Archive for the ‘1 Corinthians 6’ Category
Above: Archaia Korinthos, Greece
Image Source = Google Earth
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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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1 Samuel 3:1-10
Psalm 67
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
John 1:43-51
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Lord God, you showed your glory and
led many to faith by the works of your Son.
As he brought gladness and healing to his people,
grant us these same gifts and lead us also to perfect faith in him,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 15
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Almighty and eternal God,
Governor of all things in heaven and on earth,
mercifully hear the prayers of your people,
and grant us your peace in our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 22
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Nathanael said to [Jesus], “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
–John 1:48, The New American Bible–Revised Edition
I begin with the proverbial low-hanging fruit: What was amazing about Jesus seeing St. Nathanael sitting under a fig tree? Father Raymond E. Brown, in the first volume of his two-volume commentary on the Gospel of John, lists one interpretation after another in a long endnote. Then he concludes:
We are far from exhausting the suggestions, all of which are pure speculation.
I do not presume to know more about the Gospel of John than Father Raymond E. Brown did.
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We all belong to God. We all need to serve God. Some of us may be so fortunate as (a) to know how to do that in circumstances, and (b) to be able to do that. If one continues to read after 1 Samuel 3:10, one finds that God sometimes tells us uncomfortable truths. Speaking these truths–even in love and tact–may be awkward.
The reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians requires context. Pagan temple prostitution did occur in ancient Corinth. And, given Platonic philosophy regarding the body and the soul, some Corinthian Christians may have excused sexual immorality (as with pagan temple prostitutes) as being justifiable. If the body was only a hindrance to the soul, why not?
Yet what if the body is not a hindrance to the soul? In Hebrew thought, continued in Pauline epistles, the Greek philosophical separation of body and soul does not exist. Rather, “soul” means “essential self,” one with the body. Furthermore, in Pauline theology, the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The body, then, deserves great respect.
Without falling into the trap of fun-damn-mentalism and the excesses of Pietism and Puritanism, I affirm this timeless principle. We, who are in the flesh, serve God with our bodies and how we use them properly. How we treat others, in the flesh, is of great spiritual and moral importance. Whatever good we do to others in the flesh, we do to Jesus. Whatever good we do not to others in the flesh, we do not do to Jesus. Whatever evil we commit to others in the flesh, we do to Jesus.
I do not understand John 1:48, but I grasp this point well. It troubles me, for sins of omission are as real as sins of commission. Pray we me:
God of all mercy,
we confess that we have sinned against you,
opposing your will in our lives.
We have opposed your goodness in each other,
in ourselves, and in the world you have created.
We repent of the evil that enslaves us,
the evil we have done,
and the evil done on our behalf.
Forgive, restore, and strengthen us
through our Savior Jesus Christ;
that we may abide in your love
and serve only your will. Amen.
—Enriching Our Worship (1998), 19
The line about “the evil done on our behalf” indicts me every time. What response does that line elicit from you, O reader?
John 1:51 echoes Genesis 28:12 and reminds us that a better world is possible. Heaven and Earth can be one by divine action. In the meantime, may we, by grace, act both collectively and individually to leave the Earth better and made more just than we found it. The Golden Rule requires that of us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 9, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF HARRIET TUBMAN, U.S. ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF EMANUEL CRONENWETT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCES OF ROME, FOUNDER OF THE COLLATINES
THE FEAST OF JOHANN PACHELBEL, GERMAN LUTHERN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT PACIAN OF BARCELONA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF BARCELONA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SOPHRONIUS OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Icon of Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART IX
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Ezekiel 16:1-63
Ezekiel 20:1-44
Ezekiel 23:1-49
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This project of reading the Book of Ezekiel is part of a larger project of reading the Hebrew prophetic books, roughly in chronological order. I know already, based on this larger project alone, that the Hebrew prophetic books are repetitive. For example, idolatry is, metaphorically, sexual–prostitution and/or adultery. This metaphorical prostitution is, functionally, pagan temple prostitution, common in the ancient Near East into New Testament times (from Genesis 38:15 to 1 Corinthians 6:15f). Also, much of the language of this sexual metaphor is Not Safe for Work (NSFW) and replete with shaming.
The Bible is not G-rated.
Ezekiel 16 is not G-rated. It uses the marital metaphor, also present in Isaiah 8:5-8; Isaiah 49-54; Isaiah 66:7-14; Jeremiah 2-3; Hosea 1-3; Zephaniah 3:14-20.
Robert Alter provides perhaps the most memorable synopsis of Ezekiel 16:
Among the themes of Ezekiel’s prophecies, the most striking expression of neurosis is his troubled relation to the female body. Real and symbolic bodies become entangled with each other. In biblical poetry, a nation, and Israel in particular, is quite often represented as a woman. God’s covenant with Israel–see Jeremiah 1–is imagined as a marriage, and so the bride Israel’s dalliance with pagan gods is figured as adultery or whoring. This is a common trope in biblical literature, but the way Ezekiel articulates it is both startling and unsettling.
The most vivid instance of this psychological twist in Ezekiel is the extended allegory of whoring Israel in chapter 16. The allegory here follows the birth of the nation in Canaan–represented with stark physicality in the image of the infant girl naked and wallowing in the blood of afterbirth, then looked after by a solicitous God–to her sexual maturity and her betrayal of God through idolatry. The focus throughout is on Israel as a female sexual body. Thus, the prophet notes (as does no other biblical writer) the ripening of the breasts and the sprouting of pubic hair. The mature personification of the nation is a beautiful woman, her beauty enhanced by the splendid attire God gives her (this is probably a reference to national grandeur and to the Temple). Yet, insatiably lascivious, she uses her charms to entice strangers to her bed: “you spilled out your whoring” (given the verb used and the unusual form of the noun, this could be a reference to vaginal secretions) “upon every passerby.” Israel as a woman is even accused of harboring a special fondness for large phalluses: “you played the whore with the Egyptians, your big-membered neighbors.” She is, the prophet says, a whore who asks for no payment for her services. “You befouled your beauty,” he inveighs, “and spread your legs for every passerby.” All this concern with female promiscuity is correlative with Ezekiel’s general preoccupation with purity and impurity.
It is of course possible to link each of these sexual details with the allegory of an idolatrous nation betraying its faith. But such explicitness and such vehemence about sex are unique in the Bible. The compelling inference is that this was a prophet morbidly fixated on the female body and seething with fervid misogyny. What happens in the prophecy in chapter 16 is that the metaphor of the lubricious woman takes over the foreground, virtually displacing the allegorical referent. Ezekiel clearly was not a stable person.
—The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, Volume 2, Prophets (2019), 1051
Corinne L. Carvalho comments:
In Israel, spouses were not equal partners; women were legally and socially subservient to their husbands. Betrothal and marriage were contractual arrangements by which a woman became the exclusive “property” of her husband, even before the actual marriage. In practical terms, this meant that her husband was her sole sexual partner from the moment of betrothal. Since men could have more than one wife, adultery occurred only when it involved a married woman; it was a crime, punishable by death, against the sole property rights of a wronged husband (Lev 18:20; 20:10; Deut 22:22).
Ezekiel 16 plays on these elements of marriage. God is the one who owns Jerusalem, and Jerusalem owes him her exclusive allegiance and fidelity. Anything less gives him the legal right to punish her. Ezekiel 16 uses hyperbole and inflammatory rhetoric to achieve a shocking literary effect. Here, the author utilizes a common metaphor, the city as God’s wife, in ways that border on pornography. (Modern translations tone down the sexually explicit language of the Hebrew texts.) It is an image to provoke a response.
–in Daniel Durken, ed., The New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament (2015), 1431
Ezekiel 16 concludes on a sexually graphic metaphor of future restoration (verses 59-63). After all, to “know” is frequently a euphemism for sexual intimacy.
And I Myself will establish the covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
–Ezekiel 16:62, Robert Alter, 2019
Consider the following verse, O reader:
Thus you shall remember and feel shame, and you shall be too abashed to open your mouth again, when I have forgiven you, for all that you did–declares the Lord GOD.
–Ezekiel 16:63, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
I feel too abashed after reading Ezekiel 16.
My library contains a variety of editions and versions of the Bible. The Children’s Living Bible (1972) is one of these. The artwork depicts a smiling Jesus holding lost-and-found sheep, smiling at children wearing attire from 1972, and generally smiling. The volume also includes Ezekiel 16. I imagine a child reading Ezekiel 16 and asking a horrified parent about the contents of that chapter. I also imagine that parent’s horror that the tyke was reading a volume that included the term, “son of a bitch” (1 Samuel 20:30). Just wait for Ezekiel 23!
Ezekiel 20 continues the themes of idolatry and apostasy. The text dwells on the sabbath. This suggests that the sabbath had become important, as a substitute for the Temple, during the Babylonian Exile. The sabbath is foundational in the covenant. The sabbath is also a sign of a free person in the context of liberation from slavery in Egypt. And to keep the sabbath is to emulate God, the creator and original keeper of the sabbath.
God, as depicted in Ezekiel 20, is not worthy of emulation, respect, love, and awe:
- God, according to 20:9, 14, 22, and 44, acts selfishly, to preserve the divine reputation.
- God gave the people “laws that were not good and rules by which they could not live (20:25) then promised to destroy the people as punishment for obeying the bad laws and disobeying the impossible rules (20:26).
Chapter 20 exists in the shadow of Ezekiel 18–about individual moral accountability to God. The verdict on the people of Judah, in the yet-future context of the Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.) is damning.
Ezekiel 20 concludes on a note of future restoration, but not for the sake of the covenant people:
Then, O House of Israel, you shall know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for My name’s sake–not in accordance with your evil ways and corrupt acts–declares the Lord GOD.
–Ezekiel 20:44, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
I wonder how many agnostics and atheists grew up devout, with this understanding of God, or one close to it. That theology may explain their current spiritual status as they properly reject that understanding of God yet go too far and remain out of balance.
Ezekiel 23 returns to the imagery of idolatry as harlotry. It also returns to the category of Not Safe for Work. (What was it with Ezekiel and sex?) Break out the plain brown wrappers again, O reader! The text speaks of the Babylonian Exile as punishment for persistent, collective, and unrepentant idolatry.
Some G-rated details (There are some.) require explanation:
- Samaria, the capital of the (northern) Kingdom of Israel, is, metaphorically, Oholeh, “her tent.” One may recall that, in the theology of the Hebrew Bible, the Presence of God dwelt in a text then in the Temple. We read of the fall of the Kingdom of Israel and of the causes of that collapse.
- Jerusalem, the capital of the (southern) Kingdom of Judah, is, metaphorically, Oholibah, “my tent is in her.”
- Ezekiel 23 condemns the kingdoms’ foreign alliances. This is an old Hebrew prophetic theme, albeit one other prophets presented in less graphic terms.
I try to maintain a spiritual and theological equilibrium. The God of Ezekiel 16, 20, and 23 is a self-absorbed, abusive, and misogynistic monster. This is not my God-concept. Neither is the God of my faith anything like a cosmic teddy bear or a warm fuzzy. No, the God of my faith holds judgment and mercy in balance. I do not pretend to know where that balance is or where it should be. The God of my faith also loves all people and models selflessness. Neither is the God of my faith a misogynist or any kind of -phobe or bad -ist. The model for the God of my faith is Jesus of Nazareth, God Incarnate. I read stories of Jesus having harsh words for those who deserved them and compassion for the desperate. I understand Jesus as being stable, unlike Ezekiel, apparently.
Ezekiel clearly was not a stable person.
–Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (2019), 1051
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 27, 2021 COMMON ERA
PROPER 8: THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF CORNELIUS HILL, ONEIDA CHIEF AND EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ARIALDUS OF MILAN, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC DEACON AND MARTYR, 1066
THE FEAST OF HUGH THOMSON KERR, SR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST; AND HIS SON, HUGH THOMSON KERR, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JAMES MOFFATT, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE GEORGIAN, ABBOT; AND SAINTS EUTHYMIUS OF ATHOS AND GEORGE OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN, ABBOTS AND TRANSLATORS
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Above: Heavy Black Clouds of Dust Rising Over the Texas Panhandle, March 1936
Photographer = Arthur Rothstein
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-fsa-8b27276
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For the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, Year 1
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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 hast prepared for them that love thee
such good things as pass man’s understanding;
pour into our hearts such love toward thee,
that we, loving thee above all things,
may obtain thy promises,
which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 192
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Jeremiah 16:14-21
Psalm 26
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Matthew 7:24-29
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Three of the four readings refer to idolatry. Psalm 26 is a defense against a false charge of idolatry. Jeremiah 16:14-21 lists idolatry as a sin that led to exile. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 lists idolaters as one of the groups excluded from the Kingdom of God. Why not? They build their houses on sand, not rock.
Storms can be literal or metaphorical. Without minimizing the destruction natural disasters cause, perhaps the most devastating storms are metaphorical. One must deal with the spiritual and psychological consequences of a literal storm. One experiences a financial crisis. A relationship ends. A friend or a relative dies. A professor terminates one’s advanced degree program unfairly. One has legal difficulties. One feels alone and abandoned. Sheltering in place during a pandemic takes its toll on one’s emotional, spiritual, and/or mental health. Idols can be tangible. They can also be purely in one’s mind. Whatever our idols are, they distract us from God, the rock. And storms come, inevitably.
What is your foundation, O reader?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 16, 2020 COMMON ERA
THURSDAY IN HOLY WEEK
THE FEAST OF SAINT BERNADETTE OF LOURDES, VISIONARY
THE FEAST OF CALVIN WEISS LAUFER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMNODIST
THE FEAST OF ISABELLA GILMORE, ANGLICAN DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF SAINT MIKEL SUMA, ALBANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, FRIAR, AND MARTYR, 1950
THE FEAST OF PETER WILLIAMS CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL DEACON; AND HIS WIFE, ANNIE BESANT CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL EDUCATOR
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Above: Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, by Ludolf Bakhuizen
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year 1, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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O God, who knowest us to be in the midst of many dangers, that we cannot always stand upright;
grant to us such strength and protection that we may be supported in all difficulty,
and our feet be set against temptation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 119
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Genesis 18:22-33
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Matthew 8:23-27
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The story of Abraham haggling with God for the lives of complete strangers in Genesis 18 impresses me. It also causes me to wonder why he was so submissive to God’s demand in Genesis 21. I can only guess how much psychological damage the sight of a father ready to kill his son (Isaac) caused to the son.
Above: The Sacrifice of Isaac, by Caravaggio
Image in the Public Domain
The warning against sexual immorality in general in prostitution in particular in 1 Corinthians 6 is part of a longer discourse about sexual morality in that epistle. Prostitution is not, despite the common term, a victimless crime. Readings in history reveal that many prostitute have been sexual slaves, for example. Furthermore, everyone involved pays some sort of price, monetary or otherwise. Readings in history also reveal that many women have become prostitutes as a last resort–to avoid starvation. Any society that forces people into that dilemma commits sin against God and them.
In the case of 1 Corinthians, temple prostitution is a matter to consider. When one realizes that, one comes to understand that clients were uniting themselves with a false, imaginary deity, as well as with a prostitute. This understanding adds depth to one’s grasp of the language about unions and a temple in the passage.
The title of this post is “Nature and Human Nature.” The “human nature” aspect is plain from what precedes this paragraph. For the rest we must turn to Matthew 8, where we read of Jesus calming an aquatic storm. To be fearful when one’s life is in danger is human nature. Sexuality is why the human species continues, as well as a means of commerce. Advertising confirms the end of the previous sentence.
But what about empathy? It is part of human nature, too. Nevertheless, so is the lack of concern for strangers and those different from us. The dehumanization and demonization of the “other” is an old–and current–strategy in politics and warfare.
The Incarnation had much meaning. Part of that meaning was God empathizing with us. This empathy was evident in the life and ministry of Jesus, who established examples for those who came to call themselves Christians to follow.
God, who has mastery over nature, commands us to live up to the best of our human nature and to rise above the depths of our human nature, for the sake of divine glory, the benefit of others, and the living into our potential in God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 29, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JAMES HANNINGTON, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF EASTERN EQUATORIAL AFRICA; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF BARTHOLOMAUS HELDER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, COMPOSER, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH GRIFF, ENGLISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF PAUL MANZ, DEAN OF LUTHERAN CHURCH MUSIC
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Above: Judah and Tamar, by the School of Rembrandt van Rijn
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 38:1-26 or Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 18:31-36, 43-50
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Matthew 12:1-21
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Temple prostitution, in the background in Genesis 38, might be background for 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 also. If it is, the reading becomes deeper than it is otherwise. If to engage in sexual relations with a pagan prostitute is to unite with the deity the prostitute serves, idolatry becomes an issue. Christians are supposed to function as part of the body of Christ, therefore visiting a pagan temple prostitute is worse than visiting a prostitute in general.
Speaking of Genesis 38, it is another of those different stories we find frequently in the Hebrew Bible. It remains a proverbial hot potato. When must a father-in-law sire his grandsons? When the laws governing levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) dictate. The text does not condemn Tamar for her deceit either, for the narrative makes plain that it was the option left open to her.
In June 1996 my father became the pastor of the Asbury United Methodist Church in northern Appling County, Georgia, U.S.A. One of the adult Sunday School classes was reading the Book of Genesis a chapter at a time. One week the teacher announced that the class would not discuss Chapter 38 (although they had apparently discussed Chapter 37 the previous week), but would talk about Chapter 39 instead. I wonder if the teacher also skipped the rape of Dinah and the subsequent bloodbath in Chapter 34. Probably, yes.
When passages of scripture make us that uncomfortable, we should study them. We should study all of the Bible, of course, but double down on the parts that cause us to squirm.
God is strong, mighty, loving, and trustworthy, we read. Sometimes mercy on some takes the form of judgment on others. After all, judgment on oppressors does help the oppressed, does it not?
Much occurs theologically in Matthew 12:1-21, but the major point is that mercy overrides Sabbath laws. We read that some labor was mandatory on the Sabbath, especially for priests. So yes, we read Jesus announce, the hungry may pluck grain and the man with the withered hand may receive healing, not just rudimentary first aid.
In the Gospel of Matthew one of the points drilled into the text was that Jesus did not seek to destroy the Law of Moses. No, he presented his interpretation as correct and in opposition to the interpretations of his critics. Jesus stood within the context of Judaism, not against it. For example, the Mishnah, published in 200 C.E. (about 170 years after the crucifixion of Jesus), listed 39 types of labor prohibited on the Sabbath. Plucking food was not one of them. Christ’s opponents in Chapter 12:1-21 were, to use an anachronistic expression, more Catholic than the Pope.
The Sabbath, in the Law of Moses, was about liberation. Slaves in Egypt received no days off, so a day off was a mark of freedom. Besides, science and experience have taught us the necessity of down time. Much of my Christian tradition has reacted against leisure (especially “worldly amusements,” a bane of Pietism and Puritanism) and insisted that idle hands are the Devil’s workshop. Nevertheless, science and experience have affirmed the necessity of a certain amount of idleness.
Judaism, at its best, is not legalistic; neither is Christianity. Yet legalistic Jews and Christians exist. A healthy attitude is to seek to respond to God faithfully, without becoming lost in the thicket of laws, without failing to see the forest for the trees, without mistaking culturally specific examples for timeless principles, without shooting cannon balls at gnats, and without forgetting mercy.
And while one is doing that, one should read the scriptural passages that make one squirm in one’s seat.
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-16-year-a-humes/
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Above: Joseph Reveals His Dream to His Brethren, 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 37:1-28 or Isaiah 30:15-25
Psalm 18:16-30
1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Matthew 11:2-19
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Patriarchs in Genesis had dysfunctional families. Abraham tried to kill his son Isaac, on faith that God had told him to do so. (Yes, I argue with that story.) Isaac’s son Jacob, with the help of Jacob’s mother, fooled him and defrauded Esau. Jacob seemed not to care about the rape of his daughter Dinah and, in a different context, acted in such a way as to foster tension among his sons, most of whom fooled him into thinking that his son Joseph was dead. With family like that, who needs enemies?
The main idea in 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 is that believers ought to conduct themselves in ways that glorify God and distinguish them from unbelievers. Yet even when holy people do that, they will still receive criticism, for some people thrive on finding faults, even if those faults are imaginary. It is preferable that the criticisms be baseless; that way they show up the critics.
During the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah (reigned 727/715-698/687 B.C.E.), the kingdom entered into a military alliance with Egypt against Assyria. This was an ill-advised alliance; Egypt was not trustworthy. The author of Isaiah 30 argued that the alliance indicated a lack of trust in God, who was reliable. After the announcement of divine wrath followed the prediction of mercy.
Trusting in God liberates one to do as one should and become the person one should be. One can lay aside the desire for revenge, not to lead a life defined by anger, and value justice instead. With confidence in God one can avoid foolish decisions that end badly. One, trusting in God, can find the source of ultimate peace and strength.
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-15-year-a-humes/
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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: The Agony in the Garden, by El Greco
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O Lord God, tireless guardian of your people,
you are always ready to hear our cries.
Teach us to rely day and night on your care.
Inspire us to seek your enduring justice for all the suffering world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Samuel 25:2-22 (Monday)
1 Samuel 25:23-35 (Tuesday)
1 Samuel 25:36-42 (Wednesday)
Psalm 57 (All Days)
1 Corinthians 6:1-11 (Monday)
James 5:7-12 (Tuesday)
Luke 22:39-46 (Wednesday)
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Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have taken refuge in you;
in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge
until this time of trouble has gone by.
–Psalm 57:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Yet sometimes suffering does happen. Jesus goes on to die after Luke 22:39-46. Furthermore, James 5:11 refers to Job. In addition, much suffering of the innocent results from the actions of others.
Several of the assigned readings for these days speak of deferred yet certain divine justice. The length of the delay might be relatively brief (as in 1 Samuel 25) or part of an eschatological plan. Regardless of the duration of the wait, having patience can be quite difficult. In Revelation 6:10-11 the impatience extends into the afterlife. How much more difficult will patience be for us on this side of Heaven?
We must try to trust in God. That is the meaning of belief in the Bible: to trust. We can strive for that goal on our own power, but can succeed only by grace.
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-tuesday-and-wednesday-after-proper-24-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Byzantine Mosaic, Church of the Multiplication, Taghba, Israel
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O God, with all your faithful followers in every age, we praise you, the rock of our life.
Be our strong foundation and form us into the body of your Son,
that we may gladly minister to all the world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 45
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 28:11-19 (Thursday)
Ezekiel 31:15-18 (Friday)
Psalm 138 (Both Days)
1 Corinthians 6:1-11 (Thursday)
2 Corinthians 10:12-18 (Friday)
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The LORD is high, yet the LORD cares for the lowly
and perceives the haughty from afar.
–Psalm 138:6, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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The assigned readings for these two days focus on the question of how we should treat others as opposed to how we behave toward them much of the time. Exploitation comes in more than one form; economic, judicial, and sexual varieties of such bad behavior come to mind immediately. That which builds one up at the expense of others–by taking from them wrongly or denying them what they should have–is immoral. Yet many people already wealthy pile up more riches by taking from those who have less or by denying others that which they ought to have–sufficient means–by right. Yes, I am writing about greed, a predatory force.
The essence of compassion is to dethrone oneself from the center of one’s life or never to place oneself there. Selfishness (of which greed is a symptom) can result from a variety of issues, including two related to the ego. One is pride–hubris, to be precise. Taking pride in one’s work is positive, for it contributes to better work. Yet hubris goes before the fall. This is a phenomenon of the ego run amok. I have known this temptation and yielded to it in the realm of intellectual arrogance. The causes were understandable, given the circumstances, but that fact did not–and still does not–constitute an excuse or justification. I continue to struggle with intellectual arrogance at times, but at least I know about the problem and recognize it as such. I am imperfect, but I have made progress, by grace. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the inferiority complex. People with this problem who do not deal with it constructively lead self-centered lives dedicated to making themselves feel better about themselves. (I have one person, who will remain unnamed in this post, in mind.) In cases of both extremes the offenders injure themselves and others, for what one person does affects others. That is the way of the universe.
To have a balanced ego is the better course. And following the advice of St. Paul the Apostle to boast only of the Lord is a spiritually healthy path to take in life. The desire to do these things is a good start, one possible only by grace. This desire might constitute our proverbial few loaves of bread and fishes, and therefore seem woefully inadequate for the task. It is inadequate for the task, of course, but God can multiply it. This is not about what we do. No, it is about what God does. Our task is to cooperate with God–to be the faithful ministers of grace God calls us to be. May we, by grace, serve effectively, thereby glorifying God and helping others–building them up as God leads us to do.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 16, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALEN POSTEL, FOUNDER OF THE POOR DAUGHTERS OF MERCY
THE FEAST OF JOHN MOORE WALKER, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ATLANTA
THE FEAST OF THE RIGHTEOUS GENTILES
THE FEAST OF WALTER CRONKITE, JOURNALIST
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Adapted from This Post:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/devotion-for-thursday-and-friday-before-proper-16-year-a-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Peter’s Vision of the Sheet with Animals
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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 28:3-25
Psalm 5 (Morning)
Psalms 8 and 29 (Evening)
1 Corinthians 6:1-20
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Some Related Posts:
1 Corinthians 6:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/second-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-b/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/week-of-proper-18-tuesday-year-2-and-week-of-proper-18-wednesday-year-2/
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When [Jesus] had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer.” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.
–Mark 7:17-23, New Revised Standard Version
The politics of food in the Bible interests me. Some foods are unclean in the Law of Moses yet God declares them clean in the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostle Paul dealt with the issue of food in passing in 1 Corinthians 6 yet at length in the context of food offered to imaginary deities elsewhere. Paul could not have been aware of Mark 7:19b, in which Jesus declared all foods clean, for he died before the Gospel of Mark came into existence. But, if he was aware of the oral tradition or a written version of that teaching, he did not indicate that he was. There is also the matter of whom one eats and refuses to eat (as in 1 Corinthians 5:11 and elsewhere.) But the witch at Endor offered even the unsympathetic King Saul food.
There is a Russian proverb which states that one’s company, not the menu, makes for a good meal. By that definition Jesus considered prostitutes, Roman collaborators, and other notorious sinners to be good company. At least they knew of their need for forgiveness. And he did not condemn them.
“For me everything is permissible,” maybe, but not everything does good. True, for me everything is permissible, but I am determined not to be dominated by anything.
–1 Corinthians 6:12, The New Jerusalem Bible
That last clause is crucial. Any behavior or thing can become addictive under certain circumstances. Modern scientific knowledge regarding the pleasure center of the human brain explains the difference between the brain of an addict and the brain of someone not addicted. So we know that addiction is a matter of brain chemistry (affected by life circumstances, quite often), not one’s weak will. Yet the principle that we ought to master our appetites rather than be mastered by them is a timeless one. And we should also master our prejudices regarding who constitutes good company for table fellowship.
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-12-lcms-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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