stories of the Exodus and the ensuing events.  There was a ubiquitous lack of trust in God.  At Meribah even Moses, whom the author of Hebrews 3:1-6 described as a faithful servant, had a moment of faithlessness.  Moses was mostly faithful, which is as well as any of we mere mortals can hope to be.

The bickering and murmuring have continued long past the times of the Book of Exodus.  How much more must God do–such as incarnate–before people stop bickering and murmuring?  Before that, was not restoring exiles to their ancestral homeland enough?  Examples of what not to do and of what to do are plentiful.

So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.

–1 Corinthians 10:12, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

I could not have said it better myself.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 14, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF SAINT VENANTIUS HONORIUS CLEMENTIUS FORTUNATUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF POITIERS

THE FEAST OF CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC

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Adapted from this post:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/devotion-for-monday-tuesday-and-wednesday-after-the-fourth-sunday-in-lent-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/

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This is post #1250 of BLOGA THEOLOGICA.

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Above:  Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod, by James Tissot

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

Everlasting God, you give strength to the weak and power to the faint.

Make us agents of your healing and wholeness,

that your good may be made known to the ends your creation,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 24

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The Assigned Readings:

2 Chronicles 26:1-21 (Monday)

2 Kings 7:3-10 (Tuesday)

Psalm 6 (Both Days)

Acts 3:1-10 (Monday)

1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1 (Tuesday)

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O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger,

or discipline me in your wrath.

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;

O LORD, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.

–Psalm 6:1-2, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

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My comments for the post I wrote prior to this one apply here also, I refer you, O reader, to them and pursue a different line of thought arising from assigned readings.

We ought to glorify God.  We cannot do this while committing idolatry, acting to harm another human being (physically or spiritually) other than in self-defense or the defense of another person, or being oblivious to God, who has done much over time and continues to act.  Likewise, when we act out of respect for others, we honor the image of God in them.

If you love me, keep my commandments,

Jesus said.  He ordered people to love one another and honor God.  He also provided an example to emulate.  That example points out how dangerous loving one’s neighbors can be.  Yet if we are truly to be Christians, we will follow him.

Often we humans designate some of our neighbors as people to look down upon, shun, discriminate against, murder, destroy culturally, et cetera.  This is wrong, for all people bear the image of God and therefore possess inherent dignity.  We might not get along with many of them, but we ought never to question their humanity or equality with us.  The Golden Rule stands.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 2, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE THIRD DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIOC, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT TUDWAL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP IN CHINA AND JAPAN

THE FEAST OF JOHN BROWN, ABOLITIONIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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Adapted from this post:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/devotion-for-monday-and-tuesday-after-the-sixth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/

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Above:  The Crest of the Reformed Church in America

A Scan from the Cover of Our Reformed Church, by Howard G. Hageman and Revised by Gregg A. Mast (New York, NY:  Reformed Church Press, 1995)

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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U.S. DUTCH REFORMED LITURGY, PART II

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That we might be accepted of God, and never forsaken of him:  and finally confirmed with his death and shedding of his blood, the new and eternal testament, that covenant of grace and reconciliation, when he said, it is finished.

–The Liturgy of the Lord’s Supper, 1789 and 1814

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I.  PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION

In the previous post I set the stage and wrote of U.S. Dutch Reformed history through the Secession of 1857, which resulted in the formation of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA or just CRC).  That approach was necessary and proper.  Now, however, to zoom in and explore more details is also necessary and proper.

My purpose in this post is to examine U.S. Dutch Reformed liturgies and their antecedents through 1814, the year that the Reverend John H. Livingston (1746-1825), the Father of the Reformed Church in America, edited The Psalms and Hymns, successor to The Psalms of David (1789), which he had also edited.  Livingston, as a liturgist, stood firmly in his tradition while departing from it in some ways.

II.  EUROPEAN ROOTS

Dutch Reformed liturgies stood in the lineage of Lutheran and Reformed rites of the 1500s.  Of particular relevance was the Palatinate service book, the Kirchenordnung, or Church Order (1563), a companion to the Heidelberg Catechism (1563).  Zacharius Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus wrote them at the behest of Elector Frederick III “the Pious.”  The Palatinate form for Holy Communion borrowed from various Calvinistic forms and drew from the Heidelberg Catechism.  The Palatinate liturgies, being companions to the Heidelberg Catechism, not only contained echoes of it but came with a rubric requiring the minister to identify the questions from that Catechism germane to his Sunday sermon.

The Reverend Peter Datheen (1531-1588), a former Carmelite friar who had converted to Protestantism in 1550, relocated with his congregation from London, England, to Frankental (near Worms), in Germany, in 1562, under the protection of Elector Frederick III.  There Datheen, whose Latinized name was Petrus Dathenus, encountered the Palatinate Communion ritual.  In that setting the sacrament took place once a month in cities, once every other month in villages, and on Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas.  There was a service of preparation on the Saturday before each Communion Sunday.  Only those who had attended the preparation service could partake of the sacrament.

Both the Heidelberg Catechism and the Church Order of 1563 influenced Datheen greatly.  He combined much of the latter with Lutheran and other Reformed forms as well as his Dutch translation of the Psalter to forge a new service book, which he published in 1566.  The volume also contained the Heidelberg Catechism and rituals and prayers.  There one found rituals for Baptism, the Lord’s Supper,funerals,  and marriage, as well as prayers for morning, evening, the sick, and opening and closing church council meetings.  This service book has proven influential in Dutch Reformed circles to this day.

Datheen’s Eucharistic rite incorporated parts of 1 Corinthians 10 and 11.  The ritual featured a prayer, a creed, and an exhortation to lift up hearts to Christ, not to pay attention to earthly bread and wine.  Reformed Eucharistic theology was prominent.

Datheen presided at three influential Synods–Wesel in 1568 and Dordrect (Dort) in 1574 and 1578.  The 1568 Synod recommended the use of Datheen’s Psalter in The Netherlands.  The Synods of 1574 and 1578 required the use of that Psalter and permitted the singing of hymns.  The Synod of Dort (1574) established a pattern for the Sunday service:

• A scripture reading and the singing of a psalm,
• The Votum (Psalm 24:8),
• Prayer;
• Singing,
• The sermon,
• Prayer again,
• The Creed,
• Singing again, and
• The Blessing.

The frequency of the Lord’s Supper was once a month.

The Synod of Dort (1578) established other rules:

• The Gospel reading would come from a lectio continua (continual reading plan), not a complementary lectionary.
• Sunday worship would be central.  Thus there would be no weekday evening prayer.
• There would be only preaching, not singing, at a funeral, so to honor only God.
• Baptism and Confirmation would occur only in community settings.
• Congregational leaders would investigate a parishioner’s behavior prior to the monthly observance of the Lord’s Supper.  Only those who passed the test could partake of the sacrament.

The Synod of Dort (1618-1619) was more famous than the preceding Synods held in that city.  The 1618-1619 Synod reversed the earlier, permissive attitude toward hymns, permitting instead only the singing of Psalms.  That gathering also prohibited the use of organs in churches.  This fact explained the great scandal which a Dutch Reformed congregation in New York City caused in 1727 by installing a pipe organ.

The Synod of The Hague (1586) expanded Datheen’s influence.  It required strict adherence to his order of the Lord’s Supper, one which heightened the emphasis on sin, a fixation which was already a major point in the Palatinate liturgy.  Indeed, one could not use Datheen’s rituals without hearing about how one had been born into sin and was therefore incapable of doing anything good.

III.  IN THE NEW WORLD

Colonial Worship Patterns

Datheen’s liturgy, being official, normative, and mandatory in the Dutch Reformed Church in The Netherlands and her colonies, set the pattern for Dutch Reformed worship in the New World for nearly two centuries.  The services were in the Dutch language in the territory of the future United States for a long time, for the first English-language services (using a translation of the Datheen rites) occurred in the 1700s.  There were two Sunday services in the time of New Netherland.  The morning and afternoon services followed the same order or worship.  The afternoon sermon related to the Heidelberg Catechism.

Enter John H. Livingston

The Reverend John H. Livingston (1746-1825) worked from Datheen’s blueprint when editing two service books-hymnals, The Psalms of David (1789) and The Psalms and Hymns (1814), links to which I have provided already in this post.  (I also covered them partially in the first post in this series.   Thus the following content stands beside that section of that post.)  The two Livingston-edited service books-hymnals deviated from Datheen’s model in certain crucial ways and differed from each other.  They were, however, more alike than not.  The two volumes reflected the influence of preceding rites and service books, such as those I have explained in this post.  The past was prologue.

Preparation for the Lord’s Supper

Both the 1789 and 1814 books contained A Compendium of the Christian Religion for Those Who Intend to Approach the Holy Supper of the Lord, a catechism for use in the Saturday preparatory services.

The Liturgy:  Public Prayer

The Liturgy came in six parts.  The first section was Public Prayer, which consisted of the following:

• The pre-sermon and post-sermon prayers,
• The prayers for before and after explaining the catechism,
• A Morning Prayer and an Evening Prayer,
• Prayers for opening and closing church meetings,
• Graces before and after meat, and
• Prayer for Sick and Tempted Persons.

The Liturgy:  The Administration of the Holy Sacraments

The second section of the Liturgy was the Administration of the Holy Sacraments–Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  There were rites for baptizing infants and adults.  The rituals emphasized that all people were

conceived and born in sin

and were therefore children

of wrath by nature, incapable of doing any good, and prone to all evil.

Yet, the language said, there was grace.  The rites challenged the baptized to make

firm resolution always to lead a Christian life.

Livingston, while editing the 1789 and 1814 books, omitted a crucial prayer from the Palatinate and Datheen liturgies.  That prayer had deep roots, for Martin Luther had written the original version, Ulrich Zwingli had revised it, and Zacharius Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus had modified if further at Heidelberg in 1563.  The English translation of that prayer read:

O almighty and eternal God,

who in thy severe judgment didst punish the unbelieving and impenitent world with the Flood,

and didst of thy great mercy save and preserve eight souls to faithful Noah,

who didst didst drown the hard-hearted Pharoah with all his host in the Red Sea,

and didst lead thy people Israel through the same with dry feet,

by which baptism was signified,

we beseech thee, that thou wilt be pleased of thine infinite mercy graciously to look upon these children,

and incorporate them by thy Holy Spirit into thy Son Jesus Christ,

that they may be buried with him into his death,

and be raised with him in newness of life;

that they may daily follow him, joyfully bearing their cross,

and cleave unto him in true faith, firm hope, and ardent love;

that they may with a comfortable sense of thy favor,

leave this life, which is nothing but a continual death,

and at the last day, may appear without terror before the judgment seat of Christ thy Son,

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Ghost,

one only God, lives and reigns forever.  Amen.

(I changed the formatting to make the text more easily readable.)

The “flood prayer,” which pointed to Baptism as a corporate sign–one sealed one person at a time–was absent from the 1789 and 1814 books.  This absence indicated that the Reformed Church in America was moving into American Evangelicalism, with its excessive individualism, and away from European Calvinistic roots, which took the community more into account.

(P.S.–In 1994 the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America sent to the Classes (the plural form of Classis) a baptismal rite, which they approved the following year.  That ritual contains an abbreviated form of the “flood prayer.”  One can access that rite here.  As I write this sentence there are Provisional Orders on Baptism and Profession and Reaffirmation of Faith which also use a form of that prayer.)

The Eucharistic rites of the 1789 and 1814 remained close to the Datheen model.  The service opened with 1 Corinthians 11:23-30 then continued with an exhortation for those present to examine their consciences.  Next came a congregational prayer for grace, followed by the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’s Creed.  Then came this very Reformed prayer:

That we may now be fed with the true heavenly bread, Christ Jesus,

let us not cleave with our hearts unto the external bread and wine,

but lift them up on high in heaven, where Christ is our advocate, at the right hand of the heavenly Father,

whither all the articles of our faith lead us;

not doubting, but we shall as certainly be fed and refreshed in our souls through the working of the Holy Ghost,

with his body and blood, as we receive the holy bread and wine in remembrance of him.

(I changed the formatting to make the text more easily readable.)

The distribution of the elements followed.  Then prayers of thanksgiving concluded the rite.

The Liturgy:  The Administration of Church Discipline

The Administration of Church Discipline was the third part of the Liturgy.  This part consisted of Excommunication and Readmitting Excommunicated Persons Into the Church of Christ.

The Liturgy:  The Ordination of Church Officers

The fourth section of the Liturgy, the Ordination of Church Officers, contained rites for ordaining ministers, elders, and deacons.

The Liturgy:  Marriage

Section number five of the Liturgy was the Confirmation of a Marriage Before the Church.

The Liturgy:  The Consolation of Sick and Dying Believers

The final section of the Liturgy consisted of verses of scripture For the Consolation of Sick and Dying Believers, arranged topically.  The 1789 book contained the texts, but the 1814 volume just listed the citations.

The Nicene and Athanasian Creeds

Both books ended with the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds.

The Psalter

The Psalter was prominent in the 1789 and 1814 books.  The Psalms of David (1789) did not Christianize the Psalms to the extent The Psalms and Hymns (1814) did.  In 1814 Psalm 21, the Third Part, verse 1, read:

David rejoic’d in God, his strength,

Rais’d to the throne by special grace;

But Christ, the Son appears at length,

Fulfills the triumph and the praise.

The punctuation was slightly different in 1789, as was the use of “f” for “s.”

Then there was the case of Psalm 22.  The 1789 Psalms of David rendered the text mostly in a straight-forward way, without much Christianization.  The 1814 Psalms and Hymns, however, Christianized the text extensively.  Verse 1 of the Second Part read:

Writhing in pain, our Saviour pray’d

With mighty cries and tears:

In that dread hour, his Father heard,

And chas’d away his fears.

The 1814 book, unlike its 1789 predecessor, pegged the Psalms to the Heidelberg Catechism.

The Hymns

The Psalms of David (1789) included 100 hymns, but The Psalms and Hymns (1814) had 270.  The latter volume, however, removed 161 hymn and Psalm texts from the repertoire of the Reformed Church in America.  Both books, however, pegged the hymns to the Heidelberg Catechism.  Some of the new hymns expanded the range of funerary hymns, consistent with Livingston’s 1812 funeral liturgy, which replaced the sermon with the singing of hymns, in a break with Dutch Reformed tradition.

Looking Ahead

The 1789-1814 Liturgy fell into widespread disuse during the first half of the nineteenth century, as the denomination moved away from its roots and toward American Evangelicalism.  This fact concerned certain prominent people in the Reformed Church in America.  Their efforts led to the next period of liturgical revision, 1853-18

That is a story for a subsequent post.

IV.  CONCLUSION

As the Reformed Church in America (RCA) adjusted to changing circumstances it moved away from its European Calvinistic roots and in the direction of informal and more individualistic American Evangelicalism.  The denomination bore the stamp of personal Pietism.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HARDCOPY SOURCES

Brumm, James Hart, ed.  Liturgy Among the Thorns:  Essays on Worship in the Reformed Church in America.  Grand Rapids, MI:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007.  The Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America, No. 57.

Wainwright, Geoffrey, and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, eds.  The Oxford History of Christian Worship.  New York, NY:  Oxford University Press, 2006.

Worship the Lord:  The Liturgy of the Reformed Church in America.  Reformed Church Press, 2005.

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KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 18, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF MALTBIE DAVENPORT BABCOCK, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT ERIK IX OF SWEDEN, KING AND MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN I, BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF TAMIHANA TE REUPARAHA, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY

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