Archive for the ‘Luke 10’ Category
Above: Icon of Christ and the Twelve Apostles
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LIV
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Acts 1:12-26
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The Twelve had become the Eleven after the death of Judas Iscariot. The Eleven had plenty of company, though; they belonged to a community of about one hundred twenty people–enough to constitute a new Sanhedrin. And both men and women counted.
The account of the death of Judas Iscariot in Matthew 27:3-10 contradicts the version in Acts 1:16-20. The Judas Iscariot of Matthew 27 was a penitent who committed suicide while overcome with guilt. In contrast, the Judas Iscariot of Acts 1:16-20 was an unapologetic man who died when his bowels burst out. The manner of Judas Iscariot’s death in Acts 1:16-20 echoed stories of the deaths of wicked people (2 Samuel 20:4-13; 2 Maccabees 9:5-6). Another nuance may relate to the bowels metaphorically being the seat of emotions. In Greek, “bowels” is splanchnon; “pity” or “compassion’ is splanchnizomai. In Luke 10:33, the Good Samaritan, “moved by pity,” helped the man by the side of the road. In Luke 15:20, the father of the Prodigal Son, “filled with compassion,” welcomed his son home. Another implication, then, may be that Judas Iscariot lacked pity/compassion.
The metaphor of the bowels as the seat of emotions persisted in English for a long time. In 1742, Charles Wesley wrote a hymn, “Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown.” Two lines, in the original form, were:
To me, to all, thy bowels move,
Thy nature, and thy name is love.
Since 1893, however, God’s mercies have moved instead.
(Thanks to Brian Wren, Praying Twice: The Music and Words of Congregational Song, 2000, for bringing this to my attention.)
Echoes of the metaphor remain in English. We still have “gut feelings,” for example.
Restoring the Twelve had symbolic importance. The candidates were some of the Seventy (or Seventy-Two). St. Matthias won the election. Symbolically, twelve (the number of tribes) indicated the restoration of Israel. This restoration of the Twelve occurred shortly before God did something astounding.
May we never underestimate the value of symbols. A symbol carries the meaning(s) people assign to it. Symbols are, therefore, powerful. Objectively, a flag is merely a piece of cloth. Symbolically, however, people infuse flags with meanings, for example. Symbols are tangible signs of that which is intangible.
Consider the symbols of the sacraments, O reader. Something intangible is at work in a sacrament. Yet we hear words in a ritual. We see the water of baptism and the laying on of hands at an ordination. We receive bread and wine at Eucharist. All these are symbols and signs. They are tangible; grace is intangible. In the case of bread and wine, of course, the symbols become what they symbolize. I leave the mystery as it is and thank God for it.
What symbols indicate grace for you, O reader?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 28, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JAMES SOLOMON RUSSELL, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, EDUCATOR, AND ADVOCATE FOR RACIAL EQUALITY
THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH RUNDLE CHARLES, ANGLICAN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT GUNTRAM OF BURGUNDY, KING
THE FEAST OF KATHARINE LEE BATES, U.S. EDUCATOR, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF RICHARD CHEVNIX TRENCH, ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN
THE FEAST OF SAINT TUTILO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND COMPOSER
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Above: Icon of the Ascension, by Andrei Rublev
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LIII
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Luke 24:50-53
Acts 1:1-11
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Given that I have written numerous blog posts about the Ascension, and given that they are available at this weblog, I do not seek to replicate them in this post.
As I continue through Luke-Acts, I notice a narrative contradiction. Luke 24:50-53, read within the narrative context of chapter 24, dates the Ascension to Easter Day. Yet Acts 1:3 dates the Ascension to forty days after Easter Day. Interpretations of this discrepancy include:
- “Forty days” is symbolic,
- The forty days fill out the calendar, and
- Acts 1:3 corrects Luke 24 after St. Luke the Evangelist uncovered more information than he had when he wrote the Gospel of Luke.
I am not a fundamentalist. Biblical inerrancy and infallibility are utter nonsense. If St. Luke changed his mind, so be it. If “forty days” is symbolic, so be it. I do not know which interpretation is corect.
Forty is frequently a symbolic number in the Bible. One may recall that the reign of King David lasted for about forty years, that the Hebrews wandered in the desert for forty years, that Jesus spent forty days in the desert, and that the mythical Great Flood lasted for forty days and forty nights. Forty is a sacred number in the Bible. It, therefore, recurs in the Bible for many more examples than i have cited. Forty, symbolically, is a round number that designates a fairly long time in terms of human existence or endurance.
So, even if the forty days (Acts 1:3) are symbolic, they still contradict Luke 24, with Jesus’s resurrection and the Ascension occurring on the same day.
Anyway, “ascension” may not be the most accurate word for Jesus’ departure. “Assumption” may be better. Christ’s departure resembles the assumptions of Elijah (2 Kings 2:9-11; Sirach 48:9) and Enoch (Genesis 5:23-24; Sirach 49:14b), with apocalyptic imagery added.
The priestly gestures and blessings of Jesus before his departure, followed by worship, close the Gospel of Luke fittingly. Recall Luke 1:20-23, O reader: the priest Zechariah could not pronounce a blessing.
The Lukan accounts of the Ascension of Jesus also draw from Sirach 50:1-21, about the high priest Simon II. The account of Simon II depicts him as the culmination of Israel’s history, at the point of the composition of that book. Luke-Acts, which postdates Sirach, depicts Jesus as the culmination of Israel’s history.
In Luke 24, the Ascension is the fitting end of the story of Jesus. In Acts 1, however, the Ascension is the beginning of the story of the mission of the Church. Placing the two Lukan interpretations side-by-side provides the full picture.
I also detect one of St. Luke’s organizing principles in Luke 24 and Acts 1. Luke-Acts finishes focusing on one story before focusing on another one, although the stories may overlap. Consider the focus on St. John the Baptist (Luke 3) before the focus on Jesus (Luke 4-24), O reader. Then we come to a different focus, starting in Acts 1.
The story of the mission of the Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, follows.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 2, 2022 COMMON ERA
ASH WEDNESDAY
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Above: Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, by Johannes Vermeer
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XXVII
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Luke 10:38-42
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July 29 is the Feast of Sts. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany in The Episcopal Church.
The Gospel of Luke has already established that following Jesus outweighs all other obligations. In this context, we read of St. Mary of Bethany, a younger sister, listening to Jesus as a male disciple would. One may imagine the older sister, St. Martha of Bethany, mindful of her hospitable duties, muttering under her breath,
Where is Mary?
After all, somebody had to feed the guest and provide the hospitality. St. Martha played her role. St. Mary of Bethany was a female disciple of Jesus; she played her role.
We need Marys and Marthas. The contemplative life is valid; may nobody disparage it without receiving due criticism in return. The active life is also valid; may nobody criticize it without receiving due criticism in return. Service and contemplation are valid spiritual paths. However, expecting a square peg to fit into a round hole–as in expecting a contemplative to serve as one God is a way incompatible with that spiritual type–is unfair.
I have noticed a disdain for the Christian contemplative tradition within liberal, moderate, and conservative Protestantism alike. I have heard many Protestants dismiss contemplative monastics as being useless. Such Protestants have missed at least to major points and bought into the (Calvinist) Protestant Work Ethic. They have forgotten that the Sabbath–a time of intentional non-productivity–is a way of emulating God. Such critics have also missed the point Jesus made explicitly: St. Mary of Bethany had chosen the better part, and she would not lose it because for her, listening to Jesus was the better part.
I defend both sisters. As one who enjoys knowing that he has done something, I understand St. Martha’s concern. As one with contemplative tendencies and the desire to study the Bible and even to write weblogs about it, I identify with St. Mary, too. Critics of monastics need to reconsider their scorn for the contemplative tradition. If these critics really affirm the efficacy of prayer, they ought to thank God for people who devote their lives to it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 3, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF EDWARD CASWALL, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD PERRONET, BRITISH METHODIST PREACHER
THE FEAST OF ELMER G. HOMRIGHAUSEN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, AND PROFESSOR OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
THE FEAST OF GLADYS AYLWARD, MISSIONARY IN CHINA AND TAIWAN
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM ALFRED PASSAVANT, SR., U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HUMANITARIAN, AND EVANGELIST
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Above: The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XXVI
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Luke 10:25-37
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I have been writing Bible-based blog posts for more than a decade. I have, therefore, written about Luke 10:25-37 at least seven previous times.
Therefore, I refer you, O reader to those posts, which bear the tag, “Parable of the Good Samaritan.” I do not feel obligated to repeat in this post all I have written about this parable in previous posts.
Every commentary I have read regarding the Parable of the Good Samaritan agrees that
Who is my neighbor?
is not the real question the man seeking to justify himself asked. They agree that his actual meaning was,
Who is not my neighbor?
Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler, in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011), properly push back against stereotypes of Judaism in Christian interpretations of the parable. They point out that those who passed the man on the dangerous Jerusalem-Jericho road ignored the moral mandate in the Law of Moses regarding respect for corpses and love of neighbors. Levine and Brettler also stress that the priest had left Jerusalem, and that ritual impurity was, therefore, a lesser concern for him than if he were headed the other way.
I accept those posts and add that they paint the people who did not help the man or respect what they guessed to be a corpse in an especially dark light. Some people ought to know better and behave differently than they do, after all.
Jesus, having quoted the Torah and indicated his solidarity with the school of Rabbi Hillel, answered the question of the man seeking to justify himself really asked. Jesus said, in so many words,,
All people are your neighbors.
Levine and Brettler agree. They write that the issue is:
can we recognize that the enemy might be our neighbor and can we accept this disruption of our stereotypes?
–123
Are you, O reader, and I more interested in justifying ourselves to ourselves and maintaining our stereotypes of others than we are in loving human beings, seeking the best for them, and obeying the moral mandates from God?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 3, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF EDWARD CASWALL, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD PERRONET, BRITISH METHODIST PREACHER
THE FEAST OF ELMER G. HOMRIGHAUSEN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, AND PROFESSOR OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
THE FEAST OF GLADYS AYLWARD, MISSIONARY IN CHINA AND TAIWAN
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM ALFRED PASSAVANT, SR., U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HUMANITARIAN, AND EVANGELIST
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Above: Icon of the Ministry of the Apostles
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XV
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Luke 6:12-19; 10:1-24
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INTRODUCTION
Jesus had many disciples. There were, for example the Twelve apostles (6:13), literally, persons sent out. May we not forget the seventy(-two) disciples he sent out in 10:1-24.
Some numbers were simultaneously literal and symbolic:
- Twelve symbolized the restoration of Israel. There had been twelve tribes of Israel, with ten of them lost to assimilation. The Twelve apostles were the nucleus of the new people of God.
- Seventy or seventy-two (depending on the manuscript of the Gospel of Luke one believes) calls back to Numbers 11:16, 25. One may recall the story. Moses had selected seventy elders with whom to share his burden of leadership. The spirit of God had fallen upon the seventy elders plus two other men. According to Luke 10:1-24, Jesus was the new Moses, and his seventy or seventy-two other disciples helped to lead the new exodus.
We have encountered the the themes of exile and exodus in Luke-Acts already. Was the ministry of Jesus an exodus? Was living under Roman occupation a form of exile?
Think about it, O reader.
THE TWELVE
Comparing the names of the Twelve, according to the canonical Gospels, yields superficially different names in some lists:
- The Synoptic tradition lists St. Bartholomew; the Johannine tradition lists St. Nathanael.
- Tradition associates St. Matthew Levi the tax collector (Luke 5:27f), as the same man, but both “Bartholomew” and “Matthew” mean “gift of God.”
- Tradition associates St. Bartholomew with St. Nathanael, as the same man.
- The Gospels of Matthew and Mark list St. Thaddeus. The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles list St. Judas, son of James, instead.
None of this disturbs me; a person can have more than one name. In the New Testament alone, I point to some examples:
- St. Simon (Peter), a.k.a. Cephas;
- St. (Joseph) Barnabas;
- St. (John) Mark; and
- (Joseph) Barsabbas, who nearly filled the vacancy Judas Iscariot left.
The scholarly debate whether the Twelve were literally twelve in number marginally interests me. Besides, the burden of proof is on those who argue that the Twelve consisted of more than twelve men. I prefer to shave with Ockham’s Razor.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Luke 10:1-16 and 10:17-20 bear a striking similarity to Luke 9:1-6 and 9:10.
“…the kingdom of God is very near to you.”
–Luke 9:9b, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
In other words, the partially-realized Kingdom of God is present. The fully-realized Kingdom of God remains in the future tense, at least from a human perspective. According to Realized Eschatology, the Kingdom of God does not arrive; it is. Given that God exists outside of time, so does the Kingdom of God. Certain events make the reality of the Kingdom of God more apparent and, in so doing, up the ante. Consider the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity as Jesus of Nazareth. Upping the ante increases the consequences for rejection and heightens responsibility. Grace is free, not cheap. One has a responsibility to respond favorably to grace, which imposes demands.
MY COMPLEX FAITH
I have asked myself a hypothetical question: Would I have followed Jesus if I had met him in person during his earthly life? I have concluded that I do not know. Hypothetically, I may have found him objectionable, given my hypothetical attachment to certain “received wisdom.” Or, hypothetically, I may have been receptive to Jesus’s teachings.
I wonder because I am a complex human being. My faith is complex, not simple. On one hand, I have a rebellious streak a mile wide, so to speak. I delight in poking my proverbial fingers into the equally proverbial eyes of authority figures. They have it coming! I am, obviously, neither an authoritarian, a conservative, nor a likely member of any cult. However, I balance my rebelliousness with a healthy respect for order. Rebellion must serve a constructive purpose; it must resist and hopefully destroy an unjust social and political order. This is why Luke-Acts and Revelation appeal to me; they speak of God turning the upside-down social order right side-up. The unjust human order must fall before the divine order can commence.
As I age, I simultaneously moderate and become more radical. My theological approach moderates; I remain a liberal yet have moved slightly to the right. Yet, as I continue to study the Bible and internalize its ethics and morals (read in historical and cultural contexts, of course), the more dissatisfied I become with the human order and the Religious Right (of whom I have never been a fan). The radicalism of the Hebrew prophets and Jesus appeals to me.
So, I wonder how I, hypothetically, would have responded to Jesus in person. I question whether I would have favored order and routine or whether I would have supported the creative destruction God brings.
I invite you, O reader, to ask yourself the same question and to answer it honestly. Then take the result of that spiritual self-examination to God.
STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF FAITH
I, as a Christian at the end of 2021, owe much to the earliest followers of Jesus. I stand on their shoulders. My faith exists in part because of their faith.
How many people will stand your shoulders of faith, O reader? How many will stand on mine?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 28, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST (TRANSFERRED)
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Above: Icon of St. Luke the Evangelist
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART I
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The whole of Luke’s gospel is about the way in which the living God has planted, in Jesus, the seed of that long-awaited hope in the world.
–N. T. Wright, Lent for Everyone: Luke, Year C–A Daily Devotional (2009), 2
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The Gospel of Luke is the first volume of a larger work. The Acts of the Apostles is the second volume. One can read either volume spiritually profitably in isolation from the other one. However, one derives more benefit from reading Luke-Acts as the two-volume work it is.
Each of the four canonical Gospels bears the name of its traditional author. The Gospel of Luke is the only case in which I take this traditional authorship seriously as a matter of history. One may recall that St. Luke was a well-educated Gentile physician and a traveling companion of St. Paul the Apostle.
Luke-Acts dates to circa 85 C.E.,. “give or take five to ten years,” as Raymond E. Brown (1928-1998) wrote in his magisterial An Introduction to the New Testament (1997). Luke-Acts, having a Gentile author, includes evidence that the audience consisted of Gentiles, too. The text makes numerous references to the inclusion of Gentiles, for example. Two of the major themes in Luke-Acts are (a) reversal of fortune, and (b) the conflict between the Roman Empire and the Kingdom of God. The smoldering ruins of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in 70 C.E. inform the present tense of the story-telling.
Many North American Christians minimize or ignore the imperial politics in the New Testament. In doing so, they overlook essential historical and cultural contexts. Luke-Acts, in particular, performs an intriguing political dance with the Roman Empire. The two-volume work unambiguously proclaims Jesus over the Emperor–a treasonous message, by Roman imperial standards. Luke-Acts makes clear that the Roman Empire was on the wrong side of God, that its values were opposite those of the Kingdom of God. Yet the two-volume work goes out of its way to mention honorable imperial officials.
Know six essential facts about me, O reader:
- This weblog is contains other blog posts covering Luke-Acts, but in the context of lectionaries. I refer you to those posts. And I will not attempt to replicate those other posts in the new posts. Finding those posts is easy; check the category for the book and chapter, such as Luke 1 or Acts 28.
- I know far more about the four canonical Gospels, especially in relation to each other, than I will mention in the succeeding posts. I tell you this not to boast, but to try to head off anyone who may chime in with a rejoinder irrelevant to my purpose in any given post. My strategy will be to remain on topic.
- My purpose will be to analyze the material in a way that is intellectually honest and applicable in real life. I respect Biblical scholarship that goes deep into the woods, spending ten pages on three lines. I consult works of such scholarship. However, I leave that work to people with Ph.Ds in germane fields and who write commentaries.
- I am a student of the Bible, not a scholar thereof.
- I am a left-of-center Episcopalian who places a high value on human reason and intellect. I value history and science. I reject both the inerrancy and the infallibility of scripture for these reasons. Fundamentalists think I am going to Hell for asking too many questions. I try please God, not fundamentalists. I know too much to affirm certain theological statements.
- I am a sui generis mix of Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican theological influences. I consider St. Mary of Nazareth to be the Theotokos (the Bearer of God) and the Mater Dei (the Mother of God). I also reject the Virgin Birth and the Immaculate Conception with it.
Make of all this whatever you will, O reader.
Shall we begin our journey through Luke-Acts?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 20, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-THIRD DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF BATES GILBERT BURT, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF BENJAMIN TUCKER TANNER, AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL BISHOP AND RENEWER OF SOCIETY
THE FEAST OF D. ELTON TRUEBLOOD, U.S. QUAKER THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JOHANN CHRISTOPH SCHWEDLER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MICHAL PIASCZYNSKI,POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1940
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Above: The Importune Neighbour, by William Holman Hunt
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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Judges 19 (portions) or Jeremiah 13:1-11
Psalm 94:1-15
Romans 4:13-25
Luke 10:38-11:13
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We have quite a collection of readings this Sunday!
- Judges 19 gives us a tale of rape, death, dismemberment, and the prelude to genocide, played out in Judges 20 and 21.
- Stay away from God’s bad side, as in Jeremiah 13 and Psalm 94.
- Romans 4 reminds us of the importance of living according to faith.
- The executive summary of the lesson from Luke is to learn from Jesus (even to violate social conventions to do so) and to act according to those teachings.
Judges 19, the first portion of a section spanning chapters 19-21, contains enough material for many posts, given its background, its literary contexts, and the ink many exegetes have spilled regarding the story. However, my purpose in this post entails reading Judges 19 in the context of the other lessons. One note from The Jewish Study Bible (2nd. ed.) offers a useful sentence:
The story depicts a unified society, sensitive to the problems of ethics and serving the LORD.
–536
The society Jeremiah critiqued was insensitive to ethics and serving the LORD. On the other hand, St. Mary of Bethany, St. Paul the Apostle, and the author of Psalm 94 were sensitive to ethics and serving the LORD. So was St. Martha of Bethany, also insistent on being a good hostess who offered proper hospitality, a Biblical virtue.
Prayer comes attached to action in Luke 11:9-13. That is an important lesson: pray then, as able, act to effect positive change. Self-serving politicians who offer “thoughts and prayers” after terrible events then do nothing, even though they have the power to do so, make a mockery of the teaching in Luke 11:9-13. One of the lessons my father taught me is that prayer should have feet whenever possible. Be salt and light in the world, Jesus still commands us.
I recall an editorial from a Roman Catholic periodical during the middle 1990s, when many politicians beat the drum of “family values” with more words than deeds. As I remember, the title of the editorial was,
GET OFF YOUR VALUES AND GET TO WORK.
Talk is cheap. We need to get off our values and get to work. After all, faith, in the theology of St. Paul the Apostle, is inherently active.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 18, 2020 COMMON ERA
SATURDAY IN EASTER WEEK
THE FEAST OF ROGER WILLIAMS, FOUNDER OF RHODE ISLAND; AND ANNE HUTCHINSON, REBELLIOUS PURITAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT CORNELIA CONNELLY, FOUNDRESS OF THE SOCIETY OF THE HOLY CHILD JESUS
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA ANNA BLONDIN, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT ANNE
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MURIN OF FAHAN, LASERIAN OF LEIGHLIN, GOBAN OF PICARDIE, FOILLAN OF FOSSES, AND ULTAN OF PERONNE, ABBOTS; AND SAINTS FURSEY OF PERONNE AND BLITHARIUS OF SEGANNE, MONKS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROMAN ARCHUTOWSKI, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1943
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/04/18/devotion-for-proper-14-year-c-humes/
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Above: Icon of the Good Samaritan
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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Judges 16:17-31 or Jeremiah 11:1-14
Psalm 93
Romans 4:1-12
Luke 10:35-37
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Deeds reveal creeds. Deeds also reveal one’s character, for good and ill.
Consider the Good Samaritan, O reader.
The term “Good Samaritan” seemed like an oxymoron. Jews and Samaritans tended to be mutually hostile. The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) stood in contrast to the hostile Samaritans in Luke 9:51-56, as well as to the priest and the Levite from the parable. The ambiguity of the parable vis-à-vis their motivation for passing by on the other side has long invited readers and listeners to examine their motivations for not helping people in need. Fear for one’s safety was well-founded in the context of that road. Or did at least one passer-by not care about the man beaten, robbed, and left for dead? The Good Samaritan revealed his goodness in his deeds.
Our character, individually and collectively, is manifest in our deeds. Many, like Samson, have little or no impulse control and can resist anything except temptation. We read part of Jeremiah’s critique of his society. If we are the people and cultures we ought to be, we praise God in words and deeds; we act faithfully and build up the poor and the vulnerable in the name of God.
May we do so, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 17, 2020 COMMON ERA
FRIDAY IN EASTER WEEK
THE FEAST OF DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF EMILY COOPER, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF LUCY LARCOM, U.S. ACADEMIC, JOURNALIST, POET, EDITOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAX JOSEF METZGER, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1944
THE FEAST OF WILBUR KENNETH HOWARD, MODERATOR OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/04/17/devotion-for-proper-13-year-c-humes/
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Above: Samson
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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Judges 13:1-5, 24 or Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
Psalm 92
Romans 3:1-10, 23-31
Luke 10:1-24
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All people are sinful, we read. Societies and institutions are sinful. The icing on the cake is the depressing reading from Jeremiah. That is almost as somber as a movie by Vittorio De Sica. Shoeshine (1946), Bicycle Thieves (1948), and Umberto D. (1952) are realistic and depressing works of art.
There is good news, however: God can work through us. God worked through the conventionally pious Psalmist, the frequently oblivious Apostles, and that idiot, Samson. God worked through Jeremiah and St. Paul the Apostle. God can work through corrupt institutions. God can work through you and me, O reader. God is sovereign.
That settles one question, but not another one. No excuses for bad character and institutional corruption are valid. Being an instrument of God does not exempt one from moral obligations. Yes, God can work through scuz buckets, but being being a scuz bucket is still wrong.
May we, by grace, be the most moral instruments of God possible. May our public and private morality be as close to the divine ideal as possible.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 16, 2020 COMMON ERA
THURSDAY IN HOLY WEEK
THE FEAST OF SAINT BERNADETTE OF LOURDES, VISIONARY
THE FEAST OF CALVIN WEISS LAUFER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMNODIST
THE FEAST OF ISABELLA GILMORE, ANGLICAN DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF SAINT MIKEL 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
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/04/16/devotion-for-proper-12-year-c-humes/
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Above: Icon of the Raising of Lazarus
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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O God, forasmuch as without thee we are not able to please thee:
mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 126
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Ezekiel 37:1-14
2 Corinthians 5:1-15
John 11:1-27
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Ezekiel 37, a favorite text at Easter Vigils, is about the restoration of Israel after the Babylonian Exile, not the resurrection of the dead. However, the other two readings do address the resurrection of the dead.
I choose to leave metaphysical speculations alone and focus on the Confession of St. Martha of Bethany:
I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who was to come into the world.
–John 11:27b, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
I wonder why the Church, which has established and maintained a feast day (January 18) for the Confession of St. Peter, has not done the same for the Confession of St. Martha of Bethany.
Many people have an unduly negative impression of St. Martha based on Luke 10:38-42. John 11 should balance opinions of her, though.
Can we, in the depths of despair, maintain faith, as St. Martha did.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 25, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES BAR-ZEBEDEE, APOSTLE AND MARTYR
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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