Archive for the ‘Mark 15’ Category
Above: Icon of the Crucifixion
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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Zechariah 9:9-10
Psalm 31:1-5, 9-16 (LBW) or Psalm 92 (LW)
Philippians 2:5-11
Mark 14:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39
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Almighty God, you sent your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ,
to take our flesh upon him and to suffer death on the cross.
Grant that we may share in his obedience to your will
and in the glorious victory of his resurrection;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 19
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Almighty and everlasting God the Father,
who sent your Son to take our nature upon him
and to suffer death on the cross
that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility,
mercifully grant that we may both follow
the example of our Savior Jesus Christ in his patience
and also have our portion in his resurrection;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 39
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Sometimes I stand back from my standard format for posts such as these and produce short devotions. Doing that now and again is appropriate. I have two tall bookcases full of Bibles, commentaries, and other reference materials. I use these volumes. Yet today I opt to stand back in awe and refrain from becoming too analytical, not that I object to analysis.
Above: My Biblical Studies Library, March 17, 2023
Photographer = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
I, as an active Episcopalian, belong to a denomination that understands the power of rituals and liturgies. The rites for Palm Sunday are especially powerful. By the end of the dramatic reading of the assigned Passion narrative, the congregation is in stunned, reverent silence. Such silence is appropriate at that time.
I invite you, O reader, to sit in stunned, reverent silence and awe after reading these assigned passages, especially the Markan Passion narrative. I also encourage you to move into the next stage as the Holy Spirit leads you.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 17, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND
THE FEAST OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT, “THE CORN LAW RHYMER”
THE FEAST OF HENRY SCOTT HOLLAND, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAN SARKANDER, SILESIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND “MARTYR OF THE CONFESSIONAL,” 1620
THE FEAST OF JOSEF RHEINBERGER, GERMANIC ROMAN CATHOLIC COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA BARBARA MAIX, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
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Adapted from this post
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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: St. Augustine Arguing with Donatists, by Charles-André van Loo
Image in the Public Domain
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For Tuesday in Holy Week, 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 and Everlasting God, grant us grace so to contemplate the passion of our Lord,
that we may find therein forgiveness for our sins;
through the same 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), 159-160
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Lamentations 3:1-7, 18-33
Psalm 32
Ephesians 2:13-22
Mark 15:1-39
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The imagery in Lamentations 3 (usually about going into the Babylonian Exile) and Psalm 32 (really about confessing sin, receiving forgiveness, and returning to God) fits with the suffering of Jesus in Mark 15:1-39. One result of that suffering, we read in Ephesians 2:13-22, is the breaking down of hostility between Jews and Gentiles. Jesus is the peace, we read. He is the means of reconciliation, we read.
I got the memo; I read Ephesians 2:13-22. I also marked, learned, and inwardly digested the text. However, many people, including a plethora of my fellow Christians, have not read, marked, learned, and inwardly digested Ephesians 2:13-22. Anti-Semitism has been a sin within the Church since the founding of the Church.
Likewise, among Gentiles, erecting and maintaining walls of hostility has been a long-standing practice. Donatism (in the broad sense of that word) has been around for a very long time.
As Edmond Browning, a previous Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, insisted, there are
no outsiders
in Christ. Many professing Christians have yet to receive that menu. According to doctrinal purity tests from my right, I am impure–a heretic, probably one damned to Hell. My alleged offenses, according to some who have spoken to me in person and/or sent emails, include thinking too much and asking too many questions.
Salvation is not a matter of winning Theological Twenty Questions. Salvation is not a matter of knowledge, as in Gnosticism. Orthodoxy in theology is not a saving work. Salvation is a matter of grace. This grace is at work in Single Predestination and in free will. We have free will because of grace, after all.
And Donatism is not a virtue.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 9, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PEPIN OF LANDEN, SAINT ITTA OF METZ, THEIR RELATIONS, SAINTS AMAND, AUSTREGISILUS, AND SULPICIUS II BOURGES, FAITHFUL CHRISTIANS ACROSS GENERATIONAL LINES
THE FEAST OF EMILY GREENE BALCH, U.S. QUAKER SOCIOLOGIST, ECONOMIST, AND PEACE ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF JULIA CHESTER EMERY, UPHOLDER OF MISSIONS
THE FEAST OF SAINT PHILIP II OF MOSCOW, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA, AND MARTYR, 1569
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JONES, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND MUSICIAN
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Above: Icon of the Entombment of Jesus
Image in the Public Domain
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For Holy Saturday, 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 Common Prayer (The Episcopal Church, 1928)
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Grant, O Lord, that as we are baptized into the death of thy blessed Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ,
so by continual mortifying our corrupt affectations we may be buried with him;
and that through the grave, and gate of thy death, we may pass to our joyful resurrection;
for his merits, who died, and was buried, and was buried, and rose again for us,
the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1928),161
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Job 33:23-30
Psalm 30
1 Peter 3:17-22
Mark 15:42-47
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Two interesting notes come to mind before I get to my main point.
- 1 Peter 3:17-22 is why the Apostles’ Creed contains a reference to Christ’s descent to the dead. The passage also gives us the Orthodox doctrine of the Harrowing of Hell.
- Whenever reading from the Book of Job, one should be aware who is speaking. The speaker in Job 33 is Elihu, a condescending idiot who, in the full context of the chapter, contradicts Job’s claim of innocence, backed up by the first two chapters. Yet even idiots get some details right, by random change. To quote a cliché, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
My main point is that this devotion is that we should never rush through Holy Saturday. Easter will arrive on schedule, as it does every year. In the gap between the Good Friday service and the Easter Vigil, sunrise service, or main service on Easter Sunday morning, we should allow Jesus to be dead, liturgically. If we let Holy Saturday sit and have the power it should, Easter will mean more when it arrives.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 3, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF LUTHER D. REED, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINTS BURGENDOFARA AND SADALBERGA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESSES, AND THEIR RELATIVES
THE FEAST OF MARC SANGNIER, FOUNDER OF THE SILLON MOVEMENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY OF EGYPT, HERMIT AND PENITENT
THE FEAST OF REGINALD HEBER, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF CALCUTTA, AND HYMN WRITER
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Above: Icon of Christ Pantocrator
Image in the Public Domain
God is the Ruler Yet
NOVEMBER 22, 2020
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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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2 Samuel 23:1-7
Psalm 100
Revelation 1:4b-8
Mark 15:16-20
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The mockery of Jesus by the soldiers in Mark 15:16-20 is gut-wrenching to read. It also contrasts with the depiction of Jesus in Revelation 1:4b-8. Not all the earth hails God and acknowledges the Son of David. Yet Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega.
The Festival of Christ the King is about a century old. Originally set by Pope Pius XI on what Lutherans and Presbyterians called Reformation Sunday, Christ the King Sunday occupies the Last Sunday after Pentecost, five Sundays before December 25. It occupies this place in the Western Christian calendar because of the revision of the Roman Catholic calendar in 1969 and the subsequent revisions of Anglican and Protestant calendars.
The theology of Christ the King Sunday is sound. As Presbyterian minister Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) wrote after one of his nature hikes, in a poem published posthumously and transformed into the hymn, “This is My Father’s World,”
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
May we never forget this truth.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 27, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, ANGLICAN SCHOLAR, BIBLE TRANSLATOR, AND BISHOP OF DURHAM; AND FENTON JOHN ANTHONY HORT, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN HENRY BATEMAN, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHAN NORDAHL BRUN, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN BISHOP, AUTHOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM REED HUNTINGTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND RENEWER OF THE CHURCH; AND HIS GRANDSON, WILLIAM REED HUNTINGTON, U.S. ARCHITECT AND QUAKER PEACE ACTIVIST
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2019/07/27/devotion-for-christ-the-king-sunday-year-b-humes/
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Above: Icon of the Crucifixion
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Liturgy of the Palms:
Mark 11:1-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Liturgy of the Word:
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:1-13
Mark 15:1-47
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The two options for this Sunday are to focus on the Triumphal Entry and to treat it as the précis of Holy Week through Good Friday. The Humes lectionary follows the second path.
Devotions for Palm/Passion Sunday have something in common with graduation speeches; they risk all sounding the same. I, having written many devotions for Palm/Passion Sunday, know how little one can write for this day without becoming repetitive.
Therefore, I ask you, O reader, to do something perhaps difficult for you. Read all the assigned readings aloud or listen attentively while someone else reads them. Experience these texts as most people who have experienced them have done so–audibly. Focus not on any particular line or on a few verses, but on the whole. As you listen, let the texts form you. Then go and live and think accordingly.
Pax vobiscum!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 25, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT WILLIAM OF VERCELLI, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT; AND SAINT JOHN OF MATERA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINGO HENARES DE ZAFIRA CUBERO, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF PHUNHAY, VIETNAM, AND MARTYR; SAINT PHANXICÔ DO VAN CHIEU, VIETNAMESE ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHIST AND MARTYR; AND SAINT CLEMENTE IGNACIO DELGADO CEBRIÁN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR IN VIETNAM
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2019/06/25/devotion-for-palm-passion-sunday-year-b-humes/
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Above: Home to Thanksgiving, Circa 1867
Image Creator = Currier & Ives
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-pga-00780
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FOR THANKSGIVING DAY, ACCORDING TO A LECTIONARY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP IN THE BOOK OF WORSHIP FOR CHURCH AND HOME (1965)
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O God, we praise you, we give you thanks for your bountiful providence,
for all the blessings and all the hopes of life.
Above all we praise and adore you for your unspeakable gift
in your only Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Let the memory of your goodness fill our hearts with joy and thankfulness to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–Modernized from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), page 163
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Deuteronomy 8:7-18
Psalm 22
2 Corinthians 9:6-12
Luke 12:16-31
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The extravagant generosity of God, on whom we depend completely, is one theme in these assigned readings. Another is the reality that grace, although free, is not cheap; it imposes certain obligations on its recipients. Those who enter a land new to them must not imagine that they have succeeded by their own power when God has delivered them into that land. One must never think vainly that life consists of the abundance of possessions. One must trust in God in times of plenty as well as in times of scarcity. One must help others as one is able.
For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
–Luke 12:34, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Psalm 22 might seem like an odd pericope for Thanksgiving Day. The text, a prayer for deliverance from a mortal illness, might remind one immediately of the crucifixion of Jesus (Mark 15:34), for example. The psalm does take a turn toward gratitude early on, however. The text is of a mixed mood until the end, when gratitude takes over. The mixed mood of much of Psalm 22 is true to life. We might feel forsaken by God, but we are probably not. If we continue the spiritual struggle with despair long enough, we will understand that. As we suffer, God keeps us company. The light of God might seem brighter in the darkness, and we might find ourselves more grateful than we expected we would. This is my experience.
A helpful spiritual practice I have adopted is to thank God for blessings throughout the day. I do this quietly, in my non-demonstrative, introverted way. I thank God that my car is consistently reliable, but especially at a particular moment. I thank God that the sunlight shines beautifully on the Middle Oconee River. I thank God that I enjoy reading good books–one particular book at a given moment, specifically. I thank God that I have plenty of nutritious food readily available. I thank God for many blessings over time. Whatever is on my mind or in front of me dictates what I thank God for at any given moment. I admit freely that I do not thank God as often as I should, but I continue to endeavor to become more mindful. Anyhow, the goal is to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, not to compile a comprehensive list, which would be impossible anyway. I understand that I rely completely on God, who has provided abundantly. The least I can do is to be grateful and act accordingly.
Where are our treasures? May it be in God. May we be grateful daily.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 15, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND MARTYR
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MAC_0410_ 125
Above: Icon of the Entombment of Christ
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Nahum 3:1-19 or Zechariah 12:1-13:1
Psalm 77:(1-2) 3-10 (11-20)
Matthew 27:57-66 or Mark 15:42-47 or Luke 23:50-56 or John 19:31-42
Philippians 3:1-4a; 4:10-23
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All of the options for the Gospel reading leave Jesus dead in a borrowed tomb. This is the situation on the penultimate Sunday of Year D. This makes liturgical sense, for the last Sunday of the church year is the Feast of Christ the King.
The other readings assigned for Proper 28 provide the promise of better things to come. Psalm 77 speaks of the mighty acts of God in the context of a dire situation. The apocalyptic Zechariah 12:1-13:1 promises the victory of God. Nahum 3:1-19 deals with the overthrow of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, marked by violence and hubris. Finally, the triumph of Jesus in his resurrection is evident in the readings from the Pauline epistles.
One should trust in God, who is powerful, trustworthy, and compassionate.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 21, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS THE APOSTLE, MARTYR
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/12/21/devotion-for-proper-28-year-d/
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Above: Icon of the Crucifixion
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Nahum 2:1-13 or Isaiah 48:1-22
Psalm 71:15-24
Matthew 27:31b-56 or Mark 15:20b-44 or Luke 23:33-49 or John 19:17-30
Romans 13:1-7; 14:13-23
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Romans 13:1-7 is a troublesome passage. Should one always submit to government? Some of my heroes from the past include those who helped slaves escape to freedom in violation of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and sheltered Jews or helped them escape in defiance of the Third Reich. Besides, merely obeying law is what Kohlberg called Conventional Morality, which is not the highest form of morality on that scale, nor should it be.
Anyhow, reading Romans 13:1-7 on the same day with the crucifixion of Jesus seems ironic.
The readings, taken together, point toward mercy. Even the judgment of God, as in Nahum 2:1-13, exists in the context of mercy for the rescued. The mighty acts of God also testify to mercy. And the death of Jesus does too. One should, of course, complete that story with the resurrection, or else one will have a dead Jesus perpetually. Sometimes mercy requires defiance of civil authority; so be it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 21, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS THE APOSTLE, MARTYR
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/12/21/devotion-for-proper-27-year-d/
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Above: Christ and Pilate, by Nicholas Ge
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Nahum 1:1-8
Psalm 33:(1-12) 13-22
Matthew 27:3-31a or Mark 15:2-20a or Luke 23:2-25 or John 18:29-19:16
Romans 10:14, 16-21 or Romans 11:2b-28 (29-32) 33-36
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Judgment and mercy relate to each other in the readings for this Sunday. Divine judgment and mercy coexist in Nahum 1, with judgment falling on the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The two factors also coexist in Psalm 33, but with the emphasis on mercy. Psalm 33, in the context of the readings from the Gospels and Romans 10 and 11, seems ironic, for rejection of Jesus does not fit with
Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD!
happy is the people he has chosen to be his own.
–Psalm 33:12, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
The options for the Gospel reading bring us to the verge of the crucifixion of Jesus, who was, of course, innocent of any offense (in the eyes of God), especially one that any Roman imperial official would consider worthy of crucifixion. To kill a person that way was to make an example of him, to extinguish him, and to convince (via fear) anyone from doing what he had done or had allegedly done. It was a form of execution usually reserved for criminals such as insurrectionists. The fact of the crucifixion of Jesus actually reveals much about the perception of Jesus by certain people.
Jesus was a threat to the religious establishment at a place and in a time when the separation of religion and state did not exist. He was not an insurrectionist, however. He was a revolutionary though. He was a revolutionary who continues to threaten human institutions and social norms by calling their morality into question.
Attempts to domesticate Jesus are nothing new. We can, however, access the undomesticated Jesus via the Gospels.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 20, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-FOURTH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL TAIT, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CANISIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN BLEW, ENGLISH PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/devotion-for-proper-25-year-d/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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