Archive for the ‘Matthew 10’ Category
Above: Icon of Jeremiah
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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Jeremiah 28:5-9
Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 (LBW) or Psalm 119:153-160 (LW)
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:34-42
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O God, you have prepared for those who love you
joys beyond understanding.
Pour into our hearts such love for you that,
loving you above all things,
we may obtain your promises,
which exceed all that we can desire;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 25
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O God, because you have prepared for those who love you
such good things as surpass our understanding,
pour into our hearts such love towards you that we,
loving you above all things,
may obtain your promises,
which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 67
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Jeremiah 28:1-17 is the story of Hananiah, a false prophet who offered false hope in the waning years of the Kingdom of Judah. Hananiah had predicted that God would terminate the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian threat. Jeremiah confronted him and accused him of encouraging disloyalty to God.
Psalms 89 and 119, like Jeremiah, extol and encourage loyalty to God in the midst of disloyalty to God.
St. Paul the Apostle encourages us down the corridors of time to be
dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.
–Romans 6:11b, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
When we return to Matthew 10:37-38, we read of the priority of loving Jesus most of all and of taking up one’s cross and following him. Heeding this advice entails reordering one’s priorities if they are askew.
Those who are loyal to God will stand out compared to those who are disloyal to God. Given the human tendency to promote conformity, some negative consequences will befall those who are loyal to God. Those dispensing the negative consequences may include co-religionists. That is especially unfortunate.
I offer one caution, O reader. Do not mistake serial contrariness against “the world” for loyalty to God. “The world” does not get everything wrong. Instead, follow the coherent moral standards summarized in the Golden Rule. How would a world in which the Golden Rule was the accepted standard function, in contrast to the one in which we live?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 5, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CHARLES WILLIAM SCHAEFFER, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HISTORIAN, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT CATERINA CITTADINI, FOUNDER OF THE URSULINE SISTERS OF SOMASCO
THE FEAST OF SAINT EDMUND IGNATIUS RICE, FOUNDER OF THE INSTITUTE OF THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS OF IRELAND AND THE CONGREGATION OF PRESENTATION BROTHERS
THE FEAST OF FRIEDRICH VON HÜGEL, ROMAN CATHOLIC INDEPDENDENT SCHOLAR AND PHILOSOPHER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS HONORATUS OF ARLES AND HILARY OF ARLES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; AND SAINTS VENANTIUS OF MODON AND CAPRASIUS OF LERINS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Jeremiah
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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Jeremiah 20:7-13
Psalm 69:1-20 (LBW) or Psalm 91 (LW)
Romans 5:12-15
Matthew 10:24-33
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O God our defender,
storms rage about us and cause us to be afraid.
Rescue your people from despair,
deliver your sons and daughters from fear,
and preserve us all from unbelief;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 25
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O Lord, whose gracious presence never fails to guide
and govern those whom you have nurtured
in your steadfast love and worship,
make us ever revere and adore your holy name;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 66
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Following God is frequently a guarantee that one will experience rejection, often from devout people. The Golden Rule exists in most of the world’s religions. Yet, O reader, practice the Golden Rule and notice how much criticism you receive from some adherents to some of these religions, including your own.
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.
Faith has the power to transform people. Religion often reinforces positive and negative tendencies people have. God or a deity frequently functions as a justification for what one wants to do anyway. People often create God in their image.
Jeremiah did not create God in his image. The Weeping Prophet struggled with God, complaining while obeying. The authors of the assigned texts from the Hebrew Bible wrote of divine protection. Divine protection kept Jeremiah alive yet did not prevent his involuntary exile in Egypt. And Jesus died horribly via crucifixion.
Martyrs populate Christian calendars of saints. This is consistent with various sayings of Jesus from the canonical Gospels. Commandments to deny oneself, take up one’s cross, and follow Jesus dovetail with Matthew 10:24:
No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master.
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Yet, in sovereignty, God makes unjust suffering work for a positive end. Persecutions and martyrdoms water the church. Redemption comes via the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Often, social injustice prompts a backlash in favor of social justice. The New Testament depicts the violent, oppressive Roman Empire as an involuntary tool of God. God works with what is available.
As much as I enjoy forces of evil functioning involuntarily as agents of God, I assert that being a voluntary agent of God is superior. I try to be one of these voluntary agents of God. To the extent I succeed, I do so by grace. May you, O reader, succeed by grace, in that effort, too.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 4, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CEFERINO JIMENEZ MALLA, SPANISH ROMANI MARTYR, 1936
THE FEAST OF ANGUS DUN, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF WASHINGTON, AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT BASIL MARTYSZ, POLISH ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945
THE FEAST OF SAINT JEAN-MARTIN MOYË, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MISSIONARY IN CHINA, AND FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE AND THE CHRISTIAN VIRGINS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN HOUGHTON, ROBERT LAWRENCE, AUGUSTINE WEBSTER, HUMPHREY MIDDLEMORE, WILLIAM EXMEW, AND SEBASTIAN NEWDIGATE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 1535
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Sheep
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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Exodus 19:2-8a
Psalm 100
Romans 5:6-11
Matthew 9:35-10:8
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God, our maker and redeemer,
you have made us a new company of priests
to bear witness to the Gospel.
Enable us to be faithful to our calling
to make known your promises to all the world;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 24
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Almighty and everlasting God,
give us an increase of faith, hope, and love;
and that we may obtain what you have promised,
make us love what you have commanded;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 65
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The mandate of the people of God–Jews and Gentiles alike–is to be, in the language of Exodus 19:6,
…a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985, 1999)
Individually and collectively agreeing to that is relatively easy. Following through on that commitment is relatively difficult, though. It is impossible without grace. We are sheep–prone to go astray with little or no prompting. We need reconciliation to God and one another, as well as to ourselves.
God has acted to effect reconciliation. That, then, leaves the human side of the relationship. Grace is free, not cheap; it imposes the obligation of faithful response to God. How we treat our fellow human beings is bound up with our response to God.
Do not imagine, O reader, that I have worked out all these details in my life. Do not think that I have achieved an advanced stage of spiritual development. I know myself too well to assert that I have done what I described in the first two sentences of this paragraph. No, I muddle through, accumulating a mixed record daily. Therefore, I write this post to myself as much as I write it to you.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 3, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CAROLINE CHISHOLM, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIE-LÉONIE PARADIS, FOUNDER OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MAURA AND TIMOTHY OF ANTINOE, MARTYRS, 286
THE FEAST OF SAINT TOMASSO ACERBIS, CAPUCHIN FRIAR
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Zeno of Citium
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1, 2 AND 4 MACCABEES
PART IV
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4 Maccabees 1:1-3:18; 13:1-14:10; 18:20-24
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The Fourth Book of the Maccabees, composed in 20-54 C.E., perhaps in Antioch, is a treatise. It interprets Judaism in terms of Greek philosophy–Stoicism and Platonism, to be precise. 4 Maccabees elaborates on the story of the martyrdom of the seven brothers and their mother, covered relatively succinctly in 2 Maccabees 7:1-42, and set prior to the Hasmonean Rebellion.
Fourth Maccabees, composed by an anonymous Hellenistic Jew and addressed to other Hellenistic Jews, has two purposes:
- To exhort them to obey the Law of Moses (18:1), and
- To proclaim that devout reason is the master of all emotions (1:1-2; 18:2).
Cultural assimilation was a common temptation for Hellenistic Jews. “Keep the faith,” the author urged more verbosely than my paraphrase. For him, devout reason was a reason informed by the Law of Moses. Devout reason, in the author’s mind, the highest form of reason was the sole province of faithful Jews.
Vicarious suffering is also a theme in 4 Maccabees. In this book, the suffering and death of the martyrs purifies the land (1:11; 6:29; 17:21), vindicates the Jewish nation (17:10), and atones for the sins of the people (6:29; 17:22). The last point presages Penal Substitutionary Atonement, one of several Christian theologies of the atonement via Jesus.
The blending of Jewish religion and Greek philosophy is evident also in the treatment of the afterlife. The Second Book of the Maccabees teaches bodily resurrection (7:9, 11, 14, 23, and 29). One can find bodily resurrection elsewhere in Jewish writings (Daniel 12:2; 1 Enoch 5:1-2; 4 Ezra/2 Esdras 7:42; 2 Baruch 50:2-3). The Fourth Book of the Maccabees, however, similar to the Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-4, teaches instant immortality, with reward or punishment. The martyrs achieve instant instant immortality with reward (4 Maccabees 9:9, 22; 10:15; 14:15; 15:7; 16:13, 25; 17:12, 18; 18:23). Antiochus IV Epiphanes, however, goes to everlasting torment (9:9, 29, 32; 10:11, 15; 11:3, 23; 12:18; 18:5).
Stoicism, in the Greek philosophical sense, has a different meaning than the average layperson may assume. It is not holding one’s feelings inside oneself. Properly, Stoicism teaches that virtue is the only god and vice is the only evil. The wise are indifferent to pain and pleasure, to wealth and poverty, and to success and misfortune. A Stoic, accepting that he or she could change x, y, and z, yet not t, u, and v. No, a Stoic works to change x, y, and z. A Stoic, therefore, is content in the midst of difficulty. If this sounds familiar, O reader, you may be thinking of St. Paul the Apostle being content in pleasant and in unpleasant circumstances (Philippians 4:11-12).
Stoicism shows up elsewhere in the New Testament and in early Christianity, too. It is in the mouth of St. Paul in Athens (Acts 17:28). Stoicism is also evident in the writings of St. Ambrose of Milan (337-397), mentor of St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430). Why would it not be in the writings of St. Ambrose? Greek philosophy informed the development of early Christian theology. Greek philosophy continues to exist in sermons, Sunday School lessons, and Biblical commentaries. Greek philosophy permeates the Gospel of John and the Letter to the Hebrews. Greek philosophy is part of the Christian patrimony.
Platonism was the favorite form of Greek philosophy in the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. Platonism permeated the works of St. Clement of Alexandria (circa 150-circa 210/215) and his star pupil, Origen (185-254), for example. Eventually, though, St. Albert the Great (circa 1200-1280) and his star pupil, St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), successfully made the case for Aristotle over Plato. Holy Mother Church changed her mind after the deaths of Sts. Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas. The Church, having embraced Aristotle over Plato, eventually rescinded the pre-Congregation canonization of St. Clement of Alexandria. And the Church has never canonized Origen. I have, however, read news stories of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland trying to convince The Episcopal Church to add Origen to the calendar of saints. (The Episcopal Church already recognizes St. Clement of Alexandria as a saint.)
Platonism and Stoicism have four cardinal virtues–rational judgment, self-control, justice, and courage. These appear in 4 Maccabees 1:2-4. As I read these verses, I recognize merit in them. Some emotions do hinder self-control. Other emotions to work for injustice and obstruct courage. News reports provide daily documentation of this. Other emotions further the causes of justice and courage. News reports also provide daily documentation of this.
I also affirm that reason should govern emotions. I cite news stories about irrationality. Emotions need borders, and must submit to objectivity and reason, for the best results.
4 Maccabees takes the reader on a grand tour of the Hebrew Bible to support this conclusion. One reads, for example, of Joseph (Genesis 39:7-12; 4 Maccabees 2:1-6), Simeon and Levi (Genesis 49:7; 4 Maccabees 2:19-20), Moses (Numbers 16:1-35; Sirach 45:18; 4 Maccabees 2:17), David (2 Samuel 23:13-17; 1 Chronicles 11:15-19; 4 Maccabees 3:6-18).
Reason can effect self-control, which works for higher purposes. One of these higher purposes is
the affection of brotherhood.
–4 Maccabees 13:19, Revised Standard Version–Second Edition (1971)
In the case of the seven martyred brothers, as the author of 4 Maccabees told their story, these holy martyrs used rational judgment and self-control to remain firm in their faith. Those brothers did not
fear him who thinks he is killing us….
–4 Maccabees 13:14, Revised Standard Version–Second Edition (1971)
That is the same courage and conviction present in Christian martyrs, from antiquity to the present day.
One may think of another passage:
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
–Matthew 10:28, Revised Standard Version–Second Edition (1971)
Not surprisingly, many persecuted Christians derived much comfort and encouragement from 4 Maccabees. These Christians had to rely on each other, just as the seven brothers did in 4 Maccabees.
Mutuality is a virtue in the Law of Moses and in Christianity.
I have spent the first four posts in this series laying the groundwork for the First, Second, and Fourth Books of Maccabees. I have provided introductory material for these books.
Next, I will start the narrative countdown to the Hasmonean Rebellion.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 4, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CORNELIUS THE CENTURION
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Above: Christ Exorcising Demons
Image in the Public Domain
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The Roman Catholic Church has the proper attitude toward demonic possession. That attitude is that demonic possession is real, but that not everything that looks like demonic possession is that. This is why mental and psychological examinations precede exorcisms, and not every request for an exorcism results in one. Sometimes, the problem is a matter for doctors and/or therapists, not exorcists and their assistants. Someone may actually have a mental illness, for example.
I have heard hints and stories of possessions. I have heard them from people I know to be credible, lucid, grounded in reality, and not given to flights of fantastical thinking. I am content to take their word for it when they have described what they witnessed.
I used to be in a relationship with a woman who suffered from mental illness. I knew from my culture and education that her problems were treatable via medications. Unfortunately, she did not always take her pills. At the end, her figurative demons overpowered her, and she died violently. Having been so close for a about decade to one afflicted with mental illness, I understand how someone whose education and culture do not contain the category of mental illness may misidentify it as demonic possession.
Other conditions, such as epilepsy, have allegedly been symptoms of demonic possession, in the Bible, folk belief, and historical documents.
A partial list of Biblical citations that include references to exorcism or possession follows:
- 1 Samuel 16:14-16; 18:10; 19:9;
- Tobit 6:7, 16-17; 8:3;
- Matthew 8:16; 10:1; 12:28
- Mark 1:25; 5:8; 6:7; 9:25, 38; 16:17;
- Acts 16:18; 19:13-14.
Sometimes I read one of these passages or another one that belongs on this list and quickly arrive at a non-demonic or non-ghostly explanation for the problem. Someone may have been under too much stress, for example. (In some cultures, ghostly possession is the understanding of what my culture calls too much stress.) Or perhaps I just read a description of an epileptic seizure. Maybe I read a description of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or multiple personalities disorder. In Biblical times, of course, people ascribed these afflictions to possession, so the texts they wrote did, too.
When I read such a text, I seek to understand what was really going on in that text. I apply the cultural, medical, and psychiatric categories I have learned. Doing so does not always yield a clear answer to my question, though. I affirm that that the demonic exists. I reject the label “supernatural” for it, for I reject that label, period. That which we humans usually call “supernatural” is merely natural, but not in the same way as ponds, rocks, and kittens. That which we mere mortals often label supernatural is part of God’s created order. It is, therefore, natural. That which is angelic or demonic is natural. And I do not always know, when reading certain Biblical texts, what kind of natural phenomenon of which I read. My categories are not those of the ancient authors of canonical books.
However, sorting out what caused the predicament in a given Biblical story may not necessarily be the main point anyway. If I read a story of Jesus exorcising/healing (whatever) someone, the main point may be that Christ restored him or her to health, wholeness, and his or her family and community. Or the main point may be that the Kingdom of God was present in the activities of Jesus.
So be it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 31, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF CHARLES FREDERICK MACKENZIE, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF NYASALAND, AND MARTYR, 1862
THE FEAST OF ANTHONY BÉNÉZET, FRENCH-AMERICAN QUAKER ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF LANZA DEL VASTO, FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE ARK
THE FEAST OF MENNO SIMONS, MENNONITE LEADER
THE FEAST OF MARY EVELYN “MEV” PULEO, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PHOTOJOURNALIST AND ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
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Above: The Great Commission
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Second 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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O Lord, who never failest to help and govern those
whom thou dost bring up in thy steadfast fear and love;
make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 186
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Proverbs 9:1-10
Psalm 76
Romans 10:1-15
Matthew 9:35-10:1
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These four readings combine to form a call for evangelism. As Proverbs 9:10 tells us,
The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD,
And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Psalm 76:11a reads:
Make vows to the LORD your God, and keep them;
let the peoples all around him bring their tribute….
—The Revised English Bible (1989)
St. Paul the Apostle criticized Second Temple for lacking Jesus, not for being a legalistic, works-based-righteousness religion. (Read E. P. Sanders, Paul and Palestinian Judaism, 1977, O reader.) In that context, St. Paul dictated:
But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in whom of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?
–Romans 10:14, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Finally, Matthew 9:37-38 tells us:
Then [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
One could add the next step, discipling:
…Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
–Matthew 28:19-20a, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Each of us has a set of spiritual gifts. I, as an introvert, become nervous at the thought of knocking on someone’s door. In fact, I prefer that people not knock on my door when I am home. When I am home, I prefer to stay away from the outside world, at least physically. Going around, even in a team, and knocking on doors, for the purpose of evangelism, is not my style.
My Episcopal parish in Athens, Georgia, had begun a process of discerning God’s call upon the congregation, establishing goals, and working backward from those goals to develop strategies when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Our goals fell into three headings: Nourish, Go, and Grow.
My spiritual gifts fall primarily under the “Nourish” heading. Discipleship is where I come into the picture most of the time. That is fine; all spiritual gifts are necessary, and nobody has all of them.
I pray, O reader, that at least one of my devotional posts helps you along your walk with God in Christ. And if, by blogging, I commit evangelism (not just discipling), so much the better.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 13, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT HILARY OF POITIERS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF POITIERS, “ATHANASIUS OF THE WEST,” AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TOURS
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN KEIMANN, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF GEORGE FOX, FOUNDER OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS
THE FEAST OF MARY SLESSOR, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY IN WEST AFRICA
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL PREISWERK, SWISS REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
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Above: Icon of St. Paul the Apostle
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Year 1, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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Eternal God, who hast taught us that we shall life if we love thee and our neighbor:
help us to know who is our neighbor and to serve him, that we may truly love thee;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 125
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1 Kings 3:3-14
Acts 28:23-31
Matthew 10:16-25
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This set of readings is interesting; the first pericope seems not to fit with the other two, at least initially.
St. Paul the Apostle ended his days under house arrest in Rome. He was free to preach there, until he died of beheading. His martyrdom was a form of religious persecution.
Religious persecution is recognizable. If one, for example, risks severe penalties (such as incarceration or death), legal or informal, for attending the church of one’s choice, one suffers from religious persecution. Many of my fellow Christians live their faith under religious persecution. I, a citizen and resident of the United States of America, do not suffer religious persecution, fortunately; nobody interferes with my church-going. Yet I do know of incidents of domestic terrorists burning churches or vandalizing houses of worship, often out of racism or xenophobia. These actions constitute forms of religious persecution. Yet legal authorities in the United States often deal with those domestic terrorists.
Wise governance can minimize, although not prevent, informal religious persecution. Wise governance certainly prevents official religious persecution. Yet there is no such thing as absolute freedom. I know, for example, of some extreme cases in which child abusers have attempted to hide behind appeals to religious freedom. However, religious freedom does not excuse domestic violence; prosecution of that offense does not constitute religious persecution.
When Christianity endures religious persecution, the faith emerges stronger for the ordeal. The blood of the martyrs truly waters the Church.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 11, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE TENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF LUKE OF PRAGUE AND JOHN AUGUSTA, MORAVIAN BISHOPS AND HYMN WRITERS
THE FEAST OF SAINT KAZIMIERZ TOMAS SYKULSKI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF LARS OLSEN SKREFSRUD, HANS PETER BOERRESEN, AND PAUL OLAF BODDING, LUTHERAN MISSIONARIES IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SEVERIN OTT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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Above: Goliath Laughs at David
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Year 1, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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Grant us, Lord, the Spirit to think and do what is right;
that we, who cannot do anything good without thee, may,
with thee, be enabled to live according to thy will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 125
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1 Samuel 17:41-47
Acts 26:12-23
Matthew 10:5-15
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I admit without any hesitation and regret that I do not like people knocking on my doors unless I know them already. When I want or need to interact with the outside world, I go out into it. However, when I am home, I enjoy my privacy. When I want to interact with strangers, I do not go home and lock the doors.
Needless to say and write, I usually avoid speaking with people who knock on my front door with the intention of converting me. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are easy to recognize; I simply refuse to open the door. This strategy is more effective and easier than my previous one, which was confusing them with my superior knowledge of comparative religion and Christian theology and history until they left. I recall one unpleasant encounter with two Church of Christers, to whom I spoke honestly. I also remember them telling me that I was going to Hell for not belonging to the Churches of Christ. My Anglicanism, influenced by Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism, does not meet with the approval of such members of the Churches of Christ.
I am certain that more than one person regards me as one of those who rejects the Gospel and consigns me to the judgment of God, as in the Gospel pericope.
The message of God has outlasted Philistines, the Roman Empire, and the martyrdom of St. Paul the Apostle. It has survived rejection by many people.
The message of God will outlast all of us. We can either reject or accept it, but we cannot halt it. Depending on how we act, we may condemn ourselves.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 11, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE TENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF LUKE OF PRAGUE AND JOHN AUGUSTA, MORAVIAN BISHOPS AND HYMN WRITERS
THE FEAST OF SAINT KAZIMIERZ TOMAS SYKULSKI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF LARS OLSEN SKREFSRUD, HANS PETER BOERRESEN, AND PAUL OLAF BODDING, LUTHERAN MISSIONARIES IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SEVERIN OTT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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Above: Beheading of Saint Paul
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year 1, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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O God, who hast summoned us to be doers of the Word:
grant us strength to fulfill thy commandments;
to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thee;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 125
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1 Samuel 12:6-15
Romans 15:22-29
Matthew 9:35-10:4
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St. Paul the Apostle was one of the laborers who went out to work in God’s fields, for the harvest; he focused on Gentiles. He, writing, probably in the 50s C.E., addressed the church at Rome, a congregation he had not yet visited. The Apostle, concerned about his safety, was planning a trip to Jerusalem, to deliver the collection for the church there. He was also planning to visit Rome. St. Paul arrived in that city eventually–as a prisoner. (Read Acts 27-28.) He died there.
St. Paul, a Roman citizen, knew who his king was; God was his king. Unfortunately, St. Paul’s emperor as Nero. Many of St. Paul’s ancestors in 1 Samuel 12 did not understand, however, that their only proper king was God. The majority of them and their descendants for a number of generations disregarded God. One kingdom became two kingdoms, both of which fell.
St. Paul, for all his vices (including arrogance and excessive querulousness), followed Jesus after the road to Damascus. He suffered also, but for the sake of righteousness.
Ultimately, in 64 C.E., he became a martyr via beheading. The activities of St. Paul from the road to Damascus forward changed the world for the better.
Nero, Emperor of Rome, and most of the Kings of Israel and Judah did not.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 10, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE NINTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF PAUL EBER, GERMAN LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HOWELL ELVET LEWIS, WELSH CONGREGATIONALIST CLERGYMAN AND POET
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN ROBERTS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF ROBERT MURRAY, CANADIAN PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
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Above: Joseph Interprets Dreams in Prison, by Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow
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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Genesis 40 or Isaiah 44:108
Psalm 21
1 Corinthians 9:1-16
Matthew 12:38-50
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The most succinct summary of the readings from the Hebrew Bible I can muster is that God is the genuine article. God, who is reliable, mighty, and merciful, is worthy of all praise. The context in Genesis 40 is the interpretation of dreams of the Pharaoh. The setting in Isaiah 44 is the prediction of restoration after the Babylonian Exile. In Psalm 21 a Jewish monarch praises God.
Matthew 12:38-50 has much occurring theologically in it. The element that attracts my attention today is spiritually fictive kinship (verses 46-50). This concept comforts many of my fellow Christians, those rejected their relatives. Matthew 12:38-50 fits neatly with Matthew 10:34-39, among other passages.
It was a kinship in short supply in the Corinthian church and between that congregation and St. Paul the Apostle. He apparently felt the need to defend himself and his traveling companions against allegations, some of which he might have anticipated.
Personalities and perceptions can be troublesome. Perceptions can be false yet tenacious. One might be deeply entrenched in a false religion or mindset that objective reality contradicts. To quote John Adams,
Facts are stubborn things.
Yet objectively false conclusions are frequently more stubborn. This is why fact-based arguments fail much of the time. It would be different if one were debating the great English linguist and moralist Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), but how many of us are in his league?
Then there is truth we cannot prove via Enlightenment Modernism. This is a major problem with much of Christian apologetics, for work in that field has a flawed methodology. And, as the great Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998) taught, Jesus of Nazareth is the sole basis of the truth of the Gospel, and to appeal to any outside standard to prove the truth of the Gospel is to make that outside standard more important than the Gospel.
No, God, is the genuine article. Some truth one must accept on faith, or not at all. Enlightenment Modernism and the scientific method are valid in many projects; we should embrace them as far as they can take us. Yet when they run out, there is God, the genuine article.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 27, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THOMAS GALLAUDET AND HENRY WINTER SYLE, EPISCOPAL PRIESTS AND EDUCATORS OF THE DEAF
THE FEAST OF SAINT AMADEUS OF CLERMONT, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK; AND HIS SON, SAINT AMADEUS OF LAUSANNE, FRENCH-SWISS ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC BARBERI, ROMAN CATHOLIC APOSTLE TO ENGLAND
THE FEAST OF HENRIETTE LUISE VAN HAYN, GERMAN MORAVIAN HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/08/27/devotion-for-proper-18-year-a-humes/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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