Archive for the ‘Jeremiah 38’ Category
Above: Jeremiah Let Down Into the Cistern
Image in the Public Domain
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READING JEREMIAH, PART XXI
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Jeremiah 34:1-22
Jeremiah 37:1-40:6
Jeremiah 52:1-34
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The Book of Jeremiah, in which chronology is not the organizing principle for material, contains various sources, some of which contradict each other regarding details.
- You may recall, O reader, that that Jeremiah was in prison in Chapters 32 and 33, and that Jerusalem fell between 32 and 33. Yet we have jumped back in time to before the Fall of Jerusalem in Chapter 37, only to read of its fall in Chapter 39. Jerusalem had yet to fall in Chapters 34-38, as well in much of Chapter 52.
- Jeremiah 52, by the way, is nearly identical to 2 Kings 24:18-25:30.
- The accounts of Jeremiah’s incarceration disagree with each other. 37:11-16 and 38:1-13 contradict each other. Furthermore, 37:17-21 flows into 38:14-28. Also, 39:11-14 contradicts 40:1-6. Evidence of ancient cutting, copying, and pasting exists in Jeremiah 37-40. I unpack this point below, in this post.
Due to the lack of chronological organization of material in the Book of Jeremiah, we have encountered King Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.E.; see 2 Chronicles 36:11f, also) already. We have read his name in Jeremiah 1, 21, 24, 27, 28, 29, 32, and 33, not including the false prophet Zedekiah in 29:21-22. Zedekiah ben Josiah was the last King of Judah. King Josiah (r. 640-609 B.C.E.) would have rolled over in his grave to learn of the circumstances during the reigns of the last four Kings of Judah (609-586 B.C.E.)
The cause of Jeremiah’s arrest was either alleged defection to the Chaldeans/Neo-Babylonians (37:11-16) or unpopular prophecy (38:1-13). The latter explanation is consistent with 32:1-5.
The copying, cutting, and pasting of sources in Chapters 37-40 creates a confusing, mixed-up, and contradictory composite chronology.
- 37:17-21 interrupts the natural flow of material into 38:1-13. We read that Jeremiah was in a pit for days (37:16). We also read that Ebed-melech liberated Jeremiah from that pit. Then, in that chronology, we read that Jeremiah went to the court of the guardhouse (38:7-13), where he was in Chapters 32 and 33. Then, in this chronology, we move to 39:1-14. We read of the liberation of Jeremiah after the Fall of Jerusalem. We read that Jeremiah went to the household of Gedaliah. We read that the prophet nearly became an exile in Babylon, but that Nebuzaradan, the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian captain of the guard, freed him (40:1-6). We read that Jeremiah went to the household of Gedaliah.
- We read of no pit in the other chronology. No, we read that Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse, except when King Zedekiah had him temporarily transported somewhere. In this timeline, we read that the prophet nearly became an exile in Babylon, but that Nebuzaradan, the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian captain of the guard, freed him (40:1-6). We read that Jeremiah then went to the household of Gedaliah.
34:8-2 adds another wrinkle to the last days before the Fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. We read that King Zedekiah had convinced the slaveholders of Jerusalem to free their Hebrew slaves. We also read that some slaveholders returned freed slaves to slavery, and that God strongly objected to this. Deuteronomy 15:12-15 dictates that the maximum period of slavery of a Hebrew was six years.
In context, with the temporary lifting of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian siege, thanks to Egyptian military intervention on behalf of Judah, some slaveholders of Jerusalem thought they no longer had to live or to try to live according to divine law. Perhaps some of these slaveholders had already kept many of the Hebrew slaves for longer than six years. The liberation, therefore, was overdue. Reenslavement was morally indefensible.
34:17-22 ascribes the Fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. to divine punishment for the reenslavement of these unfortunate individuals.
A major theme in these readings is that, when people do what God says to do, they are better off. They may not necessarily be more prosperous, but they may be safer. They will not die in exile in Babylon, for example. This is an overly simplistic idea. Staying within the Book of Jeremiah alone, I cite the example of that prophet, who died in exile in Egypt (43:8-44:30). Nevertheless, actions do have consequences. People reap what they sow. Yet sometimes obeying God leads down a difficult path, as the life of Jeremiah attests.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 13, 2021 COMMON ERA
PROPER 6: THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT SPYRIDON OF CYPRUS, BISHOP OF TREMITHUS, CYPRUS; AND HIS CONVERT, SAINT TRYPHILLIUS OF LEUCOSIA, CYPRUS; OPPONENTS OF ARIANISM
THE FEAST OF DAVID ABEEL, U.S. DUTCH REFORMED MINISTER AND MISSIONARY TO ASIA
THE FEAST OF ELIAS BENJAMIN SANFORD, U.S. METHODIST THEN CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SIGISMUND VON BIRKEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, U.S. POET, JOURNALIST, AND HYMN WRITER
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Above: Jehoiakim Burns the Word of God
Image in the Public Domain
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READING JEREMIAH, PART XVII
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Jeremiah 35:1-19
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Chronology is not the organizing principle in the Book of Jeremiah. The events of Jeremiah 36 occurred in 605 B.C.E., when Jeremiah had no access to the Temple. The events of Chapter 35 occurred a few years later, in 598 B.C.E., when the prophet did have access to the Temple.
The Rechabites (2 Kings 10:15-17; 1 Chronicles 2:55; and maybe 1 Chronicles 4:11-12) were a traditionalist, semi-nomadic people. They rejected agricultural and urban cultures in Judah. They did not drink wine. They lived in tents. They did not own vineyards, fields, or crops. These traditionalists, members of a sect founded by Jehonadab ben Rechab, had dropped out of a society they correctly perceived to be hurdling toward destruction. Yet the Rechabites could not escape reality. They were in Jerusalem because of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian army, during the first invasion of Judah. Nevertheless, when Jeremiah tested the Rechabites’ resolve, they passed with flying colors, so to speak. God commended the Rechabites. They still heeded the teachings of their founder, but the larger society did not listen to God.
The Hebrew prophetic books become repetitive quickly.
You (plural) have not listened to God is a motif in Hebrew prophetic literature.
When I wrote the rough draft of this post in longhand, I had already read Jeremiah 37-44. Reading Chapter 35 after Chapters 37-44 powerfully drove home the point that listening to God is a good idea. Nevertheless, the examples of Jeremiah and Baruch (Chapters 43-45) proved that listening to God does not necessarily prevent misfortune. Jeremiah and Baruch died in exile in Egypt (Jeremiah 43-44). And God told Baruch not to expect great things for himself (Jeremiah 45).
The difference between suffering misfortune despite being faithful to God and suffering misfortune because of faithlessness to God may not prove comforting in real time. One is still suffering, after all. Suffering while innocent may be worse, actually. I know the experience of suffering while innocent. I do not wish it on anyone.
I offer no easy answers to difficult questions. I may offer partial answers, for partial answers may be the best I or anyone else can really know. I acknowledge, for example, that, in a world that is fair, Jeremiah would have been safe and a revered figure in his lifetime. I know that he would have died in his sleep, in his strong and independent homeland, in a world that is fair. That is not the narrative in the Book of Jeremiah, though. The world is not fair.
Yet God is faithful.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 12, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF EDWIN PAXTON HOOD, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, PHILANTHROPIST, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN DAVID JAESCHKE, GERMAN MORAVIAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER; AND HIS GRANDSON, HENRI MARC HERMANN VOLDEMAR VOULLAIRE, MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND MINISTER
THE FEAST OF ENMEGAHBOWH, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MISSIONARY TO THE OJIBWA NATION
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH DACRE CARLYLE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MILTON SMITH LITTLEFIELD, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN AND CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
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Above: Jehoiakim Burns the Word of God
Image in the Public Domain
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READING JEREMIAH, PART XVI
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Jeremiah 36:1-32
Jeremiah 45:1-5
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When I taught history survey courses in colleges and universities, I told my students:
Keep your facts straight and your chronology in order.
The Book of Jeremiah does not always keep its facts straight. I have noted some examples of this already in this series of posts. I point to two examples in this post. I have more examples to point out when I get to them. I am a serious student of history; I stand by the objective reality that x either happened or did not. I make no apology for this.
The Book of Jeremiah does not keep its chronology straight, either.
- Zedekiah was the last King of Judah. He reigned from 597 to 586 B.C.E. He was the named monarch in Jeremiah 24, 27, 28, 32, 37, and 38.
- Jehoiakim, nephew of Zedekiah, reigned as the King of Judah from 608 to 598 B.C.E. Jehoiakim was the named monarch in Chapters 25, 26 (completing the story in 7 and 8, by the way), 35, and 45. The events of Chapter 35 transpired after those of Chapter 36.
- Jeremiah 39 and 52 cover the Fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. Off-screen, so to speak, the city fell between Chapters 32 and 33, and before 10:23-25.
The Book of Jeremiah is messing with my head. The beginning should come before the middle, which should precede the end. Linear story-telling has its virtues.
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In 608 B.C.E., Eliakim ben Josiah came to the throne of Judah as Jehoiakim, succeeding a deposed and exiled brother, Jehoahaz ben Josiah (r. 609 B.C.E.). Both brothers were vassals of Pharoah Neco II (reigned 610-595 B.C.E.). During the reign of Jehoiakim, the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire replaced Egypt as the power to which Judah’s monarch served as a vassal. Jehoiakim was also a tyrant who had prophets who spoke inconvenient truths arrested and executed circa 608 B.C.E. Intervention spared the life of Jeremiah from Jehoiakim’s wrath (Jeremiah 26). Yet, circa 608 B.C.E., Uriah ben Shemaiah died for saying what Jeremiah proclaimed (Jeremiah 26).
The events of Jeremiah 36 occurred in 605 B.C.E. That year, Jeremiah had no access to the Temple. Therefore, he sent his scribe, Baruch ben Neriah, in his place. The scribe used the words of divine judgment and the invitation to repent. These words met with a chilly reception. King Jehoiakim burned the scroll.
The LORD now says of Jehoiakim, king of Judah: No descendant of his shall sit on David’s throne; his corpse shall be thrown out, exposed to heat by day, frost by night. I will punish him and his descendants for their wickedness; upon them, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the people of Judah I will bring all the evil threats to which they will not listen.
–Jeremiah 36:30-31, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
King Jehoiakim’s reign ended in 598 B.C.E.
- He may have died peacefully in his sleep, in his palace (2 Kings 24:6). “He rested with his forefathers” usually indicated a peaceful death.
- He may have become a prisoner in the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire (2 Chronicles 36:6; 1 Esdras 1:40).
- He may have died in battle, outside the walls of Jerusalem. His corpse may have remained unburied, a sign of disgrace and disrespect (Jeremiah 22:19; 36:30-31).
Despite the prophecy, a son of Jehoiakim succeeded him. King Jehoiachin/Jeconiah/Coniah reigned for about three months in 597 B.C.E. before becoming a prisoner in the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire (2 Kings 24:8-17; 2 Kings 25:27-30; 2 Chronicles 36:9-10; 1 Esdras 1:43-46).
Above: Baruch Writing Jeremiah’s Prophecies
Image in the Public Domain
Turning to Jeremiah 45, we remain in 605 B.C.E., according to the text.
God commanded Jeremiah to tell Baruch ben Neriah:
Thus said the LORD: I am going to overthrow what I have built, and uproot what I have planted–this applies to the whole land. And do you expect great things for yourself? Don’t expect them. For I am going to bring disaster upon all flesh–declares the LORD–but I will at least grant your life in all the places where you may go.
–Jeremiah 45:4-5, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
This work exacted a heavy toll on Jeremiah and his scribe. The divine promise of not getting killed in the line of duty applied to the prophet, also (Jeremiah 1:19). Ebed-melech, another ally of Jeremiah, had a divine guarantee of his life, too (Jeremiah 39:18). Despite this divine promise, being Jeremiah or one of his allies was risky.
One may not want to hear God say to one:
And do you expect great things for yourself? Don’t expect them.
Baruch, of course, went to Egypt with Jeremiah (43:6).
Some interpretive difficulties arise in Jeremiah 45.
- The text dates the prophecy to 605 B.C.E.
- Yet Chapter 45 follows exile in Egypt for Jeremiah and Baruch, and flows thematically from Chapter 44.
- Nevertheless, as I keep repeating, chronology is not the organizing principle in the Book of Jeremiah. Structurally, the Book of Jeremiah reminds me of certain movies by Atom Egoyan, the acclaimed Canadian movie director. Egoyan does not favor linear story-telling; he often has three timeframes running in his movies, and cuts from one timeframe to another one periodically. For proper understanding of The Sweet Hereafter (1997) and Ararat (2002), for example, one needs to watch at least three times.
- The translation of the end of 45:5 varies. TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985) goes one way, with, “…but I will, at least, grant you your life.” The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) goes another way, with, “…but I will grant you your life as spoils of war….”
And do you expect great things for yourself? Don’t expect them.
God’s reward to Jeremiah, Baruch, and Ebed-melech was survival in a terrifying time.
That does not seem like much of a reward, does it? Yet, as St. Teresa of Calcutta said, God calls people to be faithful, not successful. This is a difficult teaching. I struggle with it. Maybe you do, too, O reader. I read that Jeremiah and Baruch did.
By human standards, Jeremiah was a failure. He was on the outs with authorities. His message convinced few people. He died in involuntary exile in a land where he had warned people not to go. And, by human standards, Jeremiah dragged Baruch down with him.
Yet, thousands of years later, faithful Jews and Christians utter the names of Jeremiah and Baruch with respect. Many Jews and Christians still study and read the Book of Jeremiah. The faithful legacy of Jeremiah and Baruch endures.
By that standard, Jeremiah and Baruch succeeded.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 12, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF EDWIN PAXTON HOOD, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, PHILANTHROPIST, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN DAVID JAESCHKE, GERMAN MORAVIAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER; AND HIS GRANDSON, HENRI MARC HERMANN VOLDEMAR VOULLAIRE, MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND MINISTER
THE FEAST OF ENMEGAHBOWH, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MISSIONARY TO THE OJIBWA NATION
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH DACRE CARLYLE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MILTON SMITH LITTLEFIELD, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN AND CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
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Above: Zedekiah
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 2 KINGS 22-25, 1 ESDRAS, 2 CHRONICLES 34-36, EZRA, AND NEHEMIAH
PART IX
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2 Kings 24:18-25:26
2 Chronicles 36:11-21
1 Esdras 1:47-58
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By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept:
when we remembered the holy city.
–Psalm 137:1, A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989)
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For a different yet similar perspective on this material, read Jeremiah 37-44, O reader.
The last four Kings of Judah were in impossible situations. Each one had bad choices and worse choices, not good choices. Circumstances they did not create defined the monarchs’ horizons. Geopolitics (being sandwiched between Egypt and Chaldea, to be precise) contributed to the difficulty. And all of the four kings died in exile–one in Egypt and three in Babylon. Zedekiah’s fate was the cruelest of the four fates.
Zedekiah was never his own man as King of Judah. Mattaniah (“Gift of YHWH”) became Zedekiah (“YHWH is my righteousness”) when Nebuchadezzar II appointed and renamed him. Zedekiah reigned as a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar II for about 11 years (597-586 B.C.E.).
The theology in the designated readings and in Jeremiah is consistent. That theology upholds the sacredness of Zedekiah’s oath to God to be the vassal of Nebuchadnezzar II. That theology also understands Nebuchadnezzar II as an instrument of God.
The assassination of governor Gedaliah and the subsequent mass exodus to Egypt (see also Jeremiah 40:13-41:18) added to the heartache of the Fall of the Jerusalem and the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah.
A common way of interpreting the conquest of a kingdom or an empire was that the gods of the victorious power had defeated the gods of the conquered power. Nebuchadnezzar II had conquered Judah, but not YHWH. The Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire had a date with divine judgment, too.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 5, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALFRED TENNYSON, ENGLISH POET
THE FEAST OF ADAM OF SAINT VICTOR, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF ALBRECHT DÜRER, MATTHIAS GRÜNEWALD, AND LUCAS CRANACH THE ELDER, RENAISSANCE ARTISTS
THE FEAST OF GEORGE FREDERICK ROOT, POET AND COMPOSER
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This is post #2250 of BLOGA THEOLOGICA.
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Loving God, we remember the enduring and faithful witness of N.
and of all others who have steadfastly refused to condone or commit violence during times of war,
and who have become martyrs rather than betray their principles.
In our own day, we pray for those who continue to suffer for this reason,
and for those who persecute them.
May oppressors recognize the errors of their ways and cease to oppress.
May mutual respect and forbearance triumph over intolerance, anger, and hatred.
May divine love prevail.
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jeremiah 38:1-13
Psalm 141
Revelation 7:9-17
Luke 6:20-26
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 7, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMITIAN OF HUY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP
THE FEAST OF HARRIET STARR CANNON, FOUNDRESS OF THE COMMUNITY OF SAINT MARY
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH ARMITAGE ROBINSON, ANGLICAN DEAN, SCHOLAR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROSA VENERINI, FOUNDRESS OF THE VENERINI SISTERS; MENTOR OF SAINT LUCIA FILIPPINI, FOUNDRESS OF THE RELIGIOUS TEACHERS FILIPPINI
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Above: Jeremiah Lowered into the Dungeon
Image in the Public Domain
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 38:1-13
Psalm 142
Revelation 21:15-21
John 7:32-36
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This is Ascension Sunday. For this date David Ackerman schedules an interesting set of readings. The lives of Jeremiah and Jesus are in peril. Certain officials arrest the prophet. Other officials seek to arrest Jesus. One might imagine Jeremiah uttering Psalm 142 while in the muddy pit on the prison grounds. As Ackerman writes, in Jeremiah 38 we have a story about
a righteous Gentile raising a faithful Jewish prophet from the mud of death to new life.
—Beyond the Lectionary (2013), page 60
Opposite the ascension of Jeremiah is the descent of what the Gospel of Matthew usually–not always– called the Kingdom of Heaven (not out of piety but for other theological reasons; see the germane works of Jonathan Pennington) to the earth.
The imagery of the ascension of Jesus and the descent of the Kingdom of God/Heaven comes from a three-tiered cosmology in which the realm of dead is the underworld, God lives above the sky, and we mere mortals reside in the middle. I know that this cosmology is scientifically inaccurate yet recognize that the ancient world view informs the narrative. To quote Galileo Galilei, my favorite theologian,
The Bible tells us how to go to Heaven, not how the heavens go.
Thus I interpret the ascension of Jesus and the descent of the Kingdom of God/Heaven as metaphors. I accept that Jesus, for lack of a better explanation, went home, not necessarily upward. I suppose that one might file the event under the heading of
You had to be there,
so even the best words prove inadequate to describe the event adequately. As for Revelation 21, the entire book is replete with imagery, given its genre (apocalyptic writing). To read the Apocalypse of John literally is to miss to point and to read the text in a manner in which the author did not intend.
Hang in there, the Book of Revelation tells persecuted Christians. God will win eventually, the last book of the New Testament says, even if the victory follows one’s martyrdom. The Bible opens with God creating order from chaos then with people ruining paradise. The sacred anthology concludes with God’s creative destruction of human-made chaos and the restoration of paradise. We live in the in-between time, with those, who like Jeremiah, long ago, suffer for the sake of righteousness and do not necessarily meet happy ends in this life. But we must hang in there.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 14, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT METHODIUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCH
THE FEAST OF DOROTHY FRANCES BLOMFIELD GURNEY, ENGLISH POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HANS ADOLF BRORSON, DANISH LUTHERAN BISHOP, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2017/06/14/devotion-for-the-seventh-sunday-of-easter-ackerman/
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Above: Scroll
Image in the Public Domain
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Exodus 23:1-9
Psalm 113
Romans 3:1-8
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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)
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Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures one reads of the importance of obeying divine law faithfully. God commands obedience to the law and warns of the dire consequences of disobedience. Two kingdoms fall and, after the fact, the Jewish tradition repeats the theme of the importance of obedience to the law. I wonder, then, how to read St. Paul the Apostle in his Letter to the Romans. Perhaps his target was the legalistic interpretation and keeping of the Law of Moses. In Romans 2, for example, we read of the necessity of the circumcision of the heart. As a note in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011) informs me, that is consistent with Deuteronomy 10:16 and 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4, 9:25-26, and 38:33; and Ezekiel 44:7.
As for the portion of the Law of Moses we find in Exodus 23:1-9, it is timeless, with some culturally specific examples of principles.
- One must not bear false witness, commit perjury, or spread false rumors.
- One must speak the truth and act impartially, showing deference to nobody because of wealth or the lack thereof.
- One must return wandering livestock belonging to an enemy. (This commandment’s principle extends beyond livestock.)
- One must help and enemy raise his beast of burden which has collapsed. (This commandment’s principle also extends beyond livestock.)
- One must not subvert the rights of the poor.
- One must not make or support a false allegation.
- One must not send the innocent to execution.
- One must not accept bribes.
- One must not oppress strangers.
These are commandments, not suggestions.
I think of the famous story of Rabbi Hillel (110 B.C.E.-10. C.E.), who summarized the Torah by citing the commandment to love God fully (the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5) and the Golden Rule (Leviticus 19:18). Then he concluded,
The rest is commentary. Go and learn it.
That statement applies well to Exodus 23:1-9, some of the provisions of which are politically sensitive. Justice, however, is what it is. May we learn it and act accordingly.
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
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/05/19/devotion-for-thursday-before-proper-20-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: The Quaker Mary Dyer Being Led to Execution on Boston Common, 1 June 1660
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Teach us, good Lord God, to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
except that of knowing that we do your will,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 40
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 38:1-13
Psalm 6
Matthew 10:5-23
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Some Related Posts:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-are-tortured/
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/a-prayer-for-those-who-inflict-torture/
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My eyes are wasted with grief
and worn away because of all my enemies.
–Psalm 6:7, Common Worship (2000)
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Follow God and face persecution.
How is that for a message to use when recruiting and seeking to retain servants of God? Ebed-melech the Ethiopian risked his life to save the life of the prophet Jeremiah, who had sunk into the mud in a cistern. Jesus and most of the original twelve Apostles died violently and suffered before that happened. Nearly two millennia have passed since the time of Christ. During that span countless numbers of Christians have suffered for the faith. Many have become martyrs.
I am among the fortunate Christians who have not faced any form of persecution, partially because of the freedom of religion and the separation of religion and state. But I know that persecution and martyrdoms continue. Cases of them do not always make headlines, but they persist, unfortunately. And the blood of the martyrs continues to water the church.
Perversely, many people who make others martyrs do so in the name of God; they believe that they are acting righteously. This has been the case in the past and remains so in the present. Puritans who hanged Quakers in colonial New England in the 1600s thought they acted righteously to defend their community from a great threat—pacifistic egalitarians in a hierarchical society, actually. (People who kill pacifists do not impress me.) In parts of the world Islamic extremists attack Christian churches, but many other Muslims defend their Christian neighbors’ houses of worship. And the shameful track record of anti-Semitism in Christian history, from merely bad attitudes to small-scale attacks to large-scale pogroms, needs no further comment here. May we criticize the extremists and mistake them as true representatives of entire faith systems.
One lesson to draw from such cases is, in the name of Christ, to act compassionately toward others, especially those with whom we disagree theologically. Torturing, imprisoning, and killing others in the name of Jesus, himself an innocent victim of capital punishment, is wrong, regardless of one’s concept of God. Yes, sometimes life brings us to some unpleasant circumstances with only bad choices—such as violent ones as the means of survival—but there is a difference between self-defense and religious intolerance acted out. I am not naïve about that reality.
Yet the definition of freedom includes liberty to those who differ from and with us. And moral absolutes do exist. Among them are the immoral natures of torture and religious persecution, terms one should never apply when they are not applicable. May we stand with the victims, not those who victimize them. And may we certainly never victimize anyone in the name of God or any other name.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 23, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DESIDERIUS/DIDIER OF VIENNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT GUIBERT OF GORZE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN BAPTIST ROSSI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, SCIENTIST
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Adapted from This Post:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/devotion-for-wednesday-after-proper-7-year-a-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: The Crucifixion, by Michelangelo
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 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:
Jeremiah 37:1-21 (November 18)
Jeremiah 38:1-28 (November 19)
Psalm 51 (Morning–November 18)
Psalm 54 (Morning–November 19)
Psalms 85 and 47 (Evening–November 18)
Psalms 28 and 99 (Evening–November 19)
Matthew 27:33-56 (November 18)
Matthew 27:57-66 (November 19)
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Some Related Posts:
Matthew 27:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/sunday-of-the-passion-palm-sunday-year-a/
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/fortieth-day-of-lent-holy-saturday/
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Zedekiah (reigned 597-586 BCE) was not the legitimate King of Judah. That office fell properly upon his nephew, Jehoiachin (reigned 597 BCE), per 2 Kings 24:17. Zedekiah, as the Chaldean-appointed regent, had a title but little power. He could not even protect Jeremiah fully. But Zedekiah, to his credit, did consult the prophet. Nevertheless, the time to save Judah from destruction had passed; the kingdom’s fate was sealed, as was that of Zedekiah, who disregarded much of Jeremiah’s advice.
Our Lord’s fate seemed to be sealed. He was dead–made a great and terrible, very public example of by the forces of the Roman Empire. The charge, as in the case of Jeremiah, was false–treason.
Frequently good people (Jesus being the best person) became caught up in the perfidious schemes of others. But God is with the persecuted righteous people, even when they die, have to go into exile, or must suffer another cruel fate–without resurrection in all but one case. The fact that good people find themselves in these difficult situations reflects badly on those who can prevent or could have prevented such situations. Oppressors cannot oppress by themselves. No, they have the passive aid of those who look the other way, who say or do nothing when they can confront. It is safer (for some) to be or remain passive. But such passivity hurts many more people.
May we confess our sins of omission, trusting God to complete the list with those we have forgotten and those we have never recognized. Then may we change our ways–repent–and perform a greater number of good deeds, thereby preventing even more injustice and reducing the amount thereof already extant.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 4, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS CARACCIOLO, COFOUNDER OF THE MINOR CLERKS REGULAR
THE FEAST OF JOHN XXIII, BISHOP OF ROME
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Adapted from this post:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/devotion-for-november-18-and-19-lcms-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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