Archive for the ‘Luke 23’ Category
Above: St. Paul
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LXXI
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Acts 21:17-23:22
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St. Paul’s Third Missionary Journey spanned 53-58 C.E. He was back in Jerusalem for Passover in 58 C.E.
St. Paul’s reputation preceded him. He agreed to St. James of Jerusalem’s plan for damage control. St. Paul accompanied four men to the Temple, where they made their Nazarite vows. He also sponsored sacrifices, consistent with the Law of Moses. This strategy failed. A Jewish mob beat St. Paul outside the Temple. They would have killed him had Roman soldiers not rescued him. The mob’s cries of “Kill him!” echoed another mob’s cries of “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Luke 23:21).
Notice the sympathetic portrayal of the Romans, O reader. It is consistent with the Lucan motif of identifying good Roman officials even though Luke-Acts presents the Roman Empire as being at odds with God. Alas, Luke-Acts presents the empire as being an unwitting tool of God sometimes.
St. Paul had impeccable Jewish credentials as well as Roman citizenship. As a citizen, he had the legal right to appeal to the emperor. This fact led him to Rome.
Roman soldiers had to save St. Paul from a Jewish conspiracy a second time. The soldiers transferred him to Caesarea.
Keep in mind, O reader, that I have been writing this weblog for more than a decade. During those years, I have made many opinions abundantly clear and repeated myself at least a zillion times, lest someone who reads a post without having read other posts or many other posts mistake me for someone who holds positions I find abhorrent.
For the sake of clarity, I repeat for time number zillion plus one that I reject and condemn anti-Semitism. Really, I should not have to keep repeating myself in this matter and many other matters. Yet I do, for even a dispassionate statement of objective historical reality may seem hateful to certain people. I live in an age of ubiquitous hyper-sensitivity, which I find as objectionable as ubiquitous insensitivity. I favor ubiquitous sensitivity instead.
As I keep repeating ad nauseum in this series, I have no interest in condemning long-dead people and resting on self-righteous laurels. I may condemn long-dead people, but I refuse to stop there. No, I examine myself spiritually and draw contemporary parallels, too. Sacred violence is an oxymoron, regardless of who commits it. And I should never approve of it. Also, my Christian tradition has a shameful legacy of committing and condoning “sacred violence” against targets, including Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
By this point in the narrative, St. Paul was taking a circuitous route to Rome, to bear witness for Jesus there. The Roman soldiers and officials, as well as the homicidal Jews of Jerusalem, were tools to get him to the imperial capital.
Ask yourself, O reader: What would push you over the edge into homicidal tendencies? Answer honestly. Then take the answer to God in prayer and repent.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2022 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 CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH HASSE, GERMAN-BRITISH MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF ELIAS BOUDINOT, IV, U.S. STATESMAN, PHILANTHROPIST, AND WITNESS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
THE FEAST OF JULIA BULKLEY CADY CORY, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT
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Above: Judas Iscariot, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 70:1-2 4-6 (LBW) or Psalm 18:21-30 (LW)
Romans 5:6-11
Matthew 26:14-25
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Almighty God, your Son our Savior suffered at the hands of men
and endured the shame of the cross.
Grant that we may walk in the way of his cross
and find it the way of life and peace;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 20
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Merciful and everlasting God the Father,
who did not spare your only Son
but delivered him up for us all that he might bear our sins on the cross;
grant that our hearts may be so fixed with steadfast faith in our Savior
that we may not fear the power of any adversaries;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 43
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In context, Isaiah 50:4-9a is an odd lection to read on this Sunday. The speaker–the prophet/servant (Second Isaiah)–is pious yet merely human, therefore, sinful. He believes that the suffering of the exiles during the Babylonian Exile has been justified. Yet he also anticipates the divine vindication of that exiled population, for the glory of God. Applying this reading to sinless Jesus (who suffered an unjust execution as an innocent man) requires astounding theological gymnastics.
Judas Iscariot played an essential role in a divine plan. The writers of the four canonical Gospels portrayed him negatively, for one major obvious reason. The Gospel of John added that Judas was an embezzler (John 12:6). Despite all this, Judas was not outside the mercy of God. And he had not committed the unpardonable sin–blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:28; Luke 12:10). Judas may have thought that he knew what he was doing, but he did not. Recall Luke 23:24, O reader:
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
I do not pretend to know the ultimate fate of Judas Iscariot. I am not God. I do, however, repeat my position that the only people in Hell are those who have condemned themselves. God sends nobody to Hell. Divine mercy and judgment exist in a balance I cannot grasp, for I am not God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 12, 2022 COMMON ERA
HOLY TUESDAY
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS NEPHEW, WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID URIBE-VELASCO, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP
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Adapted from this post
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Above: The Sanhedrin
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LVI
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Acts 3:1-4:31
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A cliché tells us that no good deed goes unpunished. If the world were not so!
Jesus had clashed with religious authorities. The time for some of his Apostles–Sts. Simon Peter and John, in this case–to do so had arrived. St. Simon Peter, who had often spoken before thinking, had eaten his spiritual Wheaties.
Two major themes stand out in my mind as I ponder Acts 3:1-4:31:
- Acts 3:17 includes the Lucan motif that those who had rejected and crucified Jesus had done so in ignorance. See Luke 23:34, also, O reader.
- Acts 4:18f, in which the commandments of God override human orders to the contrary, belies strict law-and-order arguments that quote the Bible. Acts 4:18f is not the only such passage in the Bible, but it is the one in the section of scripture for this post. We will return to this matter in Acts 5.
My politics regarding the strict law-and-order, my-country-right-or-wrong argument are plain. Neither anarchy nor totalitarianism allow freedom. Disobeying some governments is a moral obligation. Yet, on many other occasions, obeying governments is moral. Everything depends on the circumstances. The timeless principle at work is the Golden Rule.
We all know less than we imagine we do. For example, we may think we know what we are doing when do not. Or we may know partially. Luke 23:34 has the crucified Jesus intercede for those who had put him on the cross and for those who had consented to this action:
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they are doing.”
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
I have recorded my mixed thoughts regarding the extent of this ignorance in Luke 23:34. I have not arrived at a consistent position yet.
Sometimes we do not know what we are doing. However, sometimes we do. And sometimes we know somewhat. I cannot always tell which situation is which.
Nevertheless, I know something, however, slight, regarding sins of ignorance: We all commit them, individually and collectively. And we all–individually and collectively–stand before God in need of forgiveness. May we–collectively and individually–forgive each other, as we–individually and collectively–need forgiveness. And may God forgive us all.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 8, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG, PATRIARCH OF AMERICAN LUTHERANISM; HIS GREAT-GRANDSON, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGICAL PIONEER; AND HIS COLLEAGUE, ANNE AYERS, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERHOOD OF THE HOLY COMMUNION
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIONYSIUS OF CORINTH, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF GODFREY DIEKMANN, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, ECUMENIST, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT HUGH OF ROUEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, ABBOT, AND MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIE BILLIART, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
THE FEAST OF TIMOTHY LULL, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, THEOLOGIAN, AND ECUMENIST
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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: Supper at Emmaus, by Caravaggio
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LII
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Luke 24:1-49
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When I begin to read Luke 24, I recall the conclusion of chapter 23. That ending includes:
All [Jesus’s] friends stood at a distance; so also did the women who had accompanied him from Galilee and saw all this happen.
–Luke 23:49, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
We also read:
Meanwhile the women who had come from Gailee with Jesus were following behind. They took note of the tomb and how the body had been laid.
Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. And on the Sabbath day they rested, as the Law required.
–Luke 23:55-56, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
Immediately, at the beginning of chapter 24, we find these women at the tomb.
The Gospel of Luke depicts women as the first ones to understand salvific events. Recall, O reader, Sts. Mary of Nazareth and Elizabeth in Luke 1. We read in Luke 24 that women were the first witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. We also read that women were the first evangelists after the resurrection.
The quest for certainty is idolatrous when faith is required. I refer to circumstances in which evidence for or against a proposition does not exist. When one has proof either way, one does not need faith. The resurrection of Jesus falls into the article of faith. No historical evidence can logically prove or disprove it. One may rationally deem the resurrection of Jesus improbable. If so, one must also admit that improbable events sometimes occur. I affirm the resurrection of Jesus as I disregard all pious attempts to prove it, thereby trying to remove the necessity of faith regarding this matter.
Attempts to harmonize the post-resurrection stories in the canonical Gospels into a chronology have failed. So be it. The Gospels are not journalism. No, they are good news, literally.
And women continue to proclaim this good news.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 1, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANNA OF OXENHALL AND HER FAITHFUL DESCENDANTS, SAINTS WENNA THE QUEEN, NON, SAMSON OF DOL, CYBI, AND DAVID OF WALES
THE FEAST OF EDWIN HODDER, ENGLISH BIOGRAPHER, DEVOTIONAL WRITER, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF GEORGE WISHART, SCOTTISH CALVINIST REFORMER AND MARTYR, 1546; AND WALGER MILNE, SCOTTISH PROTESTANT MARTYR, 1558
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROGER LEFORT, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF BOURGES
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Above: Icon of the Crucifixion
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LI
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Luke 21:37-23:56
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Given that lectionary-based blogging projects have taken me through Luke 21:37-23:56, I refer you, O reader, to my other posts about the Lucan Passsion at this weblog. In the meantime, I focus on a few big ideas in this post.
The Lucan Passion emphasizes the innocence of Jesus. The text stresses that his crucifixion was a miscarriage of justice. In chapter 23 alone, one finds this theme in verses 4, 16, 22, 41, and 47.
Jesus died as a scapegoat, to keep the Romans at bay. The Roman army still destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple in 70 C.E.; the authors of the canonical Gospels knew this. This reality influenced how they wrote the story.
M (1931) is one of my favorite movies. Peter Lorre portrays a man compelled by his nature to abduct and murder children. (He murders them off-screen.) The police in the city crackdown on crime yet take a while to identify the child murderer. In the meantime, a panicked public provides inaccurate eyewitness testimony and attempts to scapegoat innocent people and petty criminals. Finally, other criminals apprehend the child murderer; he is bad for their business. The police ultimately arrest all the criminals, and the justice system goes to work.
(Aside: I feel no compunction about revealing the storyline of a movie that debuted in theaters 91 years ago. The spoiler alert on M expired long ago.)
The temptation to seek a scapegoat can be strong. It is an easy way out of a difficult situation. It may lead to a miscarriage of justice. Yet, in the case of the crucifixion of Jesus, we have good news:
- Jesus did not remain dead for long, and
- The sovereignty of God made evil plans work for good.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 8, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITA, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF CORNELIA HANCOCK, U.S. QUAKER NURSE, EDUCATOR, AND HUMANITARIAN; “FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE OF NORTH AMERICA”
THE FEAST OF SAINT JEROME EMILIANI, FOUNDER OF THE COMPANY OF THE SERVANTS OF THE POOR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN OF MATHA AND FELIX OF VALOIS, FOUNDERS OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPHINA GABRIELA BONINO, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA ESPERANZA DE JESUS, FOUNDER OF THE HANDMAIDS OF MERCIFUL LOVE AND THE SONS OF MERCIFUL LOVE
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This is post #2700 of BLOGA THEOLOGICA.
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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: Icon of the Crucifixion
Image in the Public Domain
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READING SECOND ISAIAH, PART IX
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Isaiah 52:13-53:12
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The Book of Common Prayer (1979) lists the Fourth Servant Song as one of three options for the reading from the Old Testament on Good Friday. Another option is Genesis 22:1-18. My thoughts on Abraham nearly killing his son, Isaac, are on record at this weblog. The other option is the Wisdom of Solomon 2:1, 12-24, in which the wicked reject justice. That reading fits Good Friday perfectly, for, as the Gospel of Luke emphasizes, the crucifixion of Jesus was a perversion of justice. One may recall that, in the Gospel of Luke, for example, the centurion at the foot of the cross declares Jesus innocent (23:47), not the Son of God (Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39). As I will demonstrate in this post, the applicability of the Fourth Servant Song to Good Friday works thematically, too, but interpretive issues that have nothing to do with Jesus also interest me.
In the original context, the servant in Isaiah 53:13-53:12 is the covenant people during the Babylonian Exile. The dominant theology in Second Isaiah (chapters 34-35, 40-55) is that the Babylonian Exile was justified yet excessive (40:2; 47:6)–that people had earned that exile. The theology of Second Isaiah also argues that this suffering was vicarious, on behalf of Gentile nations in the (known) world. In other words:
Yet the Israelites are still the focus in that these verses offer them a revolutionary theology that explains the hardships of exile: The people had to endure the exile and the suffering it engendered because that suffering was done in service to God so that God, through their atoning sacrifice, could redeem the nations.
–Susan Ackerman, in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (2003), 1031
Much of the Hebrew Bible, in its final, postexilic form, holds that the Babylonian Exile was divine punishment for persistent, collective, and unrepentant disregard for the moral mandates in the Law of Moses. This attitude is ubiquitous in the Hebrew prophetic tradition. I know, for I am working on a project of reading the Hebrew prophetic books, roughly in historical order (with some exceptions), starting with the Book of Hosea.
Yet Isaiah 53:7-9 contradicts that interpretation. It rejects even 40:1-3 and 47:6, from within Second Isaiah. Isaiah 53:7-9, not about Jesus, argues that the Babylonian Exile and its accompanying suffering was unjust and the people were innocent. The thematic link to the atoning suffering of sinless Jesus is plain to see.
Let us not neglect the theme of the vicarious suffering of the Hebrews in the Babylonian Exile, though. I can read; the text says that, through the suffering of these exiles, Gentile nations would receive divine forgiveness and the Hebrews would receive a reward–renewal. I try to wrap my mind around this theology, yet do not know what to make of it. I wrestle with this theology.
Atonement via vicarious suffering is a topic about which I have written at this weblog. Reading in the history of Christian theology tells me that three theories of the atonement exist in the writings of Church Fathers. These theories are, in no particular order:
- Penal Substitutionary Atonement,
- The Incarnation, and
- The Conquest of Satan (the Classic Theory, or Christus Victor).
I come closest to accepting the Classic Theory. It has the virtue of emphasizing that the resurrection completed the atonement. In other words, dead Jesus cannot atone for anything; do not stop at Good Friday. I like the Eastern Orthodox tradition of telling jokes on Easter because the resurrection of Jesus was the best joke God ever pulled on Satan. The second option strikes me as being part of the atonement, and the first option is barbaric. I stand with those Christian theologians who favor a generalized atonement.
Whether the question is about the atoning, vicarious suffering of Jewish exiles or about the atoning, vicarious suffering of Jesus, perhaps the best strategy is to accept it, thank God, and live faithfully. The Eastern Orthodox are correct; we Western Christians frequently try to explain too much we cannot understand. Atonement is a mystery; we may understand it partially, at best.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MYLES HORTON, “FATHER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT”
THE FEAST OF SAINTS EUMENIOUS AND PARTHENIOS OF KOUDOUMAS, MONKS AND FOUNDERS OF KOUDOMAS MONASTERY, CRETE
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH OF DAMASCUS, SYRIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1860
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS SPIRA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF RUED LANGGAARD, DANISH COMPOSER
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Above: Icon of the Crucifixion, by Andrei Rublev
Image in the Public Domain
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For Good Friday, Year 1
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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 graciously to behold this thy family,
for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed,
and given up into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross;
who now liveth and reigneth wtih thee and the Holy Spirit,
ever One God, world without end. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 161-162
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Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 22:1, 4-19
Hebrews 10:19-22 or Revelation 5:6-10
Luke 23:33-46
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I am capable of writing accurate, scholarly, and germane comments about all of the assigned readings. This time, O reader, I choose not to do so. No, I encourage you to read the lections aloud, the way most people who have encountered the Bible have done. I ask you to listen and to let the words sink into your being. After that, may you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit regarding what to do next.
Shalom.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 2, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JAMES LLOYD BRECK, “THE APOSTLE OF THE WILDERNESS”
THE FEAST OF CARLO CARRETTO, SPIRITUAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN PAYNE AND CUTHBERT MAYNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS, 1582 AND 1577
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH BERNARDIN, CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS, SAINT EUSTACE OF LYON, AND HIS DESCENDANTS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
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Above: A Crucifix
Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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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:
Liturgy of the Palms:
Luke 19:28-44
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Liturgy of the Word:
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:1-13
Luke 23:1-56
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Some texts are standard for Palm/Passion Sunday on the Humes lectionary. The account of the Triumphal Entry varies from year to year; each of the four versions gets its year. Likewise, the Gospel reading varies each year. It is always the Passion, though. The readings from Psalm 31, Psalm 118, Isaiah 50, and Philippians 2 are evergreen, though.
I focus on Luke 23:1-56 in this post.
The Gospel of Luke hits us over the head with Jesus’s innocence. Christ’s innocence is a theme in 23:4, 14-15, 22, 40-42, and 47. Whenever the Bible keeps repeating a theme, we need to pay attention to that theme.
The execution of Jesus was a travesty and an example of judicial murder.
There is an interesting moral and legal question: Is it better for a court to convict an innocent person or to acquit a guilty person? The answer is obvious: the latter. Innocence should always lead to the absence of a conviction, incarceration, and execution. I gaze with moral horror at those who would ever approve of convicting any innocent person.
The crucifixion of Jesus has more than one meaning. It is, for example, a component of the atonement; the resurrection equals the final act. The crucifixion of Christ should also spur us on to affirm that convicting and punishing the innocent is never acceptable.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 29, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD, COMPOSER, ORGANIST, AND CONDUCTOR
THE FEAST OF DORA GREENWELL, POET AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN KEBLE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JONAS AND BARACHISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 327
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2020/03/29/devotion-for-palm-passion-sunday-year-c-humes/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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