Archive for the ‘Philippians 3’ Category
Above: A Vineyard
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 5:1-7
Psalm 80:7-14 (LBW) or Psalm 118:19-24 (LW)
Philippians 3:12-21
Matthew 21:33-43
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Our Lord Jesus, you have endured
the doubts and foolish questions of every generation.
Forgive us for trying to be judge over you,
and grant us the confident faith to acknowledge you as Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 28
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O God, whose almighty power is made known chiefly
in showing mercy and pity,
grant us the fullness of your grace
that we may be partakers of your heavenly treasures;
through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 84
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The Bible moves past preaching and immediately starts meddling. Good! It ought to do this.
The vineyard is an image of the people of God in the Bible. In Isaiah 5, the image of vineyard full of wild (literally, noxious) grapes condemns the population doomed to suffer exile and occupation. Psalm 80 likens the people of Israel to a vine and prays for the restoration of Israel in the midst of exile. The Parable of the Tenants condemns fruitless religious authority figures–a timeless warning.
That parable also quotes Psalm 119 when the Matthean text refers to the cornerstone the builders had rejected. The cornerstone is a messianic theme, as in Isaiah 8:14; 28:16; and Zechariah 3:9; 4:7. For other applications of the cornerstone to Jesus, read Acts 4:11; Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:4f; Ephesians 2:20; and 1 Corinthians 3:11.
Years ago, I had a discouraging conversation with a female student at the college where I taught. She told me before class one day that she did not care about what happened to and on the Earth, for her citizenship was in Heaven. I vainly attempted to persuade her to care. Her attitude contradicted the Law of Moses, the witness of the Hebrew prophets, the teachings of Jesus, and the epistles–Judaism and Christianity, in other words.
The Golden Rule requires us–collectively and individually–to care for and about each other and the planet. Judaism and Christianity teach that people are stewards–not owners–of the planet. (God is the owner.) The state of ecology indicates that we are terrible stewards, overall. The lack of mutuality during the COVID-19 pandemic proves that many people do not give a damn about others and the common good.
God remains God. God still cares. God cannot exist without caring. That should comfort many people and terrify many others. Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 18, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ARTEMISIA BOWDEN, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EDUCATOR AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF ERDMANN NEUMEISTER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS JOHN MCCONNELL, U.S. METHODIST BISHOP AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF JONATHAN FRIEDRICH BAHNMAIER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF PETTER DASS, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Tobias and the Angel, by Wenceslas Hollar
Image in the Public Domain
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READING TOBIT
PART VI
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Tobit 5:1-6:17/18 (depending on versification)
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The Book of Tobit is a novella with faulty history and geography. Regarding geography, making the journey from Nineveh to Ectabana (about 450 miles) in a mere two days thousands of years ago would have been miraculous. I realize that Azariah/Azarias means “God has helped,” but the geography in the story remains erroneous.
The dog is an odd detail, starting in Tobit 6:2 and again in 11:4.
- Dogs were unclean animals and not pets. Biblical texts mentioned them in negative terms. (Exodus 11:7; Judith 11:9; Luke 16:21; Proverbs 26:17; 2 Peter 2:22; Exodus 22:31; I Kings 14:11; 1 Kings 16:4, 21; 1 Kings 19:23-24; 1 Kings 22:38; 2 Kings 9:10, 36; Psalm 68:23-24; Jeremiah 15:3).
- “Dog” was a term of contempt for a human being. (1 Samuel 17:43; 2 Kings 8:13; Matthew 15:26; Mark 7:27)
- Sometimes “dog” referred to the wicked. (Isaiah 56:10-11; Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15)
- Sometimes “dog” also referred to a male temple prostitute. (Deuteronomy 23:18-19)
- Mentioning a dog in positive terms in Tobit 6:2 and 11:4 was, therefore, odd. Perhaps it was a remnant of an older folk tale. In the context of the Book of Tobit, the dog was a second angel in disguise.
The reference to the fish (Tobit 6:3) that tried to swallow Tobias’s “foot” is one aspect of the story one can explain easily. We are in the realm of euphemism. As elsewhere “feet” are really genitals. (Exodus 4:25; Ruth 3:7; Isaiah 6:2)
The fish-related cure for blindness and method of repelling demons are fascinating aspects of this folklore. What a fish!
In these two chapters we read of God indirectly setting the healing of Tobit and Sarah into motion. We also read of Raphael preparing Tobias to marry Sarah. God has a hidden hand in the Book of Tobit. God works subtly in this story. Many of us can cite examples of God’s subtle, hidden hand in our lives and in the lives of others.
The Book of Tobit is partially about wellness. In this reading, Tobit, Anna, and Sarah are not well. Tobit is blind, Anna is overwhelmed, and Sarah is at the end of her rope. By the end of the book, all of them are well.
But what is true wellness? The best answer I can find comes from Irene Nowell, O.S.B., writing in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume III (1999):
True wellness is a consequence of humility, the recognition that life and health are gifts from God.
True wellness is heavily spiritual.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 30, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR
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Above: Near the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem, Massachusetts
Image Source = Google Earth
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For the Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, 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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Absolve, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy people from their offenses;
that from the bonds of our sins which, by reason of our frailty,
we have brought upon us, we may be delivered by thy bountiful goodness;
through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth
with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever One God, world without end Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 228
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Hosea 10:12-11:12
Psalm 146
Philippians 3:7-21
Luke 12:49-59
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We read of the imperative of following God’s way, not our way. Our way leads to, in words from Hosea 10:13, reaping iniquity and eating the fruits of treachery, having plowed wickedness. Rather, we ought to sow righteousness and reap the fruits of goodness (Hosea 10:12). In concrete terms, sowing righteousness means emulating YHWH. In Psalm 146, YHWH keeps faith with the wronged, defends the cause of the oppressed, feeds the hungry, liberates prisoners, opens the eyes of the blind, uplifts those bend double, loves the just, protects the strangers, reassures the fatherless and the widows, and overturns the domination of the wicked. Those sound like make many enemies, often among the conventionally religious, who should know better.
Jesus made enemies every time he healed on the Sabbath. He made enemies every time he woke up after a good night’s sleep. Christ made enemies because he had a pulse.
We Christians, who profess to follow Jesus, tread the way of the cross, if we really are doing what we should. We, like St. Paul the Apostle, will make enemies by pursuing righteousness. Ironically, many of these foes may identify themselves as Christians. Intra-Christian persecution is a shameful and indefensible tradition. Other persecution may originate from outside the Christian faith. Either way, persecutors may imagine that they are positive figures doing what is necessary for the greater good. Villains frequently think they are heroes.
Christ, functionally, is a cause of dissension. This reality is as old as the ministry of Jesus and as recent as the present day. This reality reflects negatively on those who object to Jesus, not on him.
One may also recall other words from the Gospel of Luke:
Blessed are you when people hate you, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, look!–your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets….Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.
–Luke 6:22-23, 26, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
May we never take offense at Jesus and think of him as a proper cause of dissension. After all, many distinctions properly cease to exist or matter in Christ. Therefore, Jesus should be a means of unity.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA, PATRIARCH; AND SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, PATRIARCH AND “FATHER OF ORTHODOXY”
THE FEAST OF CHARLES SILVESTER HORNE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHARLES FRIEDRICH HASSE, GERMAN-BRITISH MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF JULIA BULKLEY CADY CORY, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT
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Above: The Pharisee and the Publican
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Fourth Sunday in Lent, 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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O Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth;
enter not into judgment with thy servants, we beseech thee, but be pleased of thy great kindness to grant,
that we who are now righteously afflicted and bowed down by the sense of our sins,
may be refreshed and lifted up with the joy of thy salvation. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 152
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Malachi 3:1-6
Psalms 130 and 131
Philippians 3:7-15
Luke 18:1-17
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Divine judgment and mercy exist in balance. I do not pretend to know what that balance is, for I know I am not God. Standards of behavior exist, however. They include not practicing sorcery, committing adultery, swearing falsely, cheating workers of wages, and subverting the cause of the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. I wonder how many people ignore the mandate of economic justice and of protecting strangers, encoded into the Law of Moses, present in the books of the Hebrew prophets, and extant in Christian moral teaching, and consider themselves sufficiently moral.
Lists, such as the one in Malachi 3:5, are not comprehensive. They are not supposed to be. They do, however, prompt us to consider what, in our context, we would add to any given list, consistent with the lists from the Bible. These lists, never intended to be comprehensive, contain timeless principles and some timeless examples, too.
Such lists condemn almost all of us, do they not? As the author of Psalm 130 asked, if God were to count sins, who could stand? Yet we know that divine judgment is real, as is mercy.
Recognition of total dependence on God is a principle in Judaism and Christianity, from the Law of Moses to the writings of St. Paul the Apostle. Yes, we bear the image of God. Yes, we are slightly lower than “the gods”–members of the divine court–usually translated into English as “the angels.” No, we are not pond scum. Yet we are also powerless to commit any righteousness other than what Lutheran theology categorizes as civic righteousness. Civil righteousness is objectively good, but it cannot save us.
For many people, the main idol to surrender to God is ego. People will go far to protect ego. They will frequently disregard objective reality and continue to believe disproven statements to protect ego. They will commit violence to protect ego sometimes. Some people even slander and/or libel others to protect ego.
Yet, as St. Paul the Apostle, who knew about his ego, understood, ego was rubbish before Christ.
How much better would the world be if more people cared about glorifying God, not themselves?
I do not pretend to have reached a great spiritual height and surrendered my ego. No, I continue to struggle with it. I do know something, however. I know from observation that giving power, from the church level to the national and global levels, to a person with either an inferiority complex or a raging ego is folly at best and doom at worst. One with an inferiority complex will seek to build up oneself, not the church, country, world, et cetera. An egomaniac will behave in the same way, with the same results. People with balanced egos are the ones to work for the common good.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 26, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGARET CLITHEROW, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1586
THE FEAST OF FLANNERY O’CONNOR, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC WRITER
THE FEAST OF GEORGE RUNDLE PRYNNE, ANGLICAN PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JAMES RENDEL HARRIS, ANGLO-AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALIST THEN QUAKER BIBLICAL SCHOLAR AND ORIENTALIST; ROBERT LUCCOCK BENSLY, ENGLISH BIBLICAL TRANSLATOR AND ORIENTALIST; AGNES SMITH LEWIS AND MARGARET DUNLOP SMITH GIBSON, ENGLISH BIBLICAL SCHOLARS AND LINGUISTS; SAMUEL SAVAGE LEWIS, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND LIBRARIAN OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE; AND JAMES YOUNG, SCOTTISH UNITED PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND LITERARY TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT LUDGER, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF MUNSTER
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Above: Jonah Preaching to the Ninevites
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:
Jonah 3
Psalm 143
Philippians 3:7-21
Matthew 26:57-68
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The reading from Matthew 26 depicts a scene of perfidy. Religious leaders, in violation of the Law of Moses, seek false testimony (a capital offense, at least theoretically) to send Jesus to his execution, we read. Their charge against him is blasphemy, a capital offense, according to Leviticus 24:16.
These men were really defending their power base as they committed a great sin. Yet God used their actions to work abundant grace, culminated, in a few days, in the resurrection. Those religious leaders must have had some interesting private discussions about that.
Divine grace is so abundant that it falls upon individuals as well as groups, and believers as well as heathens. Grace calls us to repentance. We all need to repent–to turn our backs to sin–daily.
Each of us has an inner Jonah. We rejoice when God extends mercy to us and people similar to ourselves, but we, like some of the psalmists, want God to smite our enemies. God loves them too, however. God rejoices when they repent; so should we.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 24, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS SELNECKER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JACKSON KEMPER, EPISCOPAL MISSIONARY BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT EDITH MARY MELLISH (A.K.A. MOTHER EDITH), FOUNDRESS OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE SACRED NAME
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2018/05/24/devotion-for-the-fourth-sunday-in-lent-year-a-humes/
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Above: The River Jordan
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-03260
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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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Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 3:13-17
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The Book of Isaiah includes Servant Songs, the first of which is our first reading. Biblical scholars have long pondered the identity of the servant. Some see a prophecy of Christ, baptized in Matthew 3:13-17. In real time, from the temporal perspective of Deutero-Isaiah, perhaps the best guess is that the servant is the personification of the Jews–the chosen people of God.
Recently, while browsing the extensive books section of a local thrift store, I saw a volume entitled How to Find God. The author of that book was seriously mistaken, for we do not find God. Rather, God finds us. It has always been true that God, in whom is our only proper boast, is our strength and shield. It has always been true that God’s call has imposed upon the recipients of (free) grace certain obligations, such as working for justice. It has always been true that we, working with others, can be more effective in purposes (noble and otherwise) than when laboring in solitude.
“What is God calling me to do?” is a valid question. A greater query is, “What is God calling us to do?” May we identify and labor faithfully in that work, and succeed, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 19, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH OF NAZARETH, HUSBAND OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2018/03/19/devotion-for-the-first-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a-humes/
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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: The Parliament Buildings in Ottawa on February 4, 1916
Image in the Public Domain
Image Source = The New York Times, February 13, 1916
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The Collect:
Creator God, you prepare a new way in the wilderness,
and your grace waters our desert.
Open our hearts to be transformed by the new thing you are doing,
that our lives may proclaim the extravagance of your love
given to all through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 29
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 43:1-7 (Thursday)
Isaiah 43:8-15 (Friday)
Psalm 126 (Both Days)
Philippians 2:19-24 (Thursday)
Philippians 2:25-3:1 (Friday)
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When the LORD restored Zion
it was as though we were dreaming.
We could not speak for laughing,
we could only utter cries of joy.
Then the saying arose among the nations,
“The LORD has done something great with these people.”
The LORD has done something great with us;
we were delighted.
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Restore us again, Lord,
as streams refresh the dry south.
Those who sow in tears
will reap with shouts of joy.
Whoever weeps as he walks along his furrow
carrying a handful of seed
will surely come here in joy
carrying his sheaves of corn.
–Psalm 126, Harry Mowvley, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers (1989)
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Psalm 126 probably dates to the post-exilic period, which did not live up to its billing elsewhere in the Bible. The text indicates both thanksgiving to God and awareness that circumstances could be better.
That description applies well to contemporary circumstances, both collective and individual, does it not? Yes, we have a plethora of reasons for gratitude to God, but we also have a host of problems. Other people created many of them, but we must live with them. The fact that we live in societal settings means that what we do affects others and that what others do affects us. We pay for many of the mistakes of other people, therefore. Sometimes we pay for the errors of our ancestors, whose legacies are not entirely positive. I can trace some of the positive and negative influences on my life as far back as two of my great-grandfathers, for example.
On the positive side, God calls us to care for and about each other. God has modeled this commandment frequently, in instances from the Bible and elsewhere, from antiquity to the present day. We read one example of it in Isaiah 43:1-15, a prophecy of the end of the Babylonian Exile. We find an example of the imprisoned St. Paul the Apostle expressing his concern for the church at Philippi, a congregation he had founded, and announcing the impending arrival of two of his fellow workers in Christ.
Yes, we have reasons for concern as well as for gratitude to God, but this reality does not excuse inaction when positive action is justified. We human beings are supposed to support each other in positive pursuits, as God defines them. If we do this, we will improve some of the circumstances over which we have justifiable concerns. If we do this, we will act as partners of God, who is always the senior partner.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 4, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THOMAS COTTERILL, ENGLISH PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CALABRIA, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE POOR SERVANTS AND THE POOR WOMEN SERVANTS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH MOHR, AUSTRIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2015/12/04/devotion-for-thursday-and-friday-before-the-fifth-sunday-in-lent-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Abraham and Lot Separate
Image in the Public Domain
Legalism and Fidelity
FEBRUARY 18 and 19, 2016
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The Collect:
God of the covenant, in the mystery of the cross
you promise everlasting life to the world.
Gather all peoples into your arms, and shelter us with your mercy,
that we may rejoice in the life we share in your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 27
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 13:1-7, 14-18 (Thursday)
Genesis 14:17-24 (Friday)
Psalm 27 (Both Days)
Philippians 3:2-12 (Thursday)
Philippians 3:17-20 (Friday)
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The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear?
the LORD is the strength of my life;
of whom then shall I be afraid?
–Psalm 27:1, Book of Common Worship (1993)
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Sometimes the portrayal of Abram/Abraham in the Bible puzzles me. In Hebrews 10:8-22 the patriarch is a pillar of fidelity to God. Yet he hedges his bets and lies in Genesis 12, and the only people who suffer are the Pharaoh of Egypt and members of the royal household. Abram exiles his firstborn son, Ishmael, in Genesis 21:8-21. The patriarch intercedes on behalf of strangers in Genesis 19 yet not for his second son, Isaac, three chapters later. Abram, who is wealthy, refuses even to appear to have enriched himself by means of the King of Sodom in Genesis 14. In so doing the patriarch, who has just paid a tithe of war booty to Melchizedek, King of Salem (Jerusalem) and priest of El Elyon, a Canaanite sky deity, invokes YHWH, not El Elyon. I do not know what to make of Abram/Abraham.
Circumcision is a major issue in Philippians 3. St. Paul the Apostle refers to rival missionaries who favor the circumcision of Gentile male converts to Christianity. He calls these Judaizers “dogs,” a strong insult many Jews reserved for Gentiles. One can find the mandate for circumcision of males (including some Gentiles) in Genesis 17:9-14, where it is a sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. It has been, for Jews, a physical sign of the covenant for millennia. It has become an emotional issue for people who favor it as a religious obligation and a mark of identity as well as for those who consider it cruel.
In Philippians 3 circumcision is, for St. Paul the Apostle, a physical sign of righteousness based on law, not on active faith in God. The line between legalism and righteousness can be difficult to locate sometimes. One should obey certain commandments out of fidelity and love and respect for God. One loves and honors God, so one keeps the commandments of God.
If you love me you will obey my commands…,
John 14:15 (The Revised English Bible, 1989) quotes Jesus as saying. But when does keeping commandments turn into a fetish of legalism? And when does the maintenance of one’s identity transform into exclusion of others? Where is that metaphorical line many people cross?
One sure way of knowing if one has crossed that line is catching that person obsessing over minute details while overlooking pillars of morality such as compassion. If one, for example, complains not because Jesus has healed someone but because he has done this on the Sabbath, one is a legalist. If one becomes uptight about personal peccadilloes yet remains unconcerned about institutionalized injustice (such as that of the sexist, racial, and economic varieties), one is a legalist. If one’s spiritual identity entails labeling most other people as unclean or damned, one is a legalist. If one thinks that moral living is merely a matter of following a spiritual checklist, one is a legalist. If one becomes fixated on culturally specific examples of timeless principles at the expense of those principles, one is a legalist.
May we who claim to follow and love God eschew legalism. May we also care for our close friends and relatives at least as much as we do suffering strangers for which we harbor concern.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 14, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN AMOS COMENIUS, FATHER OF MODERN EDUCATION
THE FEAST OF THE CONSECRATION OF SAMUEL SEABURY, FIRST EPISCOPAL BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM ROMANIS, ANGLICAN BISHOP AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2015/11/14/devotion-for-thursday-and-friday-before-the-second-sunday-in-lent-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Ambassador Delenn, from Rising Star, a 1997 Episode of Babylon 5 (1994-1998)
A screen capture I took via PowerDVD and a legal DVD
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The Collect:
Stir up the wills of your faithful people, Lord God,
and open our ears to the words of your prophets,
that, anointed by your Spirit, we may testify to your light;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 19
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The Assigned Readings:
Habakkuk 2:1-5 (Thursday)
Habakkuk 3:2-6 (Friday)
Habakkuk 3:13-19 (Saturday)
Psalm 126 (All Days)
Philippians 3:7-11 (Thursday)
Philippians 3:12-16 (Friday)
Mathew 21:28-32 (Saturday)
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Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the watercourses of the Negev.
Those who sowed with tears
will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed,
will come in again with joy, shouldering their shears.
–Psalm 126:5-7, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The readings for these three days combine to constitute a tapestry of hope, faith, violence, and judgment.
The lessons from Habakkuk complain to God about persistent injustice and report a divine reply that (A) God will settle scores one day, and (B) the righteous must remain faithful during trying times. Some of the material is disturbing:
You tread the earth in rage,
You trample nations in fury.
You have come forth to deliver Your people,
To deliver Your anointed.
You will smash the roof of the villain’s house,
Raze it from foundation to top.
You will crack [his] skull with Your bludgeon;
Blown away will be his warriors,
Whose delight is to crush me suddenly,
To devour a poor man in an ambush.
–Habakkuk 3:12-14, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Happier is the end of the book:
Though the fig tree does not bud
And no yield is on the vine,
Though the olive crop has failed
And the fields produce no grain,
Though sheep have vanished from the fold
And no cattle are n the pen,
Yet will I rejoice in the LORD,
Exult in the God who delivers me.
My Lord GOD is my strength:
He makes my feet like the deer’s
And lets me stride upon the heights.
–Habakkuk 3:17-19, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
As I have written many times, I understand the reality that some oppressors will not cease oppressing until someone forces them to do so. Thus a rescue mission becomes necessary. This is good news for the oppressed and a catastrophe for the oppressors. Yet the imagery of God cracking open skulls bothers me.
The note of judgment continues in Matthew 21:28-32, set in the context of the final days leading up to our Lord and Savior’s crucifixion.
Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
–Matthew 21:31b-32, New Revised Standard Version (1989)
The bad news for chief priests and elders, beneficiaries of the Temple system, comes amid a series of controversies in the Gospel of Matthew. The Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Matthew 21:33-45) follows on the heels of those harsh words, for example.
St. Paul the Apostle picks up the theme of remaining faithful during difficult times in Philippians. His reference to the righteous living by faith echoes a line from Habakkuk–a nice touch, which the lectionary amplifies. Faith, in the Pauline sense of that word, is inherently active, compelling one to do something. In contrast, the definition of faith in the Letter of James is intellectual, hence that author’s insistence on pairing works with faith. So no disagreement between Sts. Paul and James regarding faith and works exists. Maintaining that active faith under great pressure is both difficult and crucial, as St. Paul knew well.
When times and circumstances challenge our trust in God, may we say with St. Paul:
But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison to the superior value of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but whatever I have lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ and be found with him.
–Philippians 3:8-9a, Common English Bible (2008)
Faith (in the Pauline sense) functions in the absence of proof for or against a given proposition. As Ambassador Delenn, a character from Babylon 5 (1994-1998), one of my favorite science fiction series, said,
Faith manages.
(Indeed, that was one of the major themes of the series.) Faith keeps one on the proper path when, as Habakkuk wrote, the crops have failed and the livestock have vanished. If we give up, we have decided to act in a way which will create a more negative future. Yet if we persist, we act based on hope. Such hope as overcome incredible odds many times, from ancient to contemporary times. Many people have suffered and died so that members of subsequent generations can lead better lives.
Advent is a season of hope and violence. Some of the violence is contemporary. Other violence comes from the texts we read. For example, St. Mary of Nazareth, the mother of our Lord and Savior, would have died by stoning if not for the graciousness of St. Joseph. Faith manages during times of doubt, despair, and suspicion. It persists during protracted periods of whisper campaigns and rumor-mongering, such as Jesus and his mother had to endure.
May we, by grace, have healthy faith from God in God, in whom both judgment and mercy exist. And may we leave the judgment to God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 26, 2014 COMMON ERA
PROPER 25: THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALFRED THE GREAT, KING OF THE WEST SAXONS
THE FEAST OF SAINT CEDD, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF LONDON
THE FEAST OF DMITRY BORTNIANSKY, COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF PHILLIP NICOLAI, JOHANN HEERMANN, AND PAUL GERHARDT, HYMN WRITERS
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Adapted from this post:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/devotion-for-thursday-friday-and-saturday-before-the-third-sunday-of-advent-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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