Archive for the ‘Isaiah 5’ Category
Above: A Vineyard
Image in the Public Domain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:7-14 (LBW) or Psalm 118:19-24 (LW)
Philippians 3:12-21
Matthew 21:33-43
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Our Lord Jesus, you have endured
the doubts and foolish questions of every generation.
Forgive us for trying to be judge over you,
and grant us the confident faith to acknowledge you as Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 28
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, whose almighty power is made known chiefly
in showing mercy and pity,
grant us the fullness of your grace
that we may be partakers of your heavenly treasures;
through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 84
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Bible moves past preaching and immediately starts meddling. Good! It ought to do this.
The vineyard is an image of the people of God in the Bible. In Isaiah 5, the image of vineyard full of wild (literally, noxious) grapes condemns the population doomed to suffer exile and occupation. Psalm 80 likens the people of Israel to a vine and prays for the restoration of Israel in the midst of exile. The Parable of the Tenants condemns fruitless religious authority figures–a timeless warning.
That parable also quotes Psalm 119 when the Matthean text refers to the cornerstone the builders had rejected. The cornerstone is a messianic theme, as in Isaiah 8:14; 28:16; and Zechariah 3:9; 4:7. For other applications of the cornerstone to Jesus, read Acts 4:11; Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:4f; Ephesians 2:20; and 1 Corinthians 3:11.
Years ago, I had a discouraging conversation with a female student at the college where I taught. She told me before class one day that she did not care about what happened to and on the Earth, for her citizenship was in Heaven. I vainly attempted to persuade her to care. Her attitude contradicted the Law of Moses, the witness of the Hebrew prophets, the teachings of Jesus, and the epistles–Judaism and Christianity, in other words.
The Golden Rule requires us–collectively and individually–to care for and about each other and the planet. Judaism and Christianity teach that people are stewards–not owners–of the planet. (God is the owner.) The state of ecology indicates that we are terrible stewards, overall. The lack of mutuality during the COVID-19 pandemic proves that many people do not give a damn about others and the common good.
God remains God. God still cares. God cannot exist without caring. That should comfort many people and terrify many others. Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 18, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ARTEMISIA BOWDEN, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EDUCATOR AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF ERDMANN NEUMEISTER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS JOHN MCCONNELL, U.S. METHODIST BISHOP AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF JONATHAN FRIEDRICH BAHNMAIER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF PETTER DASS, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Ahriman (from Zoroastrianism)
Image in the Public Domain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
READING THIRD ISAIAH, PART II
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 24:1-27:13
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Vineyard
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
READING FIRST ISAIAH, PART V
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 5:1-30
Isaiah 9:7-20 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox)
Isaiah 9:8-21 (Anglican and Protestant)
Isaiah 10:1-4
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The vineyard, an erotic image in Song of Songs 1:6 and 8:12, was more frequently a metaphor for the people of God in the Hebrew Bible. Robert Alter’s translation of the beginning of Isaiah 5:1 in The Hebrew Bible (2019) is close to the standard rendering in English:
Let me sing of My beloved
the song of my lover for his vineyard.
The lover is God, and the vineyard is the people of Israel. The speaker may be a friend of the bridegroom. Brevard S. Childs, in Isaiah (2001), tells us:
At the outset, the song is not a love song, as often rendered (e.g., RSV), but a song of a beloved one concerning his vineyard that is sung by another.
–45
The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) translates the beginning of Isaiah 5:1 as:
Now let me sing of my friend,
my beloved’s song about his vineyard.
I checked Isaiah 5:1 in five French-language translations, too. The germane terms are mon ami “my friend” and mon bien-aimé (“my beloved”).
The beginning of the translation in the revised Louis Segond translation (1910) is:
Je chanterai à mon bien-aimé
Le cantique de mon bien-aimé sur la vigne.
The beginning of the translation in the Nouvelle Version Segond Revisée (1976) is:
Or donc, je chanterai à mon ami
Le chant de mon bien-aimé sur sa vigne.
The beginning of the translation in La Bible en Français Courant (1997) is:
Laissez-moi chanter quelques couplets au nom de mon ami; c’est la chanson de mon ami et da sa vigne.
The beginning of the translation in La Bible de Jérusalem (2000) is:
Que je chante à mon bien-aimé
le chant de mon ami pour sa vigne.
The beginning of the translation in La Bible du Semeur (2015) is:
Je veux chanter pour mon ami
la chanson de mon bien-aimé au sujet de sa vigne.
The germane note in The Catholic Study Bible, Third Edition (2016), suggests that the speaker in Isaiah 5:1-2 may be a relative, not a lover, hence the language of friendship in The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) and certain French translations. The note from R. B. Y. Scott, in The Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 5 (1956), agrees:
In accordance with the Oriental fondness for grandiloquent language, the words could be used with the weakened sense of “friend”….It is almost inconceivable that Isaiah, of all people, would use an erotic term for Gods even in a parable; moreover, by no stretch of the imagination can the song be called a long song. It is probably best to take [yadid] and [dod] as synonyms, and to translate: “Now let me sing on behalf of my friend, my friend’s song about his vineyard.”
–196-197
In verse 3, the speaker changes; God begins to speak.
The bottom line in Isaiah 5:1-7 is that the people of Judah have failed to meet divine expectations; they have neglected the covenant. They have failed to maintain a society in which divine righteousness and justice defined values and norms. God, we read, will abandon the vineyard to its fate.
Isaiah 5:8f continues the theme of social injustice. Sins include grabbing land, being indifferent, and drinking to excess. The ruling class of Judah, we read, has been indifferent to the covenant. Therefore, exile awaits the ruling class, and further misery awaits the masses.
Isaiah 5:25-30 may belong after Isaiah 9:7-20/9:8-21 (depending on versification), about judgment on the (northern) Kingdom of Israel. Isaiah 5:25-30 does flow naturally from Isaiah 9:7-20/9:8-21 (depending on versification).
Another editorial oddity is that Isaiah 10:1-4 fits with and may have originally been united with Isaiah 5:8-24.
I, as a history buff, find details of fifth-century B.C.E. editing of sacred texts interesting. I acknowledge them readily. These do not distract me (for long) from my main purpose in this series of weblog posts: to understand and apply the messages of the Hebrew prophets, as those messages are relevant today. These messages are repetitive. After blogging my way through the Books of Hosea, Amos, and Micah already, I recognize the same themes repeating: The covenant and the Law of Moses require societal, institutionalized justice. The societal reality in which any given prophet speaks out is inconsistent with that vision, which includes economic justice and excludes idolatry. Unjust societies will reap what they have sown. Even Gentiles, not subject to the covenant and the Law of Moses, must obey certain standards, or else.
The message repeats on a playback loop because it must. Many people continue to be indifferent to the message. Other people are oblivious to it. Just check the news, if you dare, O reader, for current evidence.
What does God have to do to get attention?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 30, 2021 COMMON ERA
TRINITY SUNDAY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOAN OF ARC, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY AND MARTYR, 1430
THE FEAST OF APOLO KIVEBULAYA, APOSTLE TO THE PYGMIES
THE FEAST OF JOACHIM NEANDER, GERMAN REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOSEPHINE BUTLER, ENGLISH FEMINIST AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LUKE KIRBY, THOMAS COTTAM, WILLIAM FILBY, AND LAURENCE RICHARDSON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS, 1582
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Vineyard
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For the Fourth Sunday after Easter, Year 2
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will;
grant unto thy people that they may love what thou commandest,
and desire what thou dost promise; that, among the manifold changes of this world,
our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 172
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalms 126 and 127
2 Timothy 2:8-13
John 11:30-54
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The raising of Lazarus was the last straw in the Gospel of John. After that, the really serious plotting of the execution of Jesus, as a scapegoat, began.
Scapegoating is one example of injustice. Executing or helping to execute an innocent person is another example of iniquity.
And [God] hoped for justice,
But behold, injustice;
For equity,
But behold, iniquity!
–Isaiah 5:7b, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
That is more than an indictment of the Kingdom of Judah at the time of First Isaiah. No, Isaiah 5:7b is also a condemnation of all societies, institutions, governments, et cetera, that perpetrate injustice today. It is also an indictment of all people who enable them actively or passively.
That should bother all of us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 11, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODOSIUS THE CENOBIARCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF CHARLES WILLIAM EVEREST, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MIEP GIES, RIGHTEOUS GENTILE
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAULINUS II OF AQUILEIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCH OF AQUILEIA
THE FEAST OF RICHARD FREDERICK LITTLEDALE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Calling of St. Matthew, by Vittore Carpaccio
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For the Third Sunday Before Lent, Year 1
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O Lord, we beseech thee favorably to hear the prayers of thy people;
that we, who are justly punished for our offenses,
may be mercifully delivered by thy goodness, for the glory of thy Name;
though Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit,
ever one God, world without end. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 136
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 5:1-17
Psalm 86:1, 3-13, 16, 17
1 Timothy 6:11-19
Mark 2:1-17
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts
Is the House of Israel,
And the seedlings he lovingly tended
Are the men of Judah.
And he hoped for justice,
But behold, injustice!
For equity,
But behold, iniquity!
–Isaiah 5:7, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Instruct those who are rich in this world’s goods not to be proud,, and to fix their hopes not on so uncertain a thing as money, but on God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
–1 Timothy 6:17, The Revised English Bible (1989)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Trust in God. Obey commandments. Do not love that which is temporary more than one should. Take care of each other. Do not think more highly of oneself than one should. These are timeless, related principles present in today’s readings. These principles apply to us as individuals and as a community. God calls us to be covenant community, a covenant people. When we fail, we must face negative consequences.
Standing at a temporal distance and judging ancient sinners and exploitative societies is easy. But how different are we, both individually and collectively, from the wicked society of Isaiah 5, the idolatrous wealthy of 1 Timothy 6, and the self-righteous scoffers of Mark 2? Do we really want to learn Yahweh’s ways and be compassionate and merciful? How compassionate and merciful are we toward disreputable members of society? If we cannot recognize members of society? If we cannot recognize their potential in God and their inherent human dignity, we have a spiritual problem.
I write these words to myself as much as others, my society, and other societies. I have many faults, but the delusion of spiritual perfection is not one of them.
May God have mercy on us and guide us, individually and collectively, in justice and equity.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 20, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SEBASTIAN CASTELLIO, PROPHET OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, HYMN WRITER AND ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN
THE FEAST OF ELLEN GATES STARR, U.S. EPISCOPALIAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA JOSEFA SANCHO DE GUERRA, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SERVANTS OF JESUS
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL RODIGAST, GERMAN LUTHERAN ACADEMIC AND HYMN WRITER
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Jacob’s Dream, by William Blake
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Genesis 28:10-19 or Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 13
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
Matthew 8:18-34
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 13 point in one theological direction. Genesis 28:10-19 points in another direction. The note of judgment for injustice and iniquity sounds in Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 13, but God shows mercy to the deceitful Jacob, on the run from Esau, his vengeful brother, whom he had cheated more than once, in Genesis 28:10-19. Via the dream of Jacob’s Ladder (more of a stairway or a ramp, actually), God confirms that Jacob is the carrier of the patriarchal promise. Sometimes the wisdom of God seems foolish.
The call of God on our lives is to follow without making excuses. The call of God on our lies is to follow even when doing so is inconvenient–or more. The call of God on our lives is to function as vehicles of grace, to leave others better than they were when first our paths crossed theirs, the owners of the herd of swine in Matthew 8:23-24 not withstanding.
That which we do to others, we do to ourselves; this is a profound statement. If one takes it seriously, one will be less likely to act in selfish ways that benefit me (at the expense of others) in the short term. If one takes this truth seriously, one will be less likely to fail to recognize problems of others, as being problems that God will also affect one. If we internalize this truth, we will be less likely to make excuses and shirk our responsibilities.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 24, 2018 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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/07/24/devotion-for-proper-10-year-a-humes/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Archery Target
Image Source = Alberto Barbati
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Deuteronomy 32:28-47 or Isaiah 5:18-30
Psalm 74
Matthew 12:22-37 or Luke 11:14-23
1 John 3:8-15 (16-24); 4:1-6
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ah,
Those who call evil good
And evil good;
Who present darkness as light
And light as darkness;
Who present bitter as sweet
And sweet as bitter!
Ah,
Those who are so wise–
In their own opinion;
So clever–
In their own judgment!
–Isaiah 5:20-21; TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
But the Pharisees on hearing this remark said, “This man is only expelling devils because he is in league with Beelzebub, the prince of devils.”
–Matthew 12:24, J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English–Revised Edition (1972)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Missing the point is a recurring theme in the assigned readings for Proper 5. Psalm 74, an exilic text, asks why the Babylonian Exile has occurred. Deuteronomy 32 and Isaiah 5 answer the question; faithlessness, evident in idolatry and rampant in institutionalized social injustice is the cause. Certain opponents on Jesus accuse him of being in league with Satan when he casts out demons (in the Hellenistic world view). However we moderns classify whatever Jesus did in exorcisms, that is not a point on which one should fixate while pondering the texts from the Gospels.
How often do we fail to recognize good for what is evil for what it is because of any number of reasons, including defensiveness and cultural conditioning? How often do we become too lax or too stringent in defining sin? I recall a single-cell cartoon. A man is standing before St. Simon Peter at the Pearly Gates. The apostle tells him,
No, that is not a sin either. You must have worried yourself to death.
Falling into legalism and condemning someone for playing bridge or for having an occasional drink without even becoming tipsy is at least as bad as failing to recognize actual sins.
1 John 3:18-20 provides guidance:
Children, love must not be a matter of theory or talk; it must be true love which shows itself in action. This is how we shall know if we belong to the realm of truth, and reassure ourselves in his sight where conscience condemns us; for God is greater than our conscience and knows all.
—The Revised English Bible (1989)
Love does not object when Jesus cures someone on the Sabbath or any other day. (Consult Matthew 12:1-14) for the Sabbath reference.) Love does not seek to deny anyone justice, as in Isaiah 5:23. Love does not compel one to seek one’s own benefit at the expense of others. Love is not, of course, a flawless insurance policy against missing the point, but it is a good start.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 16, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTIETH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF GUSTAF AULEN, SWEDISH LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT FILIP SIPHONG ONPHITHAKT, ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR IN THAILAND
THE FEAST OF MAUDE DOMINICA PETRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MODERNIST THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF RALPH ADAMS CRAM AND RICHARD UPJOHN, ARCHITECTS; AND JOHN LAFARGE, SR., PAINTER AND STAINED GLASS MAKER
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/devotion-for-proper-5-year-d/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
©Photo. R.M.N. / R.-G. Ojda
Above: The Exorcism
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Deuteronomy 31:30-32:27 or Isaiah 5:8-17
Psalm 142
Matthew 17:9-20 or Mark 9:9-29 or Luke 9:18-27 (28-36) 37-45
Philippians 2:14-30
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A typically Jewish way of speaking and writing about God is to recall what God has done. After all, God is like what God has done. Furthermore, we are like what we have done, although we are far more than the worst deeds we have committed. The relevant issue is the pattern of what we have done and of what we are doing. Repentance is possible, after all, and the past is not necessarily accurate in predicting the future.
Consider with me, O reader, the assigned readings for this Sunday. The two options for the First Reading proclaim divine judgment upon the faithless, for whom God has done much. The faithless should know better. Perhaps they do know better, but they are not acting as if they do. The lection from Isaiah 5 follows the famous passage likening rebellious Israel to a well-tended vineyard that yields wild grapes. God will judge that vineyard, we read. Likewise, we read of faithless Israel in Deuteronomy. If Richard Elliott Friedman is correct, lurking in the background of the text is a condemnation of polytheism. God is, after all, insistent upon monotheism in the Hebrew Bible. If Dr. Friedman is correct, faithlessness to YHWH entails turning to supposedly subordinate deities, members of the divine council–a concept Hebrew prophets opposed vigorously.
In contrast to those lections we read Psalm 142, the lament of a dying man whom other mortals have abandoned. This man, contemplating the imminent unknown, turns to God alone. One may assume safely that God is faithful to those who demonstrate fidelity.
The passage from Philippians belongs to a section of that epistle in which one finds advice regarding how to live faithfully in community. People are to think about each other and model their lives after Jesus, whose humility and selflessness is certainly challenging to emulate. In this context the customary verses about people with polysyllabic names take on more importance than they might otherwise; these verses model the attitudes and behaviors the preceding verses extol. People are like what they do.
The three options for the Gospel reading are parallel versions of the same story, set immediately after the Transfiguration of Jesus. One might fixate on the typically Hellenistic diagnosis of epilepsy as demonic possession, but to do so would be to miss the point. In the narrative the Apostles have just learned of Christ’s true identity in all of its glory, yet they have not grasped this revelation, and were therefore ineffective. The lesson for we who read these stories thousands of years later is to ponder whether we grasp who Jesus is and whether we are as effective as we can be in our discipleship.
Our challenge in this regard is to render proper thanksgiving to God in our lives. We can do this only be grace, of course, but our desire to pursue this course of action is also essential. Obstacles include laziness, fear, selfishness, cultural conditioning, the pressure to conform, and simple obliviousness. If we are to grow into our full spiritual stature, however, we must seek to follow and honor God and to trust in divine grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 16, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTIETH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF GUSTAF AULEN, SWEDISH LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT FILIP SIPHONG ONPHITHAKT, ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR IN THAILAND
THE FEAST OF MAUDE DOMINICA PETRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MODERNIST THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF RALPH ADAMS CRAM AND RICHARD UPJOHN, ARCHITECTS; AND JOHN LAFARGE, SR., PAINTER AND STAINED GLASS MAKER
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/devotion-for-proper-4-year-d/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Widow’s Offering
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
God among us, we gather in the name of your Son
to learn love for one another. Keep our feet from evil paths.
Turn our minds to your wisdom and our hearts to the grace
revealed in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 48
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 5:8-23
Psalm 113
Mark 12:41-44
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Who is like the LORD our God, who sits enthroned on high,
but stoops to behold the heavens and the earth?
He takes up the weak out of the dust and lifts up the poor from the ashes.
He sets them with the princes, with the princes of his people.
–Psalm 113:5-7, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Exodus 23:6-8 commands:
You shall not subvert the rights of your needy in their disputes. Keep far from a false charge; do not bring death on those who are innocent and in the right, for I will not acquit the wrongdoer. Do not take bribes, for bribes blind the clearsighted and upset the pleas of those who are in the right.
–TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
That passage functions as background for the lection from Isaiah 5 and the lesson from Mark 12. In both cases the poor suffer from institutional injustice. The explanation of Isaiah 5:8-23 is straight-forward and inside the text. In the case of Mark 12:41-44, however, one needs to read verses 38-40 also:
In his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.
—The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
In that immediate textual context we read of the widow and her two coins. The scriptures record words yet not tone of voice, so I have to rely on context to interpret the passage. My reading of the pericope is that Jesus, without condemning the widow, did not praise her either. No, I think, he spoke mournfully, condemning corrupt and proud scribes and the broader corruption present at the Temple.
People create, maintain, and influence societies, cultures, and institutions, which, in turn, influence them. May we function as agents of God’s salt and light in the world, leaving it better than we found it, especially for the poor and other vulnerable people.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 19, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW BOBOLA, JESUIT MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT DUNSTAN OF CANTERBURY, ABBOT OF GLASTONBURY AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT IVO OF KERMARTIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND ADVOCATE OF THE POOR
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/05/19/devotion-for-saturday-before-proper-20-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Men in Boat (1860), by Alfred R. Waud (1828-1891)
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-20362
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
O God of peace, you brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus Christ, the shepherd of the sheep.
By the blood of your eternal covenant, make us complete
in everything good that we may do your will,
and work among us all that is well-pleasing in your sight,
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 33
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 45:1-9
Psalm 100
Acts 9:32-35
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Acknowledge that the LORD is God;
He made us and we are His,
His people, the flock He tends.
–Psalm 100:3, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Acknowledging that the LORD is God entails, among other things, living accordingly. Psalm 14:1a and 53:2a (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, 1985) tell us that
The benighted man thinks,
“God does not care.”
The standard English-language translation from the Hebrew text is close to the rendering in The Revised English Bible (1989):
The impious fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
The difference in translation is mostly in the second half of that passage. The issue in Psalms 14 and 53 is practical atheism, not the denial of the existence of God. Belief in God, in the Biblical sense, is trust in God, not mere affirmation of divine existence. Thus the benighted man/impious fool operates under the mistaken idea that God does not care. Actually, God cares deeply, especially about how we mortals treat each other.
Land was a patrimony and therefore a matter of great importance in Biblical times. A member of one generation held it in trust for heirs. Yet monarchs evicted legitimate landowners and seized land some times. This is the matter in Ezekiel 45:8b-9 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, 1985):
My princes shall no more defraud My people, but shall leave the rest of the land to the several tribes of the House of Israel.
Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough, princes of Israel! Make an end of lawlessness and rapine, and do what is right and just! Put an end to your evictions of My people–declares the Lord GOD.
References to such evictions occur in 1 Kings 21:1-16; Isaiah 5:8; and Micah 2:2.
The timeless message here is that nobody has any right to improve his or her financial position by victimizing others, especially the powerless and the less powerful. Climbing the ladder of success by kicking others off it is immoral.
St. Simon Peter’s healing of Aeneas, a man bedridden with paralysis for eight years, built up Aeneas, restoring him to health and community.
Whatever we do to each other is what we do to ourselves. If we keep others”in their place,” seemingly to improve our circumstances, we really hurt ourselves, for we doom ourselves to monitor others instead of pursuing proper opportunities. May we build each other up in the name of Jesus Christ, enabling each other to become the people we can become in God, for the glory of God and the benefit of the whole. To use a cliché, we are all in the same boat.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 31, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF JOHN WYCLIFFE, BIBLE TRANSLATOR
NEW YEAR’S EVE
THE FEAST OF PHILIPP HEINRICH MOLTHER, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, BISHOP, COMPOSER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF ROSSITER WORTHINGTON RAYMOND, U.S. NOVELIST, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND MINING ENGINEER
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/devotion-for-tuesday-after-the-fourth-sunday-of-easter-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.