Archive for the ‘Exodus 19’ Category
Above: Sheep
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Exodus 19:2-8a
Psalm 100
Romans 5:6-11
Matthew 9:35-10:8
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God, our maker and redeemer,
you have made us a new company of priests
to bear witness to the Gospel.
Enable us to be faithful to our calling
to make known your promises to all the world;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 24
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Almighty and everlasting God,
give us an increase of faith, hope, and love;
and that we may obtain what you have promised,
make us love what you have commanded;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 65
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The mandate of the people of God–Jews and Gentiles alike–is to be, in the language of Exodus 19:6,
…a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985, 1999)
Individually and collectively agreeing to that is relatively easy. Following through on that commitment is relatively difficult, though. It is impossible without grace. We are sheep–prone to go astray with little or no prompting. We need reconciliation to God and one another, as well as to ourselves.
God has acted to effect reconciliation. That, then, leaves the human side of the relationship. Grace is free, not cheap; it imposes the obligation of faithful response to God. How we treat our fellow human beings is bound up with our response to God.
Do not imagine, O reader, that I have worked out all these details in my life. Do not think that I have achieved an advanced stage of spiritual development. I know myself too well to assert that I have done what I described in the first two sentences of this paragraph. No, I muddle through, accumulating a mixed record daily. Therefore, I write this post to myself as much as I write it to you.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 3, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CAROLINE CHISHOLM, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIE-LÉONIE PARADIS, FOUNDER OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MAURA AND TIMOTHY OF ANTINOE, MARTYRS, 286
THE FEAST OF SAINT TOMASSO ACERBIS, CAPUCHIN FRIAR
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Pentecost Dove
Image Scanned from a Church Bulletin
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Exodus 19:1-9 or Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 33:12-22 (LBW) or Psalm 130 (LBW) or Psalm 98 (LW)
Romans 8:14-17, 22-27
John 7:37-39a
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Almighty and ever-living God,
you fulfilled the promise of Easter
by sending your Holy Spirit to unite the races and nations on earth
and thus to proclaim your glory.
Look upon your people gathered in prayer,
open to receive the Spirit’s flame.
May it come to rest in our hearts
and heal the divisions of word and tongue,
that with one voice and one song
we may praise your name in joy and thanksgiving;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 23
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O God, on this day you once taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending a right understanding in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy consolation;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in communion with the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982)
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The Episcopal, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic traditions provide for the Vigil of Pentecost, a service I have never had the opportunity to attend. Page 227 of The Book of Common Prayer (1979) contains a rubric regarding the vigil. The Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), Lutheran Worship (1982), and Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006) offer collects and readings for the Vigil of Easter. The Lutheran Service Book (2006), which offers no collects in the pew edition, includes readings for this vigil.
The Vigil of Pentecost was popular during the Middle Ages. It was one of the favored occasions for baptism. Continental Protestant reformers rejected this vigil in the 1500s; they restored the liturgical primacy of Sunday.
Yet here we are, with Lutherans approving the celebration of the Vigil of Pentecost. Liturgical renewal, blessed by thy name!
The theme of unity carries over from the readings for the preceding Sunday. The faith community gathers in expectation of the fulfillment of divine promises, including the “promise of Easter,” to quote the collect from the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978).
God is the central actor, despite the anthropocentric tendencies of much of human theology. That God is central should cause much thanksgiving and place human egos in proper context.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 26, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM COWPER, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ADELARD OF CORBIE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND ABBOT; AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, SAINT PASCAHSIUS RADBERTUS, FRANKISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
THE FEAST OF RUGH BYLLESBY, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS IN GEORGIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT STANISLAW KUBITSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1940; AND SAINT WLADYSLAW GORAL, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR, 1945
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM STRINGFELLOW, EPISCOPAL ATTORNEY, THEOLOGIAN, AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
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Adapted from this post
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Above: The Ark of the Covenant in the Temple of Dagon
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33
PART VI
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1 Samuel 5:1-7:1
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Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
–Psalm 68:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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After the Philistine army captured the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 4)…
A pseudo-documentary on the so-called History Channel argued (without evidence, of course) that the Ark of the Covenant contained a nuclear reactor. (Who knew?) That explanation was absurd. The Ark, however, was dangerous, according to Biblical texts. Although young Samuel slept near to it (1 Samuel 3), touching the object (even by accident or to prevent it from falling) and looking into it was lethal. The holiness of God was dangerous to mere mortals; people who acted wisely dared not get too close.
Another prominent theme in this story is the sovereignty of God. Even a statue of Dagon, a fish-god associated with corn and grain, fell face-down before the Ark then lost its head and hands (5:3-4).
The affliction later in Chapter 5 varies according to translations. TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985) renders the germane Hebrew word as “hemorrhoids.” The New Revised Standard Version (1989), however, renders that Hebrew word as “tumors,” however. The best academic guess seems to be Bubonic Plague. Yet, based on archaeological evidence of phallic imagery at the site, venereal disease is another surmise.
A close reading of the Hebrew Bible reveals shifts in theology. One may recall that, in Genesis 18, Abraham walked (literally) and haggled with God face-to-face. One may also remember that, by the time of Exodus 19:23, Israelites were not supposed to get too close to Mount Sinai when Moses and God were on the mountain together. God did not change; theology did.
I, as a Christian, affirm the accessibility of God. I point to the Incarnation.
To return to the main point, the story emphasizes the sovereignty of God. No human power or concept can contain God. God disrupts that which God should disrupt. People cannot tame God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 14, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CROFT, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JOHN BAJUS, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, JR., EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND HYMNODIST; AND HIS NEPHEW, JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, III, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MUSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941; AND JONATHAN MYRICK DANIELS, EPISCOPAL SEMINARIAN AND MARTYR, 1965
THE FEAST OF SARAH FLOWER ADAMS, ENGLISH UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER; AND HER SISTER, ELIZA FLOWER, ENGLISH UNITARIAN COMPOSER
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Above: Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, by Giovanni Antonio Sogliani
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Sixth Sunday after Trinity, Year 1
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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)
Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)
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Lord of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of thy Name,
increase in us true religion;
nourish us with all goodness,
and of thy great mercy keep us in the same;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 194
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Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 28
Romans 6:3-11
Mark 6:31-44
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I detect a contrast between the scene in Exodus 20 and the scene in Mark 6:31-44. The scene in Exodus 20, the giving of the Ten Commandments, was one in which the people at the base of the mountain had orders to keep their distance (19:21f). The scene in Mark 6:31-44 (one of the four accounts of the Feeding of the 5000) is one in which Jesus was close to the people. May we remember, O reader, that the same Jesus was the instrument of the Atonement, which St. Paul the Apostle mentioned in Romans 6:3-11.
God is our strong shield, Psalm 28 tells us. We read in Mark 6:31-44, among other segments of the Gospels, that Jesus cared about both spiritual and physical needs. Indeed, people must eat.
Physical and spiritual needs are related to each other. We are physical beings, for we have bodies. We are mainly spiritual, though. We are spiritual beings having spiritual experiences, not physical beings having spiritual experiences. The image of God in me recognizes the image of God in you, O reader. And physical experiences often have spiritual components.
I have heard of Christian missionaries who have found that meeting physical needs has been necessary before they could preach effectively. Medical supplies and equipment for drilling wells have paved the ways for the proclamation of the Gospel many times. Why not? Tending to physical needs, as able, is living according to the Golden Rule.
On other occasions, however, physical needs may seem to work against spiritual needs. I write these words during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. My bishop has acted responsibly; he has forbidden in-person services for a while. I am one of the churchiest people around, so I miss attending services. Furthermore, the Holy Eucharist is one of the pillars of my spiritual being. My week does not go as well when I do not take communion. Maintaining faith community can be difficult during a time of isolation. My faith does not falter, for I do not imagine that a pandemic negates the existence and mercy of God. I do become lonely and pine for the Holy Eucharist, though.
The physical and the spiritual overlap considerably.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 17, 2020 COMMON ERA
FRIDAY IN EASTER WEEK
THE FEAST OF DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF EMILY COOPER, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF LUCY LARCOM, U.S. ACADEMIC, JOURNALIST, POET, EDITOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAX JOSEF METZGER, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1944
THE FEAST OF WILBUR KENNETH HOWARD, MODERATOR OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
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Above: Jesus and the Woman of Canaan, by Michael Angelo Immenraet
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 19:2-8 or 1 Kings 8:1-21
Psalm 56
2 Corinthians 13:5-14
Mark 7:24-37
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God exceeds our wildest imaginations. Yet God pities us, heals us, calls us become more than we are, and empowers us to accomplish that purpose. God calls us to be a people of priests. God equips us to shine the divine light into the world of the nonevangelized and the apostate, and to disciple the converted.
You, O reader, almost certainly do not read these devotions in the same manner in which I do. I know how much, contrary to my aversion to much repetition, I repeat myself. I know how often I repeat myself in these posts based on different lectionaries. I know that I have already repeated myself many times regarding the Gospel pericope for this Sunday as I repeat myself yet again–this time, regarding an ancient, supposedly orthodox hermeneutical tradition that is wrong because it violates the dogma of the perfection of Jesus.
At least since the time of St. Ephrem of Edessa (306/307-373), Jesus initially rejected the plea of the Syro-Phoenician woman heal her daughter, but the woman changed our Lord and Savior’s mind through her persistence . This tradition has informed every analysis of the pericope I have read in commentaries and heard in sermons, regardless of how liberal or conservative they were. St. Ephrem was orthodox, certainly according to the standards of his time.
That element of supposed orthodoxy is heretical. (That charge means much coming from me, one who owns a shirt that reads, “heretic.”) The thought of Jesus honestly calling he woman a “little bitch” (the closest translation in English) is one that runs afoul of sound Christology.
Jesus, who had purposefully entered Gentile territory, was testing the woman. He was making comments so she would refute them. He liked her answer, the one he wanted to hear. Then he healed her child.
Sometimes we need to say something, to express our faith audibly.
God exceeds our wildest imaginations. It welcomes and beckons those who are similar to us and those who have little in common with us. If that makes us uncomfortable, we have a spiritual problem. If we do, we need to take it to Jesus.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 24, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THOMAS À KEMPIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN NEWTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH, U.S. BAPTIST MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN OF THE SOCIAL GOSPEL
THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2019/07/24/devotion-for-proper-17-year-b-humes/
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Above: Pentecost Dove
Scanned from a Church Bulletin by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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For the Day of Pentecost, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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O Thou who sent the promised fire of thy Spirit to make saints of ordinary men:
grant that we, waiting and together now, may be enflamed with such love for thee
that we may speak out boldly in thy name; through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 123
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Exodus 19:1-11
Acts 2:1-21
John 14:23-31
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When God draws near, reality changes. Pledges of communal piety may be extremely short-lived (as in Exodus 19), but the dramatic theophany alters the lives of all those who experience it. This alteration is not reversible.
This is a devotional post for the Day of Pentecost, a commemoration of a dramatic event. Not all theophanies are dramatic, though; many are quiet. Some are not even events; no, they are processes. Sometimes God works via events, dramatic or otherwise. And sometimes God works gradually, seemingly imperceptible, especially if one does not know what to pay attention to at a particular time.
Nevertheless, the experience is transformational. It does not take away free will, though. One may recall the Golden Calf story (Exodus 32). Free will can swing in more than one direction.
May we be instruments of God, not unreliable, grumbling people who reject grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 29, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL APOSTLES AND MARTYRS
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Above: Moses, by Edward Peck Sperry, 1897
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-31841
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For the Second Sunday in Lent, Year 1, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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Lord Jesus Christ, our only King, who came in the form of a servant:
control our wills and restrain our selfish ambitions,
that we may seek thy glory above all things and fulfill our lives in thee. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 121
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Exodus 34:1-9
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Matthew 7:24-29
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When I was a boy, I had a collection of Arch Books. Each volume, a thin paperback book, told one Bible story in words and pictures. This was a wonderful way for a child to learn Bible stories. The Arch Book for the parable from Matthew 7:24-27 has lodged itself in my memory.
Jesus likened himself to a rock. Moses was atop a mountain in Exodus 19 when he received far more than ten commandments from God. (The commandments fill Exodus 20-24.) Moses was atop a mountain again, to receive more commandments and stone tablet versions (Exodus 25-31). While Moses was away, impatient Israelites broke the covenant. Moses, in anger, broke the first stone tablets (Exodus 32). Then Moses interceded on behalf of the people (Exodus 32-33). God restored the covenant in Exodus 34.
We are supposed to read Exodus 34 in the context of the rest of the Torah narrative and of the Hebrew Bible more broadly. We know of the unfortunate habit of murmuring and of relatively short memories of God’s mighty acts yet long memories of Egyptian leftovers.
I am not a psychologist, but psychology intrigues me. Therefore, I listen and read closely in the field. What we remember and what we forget–and why–indicates much about our character and about human nature, for good and for ill. Often our minds work against the better angels of our nature; much of remembering and forgetting is a matter of the unconscious mind. As rational as many of us try to be and like to think of ourselves as being, we tend to be irrational, panicky creatures who forget that, when we harm others, we hurt ourselves, too. We also forget the promises we made recently all too often.
How we behave toward God and how we act toward others are related to each other. Do we recognize God in others? If so, that informs how we treat them. Although I do not see the image of God in Mimi, my feline neighbor whom I feed outside my back door, I recognize her as a creature of God, an animal possessed of great dignity and worthy of respect. Returning to human relations, the Law of Moses teaches, in terms of timeless principles and culturally specific examples, that we have divine orders to take care of each other, and never to exploit one another. That commandment applies to societies, institutions, and governments, not just individuals.
Societies, institutions, governments, and individuals who forget or never learn that lesson and act accordingly are like a man who was so foolish that he build his house on sand, not on rock. The rain will fall, the floods will come, the winds will blow, and the house will fall.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 12, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSAPHAT, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF POLOTSK, AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI, FOUNDRESS OF THE MISSIONARY SISTERS OF THE SACRED HEART
THE FEAST OF RAY PALMER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM ARTHUR DUNKERLEY, BRITISH NOVELIST, AND HYMN WRITER
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Above: Moses on Mount Sinai, by Jean-Leon Gerome
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Holy God, through your Son you have called us to live faithfully and act courageously.
Keep us steadfast in your covenant of grace,
and teach us the wisdom that comes only 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 28
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The Assigned Readings:
Exodus 19:1-9a (Thursday)
Exodus 19:9b-15 (Friday)
Exodus 19:16-25 (Saturday)
Psalm 19 (All Days)
1 Peter 2:4-10 (Thursday)
Acts 7:30-40 (Friday)
Mark 9:2-8 (Saturday)
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The law of the LORD inspires reverence and is pure;
it stands firm for ever,
the judgements of the LORD are true;
they form a good code of justice.
–Psalm 19:10, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers, Harry Mowvley (1989)
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We are always in the presence of God.
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there your hand shall lead me,
your right hand hold me fast.
–Psalm 139:6-9, Common Worship: Daily Prayer (2005)
Nevertheless, sometimes the presence of God becomes evident in an unusually spectacular way. How one ought to respond to those occasions is one topic in the assigned readings for these three days.
1 Peter 2 and Exodus 19 bring up the point of the faithful people of God having the responsibility to be a light to the nations. First, however, the faithful people must become that light. This was originally the call of the Jews, who retain that call as well as their status as the Chosen People. Far be it from me to give short shrift to the Jews, my elder siblings in faith! I, a Gentile, belong to the branch which God grafted onto their tree.
But how should one respond to a spectacular manifestation of the presence of God? Those details, I suppose, are culturally specific, as is much of the Law of Moses. Moses removed his sandals in the presence of the burning bush. At Mt. Sinai the people were to wash their clothing, abstain from sexual relations for three days, and avoid touching the mountain. There was a case of fatal holiness, a repeated motif in the Hebrew Scriptures. People were supposed to maintain a safe distance from God. As for sexual activity, it would cause ritual impurity (see Leviticus 15:18) in the Law of Moses, which they were about to receive. And, in the words of scholar Brevard S. Childs:
The holy God of the covenant demands as preparation a separation from those things which are normally permitted and good in themselves. The giving of the covenant is different from an ordinary event of everyday life. Israel is, therefore, to be prepared by a special act of preparation.
–The Book of Exodus: A Critical Theological Commentary (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1974), page 369
As for women and the Law of Moses, I cannot help but notice that the code reflects a negative view of gynaecology. May such sexism become increasingly rare in today’s world.
One pious yet misguided response to a spectacular manifestation of the presence of God is to seek to institutionalize it. That was just one error St. Simon Peter committed at the Transfiguration, the description of which I understand as being more poetic than literally accurate. (Could any description do the event justice?) Another error was that the three proposed booths would be the same size; one should have been larger than the others.
Although we dwell in the presence of God and might even be aware of that reality most of the time, we still need moments when we experience it in unusual and spectacular ways. Mundane blessings are wonderful and numerous, but sometimes we need another variety of blessing and a reminder of the presence of God. I have had some of them, although they were substantially toned down compared to the Transfiguration, the burning bush, and the giving of the Law of Moses. They were, however, out of the ordinary for me. Thus I remember them more vividly than I do the myriads of mundane blessings and encounters with God. These unusual epiphanies have edified me spiritually at the right times. They have also called me to continue on my spiritual walk with God through easy and difficult times. That journey is one for the glory of God and the benefit of others–perhaps including you, O reader.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 10, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN ROBERTS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF HOWELL ELVET LEWIS, WELSH CONGREGATIONALIST CLERGYMAN AND POET
THE FEAST OF KARL BARTH, SWISS REFORMED THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF THOMAS MERTON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MONK
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Adapted from this post:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2014/12/10/devotion-for-thursday-friday-and-saturday-before-the-third-sunday-in-lent-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Mt. Sinai, Between 1898 and 1946
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-09625
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The Collect:
Almighty God, the resplendent light of your truth
shines from the mountaintop into our hearts.
Transfigure us by your beloved Son,
and illumine the world with your image,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 26
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The Assigned Readings:
Exodus 19:7-25 (Monday)
Job 19:23-27 (Tuesday)
Psalm 110:1-4 (Both Days)
Hebrews 2:1-4 (Monday)
1 Timothy 3:14-16 (Tuesday)
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God seemed quite mysterious–even dangerous–in Exodus 19. Anyone who touched Mt. Sinai would die, for the mountain was holy, and that made the geographical feature more hazardous than usual. There was also a hazard in the peoples’ pledge to obey God’s commandments, due to the penalties for violating them.
God was also a threat in the mind of Job, who, in 19:23-27, looked forward to his Redeemer/Vindicator, a kinsman who would, in the words of a note on page 1529 ofThe Jewish Study Bible (2004),
vindicate him, will take revenge on God for what God has done to Job.
That is a desire many people have felt. That interpretation is also far removed from a traditional Christian understanding of the text, not that there is anything wrong with that difference.
We find the friendly and scary faces of God in the New Testament readings. Hebrews 2:1-4 reminds us of penalties for sins. Yet 1 Timothy 3:14-16 brings us the mystery and the graces of God in the context of Jesus. That example is far removed from Exodus 19:7-25, where divine holiness was fatal to people. What could be closer to people–even in contact with them–and holy without being fatal to them than Jesus?
Mountains and the divine go together in the Bible. Moses received the Law on one. Jesus preached from mountains. His Transfiguration occurred on one. He “ascended” (whatever that means in literal, as opposed to theological terms) from a mountain. The symbolism also works in our lives, as in our “mountaintop experiences.”
As we depart the Season after the Epiphany for Lent, may we seek and find, by grace, a closer walk with God, whose holiness gives us life and is not fatal to us. May we internalize the lessons God wants us to internalize. And, when we are angry with God, may we have enough faith to, in the style of Job, argue faithfully. Communication cannot occur in the absence of messages.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 4, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FIFTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH MOHR, AUSTRIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT BARBARA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCUS, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CALABRIA, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE POOR SERVANTS AND THE POOR WOMEN SERVANTS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/devotion-for-monday-and-tuesday-after-the-last-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Paul Writing His Epistles, by Valentin de Boulogne
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Lord of the feast, you have prepared a table before all peoples
and poured out your life with abundance.
Call us again to your banquet.
Strengthen us by what is honorable, just, and pure,
and transform us into a people or righteousness and peace,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 49
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The Assigned Readings:
Exodus 19:7-20 (Monday)
Amos 9:5-15 (Tuesday)
Psalm 34 (Both Days)
Jude 17-25 (Monday)
Philippians 3:13-4:1 (Tuesday)
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The troubles of the righteous are many:
but the Lord sets them free from them all.
The Lord guards every bone in the body of the righteous:
and so not one of them is broken.
Evil brings death to the wicked:
and those who hate the righteous are brought to ruin.
–Psalm 34:19-21, A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989)
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Psalm 34 is a prayer of thanksgiving by one whom God had delivered from great difficulty. Much of the text constitutes timeless truth, but I detect a level of optimism which many people from Jeremiah to Jesus might have called excessive. I, as one who has studied Christian history, add to that list nearly two thousand years’ worth of suffering Christians, many of them martyrs, from St. Stephen to contemporary martyrs.
Nevertheless, the text does provide the unifying theme for this devotion:
Turn away from evil and do good:
seek peace and steadily pursue it.
–Verse 14, A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989)
The reading from Jude speaks of the duties of love. Among these is practicing compassion, something one can do only if self does not occupy the throne of one’s life. In that lesson we read also that there will be mockers who follow their godless desires. That description fits the rape gang at Sodom in Genesis 19. Lot, who offers his two virgin daughters to that gang, is also of dubious character. The reading from Amos reminds us that divine favor does not function as a talisman protecting people from the consequences of their sins. And St. Paul the Apostle, in Philippians, mentions the suffering of many of the faithful (including himself) and the different fates of the righteous and the unrighteous in the afterlife, thereby bringing the readings back around to Psalm 34, but with a more sober and realistic tone.
May we, following the Apostle’s advice, stand firm in the Lord, walking compassionately in the way of divine love and disregarding the humiliation which enemies of the cross of Christ heap upon those who are of our Lord and Savior. And may we strive properly
toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
–Philippians 3:14, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 31, 2014 COMMON ERA
PROPER 17: THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF SAINT AIDAN OF LINDISFARNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
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Adapted from this post:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/devotion-for-monday-and-tuesday-after-proper-23-year-a-elca-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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