READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

Above:  The Harrowing of Hell, by Fra Angelico

Image in the Public Domain

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PART LXXV

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Psalms 130 and 131

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Were You, O Yah, to watch for wrongs,

Master, who could endure?

For forgiveness is Yours,

so that you may be feared.

–Psalm 130:3-4, Robert Alter

As I keep writing at this and other weblogs, “fear of God” is an unfortunate expression.  TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures captures the meaning:

Yours is the power to forgive

so that you may be held in awe.

We all have learned childhood lessons we may question or renounce later in life.  The more I mature in faith, the more I question childhood assumptions regarding theology.  I have not, for a long time, regarded entrance to Heaven as depending upon passing a divine canonical examination.  If it did, theological orthodoxy would constitute a saving work, and salvation would not be by grace.  The most recent development in my thinking regarding Hell is approaching the concept as something nearer to Purgatory–a temporary reality and state of being.  The Harrowing of Hell (1 Peter 4:6) influences me, as it has for years.  The reasoning is:  If Jesus did this once, he can do it again.

A more recent influence is Eastern Orthodox scholar David Bentley Hart, the author of Atheist Delusions:  The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies (2009), the translator of a “ruthlessly literal” translation of the New Testament (2017), the author of That All Shall Be Saved:  Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation (2019), and the author of Tradition and Apocalypse:  An Essay on the Future of Christian Belief (2022).  My copy That All Shall Be Saved contains marginalia in which I critique arguments and pieces thereof.  One of Hart’s arguments proceeds from creation ex nihilo, a proposition I reject in favor of the Jewish doctrine of the creation of order from chaos (Genesis 1).  So, that particular argument does not hold water with me.  If x, then y.  If x is a faulty proposition, that particular argument collapses upon itself.  Nevertheless, Hart provides much food for thought, makes many cogent points, and offers a fine lesson in the history of theology, especially from the first five centuries of Christianity.

Hellfire-and-damnation preachers and teachers depict God as one who chomps at the bit to condemn people for their sins.  Fear–not awe, but fear–is a powerful force for controlling behavior and changing it.  Yet fear is not the approach in Psalm 130.  No, hesed–steadfast love–is the approach in Psalm 130.  And the focus in Psalm 130 is simultaneously individual and collective.

So is the focus in Psalm 131.  In Psalm 131, God is like a mother and the psalmist is like an infant.  That is a beautiful and potent image.

Divine judgment and mercy exist in balance.  A good parent loves a child.  Love includes discipline when necessary.  Yet discipline is not abuse.  God, as some of the faithful describe the deity, is an abusive and tyrannical figure.  Any “orthodoxy” which requires thinking of God in those terms is a heresy.  On the other end of the spectrum, any theology which gives short shrift to the judgment side of divine judgment and mercy is heretical, too.  I do not pretend to know what the balance of divine judgment and mercy is, but my theology favors mercy more often than judgment.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 18, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS COLMAN OF LINDISFARNE, AGILBERT, AND WILFRID, BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF SAINTS BARBASYMAS, SADOTH OF SELEUCIA, AND THEIR COMPANIONS, MARTYRS, 342

THE FEAST OF EDWARD SHIPPEN BARNES, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN ORGANIST, COMPOSER, AND WRITER

THE FEAST OF BLESSED GUIDO DI PIETRO, A.K.A. FRA ANGELICO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND ARTIST

THE FEAST OF JAMES DRUMMOND BURNS, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES DANIEL FALK, GERMAN POET, HYMN WRITER, AND SOCIAL WORKER

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Advertisement

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

Above:  Church Row, Louvale, Georgia

Image Source = Google Earth

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Acts 1:(1-7) 8-14

Psalm 47 (LBW) or Psalm 133 (LW)

1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11

John 17:1-11

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Almighty and eternal God,

your Son our Savior is with you in eternal glory. 

Give us faith to see that, true to his promise,

he is among us still, and will be with us to the end of time;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

OR

God, our creator and redeemer,

your Son Jesus prayed that his followers might be one. 

Make all Christians one with him as he is with you,

so that in peace and concord

we may carry to the world the message of your love;

through 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), 23

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O King of glory, Lord of hosts,

uplifted in triumph above all heavens,

we pray, leave us not without consolation,

but send us the Spirit of truth,

whom you promised from the Father;

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

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 57

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My theme in this post is unity.

John 17:1-11 opens with the Johannine definition of eternal life (knowing God via Jesus) and concludes with another Johannine motif–spiritual indwelling.

Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are.

–John 17:11b, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus dwells in the Father.  Christians dwell in Jesus, therefore, they dwell in the Father.

In John 17:11b, the prayer is that God will keep the disciples as a unity, not as units–that the unity of the faith community will mirror the unity of Jesus and the Father.

Spiritual unity and organic unity differ.  One can exist in the absence of the other one.  Denominations or congregations may cooperate harmoniously while bitter infighting divides a denomination or congregation.  Organic unity may not always be desirable or feasible, but ecumenical cooperation may be effective.

Psalm 133 opens:

Oh, how good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in unity.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

One subtext to this may be hopes for the reunion of the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah.  If so, we have an example of another dashed hope.  One may also recall the argumentative house churches in Corinth, thanks to epistles from St. Paul the Apostle.

Spiritual unity is a noble goal.  Yet I know from experience that it is frequently elusive on the small scale.  Within my family, for example, I feel as if I exist on a parallel spiritual track, even to the other professing, practicing Christians to whom I am related.  I own a tee-shirt that reads,

HERETIC.

I wear it with pride and defiance.  I also belong to a congregation that suffered a schism in 2012, before I moved to town.  And, as I write these words, my childhood denomination, The United Methodist Church, is proving that “Untied Methodist Church” is far more than a typographical error.  This contemporary manifestation of Donatism grieves me.

Such is life.  The ideal of spiritual unity persists.  It beckons.  How many of us are paying attention?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 24, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR C

GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE

THE FEAST OF SAINT EGBERT OF LINDISFARNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK; AND SAINT ADALBERT OF EGMONT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF SAINT FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN, CAPUCHIN FRIAR AND MYSTIC, 1622

THE FEAST OF JAKOB BÖHME, GERMAN LUTHERAN MYSTIC

THE FEAST OF JOHANN WALTER, “FIRST CANTOR OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH”

THE FEAST OF SAINT MELLITUS, BISHOP OF LONDON, AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

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Adapted from this post

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READING THE GENERAL EPISTLES, PART X

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1 Peter 4:7-5:14

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The author of First Peter, who wrote between 70 and 90 C.E., expected Christ’s Second Coming to occur soon.

I write in late 2021 of the Common Era.  History’s verdict on that expectation is plain.

The ethics of 1 Peter 4:7-5:14 stand the test of time, however.  So does the caution against apostasy.  Sadly, persecution has never ceased to be a reality for Christians somewhere, at any given moment.  The imagery of wrapping up in humility and serving each other (5:5) summarizes the best way to live in family and community.  Mutuality before God, upon whom all of us depend, is the superior strategy for creating and maintaining the common good and resisting evil.

Thank you, O reader, for being by my side during this journey through First Peter.  I invite you to remain with me as I move along to Jude and Second Peter.  (Jude is a source for Second Peter.)

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JEHU JONES, JR., AFRICAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER

THE FEAST OF EDWARD MCGLYNN, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, SOCIAL REFORMER, AND ALLEGED HERETIC

THE FEAST OF FRANCIS TURNER PALGRAVE, ANGLICAN POET, ART CRITIC, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH HOSKINS, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT LORENZO RUIZ AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES AND MARTYRS IN JAPAN, 1637

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READING THE GENERAL EPISTLES, PART IX

Above:  Icon of the Harrowing of Hades

Image in the Public Domain

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1 Peter 3:18-4:6

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Some time ago, I attempted to engage a fundamentalist Presbyterian in serious discussion.  I should have known better; she quashed my hopes quickly.  The conversation broke down over the allegorical interpretation of scripture, extant in the works of many Church Fathers, as well as in the Pauline Epistles, the Epistle to the Hebrews, and 1 Peter 3:18-4:6.

By the way, I have a mixed attitude toward the allegorical interpretation of the Bible.  Certain examples provide me with spiritual benefits.  However, some other examples go so far as to cross the line into the ridiculous.  Nevertheless, I acknowledge the objective presence of allegorical interpretation of scripture within scripture.

My discussion partner barely wanted to acknowledge that much.  Her tone was…not calm.  I have learned the lesson I should have learned before this incident; I have resolved that the short list of topics of conversation with her includes the weather, the cuteness of baby furry animals, and little else.  Theology and the Bible are off-limits.

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In 1 Peter 3:18-4:6, the allegory of the Great Flood and Noah’s Ark serves to encourage Christians to remain within the Ark of Christ, to live properly, and to endure persecution.  That part of the passage is unambiguous.

Ambiguity and disagreement in interpretation have surrounded 3:18-19 and 4:6 for nearly 2000 years.  (I have already written a post about that topic.)  Did Jesus descend to the dead, Limbo, Hell, or Hades?  Different denominations have dealt with this story and its implications in their own ways, especially regarding wording of the Apostles’ Creed.

That point does not interest me at the moment.  No, I choose to focus on why 1 Peter 3:18-19 and 4:6 make so many Christians uncomfortable.  Assuming that 3:18-19 and 4:6 refer to the same event (I do.), these verses, read in the context of 3:18-4:6, raise at least two potentially unsetting possibilities:

1. Damnation is potentially reversible, and
2. Salvation is reversible, if one commits apostasy.

I have written thousands of posts in more than a decade of blogging.  I have, therefore, developed some motifs, repeated seemingly endlessly.  Some of these are:

1. Divine judgment and mercy exist in balance,
2. God sends nobody to Hell,
3. People condemn themselves, and
4. Jesus erases many of our lines and categories.

The Descent of Christ after the crucifixion and prior to the Resurrection threatens certain cherished assumptions, especially regarding divine justice.  You, O reader, may be an exception, but many people derive satisfaction from desiring that their enemies and adversaries suffer the terrible fate that apparently should befall them.  But let us be honest.  How many of us want to suffer the terrible fate that certain others may think we deserve?

Grace upsets many assumptions.  What is justice without “those people” getting theirs?

Without being a universalist, I embrace grace.  I welcome the reversal of damnation.  1 Peter 3:18-19 and 4:6 make me feel comfortable, not uncomfortable.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF GENEVA; SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL, “THE APOSTLE OF CHARITY;” SAINT LOUISE DE MARILLAC, CO-FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL; AND CHARLES FUGE LOWDER, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF THE HOLY CROSS

THE FEAST OF ELIZA SCUDDER, U.S. UNITARIAN THEN EPISCOPALIAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH A. SITTLER, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND ECUMENIST

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF MELANESIA, 1864-2003

THE FEAST OF THOMAS TRAHERNE, ANGLICAN PRIEST, POET, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER

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READING THE GENERAL EPISTLES, PART I

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This post opens a new series, one about the General (or Catholic or Universal) Epistles.  This category dates to circa 325 C.E., from the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius of Caesarea.

MY GERMANE OPERATIONAL BIASES AND ASSUMPTIONS

Know, O reader, that my academic background is in history.  I think historically, regardless of the topic du jour.  The past tenses constitute my usual temporal perspective.  Some people tell me that I ought not to think this way when considering the Bible or a television series that ceased production years or decades ago.  These individuals are wrong.  I defy them.

Some people tell me that the historical backgrounds of Biblical books do not matter or are of minimal importance.  The messages for today is what matters, they say.  The messages for today do matter; I agree with that much.  Yet the definition of those messages depend greatly on the historical contexts from which these texts emerged.  With regard to the General Epistles, whether one assumes relatively early or relatively late composition affects the interpretation.

I operate from the assumptions that (a) James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, and Jude are pseudonymous, and (b) they date to relatively late periods.  These two assumptions relate to each other.  The first assumption leads to the second.  In terms of logic, if x, then y.  Simultaneously, internal evidence supports the second assumption, which leads backward, to the first.

CONTEXTS

The General Epistles, composed between 70 and 140 C.E., came from particular societal and political contexts.  The Roman Empire was strong.  Religious persecutions of Christianity were mostly sporadic and regional.  Christianity was a young, marginalized, sect (of Judaism, through 135 C.E.) unable to influence society and the imperial order.  Christian doctrine was in an early phase of development.  Even the definition of the Christian canon of scripture was in flux.

I, reading, pondering, and writing in late 2021, benefit from centuries of theological development, ecumenical councils, and the definition of the New Testament.  I, as an Episcopalian, use scripture, tradition, and reason.  I interpret any one of these three factors through the lenses of the other two.  I, as a student of the past, acknowledge that scripture emerged from tradition.

The importance of theological orthodoxy was a major concern in the background of the General Epistles.  That made sense; ecclesiastical unity, threatened by heresy, was a major concern for the young, small, and growing sect.  Yet, as time passed and the Church’s fortunes improved, the definition of orthodoxy changed.  Some of the Ante-Nicene Fathers (notably Origen) were orthodox, by the standards of their time.  After 325 C.E., however, some of these men (notably Origen) became heretics postmortem and ex post facto.

Orthopraxy was another concern in the General Epistles.  Orthopraxy related to orthodoxy.  The lack of orthopraxy led to needless schisms and the exploitation of the poor, for example.  As time passed and the Church became dominant in parts of the world, the Church fell short on the standard of orthopraxy, as defined by the Golden Rule.  As Alfred Loisy (1857-1940), an excommunicated modernist Roman Catholic theologian, lamented:

Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God and what came was the Church.

Lest anyone misunderstand me, I affirm that theological orthodoxy exists.  God defines it.  We mere mortals and our theologies are all partially heretical.  We cannot help that.  Salvation is a matter of grace, not passing a canonical examination.  Also, the Golden Rule is the finest standard according to which to measure orthopraxy.  Orthopraxy is a matter of faithful response, which grace demands.  Grace is free, not cheap.

BRIEF INTRODUCTIONS FOR EACH OF THE GENERAL EPISTLES

The Epistle of James dates to 70-110 C.E.  The analysis of Father Raymond E. Brown (1928-1998) suggests that composition in the 80s or 90s was probable.  The “epistle,” actually a homily, used the genre of diatribe to address Jewish Christians who lived outside of Palestine.  James is perhaps the ultimate “shape up and fly right” Christian text.  James may also correct misconceptions regarding Pauline theology.

The First Epistle of Peter, composed in Rome between 70 and 90 C.E., is a text originally for churches in northern Asia Minor.  The majority scholarly opinion holds that First Peter is a unified text.  A minority scholarly opinion holds that 1:3-4:11 and 4:12-5:11 are distinct documents.

The Epistle of Jude, composed between 90 and 100 C.E., may have have come from Palestine.  Jude was also a source for Second Peter, mainly the second chapter thereof.

The Second Epistle of Peter is the last book of the New Testament composed.  Second Peter, probably composed between 120 and 140 C.E., addresses a general audience in eastern Asia Minor.  The second chapter expands on Jude.

The First Epistle of John is not an epistle.  No, it is a homily or a tract.  First John, composed circa 100 C.E., belongs to the Johannine tradition.  Anyone who has belonged to a congregation that has suffered a schism may relate to the context of First John.

The author of the Second and Third Epistles of John (both from circa 100 C.E.) may have written First John.  Or not.  “The Elder” (the author of Second and Third John) speaks down the corridors of time in the contexts of ecclesiastical schisms and personality conflicts.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

I invite you, O reader, to remain with me as I embark on a journey through the Epistle of James first.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 COMMON ERA

PROPER 20:  THE SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF GERARD MOULTRIE, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS

THE FEAST OF SAINT CLARENCE ALPHONSUS WALWORTH, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, POET, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMN WRITER; CO-FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE (THE PAULIST FATHERS)

THE FEAST OF SAINT EMILY DE RODAT, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF VILLEFRANCHE

THE FEAST OF WALTER CHALMERS SMITH, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM DALRYMPLE MACLAGAN, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, AND HYMN WRITER

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Above:  One of My Crucifixes

Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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For the Fifth Sunday of the Season of God the Father, Year 1, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970

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O Lord Jesus, good shepherd of the sheep, who came to seek and to save the lost:

so lead thy church that we may show thy compassion to the helpless,

rescue those in peril, and bring home the wanderers in safety to thee.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 127

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Isaiah 41:8-13

1 Peter 4:12-19

Matthew 6:25-34

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Worry is negative, but concern can be positive.  Worry can lead only to bad results, but concern can compel one to take necessary and proper actions.  Worry indicates a lack of trust in God, but concern can work well in the context of faith.

Whether one suffers for the sake of righteousness, as the consequences of one’s sin(s), the consequences of the sins of another or others, or another reason (perhaps not a discernible one), one need not imagine that one suffers in isolation.  One need not worry; God is present.  God may permit the negative consequences of one’s actions to afflict one, but one does well to remember that mercy frequently follows judgment in the Bible.  One does well to learn spiritual lessons from one’s mistakes.  One does well to manifest proper concern not to repeat those mistakes.

Trusting in God can prove difficult.  We human beings tend to prefer that which is tangible.  “Yes,” you, O reader, may reply, “but what about the Incarnation?”  I reply, “You are correct, but the historical figure of Jesus lived on earth about 2000 years ago.”  God remains invisible, but not remote.  God is all around us.  We live in the Presence of God, evident in everything from rocks and trees to people.  God is intangible, but infuses our environs.

Trusting in God can prove difficult.  Indeed, I experience problems in this regard frequently.  Yet I persist in faith.  When you, O reader, struggle likewise, I advise you to persist in faith.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 14, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C

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

THE FEAST OF DOROTHY ANN THRUPP, ENGLISH HYMN WRITER

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

THE FEAST OF ROBERT MCDONALD, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND MISSIONARY

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Above all, preserve an intense love for each other, since love covers over many a sin.

Above:   The Importunate Neighbor, by William Holman Hunt

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Sunday after the Ascension, Year 1, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970

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O Thou Lord of all times and places, whose thoughts are not our thoughts,

whose ways are not our ways, and who art lifted high above our selfish concerns:

rule our minds, redeem our ways, and by thy mercy draw us to thee;

through Jesus Christ the Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 123

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Joel 2:23-27

1 Peter 4:7-11

Luke 11:5-13

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–1 Peter 4:8, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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Divine restoration (extravagant mercy) follows punishment in Joel 2.  Contrary to stereotypes, the depiction of God in the Hebrew Bible is no more all wrathful than the portrayal of God in the New Testament is all merciful.  I wish that more people would read–really read–the Bible, and cease and desist from repeating such inaccurate statements.

God’s intense love for people provides a model for us to emulate.  We, as individuals, as family units, as congregations, as societies, have an obligation to love each other intensely and unconditionally and to build each other up into our best selves in Christ.  This requires sacrifices–often of egos and misguided ambitions.  This requires acknowledging that the common good is so important that we must give up some short-term gains for long-term greater good.  This requires that we sacrifice selfishness.  This requires that we confront each other in love sometimes, as when friends and relatives stage an intervention for an addict.

Living the Golden Rule entails doing the best for others, not necessarily what they want.  It involves doing what they need.  Sometimes intense love is uncomfortable for more than one party involved.  C’est la vie.

May we, following Jesus and deriving power from him, build up each other in Christ, for the common good and the glory of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 15, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHANN GOTTLOB KLEMM, INSTRUMENT MAKER; DAVID TANNENBERG, SR., GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN ORGAN BUILDER; JOHANN PHILIP BACHMANN, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN INSTRUMENT MAKER; JOSEPH FERDINAND BULITSCHEK, BOHEMIAN-AMERICAN ORGAN BUILDER; AND TOBIAS FRIEDRICH, GERMAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND MUSICIAN

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The LORD of hosts is with us;

Above:  Saint Peter, by Marco Zoppo

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:

Acts 5:17-42

Psalm 46

1 Peter 4:12:5:11

Matthew 24:1-14

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Suffering and persecution are prominent in the assigned readings.  The passage from Matthew 24, set during Holy Week, precedes the crucifixion of Jesus.  Sometimes suffering is a result of obeying God, yet, as we read in Psalm 46:7 (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989),

the God of Jacob is our refuge.

One might also think of lyrics Doris Plenn wrote in response to McCarthyism:

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,

And hear their death-knell ringing,

When friends rejoice both far and near,

How can I keep from singing?

In prison cell and dungeon vile,

Our thoughts to them are winging;

When friends by shame are undefiled,

How can I keep from singing?

After all, God transformed a Roman cross, a symbol of humiliation and a means of execution, into the ultimate symbol of grace and victory over death and sin.

Here ends the lesson.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 2, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS, THE MARTYRS OF LYONS, 177

THE FEAST OF ANDERS CHRISTENSEN ARREBO, “THE FATHER OF DANISH POETRY”

THE FEAST OF MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER, HYMN WRITER, NOVELIST, AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT STEPHEN OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY, BISHOP, AND MARTYR

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Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/devotion-for-the-seventh-sunday-of-easter-year-a-humes/

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If if had cherished iniquity in my heart,

Above:  Parable of the Great Banquet, by Jan Luyken

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:

Acts 5:1-11

Psalm 66

1 Peter 4:1-11

Matthew 22:1-14

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The king’s action–burning the city in which the murderers lived–seems excessive in Matthew 22:7.  Yet, if one interprets that passage and the parable from which it comes in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem (70 C.E.), it remains problematic, but at least it makes some sense.  Might one understand the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. as divine judgment?  One might, especially if one, as a marginalized Jewish Christian in the 80s C.E., were trying to make sense of recent events.  A note in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (2003) links this passage to Matthew 24:27-31  and divine judgment on the Roman Empire.

Scholar Jonathan T. Pennington, rejecting the consensus that “Kingdom of Heaven,” in the Gospel of Matthew, is a reverential circumlocution, contends that the Kingdom of Heaven is actually God’s apocalyptic rule on Earth.  The kingdoms of the Earth are in tension with God and will remain so until God terminates the tension by taking over.  That understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven fits well with the motif of divine judgment in the Gospel of Matthew.

We also read of divine judgment in Acts 5:1-11, which flows from the end of Acts 4.  The sins of Ananias and Sapphira against the Holy Spirit were greed and duplicity.  As I read the assigned lessons I made the connection between Acts 5:1-11 and Psalm 66:18 (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989):

the LORD would not have listened.

The brief reading from 1 Peter 4 is packed with themes and some theologically difficult verses, but the thread that fits here naturally is the call (in verse 8) to love one another intensely while living in and for God.  That fits with Acts 5:1-11 (as a counterpoint to Ananias and Sapphira) well.  That thought also meshes nicely with Psalm 66 and juxtaposes with the judged in Matthew 22:1-14.  At the wedding banquet a guest was supposed to honor the king by (1) attending and (2) dressing appropriately.  Infidelity to God brings about divine judgment, just as faithfulness to God (frequently manifested in how we treat others) pleases God.

That is a concrete and difficult standard.  It is one we can meet more often than not, though, if we rely on divine grace to do so.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 1, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR, CHRISTIAN APOLOGIST AND MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINT PAMPHILUS OF CAESAREA, BIBLE SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL STENNETT, ENGLISH SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST MINISTER AND HYMN-WRITER; AND JOHN HOWARD, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON OF SYRACUSE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

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Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/devotion-for-the-sixth-sunday-of-easter-year-a-humes/

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As Christ fearlessly faced His tormenters, death, and hell, so we through Him can confidently face mockers and tormenters–and yes, bring His light to them.

Above:  Icon of the Harrowing of Hell

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:

Job 14:1-4 or Lamentations 3:1-9, 19-24

Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16

1 Peter 4:1-8

Matthew 27:57-66 or John 19:38-42

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To permit Jess to remain dead liturgically until late Holy Saturday or early Easter Sunday morning–until the Great Vigil of Easter–is spiritually helpful.  By doing this one will derive more spiritual benefit from Easter than if one rushes into it.  Spiritual peaks mean as much as they do because of the valleys.

The audience for 1 Peter consisted of Gentile Christians in Asia Minor suffering for their faith.  The call to witness to Christ in their lives made sense.  (It still makes sense for we Christians today), in all our cultural contexts, regardless of the presence or absence of persecution.)  In that textual context the author (in 3:19 and 4:6) referred to Christ’s post-crucifixion and pre-Resurrection descent to the dead/into Hell.  These references have led to several interpretations for millennia, but the linkage to these verses to the Classic Theory of the Atonement, that is, the Conquest of Satan, has been easy to recognize.

A note in The Orthodox Study Bible (2008), for obvious reasons flowing from Eastern Orthodox theology, affirms the descent of Christ into Hell.  It reads in part:

–Page 1687

That is a great responsibility.  To bring the light of Christ to others–especially our enemies–is a high calling.  We can succeed in it, by grace.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 29, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PERCY DEARMER, ANGLICAN CANON AND TRANSLATOR AND AUTHOR OF HYMNS

THE FEAST OF SAINT BONA OF PISA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC AND PILGRIM

THE FEAST OF JIRI TRANOVSKY, LUTHER OF THE SLAVS AND FOUNDER OF SLOVAK HYMNODY

THE FEAST OF JOACHIM NEANDER, GERMAN REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2018/05/29/devotion-for-holy-saturday-years-a-b-c-and-d-humes/

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