READING EZEKIEL, PART II

Above:  The Vision of Ezekiel

Image in the Public Domain

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Ezekiel 1:4-3:27

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Ezekiel 1 offers a glorious example of prose poetry when it describes the indescribable–the throne of God, surrounded by cherubim.  The account of the vision includes allusions to the Temple in Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies there (Exodus 25:10-22; Exodus 37:1-9; 1 Kings 9:19-28; 1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; 1 Chronicles 13:6), and mythological inhuman guardians of royal thrones, temples, and city gates–the cherubim–a common cultural motif in the region.  Whereas Exodus 24:10-11 and Daniel 7:9 describe the divine presence as being corporeal, and Deuteronomy 4:15 argues that God is noncorporeal, Ezekiel 1:7 stakes out the middle ground.  God, exceeding all human concepts thereof, was the God of the whole world, not a tribal deity.

Ezekiel, properly full of awe and wonder, flung himself down upon his face.

Ezekiel’s mission as a prophet of God was to speak to a rebellious people, already in exile.  Ezekiel’s mission was to speak the truth and to function as a watchman, not to bring the people to repentance.  Israel–in this case, the first wave of the Babylonian Exile–was a “rebellious breed.”  People were going to do what they were going to do.  Ezekiel’s mission was to speak for God, regardless of how anyone responded.

Being a Hebrew prophet must have been a frustrating and discouraging experience, based on readings of Hebrew prophetic books.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 21, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, JESUIT

THE FEAST OF BERNARD ADAM GRUBE, GERMAN-AMERICAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, COMPOSER, AND MUSICIAN

THE FEAST OF CARL BERNHARD GARVE, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER

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

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN JONES AND JOHN RIGBY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 1598 AND 1600

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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33

Above:  David Dancing in the Presence of the Ark of the Covenant

Image in the Public Domain

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PART XXXIII

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2 Samuel 6:1-23

1 Chronicles 13:1-14

1 Chronicles 15:1-16:43

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Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised;

in the city of our God is his holy hill.

Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion,

the very center of the world and the city of the great King.

God is in her citadels;

he is known to be her sure refuge.

–Psalm 48:1-3, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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The versions from 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles are similar yet different.  The chronology differs; 1 Chronicles places the beginning of the moving of the Ark of the Covenant and the death of Uzzah (1 Chronicles 13 and 2 Samuel 6) prior to David’s defeat of the Philistines (1 Chronicles 14 and 2 Samuel 5).  The account from 1 Chronicles also omits the material from 2 Samuel 6:20-23.  The two versions also differ regarding the sacrifices in Jerusalem–an ox and a fatling (2 Samuel 6:13) or seven bulls and seven rams (1 Chronicles 15:26).  Furthermore, 1 Chronicles adds material, such as list of Levites and musicians, as well as a psalm of Thanksgiving.  Both versions have David dance in public while wearing only a small apron, as well as Michal seeing him and despising him.

At least seven points warrant consideration.

1. Uzzah meant well.  He was not responsible for the Ark of the Covenant being on an oxcart and for the oxen stumbling.  The proper way to carry the Ark was on poles, over human shoulders.  David was responsible for the manner of transportation of the Ark.
2. Lethal holiness struck again.  Getting too approximate to God was perilous.  This constituted a change from the presentation of God in the beginning of Genesis, when God walked in the Garden of Eden and took strolls with Abraham.
3. Michal loved David until she did not.  No Biblical text indicates, however. that David loved her.  David treated Michal badly.
4. David’s dance was lewd.
5. David’s psalm of thanksgiving includes a variety of universalism–God is the God of all the Earth, not a tribal or national deity.  The case of Obed-edom, a Gittite (2 Samuel 6:9-11; 1 Chronicles 13:13-14) fits neatly with this theme.
6. The removal of the Ark of the Covenant from Baalim/Baalam/Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem bolstered David’s royal authority.
7. The account in 1 Chronicles portrays David in a more flattering light than the version in 2 Samuel does.  1-2 Samuel offers more honesty about David’s flaws than 1 Chronicles does.

I arrive at a four-part summary.

1. I dislike David.
2. I sympathize with Michal.
3. I sympathize with Uzzah.
4. As much as I grasp reverence for God, I also affirm that the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity as Jesus of Nazareth contradicts lethal holiness.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 30, 2020 COMMON ERA

PROPER 17:  THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINT JEANNE JUGAN, FOUNDRESS OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR

THE FEAST OF JOHN LEARY, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND ADVOCATE FOR THE POOR AND THE MARGINALIZED

THE FEAST OF KARL OTTO EBERHARDT, GERMAN MORAVIAN ORGANIST, MUSIC, EDUCATOR, AND COMPOSER

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Above:  Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, by Ludolf Backhuysen

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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Exodus 2:11-25 or 2 Samuel 5:1-3; 6:1-17

Psalm 49:1-12

2 Corinthians 3:1-11

Mark 4:35-41

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In this week’s assigned readings, we read that:

1. Moses, raised as a prince in the Pharonic household, realized his place in the class struggle and acted accordingly.
2. King David performed a lewd dance in public.
3. Proximity to the holiness of God has proven fatal to some and positive for others.
4. Socio-economic prestige has never impressed God.
5. God’s policy has always been to quality the called, not to call the qualified.
6. The Apostles, after spending much time with Jesus, were oddly oblivious to his nature for a long time.

Some things should remain hidden, at least in mixed company.

We need to shed delusions, such as the idea that God finds large bank balances, social prominence, and credentials impressive.  We have vocations from God, who equips us to fulfill them.

We depend entirely on God and lead interdependent lives.  May we understand these realities and act accordingly.  May we resist injustice, as we are able.  May we trust in God and help each other as we seek to leave the world or some portion of it better than we found it.  May the glory of God shine through our words and deeds.  And may we not be oblivious to that we ought to understand.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 21, 2019 COMMON ERA

PROPER 11:  THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF ALBERT JOHN LUTHULI, WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

THE FEAST OF AMALIE WILHEMINE SIEVEKING, FOUNDRESS OF THE WOMAN’S ASSOCIATION FOR THE CARE OF THE POOR AND INVALIDS

THE FEAST OF J. B. PHILLIPS, ANGLICAN PRIEST, THEOLOGIAN, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT WASTRADA; HER SON, SAINT GREGORY OF UTRECHT, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF UTRECHT; AND HIS NEPHEW, SAINT ALBERIC OF UTRECHT, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF UTRECHT

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2019/07/21/devotion-for-proper-9-year-b-humes/

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Above:  Women at the Empty Tomb, by Fra Angelico

Image in the Public Domain

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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:

2 Samuel 6:1-15

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Luke 24:1-12

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The presence of God was a frightful thing in much of the Old Testament.  It was not always so, for Abraham and God got along quite well and casually, according to much of Genesis.  God seems to have been the patriarch’s best friend.  God seems to have been more distant (at least in presentation) by the Book of Exodus.  In 2 Samuel 6 unfortunate Uzzah, who reached out to steady the Ark of the Covenant because the oxen pulling the cart had stumbled, died.

The LORD was incensed at Uzzah.  And God struck him down on the spot for his indiscretion, and he died there beside the Ark of God.

–Verse 7, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Why acting to prevent the Ark of the Covenant from falling to the ground constituted an indiscretion, much less an act worthy of death by the proverbial hand of God, eludes me.  I do not think that it was indiscretion, but a faithful and respectful action.  Nevertheless, I acknowledge that the faith community which repeated this story as part of its oral tradition until someone thought to write it down understood the matter differently.

Getting too close to the presence of God was, according to many for a long time, fraught with peril.  But what about those stories of God and Abraham taking strolls together, once with the patriarch haggling with God over the lives of people he did not know?  Perceptions of God have changed much over time.

This is a devotion for Wednesday in Easter Week, hence the reading from the beginning of Luke 24.  There the tomb is empty and Jesus is elsewhere.  The narrative catches up with him in the pericope which begins with verse 13.  The link between the two main assigned readings is the physical presence of God.  It is a cause of peril for one who touches the Ark of the Covenant in 2 Samuel 6 yet not in the Gospels.  There Jesus walks, talks, and dines with people, much as God did with Abraham.

To focus on the resurrection theme in Luke 24 I turn to two other readings.  I imagine certain followers of Jesus, once they had recovered from the shock of the resurrection, reciting part of Psalm 118:

The same stone which the builders rejected

has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the LORD’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.

On this day the LORD has acted;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

–Verses 22-24, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

I think also of 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989):

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.  Then those who have died in Christ have perished.  If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

I admit to doubts regarding certain doctrines and dogmas of the Church, but affirming the resurrection of Jesus is mandatory if one is to be a Christian.  Without the resurrection we are left with Dead Jesus, who cannot redeem anybody from anything.  The resurrection is therefore an indispensable of the process of atonement.  Actually, the resurrection is the final stage in that process, one I understand as having commenced with the Incarnation.

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-wednesday-after-easter-sunday-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/

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Above:  David Brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come.

With your abundant grace and might,

free us from the sin that would obstruct your mercy,

that willingly we may bear your redeeming love to all the world,

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

one God, now and forever. Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 19

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The Assigned Readings:

2 Samuel 6:1-11 (Thursday)

2 Samuel 6:12-19 (Friday)

Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26 (Both Days)

Hebrews 1:1-4 (Thursday)

Hebrews 1:5-14 (Friday)

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Your love, O LORD, for ever will I sing;

from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.

For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever;

you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.

–Psalm 89:1-12, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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God, I am convinced, does not change, but human perceptions of God do.  They have transformed, in fact.  The Bible records some of those inconstant perceptions of the divine.

Consider, for example, the Ark of the Covenant, O reader.  It was a tangible link to the intangible God.  Unfortunate Uzzah, out of piety, reached out to steady the Ark, which oxen were causing to tip.  He died.  2 Samuel 6:7 tells us that God was angry with Uzzah and struck him dead.  That verse does not reflect my understanding of God.

Later in 2 Samuel 6 King David danced immodestly in public.  Michal’s scorn was justified.  The author of the text seemed to have a different opinion.

In contrast to the deity who allegedly struck Uzzah dead, we have a high Christological text in Hebrews 1:1-14.  Jesus, the reflection of the divine glory, is greater than the angels, it says.  Yet people touched Jesus and found healing, not death.  He was God in the flesh (however that worked), among people, dining in homes, and weeping.  Although the scriptures do not record any such incident, I think it likely that he had some deep belly laughs.  In Jesus, my faith tells me, I see God.

Uzzah should have lived a few centuries later, for Jesus would have blessed him.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 27, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ARTHUR CAMPBELL AINGER, ENGLISH EDUCATOR, SCHOLAR, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT AEDESIUS, PRIEST AND MISSIONARY; AND SAINT FRUDENTIUS, FIRST BISHOP OF AXUM AND ABUNA OF THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX TEWAHEDO CHURCH

THE FEAST OF THE VICTIMS OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS

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Adapted from this post:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/devotion-for-thursday-and-friday-before-the-fourth-sunday-of-advent-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/

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Above:  Nazis and the Ark of the Covenant, from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

(A Screen Capture)

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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:

2 Samuel 6:1-19

Psalm 51 (Morning)

Psalms 142 and 65 (Evening)

1 Corinthians 9:1-23

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Some Related Posts:

2 Samuel 6:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/week-of-3-epiphany-tuesday-year-2/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/proper-10-year-b/

1 Corinthians 9:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/fifth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-b/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/week-of-proper-18-thursday-friday-and-saturday-year-2/

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Sometimes I argue with Bible stories.  The Bible, which people wrote, comes from antiquity, a time which predates many of the events which have shaped my worldview.  I am, for example, a product of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, and I have access to more knowledge than those who wrote the Bible could ever know about certain topics.  So I reject the idea that demon possession causes epilepsy, for example.

Yet other influences on my thought which cause me to argue with certain Bible stories come from the Bible itself.  God, depending on the part of the Old Testament one reads, is either approachable (as in the case of Abram/Abraham) or fearsome to be near (as in death for touching the Ark of the Covenant).  But God was most approachable in the person of Jesus of Nazareth; people not only touched him but had him over for dinner.

The stories of the power and menace of the Ark of the Covenant speak of God as an undomesticated force.  Jesus died for several reasons, among them the fact that he challenged domesticated views of God.  The study of the past uncovers examples of people who faced violence (often fatal) because they challenged beloved organizing ideas in society.  They include Jesus of Nazareth, Paul of Tarsus, Mohandas Gandhi, and numerous civil rights martyrs in the United States.  Violence, part of the darkness of human nature, rears its ugly head in defense of the indefensible and the merely traditional alike.  But one fact remains unchanged:  We cannot domesticate God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 29, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PAUL MANZ, DEAN OF LUTHERAN CHURCH MUSIC

THE FEAST OF CLARENCE JORDAN, RENEWER OF SOCIETY

THE FEAST OF JAMES HANNINGTON AND HIS COMPANIONS, ANGLICAN MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF JOHN BUCKMAN WALTHOUR, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ATLANTA

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Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/devotion-for-august-16-lcms-daily-lectionary/

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Above:  The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, by Caravaggio, 1608

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FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #1

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 (New Revised Standard Version):

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.  David and all the people with him set out and went from Baalejudah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD of hosts who is enthroned on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill.  Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark.  David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the LORD with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

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So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom to the city of David with rejoicing; and when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.  David danced before the LORD with all his might; David was girded with a linen ephod.  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.

As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

They brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the LORD.  When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts, and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins.   Then all the people went back to their homes.

Psalm 24 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it,

the world and all who dwell therein.

2 For it is who founded it upon the seas

and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.

3 “Who can ascend the hill of the LORD?

and who can stand in his holy place?”

4 “Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,

who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,

nor sworn by what is a fraud.

5 They shall receive a blessing from the LORD

and a just reward from the God of their salvation.”

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,

of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

7  Lift up your heads, O gates;

lift them high, O everlasting doors;

and the King of glory shall come in.

8  ”Who is this King of glory?”

“The LORD, strong and mighty,

the LORD, mighty in battle.”

9  Lift up your heads, O gates;

lift them high, O everlasting doors;

and the King of glory shall come in.

10  ”Who is he, this King of glory?”

“The LORD of hosts,

he is the King of glory.”

FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #2

Amos 7:7-15 (New Revised Standard Version):

This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me,

Amos, what do you see?

And I said,

A plumb line.

Then the Lord said,

See, I am setting a plumb line

in the midst of my people Israel;

I will never again pass them by;

the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,

and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,

and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying,

Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said,

“Jeroboam shall die by the sword,

and Israel must go into exile

away from his land.”

And Amaziah said to Amos,

O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.

Then Amos answered Amaziah,

I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

Psalm 85:8-13 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

8 I will listen to what the LORD God is saying,

for he is speaking peace to his faithful people

and to those who turn their hearts to him.

9 Truly, his salvation is very near those who fear him,

that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met together;

righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring up from the earth,

and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 The LORD will indeed grant prosperity,

and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him,

and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.

SECOND READING

Ephesians 1:3-14 (New Revised Standard Version):

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

GOSPEL READING

Mark 6:14-29 (New Revised Standard Version):

King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known.  Some said,

John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.

But others said,

It is Elijah.

And others said,

It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.

But when Herod heard of it he said,

John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.

For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.  And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him.  But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe.  When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly.  But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and the leading men of Galilee.  For when Herodias’ daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl,

Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.

And he vowed to her,

Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.

And she went out, and said to her mother,

What shall I ask?

And she said,

The head of John the Baptist.

And she came in immediately with haste to the king, and asked, saying,

I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

And the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.  And immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head.  He went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

The Collect:

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; 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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Some Related Posts:

The Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, Martyr (August 29):

http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/feast-of-the-beheading-of-st-john-the-baptist-martyr-august-29/

2 Samuel 6:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/12/week-of-3-epiphany-tuesday-year-2/

Amos 7:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/week-of-proper-8-thursday-year-2/

Mark 6:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/week-of-4-epiphany-friday-year-1/

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The prophet Amos had been condemning the policies of King Jeroboam II of Israel, whose regime controlled certain religious sites.  There being no separation of religion and state in this context, the prophet faced a royal order to go home to Judah.  At least Jeroboam did not command the execution of Amos.

Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C.E. to 39 C.E., had entered into an incestuous marriage to Herodias.  John the Baptist had condemned this, and thus found himself in prison.  The combination of lust and pride led Herod Antipas to order John’s execution.

We read in Ephesians about redemption through the blood of Jesus.  The Roman authorities had ordered his execution, of course.

The powerful seem to have won immediately.  But look again; they lost in the long term.  The last vestige of the Roman Empire ceased to exist in 1453 C.E.  The Emperor Caligula exiled Herod Antipas to Gaul in 39 C.E.  And Jeroboam II died more than 2,750 years ago.  He failed to silence Amos, whose words are available in translation today.

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul….–Matthew 10:28a, New Revised Standard Version

God will win.  That is how the story will end.  I know, for I have read the book.  So I take courage and seek to play my part in the work of righteousness.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS OF THE PACIFIC

THE FEAST OF ELIE NAUD, HUGUENOT WITNESS TO THE FAITH

THE FEAST OF JANE LAURIE BORTHWICK, TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS

THE FEAST OF JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER, POET

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Published originally at ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

Adapted from this post:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/proper-10-year-b/

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