Archive for the ‘Acts of the Apostles 19’ Category
Above: Icon of St. Paul the Apostle
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LXX
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Acts 18:24-21:16
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The material for this post opens with St. Paul the Apostle back in Antioch in Syria, at the end of the Second Missionary Journey.
Meanwhile, we readers meet St. Apollos, a Jewish Christian recently arrived in Ephesus then in Corinth. We read that Sts. Priscilla and Aquila (from Corinth) catechized him. We also read that St. Apollos, who spoke boldly for Christ, had only experienced the baptism of St. John the Baptist.
Related to that point, St. Paul, en route overland back to Ephesus (where he had been recently in 18:19-21), encountered about twelve Christians who had never heard of the Holy Spirit. This was not surprising; the religion was young, Trinitarian theology was in its infancy, and one could not purchase a catechism in a bookstore yet.
I know what I mean by “Holy Spirit,” but my understanding emerges from Roman Catholic tradition. I even use the filoque clause, unlike the Eastern Orthodox. Definitions of the Holy Spirit vary within Christianity.
I have read sufficiently deeply to know that St. Paul used “Jesus” and “Holy Spirit” interchangeably sometimes. I posit that elements of St. Paul’s Trinitarian theology were heterodox, relative to the conclusions of subsequent, major ecumenical councils. So be it. Trying to explain more of the nature of God than we mere mortals can grasp (most of it) is a foolish undertaking. Who am I to blame St. Paul for dying about two and a half centuries prior to the First Council of Nicaea?
St. Paul, who spent years in Ephesus, made powerful religious and economic enemies. The growth of Christianity threatened the commerce related to the goddess Diana. The town clerk (another good Roman official) talked down the rioting silversmiths, but St. Paul had to leave.
A few months later, at Troas, St. Paul and his entourage spent about a week. One Eutychus, sitting in a window, fell asleep and feel three stories to his death. St. Paul, like Jesus before him, restored the young man to life.
Sleep, in this case, represented moral laxity and spiritual dullness, as well as indicating a physical state. Culturally, story legitimized Lord’s Day worship, in contrast to “nocturnal assemblies and associated immoralities” (to quote Charles H. Talbert). These nighttime meetings were commonplace in the cultural setting. St. Justin Martyr wrote of the pagan misapprehension that Christians at worship “extinguished the lights and indulged in unbridled sensuality.” St. Luke took pains to mention that the room was well-lit (20:8). St. Luke also used this story in 20:7-12 to refute allegations that Christians practiced child sacrifice.
Many ancient pagans harbored false notions regarding Christians and Christianity. Frequently, correcting these misunderstandings would have required a minimum of effort. The stubbornness of people in holding objectively inaccurate ideas has not ceased to be an element of human nature, sadly.
St. Paul, hurrying back to Jerusalem in time for Pentecost, bid farewell to the Ephesian elders in Miletus. His farewell speech, reminiscent of Christ’s predictions of the Passion, included excellent advice and interesting historical information.
Presbyters (elders) and overseers (bishops) were interchangeable at the time. Mutuality defined the farewell address. And the Lucan motif of the Holy Spirit was present.
St. Paul and his entourage evangelized on the way to Jerusalem. They visited St. Philip the Evangelist (Acts 6:5; 8:4-8, 26-40) and his four daughters, prophets, in Caesarea. More predictions of St. Paul’s fate occurred, but the Apostle kept going to Jerusalem. Like Jesus in Luke 9:51, St. Paul set his face toward Jerusalem.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 1, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS
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Above: Icon of St. Luke the Evangelist
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART I
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The whole of Luke’s gospel is about the way in which the living God has planted, in Jesus, the seed of that long-awaited hope in the world.
–N. T. Wright, Lent for Everyone: Luke, Year C–A Daily Devotional (2009), 2
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The Gospel of Luke is the first volume of a larger work. The Acts of the Apostles is the second volume. One can read either volume spiritually profitably in isolation from the other one. However, one derives more benefit from reading Luke-Acts as the two-volume work it is.
Each of the four canonical Gospels bears the name of its traditional author. The Gospel of Luke is the only case in which I take this traditional authorship seriously as a matter of history. One may recall that St. Luke was a well-educated Gentile physician and a traveling companion of St. Paul the Apostle.
Luke-Acts dates to circa 85 C.E.,. “give or take five to ten years,” as Raymond E. Brown (1928-1998) wrote in his magisterial An Introduction to the New Testament (1997). Luke-Acts, having a Gentile author, includes evidence that the audience consisted of Gentiles, too. The text makes numerous references to the inclusion of Gentiles, for example. Two of the major themes in Luke-Acts are (a) reversal of fortune, and (b) the conflict between the Roman Empire and the Kingdom of God. The smoldering ruins of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in 70 C.E. inform the present tense of the story-telling.
Many North American Christians minimize or ignore the imperial politics in the New Testament. In doing so, they overlook essential historical and cultural contexts. Luke-Acts, in particular, performs an intriguing political dance with the Roman Empire. The two-volume work unambiguously proclaims Jesus over the Emperor–a treasonous message, by Roman imperial standards. Luke-Acts makes clear that the Roman Empire was on the wrong side of God, that its values were opposite those of the Kingdom of God. Yet the two-volume work goes out of its way to mention honorable imperial officials.
Know six essential facts about me, O reader:
- This weblog is contains other blog posts covering Luke-Acts, but in the context of lectionaries. I refer you to those posts. And I will not attempt to replicate those other posts in the new posts. Finding those posts is easy; check the category for the book and chapter, such as Luke 1 or Acts 28.
- I know far more about the four canonical Gospels, especially in relation to each other, than I will mention in the succeeding posts. I tell you this not to boast, but to try to head off anyone who may chime in with a rejoinder irrelevant to my purpose in any given post. My strategy will be to remain on topic.
- My purpose will be to analyze the material in a way that is intellectually honest and applicable in real life. I respect Biblical scholarship that goes deep into the woods, spending ten pages on three lines. I consult works of such scholarship. However, I leave that work to people with Ph.Ds in germane fields and who write commentaries.
- I am a student of the Bible, not a scholar thereof.
- I am a left-of-center Episcopalian who places a high value on human reason and intellect. I value history and science. I reject both the inerrancy and the infallibility of scripture for these reasons. Fundamentalists think I am going to Hell for asking too many questions. I try please God, not fundamentalists. I know too much to affirm certain theological statements.
- I am a sui generis mix of Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican theological influences. I consider St. Mary of Nazareth to be the Theotokos (the Bearer of God) and the Mater Dei (the Mother of God). I also reject the Virgin Birth and the Immaculate Conception with it.
Make of all this whatever you will, O reader.
Shall we begin our journey through Luke-Acts?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 20, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-THIRD DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF BATES GILBERT BURT, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF BENJAMIN TUCKER TANNER, AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL BISHOP AND RENEWER OF SOCIETY
THE FEAST OF D. ELTON TRUEBLOOD, U.S. QUAKER THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JOHANN CHRISTOPH SCHWEDLER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MICHAL PIASCZYNSKI,POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1940
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Above: Christ Exorcising Demons
Image in the Public Domain
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The Roman Catholic Church has the proper attitude toward demonic possession. That attitude is that demonic possession is real, but that not everything that looks like demonic possession is that. This is why mental and psychological examinations precede exorcisms, and not every request for an exorcism results in one. Sometimes, the problem is a matter for doctors and/or therapists, not exorcists and their assistants. Someone may actually have a mental illness, for example.
I have heard hints and stories of possessions. I have heard them from people I know to be credible, lucid, grounded in reality, and not given to flights of fantastical thinking. I am content to take their word for it when they have described what they witnessed.
I used to be in a relationship with a woman who suffered from mental illness. I knew from my culture and education that her problems were treatable via medications. Unfortunately, she did not always take her pills. At the end, her figurative demons overpowered her, and she died violently. Having been so close for a about decade to one afflicted with mental illness, I understand how someone whose education and culture do not contain the category of mental illness may misidentify it as demonic possession.
Other conditions, such as epilepsy, have allegedly been symptoms of demonic possession, in the Bible, folk belief, and historical documents.
A partial list of Biblical citations that include references to exorcism or possession follows:
- 1 Samuel 16:14-16; 18:10; 19:9;
- Tobit 6:7, 16-17; 8:3;
- Matthew 8:16; 10:1; 12:28
- Mark 1:25; 5:8; 6:7; 9:25, 38; 16:17;
- Acts 16:18; 19:13-14.
Sometimes I read one of these passages or another one that belongs on this list and quickly arrive at a non-demonic or non-ghostly explanation for the problem. Someone may have been under too much stress, for example. (In some cultures, ghostly possession is the understanding of what my culture calls too much stress.) Or perhaps I just read a description of an epileptic seizure. Maybe I read a description of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or multiple personalities disorder. In Biblical times, of course, people ascribed these afflictions to possession, so the texts they wrote did, too.
When I read such a text, I seek to understand what was really going on in that text. I apply the cultural, medical, and psychiatric categories I have learned. Doing so does not always yield a clear answer to my question, though. I affirm that that the demonic exists. I reject the label “supernatural” for it, for I reject that label, period. That which we humans usually call “supernatural” is merely natural, but not in the same way as ponds, rocks, and kittens. That which we mere mortals often label supernatural is part of God’s created order. It is, therefore, natural. That which is angelic or demonic is natural. And I do not always know, when reading certain Biblical texts, what kind of natural phenomenon of which I read. My categories are not those of the ancient authors of canonical books.
However, sorting out what caused the predicament in a given Biblical story may not necessarily be the main point anyway. If I read a story of Jesus exorcising/healing (whatever) someone, the main point may be that Christ restored him or her to health, wholeness, and his or her family and community. Or the main point may be that the Kingdom of God was present in the activities of Jesus.
So be it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 31, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF CHARLES FREDERICK MACKENZIE, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF NYASALAND, AND MARTYR, 1862
THE FEAST OF ANTHONY BÉNÉZET, FRENCH-AMERICAN QUAKER ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF LANZA DEL VASTO, FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE ARK
THE FEAST OF MENNO SIMONS, MENNONITE LEADER
THE FEAST OF MARY EVELYN “MEV” PULEO, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PHOTOJOURNALIST AND ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
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Above: The Temple of Artemis (1886), Richard Knab
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, Year 2
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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)
Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)
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Lord, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand
the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil;
and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only true God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 216
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Proverbs 16:1-9
Psalm 107:1-16
Acts 19:21-41
Luke 14:1-14
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The teachings and commandments of God may fall on deaf ears for many reasons. One reason is that they constitute either a real or a perceived threat. They may threaten ego or economic status, for example.
Ephesus was the site of a temple to Artemis. This temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Ephesian silversmiths had a vested interest in the continuation of the cult of Artemis, obviously.
Above: The Ruins of the Temple of Artemis
Image Source = Google Earth
Relativizing commandments was a common practice in Second Temple Judaism. Whenever practical considerations brushed up against provisions of the Law of Moses, selective violations of that Law may have occurred. Saving lives was a frequently-cited justification for violating Sabbath laws, for example. Christ’s healings on the Sabbath exceeded saving lives. His Sabbath healings threatened perceptions of righteousness.
Christ’s subsequent teaching in Luke 14 threatened egos, too.
This seems like a good time to quote Proverbs 9:
Better a little with righteousness
Than a large income with injustice.
A man may plot out his course,
But it is the LORD who directs his steps.
–Verses 8-9, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Wealth and human ego may be the two most popular idols. I am uncertain which one of the two is more popular than the other.
Properly, a Christian’s identity relies on Jesus, not any other factor. This is a lesson I grasp intellectually yet not psychologically. Knowing what to do is the first step in accomplishing it. Knowing what to do is also easier than accomplishing it. I am working on this matter, by grace.
Perhaps you, O reader, are also struggling with the issue of proper Christian identity. If so, do not give up. Hang in there and trust God. If, however, you do not have this problem, you have received a great blessing.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 24, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF THE ORDINATION OF FLORENCE LI-TIM-OI, FIRST FEMALE PRIEST IN THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION
THE FEAST OF GEORGE A. BUTTRICK, ANGLO-AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR; AND HIS SON, DAVID G. BUTTRICK, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEN UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIE POUSSEPIN, FOUNDRESS OF THE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN
THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF PODLASIE, 1874
THE FEAST OF SAINT SURANUS OF SORA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND MARTYR, 580
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Above: The Temple of Artemis (1886), by Ferdinand Knab
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 2:3-9 or Acts 19:23-41
Psalm 119:129-144
Revelation 1:1-8
John 5:19-47
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God has breathed life into we human beings and spoken to us. God has spoken to us frequently and in different ways. God has never ceased to speak to us. God has even become incarnate.
But how many of us are listening to God?
The words from God can be extremely inconvenient sometimes. Human nature is a constant factor. Any perceived threat to the economy (as at Ephesus, in Acts 19:23-41) can become a cause of outrage. This outrage may lead to a riot, therefore to possible peril for some, such as St. Paul the Apostle and his traveling companions.
Some of the politics of 85 C.E. or so (the time of the composition of Luke-Acts) probably informed the telling of Acts 19:23-41. We human beings always filter the past through the lens of our present day, even when we recount the details accurately. The depiction of Roman officials in Ephesus as protectors of St. Paul the Apostle and his traveling companions seems, in the present day of 85 C.E. or so, a political message: Christians are not enemies of the Roman Empire.
Above: Site of the Temple of Artemis, Ephesus
Image Source = Google Earth
Nevertheless, Christianity may be a foe of certain forms of commerce–the silver shrines of Artemis, in the case of Acts 19:23-41. One consequence of living in such a way that one follows Jesus may be that one no longer purchases X. And one consequence of the growth of Christianity may be that the market for X diminishes. Some people, whose livelihoods depend upon a healthy market for X, may become fearful. Then what might they do?
Nevertheless, one needs to continue to follow Jesus. One needs to keep listening to God. We need to persist in following Jesus and listening to God.
By the way, the great Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is a ruin.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 14, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MACRINA THE ELDER, HER FAMILY, AND SAINT GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS THE ELDER
THE FEAST OF SAINT CAESARIUS OF ARLES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT CAESARIA OF ARLES, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS
THE FEAST OF EIVIND JOSEF BERGGRAV, LUTHERAN BISHOP OF OSLO, TRANSLATOR, AND LEADER OF THE NORWEGIAN RESISTANCE DURING WORLD WAR II
THE FEAST OF KRISTEN KVAMME, NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT SAVA I, FOUNDER OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND FIRST ARCHBISHOP OF THE SERBS
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/14/devotion-for-proper-8-year-d-humes/
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Above: Christ and the Adulteress, by Rocco Marconi
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 19:1-20
Psalm 97
3 John
John 8:1-11
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The name of Jesus has power, but only when people who believe in him use it. Consider, O reader, the hilarious scene in Acts 19:11-20 and the serious issue (division of a congregation by one man) in the Third Letter of John. God is the king and the earth should exult, as Psalm 97 reminds us. However, some people still use religion self-servingly.
John 7:53-8:11 is a floating pericope. Some ancient copies of the Gospel of Luke place it in different locations. The final version of the Gospel of Luke lacks it. And one can jump from John 7:52 to 8:12 without missing a beat. This floating pericope is a compelling story–originally part of the Gospel of Luke–that has settled down as John 7:53-8:11.
Those who sought to entrap Jesus (yet again) used an adulteress as their pawn. They seemed unconcerned about the whereabouts of the man with whom she had sinned. Where was he? His absence was conspicuous.
These Pharisees had distorted the Law of Moses to attempt to entrap Jesus. They had focused on the death penalty (Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22) for one sinner and not the other one. These Pharisees had also ignored the real issue at work in the Law of Moses vis-à-vis adultery: the protection and stability of a man’s property. Whatever Jesus wrote, he compelled the accusers to leave. He reversed the trap.
Then Jesus forgave the woman.
The Law of God is not a blunt weapon to manipulate for one’s purposes. Neither is the name of Jesus.
This point leads me back to Exodus 20:7:
You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name.
—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
Robert D. Miller, II, of The Catholic University of America, offers a germane analysis of this commandment in his Understanding the Old Testament course (2019) for The Great Courses. He explains:
This is a warning that there is no possibility of involving the name of God without something happening.
–Course Guidebook, 39
That something may involve ricochet.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 12, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH
THE FEAST OF SAINT AELRED OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF RIEVAULX
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HENRY ALFORD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/devotion-for-the-seventh-sunday-of-easter-year-d-humes/
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Above: Water in Desert
Image in the Public Domain
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 29
Acts 19:1-7
Mark 1:9-13
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Water is an element in all four readings for today. There is, of course, the water of baptism–the baptism of Jesus and of the unnamed people in Acts 19. Yahweh, “upon the mighty waters,” is like yet unlike Baal Peor, the Canaanite storm god, in Psalm 29. (Yet, of course, the presentation of God is quite different in 1 Kings 19:9-18, set after the killing of the priests of Baal Peor in Chapter 18.) Finally, water is especially precious in the desert, as in Jeremiah 31.
God is tangibly present in each reading. God is present in nature in Psalm 29, leading exiles out of exile through nature in Jeremiah 31, present via the Holy Spirit in Acts 19, and present in the flesh of Jesus in Mark 1. God remains tangibly present with us in many ways, which we notice, if we pay attention.
One usually hears the theme of the Epiphany as being the Gospel of Jesus Christ going out to the gentiles. That is part of the theme. The other part of the theme is gentiles going to God–Jesus, as in the case of the Magi. Today, in Mark 1 and Acts 19, however, we have the first part of the theme of the Epiphany. The unnamed faithful, we read in Acts 19, had their hearts and minds in the right place; they merely needed to learn what they must do.
Acts 19:1-7 is an excellent missionary text for that reason. The unnamed faithful, prior to their baptisms, fit the description of those who belong in the category of Baptism of Desire, in Roman Catholic theology. As good as the Baptism of Desire is, baptism via water and spirit is superior.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 11, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BARNABAS, COWORKER OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2019/06/11/devotion-for-the-first-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-b-humes/
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Above: Joshua and the Israelite People
Image in the Public Domain
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FOR THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, ACCORDING TO A LECTIONARY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP IN THE BOOK OF WORSHIP FOR CHURCH AND HOME (1965)
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Lord of all power and might, you are the author and giver of all good things:
Graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and of your great mercy keep us in the same;
through Jesus Christ or Lord. Amen.
–Modernized from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), page 139
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Numbers 27:12-14a, 15-20, 22-23
Psalm 9
Acts 18:24-19:6
John 10:1-10
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The theme of empowerment by God continues in these readings. This empowerment might help one be a faithful follower of God or a leader of people; it is essential in both circumstances. We human beings have little difficulty setting traps then stumbling into them. We cannot save ourselves; only God can do that.
This brings me to John 10:1-10. We need the Good Shepherd, for, bereft of Him, we become figurative food for predators. We can recognize and follow Jesus via divine grace. Will we?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF FELIX MANZ, FIRST ANABAPTIST MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT ELIZABETH ANN SETON, FOUNDRESS OF THE AMERICAN SISTERS OF CHARITY
THE FEAST OF SAINTS GREGORY OF LANGRES, TERTICUS OF LANGRES, GALLUS OF CLERMONT, GREGORY OF TOURS, AVITUS I OF CLERMONT, MAGNERICUS OF TRIER, AND GAUGERICUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
THE FEAST OF JOHANN LUDWIG FREYDT, GERMAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
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Above: Apollo and Artemis
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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Judges 7:2-8, 19-23
Psalm 83
Acts 19:21-41
John 5:25-29
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Let them know that you alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are the Most High over all the earth.
–Psalm 83:18, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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All glory belongs to God; that is a Biblical principle. We find it, for example, in Psalm 83. We read of Gideon’s diminishing army in Judges 7. All glory belongs to God. The preaching of St. Paul the Apostle threatens the economic status of artisans who create idols for the cult of Artemis in Acts 19. All glory belongs to God.
Encountering the divine glory imposes certain responsibilities upon one. Grace is indeed free yet certainly not cheap. How should we respond to the glory of God? Will one accept it for what it is and acknowledge one’s inadequacy or will one double down on one’s idolatry? The choice one makes will have consequences for one.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 17, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF EDITH BOYLE MACALISTER, ENGLISH NOVELIST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT EMILY DE VIALAR, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT JOSEPH OF THE APPARITION
THE FEAST OF JANE CROSS BELL SIMPSON, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS TERESA AND MAFALDA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESSES, QUEENS, AND NUNS; AND SANCHIA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESS AND NUN
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/devotion-for-proper-12-ackerman/
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Above: Christ Pantocrator
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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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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Judges 6:11-18, 36-40
Psalm 61
Acts 19:11-16
John 5:10-18
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In the first three readings the emphasis is on God and divine actions. We learn of God disregarding social standing and calling Gideon and working through St. Paul the Apostle. The Psalmist understands that he is subordinate to and dependent upon God, to be sure.
In John 5, however, the issue (and the charge of blasphemy) is relevant to who Jesus was and claimed to be: Son of God, equal to God. In the Johannine Gospels Jesus claims openly to be the Son of God. This stands in contrast to the Christ of the Gospel of Mark, who does not deny being the Son of God, yet orders others not to spread the word yet.
Christ, of course, being the genuine article, gets to announce himself. The rest of us are supposed to follow him in words and deeds.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 17, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF EDITH BOYLE MACALISTER, ENGLISH NOVELIST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT EMILY DE VIALAR, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT JOSEPH OF THE APPARITION
THE FEAST OF JANE CROSS BELL SIMPSON, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS TERESA AND MAFALDA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESSES, QUEENS, AND NUNS; AND SANCHIA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESS AND NUN
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/devotion-for-proper-11-ackerman/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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