According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
One may use the word “mystery” in at least two ways. One may think of a situation in which gathering more information will eliminate confusion and enable arriving at a firm answer. The Holy Trinity is a mystery, but not in that way. Even if we mere mortals had all the information about the nature of God, we could not understand it. We can barely grasp what we do know, and what we know raises more questions than it resolves. So be it. The second meaning of “mystery” is an ancient definition: One can know something only by living into it. One can know God by faith, for example.
The Feast of the Holy Trinity is the only Christian feast of a doctrine. It is more than that, though. Lutheran minister and liturgist Philip H. Pfatteicher recommends thinking of Trinity Sunday as:
…the celebration of the richness of the being of God and the occasion of a thankful review of the now completed mystery of salvation, which is the work of the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.
—Commentary on theLutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its Ecumenical Context (1990), 301
A doctrine–especially the Holy Trinity–can seem abstract. Some people (including moi) like abstractions. However, abstractions leave others cold and spiritually unmoved. Salvation is not abstract, however; it is tangible. And how it works is a mystery in at least the second meaning of the word.
Happy Trinity Sunday!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 27, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY; AND HIS SON, WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ALBANY; HYMN WRITERS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTONY AND THEODOSIUS OF KIEV, FOUNDERS OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MONASTICISM; SAINT BARLAAM OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT; AND SAINT STEPHEN OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET AND RELIGIOUS WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND SAINTS OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZITA OF TUSCANY, WORKER OF CHARITY
For another slightly different version of the Council of Jerusalem, read Galatians 2:1-10.
This was a turning point. In the Gospel of Matthew, the ministry of Jesus was to Jews, until chapter 28, when the ministry widened to include Gentiles in its scope. After Acts 15, St. Luke wrote of the Christian mission first to Gentiles. And, consistent with a Lucan motif, the Holy Spirit guided the Council of Jerusalem and subsequent evangelism.
Gentiles did not have to convert to Judaism and keep the Law of Moses to become Christians. This seemed odd; Christianity remained a Jewish sect at the time of the composition of Luke-Acts (circa 85 C.E.).
I, having written about Judaizers in the context of Pauline passages many times, choose not repeat those comments on that point here and now. Everything germane is here at BLOGA THEOLOGICA.
In history, the greatest answer to question is,
So what?
Supposing that one has written accurately and neither cherry-picked nor proof-texted, so what? Why does one text matter? In this case, the question pertains to conflicts within the Church. What should people and what do people do when tradition and experience collide? What they should do is not always what they do, sadly. The proper application of timeless principles depends on circumstances, for real life plays out in circumstances. When the proper decision results, the Holy Spirit is at work.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 24, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR C
GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE
THE FEAST OF SAINT EGBERT OF LINDISFARNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK; AND SAINT ADALBERT OF EGMONT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF SAINT FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN, CAPUCHIN FRIAR AND MYSTIC, 1622
THE FEAST OF JAKOB BÖHME, GERMAN LUTHERAN MYSTIC
THE FEAST OF JOHANN WALTER, “FIRST CANTOR OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH”
THE FEAST OF SAINT MELLITUS, BISHOP OF LONDON, AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
I have been writing lectionary-based devotions for more than a decade. In that time, I have exhausted what I can write for the main service of Easter Day.
So be it. Trying to explain the resurrection is pointless. (I have heard people debate the mechanics of it, pointlessly.) One may read an attempt by St. Clement I of Rome, circa 96 C.E., in his Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Clement). That attempt is pious yet inadequate. No explanation is adequate.
Therefore, O reader, I refer you to the assigned readings (especially from the New Testament) and wish you a happy Easter–all fifty days of it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 16, 2022 COMMON ERA
HOLY SATURDAY
THE FEAST OF SAINT BERNADETTE OF LOURDES, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY
THE FEAST OF CALVIN WEISS LAUFER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMNODIST
THE FEAST OF ISABELLA GILMORE, ANGLICAN DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF MIKAEL SUMA, ALBANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, FRIAR, AND MARTYR, 1950
THE FEAST OF PETER WILLIAMS CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL DEACON; AND HIS WIFE, ANNIE BESANT CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL EDUCATOR
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
For most of the Gospel of Matthew, Christ’s mission was t Jews only. Certain Gentiles expressed interest, though. These were some of the God-fearers, who rejected the paganism of their cultures and recognized YHWH as the one true God. At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus issued the Great Commission: to go out into all the world, to baptize, and to make disciples in all parts of the world.
Grace is free yet not cheap. Accepting it imposes obligations upon one. These include maturing spiritually, as in Colossians 3:5-11. The list there is representative, not comprehensive. It points to how we think about and behave toward one another.
Such spiritual maturity also thrives at the high points of life and endures in the depths of despair. Psalm 42 comes from exile. Exile can assume many forms. The longer the COVID-19 pandemic continues, for example, the more it feels like exile to many people, including me. Souls feel cast down. They feel thirsty for God. Spiritual maturity helps one endure the wilderness of despair.
God loves all people and beckons them. God even predestines some percentage of them to Heaven yet none to Hell. The extravagant love of God functions as a model for we mere mortals. Do we love people unconditionally? Do we love those who are very different from us? I confess that, at my best, my love falls far short of divine love. Yet I trust in God, whose grace suffices. And I strive to do better.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 12, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH
THE FEAST OF SAINT AELRED OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF RIEVAULX
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HENRY ALFORD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
This week’s set of readings offers a series of contrasts. God’s order is better than the current world order, in which people mistake knaves for gentlemen and in which the exploitation of the poor is rampant. God is a better king than the any of the bad monarchs of Israel and Judah. Jesus is an exemplar of humility and obedience to God, unlike many people one may call to mind easily. And, at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, we read the Great Commission and of the mission of the Gentiles. One may recall that, earlier in that Gospel, the mission had been to Jews.
Humility is the focus of this post. Humilty involves having a balanced ego, a realistic self-image. It does not mean,
I’m a worthless piece of human slime.
No, being humble means recognizing one’s self-worth and the worth of all other people, too. Humility involves, in the words of the epistle, counting others as more valuable than oneself. This attitude will lead to actions.
Humility is a quality frequently lacking in potentates. When a humble person does come to power, that individual’s tenure is often too brief. How much better would we all be if more of those in power were humble?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 10, 2020 COMMON ERA
GOOD FRIDAY
THE FEAST OF PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, SCIENTIST, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT FULBERT OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF HENRY VAN DYKE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF HOWARD THURMAN, U.S. PROTESTANT THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LAW, ANGLICAN PRIEST, MYSTIC, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER
Repentance is the theme of Lent, historically a time during which notorious sinners, penitent, prepared to return to the full fellowship of the church. Changing one’s mind and turning one’s back on sins, barriers we erect between ourselves and God, is essential before one can deepen one’s relationship with God and grow into one’s potential in God. The readings from Psalm 32 and Romans 2 cover that material more eloquently than I can paraphrase them.
Another theme in this week’s collection of pericopes is Gentiles worshiping the one true God. We read about this in Isaiah 45 before we move along to the frequently misinterpreted story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman in Matthew 15:21-28.
I realize that my orthodoxy resembles heresy to many in the Bible Belt of the United States. (I live in the Bible Belt.) I stand within the larger Christian tradition–one that embraces critical (in the highest meaning of that word) analysis of the Bible and that accepts both science and history. My heroes include Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who said,
The Bible tells us the way to go to Heaven, not the way the heavens go.
I consider fossils, rock layers, and other scientific evidence, and understand that the universe and this planet are much older than six millennia, and that we human beings, in all our stages of evolution, are recent, in terms of geological time. I cannot imagine a few million years. Neither can I imagine many millions and billions of years. I like to ask questions, especially those that prompt many fundamentalists and evangelicals to give me hard stares and become concerned about my salvation. Nevertheless, I am fairly orthodox.
I, as an orthodox Christian, acknowledge the sinlessness of Jesus. I also affirm that Jesus was fully human and fully divine, not God with skin on, without any humanity. Furthermore, I read Matthew 15:21-28 not only in the context of the consensus of ancient ecumenical councils, but also in the context of the rest of Matthew 15 and of the Gospels as a whole. He liked to dine with outcasts, notorious sinners, and other “bad company,” did he not?
Consider, O reader, that, in the narrative, Jesus had recently argued with some Pharisees and scribes in Jerusalem about ritual purity functioning as a distraction from moral responsibilities to relatives. In that context, our Lord and Savior had decreed that what comes out of one’s mouth makes one’s defiled–common, as J. B. Phillips (1906-1982) translated the germane Greek verb. To be pure was uncommon. Impurity was ubiquitous; rituals for becoming ritually pure were also ubiquitous.
In narrative, Jesus then voluntarily withdrew to Gentile territory. He was not trying to avoid Gentiles. Our Lord and Savior’s seemingly harsh words to the Syrophoenician woman were not insults, and she did not change his mind. No, Jesus tested her verbally; he wanted her to reply as she did. Her answer pleased him. I understand that “little bitch” (a literal translation from the Greek text) does not sound nice. It is certainly rude when one intends to insult. I argue, of course, that this was not the case in the story.
In the rest of Matthew 15 Jesus healed people before conducting another feeding of the multitude–4000 men, plus women and children–for the Gentiles.
…and they glorified the God of Israel.
–Matthew 15:31d, The New American Bible (1991)
I, standing in a tradition that dates to the Church Fathers, affirm that the full humanity and full divinity of Jesus meant, among other truths, that the incarnate Second Person of the Trinity did not know all that the pre-incarnate Second Person of the Trinity did. This is an orthodox Christian position. So is my interpretation of Matthew 15:21-28.
The Gospel of Matthew makes clear that Jesus was of Israel and that the proclamation of the message was first to Israel. The Gospel of Matthew also includes the Great Commission (which includes Gentiles) in Chapter 28.
Jesus handled the Syrophoenician’s woman’s case better than his Apostles did; they wanted to send her away. Christ commended her–a foreigner and a Gentile–for her faith and healed her daughter.
I wish that, in passages such as Matthew 15:21-28, the author had mentioned tones of voices, which can change the meaning of words. Perhaps, if the author (“Matthew,” whoever he was; probably not the apostle) had done so, many generations of Christians would have avoided bad sermons on this pericope, as well as misinterpretations in commentaries and Sunday School lessons.
[Aside: Today, March 24, 2020, I consulted N. T. Wright’s Lent for Everyone, Year A (2011), focused on the Gospel of Matthew. Even he thought that Jesus was insulting the woman. How did I, of all people, become more orthodox than N. T. Wright on a point of interpretation? (Start playing the theme to The Twilight Zone now.)]
All may come to God through Christ. All need to repent. Divine judgment and mercy exist in a balance only God understands; so be it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 24, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT OSCAR ROMERO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF SAN SALVADOR; AND THE MARTYRS OF EL SALVADOR, 1980-1992
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIDACUS JOSEPH OF CADIZ, CAPUCHIN FRIAR
THE FEAST OF PAUL COUTURIER, APOSTLE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY
THE FEAST OF THOMAS ATTWOOD, “FATHER OF MODERN CHRISTIAN MUSIC”
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LEDDRA, BRITISH QUAKER MARTYR IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY, 1661
These three readings pertain to salvation history, to two of God’s mighty acts–the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt and the resurrection of Jesus. In each reading one finds evidence of new life–new life as free people, new life for a former corpse, and new life in Christ.
Writing good devotions for Easter can be difficult, for one may not want to draft Easter Devotion #5753, repeating the previous devotions for the holy day. In some ways I prefer to feel the resurrection, for I cannot explain it. I must accept the resurrection of Jesus on faith or not at all, for nobody can prove or disprove it. In this matter, as in many others, certainty is impossible. It is also spiritually undesirable.
New life in Christ entails taking up one’s cross and following him in faith, not in seeking certainty in matters in which it is impossible. I practice the Christian faith, not the Christian certainty. Certainty has its place elsewhere in life. I, as a student of history, respect objective reality and the ability to document it. The resurrection of Jesus is not a matter for historical interpretation, though. It is, however, a matter of faith.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 26, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, U.S. JOURNALIST, TRANSLATOR, AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDRA GIACINTO LONGHIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TREVISO
THE FEAST OF PHILIP DODDRIDGE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VIRGIL MICHEL, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ACADEMIC, AND PIONEER OF LITURGICAL RENEWAL
Grace is scandalous. Frequently we desire grace for ourselves, those we like, and those similar to us, but not for those who fit the opposite descriptions. Yet we read today of the healing of Naaman, a gentile and a commander in an enemy army. We also read of St. Paul the Apostle’s sense of obligation to gentiles. The reading from John 2 reminds us of that the mission to Jesus began with Jews. We also need to consider the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. If we are observant readings of that Gospel, we should know that the mission of Jesus began with the Jews there, too, and that it came to encompass gentiles only in Matthew 28.
Imagine, O reader, an updated version of the story of Naaman, a commander in the Aramean army. Suppose that a high-ranking officer in the armed forces of a nation-state hostile to your nation-state were in your country, in search of medical care. What would your reaction or response be? What would the politics of the situation be in your community? What comments and memes would people post in social media? What would certain politicians say and tweet? What would certain news channels say? What would certain hosts of radio talk shows say? What would some bloggers write?
May we embrace the scandal of grace, thank God for it, and practice it fearlessly. The same grace that saves us also saves those we fear, despise, and do not understand.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 14, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CHARLES AUGUSTUS BRIGGS, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, AND ALLEGED HERETIC; AND HIS DAUGHTER, EMILIE GRACE BRIGGS, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR AND “HERETIC’S DAUGHTER”
THE FEAST OF SAINT METHODIUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE; AND SAINT JOSEPH THE HYMNOGRAPHER, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND “SWEET-VOICED NIGHTINGALE OF THE CHURCH”
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM HIRAM FOULKES, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
Jacob had been wrestling all his life. In the womb he and his brother Esau had struggled with each other. Jacob had, so to speak, wrestled with Esau during childhood and adulthood. Jacob had also been wrestling with himself. On the eve of what turned out to be reconciliation with Esau, Jacob literally wrestled with God or an angel in human form and received a blessing, as well as a limp. Jacob, literally “supplanter,” also became Israel, literally “may God rule.”
I admire Judaism, from which I learn much. One aspect of Judaism I find especially helpful is struggling with God as part of a relationship with God. One finds evidence of that collective struggle throughout the Hebrew Bible. One also finds evidence of divine judgment and mercy, hence restoration following exile. The reading from Isaiah 14 is a song of taunting against the defeated Babylonian/Neo-Chaldean monarch.
According to the high standards of Psalm 15, not one of we mere mortals has any hope, except via grace. Moral perfectionism is an impossible standard, but we should still strive to be the best versions of ourselves we can be.
St. Paul the Apostle wrote to the quarrelsome Corinthian church that it was God’s temple. (The “you” is plural in the reading.) That congregation needed to shape up and come closer to its spiritual potential. Unfortunately, as anyone who has studied the (First) Letter to the Corinthians from St. Clement (I) of Rome (circa 100) should know, the congregation remained quarrelsome and troublesome for at least a generation after St. Paul’s demise.
As my father taught me, troubled people cause trouble.. They are like Jacob. They are wrestling, metaphorically, with themselves and others. Perhaps they are wrestling with God also. In the meantime, in the context of congregational life, are holding a church back, and other members of that community are permitting them to do so. This is a dynamic present in come congregations I have observed.
One progression in the Gospel of Matthew is the expansion of the audience for the message. The audience in 7:6 consists of Jews. Yet, in 28:19, the audience is
all nations.
I, as a Gentile, am grateful for this expansion of the audience. Through it the wisdom of Judaism, has come to me. As I struggle with God, others, and myself, I hope that I cause no trouble in churches. I hope that I am improving spiritually. I hope that people will recognize the light of Christ in me. To the extent any of this comes true, God deserves all the glory.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 24, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THOMAS À KEMPIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN NEWTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH, U.S. BAPTIST MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN OF THE SOCIAL GOSPEL
THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE
BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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