Archive for the ‘Isaiah 62’ Category
Above: Annunciation to the Shepherds, by Rembrandt van Rijn
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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First Service (Christmas Eve)
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-20
Second Service (Christmas Dawn)
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 97 (LBW) or Psalm 2 (LW)
Hebrews 1:1-9
John 1:1-14
Third Service (Christmas Day)
Isaiah 62:10-12
Psalm 98
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2:1-20
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Almighty God, you made this holy night shine with the brightness of the true Light.
Grant that here on earth we may walk in the light of Jesus’ presence
and in the last day wake to the brightness of his glory;
through your only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 14
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Almighty God, you have made yourself known in your Son, Jesus, redeemer of the world.
We pray that his birth as a human child will set us free from the old slavery of our sin;
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), 14
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O God, as you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ,
grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer,
may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our judge;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 16
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The Christian observance of Christmas began in the West, in the 300s. At Rome, by 336, December 25 had become the beginning of the church year. Pope St. Gregory I “the Great” (d. 604) wrote of three Christmas Masses–at St. Mary Major, at midnight; at St. Anastasia’s Church, at dawn; and at St. Peter’s, during the day.
Luke 2:1-20 is not historical. I, as a student of history, cannot refute the evidence for this conclusion. However, I embrace the prose poetry of Luke 2:1-20, for it speaks of a great truth: Jesus, not the Emperor Augustus, was the Son of God and the savior of the world, regardless of what the Roman government and coinage claimed.
I have the sources and background to parce all the assigned readings. Yet I choose not to do so in this post. Instead, O reader, I invite you to frolic in divine audacity, evident in the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity as a baby (however that worked). I invite you, O reader, to frolic in divine audacity, which continues to influence lives and societies for the better. I also invite you, O reader, to frolic in the mystery of divine love, to feel comfortable leaving the mystery mysterious, and to respond favorably to God daily, in gratitude.
Merry Christmas!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 9, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY: THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF JULIA CHESTER EMERY, UPHOLDER OF MISSIONS
THE FEAST OF EMILY GREENE BALCH, U.S. QUAKER SOCIOLOGIST, ECONOMIST, AND PEACE ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF GENE M. TUCKER, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF JOHANN JOZEF IGNAZ VON DÖLLINGER, DISSDENT AND EXCOMMUNICATED GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, THEOLOGIAN, AND HISTORIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT PHILIP II OF MOSCOW, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA, AND MARTYR, 1569
THE FEAST OF THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, U.S. DISCIPLES OF CHRIST EVANGELIST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Tiges (Isaiah 61:11)
Image in the Public Domain
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READING THIRD ISAIAH, PART IV
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Isaiah 60:1-62:12
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Isaiah 60-62 is a lengthy poem of encouragement to Jerusalem (Zion), personified as a bereaved woman. Jewish exiles are returning to Jerusalem, we read.
Certain themes are notable, some for their presence and others for their absence:
- There is no Davidic monarch in Third Isaiah. In this respect, Third Isaiah disagrees with Haggai, First Zechariah, and First Isaiah.
- In the future, according to Isaiah 60:1-62:12, the Jewish nation will have royal and priestly status, and God will rule directly.
- A must society embodies the divine covenant and receives God’s blessing.
- Judah, in Isaiah 60:1-22, is superior to its neighbors. The theme of reversal of fortune exists here. So do national concerns, overriding universalism of any variety. We read of Gentiles transporting Jewish exiles to Judah, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and bringing silver and gold. This image contrasts with First Isaiah (2:1-4), in which Gentiles stream to Jerusalem to learn God’s ways.
- Isaiah 61:1-9 applies the jubilee year (Leviticus 25:10), by which farmers forced into indentured servitude could regain their land, to the nation. The time to start over had come.
- The predicted splendor of Jerusalem contrasted with the actual state of the city prior to 445 B.C.E. and the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 7-10; Nehemiah 1-13; 1 Esdras 8:1-9:55). Isaiah 60:1-62:12 offered hope for a better future.
Hope is essential. These beautiful three chapters, replete with familiar passages, come from a particular context. If one takes these chapters and passages out of context, one misses much of their meaning. The central message is timeless, not bound by context, though. That meaning is that God is faithful. God has promised to act. God will act. Keep the faith.
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: Zechariah
Image in the Public Domain
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READING HAGGAI-FIRST ZECHARIAH, PART VIII
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Zechariah 2:1-13 (Anglican and Protestant)
Zechariah 2:5-17 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox)
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The contents of Zechariah 1:7-6:15 date to early February 519 B.C.E. (1:7).
The third vision (2:1-5/2:5-9, depending on versification) is of the man with a measuring line. This vision predicts a time when Jerusalem will be boundless, with the Divine Presence/Glory as its fiery wall. This vision of First Zechariah contradicts Ezekiel 45:1-6 and 48:15-20, in which the ideal, future Jerusalem has a measurable length and width. In Isaiah 60-62, another vision of the ideal, future Jerusalem, the city has tone walls.
Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,
I have set watchmen,
Who shall never be silent
By day or by night.
–Isaiah 62:6a, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
If I were a Biblical literalist, these discrepancies would bother me. But I am not, and they do not.
Either way, God is the defense of Jerusalem, we read.
The oracle in 2:6-13/2:10-17 (depending on versification) refers to
the land of the north
–Babylonia (Joel 2:20; Jeremiah 6:22; Jeremiah 10:22), then part of the Persian Empire. One may recall that:
- Jewish exiles returned to their ancestral homeland in waves, and
- Not all Jewish exiles chose to return.
God is active in 2:13/2:17 (depending on versification). We read of a world order seemingly at peace in the wake of the Persian conquest of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. Yet some forms of stability, although perhaps long-term, are counterfeit at worst and temporary at best. Even the relatively benign empires fall short of divine high standards.
The future vision of First Zechariah is inclusive:
Many nations will give their allegiance to the LORD on that day and become his people, and he will dwell in your midst.
–Zechariah 2:11, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Zechariah 2:11/2:15 (depending on versification) anticipates Third Isaiah’s liberal attitude:
The foreigner who has given his allegiance to the LORD must not say,
“The LORD will exclude me from his people.”
–Isaiah 56:3a, The Revised English Bible (1989)
These inclusive attitudes contradict Ezekiel 44, which excludes foreigners from the predicted Second Temple.
I, as a Gentile, prefer inclusion in God’s kingdom.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 13, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CLIFFORD BAX, POET, PLAYWRIGHT, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALEXANDER SCHMORELL, RUSSIAN-GERMAN ORTHODOX ANTI-NAZI ACTIVIST AND MARTYR, 1943
THE FEAST OF SAINT EUGENIUS OF CARTHAGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF JOHANNES RENATUS VERBEEK, MORAVIAN MINISTER AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF PETER RICKSECKER, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, MUSICIAN, MUSIC EDUCATOR, AND COMPOSER; HIS TEACHER, JOHANN CHRISTIAN BECHLER, MORAVIAN MINISTER, MUSICIAN, MUSIC EDUCATOR, AND COMPOSER; AND HIS SON, JULIUS THEODORE BECHLER, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, MUSICIAN, EDUCATOR, AND COMPOSER
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Above: Icon of Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART X
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Ezekiel 17:1-24
Ezekiel 19:1-14
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For this post, O reader, we focus on two allegories.
Ezekiel 17 is the allegory of the eagles, the vine, and the cedar. For background, read 2 Kings 24-25; Jeremiah 21:14; Jeremiah 22:1-8, 20-30; Jeremiah 27-29; Jeremiah 34; Jeremiah 52; 2 Chronicles 36; 1 Esdras 1:43-58;
The allegory, by definition, uses symbols. The allegory tells the story of King Jehoiachin of Judah allying with Egypt against the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire, losing, and going into exile in 597 B.C.E. The allegory continues to describe King Zedekiah‘s failed rebellion, and his fate. The code of the allegory is as follows:
- The great eagle = King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire (r. 605-562 B.C.E.) (v. 3).
- Lebanon = Jerusalem (v. 3).
- The topmost branch = Jehoiachin (r. 597 B.C.E.) (v. 3).
- The land of merchants = Babylon (v. 4).
- The native seed = Zedekiah (r. 597-586 B.C.E.) (v. 5).
- Another great eagle = Pharoah Psammetichus II (r. 595-589 B.C.E.) (v. 7).
- The vine = the Davidic Dynastry (vs. 7-8).
Ezekiel 17:18f and 2 Chronicles 36:13 argue that Zedekiah had violated his oath of vassalage by rebelling against King Nebuchadnezzar II, and thereby sinned against God. These texts also argue that Zedekiah earned his punishment. This position is consistent with the importance of oaths in the Bible (Genesis 24:7; Genesis 26:3, 28-31; Genesis 50:24; Exodus 13:5, 11; Exodus 20:7; Exodus 33:1; Leviticus 5:1-4; Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 5:17; Numbers 14:16, 30; Numbers 32:11; Deuteronomy 1:8, 35; Deuteronomy 6:10; Judges 11:11-40; 1 Kings 8:31-32; 1 Chronicles 12:19; 2 Chronicles 6:22-23; Psalm 16:4; Isaiah 62:8; Isaiah 144:8; Hosea 4:15; Amos 8:14; Matthew 5:36; et cetera).et cetera
Ezekiel 17 concludes on a note of future restoration (vs. 22-24). One Jewish interpretation of the final three verses holds that the construction of the Second Temple, under the supervision of Zerubbabel, of the House of David, fulfilled this prophecy (Haggai 2:20-23). That interpretation does not convince me. The prophecy concerns the restoration of the Jewish nation. My sense of the past tells me that one may not feasibly apply this prophecy to the events following 142 B.C.E. and 1948 B.C.E., given the absence of the Davidic Dynasty in Hasmonean Judea and modern Israel.
The emphasis on divine power and human weakness defines the end of Chapter 17.
Ezekiel 19, which uses the metaphors of the lion (the tribe of Judah; Genesis 49:9) and the vine (the nation of the Hebrews), is a lament for the fall of the Judean monarchy. For Ezekiel, priests properly outrank kings (34:24; 45:7-8), so Kings of Judah are “princes.” The first cub (v. 4) is King Jehoahaz of Judah (r. 609 B.C.E.). The second cub may be either King Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, or Zedekiah of Judah. The identity of the second cub is vague, but the prediction of the destruction of the monarchy of Judah is clear.
Leaders come and go. Kingdoms, empires, and nation-states rise and fall. All that is human is transitory. But God lasts forever.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 28, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN GERARD, ENGLISH JESUIT PRIEST; AND MARY WARD, FOUNDRESS OF THE INSTITUTE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
THE FEAST OF CLARA LOUISE MAASS, U.S. LUTHERAN NURSE AND MARTYR, 1901
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PLUTARCH, MARCELLA, POTANOMINAENA, AND BASILIDES OF ALEXANDRIA, MARTYRS, 202
THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA MARIA MASTERS, FOUNDRESS OF THE INSTITUTE OF THE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FACE
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM AND JOHN MUNDY, ENGLISH COMPOSERS AND MUSICIANS
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This is post #2550 of BLOGA THEOLOGICA.
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Above: Tares
Image in the Public Domain
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READING FIRST ISAIAH, PART II
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Isaiah 1:2-31
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G. H. D. Kilpatrick, author of the exposition on Isaiah 1-39 in The Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 5 (1956), described Isaiah 1 as
The Heart of Isaiah’s Message.
Kilpatrick began:
Here is a tremendous indictment of an apostate nation. The charge is the blindness, the insensitivity, the brutish stupidity of a people steeped in sin. The prophet is against them. In a sense the chapter is an epitome of Isaiah’s whole message and ministry. In this series of oracles he proceeds from accusation to judgment, and on to the divine promise of mercy in terms of repentance and obedience. Throughout the book the changes are rung on these themes.
–165
As I reread this chapter for the umpteenth time, I noticed themes that populated the (contemporary) Books of Hosea, Amos, and Micah, too. I noticed these themes readily because I have blogged my way through them before starting First Isaiah. I noticed legal charges of having abandoned the covenant. I noticed the allegation of idolatry–prostitution, metaphorically. I noticed the condemnation of corruption and social justice, especially that of the economic variety. I noticed the pronouncement that sacred rituals do not protect one from the consequences of impiety. I noticed the call to repentance and the possibility of forgiveness.
Chronology is not the organizing principle of the Book of Isaiah. No, the commission of the prophet is in Chapter 6, for example. Chapter 1 contains short speeches that summarize themes First Isaiah unpacks in subsequent chapters.
The text provides many options for where I may dwell in this post. I choose verses 27 and 28. The translation in Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible (2019), is close to the standard English-language rendering:
Zion shall be redeemed through justice,
and those who turn back in her, through righteousness.
But the rebels and offenders together are shattered,
and those who forsake the LORD shall perish.
However, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985) offers a somewhat different translation:
Zion shall be saved in the judgment;
Her repentant ones, in the retribution.
But rebels and sinners shall be crushed,
And those who forsake the LORD shall perish.
These verses date to either the Babylonian Exile or afterward. (As I wrote regarding the Books of Hosea, Amos, and Micah, the final versions of early prophetic writings date to the time after the Babylonian Exile.) Differences in Hebrew meter and the concept of Zion’s slavery relative to the surrounding material point to later origin. That may or may not prove interesting, but there it is.
I noticed that righteousness and justice are related concepts. This has long constituted old news to me, but I delighted to see another instance of it in Isaiah 1.
That justice and righteousness are related establishes a high standard. Many people mistake human vendettas for justice. Many people mistake torture for justice. Many people are oblivious to or forget Deuteronomy 32:35, in the voice of God:
Vengeance is mine and recompense,
for the time they lose their footing;
Because the day of their disaster is at hand
and their doom is rushing upon them.
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
When we set out to take revenge, we embark on a path we ought to leave alone. God knows better than we do.
I also noticed the difference between the translations of verse 27. I noticed that TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985) had “judgment” for “justice” and “retribution” for “righteousness.” Yet the germane note in The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014), read:
Having been punished, Zion will again know justice and faithfulness. A new name is given to the reformed Jerusalem; c.f. 62:2-4; Ezekiel 48:35.
–769
The promised salvation will stem only from divine justice and righteousness, not the virtue of Israel. The destruction of rebels and sinners, however, will stem from their lack of virtue. For the meantime, Zion, as a faith reality, not a political entity, contains the good and the wicked. Likewise, in the Parable of the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30), the wheat and the weeds will grow together in the field until the harvest time. God will judge at the harvest time. In the meantime, attempting to remove weeds may result in the removal of some wheat, also.
May we–you, O reader, and I–strike a proper balance, by grace. May we understand correctly the difference between good and evil. May we understand correctly the difference between that which is sinful and that which is not. May we understand correctly the difference between justice and injustice. When appropriate, may we speak out, and do so in the right way. And may we understand correctly the difference between our tasks and God’s tasks.
If I am going to err, I prefer to do so on the side of kindness, not harshness. I would rather be too gentle than mean. I prefer to strike the proper balance in each circumstances, of course. Yet maybe my Southern training takes over and tells me not to create a needless scene. I prefer to practice personal diplomacy, even when doing so entails telling white lies. “No, that dress does not make you look fat,” except it does. I also know enough to have some idea of what I do not know. God knows more than I do, and I do not bring people to God by behaving obnoxiously in God’s name.
Nevertheless, as anyone who has read my weblogs sufficiently ought to know, I do not always shy away from writing what I really think. I am capable of being blunt, too. There is a time for diplomacy, just as there is a time for bluntness. Yet there is never any moral justification for not leaving vengeance to God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 29, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PERCY DEARMER, ANGLICAN CANON AND TRANSLATOR AND AUTHOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF SAINT BONA OF PISA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC AND PILGRIM
THE FEAST OF JIRI TRANOVSKY, LUTHER OF THE SLAVES AND FATHER OF SLOVAK HYMNODY
THE FEAST OF RUBY MIDDLETON FORSYTHE, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY THERESA LEDÓCHOWSKA, FOUNDRESS OF THE MISSIONARY SISTERS OF SAINT PETER CLAVER, AND “MOTHER OF AFRICAN MISSIONS;” AND HER SISTER, SAINT URSULA LEDÓCHOWSKA, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE URSULINES OF THE AGONIZING HEART OF JESUS (GRAY URSULINES)
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Above: Bethany
Image in the Public Domain
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For Wednesday in Holy Week, Year 2
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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)
Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)
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Assist us mercifully with thy help, O Lord God of our salvation;
that we may enter with joy upon the mediation of those mighty acts,
whereby thou hast given unto us life and immortality;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947),160
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Isaiah 62:11-63:7
Psalm 55:1-14
1 John 4:7-11
Matthew 26:1-16
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The attitude in Isaiah 62:11-63:7 and Psalm 55 (in its entirety, not just verses 1-14) differs sharply from that in the other two readings. In Isaiah 62:11-63:7, the love of God for Israel entails divine destruction of enemies (especially the Moabites) of Israel. And, in Psalm 55, the love of God for an individual involves the destruction of his foe or foes. In Matthew 26:1-16, however, divine love for people entails Jesus dying for them. (I affirm a generalized atonement, not Penal Substitutionary Atonement.) That sacrificial death is a topic in 1 John 4:7-11.
Do we affirm and trust that God loves us and our enemies? Do we believe that our foes are within the grasp of redemption? Do we prefer that our enemies reform or repent, or face destruction. The answers to those questions reveal much about us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 9, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PEPIN OF LANDEN, SAINT ITTA OF METZ, THEIR RELATIONS, SAINTS AMAND, AUSTREGISILUS, AND SULPICIUS II BOURGES, FAITHFUL CHRISTIANS ACROSS GENERATIONAL LINES
THE FEAST OF EMILY GREENE BALCH, U.S. QUAKER SOCIOLOGIST, ECONOMIST, AND PEACE ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF JULIA CHESTER EMERY, UPHOLDER OF MISSIONS
THE FEAST OF SAINT PHILIP II OF MOSCOW, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA, AND MARTYR, 1569
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JONES, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND MUSICIAN
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Above: Desert Road
Image in the Public Domain
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For the First Sunday after Christmas, Year 1, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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Almighty God, whose glory angels sang when Christ was born:
grant that we, having heard the good news of his coming,
may live to honor thee and to praise his holy name;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 118
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Isaiah 62:10-12
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:36-40
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The imagery of the road in Isaiah 62:10-12 reminds me of similar language from Isaiah 40:3-5, quoted in Luke 3:4-6. The motif of a road, upon which people went into exile, becoming the thoroughfare for the return of their descendants, is no accident. Neither is applying it to messianic expectation. Notably in Isaiah 62, returning exiles travel that road home in the company of the Presence of God.
Yet the exiles were already home. Their homeland, part of a Persian satrapy, did not meet their high expectations, as prophets had described the post-exilic circumstances. Third Isaiah comforted disappointed exiles, assuring them that God was faithful, and that the prophecies had simply not come true yet.
We are still waiting. We are still waiting for the fully realized rule of God on Earth. We are still waiting long after the end of the Babylonian Exile and the earthly life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Waiting is frequently difficult to do patiently. Sometimes justice demands impatience of us; patience is not always a virtue. On other occasions, however, it is. Part of wisdom is knowing when to wait. Sometimes we must act while we wait.
While we wait for God to fulfill the promise of the Apocalypse of John, we have responsibilities to God, each other, and ourselves. We must act morally, in private and in public. We must obey the Golden Rule–an oddly offensive commandment, from more than one perspective. We must acknowledge in words and deeds our total reliance on God, our human interdependence, and the absence of any moral right to exploit anyone. We must build up each other. Only God can save the world, but we can–and must–leave it better than we found it.
May we succeed, by grace. Our efforts are necessary, of course, but they are also inadequate. May we be faithful junior partners of God in the world, which is our neighborhood.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 23, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES OF JERUSALEM, BROTHER OF JESUS
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Above: Zerubbabel
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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Haggai 2:2-9 or Isaiah 62:6-12
Psalm 37:1-11
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Matthew 25:1-13
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God is powerful, just, merciful, and trustworthy. We know this because the mighty acts of God indicate those qualities. These acts of God include ending the Babylonian Exile and resurrecting Jesus.
Such grace demands a faithful response. God is with us; are we with God? While you, O reader, ponder that, think about this, also: “you” in Matthew 25:13 and 1 Corinthians 15:58 is plural. If we are to interpret these passages correctly, we must assign the proper weight to collective responsibility.
As we labor faithfully in God’s service, may we never lose hope; our work is not in vain, regardless of appearances sometimes. One might think, for example, of the prophet Jeremiah, who had just one follower–Baruch the scribe. Yet the Book of Jeremiah continues to speak to many people.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS
THE FEAST OF EDWARD BOUVERIE PUSEY, ANGLICAN PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HENRY LASCALLES JENNER, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND
THE FEAST OF JOHN CAMPBELL SHAIRP, SCOTTISH POET AND EDUCATOR
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/09/18/devotion-for-proper-27-year-a-humes/
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Above: Woe Unto You, Scribes and Pharisees, by James Tissot
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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Haggai 1:1-13 or Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalm 36
1 Corinthians 14:1-20
Matthew 23:1-39
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We can never repay God, upon whom we are completely dependent and who extends justice and demands it of us. We can, however, revere and love God. We can follow God and use spiritual gifts for the building up of faith and civil communities. We, collectively and individually, can–and must–never overlook the weightier demands of divine law–justice, mercy, and good faith. Many of these issues exist in the purviews of governments and corporations, of societal institutions.
I have not kept count of how often I have written of the moral relevance of how we treat our fellow human beings and of how my North American culture overemphasizes individual responsibility to the detriment of collective responsibility. I choose not to delve into these points again here and now.
I choose, however, to focus on respect. If we respect God, we will take care of our church buildings. If we respect God, we will also respect the image of God in other people, and seek to treat them accordingly. If we respect God, we will be social and political revolutionaries, for the ethics of Jesus remain counter-cultural. If we respect God, we will be oddballs at best and existential threats at worst, according to our critics.
Do we dare to respect God?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS
THE FEAST OF EDWARD BOUVERIE PUSEY, ANGLICAN PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HENRY LASCALLES JENNER, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND
THE FEAST OF JOHN CAMPBELL SHAIRP, SCOTTISH POET AND EDUCATOR
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/09/18/devotion-for-proper-26-year-a-humes/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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