Archive for the ‘Isaiah 25’ Category
Above: The Angel in the Tomb
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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Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 118:1-2, 15-24
1 Corinthians 15:19-28
John 20:1-9 (10-18) or Mark 16:1-8
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O God, you gave your only Son
to suffer death on the cross for our redemption,
and by his glorious resurrection
you delivered us from the power of death.
Make us die every day to sin,
so that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 20-21
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Almighty God the Father, through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ,
you have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us.
Grant that we,
who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection,
may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 47
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Isaiah 24-27, part of Third Isaiah, is a proto-apocalypse. Daniel contains a fully fully-developed apocalypse in chapters 7-12, which date to the Hasmonean period. Revelation (the Apocalypse of John) and some pseudepigraphal works are fully-developed apocalypses, too. Isaiah 24-27 contains many of the features of those later writings.
The apocalyptic genre is optimistic, for it proclaims that God will win in the end. The proto-apocalypse in Isaiah 24-27 is optimistic in so far as it speaks of the metaphorical resurrection of Judah while using the language of destroying death and reviving corpses.
The assigned readings, taken together, speak of an illness. A conquered people may move into a better future. And the resurrection of Jesus makes renewed individual and collective life in God possible.
As I write these words, I live in troubled, cynical times. Anti-democratic forces, competing in elections around the world, have much popular support. Sometimes they win elections. Many candidates who speak favorably of family values engage in political bullying and celebrate cruelty and insensitivity. Many such candidates frequently win elections, too. The great web of mutuality that protects members of society–the most vulnerable ones, especially–continues to fray under the assault by a selfish variety of individualism. The morally neutral act of remaining informed regarding current events becomes an occasion of inviting excessive stress into one’s life. Hope seems to be in short supply. Positive statements about the Kingdom of God may ring hollow. One may feel like the women at the empty tomb of Jesus–afraid. I do.
And, when we turn our attention to death itself, we may experience the depths of despair and the harsh reality of someone’s loss. The light may go out of our lives, as it did for Theodore Roosevelt on February 12, 1884, when his mother and first wife died.
I understand my grief well enough to know not to resort to platitudes. I comprehend that death stings. I know from the past and from current events that the world has long been and continues to be rife with delusion and injustice. I, as a student of history, grasp that history does not repeat itself, but that history rhymes. It rhymes because many people fail to learn the lessons of the past.
Yet the Christian hope teaches me that the Reverend Doctor Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) was correct:
This is my Father’s world,
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
The battle is not done,
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.
–Quoted in The Hymnal (1933), #70
Happy Easter!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 18, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT LEONIDES OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 202; ORIGEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN; SAINT DEMETRIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT ALEXANDER OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, BISHOP, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF ELIZA SIBBALD ALDERSON, POET AND HYMN WRITER; AND JOHN BACCHUS DYKES, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL OF CYPRUS, EASTERN ORTHODOX MARTYR, 760
THE FEAST OF ROBERT WALMSLEY, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post
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Above: The Parable of the Unworthy Wedding Guest, by Claes Corneliszaen Moeyaert
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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Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:4-13
Matthew 22:1-10 (11-14)
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Almighty God, source of every blessing,
your generous goodness comes to us anew every day.
By the work of your Spirit,
lead us to acknowledge your goodness,
give thanks for your benefits,
and serve you in willing obedience;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 28
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Enlighten our minds, we pray, O God,
by the Spirit who proceeds from you,
that, as your Son has promised,
we may be led into all truth;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 85
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The eschatological banquet is a motif in the Bible. It is a powerful image, given that (a) most people were poor, and (b) most land was not arable. The eschatological banquet speaks of divine abundance. Isaiah 25 comes from the great proto-apocalypse of Third Isaiah (see chapters 24-27). The Parable of the Wedding Feast tells of God’s inclusiveness in inviting guests and of the dire consequences of attending without the “garment” of repentance of sins. Psalm 23 depicts God as overpowering yet not destroying the Psalmist’s enemies, who must watch the banquet to which God has not invited them.
Philippians 4:8 meshes well with the theme of repentance, present in the parable:
Finally, brothers, let your minds be filled with everything that is true, everything that is honourable, everything that is upright and pure, everything that we love and admire–with whatever is good and praiseworthy.
—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
That is a fine description of a metaphorical wedding garment.
Recall also, O reader, that in Psalm 23, only goodness and mercy pursue or accompany (depending on the translation) the Psalmist. The enemies cannot keep up with God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 19, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIXTUS III, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF BLAISE PASCAL, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC SCIENTIST, MATHEMATICIAN, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF GEERT GROOTE, FOUNDER OF THE BRETHREN OF THE COMMON LIFE
THE FEAST OF IGNAZ FRANZ, GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MAGNUS AND AGRICOLA OF AVIGNON, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF AVIGNON
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM HAMMOND, ENGLISH MORAVIAN HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Ahriman (from Zoroastrianism)
Image in the Public Domain
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READING THIRD ISAIAH, PART II
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Isaiah 24:1-27:13
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Babylon is not mentioned even once. Rather, the eschatological focus of these chapters has raised their sights to the ultimate purpose of God in portraying the cosmological judgment of the world and its final glorious restoration. Moreover, the redemption of Israel is depicted as emerging from the ashes of the polluted and decaying world. Not just a remnant is redeemed , but the chapter recounts the salvation of all peoples who share in the celebration of God’s new order when death is banished forever (25:8).
–Brevard S. Childs, Isaiah (2001), 173
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INTRODUCTION
Isaiah 24-27 constitutes the Isaiah Apocalypse. They also constitute an early and not full-blown example of Biblical apocalyptic literature. Some books I read inform me that the Jewish apocalyptic form emerged in the wake of the fall of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire–in the late sixth century (early 500s) B.C.E., to be precise. These books also teach that full-blown Jewish apocalypses emerged only in the second century (100s) B.C.E., as in the case of Daniel 7-12.
Isaiah 24, in vivid language, depicts the divine destruction of the natural order and the social order. I recommend the translation by Robert Alter, in particular. Regardless of the translation, we read that people have violated the moral mandates embedded in the Law of Moses:
And the earth is tainted beneath its dwellers,
for they transgressed teachings, flouted law, broke the eternal covenant.
Therefore has a curse consumed the earth,
and all its dwellers are mired in guilt.
Therefore earth’s dwellers turn pale,
and all but a few humans remain.
–Isaiah 24:5-6, in Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, Volume 2, Prophets (2019)
The timeframe is sometime in the future, relative to both Third Isaiah and 2021. in this vision, high socio-economic status provides no protection against God’s creative destruction.
Within the Book of Isaiah, in its final form, chapters 24-27 follow oracles against the nations (chapters 13-23) and precede more oracles against nations (chapters 28-33). This relative placement is purposeful.
SWALLOWING UP DEATH FOREVER
Returning to the Isaiah Apocalypse, the establishment of the fully-realized Kingdom of God entails the defeat of the enemies of God’s people, the celebration of an eschatological banquet, and the swallowing up of death forever (See 1 Corinthians 15:54; Revelation 7:7-17). The divine swallowing up of death echoes the swallowing up of Mot (the Canaanite god of death) in mythology.
Isaiah 25:8 and 26:19 refer to divine victory over death. Given the temporal origin of the Isaiah Apocalypse, is this a metaphor for the divine vindication of the downtrodden, likened to the dead? Such language, in Book of Daniel (100s B.C.E.) and the Revelation of John (late 100s C.E.), refers to the afterlife. The operative question regarding Isaiah 25:8 and 26:19, however, is if the author knew about and affirmed the resurrection of the dead. We know that Ezekiel 37 (the vision of the dry bones) is a metaphor for the restoration of Israel after the Babylonian Exile. But what about Isaiah 25:8 and 26:19? Even the Jewish commentaries I consult do not arrive at a conclusion.
I understand why. The Isaiah Apocalypses comes from a time when Jewish theology was changing, under the influence of Zoroastrianism. Satan was moving away from being God’s employee–loyalty tester (Job 1-2) and otherwise faithful angel (Numbers 22:22-40)–and becoming a free agent and the chief rebel. The theology of Ahriman, the main figure of evil in Zoroastrianism, was influencing this change in Jewish theology. Jewish ideas of the afterlife were also changing under Zoroastrian influence. Sheol was passing away. Reward and punishment in the afterlife were becoming part of Jewish theology. By the second century (100s) B.C.E., belief in individual resurrection of the dead was unambiguous (Daniel 12:2-3, 12).
I do not know what Third Isaiah believed regarding the resurrection of the dead. I suppose that he could have affirmed that doctrine. The historical context and the symbolic language of the apocalypse combine to confuse the matter. So be it; I, as an Episcopalian, am comfortable with a degree of ambiguity.
DIVINE JUDGMENT ON ENEMIES OF THE COVENANT PEOPLE
Isaiah 25:9-12 singles out Moab, in contrast to the usual practice of not naming enemies in chapters 24-27. One may recall material condemning Moab in Amos 2:1-3; Isaiah 15:1-16:13; Jeremiah 48:1-47; Ezekiel 25:8-11.
In the divine order, the formerly oppressed rejoice in their victory over those who had oppressed them. Oppression has no place in the divine order.
Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance in Isaiah 24-27. Divine deliverance of the oppressors is frequently catastrophic for the oppressors. And the contrast between the fates of the enemies of God (27:11) and the Jews worshiping in Jerusalem (27:13) is stark. As Brevard S. Childs offers:
In sum, the modern theology of religious universalism, characterized by unlimited inclusivity, is far removed from the biblical proclamation of God’s salvation (cf. Seitz, 192),
—Isaiah (2001), 186
GOD’S VINEYARD
Neither do apostasy and idolatry have any place in the divine order. And all the Jewish exiles will return to their ancestral homeland. Also, the message of God will fill the earth:
In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall bud and flower,
and the face of the world shall fill with bounty.
–Isaiah 27:6, Robert Alter (2019)
The face of the world will be God’s productive vineyard, figuratively. The people and kingdom of God, figuratively, are a vineyard in the Old and New Testament. (See Isaiah 5:1-7; Matthew 20:1-16; Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19).
CONCLUSION
Despite ambiguities in the texts, I am unambiguous on two germane points:
- Apocalyptic literature offers good news: God will win in the end. Therefore, faithful people should remain faithful.
- Apocalyptic literature calls the powers and leaders to account. It tells them that they fall short of divine standards when they oppress populations and maintain social injustice. It damns structures and institutions of social inequality. It condemns societies that accept the unjust status quo.
Regardless of–or because of–certain ambiguities in the Isaiah Apocalypse, chapters 24-27 speak to the world in 2021. Some vagueness in prophecy prevents it from becoming dated and disproven, after all. And structural inequality remains rife and politically defended, unfortunately.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 16, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE RIGHTEOUS GENTILES
THE FEAST OF CATHERINE LOUISA MARTHENS, FIRST LUTHERAN DEACONESS CONSECRATED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1850
THE FEAST OF GEORGE ALFRED TAYLOR RYGH, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HENRY WILLIAMS, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY IN NEW ZEALAND; HIS WIFE, MARIANNE WILLIAMS, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY AND EDUCATOR IN NEW ZEALAND; HER SISTER-IN-LAW, JANE WILLIAMS, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY AND EDUCATOR IN NEW ZEALAND; AND HER HUSBAND AND HENRY’S BROTHER, WILLIAM WILLAMS, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF WAIAPU
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALEN POSTEL, FOUNDER OF THE POOR DAUGHTERS OF MERCY
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Above: Map of the Persian Empire
Image in the Public Domain
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READING THIRD ISAIAH, PART I
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Isaiah 24-27, 56-66
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Haggai prophesied in late 520 B.C.E. First Zechariah, commissioned as a prophet in late 520 B.C.E., prophesied in 519 and 518 B.C.E. Sometime after Jewish exiles began to return to their ancestral homeland in the late 530s B.C.E., Third Isaiah prophesied. He grappled with difficult circumstances and ubiquitous disappointment, just as Haggai and First Zechariah did. The reality on the ground did not match the descriptions of prosperity and paradise on Earth that some previous prophets had offered. For example, the contrast between the pessimism of many returned exiles and the optimism of Second Isaiah (from circa 540 B.C.E.) was a gaping chasm.
Third Isaiah spoke of divine sovereignty and divine compassion for Israel. He did this between 537 and 455 B.C.E., in the context of matters remaining difficult for Jews in their ancestral homeland, part of the Persian Empire. The reforms of Nehemiah and Ezra, starting in 445 B.C.E. (Ezra 7-10; Nehemiah 1-13; 1 Esdras 8:1-9:55) greatly improved the civic and spiritual life of the population. Third Isaiah prophesied before these reforms.
Designating Isaiah 56-66 as Third Isaiah and Isaiah 24-27 as part of First Isaiah is commonplace. Yet I follow the determination in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (2003), for I define the prophesies of Third Isaiah as encompassing Isaiah 24-27, 56-66.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 15, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BONAVENTURE, SECOND FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT ATHANASIUS I OF NAPLES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF DUNCAN MONTGOMERY GRAY, SR., AND HIS SON, DUNCAN MONTGOMERY GRAY, JR.; EPISCOPAL BISHOPS OF MISSISSIPPI, AND ADVOCATES OF CIVIL RIGHTS
THE FEAST OF GEORGE TYRRELL, IRISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MODERNIST THEOLOGIAN AND ALLEGED HERETIC
THE FEAST OF SAINT SWITHUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF WNCHESTER
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Above: Tear Ducts
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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Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44
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[The Lord GOD] will destroy death for ever….
–Isaiah 25:8a, The Revised English Bible (1989)
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Writing another devotional blog post for All Saints’ Day can prove challenging, given how many I have composed. My perspective on this hobby of writing lectionary-based devotions is unique, O reader. I am the only mortal who knows how often I have repeated myself.
Anyway, the connection between Isaiah 25:5-9 and Revelation 21:1-6a is obvious. Isaiah 25:6-9, set during the great eschatological banquet, is a fine choice to pair with Revelation 21:1-6a.
I have joined the company of those who visit someone’s grave and talk. In my case, those are the graves of my father (who had Alzheimer’s Disease and died a combination of ailments on October 30, 2014) and my girlfriend (who struggled with mental illness until she died violently on October 14, 2019). Therefore, Isaiah 25:6-9 has special meaning for me. Perhaps you, O reader, also find special meaning in this text. We mere mortals grieve because we are human and have emotions. We need not grieve alone. Hopefully, we can rely on other people to help us through the grieving process. And God is with us, of course.
Jesus wept.
–John 11:35, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
Jesus weeps with us. We are not alone.
Sister Ruth Fox, O.S.B., wrote “A Franciscan Blessing” (1985), which reads, in part:
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer
from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
One day, I will be a position to help someone experiencing grief. I will be able to assist that person because of my grief. So be it. Life in God requires people to look out for each other.
The Feast of All Saints is an occasion to ponder all who have preceded us in the Christian faith. They constitute a “great cloud of witnesses.” Some are famous. Most are obscure. We may know a few of them by name. To miss them is legitimate.
At the right time (the time of God’s choosing), may we join them on the other side of the veil. In the meantime, we have work to do and God to glorify.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 30, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF LESSLIE NEWBIGIN, ENGLISH REFORMED MISSIONARY AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT BATHILDAS, QUEEN OF FRANCE
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK OAKELEY, ANGLICAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINTS GENESIUS I OF CLERMONT AND PRAEJECTUS OF CLERMONT, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; AND SAINT AMARIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT JACQUES BUNOL, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/30/devotion-for-all-saints-day-year-d-humes/
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Above: Icon of the Resurrection
Image in the Public Domain
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For Easter Sunday, 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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Almighty God, who through the resurrection of thine only begotten Son Jesus Christ,
hast overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life;
assist and support us, we beseech thee, the aspirations of thy heavenly grace,
that dying unto sin always, and living unto righteousness,
we may at last triumph over death and the grave, in the full image of our risen Lord:
to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, world without end. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 163
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Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 118:14-29
1 Corinthians 15:12-28
John 20:1-10
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If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
–1 Corinthians 15:19-20, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
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I am, to a great extent, a product of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. I make no apologies for this; I value science, evidence, objective reality, liberty of conscience, constitutional government, human reason, the separation of powers, and the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and dissent. Call me a radical, if you wish, O reader. I call myself an Episcopalian. I get to believe in Jesus and accept fossil records, rock layers, geological time, dinosaurs, and evolution. I am a modernist in both the Enlightenment and late nineteenth-century meanings of that word.
I do not pretend, however, that my intellectual categories are sufficient for all circumstances. My scientific, Enlightenment, and historical categories prove helpful most of the time. As I age, however, I find, much to my surprise, that mysticism is becoming a more prominent component of my spirituality.
I also understand the difference between faith and proof. I need no faith to accept that which I can prove. I can also disprove many subjective claims by citing objective evidence. Faith his how believes that which is true yet one can neither prove nor disprove.
I know that human nature is corrupted (despite what certain Enlightenment philosophers argued) because I study the past and have something of a grasp of current events. I have as much of a grasp of current events as I can without crossing the line into my spiritual and psychological detriment. I have as much of a grasp of current events as possible without risking turning into General George Patton’s ideal man–one who can swear profanely for three minutes consistently without repeating any word. Human depravity is a certainty–a fact–for me; it is not an article of faith for me. On the other hand, I accept the existence of God on faith. In fact the I reject the possibility of proving the existence of God logically.
Likewise, I believe (trust, literally) in the resurrection of Jesus. I do so by faith. I do not know that the resurrection is true; I believe (trust) that it is. I stake everything on it being true. I know that Jesus was a historical figure, but I believe that he was the incarnate Son of God, crucified and resurrected.
The resurrection of Jesus is one of the relatively few Christian doctrines one must accept to be a Christian. The Virgin Birth is an optional doctrine, for example, but the Incarnation is not. One may also choose to accept or reject the Immaculate Conception of St. Mary of Nazareth and be a Christian either way. (Yes, I understand the difference between the Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Birth. The first sets the stage for the second.) As I was writing, the resurrection of Jesus, like the Incarnation, is mandatory for inclusion in the Christian faith. Without the resurrection, we have a dead Jesus, who cannot save anyone from any sins and their consequences. The resurrection completes the atonement, according to the Classic Theory of the Atonement, or Christus Victor.
The resurrection also contradicts and violates most of my intellectual categories. So be it.
Happy Easter!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 4, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT THE AFRICAN, FRANCISCAN FRIAR AND HERMIT
THE FEAST OF ALFRED C. MARBLE, JR., EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF MISSISSIPPI THEN ASSISTING BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA
THE FEAST OF ERNEST W. SHURTLEFF, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER, AND MARTYR, 1968
THE FEAST OF SIDNEY LOVETT, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND CHAPLAIN OF YALE UNIVERSITY
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Above: Saint John on Patmos, by the Limbourg Brothers
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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Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 7:9-17
John 11:32-44
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Three of the four readings for this day come from the context of tribulation. The other reading (Psalm 24) is a text composed for the procession of the Ark of the Covenant.
God is the King of Glory, as Psalm 24 attests, but appearances contradict that truth much of the time. The apocalyptic tone on Isaiah 25:6-9 and Revelation 7:9-17 confirms the discrepancy between appearances and reality. In John 11, with the story of the raising of Lazarus, immediately precedes the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (John 12). Furthermore, the Gospel of John tells us, the raising of Lazarus was the last straw before the decision to execute Jesus (John 11:47f).
Despite the violence and other perfidy of the world, we read, God will remain faithful to the righteous and will defeat evil. That will be a day of rejoicing and the beginning of a new age. To be precise, it will be a day of rejoicing for the righteous and of gnashing of teeth for the unrighteous.
That day seems to be far off, does it not? Perhaps it is. I dare not add my name to the long list of those who have predicted the date of the parousia. I do, however, rejoice that the Church Triumphant exists and constitutes that great cloud of witnesses surrounding the Church Militant.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 26, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANNE AND JOACHIM, PARENTS OF SAINT MARY OF NAZARETH
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2019/07/26/devotion-for-all-saints-day-year-b-humes/
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Above: Christ Pantocrator
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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For the Second Sunday after Easter, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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O Holy Wisdom, Light of Light: shine through thy Word,
and by thy Spirit let our minds be opened to receive thee,
our hearts be drawn to love thee,
and our wills be strengthened to obey thee;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 122-123
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Isaiah 25:1-9
1 Corinthians 15:21-28
John 14:1-14
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We read hopeful, inspiring words in Isaiah 25:1-9 and 1 Corinthians 15:21-28. God is sovereign. Jesus is King. God will vanquish evil and establish the new, divine world order.
It sounds nice. I wish it had come true already. I recall that the context for the inspiring words in John 14:1-14 is the build-up to the crucifixion of Jesus. I also remember that the resurrection followed the crucifixion.
The world is a mess, as it has been for a long time. Some problems are more severe, others less so. The sinfulness of human nature and human obliviousness (an issue psychologists can explain better than I can) to major problems remain constant, however. One day, God will will vanquish evil. Whether one considers that good news or bad news indicates much about one.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 27, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CORNELIUS HILL, ONEIDA CHIEF AND EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HUGH THOMSON KERR, SR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST; AND HIS SON, HUGH THOMSON KERR, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JAMES MOFFATT, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE GEORGIAN, ABBOT; AND SAINTS EUTHYMIUS OF ATHOS AND GEORGE OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN, ABBOTS AND TRANSLATORS
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Above: All Souls’ Day, by Jakub Schikaneder
Image in the Public Domain
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The Feast of All Saints originated at the great monastery of Cluny in 998. The commemoration spread and became an occasion to pray for those in Purgatory. During the Reformation Era Protestants and Anglicans dropped the feast on theological grounds. In the late twentieth century, however, the feast–usually renamed the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed–began appearing on Anglican calendars. The difference between All Saints’ Day and All Faithful Departed, in this context, had become one of emphasis–distinguished saints on November 1 and forgotten saints on November 2.
The idea of Purgatory (a Medieval Roman Catholic doctrine with ancient roots) is that of, as I heard a Catholic catechist, “God’s mud room.” The doctrine holds that all those in Purgatory will go to Heaven, just not yet, for they require purification. I am sufficiently Protestant to reject the doctrine of Purgatory, for I believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus constitutes “God’s mud room.” Purgatory is also alien to Eastern Orthodoxy, which also encourages prayers for the dead.
I pray for the dead, too. After all, who knows what takes place between God and the departed?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS
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Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us.
As we renew our faith in your Son, whom you raised from the dead,
strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in his resurrection,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 or Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-9, 13-14 or Psalm 103:8, 10, 13-18
Romans 6:3-9 or 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Matthew 25:31-46 or John 11:17-27
—The Vatican II Sunday Missal (1974), 1041-1048
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O God, the Maker and Redeemer of all believers:
Grant to the faithful departed the unsearchable benefits of the passion of your Son;
that on the day of his appearing they may be manifested as your children;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 or Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 130 or Psalm 116:6-9
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 or 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
John 5:24-27
—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 665
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Adapted from this post:
https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2018/09/14/devotion-for-the-feast-of-all-souls-commemoration-of-all-faithful-departed-november-2/
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Above: All Saints
Image in the Public Domain
THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS (NOVEMBER 1)
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The Episcopal Church has seven Principal Feasts: Easter Day, Ascension Day, the Day of Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, All Saints’ Day, Christmas Day, and the Epiphany.
The Feast of All Saints, with the date of November 1, seems to have originated in Ireland in the 700s, then spread to England, then to Europe proper. November 1 became the date of the feast throughout Western Europe in 835. There had been a competing date (May 13) in Rome starting in 609 or 610. Anglican tradition retained the date of November 1, starting with The Book of Common Prayer (1549). Many North American Lutherans first observed All Saints’ Day with the Common Service Book (1917). The feast was already present in The Lutheran Hymnary (Norwegian-American, 1913). The Lutheran Hymnal (Missouri Synod, et al, 1941) also included the feast. O the less formal front, prayers for All Saints’ Day were present in the U.S. Presbyterian Book of Common Worship (Revised) (1932), the U.S. Methodist Book of Worship for Church and Home (1945), and their successors.
The Feast of All Saints reminds us that we, as Christians, belong to a large family stretching back to the time of Christ. If one follows the Lutheran custom of commemorating certain key figures from the Hebrew Bible, the family faith lineage predates the conception of Jesus of Nazareth.
At Christ Episcopal Church, Valdosta, Georgia, where I was a member from 1993 to 1996, I participated in a lectionary discussion group during the Sunday School hour. Icons decorated the walls of the room in which we met. The teacher of the class called the saints depicted “the family.”
“The family” surrounds us. It is so numerous that it is “a great cloud of witnesses,” to quote Hebrews 12:1. May we who follow Jesus do so consistently, by grace, and eventually join that great cloud.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PETER OF CHELCIC, BOHEMIAN HUSSITE REFORMER; AND GREGORY THE PATRIARCH, FOUNDER OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH
THE FEAST OF GODFREY THRING, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JANE CREWDSON, ENGLISH QUAKER POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF NARAYAN SESHADRI OF JALNI, INDIAN PRESBYTERIAN EVANGELIST AND “APOSTLE TO THE MANGS”
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Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in the mystical body of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord:
Give us grace to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living,
that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit
lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Year A:
Revelation 7:9-17
1 John 3:1-3
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
Matthew 5:1-12
Year B:
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 or Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44
Year B:
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Psalm 149
Ephesians 1:11-23
Luke 6:20-31
—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2006), 663; also Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 59
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Revelation 7:(2-8), 9-17
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12
—Lutheran Service Book (2006), xxiii
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Adapted from this post:
https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2018/09/13/devotion-for-the-feast-of-all-saints-november-1/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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