Archive for the ‘1 Corinthians 5’ Category
Above: Supper at Emmaus, by Caravaggio
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Daniel 12:1c-3 or Jonah 2:2-9
Psalm 150 (LBW) or Psalm 146 (LW)
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Luke 24:13-49
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Almighty God, give us the joy of celebrating our Lord’s resurrection.
Give us also the joys of life in your service,
and bring us at last to the full joy of life eternal;
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), 21
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Almighty God the Father,
through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ
you have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us.
Grant that we, who celebrate with jo the day of the Lord’s resurrection,
may be raised from the depth of sin by your life-giving Spirit;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 49
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Major lectionaries for Sundays and other holy days usually provide readings without specifying a morning or an evening service. Some exceptions exist. There are, for example, the main and the evening for services for Easter Day, as well as the Easter Vigil.
The main purpose for the evening service on Easter Day is to tell the story in Luke 24:13-49–the road to Emmaus story. One textual curiosity is the timing of the Ascension of Jesus–immediately after the events of Luke 24:13-49 or forty days later (Acts 1:6-12). That the same author (St. Luke) wrote both accounts adds to the confusion.
Anyway, Luke 14:13-49 tells us that God prevented the disciples on the road to Emmaus from recognizing Jesus for a while. That explanation seems unnecessary; one may surmise reasonably that those disciples did not expect to encounter Jesus. Therefore, they did not recognize him. Are you, O reader, likely to recognize someone walking around when you think that person is dead? We humans tend not to see what we do not expect to see. We look yet we do not see.
God acts. The evidence surrounds us, and we miss much of it. The proof is not wearing camouflage. No, we are paying inadequate attention. This statement applies daily. In science, people speak of
life as we know it.
I suspect that the universe teems with life, most of it not life as we know it. If we were to encounter it, we would probably not recognize it. Blessings often assume forms we do not recognize. We encounter a plethora of blessings daily and fail to recognize many of them.
How do you, O reader, and I need to expand our definitions and expectations so we can recognize more of what God has done and is doing?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 17, 2022 COMMON ERA
EASTER DAY
THE FEAST OF DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF EMILY COOPER, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF LUCY LARCOM, U.S. ACADEMIC, JOURNALIST, POET, EDITOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAX JOSEF METZGER, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1944
THE FEAST OF WILBUR KENNETH HOWARD, MODERATOR OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
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Adapted from this post
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Above: The Seduction of Dinah, Daughter of Leah, by James Tissot
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 34 or Isaiah 29:13-24
Psalm 18:1-15
1 Corinthians 5:1-13
Matthew 10:34-11:1
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We have some unpleasant content this week–rape, deceit, and murder in Genesis 34 and incest in 1 Corinthians 5.
The rape of Dinah is one of those stories that makes people squirm. Dinah is the only completely sympathetic character. Jacob, her father, is indifferent to her plight. Her brothers Simeon and Levi are sympathetic until they entrap and massacre Canaanite men still recuperating from circumcision. Shechem the rapist is not sympathetic at all; neither is his father Hamor. Still, Simeon and Levi, avengers of their sister, are somewhat sympathetic characters.
At least they cared about what had happened to her, what was happening to her, and might happen to her.
As for Dinah, given the realities of her situation in a patriarchal culture that shamed raped women, her future seemed bleak. Who would marry her now? And marrying her rapist was not a good option either. She almost dropped out of the narrative; her name recurred in the census in Genesis 46. She had no descendants.
Her brothers’ vengeance brought them material gain and ego boosts, but wounded their souls and diminished them as human beings. It made a bad situation worse.
Trust in God, most of the assigned readings tell us. Trust in God when doing so is difficult. Trust in God and live accordingly. Trust in God, take up one’s cross, follow Jesus, and take care of each other. Trust in God when one’s family abandons one.
Trusting in God can prove challenging during the best of times, especially if one insists on self-reliance. Trusting in God when one is in dire straits can therefore be more difficult. Yet I know from experience that trusting in God might be easier in times of dire straits if, for perhaps no other reason, one is acutely aware of one’s dependence on God and of God’s presence. God is always with us. If one likens God to a lamp turned on, one might understand my point. One might notice the light during daylight, but the light is more noticeable at night.
Trusting in God also entails leaving desires for revenge unfulfilled. Vengeance might prove satisfying in the short term, but it devours those who have committed it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 30, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CLARENCE JORDAN, SOUTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER AND WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CHRYSOLOGUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF RAVENNA AND DEFENDER OF ORTHODOXY
THE FEAST OF SAINT VICENTA CHÁVEZ OROZCO, FOUNDRESS OF THE SERVANTS OF THE HOLY TRINITY AND THE POOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT WILLIAM PINCHON, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/07/30/devotion-for-proper-14-year-a-humes/
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Above: Baruch, by Gustave Dore
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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Jeremiah 36:1-4, 20-32
Psalm 119:81-88
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11
John 8:21-30
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Restoration is one purpose of repentance; after judgment follows mercy, if one is fortunate. This depends on repentance, of course. We read of a rejected opportunity for repentance in Jeremiah 36. We also read of Jeremiah (already a fugitive) and his scribe (newly a fugitive) continuing to be faithful to God. One might imagine them repeating the lament in Psalm 119:81-88.
Repentance and restoration are also available in 2 Corinthians 2. There must be discipline for the man (from 1 Corinthians 5) in a relationship with his stepmother, but the punishment must not be excessive. The time for restoration has arrived.
Jesus, as did Jeremiah and Baruch before him, speak the words of God and suffer the consequences from hostile earthly authorities. Yet he experienced the restoration of resurrection, through which the rest of us have much hope. The display of the power of God at the resurrection of Jesus was astounding yet not convincing for some in Jerusalem at the time. How oblivious they were!
May we not be oblivious when God acts to bring us to repentance and restoration. May we not burn the scroll. No, may we accept the offer gratefully.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 20, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF BERNARD ADAM GRUBE, GERMAN-AMERICAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, COMPOSER, AND MUSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT BAIN OF FONTANELLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, MONK, MISSIONARY, AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF JOHANN FRIEDRICH HERTZOG, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/20/devotion-for-proper-20-ackerman/
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Above: Amnon and Tamar, by Jan Steen
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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2 Samuel 13:1-20, 27b-29
Psalm 119:25-32
1 Corinthians 5:1-5
John 7:1-9
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I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your ordinances before me.
–Psalm 119:30, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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If certain characters in today’s readings had acted according to Psalm 119:30, those lessons would have turned out differently. There would have been no rape of Tamar by her half-brother, Amnon. Absalom would not have murdered Amnon in revenge. Certain Corinthian Christians would not have engaged in pagan sexual practices. The life of Jesus would never have been in peril. In the case of Jesus, his opponents in question probably considered him guilty of blasphemy, a capital offense, according to the Law of Moses. They thought they were righteous.
Is not it frequently true that villains imagine themselves to be heroes and the wicked mistake themselves for the righteous? Much of the time we do not know what we are doing. Nevertheless, the consequences of our actions speak for themselves. We should learn from them.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 18, 2017 COMMON ERA
PROPER 6: THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF SAINTS DELPHINUS OF BORDEAUX, AMANDUS OF BORDEAUX, SEVERINUS OF BORDEAUX, VENERIUS OF MILAN, AND CHROMATIUS OF AQUILEIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
THE FEAST OF ADOLPHUS NELSON, SWEDISH-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF ANSON DODGE, EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM BINGHAM TAPPAN, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/devotion-for-proper-14-ackerman/
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Above: Give Us This Our Daily Bread Print, Currier & Ives, 1872
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZC2-2453
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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 41:9-40
Psalm 37:23-28a
Acts 6:1-7
Mark 8:14-21
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Depart from evil, and do good,
so you shall abide forever.
For the LORD loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.
The righteous shall be kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
–Psalm 37:27-28, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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David Ackerman omits the second part (the passage contrasting the righteous and the children of the wicked) in Beyond the Lectionary (2013).
On another topic, the Psalmist might not have seen the children of the righteous begging for bread, but I have. I am not alone in this.
The Joseph of the Book of Genesis bears little resemblance to the figure of whom I have read in many a book of Bible stories retold for children. I read Genesis 37 and 39-50 (the Joseph Epic) and encounter a spoiled brat who grew up because he had no choice. I also meet an interpreter of dreams who rose to a position of prominence, reunited his family, and in Chapter 47, fed the Egyptian population during a time of severe drought by returning their food (which he had ordered confiscated) to them in exchange for serfdom. Joseph is an imperfect protagonist.
The surviving Apostles (plus St. Matthias) feed the hungry then decide to focus on preaching and teaching. So they appoint deacons to wait tables. This is the origin of the Christian diaconate. There is no insistence upon serfdom here. No, we find quite the opposite.
When we turn to the reading from Mark 8 it is useful to understand that we pick up immediately following Jesus feeding “about four thousand people” with seven loaves and a few small fish. There are many leftovers. Then some Pharisees demand, of all things, a sign. Jesus warns his Apostles against the yeast–a metaphor for diffused or veiled evil (see Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6; and Galatians 5:9) of the Pharisees. The literal-minded Apostles, confused, think that Christ refers to bread. Jesus is angry with them.
The depiction of the Apostles in the Gospel of Mark is interesting and part of a larger theme. The earliest canonical Gospel argues that those who think they are insiders might not be that. There are the condemnations of the religious establishment, of course. Furthermore, those closest to Jesus do not understand him. To the contrary, evil spirits recognize him immediately. This depiction of the twelve Apostles as being clueless is stronger in Mark than in Luke-Acts, for narrative reasons.
A sufficient supply of food is essential to sustaining life. Too little food leads to starvation, just as an excess of it leads to obesity. Furthermore, the wrong type of food leads to health problems. Likewise, improper spiritual nutrition leads to negative consequences. Do we not yet understand this?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 16, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GEORGE BERKELEY, IRISH ANGLICAN BISHOP AND PHILOSOPHER; AND JOSEPH BUTLER, ANGLICAN BISHOP AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JOHN FRANCIS REGIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF NORMAN MACLEOD, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS COUSIN, JOHN MACLEOD, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF RUFUS JONES, QUAKER THEOLOGIAN
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/16/devotion-for-proper-7-ackerman/
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Above: Detail from The Penitent Magdalene, by Georges de La Tour
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:
2 Kings 6:8-23
Psalm 57 or 3
Matthew 12:38-50 or Luke 11:24-36
1 Corinthians 5:1-6a (6b-8) 9-13; 6:1-11
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To seek deliverance from enemies and evildoers is understandable and justifiable; to seek revenge against them is understandable and unjustifiable.
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
–Matthew 5:43-48, Revised Standard Version–Second Edition (1971)
Perfection, in this case, indicates suitability for one’s tasks and purpose. We who claim to follow Jesus and hopefully do more than claim to do so have the commandment to live according to love (2 John 5b-6). If those who are negative influences among us will not change their ways, we may remove them from our faith community (1 Corinthians 5), but that is different from committing or condoning violence against them. Consider, O reader, the treatment of the Aramean raiders in 2 Kings 6; making them guests at a lavish feast before repatriating them is far from being harsh toward them.
How we treat others–especially enemies and oppressors–is about who we are, not who they are. We are supposed to be children of light, those who love God and our fellow human beings not because of signs and wonders but because of who God is and because to do so is the right thing to do. We ought to dwell on a moral plain higher than the lowest common denominator. This is frequently difficult, but it is possible, via grace.
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-9-year-d/
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Above: Lot and His Daughters, by Lucas van Leyden
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Merciful God, gracious and benevolent,
through your Son you invite all the world to a meal of mercy.
Grant that we may eagerly follow this call,
and bring us with all your saints into your life of justice and joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 52
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The Assigned Readings:
Nehemiah 13:1-3, 23-31 (Monday)
Zechariah 7:1-14 (Tuesday)
Psalm 50 (Both Days)
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 (Monday)
Jude 5-21 (Tuesday)
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“When you see a thief, you make him your friend,
and you cast your lot in with adulterers.
You have loosed your lips for evil,
and harnessed your tongue to a lie.
You are always speaking evil of your brother
and slandering your own mother’s son.
These things you have done, and I kept still,
and you thought that I am like you.”
–Psalm 50:18-21, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The Law of Moses teaches that, among other things:
- We humans depend on God for everything,
- We depend on each other also,
- We have no right to exploit each other,
- We are responsible to each other, and
- We are responsible for each other.
Thus hospitality is a great virtue, for it can make the difference between someone coming to harm or avoiding harm, as well as the difference between someone dying or living.
My summary of the forbidden behaviors in these days’ readings is that they are generally activities that harm others. I note that, in post-exilic zeal to obey the Law of Moses, many people went too far with regard to the treatment of foreigners. The Book of Jonah pushes back against such excesses. The Book of Ruth, in which a Moabite woman marries a Hebrew man and becomes an ancestor of King David, is probably another protest against such zealousness-turned-xenophobia, such as that praised in Nehemiah 13:1.
As for homosexual behavior (as opposed to homosexuality as a sexual preference, an understanding which did not exist until recent centuries), Jude 7 is the only verse in the Bible to make explicit the link between homosexual conduct and the story of Sodom in Genesis 19. In that chapter Lot, who has lived in the city since Genesis 13, presumably knows his neighbors well enough to understand what they like. Lot has taken in two angels. A mob gathers outside his door and demands that he send them outside to that they can gang rape the angels. Lot refuses the demands and offers to send his two virgin daughters out instead. (Bad father!) Fortunately for Lot’s daughters, the mob is not interested and the angels have a plan to save Lot and his family from the imminent destruction of the city. In the context of Genesis 19 the planned sexual activity is rape, not anything consensual; may nobody miss that point. The standard Biblical condemnations of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are like those in Ezekiel 16:48-50 and 3 Maccabees 2:5-6, where one reads that the cities’ sins were notorious and the people were arrogant and brazen in their iniquity. Ezekiel 16 adds to that description the neglect of the poor and the hungry–a lack of hospitality.
Zechariah 7:8-14 states that the pre-exilic Kingdoms of Israel and Judah violated the basic requirements of the Law of Moses, and paid the price. The societies, generally speaking, did not administer true justice and act kindly and compassionately. No, it oppressed widows, orphans, the poor, and resident aliens. The societies were unrepentant, and divine patience ran out.
Society is people. It shapes its members, who also influence it. May we–you, O reader, and I–influence society for the better–to care for the vulnerable, to resist bullying and corruption, to favor kindness and compassion, and to seek and find the proper balance between individual and collective responsibility. May we eschew bigotry in all forms, for we have a divine mandate to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. May we seek to love God and each other fully, manifesting respect for the image of God in each other, seeking to build each other up, for that is not only the path to the common good but is also godly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/devotion-for-monday-and-tuesday-after-proper-26-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Premium Yeast Powder, 1870
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZ61-1537
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The Collect:
Almighty God, you give us the joy of celebrating our Lord’s resurrection.
Give us also the joys of life in your service,
and bring us at last to the full joy of life eternal,
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 32
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The Assigned Readings:
Joshua 10:16-27
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 5:6b-8
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The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
–Psalm 118:14, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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That grace demands a faithful response.
Much of the content of 1 Corinthians is a catalog of ways members of the Corinthian congregation was not responding faithfully, not glorifying God. The advice in 5:6b-8 applied to all of them. That church needed a heavy dose of sincerity and truth.
Yeast is frequently a negative metaphor in the Bible. Often it is, in fact, a reference to wickedness and evil. Evil spreads quickly, as does righteousness. That is the understanding in the reading from 1 Corinthians.
The contagiousness of wickedness was a justification for slaughter in the name of God, as in the lection from Joshua. But was wiping out enemies and impaling kings on stakes righteous? Did not many of the people who approved of Christ’s crucifixion think that they were in the right? And whom would Jesus execute? Does not acting in unrighteous ways, perhaps in the name of righteousness, facilitate the spread of the yeast of wickedness and evil?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 18, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARC BOEGNER, ECUMENIST
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/devotion-for-monday-after-easter-sunday-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Saul and David, by Rembrandt van Rijn
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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 everlasting 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:
1 Samuel 26:1-25
Psalm 103 (Morning)
Psalms 117 and 139 (Evening)
1 Corinthians 5:1-13
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Some Related Posts:
1 Corinthians 5:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/first-day-of-easter-easter-sunday-years-a-b-and-c-evening-service/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/week-of-proper-18-monday-year-2/
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1 Samuel 26 resembles Chapter 24 closely. The two are probably variants of the same incident, actually. 1 Samuel and some other books of the Hebrew Bible, being composed of documentary sources edited together, contain such doublets. Anyhow, it is good to read another account (or variant of a story) of mercy.
In contrast, we have 1 Corinthians 5, in which we read of idolatry, greed, incest, slander, drunkenness, and dishonesty–all within the Corinthian church. Paul orders the banishment of the offenders. Indeed, those behaviors destroy self and others, unlike sparing the life of a person who has tried to kill one. And it is true that negative influences in a group can grow if one does not remove them, just as positive influences can spread.
Once I heard of a United Methodist congregation in Columbus, Georgia. Membership had not increased in years because of the negative activities of a small number of people, who had been chiefly responsible for a series of short pastorates. In the 1980s or 1990s the newly appointed minister managed to compel most of these trouble makers to leave the congregation. Membership and attendance increased substantially and the remaining (former) trouble makers became rather quiet.
Sometimes one must remove from fellowship (for the sake of the group) those who will not reform. Yet one must never forget the imperative of showing mercy to those who have changed their negative and destructive ways.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 16, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALL CHRISTIAN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
THE FEAST OF HUGH LATIMER, NICHOLAS RIDLEY, AND THOMAS CRANMER, ANGLICAN MARTYRS
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Adapted from this post:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/devotion-for-august-11-lcms-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Supper at Emmaus, by Caravaggio
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Acts 5:29a, 30-32 (New Revised Standard Version):
But Peter and the apostles answered,
…The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, as so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.
1 Corinthians 5:6b-8 (New Revised Standard Version):
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Psalm 114 (New Revised Standard Version):
When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
The sea looked and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.
Luke 24:13-35 (New Revised Standard Version):
Now on that same day, the first day of the week, two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them,
What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?
They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him,
Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?
He asked them,
What things?
They replied,
The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.
Then he said to them,
Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying,
Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.
So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other,
Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?
That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying,
The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!
Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
The Collect:
Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Both services for Easter Sunday contain Gospel readings which tell of followers of Jesus encountering him and not recognizing him until he said or did something which revealed his identity. I propose that one reason (if not the reason) people did not recognize Jesus was that they did not expect to see him, for they thought he was dead. When they realized that he was alive, however, they told the eleven surviving Apostles and those gathered with them.
Imagine how traumatized the followers of Jesus in and around Jerusalem must have been. The Roman Empire had just executed Jesus via a method meant to make an example of him. Might they be next? Then God acted and restored Jesus to life. This was wonderful news indeed. Who, upon encountering the resurrected Jesus, would not feel encouraged and compelled to tell others?
Ask yourself: Where, in our daily lives, are we on a walk to Emmaus? When does God act powerfully in our proximity and encourage us, and we do not recognize the divine action? May we open our spiritual eyes and understand what God has done and is doing, and act according to what that demands of us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 2, 2010 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN PAYNE AND CUTHBERT MAYNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF HENRY BUDD, ANGLICAN PRIEST
THE FEAST OF JAMES LLOYD BRECK, EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF JOHN PAUL II, BISHOP OF ROME
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Adapted from this post:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/first-day-of-easter-easter-sunday-years-a-b-and-c-evening-service/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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