Archive for the ‘John 12’ Category
Above: St. Augustine in His Study, by Vittore Carpaccio
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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Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:11-16
Hebrews 5:7-9
John 12:20-33
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Almighty God, our redeemer, in our weakness we have failed
to be your messengers of forgiveness and hope in the world.
Renew us by your Holy Spirit, that we may follow your commands
and proclaim your reign of love;
through your 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), 19
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Almighty and eternal God, because it was your will that your Son
should bear the pains of the cross for us
and thus remove from us the power of the adversary,
help us so to remember and give thanks for our Lord’s Passion
that we may receive remission of our sins
and redemption from everlasting death;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 38
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Lent is a penitential season, and these are readings suited for Lent. They are especially suitable for the penultimate Sunday of the season.
One theme in the canonical Gospels is the priority of following Jesus. “Hate” is an unfortunate translation choice in John 12:25. The meaning is to “love less than,” not to hate, as we first understand “hate.” Therefore, John 12:25 should read:
Whoever loves his life more than me loses it, and whoever loves me more than his life (or loves his life less than me) in their world will preserve it for eternal life.
Jesus (suitable for his purpose–the meaning of “perfect” in Hebrews 5:9) had the credentials to demand and to command so high a priority.
The covenant written on hearts is possible. The Pauline tradition affirms this; the Holy Spirit makes such a covenant possible. This thread continues into the writings of St. Augustine of Hippo, who wrote at length and exercised logic. A terribly simplistic reduction of paragraphs from St. Augustine of Hippo reads:
Love God and do as you please.
When one reads the full, germane text carefully, one sees the logic, lifted from St. Paul the Apostle’s discourses about natural/unspiritual people and spiritual people in 1 Corinthians 2. In Pauline terms, spiritual people–who share the will of God–can do what they please, for they want what God wants.
That is an advanced spiritual state–one I do not pretend to have reached. Yet I continue to muddle through each day, trying to live well in God, in whom I trust. That is something, anyway. Jesus can use it and multiply it, fortunately.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 16, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTIETH DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT ADALBALD OF OSTEVANT, SAINT RICTRUDIS OF MARCHIENNES, AND THEIR RELATIONS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ABRAHAM KIDUNAIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT; AND SAINT MARY OF EDESSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ANCHORESS
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CACCIAFRONTE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, BISHOP, AND MARTYR, 1183
THE FEAST OF SAINT MEGINGAUD OF WURZBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF THOMAS WYATT TURNER, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC SCIENTIST, EDUCATOR, AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST; FOUNDER OF FEDERATED COLORED CATHOLICS
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM HENRY MONK, ANGLICAN ORGANIST, HYMN TUNE COMPOSER, AND MUSIC EDUCATOR
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Judas Iscariot, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 70:1-2 4-6 (LBW) or Psalm 18:21-30 (LW)
Romans 5:6-11
Matthew 26:14-25
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Almighty God, your Son our Savior suffered at the hands of men
and endured the shame of the cross.
Grant that we may walk in the way of his cross
and find it the way of life and peace;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 20
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Merciful and everlasting God the Father,
who did not spare your only Son
but delivered him up for us all that he might bear our sins on the cross;
grant that our hearts may be so fixed with steadfast faith in our Savior
that we may not fear the power of any adversaries;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 43
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In context, Isaiah 50:4-9a is an odd lection to read on this Sunday. The speaker–the prophet/servant (Second Isaiah)–is pious yet merely human, therefore, sinful. He believes that the suffering of the exiles during the Babylonian Exile has been justified. Yet he also anticipates the divine vindication of that exiled population, for the glory of God. Applying this reading to sinless Jesus (who suffered an unjust execution as an innocent man) requires astounding theological gymnastics.
Judas Iscariot played an essential role in a divine plan. The writers of the four canonical Gospels portrayed him negatively, for one major obvious reason. The Gospel of John added that Judas was an embezzler (John 12:6). Despite all this, Judas was not outside the mercy of God. And he had not committed the unpardonable sin–blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:28; Luke 12:10). Judas may have thought that he knew what he was doing, but he did not. Recall Luke 23:24, O reader:
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
I do not pretend to know the ultimate fate of Judas Iscariot. I am not God. I do, however, repeat my position that the only people in Hell are those who have condemned themselves. God sends nobody to Hell. Divine mercy and judgment exist in a balance I cannot grasp, for I am not God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 12, 2022 COMMON ERA
HOLY TUESDAY
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS NEPHEW, WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID URIBE-VELASCO, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Icon of Christ Pantocrator
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 49:1-6
Psalm 71:1-12 (LBW) or Psalm 18:1-7, 17-20 (LW)
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
John 12:20-36
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Lord Jesus, you have called us to follow you.
Grant that our love may not grow cold in your service,
and that we may not fail or deny you in the hour of trial. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 19
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Almighty and everlasting God,
grant us grace so to pass through this holy time of our Lord’s Passion
that we may receive the pardon of our sins;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 42
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In context, the identity of servant in Isaiah 49:1-6 is vague. The servant is probably the personification of a faithful subset of the exiled population during the Babylonian Exile. I do not look for Jesus in the Hebrew Bible as if he is Waldo in a Where’s Waldo? book. Therefore, I conclude that linking Isaiah 49:1-6 to Jesus so as to identify him as the servant in that text requires extraordinary theological gymnastics.
Salvation is a process, not an event. To be precise, salvation is a process the Church mediates via the sacraments. That statement indicates the influence of Roman Catholicism in my theology. (And I grew up a Methodist!) Read 1 Corinthians 1:18 again, O reader:
…but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
The divine passive indicates that God is doing the saving. God is the central actor. Human selfishness places people in the center of theology. (Now I sound like Karl Barth.)
As we barrel toward the crucifixion of Jesus, we read John 12:25:
Those who love their life will lose it, and those who hate their live in this world will keep it for eternal life.
—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Eternal life, in Johannine theology, is know God via Jesus. Johannine eternal life may begin in this life.
“Hate” is an unfortunate translation choice in John 12:25. The operative Greek word means “love less than.” Reading John 12:25 in the context of John 12:26, 12:25 should read:
…and those who love their life in this world less than me (Jesus) will keep it for eternal life.
In the four canonical Gospels, we read of Jesus issuing individualized calls to discipleship, depending on circumstances. Yet the common thread is subordinating everything to Jesus.
Why not? Jesus gave himself.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 9, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFEFR, GERMAN LUTHERAN MARTYR, 1945
THE FEAST OF JOHANN CRUGER, GERMAN LUTHERAN ORGANIST, COMPOSER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
THE FEAST OF JOHN SAMUJEL BEWLEY MONSELL, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET; AND RICHARD MANT, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF DOWN, CONNOR, AND DROMORE
THE FEAST OF LYDIA EMILIE GRUCHY, FIRST FEMALE MINISTER IN THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
THE FEAST OF MIKAEL AGRICOLA, FINNISH LUTHERAN LITURGIST, BISHOP OF TURKU, AND “FATHER OF FINNISH LITERARY LANGUAGE”
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LAW, ANGLICAN PRIEST, MYSTIC, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER
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Adapted from this post
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Above: St. Mary of Bethany and Jesus (Nicholas Ge)
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 36:5-10
Hebrews 9:11-15
John 12:1-11
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O God, your Son chose the path which led to pain
before joy and the cross before glory.
Plant his cross in our hearts,
so that in its power and love we may come at last to joy and glory;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 19
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Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ
chose to suffer pain before going up to joy,
and crucifixion before entering into glory,
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find this path to be the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 41
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In context, the servant in Isaiah 42:1-9 is the Jewish people personified, created and appointed to be a covenant people and a light to the nations. In context, this group was about to emerge from the Babylonian Exile, which the Deuteronomistic theology of the Bible explained as divine punishment for persistent, collective violation of the moral mandates in the Law of Moses. To identify this servant with sinless Jesus requires theological gymnastics.
Yet here we are.
Hebrews 9:11-15 presents Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant via his sacrificial death (and his resurrection). Do not forget the resurrection, O reader. Without it, we have dead Jesus, who can do nothing to redeem anyone.
But I am getting ahead of the story.
Each of the canonical Gospels contains a version of the story of a woman anointing Jesus. Scholars tell us that there were two anointings–one of Christ’s head and another one of his feet–and that the Johannine account merges elements of both. So be it. In the Gospel of John, the setting was the home of Sts. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany, and St. Mary of Bethany was the anointer. We read of her, with her hair down (in the style of a harlot, not a respectable woman who could afford expensive nard ointment from India), behaving in an undignified and loving way. We read that this anointing foreshadowed the anointing of Jesus’s corpse a few days later.
Displays of selfless love may shock one. Ponder what Jesus did later that week, O reader. Ponder what St. Mary of Bethany did at the beginning of the week, too. Consider that these acts were different from each other yet had much in common. The application of any given timeless principle varies according to who, when, and where one is.
What does the playing out of selfless love entail and look like where and when you are, O reader?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 8, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG, PATRIARCH OF AMERICAN LUTHERANISM; HIS GREAT-GRANDSON, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGICAL PIONEER; AND HIS COLLEAGUE, ANNE AYERS, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERHOOD OF THE HOLY COMMUNION
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIONYSIUS OF CORINTH, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF GODFREY DIEKMANN, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, ECUMENIST, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT HUGH OF ROUEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, ABBOT, AND MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIE BILLIART, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
THE FEAST OF TIMOTHY LULL, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, THEOLOGIAN, AND ECUMENIST
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Woods, Ben Burton Park, Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, October 29, 2017
Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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READING SECOND ZECHARIAH, PART II
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Zechariah 9:1-11:17
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Zechariah 9:1-8 may be the original portion of Second Zechariah. This opening oracle names enemies of the Hebrews:
- Aram (Zechariah 9:1-2a; Amos 1:3-5; Isaiah 17:1-14; Jeremiah 49:23-27);
- Tyre and Sidon (Zechariah 9:2b-4; Amos 1:9-10; Isaiah 23:1-18; Ezekiel 26:1-28:26); and
- Philistia (Zechariah 9:5-7; Amos 1:6-8; Isaiah 14:28-32; Jeremiah 47:1-17; Ezekiel 25:15-17).
One may read about the Jebusites (Zechariah 9:7) in Judges 19:10; 2 Samuel 5:6, 8; 2 Samuel 24:16, 18; 1 Kings 9:20; 1 Chronicles 11:4.
The development of Zechariah 9:1-8 is complicated. The original version of it may predate the Babylonian Exile. The reference to the rampart of the fortress (9:3) may allude to a military campaign of Alexander the Great in 333 B.C.E. Zechariah 9:1-8 seems to have passed through various editorial hands before settling down into its current state.
Regardless of the number of editorial stages of development of all the segments of Zechariah 9:1-11:17, the final version is about an ideal future when the full-realized Kingdom of God is evident on the earth and when the Messiah, a descendant of King David, is triumphant and victorious. The arrangement of material is odd. YHWH is triumphant in chapter 9. The promise of restoration fills chapter 10. Chapter 11 concludes with the desperate situation extant in First Zechariah (chapters 1-8). The editing seems backward, from a certain point of view. Anyway, the present day of Second Zechariah, obviously far from ideal, has much in common with 2021.
Time passes. Technology changes. Social mores and norms change, also. Locations vary. Yet much remains the same. False prophets abound (10:2). [Note: The reference to teraphim in 10:2 is to household cultic objects, as in Genesis 31:19, 30-35; Judges 17:5. Deuteronomy 18:9-14 condemns divination. Also, Deuteronomy 13:6 and Jeremiah 23:25-32 are suspicious of dreams.] Many leaders–shepherds, metaphorically–are oppressors and predators (10:3; 11:4-17). In this case, prophets and leaders are the same. This makes sense; one is a leader if one has followers. The text is sufficiently ambiguous to apply to those who are false prophets or predatory political leaders without being both, though.
Zechariah 11 concludes on a hopeful note: Those leaders responsible for social ills will fall from power. This is good news the metaphorical sheep.
I, as a Christian, pay especially close attention to Zechariah 9:9-10. This is a vision of the Messiah, sometime in the distant future, approaching the glorious, restored Jerusalem after God’s victory. The image of the Messiah–“your king”–triumphant, victorious, and humble, riding on a donkey, occupies the background in accounts of Christ’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:12-15). Understanding Zechariah 9:9-10 helps one grasp the imagery of Christ’s self-presentation in the Gospels’ accounts of that event.
The placement of the oracles in Zechariah 9-11 in the future, without claiming,
Do x, and God will will do y,
in such a way as to date the prophecies, works. One may recall that Haggai made the mistake of being too specific (and objectively wrong) in Haggai 1 and 2. The prediction of the restoration of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel of Israel (9:17-10:12), therefore of the restoration of the unity of Israel and Judah, remains unfulfilled. One may doubt that it will ever come to pass, but one cannot legitimately criticize the text for establishing a temporal marker already past (from the perspective of 2021) and being objectively wrong, by that standard.
Reality falls short of God’s ideal future. Yet we may legitimately hope and trust in God. Details of prophecies, bound by times and settings of their origin, may not always prove accurate. So be it. We moderns ought to read these types of texts poetically, not as what they are not–technical manuals for the future in front of us. We should focus on major themes, not become lost in the details. We ought not to try to match current events and the recent past to details of ancient prophecy. The list of books whose authors did that and whom the passage of time has proven inaccurate is long. One can easily miss the forest by focusing on the trees.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 17, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM WHITE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF THE CARMELITE MARTYRS OF COMPIEGNE, 1794
THE FEAST OF BENNETT J. SIMS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ATLANTA
THE FEAST OF SAINT NERSES LAMPRONATS, ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF TARSUS
THE FEAST OF R. B. Y. SCOTT, CANADIAN BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, HYMN WRITER, AND MINISTER
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Above: Ruth, the Dutiful Daughter-in-Law, by William Blake
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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Genesis 18:1-15 or Ruth 1:1-19
Psalm 140
Revelation 19:1-10
John 12:37-50
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I detect some themes in the assigned readings. These include:
- Failure to believe, sometimes despite evidence:
- The victory of God over evil regimes, institutions, and people;
- Divine destruction of the corrupt, violent, exploitative, and oppressive world order ahead of replacing it with the fully realized Kingdom of God;
- The divine preference for the poor; and
- God acting in the lives of people, often via other people.
This week, the Humes lectionary takes us to the Book of Ruth, a delightful book about the faithfulness of God, especially in the lives of women. The Book of Ruth also teaches that some Gentiles have faith in the God of the Jews. When one considers that the text may date to either the Babylonian Exile or to the Postexilic period, one may recognize more hope in the story than one would see otherwise. One may even recognize a protest against Ezra 9:9, 10 and Nehemiah 13:23-30, as well as an assertion that foreigners may join the Jewish community.
Divine love includes all who follow God, after all. I, as a Gentile, approve of that message. Divine love also reaches out to those who reject it. Divine love calls upon all people to respond affirmatively.
I do not presume to know who has gone to Heaven or Hell, or who will go to either reality. I guess that Adolf Hitler, for example, is in Hell. However, I affirm that even Hitler was not beyond redemption. I also affirm that he made decisions, which had negative consequences for himself and the world.
The Gospel of Jesus is inclusive. The love of God is inclusive. When we say that salvation comes via Jesus, what does that mean? That question is distinct from what we think it means? I leave to the purview of God what belongs there. My role is to point toward Jesus. To whom else would I, a Christian, point?
How inclusive do we who claim to follow God want to be? Do we want to include all those whom God includes? In other words, who are our Gentiles?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 26, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS TIMOTHY, TITUS, AND SILAS, COWORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/26/devotion-for-proper-22-year-d-humes/
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Above: Nero
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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Genesis 16:1-15 or Nehemiah 9:5-38
Psalm 139:1-18, 23-24
Revelation 13:11-18
John 12:1-11
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As I wrote in the previous post in this series, the author (“John,” whoever he was) of the Revelation depicted the Roman Empire as being evil.
When we–you, O reader, and I–turn to Revelation 13:11-18, we read of the Antichrist–perhaps Nero (“666” in Greek), originally. Anyhow, the reference is to a Roman Emperor. To make matters especially confusing, some of the Antichrist’s works are legitimate and wondrous. In other words, appearances can deceive.
The reading from Nehemiah 9 speaks of faithful acts of God and of faithless, oblivious people. It also mentions penitent people. Genesis 16 follows up on the covenant in Genesis 15. Genesis 16 sets up a series of unfortunate events in subsequent chapters. One may draw the conclusion the text invites one to make: Wait for God to fulfill divine promises. Do not act to make them happen. Have faith. Trust God.
Yet one may also wonder how to know which works come from God. Appearances can deceive, after all. Besides, one may not expect God to act in a certain way (such as the Incarnation or the crucifixion). Therefore, one may see God act and fail to recognize what God has done and is doing.
I offer no easy answer to this difficult question. I have only one answer: pray. Prayer consists primarily of listening and watching, actually. The best definition of prayer I can muster is the heightened sense of awareness of being in the presence of God. As Psalm 139 tells us, we can never leave the presence of God. We can, however, be oblivious to it or be aware of it.
May God help us to identify correctly all that is of God. And may we pay attention.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 25, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/25/devotion-for-proper-21-year-d-humes/
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Above: Ecce Homo, by Luca Giordano
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:
Procession of the Palms
John 12:12-16
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Liturgy of the Word
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:1-13
John 19:1-42
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I offer, O reader, a few thoughts I hope will prove useful to you. They, nevertheless, can never match the power of the assigned portions of scripture.
Inserting oneself into a Biblical story can be helpful. Ask yourself, O reader,
Who would I have been in this story? What would I have said or done?
The answer may be either pleasant or distressing.
We know from psychology and sociology, as well as from experience, that people will commit some actions and utter some words in a crowd they will not do alone. The group dynamic and the pressure to conform are powerful. Satirists, such as the Yes Men and Sacha Baron Cohen, know this. They use it to peal back the masks concealing the ugly, dark side of human nature, often to the displeasure of their subjects.
Ask yourself, O reader, how easily you, in a world, would have joined in the cry,
Crucify him!
Then ask yourself if you would, a few days earlier, in a different crowd, just as easily have shouted,
Hosanna!
What do your honest answers reveal about you?
Peer pressure has a relatively weak pull on me. I have spent my life resisting peer pressure. Some of my fellow students (my “peers”) bullied me for this reason when I was a youth in public schools in southern Georgia, U.S.A. Some people still criticize me for being rebellious in this way. That is their failing, not mine. “Conformity” is the most profane word in the English language.
Despite my rebellious ways regarding peer pressure, I am not immune to it. I cannot honestly tell you, O reader, that I know I would have resisted the peer pressure to shout,
Crucify him!
That disturbs me.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 8, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT THORFINN OF HAMAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF A. J. MUSTE, DUTCH-AMERICAN MINISTER, LABOR ACTIVIST, AND PACIFIST
THE FEAST OF ARCHANGELO CORELLI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS AND GALILEO GALILEI, SCIENTISTS
THE FEAST OF HARRIET BEDELL, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS AND MISSIONARY
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2021/01/08/devotion-for-palm-passion-sunday-year-d-humes/
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Above: Wheat Harvest
Image in the Public Domain
Photographer = Scott Bauer, United States Fish and Wildlife Service
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For the Fifth Sunday in Lent, 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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We beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people,
that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved ever more,
both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 154
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Hosea 6:1-6
Psalm 2
Hebrews 9:11-28
John 12:23-33
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Rituals have legitimate places in religion. They are essential to civilization. Rituals are not properly talismans, though. They cannot protect people from the consequences of persistent disobedience to God, individually and collectively.
We are counting down to Holy Week, hence the reading from Hebrews 9 and the lesson from John 12. Jesus is the greatest role model in how we love people–selflessly, and at the cost of one’s life, if necessary. Robert C. Wright, the Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta (and my bishop), exhorts people to “love like Jesus.” Bishop Wright understands what that means.
Loving like Jesus is the mandate of every Christian person, congregation, diocese, denomination, et cetera. It is the definition of being Christian. When we love like Jesus, we may worthily perform sacred rituals.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 8, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT THORFINN OF HAMAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF A. J. MUSTE, DUTCH-AMERICAN MINISTER, LABOR ACTIVIST, AND PACIFIST
THE FEAST OF ARCHANGELO CORELLI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS AND GALILEO GALILEI, SCIENTISTS
THE FEAST OF HARRIET BEDELL, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS AND MISSIONARY
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Above: Hosea
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:
Hosea 1:1-11 (Protestant and Anglican)/Hosea 1:1-2:2 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox)
Psalm 25
Colossians 1:1-14
John 12:20-36
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The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel.
–Hosea 1:1, Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible (2019)
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The reading from Hosea provides a timeframe. Dates of reigns are approximate, on the B.C.E.-C.E. scale, due to the use of relative dating in antiquity. Furthermore, if one consults three sources, one may find three different sets of dates for the reigns of the listed monarchs. With that caveat, I cite The Jewish Study Bible to tell you, O reader, the following regnal spans:
- Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah: 785-733 B.C.E.
- Jotham of Judah: 759-743 B.C.E.
- Ahaz of Judah: 743-735-727/715 B.C.E.
- Hezekiah of Judah: 727/715-698-687 B.C.E.
- Jeroboam II of Israel: 788-747 B.C.E.
- Fall of Samaria: 722 B.C.E.
The chronological problem is obvious: Kings Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah do not belong in Hosea 1:1. However, one may know that the decline of the northern Kingdom of Israel followed the death of King Jeroboam II, just as the decline of the southern Kingdom of Judah began during the reign of King Hezekiah. The beginning of a kingdom’s decline informs the reading of Hosea, set in the northern Kingdom of Israel. One may reasonably conclude that the lessons of this book were also for subjects in the Kingdom of Judah.
Divine judgment is a prominent theme in this reading from Hosea. Divine forgiveness will come up in Chapter 2. For now, however, the emphasis is on judgment. In that context, one reads that idolatry is a form of spiritual adultery and prostitution.
All the LORD’s paths are mercy and forgiveness,
for those who keep his covenant and commands.
–Psalm 25:10, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible (2019)
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Whoever serves me, must follow me,
and my servant will be with me wherever I am.
–John 12:26a, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
The invitation in Lent is to walk out of the darkness and into the light. The invitation is not to let the darkness overtake one. The invitation is to follow Jesus in the shadow of the cross.
The most enticing form of idolatry may not involve statues or anything else tangible. No, the most enticing form of idolatry may be the temptation to think of God as being manageable. God is not manageable. God is not domesticated. And God is not a vending machine. God judges. God shows mercy. God forgives the sins of the penitent. And God deserves more love than anyone and anything else in our lives.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 6, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2021/01/06/devotion-for-the-first-sunday-in-lent-year-d-humes/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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