Archive for the ‘Isaiah 27’ 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: Christ Heals a Man Paralyzed by the Gout, by Bernhard Rode
Image in the Public Domain
Building Communities of Shalom
JANUARY 15, 2017
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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 26:7-27:1
Psalm 109
Matthew 8:1-4; 9:1-8 or Luke 5:12-26
Hebrews 10:1-4 (10-14) 26-39
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May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle.
–Psalm 109:29, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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Justice, according to Psalm 109 and Isaiah 26, is for God to deliver the faithful and to smite the evildoers. I understand the sentiment well, just as I also grasp the reality that prolonged anger can easily become a spiritual toxin. In small doses and for brief periods of time it might help one make the proper decisions, but its toxicity becomes apparent quickly. One does better to pray for one’s persecutors, that they may repent, and leave the rest to God. Not all will repent, unfortunately, and those who persist in perfidy will bring their fates upon themselves.
Lo, I have it all put away,
Sealed up in My storehouses,
To be My vengeance and recompense,
At the time that their foot falters.
Yea, their day of disaster is near,
And destiny rushes upon them.
For the LORD will vindicate His people
And take revenge for His servants,
When He sees that their might is gone,
And neither bond nor free is left….
O nations, acclaim His people!
For He’ll avenge the blood of His servants,
Wreak vengeance on His foes,
And cleanse the land of His people.
–Deuteronomy 32:34-36, 43, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
In the Lukan account of the healing of the paralyzed man he glorifies God immediately, and witnesses become filled with amazement because of the miracle. It is easy to maintain faith in God during good times, but a different matter during difficult times. That is part of the reason for the existence of the Letter to the Hebrews, with its encouragement of perseverance and warning against committing apostasy, of falling away from God.
I have learned via living that faith in God is essential to getting through dark chapters in life as well as possible. I have also learned that the light of God seems to burn brightest in the darkness and that grace seems most evident during times of distress. The faithful do not walk exclusively in paths of pleasantness. Neither do they walk alone. They trusting in God, can focus on the positive and seek to build communities of shalom.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 COMMON ERA
PROPER 18: THE SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF ALL CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKERS AND PEACE ACTIVISTS
THE FEAST OF PAUL JONES, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF UTAH AND PEACE ACTIVIST; AND HIS COLLEAGUE, JOHN NEVIN SAYRE, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND PEACE ACTIVIST
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/devotion-for-the-second-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-d/
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Above: Christ Pantocrator Moody
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
All-powerful God, in Jesus Christ you turned death into life and defeat into victory.
Increase our faith and trust in him,
that we may triumph over all evil in the strength
of the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 39
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 26:16-27:1
Psalm 74
Luke 11:14-28
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Bestir Yourself because of the perpetual tumult,
all the outrages of the enemy in the sanctuary.
–Psalm 74:3, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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O LORD: In their distress they sought You;
Your chastisement reduced them
To anguished whispered prayer.
–Isaiah 26:16, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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But [Jesus] said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
–Luke 11:28, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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The Bible, being of human authorship and containing texts reflecting changing perspectives over a long period of time, contradicts itself on points small, medium, and large. This fact does not trouble me, for (A) I am not a biblical literalist, and (B) I worship God, not the Bible. I do detect much biblical consistency, however. Again and again biblical texts tell us, for example, to obey the commandments of God and agree that these include social and economic justice. Texts tell us consistently of divine preference for the poor and disapproval of the exploitation of people. Pure doctrine alone is insufficient, for justice matters to God.
The people in Isaiah 26 had committed idolatry, as had our Lord and Savior’s accusers in Luke 11. The idols in Luke 11 were ideas about God and how God works. Jesus exposed these ideas as false, but ideologies clung to their doctrines and attempted to explain away the evidence they saw. The enemies in the sanctuary were among the professional religious people.
Lest we, you and I, O reader, congratulate ourselves on our fidelity to God (unlike those people of Judah in Isaiah 26 and like those religious officials in Luke 11), may we avoid the sin of self-righteousness. God remains active and continues to refuse to fit into the God-shaped boxes we call theology. Do we see God’s actions then call them evil? We might. Have we confused our opinions for God’s facts? Certainly, at least part of the time. May we be and remain open to spiritual correction and recognize good when we see it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 18, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LEONIDES OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR; ORIGEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN; DEMETRIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND ALEXANDER OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANSELM II OF LUCCA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL OF CYPRUS, EASTERN ORTHODOX MARTYR
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2015/03/18/devotion-for-wednesday-after-proper-5-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: In Memory of Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Who Gave His Life for Another Human Being Near Selma, Alabama, in 1965
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
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The Collect:
Beloved God, from you come all things that are good.
Lead us by the inspiration of your Spirit to know those things that are right,
and by your merciful guidance, help us to do them,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 49
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 19:10-14 (Monday)
Isaiah 27:1-6 (Tuesday)
Psalm 144 (Both Days)
1 Peter 2:4-10 (Monday)
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (Tuesday)
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May there be no breaching of the walls, no going into exile,
no wailing in the public squares.
Happy are the people of whom this is so!
happy are the people whose God is the LORD!
–Psalm 144:15-16, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The Old Testament readings use the imagery of vineyards to describe the people of God. In Ezekiel 19 this is the meaning of that metaphor, with the Kingdom of Judah as a vine therein and the ill-fated King Zedekiah as a stem. Exile came, of course. And we read in Isaiah 27 that the future vineyard will be a glorious and Godly one, that redemption will come. Yet the consequences of sin will stay play out.
Redemption via Christ Jesus is the topic in the readings from 1 Peter 2 and 2 Corinthians 5. Christ reconciles us to God. Jesus is the innocent Lamb of God, the cornerstone of faith for Christians and a stumbling block for others. Our spiritual tasks as the redeemed include functioning as agents of divine reconciliation. Grace is free, but not cheap. As I consider the honor roll of reconcilers in the name of Jesus I notice the names of many martyrs and other persecuted people.Jesus is there, of course, as is St. Paul the Apostle. In recent decades martyred reconcilers have included Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador (died in 1980) and Jonathan Myrick Daniels (died in 1965) and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (died in 1968), of the United States. Others, such asNelson Mandela (died in 2013) spent long terms in prison then did much to heal the wounds of their societies.
Judgment and mercy coexist in the Bible. The first comes then the second follows; that is a recurring pattern in the Old and New Testaments. Reconciling, not seeking revenge, is the way to break the cycle of violence and to start the cycle of love and peace. Relinquishing our bloodlusts can prove difficult, but the price of not doing so is both avoidable and terrible.
May we reconcile with God and, as much as possible, with each other. The latter will prove impossible sometimes, due to conditions such as the death, inability, or unwillingness of the other party or parties. In such cases at least one person can surrender the grudge; that is progress, at least. And grace enables not only that but reconciliation in other cases.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 25, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MICHAEL FARADAY, SCIENTIST
THE FEAST OF BAYARD RUSTIN, WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
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Adapted from This Post:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/devotion-for-monday-and-tuesday-after-proper-22-year-a-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: A U-Turn
Image Source = Smurrayinchester
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U-turn.svg)
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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 hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 26:20-27:13
Psalm 122 (Morning)
Psalms 40 and 67 (Evening)
1 John 4:1-21
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Some Related Posts:
1 John 4:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/second-day-of-epiphany/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/third-day-of-epiphany/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/fourth-day-of-epiphany/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/fifth-day-of-epiphany/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/twenty-ninth-day-of-easter-fifth-sunday-of-easter-year-b/
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Assuredly, by this alone
Shall Jacob’s sin be purged away;
This is the only price
For removing his guilt:
That he make all the altar-stones
Like shattered blocks of chalk–
With no sacred post left standing,
Nor any incense altar.
–Isaiah 27:9, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
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Love comes to its perfection in us
when we can face the Day of Judgement fearlessly,
because even in this world
we have become as he is.
–1 John 4:17, The New Jerusalem Bible
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Someday, a long time in the future, on the Day of Judgment, Isaiah wrote, the meaning of divine punishment of the chosen people would become clear. Those who repented–turned around and changed their minds–would not face destruction. The Day of Judgment figures prominently in 1 Peter 4.
God is love,
we read in verse 8. God loved us first, expiating our sins, and we ought to love one another. Loving each other indicates that we are of God, and so we will face the Day of Judgment without fear if we love God and each other.
Too much of practical Christianity focuses on hellfire and damnation. Yes, judgment is real, but so are love, grace, and forgiveness. If one’s goal is to encourage others to have a healthy relationship with God via Jesus, one ought to focus on the positive. A healthy relationship is one based on love and respect, not terror. Trying to draw people to God by scaring the Hell (literally) out of them is far from the best way to build and encourage healthy faith.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 11, 2011 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF OCTAVIUS HADFIELD, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF WELLINGTON
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http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/devotion-for-december-10-lcms-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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