According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  Pentecost Dove

Image Scanned from a Church Bulletin

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Ezekiel 37:1-14

Psalm 104:25-34 (LBW) or Psalm 143 (LW) or Veni Creator Spiritus

Acts 2:1-21

John 7:37-39a

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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

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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

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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

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I will not try to make sense of the Trinity, for doing so has led to the creation, repetition, and perpetuation of major heresies.  Anyway, my growing mysticism makes me increasingly comfortable with not explaining the unexplainable, in human terms.  Therefore, I choose to focus on a prominent theme:  We all depend entirely on God.  A corollary is that the Holy Spirit (part of the Trinity, however that works) bestows renewed vigor and life to communities, peoples, and individuals.

John 7:38 provides a quote of uncertain origin–certainly not from the Hebrew Bible:

Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.

—Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition

The Greek text can mean that the heart is Christ’s heart or the believer’s heart.  I prefer a theocentric interpretation, for God, not people or human experience, belongs at the center of theology.  The Holy Spirit flows from the heart of Jesus.  This passage, in context, is primarily about God, not people.  And, consistent with the Gospel of John, Jesus is the ultimate source of living water.

What may this living water gushing out of Christ’s heart perform through you, O reader, for the glory of God and the benefit of others?  What may the Holy Spirit work through various groups and organizations for the same purposes?  To play with the metaphor of living water, many people, peoples, and places are thirsty for such water.  They need the living water of the Holy Spirit for restoration to occur.  They require this living water to achieve their destiny, which God defines.  How may you and various groups and organizations function as vehicles of the living water of the Holy Spirit?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 25, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT DISMAS, PENITENT BANDIT

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Adapted from this post

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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)

Above:  Pentecost Dove

Image Scanned from a Church Bulletin

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Exodus 19:1-9 or Acts 2:1-11

Psalm 33:12-22 (LBW) or Psalm 130 (LBW) or Psalm 98 (LW)

Romans 8:14-17, 22-27

John 7:37-39a

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Almighty and ever-living God,

you fulfilled the promise of Easter

by sending your Holy Spirit to unite the races and nations on earth

and thus to proclaim your glory. 

Look upon your people gathered in prayer,

open to receive the Spirit’s flame. 

May it come to rest in our hearts

and heal the divisions of word and tongue,

that with one voice and one song

we may praise your name in joy and thanksgiving;

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), 23

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O God, on this day you once taught the hearts of your faithful people

by sending 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,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982)

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The Episcopal, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic traditions provide for the Vigil of Pentecost, a service I have never had the opportunity to attend.  Page 227 of The Book of Common Prayer (1979) contains a rubric regarding the vigil.  The Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), Lutheran Worship (1982), and Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006) offer collects and readings for the Vigil of Easter.  The Lutheran Service Book (2006), which offers no collects in the pew edition, includes readings for this vigil.

The Vigil of Pentecost was popular during the Middle Ages.  It was one of the favored occasions for baptism.  Continental Protestant reformers rejected this vigil in the 1500s; they restored the liturgical primacy of Sunday.

Yet here we are, with Lutherans approving the celebration of the Vigil of Pentecost.  Liturgical renewal, blessed by thy name!

The theme of unity carries over from the readings for the preceding Sunday.  The faith community gathers in expectation of the fulfillment of divine promises, including the “promise of Easter,” to quote the collect from the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978).

God is the central actor, despite the anthropocentric tendencies of much of human theology.  That God is central should cause much thanksgiving and place human egos in proper context.

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

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Adapted from this post

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Above:  Ancient Sardis

Image Source = Google Earth

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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 7:1-10 or Acts 23:1-11

Psalm 128

Revelation 3:1-6

John 7:1-2, 14-24

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I do not apologize to Biblical literalists for pointing out that Genesis 6:19-21 and Genesis 7:2-3 contradict each other.  The explanation for the two sets of instructions is simple:  an editor “cut and pasted” different sources together.

Psalm 128 is overly simplistic.  Sometimes people suffer for keeping the faith.  Consider, O reader, the death threats against Jesus in John 7 and the suffering of St. Paul the Apostle in Acts 23.

The message of the church at Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) remains relevant in many places, unfortunately.  A congregation may seem to be alive and thriving.  It may be full for worship services.  It may have many active programs.  It may even have a large and impressive physical structure.  Yet such a place is spiritually dead if it has forgotten to make Christ and divine grace central.

I have certain liturgical sensibilities.  Good, proper liturgy sets the spiritual table for me in corporate worship.  Some people from churches with less formal liturgies regard my liturgical preferences as dead formalism and as going through the motions.  They mistake simplicity of worship for sincerity of worship.

I have visited congregations with liturgical styles I regard as insufficient and uninspiring.  I have attended worship services at these churches.  Functionally, I have merely attended social events.  I have, of course, been sociable and well-behaved when doing so.  Through it all, though, I have wanted to be somewhere else.

Despite this, I affirm that congregations alive in Christ come in a variety of liturgical styles.  Liturgy reflects various factors, including personality, which has a bearing on one’s preferred liturgical style.

Being alive in Christ is another matter, though.  It takes congregations and their members through good times and difficult times.  It endures.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 19, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SARGENT SHRIVER AND EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER, U.S. HUMANITARIANS

THE FEAST OF SAINTS DEICOLA AND GALL, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS; AND SAINT OTHMAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AT SAINT GALLEN

THE FEAST OF ELMER G. HOMRIGHAUSEN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, AND PROFESSOR OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

THE FEAST OF HAROLD A. BOSLEY, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF HENRY TWELLS, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/19/devotion-for-proper-14-year-d-humes/

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This is post #2500 of BLOGA THEOLOGICA.

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You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name.

Above:  Christ and the Adulteress, by Rocco Marconi

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:

Acts 19:1-20

Psalm 97

3 John

John 8:1-11

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The name of Jesus has power, but only when people who believe in him use it.  Consider, O reader, the hilarious scene in Acts 19:11-20 and the serious issue (division of a congregation by one man) in the Third Letter of John.  God is the king and the earth should exult, as Psalm 97 reminds us.  However, some people still use religion self-servingly.

John 7:53-8:11 is a floating pericope.  Some ancient copies of the Gospel of Luke place it in different locations.  The final version of the Gospel of Luke lacks it.  And one can jump from John 7:52 to 8:12 without missing a beat.  This floating pericope is a compelling story–originally part of the Gospel of Luke–that has settled down as John 7:53-8:11.

Those who sought to entrap Jesus (yet again) used an adulteress as their pawn.  They seemed unconcerned about the whereabouts of the man with whom she had sinned.  Where was he?  His absence was conspicuous.

These Pharisees had distorted the Law of Moses to attempt to entrap Jesus.  They had focused on the death penalty (Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22) for one sinner and not the other one.  These Pharisees had also ignored the real issue at work in the Law of Moses vis-à-vis adultery:  the protection and stability of a man’s property.  Whatever Jesus wrote, he compelled the accusers to leave.  He reversed the trap.

Then Jesus forgave the woman.

The Law of God is not a blunt weapon to manipulate for one’s purposes.  Neither is the name of Jesus.

This point leads me back to Exodus 20:7:

—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

Robert D. Miller, II, of The Catholic University of America, offers a germane analysis of this commandment in his Understanding the Old Testament course (2019) for The Great Courses.  He explains:

This is a warning that there is no possibility of involving the name of God without something happening.

–Course Guidebook, 39

That something may involve ricochet.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 12, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH

THE FEAST OF SAINT AELRED OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF RIEVAULX

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF HENRY ALFORD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME

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Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/devotion-for-the-seventh-sunday-of-easter-year-d-humes/

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Above:  Pentecost Dove

Image Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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The Collect:

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.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 23

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The Assigned Readings:

Joel 2:21-32

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Acts 2:1-21

John 7:37-39

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Joel 2:21-32 (Protestant and Anglican versification) = Joel 2:21-3:5 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox versification)

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Dating the Book of Joel is difficult, but its message is simple:  After the judgment of God and the repentance of Israel divine mercy will be abundant and God will pour out His spirit on all people.  The assigned reading, quoted partially in Acts 2:1-21, fits well with Psalm 104.  The future age predicted in Joel 2:21-32/2:21-3:5 remains for our future, but its message of God’s universal outpouring of the Holy Spirit is timeless.  For the sake of completeness, however, one should not that Chapter 4 (if one is Jewish, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox)/Chapter 3 (if one is Anglican or Protestant) contains both judgment and mercy.

By means of both the witness of the Holy Spirit and Single Predestination, taken together, salvation is available to all people, but many people reject it, hence divine judgment.  This is unfortunate, as well as beyond any mere mortal’s pay grade, so to speak.  Nevertheless, the extent of the boundaries of divine grace would probably shock most of us, if we knew all the details.  These are properly matters in the purview of God.

John 7:37-38, in the original Greek, is a somewhat ambiguous text, due to the question of punctuation.  Related to that issue is the matter of theological interpretation, as commentaries reveal.  I feel comfortable asserting that Jesus, not the believer, is the source of the rivers of living water.  In Christianity we must look to Jesus.  God is central; we are not.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 2, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS, THE MARTYRS OF LYONS, 177

THE FEAST OF ANDERS CHRISTENSEN ARREBO, “THE FATHER OF DANISH POETRY”

THE FEAST OF MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER, HYMN WRITER, NOVELIST, AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT STEPHEN OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY, BISHOP, AND MARTYR

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Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/devotion-for-pentecost-year-a-humes/

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Above:  The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, by Gustave Dore

Image in the Public Domain

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FOR THE TENTH SUNDAY OF KINGDOMTIDE, ACCORDING TO A LECTIONARY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP IN THE BOOK OF WORSHIP FOR CHURCH AND HOME (1965)

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Almighty God, our heavenly Father:

Guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth,

and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness,

that they may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

–Modernized from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), pages 154 and 155

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Ezekiel 37:1-6, 11-14

Psalm 48

2 John 3-4, 6 and 3 John 1-11

John 8:1-11

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As we read in 2 John and 3 John, God commands us to love one another.  God loves us after all; we therefore have an order to love God fully and to love each other as we love ourselves.  The love of God surpasses human comprehension.  Via that love, we read in Ezekiel 37, a text assigned at Easter Vigils yet not really about the resurrection of the dead, exiles from Judah will return to their ancestral homeland one day.  (They did.)  The love of God is more powerful than any earthly empire.

John 7:53-8:11 is a pericope absent from the oldest extant copies of the Gospel of John.  The pericope is actually Lukan in style, and one can skip from John 7:52 to 8:12 without missing a beat.  Regardless of the literary context of the pericope its messages remain constant.  Certain opponents of Jesus violate to attempt to trap him with his words.  Then Jesus reverses the trap and ensnares them in their deeds.  Next Jesus forgives the woman–a pawn–caught in adultery with a man our Lord and Savior’s enemies never attempted to bring before him.  The woman literally has a new lease on life.  One might assume that she made the most of it and took Christ’s words to her to heart.

The love of God frees us to lead better lives in service to God–not as pawns or exiles, but as liberated human beings.  The love of God grants us yet another chance again and again.  May we make the most of them, for the glory of God and the benefit of our fellow human beings.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 11, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF MARY SLESSOR, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY IN WEST AFRICA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE FOX, FOUNDER OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS

THE FEAST OF MIEP GIES, RIGHTEOUS GENTILE

THE FEAST OF SAINT PAULINUS OF AQUILEIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCH

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Above:  Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery, by Guercino

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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Jeremiah 32:36-44

Psalm 119:73-80

2 Corinthians 1:3-11

John 7:53-8:11

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Judgment and mercy exist in balance in the Bible.  In Jeremiah 32:36-44, for example, we read that the Babylonian Exile will come yet will also end.  The author of Psalm 119 understands that God, whom he trusts, has humbled him.  In 2 Corinthians 1 the emphasis is on mercy, via Christ.

Judgment and mercy also coexist in John 7:53-8:11, a frequently misunderstood and subtle passage with some ambiguity.  It has been part of the Johannine Gospel since the 200s and is actually of Synoptic origin–probably from the Gospel of Luke.  It flows naturally in some manuscripts from Luke 21:37-38 and into Luke 22.  John 7:53-8:11 us a free-floating pericope; I treat it as such.  Indeed, one can skip over it, reading 7:52 then 8:12, and not miss a beat.

Certain religious leaders set a trap for Jesus.  This was quite a pastime in the canonical Gospels.  These particular officials, in setting this trap, violated the Law of Moses.  First, the man and woman involved in adultery were subject to the death penalty (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22).  Where was the man?  Second, there were supposed to be witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15).  The Roman authorities had deprived the Jewish authorities of the right to execute under the Law of Moses (John 18:31), so there was probably a political element to the trap–Rome or Torah?  (Those who set the trap were Roman collaborators.)  Jesus, being intelligent and perceptive, recognized the trap for what it was.  He reversed the trap.  What did he write with his finger?  Some Patristic exegetes suggested Jeremiah 17:13:

LORD, on whom Israel’s hope is fixed,

all who reject you will be put to shame,

those who forsake you will be inscribed in the dust,

for they have rejected the source of living water, the LORD.

—The Revised English Bible (1989)

But we cannot be sure.

Also, the witnesses were to be the first to stone the adulteress (Deuteronomy 17:7):

Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.

–John 8:7b, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

The woman’s accuser, of course, left the scene.  Jesus, instead of condemning her, instructed her to repent.

Then, if we accept the Lukan placement of the pericope, the chief priests and scribes plotted the death of Jess that fateful Passover week.

(Aside:  I have heard a Roman Catholic joke based on the pericope.  After John 8:11 Jesus and the woman were standing together.  Then a stone came, seemingly from nowhere.  Jesus exclaimed, “O, mother!”)

In God exists judgment and mercy.  Mercy includes opportunities to repent–to turn one’s back on sin.  God likes repentance, I keep reading in the Bible.  There is hope in repentance.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 19, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF CHARLES COFFIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF CHARITIE LEES SMITH BANCROFT DE CHENEZ, HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PIERSON MERRILL, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SOCIAL REFORMER, AND HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/19/devotion-for-proper-19-ackerman/

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Above:   The Parsonage of Vidette United Methodist Church, Vidette, Georgia, 1980-1982

Photograph by John Dodson Taylor, III

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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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Jeremiah 28:1-4, 10-17

Psalm 119:65-72

Romans 14:13-23

John 7:45-52

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The difference between a true prophet and a false one becomes evident after he or she has prophesied.  For example, if he or she states that X will happen and the opposite of X happens, he or she is a false prophet.  That is the standard Jeremiah cites in Jeremiah 28 with regard to Hananiah.  Jeremiah, however, does not judge Hananiah; God does that.

The theme of humility unites the assigned readings for this day.  Jeremiah is sufficiently humble to leave judgment to God.  The Psalmist is humble before God.  Certain Pharisees–Nicodemus excepted–manifest a lack of humility toward Jesus and the possibility of him being the Messiah and of God.  St. Paul the Apostle urges humility toward each other.

I recall that, in June 1980-June 1982, when my father was the pastor of the Vidette United Methodist Church, Vidette, Georgia, I was not to play in the yard on Sunday afternoons because, as my father said, someone might get the wrong idea.  That was ridiculous, of course.  God gave us the Sabbath as a blessing, not as a time to ponder dourly what we ought not to do.  Besides, anyone who would have taken offense at me getting exercise and fresh air in the yard on Sunday afternoons should have removed the pole from his or her rectum.  Doing so would have made siting down more comfortable for such a person.

If we permit others to prevent us from doing too much for the sake of avoiding causing offense, we will do little or nothing.  Then what good will we be?  Nevertheless, I understand the principle that we, living in community as we do, are responsible to and for each other.  We ought to live with some respect for certain responsibilities without losing the proper balance between self-restraint and Christian liberty.  Busy bodies should attend to their own business.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 18, 2017 COMMON ERA

PROPER 6:   THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINTS DELPHINUS OF BORDEAUX, AMANDUS OF BORDEAUX, SEVERINUS OF BORDEAUX, VENERIUS OF MILAN, AND CHROMATIUS OF AQUILEIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF ADOLPHUS NELSON, SWEDISH-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF ANSON DODGE, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM BINGHAM TAPPAN, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/devotion-for-proper-18-ackerman/

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Above:   Rehoboam, by Hans Holbein the Younger

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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1 Kings 12:1-20

Psalm 119:57-64

Romans 7:7-13

John 7:40-44

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The Law of God is holy; both the Psalmist and St. Paul the Apostle agree to that proposition in two of the assigned readings for today.  Yet St. Paul admits that he also finds the definition of sin that the Law proves to be a temptation to sin.  This passage precedes the famous portion of scripture in which the Apostle confesses that he knows the difference between right and wrong yet often commits the latter, even though he wants to do the former.  He is divided within himself.

In 1 Kings 12 the foolishness of the newly crowned King Rehoboam leads to the division of the Kingdom of Israel.  He ends up as the King of Judah instead.  So begins the decline of the realm King Saul once led.  We know via hindsight that both kingdoms will fall and ten tribes will become lost.

We also read of division in John 7.  Is Jesus the Messiah?  Or is he a blasphemer?  His life is certainly at risk.

As David Ackerman writes in Beyond the Lectionary (2013), unity does not require unanimity.  In the Christian context Jesus is the source of unity and the Christian Church

is a group of unlike-minded people who live out their faith and practice discipleship together.

–Page 96

Yet frequently one reads and/or hears of and encounters denominations and congregations formed or divided by the quest for like-mindedness and founded by the act of schism.  Even those who seek to reject denominationalism create new denominations, although many members of officially “undenominational” bodies object to that statement.

Part of the problem of divisiveness is that it is inherently human.  We like to keep company with people similar to ourselves.  Although the variety of denominations certainly keeps many people in the Christian fold by providing options, the scandal of denominations is that they divide the body of Christ.  I belong to a denomination–a fairly liberal one, in fact.  I like attending church where nobody will call me a heretic, for I know the sting of hearing that accusation.  Nevertheless, I also understand denominational inertia and am willing to surrender certain minor points of doctrine and practice for the sake of organic unity with a denomination or denominations with which mine is quite similar.  When organic union is not yet an option or never will be, perhaps ecumenism is on the table.  But how common are these attitudes?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 18, 2017 COMMON ERA

PROPER 6:   THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINTS DELPHINUS OF BORDEAUX, AMANDUS OF BORDEAUX, SEVERINUS OF BORDEAUX, VENERIUS OF MILAN, AND CHROMATIUS OF AQUILEIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF ADOLPHUS NELSON, SWEDISH-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF ANSON DODGE, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM BINGHAM TAPPAN, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/devotion-for-proper-17-ackerman/

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Above:   The Judgment of Solomon, by Giorgione

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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1 Kings 3:16-28

Psalm 119:49-56

1 Corinthians 14:6-19

John 7:19-24

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Do not judge by appearances,

but judge with right judgment.

–John 7:24, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

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When I think of your ordinances from of old,

I take comfort, O LORD.

–Psalm 119:52, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

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Sometimes exercising right judgment is easy.  For example, the actual mother of a child will not want to see him killed and cut in half.  At other times, however, the circumstances exist in the gray, vague area.  There people might agree regarding goals yet differ as to proper tactics.  May we, by grace, make proper decisions, choices consistent with right judgment.

A principle related to right judgment is the building up of the community, secular or religious.  The gifts of the Spirit, for example, exist to glorify God and benefit the faith community in 1 Corinthians 14.  They do not exist to draw attention to the recipients of those gifts.  Human beings are inherently social, community-oriented creatures.  We depend entirely on God and on each other.  We are responsible to and for each other.  We have no moral right to exploit one another.  Our responsibilities fall into two categories–individual and collective.  We cannot harm others without injuring ourselves or help others without benefiting ourselves.

These principles exist in the Law of Moses, present in many culturally specific examples.  May we, by grace, apply these principles to our circumstances correctly.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 18, 2017 COMMON ERA

PROPER 6:   THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINTS DELPHINUS OF BORDEAUX, AMANDUS OF BORDEAUX, SEVERINUS OF BORDEAUX, VENERIUS OF MILAN, AND CHROMATIUS OF AQUILEIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF ADOLPHUS NELSON, SWEDISH-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF ANSON DODGE, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM BINGHAM TAPPAN, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/devotion-for-proper-16-ackerman/

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