Archive for the ‘John 20’ Category
Above: Supper at Emmaus, by Caravaggio
Image in the Public Domain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Acts 4:8-12
Psalm 139:1-11 (LBW) or Psalm 16 (LW)
1 John 1:1-2:2
Luke 24:36-49
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, by the humiliation of your Son you lifted up this fallen world,
rescuing us from the hopelessness of death.
Grant your faithful people a share in the joys that are eternal;
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), 21
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O almighty and eternal God,
now that you have assured us of
the completion of our redemption
through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,
give us the will to show forth in our lives
what we profess with our lips;
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), 51
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Multiple contexts for correctly interpreting scripture exist. These include history, science, culture, and other passages of scripture. Given the range of time and of Biblical authors, some internal contradictions exist. That is unavoidable.
In the case of our reading from the First Epistle of John, however, we find our context within the Johannine tradition and that document itself. 1 John 3:6 tells us:
Anyone who abides in Jesus does not sin; anyone who sins has not seen him, nor has he known him.
—Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
Yet we read in 1 John 1:8 that those who claim to lack sin deceive themselves. The truth–in Johannine terms, activated integrity–is not in them. Recall, O reader, what I wrote in last Sunday’s devotion: In the Gospel of John, sin is the failure to recognize the divine revelation of God in Jesus. Elsewhere in the Bible–as in the Gospel of Matthew–sin is a moral failing.
While I am defining words, I add “righteousness” to the list. Righteousness is right relationship with God, self, others, and all of creation.
A complicating factor in First John is that the text mixes the two definitions of sin. When we consider all the germane verses from the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John, we arrive at a synthesis: We all have moral failings. If we are penitent, God forgives us and restores us to right relationship with God, self, others, and all of creation. Jesus eradicates the power of our moral failings over us, both collectively and individually. And, given that the Johannine understanding of sin is failing to recognize the divine revelation in Christ (John 20:22-23), nobody who is in Christ sins, according to that definition of sin. Such a person has no theological license to wallow in habitual moral failings, regardless of what certain members of the original audience of First John may have thought.
I hope that is a clear explanation.
A friend (now deceased) interceded for others by praying for “God’s best” for them. Bill’s prayer has become my petition for others and myself.
God’s best precludes habitual moral failings. God’s best entails breaking such habits, both collectively and individually. We all have habitual moral failings, both collectively and individually. And we are all subject to moral blind spots, both collectively and individually. Furthermore, moral perfectionism is an impossible standard. However, we–both collectively and individually–can improve, with divine assistance. Despite the power of negative habits and habitual moral failings, we can admit that grace is not a license for them.
God is always with us; we are never on our own and alone.
I remember a story about a Nazi guard taunting a Jew in a concentration camp.
The guard had forced the Jew to clean the especially disgusting toilets. That guard asked the Jew:
Where is your God now?
The Jew replied:
Beside me, in the muck.
God is beside us–collectively and individually–in the muck of the world and our lives. Do we recognize God in our presence? If so, how do we respond?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 20, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SEBASTIAN CASTELLIO, PROPHET OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, HYMN WRITER AND ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN
THE FEAST OF ELLEN GATES STARR, U.S. EPISCOPAL THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA JOSEFA SANCHO DE GUERRA, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SERVANTS OF THE POOR
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL RODIGAST, GERMAN LUTHERAN ACADEMIC AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SIMON WILLIAM GABRIEL BRUTÉ DE RÉMUR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF VINCENNES
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Pentecost, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
Image in the Public Domain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Acts 3:13-15, 17-26
Psalm 148
1 John 5:1-6
John 20:19-31
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almighty God, we have celebrated with joy
the festival of our Lord’s resurrection.
Graciously help us to show the power of the resurrection
in all that we say and do;
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), 21
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant, almighty God,
that we who have celebrated the mystery of the Lord’s resurrection
may by the help of your grace bring forth
the fruits thereof in our life and conduct;
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), 50
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Biblical authors did not always define certain words the same way. For example, “sin” meant a moral failing in Matthew 18:18 yet a theological failing in John 20:22-23. In the Johannine theological context, sin was the failure to recognize the revelation of God in Jesus. Hence, a Christian did not sin, in Johannine theological terms (1 John 3:6). Also, forgiving sins was a task for the faith community empowered by the Holy Spirit. This faith community, empowered by the Holy Spirit, continued the work of Jesus.
The First Epistle of John tells us that the love of God entails keeping divine commandments, which are not burdensome. The Gospel of John has Jesus say that those who love him will keep his commandments (14:23). The most basic commandment of Jesus is the Golden Rule. That should not be burdensome, should it?
God forgives sins, whichever definition one uses. So should the communities of the people of God. Repentance must precede forgiveness, especially if one defines sins as moral failings. Forgiveness without prior repentance is cheap grace–something meaningless and not transformative.
Just as repentance must precede forgiveness for forgiveness to mean anything, truth must precede reconciliation, something else Jesus brings and God grants. In the Johannine lexicon, truth means “activated integrity.” It is not a philosophical abstraction; no truth is something lived. The hard work of being honest must precede the graces of reconciliation and forgiveness. This is a lesson which many people–including certain politicians and many of their supporters–prefer to ignore. They seek to brush difficulties of the collective and/or individual past under the proverbial rug. They seek the cheap graces of painless forgiveness and faux reconciliation without prior repentance and the acknowledgment of reality. And they often do so in the name of Jesus, unfortunately. They, therefore, mock God, truth, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 20, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SEBASTIAN CASTELLIO, PROPHET OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, HYMN WRITER AND ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN
THE FEAST OF ELLEN GATES STARR, U.S. EPISCOPAL THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA JOSEFA SANCHO DE GUERRA, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SERVANTS OF THE POOR
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL RODIGAST, GERMAN LUTHERAN ACADEMIC AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SIMON WILLIAM GABRIEL BRUTÉ DE RÉMUR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF VINCENNES
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Angel in the Tomb
Image in the Public Domain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 118:1-2, 15-24
1 Corinthians 15:19-28
John 20:1-9 (10-18) or Mark 16:1-8
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, you gave your only Son
to suffer death on the cross for our redemption,
and by his glorious resurrection
you delivered us from the power of death.
Make us die every day to sin,
so that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 20-21
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almighty God the Father, through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ,
you have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us.
Grant that we,
who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection,
may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 47
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 24-27, part of Third Isaiah, is a proto-apocalypse. Daniel contains a fully fully-developed apocalypse in chapters 7-12, which date to the Hasmonean period. Revelation (the Apocalypse of John) and some pseudepigraphal works are fully-developed apocalypses, too. Isaiah 24-27 contains many of the features of those later writings.
The apocalyptic genre is optimistic, for it proclaims that God will win in the end. The proto-apocalypse in Isaiah 24-27 is optimistic in so far as it speaks of the metaphorical resurrection of Judah while using the language of destroying death and reviving corpses.
The assigned readings, taken together, speak of an illness. A conquered people may move into a better future. And the resurrection of Jesus makes renewed individual and collective life in God possible.
As I write these words, I live in troubled, cynical times. Anti-democratic forces, competing in elections around the world, have much popular support. Sometimes they win elections. Many candidates who speak favorably of family values engage in political bullying and celebrate cruelty and insensitivity. Many such candidates frequently win elections, too. The great web of mutuality that protects members of society–the most vulnerable ones, especially–continues to fray under the assault by a selfish variety of individualism. The morally neutral act of remaining informed regarding current events becomes an occasion of inviting excessive stress into one’s life. Hope seems to be in short supply. Positive statements about the Kingdom of God may ring hollow. One may feel like the women at the empty tomb of Jesus–afraid. I do.
And, when we turn our attention to death itself, we may experience the depths of despair and the harsh reality of someone’s loss. The light may go out of our lives, as it did for Theodore Roosevelt on February 12, 1884, when his mother and first wife died.
I understand my grief well enough to know not to resort to platitudes. I comprehend that death stings. I know from the past and from current events that the world has long been and continues to be rife with delusion and injustice. I, as a student of history, grasp that history does not repeat itself, but that history rhymes. It rhymes because many people fail to learn the lessons of the past.
Yet the Christian hope teaches me that the Reverend Doctor Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) was correct:
This is my Father’s world,
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
The battle is not done,
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.
–Quoted in The Hymnal (1933), #70
Happy Easter!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 18, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT LEONIDES OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 202; ORIGEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN; SAINT DEMETRIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT ALEXANDER OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, BISHOP, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF ELIZA SIBBALD ALDERSON, POET AND HYMN WRITER; AND JOHN BACCHUS DYKES, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL OF CYPRUS, EASTERN ORTHODOX MARTYR, 760
THE FEAST OF ROBERT WALMSLEY, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Pentecost Dove
Image Scanned from a Church Bulletin
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Joel 2:28-29
Psalm 104:25-34 or Veni Creator Spiritus
Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
as you sent upon the disciples the promised gift of the Holy Spirit,
look upon your Church and open our hearts to the power of the Spirit.
Kindle in us the fire of your love,
and strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
OR
God our creator, earth has many languages,
but your Gospel announces your love
to all nations in one heavenly speech.
Make us messengers of the good news that,
through the power of your Spirit,
everyone everywhere may unite in one song of praise;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 23
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, on this day you once taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit.
Grant us in our day the same Spirit
to have a right understanding in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy consolation;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in communion with the Holy Spirit,
now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 59
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS
Come, Holy Spirit;
send down from heaven’s heigh
your radiant light.
Come, lamp of every heart,
come, parent of the poor,
all gifts ar yours.
Comforter beyond all comforting,
sweet unexpected guest,
sweetly refresh.
Rest in hard labour;
coolness in heavy heat,
hurt souls’ relief.
Refill the secret hearts
of your faithful,
O most blessed light.
Without your holy power
nothing can bear your light,
nothing is free from sin.
Wash all that is filthy,
water all that is parched,
heal what is hurt within.
Bend all that is rigid,
warm all that has frozen hard,
lead back the lost.
Give to your faithful ones,
who come in simple trust,
your sevenfold mystery.
Give virtue its reward,
give, in the end, salvation
and joy that has no end.
–Original Latin text by Rabanus Maurus, 800s C.E.; translation courtesy of The Church of England, Common Worship: Daily Prayer (2005), 642
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pentecost is the fiftieth and last day of the season of Easter. The baptismal connection to this feast is strong. The alternative name, Whitsunday (White Sunday) refers to the white garments of the newly baptized.
The divine nature exceeds human comprehension. Orthodox theology offers partial answers, the best we mere mortals can receive. Receiving those answers does not guarantee comprehending them, though. So be it. Christianity is not Gnosticism; salvation depends on grace, not knowledge. With all this in mind, we can still utilize useful language, much of which may be theological poetry, not theological prose. God is with us. God empowers us. Christian language for this truth is “the Holy Spirit.”
However, I seek to avoid committing modalism, an ancient Trinitarian heresy. This heresy denies the permanent existence of the members of the Holy Trinity and focuses on allegedly transitory distinctions, defined by functions. Know, O reader, that I am not a modalist. I merely acknowledge that the full nature of God is too much for a human mind to grasp and that we mere mortals experience God in certain ways.
I like the Jewish way of explaining the divine nature and character, as much as doing so is possible. That method is recalling what God has done. This method pervades the Hebrew Bible. Think, O reader, what God has done that you have noticed. Ask yourself what these divine actions tell you about the nature and character of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 26, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM COWPER, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ADELARD OF CORBIE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND ABBOT; AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, SAINT PASCAHSIUS RADBERTUS, FRANKISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
THE FEAST OF RUGH BYLLESBY, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS IN GEORGIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT STANISLAW KUBITSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1940; AND SAINT WLADYSLAW GORAL, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR, 1945
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM STRINGFELLOW, EPISCOPAL ATTORNEY, THEOLOGIAN, AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Tango Postcard, 1920
Image in the Public Domain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 105:1-7
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almighty God, we have celebrated with joy
the festival of our Lord’s resurrection.
Graciously help us to show the power of the resurrection
in all that we say and do;
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), 21
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant, almighty God,
that we who have celebrated the mystery of the Lord’s resurrection
may by the help of your grace bring forth
the fruits thereof in our life and conduct;
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), 50
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Given that I have written lectionary-based devotions for more than a decade, I choose not to use this post to focus on a passage that may not seem like the obvious bullseye.
John 20:30-31 is probably the original conclusion to the Fourth Gospel. That conclusion ends:
…that through this belief [that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God] you may have life in his name.
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
This theme, present also in the readings from Acts and 1 Peter, is where I dwell today, instead of defending St. Thomas the Apostle again. Two words attract my attention:
- Belief, in the full, Biblical sense, is trust. Whenever someone asks me if I believe in God, I ask what that person means. In vernacular English, “believe” indicates acceptance of a preposition. In the English-language vernacular, to believe in God is to affirm the existence of God. I always affirm the existence of God. I usually trust in God. Likewise, to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God is to trust that he is both of those.
- “Life” refers to eternal life. In Johannine theology, eternal life is knowing God via Jesus. Logically, beginning with Johannine theological assumptions, to trust that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God leads to eternal life. If x, then y.
These are articles of faith; we have no evidence for them or against them. When trust in God is required, the quest for certainty constitutes idolatry. Certainty feels comforting. We can be certain of much, either by proving or disproving propositions. Yet much falls into the gray zone of faith; we have it or lack it. That uncertainty may unnerve us. Fundamentalism undercuts trust in God by offering the crutch of false certainty.
Somewhere, years ago, I heard an intriguing spiritual metaphor–performing a daring dance with God. That daring dance is the dance of trust, of faith. It is daring from a human perspective. May God have this dance?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 18, 2022 COMMON ERA
MONDAY IN EASTER WEEK
THE FEAST OF ROGER WILLIAMS, FOUNDER OF RHODE ISLAND; AND ANNE HUTCHINSON, REBELLIOUS PURITAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT CORNELIA CONNELLY, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF THE HOLY CHILD JESUS
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY ANNA BLONDIN, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT ANNE
THE FEAST OF MARY C. COLLINS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MISSIONARY AND MINISTER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MURIN OF FAHAN, LASERIAN OF LEIGHLIN, GOBAN OF PICARDIE, FOILLAN OF FOSSES, AND ULTAN OF PERONNE, ABBOTS; SAINTS FURSEY OF PERONNE AND BLITHARIOUS OF SEGANNE, MONKS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROMAN ARCHUTOWSKI, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1943
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Easter Celtic Cross
Image Scanned from a Church Bulletin
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 15-24
Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-9 (10-18) or Matthew 28:1-10
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, you gave your only Son
to suffer death on the cross for our redemption,
and by his glorious resurrection
you delivered us from the power of death.
Make us die every day to sin,
so that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 20-21
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almighty God the Father, through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ,
you have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us.
Grant that we,
who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection,
may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 47
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I have been writing lectionary-based devotions for more than a decade. In that time, I have exhausted what I can write for the main service of Easter Day.
So be it. Trying to explain the resurrection is pointless. (I have heard people debate the mechanics of it, pointlessly.) One may read an attempt by St. Clement I of Rome, circa 96 C.E., in his Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Clement). That attempt is pious yet inadequate. No explanation is adequate.
Therefore, O reader, I refer you to the assigned readings (especially from the New Testament) and wish you a happy Easter–all fifty days of it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 16, 2022 COMMON ERA
HOLY SATURDAY
THE FEAST OF SAINT BERNADETTE OF LOURDES, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY
THE FEAST OF CALVIN WEISS LAUFER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMNODIST
THE FEAST OF ISABELLA GILMORE, ANGLICAN DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF MIKAEL SUMA, ALBANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, FRIAR, AND MARTYR, 1950
THE FEAST OF PETER WILLIAMS CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL DEACON; AND HIS WIFE, ANNIE BESANT CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL EDUCATOR
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, by Jacob Pynas
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Acts 14:8-20
Psalm 1
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
John 20:19-31
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Culture conditions human perceptions. One may see, for example, a man (such as St. Paul the Apostle) heal a man by the power of God. Then one may perceive that agent of divine healing as a deity. Being devout, by some definition, does not guarantee accurate perception of the divine. One can misunderstand and be lost, therefore.
I, having defended the skeptical St. Thomas the Apostle (my favorite saint and Biblical character) many times, let my defense of him stand as I move along from the reading from John 20. Some people see and perceive accurately. Then they act accordingly. They are like the man (yes, “man,” in the Hebrew text of Psalm 1. They are like a tree planted beside streams of water. They bear fruit in season. Their foliage never fades.
How good are you, O reader, at seeing past your cultural blinder? How good am I at that?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE GOOD, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF MILAN
THE FEAST OF ALLEN WILLIAM CHATFIELD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF IGNATIOUS SPENCER, ANGLICAN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND APOSTLE OF ECUMENICAL PRAYER; AND HIS PROTEGÉE, ELIZABETH PROUT, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF THE CROSS AND PASSION
THE FEAST OF MARY LUNDIE DUNCAN, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM GAY BALLANTINE, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, EDUCATOR, SCHOLAR, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2021/01/10/devotion-for-the-second-sunday-of-easter-year-d-humes/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Icon of the Resurrection
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Acts 10:34-43 or Job 19:7-27c
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:35-50
John 20:1-18
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I am usually at a loss for many words at Easter. In this case, the readings are mostly self-explanatory. For my comments on Job 19:7-17c, however, read the germane posts at this weblog.
Whenever I hear someone go on and on about the crucifixion of Jesus, especially regarding the Atonement, I have a critique. That critique is to keep going. Do not stop at the death of Jesus. Dead Jesus cannot save anyone from anything. No, the Resurrection completed the Atonement.
Christ is alive! It’s true! It’s true!
Happy Easter! Enjoy all 50 days of the season.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 10, 2021
THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE GOOD, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF MILAN
THE FEAST OF ALLEN WILLIAM CHATFIELD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF IGNATIOUS SPENCER, ANGLICAN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND APOSTLE OF ECUMENICAL PRAYER; AND HIS PROTEGÉE, ELIZABETH PROUT, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF THE CROSS AND PASSION
THE FEAST OF MARY LUNDIE DUNCAN, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM GAY BALLANTINE, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, EDUCATOR, SCHOLAR, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2021/01/10/devotion-for-easter-sunday-year-d-humes/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Icon of the Resurrection
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For Easter Sunday, Year 1
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)
Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almighty God, who through the resurrection of thine only begotten Son Jesus Christ,
hast overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life;
assist and support us, we beseech thee, the aspirations of thy heavenly grace,
that dying unto sin always, and living unto righteousness,
we may at last triumph over death and the grave, in the full image of our risen Lord:
to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, world without end. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 163
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 25:1-9
Psalm 118:14-29
1 Corinthians 15:12-28
John 20:1-10
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
–1 Corinthians 15:19-20, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I am, to a great extent, a product of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. I make no apologies for this; I value science, evidence, objective reality, liberty of conscience, constitutional government, human reason, the separation of powers, and the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and dissent. Call me a radical, if you wish, O reader. I call myself an Episcopalian. I get to believe in Jesus and accept fossil records, rock layers, geological time, dinosaurs, and evolution. I am a modernist in both the Enlightenment and late nineteenth-century meanings of that word.
I do not pretend, however, that my intellectual categories are sufficient for all circumstances. My scientific, Enlightenment, and historical categories prove helpful most of the time. As I age, however, I find, much to my surprise, that mysticism is becoming a more prominent component of my spirituality.
I also understand the difference between faith and proof. I need no faith to accept that which I can prove. I can also disprove many subjective claims by citing objective evidence. Faith his how believes that which is true yet one can neither prove nor disprove.
I know that human nature is corrupted (despite what certain Enlightenment philosophers argued) because I study the past and have something of a grasp of current events. I have as much of a grasp of current events as I can without crossing the line into my spiritual and psychological detriment. I have as much of a grasp of current events as possible without risking turning into General George Patton’s ideal man–one who can swear profanely for three minutes consistently without repeating any word. Human depravity is a certainty–a fact–for me; it is not an article of faith for me. On the other hand, I accept the existence of God on faith. In fact the I reject the possibility of proving the existence of God logically.
Likewise, I believe (trust, literally) in the resurrection of Jesus. I do so by faith. I do not know that the resurrection is true; I believe (trust) that it is. I stake everything on it being true. I know that Jesus was a historical figure, but I believe that he was the incarnate Son of God, crucified and resurrected.
The resurrection of Jesus is one of the relatively few Christian doctrines one must accept to be a Christian. The Virgin Birth is an optional doctrine, for example, but the Incarnation is not. One may also choose to accept or reject the Immaculate Conception of St. Mary of Nazareth and be a Christian either way. (Yes, I understand the difference between the Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Birth. The first sets the stage for the second.) As I was writing, the resurrection of Jesus, like the Incarnation, is mandatory for inclusion in the Christian faith. Without the resurrection, we have a dead Jesus, who cannot save anyone from any sins and their consequences. The resurrection completes the atonement, according to the Classic Theory of the Atonement, or Christus Victor.
The resurrection also contradicts and violates most of my intellectual categories. So be it.
Happy Easter!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 4, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT THE AFRICAN, FRANCISCAN FRIAR AND HERMIT
THE FEAST OF ALFRED C. MARBLE, JR., EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF MISSISSIPPI THEN ASSISTING BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA
THE FEAST OF ERNEST W. SHURTLEFF, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER, AND MARTYR, 1968
THE FEAST OF SIDNEY LOVETT, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND CHAPLAIN OF YALE UNIVERSITY
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Miraculous Draft of Fishes, by Konrad Witz
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For the First Sunday after Easter, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grant, we pray thee, O God, that we who have celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
may demonstrate his victory in our daily conduct and face the future unafraid;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 122
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Exodus 15:1-13
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
John 20:19-31
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I choose to focus on the New Testament readings, with a brief analysis of Exodus 15:1-13 before I start in earnest. The foreshadowing of subsequent grumbling and punishment is not accidental, given that the editors know how the story ended. The necessity of responding faithfully to (free) grace is a timeless principle.
St. Clement I of Rome, writing to the church in Corinth circa 100 C.E., argued against doubting the resurrection of Jesus. He cited natural cycles and the myth of the phoenix (which he apparently thought was real) to support his position.
I understand why many of the close associates of Jesus doubted the resurrection at first; how often does something like that happen? I also read that they they encountered him again. I do not have the luxury of meeting Jesus in the flesh. I must, therefore, have faith to affirm the resurrection.
Encountering Jesus again dramatically proved insufficient for some of the Apostles. After the encounter in John 20, some of them tried to return to fishing in Chapter 21. They had seen him again yet acted that way just a few days later.
We are not so different from those Apostles as we may imagine. Do we tell ourselves that seeing is believing? And, when we see something much less dramatic than Jesus walking through a locked door, do we really believe?
Martin Luther was correct; we must and can rely on the faithfulness of God, for human behavior frequently indicates a lack of fidelity.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 27, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CORNELIUS HILL, ONEIDA CHIEF AND EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HUGH THOMSON KERR, SR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST; AND HIS SON, HUGH THOMSON KERR, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JAMES MOFFATT, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE GEORGIAN, ABBOT; AND SAINTS EUTHYMIUS OF ATHOS AND GEORGE OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN, ABBOTS AND TRANSLATORS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.