READING ECCLESIASTICUS/SIRACH

PART XIII

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Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 16:24-18:14

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Ben Sira, true to his Jewish theological tradition, understands God as having created order from chaos in Genesis 1:1-2:4a.  Chaos is an enemy of gods in ancient Near Eastern mythology.  More than one ancient myth depicts a deity as fighting then defeating chaos and/or an agent of it.  In the Hebrew Bible–Psalms and Job, especially–YHWH vanquishes all the enemies those gods defeated.  These passages which emphasize divine order in nature and YHWH’s victory over the foes of Marduk or whichever deity it was in a given myth teach us of the sovereignty and universality of God.

The focus on collective righteousness and sinfulness is thoroughly Jewish and Biblical.  Yet it is alien to much of the population of my culture, fixated on rugged individualism.  Of course, as we have read, Ben Sira did not ignore individual moral responsibility before God either.  Yet, as we have seen, the author contextualized the individual aspect within the communal aspect.  We of contemporary times would do well to follow this pattern, in mutuality.

We also read of the balance of divine judgment and mercy (17:19f).  God punishes sins–in this life only, according to Ben Sira, who did not believe in an afterlife.  God also forgives sins and welcomes penitence and penitents, we read.

Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins;

pray in his presence and lessen offenses.

Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity,

and hate abominations intensely.

Know the justice and the judgments of God,

and stood firm the lot that is set before you,

in prayer to God, the Almighty.

–Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 17:25-26, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Version (2002)

“You” and “your” are singular in these verses.  I know; I checked two French translations–La Bible de Jérusalem (1999) and La Bible en français courant (1996).

God is powerful and supreme.  God surpasses human beings–“dust and ashes” (17:32b).  And tracing the wonders of the Lord is impossible.  God continues forever, but people die.  Their lifespans–even the relatively long ones–are long.  And God is more merciful than people.

The compassion of man is for his neighbor,

but the comparison of the Lord is for all living beings.

He rebukes and trains and teaches them,

and turns them back, as a shepherd his flock.

He has compassion on those who accept his discipline

and who are eager for his judgments.

–18:13-14, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

Two words stand out in my mind.  The first word is “rebuke.”  In the Hebrew Bible, only YHWH has the authority to rebuke someone else.  This is a point which Foster R. McCurley, Jr., makes in Ancient Myths and Biblical Faith:  Scriptural Transformations (1983; reprint, 2007), 46.   People in the Hebrew Bible may rebuke others, but they lack the authority to do so.  Jude 9 reinforces this point in an allusion to the Assumption of Moses; even the archangel Michael did not presume to rebuke Satan.  No, Michael said:

May the Lord rebuke you!

—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)

The Synoptic Gospels mention Jesus rebuking demons and unclean spirits, mostly–and occasionally, wind, a fever, and people.  Jesus rebukes twelve times in the Synoptic Gospels:

• Matthew 8:26; 17:18;
• Mark 1:25; 4:39; 8:33; 9:25;
• Luke 4:35, 39; 4:41; 8:24; 9:42, 55.

Jesus, of course, had the divine authority to rebuke.

Lest I pick Biblical cherries and report incompletely, I point out the following examples from the New Testament:

• St. Simon Peter rebuked Jesus in Matthew 16:22 and Mark 8:32.  One can argue that the apostle did what he lacked the authority to do, though.
• Luke 17:3 quotes Jesus as authorizing the rebuking of a sinner, to inspire repentance.
• When we turn to epistles which bear the name of St. Paul the Apostle yet postdate him, we find three examples.  We read counsel to rebuke those who persist in sin (1 Timothy 5:20).  2 Timothy 4:2 lists rebuking as a duty, alongside tasks including preaching, exhorting and teaching patiently.  Titus 1:13 orders St. Titus to rebuke Cretans–“liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons”–“that they may be sound in the faith.”
• Luke 3:19 tells us that St. John the Baptist had rebuked Herod Antipas “because of Herodias.”
• Luke 23:40 tells us that the penitent insurrectionist–St. Dismas, according to tradition–rebuke of the impenitent rebel–Gestus, according to tradition–who was mocking Jesus.
• 2 Peter 2:16, using the divine passive voice, tells us that God rebuked Balaam in Numbers 22:21-40.

So, according to the New Testament, people may legitimately rebuke each other sometimes.  The severity of rebuking someone–as opposed to merely telling someone off–is vital to remember when considering this matter.  People know partially, but God knows fully.

The second word is “discipline.”  Discipline is not abuse.  No, the purpose of discipline is to correct behavior.  Divine discipline is a recurring theme in Hebrew wisdom literature.  For example, we read in Wisdom of Solomon 3:5 that God disciplines the righteous.  (The context in the Wisdom of Solomon is persecution–also present in the background of the Hebrew and Greek versions of Ecclesiasticus/Sirach.)  Suffering–which God has not caused–becomes a method of spiritual discipline.

That may seem odd.  Yet it makes sense to me.  Suffering has improved my spiritual life and transformed me for the better.  The suffering was not the work of God, but the positive effects of the suffering were the work of God.  Perhaps you, O reader, can identify examples of this principle in your life or in the life of someone you know or have known.  I have found that the light of God seems to shine brighter the darker one’s circumstances become.

Another point regarding discipline is that a loving parent or guardian disciplines a child.  The lack of discipline does that child–or anyone else–no favors.  Discipline is necessary for the individual and collective good.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 22, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JACK LAYTON, CANADIAN ACTIVIST AND FEDERAL LEADER OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

THE FEAST OF JOHN DAVID CHAMBERS, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINTS HRYHORII KHOMYSHYN, SYMEON LUKACH, AND IVAN SLEZYUK, UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC BISHOPS AND MARTYRS, 1947, 1964, AND 1973

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN KEMBLE AND JOHN WALL, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS, 1679

THE FEAST OF SAINTS THOMAS PERRY, RICHARD KIRKMAN, AND WILLIAM LACEY, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 1572 AND 1582

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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LIII

Above:  Icon of the Ascension, by Andrei Rublev

Image in the Public Domain

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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:

1. “Forty days” is symbolic,
2. The forty days fill out the calendar, and
3. 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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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XLIV

Above:  The Resurrection of the Dead

Image in the Public Domain

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Luke 17:11-19

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Apocalyptic expectations permeate the four canonical Gospels.  The texts, written in final form in the late first century C.E., preserve unfulfilled expectations of the imminence of the Second Coming of Jesus from an earlier period.  The texts also wrestle with the meaning of those unfulfilled expectations, without giving up hope.

In the New Testament, the Kingdom of God is simultaneously in the present and future tenses.  It is (or seems to be) partially realized already, as in the life of Jesus, with the promise of more of the Kingdom of God to come.  Yet I recall C. H. Dodd‘s explanation of Realized Eschatology:  The Kingdom of God does not come; it is.  Certain events–such as the Incarnation–make the Kingdom of God seem more evident that it used to seem.

I read 17:22-37 and wonder how much comes from Jesus, addressing concerns circa 29 C.E., and much comes from St. Luke, addressing concerns circa 85 C.E.  Anyhow, as we continue to wait, our duty is to live the life of Christ–to do the will of God.  In concrete terms, examples of how to do this include forgiving people, serving each other humbly, and leading them to God.

Keep the narrative context in mind, O reader.  The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem begins in Luke 19:28.  We have Jesus as a role model–the ultimate role model–of doing the will of God.  And look at where it got him!

Think about that.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 26, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS TIMOTHY, TITUS, AND SILAS, C0-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XLIII

Above:  The Healing of the Ten Lepers, by James Tissot

Image in the Public Domain

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Luke 17:11-19

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“Leprosy” is a misleading and ubiquitous translation of the Greek word for a virulent skin disease.  The condition in the Bible is not Hansen’s Disease.  Nevertheless, I can never forget the hilarious SCTV parody of Ben-Hur (1959), in which the blood of Christ, flowing from the cross, healed the leopards–Catherine O’Hara and Andrea Martin, wearing leopard outfits.

“Lepers”–those who suffered from one virulent skin disease or another–were ritually impure.  The peeling off of skin made the “lepers” like corpses in the minds of their contemporaries.  Socially, “lepers” were corpses.

Jesus accepted the validity of the Law of Moses and the category of ritual impurity.  In Luke 17:11-19, he cleansed (or purified) the ten “lepers” then instructed them to present themselves to priests, in accordance with the Law of Moses.  Yet the holiness of Jesus overpowered the cause of the ritual impurity in these “lepers.”  (For more about Jesus and ritual impurity, read Matthew Thiessen, Jesus and the Forces of Death:  The Gospels’ Portrayal of Ritual Impurity within First-Century Judaism, 2020.)

Only one “leper”–a Samaritan–returned to thank Jesus.

Luke-Acts repeatedly points out faithful foreigners, therefore indicating that Jesus is the Messiah for Jews and Gentiles alike.

Clarence Jordan, in his Cotton Patch Version of the Gospel of Luke (Jesus’ Doings), updated the story for the twentieth-century U.S. South.  Jesus cured ten winos and instructed them to show themselves to the doctor.  The only cured wino who thanked Jesus was an African American.

If you, O reader, were to update Luke 17:11-19 to fit your cultural context, how would the story read?

Gracious Lord, teach me to see with your eyes of compassion, and teach me to love people with your healing and welcoming love.

–N. T. Wright, Lent for Everyone:  Luke, Year C–A Daily Devotional (2009), 76

Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 25, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XLII

Above:  Icon of Christ Pantocrator

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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Luke 17:1-10

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Luke 17:7-10 is one of the passages many Antebellum Southern (U.S.) defenders of race-based chattel slavery twisted to argue that the “Peculiar Institution of the South” was compatible with the Bible.  17:7-10 uses imagery from the social world of the Roman Empire.  However, the passage is about accepting salvation via grace and responding faithfully to God.

Faithful response to God is the core of Luke 17:1-10.  Faithful response to God necessarily spills over into how we think of and behave toward others.  Faithful response precludes leading people astray.  Faithful response requires forgiving the penitent, regardless of how often they sin.  Faithful response entails trusting God.  Faithful response mandates humble service to one another in the name of God.  Faithful response entails imitating God.

Jesus is the ultimate example of faithful response to God.

May we imitate Jesus in imitating God, by grace.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 22, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN JULIAN, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNOLOGIST

THE FEAST OF ALEXANDER MEN, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1990

THE FEAST OF BENJAMIN LAY, AMERICAN QUAKER ABOLITIONIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT LADISLAO BATTHÁNY-STRATTMAN, AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN AND PHILANTHROPIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENT PALLOTTI, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE, THE UNION OF CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE, AND THE SISTERS OF THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE

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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART I

Above:  Icon of St. Luke the Evangelist

Image in the Public Domain

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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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. I am a student of the Bible, not a scholar thereof.
5. 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.
6. 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:  Kudzu, Atlanta, Georgia

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity, Year 2

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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)

Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)

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Almighty God, we beseech thee, show thy mercy unto thy humble servants,

that we who put no trust in our own merits may not be dealt with

after the severity of thy judgment, but according to thy mercy;

through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth

with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever One God, world without end.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 231

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Job 14:1-5

Psalms 112 and 113

Romans 10:1-21

Luke 17:20-33

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The readings from the Hebrew Bible cohere well, speaking in Job 14:1-5, reflects on the brevity of a human lifespan, even a relatively long one.  Psalms 112 and 113, taken together, encourage people to imitate God in behaving justly toward other people, such as the poor.  Our lives are brief, but they can be meaningful and positive.  We can use our time to leave the world better than we found it.  We can live according to the Golden Rule, by grace.  To do so is to respond faithfully to God.  Obey divine laws, Covenantal Nomism teaches.  By doing so, one retains one’s place in the covenant.

St. Paul the Apostle’s critique of Second Temple Judaism, contrary to popular misconception, was not that it was a legalistic, works-based righteousness religion.  No, his critique was that Second Temple Judaism lacked Jesus.  For St. Paul, Jesus was the game changer of all game changers.

The partially realized Kingdom of God has long been present on the Earth.  Certain events have made it more obvious than it was, though.  The life of Jesus on the Earth was a series of such events.  The partially realized Kingdom of God has set the stage for the fully realized Kingdom of God, still in the future.

God remains faithful.  Many people remain faithless.  The Golden Rule continues to be a teaching more people prefer to quote than to practice.  “None” continues to be the fastest-growing religious affiliation in much of the world.  Jesus keeps facing rejection.

Yet the Kingdom of God remains like kudzu, a plant commonplace where I live.  Kudzu grows where it will.  And God will win in the end.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 1, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT HENRY MORSE, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1645

THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT DASWA, SOUTH AFRICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR, 1990

THE FEAST OF CHARLES SEYMOUR ROBINSON, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNOLOGIST

THE FEAST OF GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC COMPOSER AND MUSICIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGEBERT III, KING OF AUSTRASIA

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Above:  Icon of St. Lydia of Thyatira

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, Year 2

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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)

Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)

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Keep, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy;

and because the frailty of men without thee cannot but fail,

keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful,

and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 210

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Proverbs 4:14-23

Psalm 19

Acts 16:1-18

Luke 17:11-19

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How grateful are we toward God–perhaps Jesus, in particular?

The reading from Luke 17 brings us to the familiar story of ten “lepers.”  Whatever medical condition they suffered from, it was not Hansen’s Disease.  It did, however, render the “lepers” ritually impure and separate them from their families and communities.  Their cleansing restored them to their families and communities.  Yet only one “leper” returned to express gratitude.

God, present in the Law of Moses and in the witness of the prophets, was also present in Jesus of Nazareth.  God was present, furthermore, in the witness of St. Paul the Apostle.  St. Lydia of Thyatira received the message of Jesus gratefully, then acted accordingly.

May we respond favorably to God every day.  “Thank you” is a good start.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 21, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS MIROCLES OF MILAN AND EPIPHANIUS OF PAVIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ALBAN ROE AND THOMAS REYNOLDS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS, 1642

THE FEAST OF EDGAR J. GOODSPEED, U.S. BAPTIST BIBLICAL SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN YI YON-ON, ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR IN KOREA, 1867

THE FEAST OF W. SIBLEY TOWNER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

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READING JUDITH

Above:  Holofernes

Image in the Public Domain

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PART VI

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Judith 10:1-12:20

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Holofernes was like his master, King Nebuchadnezzar II.  He was vain, boastful, and quick to accept flattery.  The general also consumed lies as easily and in great quantities as easily as he drank too much wine.

Judith played the role of the seductress well.  She understood male nature, which she exploited.  In doing so, Judith placed herself in much danger.  She was even sleeping in the tent of Holofernes.  Her undercover (pardon the pun) mission was always perilous.

A few aspects of these three chapters are especially worthy of explanation and elaboration.  

1. Judith lied when she said her people were so desperate they were about to violate the food laws in the Law of Moses.  She referenced Leviticus 17:10-16 and Numbers 18:8-32.  Yet, at the time of the composition of the Book of Judith, any violation of the Law of Moses for the purpose of preserving human life was acceptable, according to one school of Jewish thought (1 Maccabees 2:29-41).
2. Ironically, Holofernes told the truth, at least partially.  He said that Judith was renowned throughout the world (11:20-23).  The Book of Judith has long provided inspiration for artists.
3. Judith was in extreme sexual danger (12:5).  So was Sarah in Genesis 12:10-20 and 20:17.
4. Judith established her routine of leaving the Assyrian army camp unchallenged each night (12:6-9).  This strategy paid off in 13:11.
5. Judith had to work quickly.  She had only five days to deliver her people (7:29-32; 8:32-35).
6. Judith obeyed kosher food laws, even in the Assyrian army camp.  (One may think of Daniel and his friends in Daniel 1, too.)
7. Judith’s unnamed female maid/servant was loyal and essential.  Judith’s servant was intelligent, unlike the gullible Bagoas, servant of Holofernes. 
8. In 11:19-23, Judith used language laced with allusions to the prophets and the Book of Psalms.  Verses 19 and 20, for example, echoed Isaiah 40:3-4; 35:8-10; 42:16; 51:11; 56:10-11;; as well as 2 Samuel 7:13; Psalm 89:4; Ezekiel 34:8; Zechariah 10:2 and 13:7.
9. Ironically, the wisdom at which Holofernes marveled was deception.
10. The words of Holofernes, “…your God will be my God…” (11:22), an echo of Ruth 1:16, are vague.  Perhaps the character had no idea what he was saying.
11. Holofernes lusted after Judith (11:16).
12. The texts depict Judith as a great beauty.  They also describe Assyrian soldiers as drooling over her.  Therein resided part of Judith’s power, which she used to the full extent necessary.

The Book of Judith contains elements of satire and comedy.  The text is rich with irony in many places.  For example, even a boastful fool accidentally tells the truth sometimes.  The intoxicated Holofernes also imagines himself to be in control of the situation.  He has no idea how wrong he is.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 11, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF LUKE OF PRAGUE AND JOHN AUGUSTA, MORAVIAN BISHOPS AND HYMN WRITERS

THE FEAST OF SAINT KAZIMIERZ TOMASZ SYKULSKI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1942

THE FEAST OF LARS OLSEN SKREFSRUD, HANS PETER BOERRESEN, AND PAUL OLAF BODDING, LUTHERAN MISSIONARIES IN INDIA

THE FEAST OF MARYRS OF EL MOZOTE, EL SALVADOR, DECEMBER 11-12, 1981

THE FEAST OF SAINT SEVERIN OTT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

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The temptation to pride and self-sufficiency in the land.

Above:  The Healing of the Ten Lepers, by James Tissot

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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Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Psalm 65

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Luke 17:11-19

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The heading of notes on Deuteronomy 8:1-20 in The Jewish Study Bible is

Indeed, pride and self-sufficiency are obstacles to thanking God.

We can never thank God enough.  That is reality.  So be it.  They can look for reasons to thank God.  They can be as mundane as lovely cloud formations and as extraordinary as a blessed and rare event.  They can include, as in Luke 17:11-19, the opportunity to shake off stigma and rejoin one’s family and community.  That seems extraordinary to me.

Were the other nine healed lepers not grateful?  No.  I propose that they may have been in a hurry to get back home as soon as possible.  Saying “thank you” to Jesus would have been proper, though.

I draft this post in days of uncertainty.  I am behaving responsibly and obeying orders to shelter in place during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.  Reasons for gratitude can be difficult to find, from a certain perspective.  On the other hand, the light of God shines most brightly in the darkness.  I have no challenge identifying reasons for gratitude.

I do not know what the circumstances of Thanksgiving Day will be 2020 (the year I draft this post), much less 2021 (the first year this post will be on the schedule) or any other year.  I have no idea what will happen five seconds from now.  I do know, however, that reasons for gratitude will exist, and that nobody should be too proud and labor under delusions of self-sufficiency to thank God for what God has done.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 2, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA, PATRIARCH; AND SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, PATRIARCH AND “FATHER OF ORTHODOXY”

THE FEAST OF CHARLES SILVESTER HORNE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF CHARLES FRIEDRICH HASSE, GERMAN-BRITISH MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF JULIA BULKLEY CADY CORY, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/05/02/devotion-for-thanksgiving-day-u-s-a-year-c-humes/

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