Archive for the ‘Psalm 1’ Category
Above: Luggage Icon
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Fifteenth 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, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church;
and because it cannot continue in safety without thy succor,
preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 212
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1 Kings 17:1-16
Psalm 1
Acts 16:19-40
Matthew 6:24-34
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Do we–collectively and individually–trust in God? Or do we trust in idols?
As St. Augustine of Hippo told us very long ago, sin is disordered love. Idolatry–one sin in particular–is loving God less than we–or one–should, and loving something or someone more than we–or one–should. Wealth (Matthew 6:24) is morally neutral. However, an unhealthy attachment to it is not. Attachments to imaginary deities constitute another variety of idolatry.
St. Lydia of Thyatira, introduced in Acts 16:14 and present in today’s assigned portion of Acts, offers an example of how to be wealthy without idolizing wealth. The narrative tells us that she received the Gospel gratefully, then that she extended hospitality to St. Paul the Apostle and St. Silas. Acts 16:40 records that St. Lydia hosted the evangelists, who
saw and encouraged the brothers….
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Each of us needs a daily idolatry check, for each one of us as at least one spiritually unhealthy attachment. Letting go may prove psychologically challenging. So be it. Carrying around too much luggage is burdensome. It is a self-imposed burden. By grace, we can let go of that luggage and find our full freedom in Christ.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 22, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN JULIAN, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNOLOGIST
THE FEAST OF ALEXANDER MEN, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1990
THE FEAST OF SAINT LADISLAO BATTHÁNY-STRATTMANN, AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN AND PHILANTHROPIST
THE FEAST OF LOUISE CECILIA FLEMING, AFRICAN-AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY AND PHYSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENT PALLOTTI, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE CATHOLIC APOSTALATE, THE UNION OF CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE, AND THE SISTERS OF THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE
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Above: Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, by Jacob Pynas
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:
Acts 14:8-20
Psalm 1
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
John 20:19-31
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Culture conditions human perceptions. One may see, for example, a man (such as St. Paul the Apostle) heal a man by the power of God. Then one may perceive that agent of divine healing as a deity. Being devout, by some definition, does not guarantee accurate perception of the divine. One can misunderstand and be lost, therefore.
I, having defended the skeptical St. Thomas the Apostle (my favorite saint and Biblical character) many times, let my defense of him stand as I move along from the reading from John 20. Some people see and perceive accurately. Then they act accordingly. They are like the man (yes, “man,” in the Hebrew text of Psalm 1. They are like a tree planted beside streams of water. They bear fruit in season. Their foliage never fades.
How good are you, O reader, at seeing past your cultural blinder? How good am I at that?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE GOOD, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF MILAN
THE FEAST OF ALLEN WILLIAM CHATFIELD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF IGNATIOUS SPENCER, ANGLICAN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND APOSTLE OF ECUMENICAL PRAYER; AND HIS PROTEGÉE, ELIZABETH PROUT, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF THE CROSS AND PASSION
THE FEAST OF MARY LUNDIE DUNCAN, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM GAY BALLANTINE, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, EDUCATOR, SCHOLAR, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2021/01/10/devotion-for-the-second-sunday-of-easter-year-d-humes/
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Above: Icon of David
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33
PART I
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1 Chronicles 1:1-9:44
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Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked,
nor lingered in the way in sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
–Psalm 1:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah are peas of a pod. Themes prominent at the beginning of 1 Chronicles remain prominent through the conclusion of Nehemiah. The present-day lens for 1 Chronicles-Nehemiah is from the post-exilic period. Not surprisingly, then, faithfulness, faithlessness, and divine reward and punishment are prominent in the four books. In 1 Chronicles 1-9, one can find themes hitting one over the head in 5:18-26 and 9:1-12.
The Chronicler (as Biblical scholars refer to him) also worked other themes into the chapters of genealogies. He emphasized the tribes of Judah, Levi, and Benjamin. David, in whose dynasty the Chronicler took great interest, was also a focus of emphasis in the genealogies. The lists in 1 Chronicles 9:2-34 overlap (with differences) with Nehemiah 11:3-19. If I were a Biblical literalist, I would care about the differences. In Chapter 9, after linking the post-exilic community to pre-exilic Israel, the Chronicles backed up in time and wrote of the family of King Saul of Israel. This final genealogy set the stage for the death of Saul and his sons in Chapter 10. David was a central figure for the Chronicler, after all.
I will return to 1 Chronicles at the conclusion of Saul’s reign and life. 1 Samuel awaits me immediately.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 11, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY THAUMATURGUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC OF NEOCAESAREA; AND ALEXANDER OF COMONA, “THE CHARCOAL BURNER,” ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 252, AND BISHOP OF COMANA, PONTUS
THE FEAST OF SAINT EQUITIUS OF VALERIA, BENEDICTINE ABBOT AND FOUNDER OF MONASTERIES
THE FEAST OF MATTHIAS LOY, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR’ AND CONRAD HERMANN LOUIS SCHUETTE, GERMAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAURICE TORNAY, SWISS ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MISSIONARY TO TIBET, AND MARTYR, 1949
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Above: $100 Bill
Image in the Public Domain
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For the First 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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O God, the Strength of all them that put their trust in thee;
mercifully accept our prayers;
and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do good thing without thee,
grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments,
we may please thee, both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 184
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Deuteronomy 6:1-15
Psalms 1 and 15
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 7:19-35
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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A. Thank you very much.
–Gordon Gecko, Wall Street (1987)
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The readings this week are about behavior, which is about attitudes. Revere God. Revere only God. Obey divine commandment reverently. Remember that, contrary to what Gordon Gecko said in Wall Street (1987), greed is not good. Do not give into hubris, which goes before the fall.
The love of money is the root of all evil, and in pursuit of it some have wandered from the faith and spiked themselves on many a painful thorn.
–1 Timothy 6:10, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Psychological research reveals that, to a certain extent, more money can reduce stress and increase happiness by improving one’s quality of life. When one can pay all one’s bills, afford all of one’s necessities, and reduce or eliminate debt, one feels better, of course. However, past a certain financial threshold, more money does not increase one’s happiness. In fact, in cases of extreme wealth, more money may decrease happiness and increase stress.
Money is a morally neutral tool. It is also worth what consensus decrees it is worth. Money is psychological. The moral aspects of money pertain to (1) how one uses it, and (2) how one relates to it. Money is one of the more common idols.
Revere only God, we read. Trust and obey God, we read. God is faithful. Are we?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 12, 2020 COMMON ERA
EASTER SUNDAY
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS NEPHEW, WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID URIBE-VELASCO, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927
THE FEAST OF GODFREY DIEKMANN, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, ECUMENIST, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP
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Above: The Temptations of Jesus
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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Ecclesiastes 2:11-26 or Ezekiel 2:1-3:4
Psalm 1
Galatians 1:1-24
Matthew 4:1-11
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The theme of fidelity to God unites these readings.
Fools and wise people die. One works hard then dies; others inherit. At least one can be faithful to God and enjoy one’s work during one’s life filled with pain. That description certainly applies to Ezekiel, Jesus, and St. Paul the Apostle. Relying on God while surrounded by faithless people, as well as away from the faithless, maddening crowd, one can resist the temptations to seek the easy way out, to be spectacular, to glorify oneself, not to depend on God, to serve evil, to make peace with injustice, et cetera.
As Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote in 1930,
Save us from weak resignation
To the evils we deplore;
Let the search for Thy salvation
Be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
Serving Thee whom we adore,
Serving Thee whom we adore.
Amen.
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-second-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a-humes/
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Above: An Oasis, Between 1898 and 1914
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-07236
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FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT, ACCORDING TO A LECTIONARY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP IN THE BOOK OF WORSHIP FOR CHURCH AND HOME (1965)
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Almighty God, you have taught us that the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
Grant that we may ever be found watching for the coming of your Son.
Save us from undue love of the world, that we may wait with patient hope for the day of the Lord,
and so abide in him, that when he shall appear we may not be ashamed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–Modernized from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), page 69
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Malachi 3:1-7b
Psalm 1
Romans 13:8-14
Mark 13:33-37
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The readings from Malachi 3 and Mark 13 sound the note of divine judgment. The Day of the Lord will be bad news for many, we read in Malachi 3, a text indicative of the Hebrew prophetic concern for the conditions of the vulnerable members of society. Those who oppress them come in for divine condemnation, as do those who swear falsely, commit adultery, and practice sorcery. Our lesson from Mark 13 concludes the miniature apocalypse of that Gospel, in the context of Holy Week. May we all perform our sacred duties faithfully.
The decision to assign a portion of Mark 13 for the First Sunday of Advent is appropriate, given the apocalyptic character of the season of Advent. That decision also seems consistent with the practice of reading the same set of passages on the First Sunday of Advent as on Palm Sunday, per certain Lutheran and Moravian lectionaries. Not all is light and joy, we perceive. Yes, the King is coming, but this is not entirely happy news, even for the King, much less his enemies.
Love cannot wrong a neighbour;
therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
–Romans 13:10, The Revised English Bible (1989)
That verse from St. Paul the Apostle is consistent with our reading from Malachi 3. As we read in Psalm 1, the wicked, despite any appearances of long-lasting prosperity and success, will perish, and the righteous, despite any appearances of failure, will flourish in the long term. They are, after all, like trees planted by streams of water. The timeframe for this success and prosperity of the faithful might not satisfy us or otherwise meet human expectations, but God works on a different schedule.
The wilderness imagery of Psalm 1 is appropriate for Advent. It is of a piece with the wilderness themes in Lent and accounts of St. John the Baptist in the desert. In a desert plants with roots in streams will have enough water; they will persist in otherwise hostile circumstances.
The season of Advent is a time to prepare for the twelve days of Christmas (December 25-January 5). May we certainly observe all the days of Christmas as the sacred season they are. May we also give Advent its due and be ready for Christmas.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 27, 2017 COMMON ERA
PROPER 16: THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
THE FEAST OF THOMAS GALLAUDET AND HENRY WINTER SYLE, EPISCOPAL PRIESTS
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Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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The psalter of the Septuagint contains 151 psalms.
I have written based on all of them, in numerical order. I have retained the Hebrew numbering system, not that of the Septuagint.
Although I have no theological reticence to venture into textual territory that, according the United Methodism of my youth, is apocryphal, I do have limits. They reside in the realm of Orthodoxy, with its range of scriptural canons. Beyond that one finds the Pseudipigrapha. Psalm 151 concludes the Book of Psalms in The Orthodox Study Bible (2008); so be it.
The Hebrew psalter concludes with Psalm 150. In other psalters, however, the count is higher. In certain editions of the Septuagint, for example, Psalm 151 is an appendix to the Book of Psalms. In other editions of the Septuagint, however, Psalm 151 is an integrated part of the psalter. There is also the matter of the Syraic psalter, which goes as high as Psalm 155. I have no immediate plans to ponder Psalms 152-155, however. Neither do I plan to read and write about Psalms 156-160 any time soon, if ever.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 23, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARTIN DE PORRES AND JUAN MACIAS, HUMANITARIANS AND DOMINICAN LAY BROTHERS; SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, HUMANITARIAN AND DOMINICAN SISTER; AND SAINT TURIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN COPELAND, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
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Book One: Psalms 1-41
Book Two: Psalms 42-72
Book Three: Psalms 73-89
Book Four: Psalms 90-106
Book Five: Psalms 107-150
Also in the Greek: Psalm 151
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Posted August 23, 2017 by neatnik2009 in Psalm 1, Psalm 10, Psalm 100, Psalm 101, Psalm 102, Psalm 103, Psalm 104, Psalm 105, Psalm 106, Psalm 107, Psalm 108, Psalm 109, Psalm 11, Psalm 110, Psalm 111, Psalm 112, Psalm 113, Psalm 114, Psalm 115, Psalm 116, Psalm 117, Psalm 118, Psalm 119, Psalm 12, Psalm 120, Psalm 121, Psalm 122, Psalm 123, Psalm 124, Psalm 125, Psalm 126, Psalm 127, Psalm 128, Psalm 129, Psalm 13, Psalm 130, Psalm 131, Psalm 132, Psalm 133, Psalm 134, Psalm 135, Psalm 136, Psalm 137, Psalm 138, Psalm 139, Psalm 14, Psalm 140, Psalm 141, Psalm 142, Psalm 143, Psalm 144, Psalm 145, Psalm 146, Psalm 147, Psalm 148, Psalm 149, Psalm 15, Psalm 150, Psalm 151, Psalm 16, Psalm 17, Psalm 18, Psalm 19, Psalm 2, Psalm 20, Psalm 21, Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 24, Psalm 25, Psalm 26, Psalm 27, Psalm 28, Psalm 29, Psalm 3, Psalm 30, Psalm 31, Psalm 32, Psalm 33, Psalm 34, Psalm 35, Psalm 36, Psalm 37, Psalm 38, Psalm 39, Psalm 4, Psalm 40, Psalm 41, Psalm 42, Psalm 43, Psalm 44, Psalm 45, Psalm 46, Psalm 47, Psalm 48, Psalm 49, Psalm 5, Psalm 50, Psalm 51, Psalm 52, Psalm 53, Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Psalm 56, Psalm 57, Psalm 58, Psalm 59, Psalm 6, Psalm 60, Psalm 61, Psalm 62, Psalm 63, Psalm 64, Psalm 65, Psalm 66, Psalm 67, Psalm 68, Psalm 69, Psalm 7, Psalm 70, Psalm 71, Psalm 72, Psalm 73, Psalm 74, Psalm 75, Psalm 76, Psalm 77, Psalm 78, Psalm 79, Psalm 8, Psalm 80, Psalm 81, Psalm 82, Psalm 83, Psalm 84, Psalm 85, Psalm 86, Psalm 87, Psalm 88, Psalm 89, Psalm 9, Psalm 90, Psalm 91, Psalm 92, Psalm 93, Psalm 94, Psalm 95, Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, Psalm 99
Above: Oasis, the Sahara, Between 1910 and 1915
Image Publisher = Bain News Service
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ggbain-10739
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POST I OF LX
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The Book of Common Prayer (1979) includes a plan for reading the Book of Psalms in morning and evening installments for 30 days. I am therefore blogging through the Psalms in 60 posts.
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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 everlasting 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 226
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Perhaps no word in the English language is more loaded than “God,” distinct from “god.” My understanding of “God,” O reader, is certainly not exactly what yours is. I know an Episcopal priest who has a good way of dealing with people who tell him they do not believe in God. Father asks that person to describe God, in whom he or she does believe. Inevitably Father does not believe in that God either. He is, however, definitely a theist and a Christian.
So much for the word “God.” What about the word “believe”?
To believe in, in full theological meaning, is to trust in. As I have explained in person to the one person who has asked me to my face whether I believe in God, my answer depends on the meaning of the question. If one is asking if I affirm the existence of God, my answer is “Yes, always.” If, however, one wants to know if I trust in God, the answer is “Yes, most of the time.” I would be less than honest if I were to indicate otherwise.
So, since trust in God is the real issue, how do we understand God, in whom we are supposed to trust? Am I supposed to trust that God is the sort of figure who will, in the words of Psalm 3, strike my enemies across the face and break the teeth of the wicked? Should I even desire that result? If I do, that fact reflects negatively upon me. Yes, I affirm that judgment and mercy coexist in the character of God, and that, when oppressors insist upon continuing to oppress and refrain from repenting, the deliverance of the victims is inherently bad news for their oppressors. Yet I understand that my spiritual character ought to direct me to pray for the repentance, not the destruction, of oppressors. Therefore I affirm that the recognition that, in the words of Psalm 5, evil cannot exist within God, is inconsistent with the portrayal of God as one who responds affirmatively to prayers for revenge.
Part of the difficulty of pondering the balance of divine judgment and mercy is not minimizing one of the two. God is God; we are not. Even the most powerful potentate (per Psalm 2) is insignificant compared to God. God is neither a warm fuzzy nor a bastard. We should avoid both extremes scrupulously.
Psalm 1 is, as the late Father Mitchell J. Dahood points out in his analysis of the text, the summary of the Book of Psalms. The wicked might prosper and be powerful and influential in the meantime, but they will eventually perish; they will reap what they sow and be victims of themselves. On the other hand, those who avoid the council and counsel (both words are accurate translations from the Hebrew text) of the wicked and refuse to join the company of the scoffers of God are still in the desert, albeit adjacent to sources of water. They still depend upon God for everything and recognize that reality. Life might not be easy or prosperous for them, but they have and will have eternal life–life in God, life of enjoying and glorifying God forever. That is enough.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 28, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FLORA MACDONALD, CANADIAN STATESWOMAN AND HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF NANCY BYRD TURNER, POET, EDITOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF THE PIONEERING FEMALE EPISCOPAL PRIESTS, 1974 AND 1975
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Above: Creek in Desert
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Direct us, O Lord God, in all our doings by your continual help,
that all our works, begun, continued, and ended in you,
may glorify your holy name; and finally, by your mercy,
bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 47
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The Assigned Readings:
Deuteronomy 7:12-26 (Friday)
Deuteronomy 29:2-20 (Saturday)
Psalm 1 (Both Days)
Colossians 4:7-17 (Friday)
Matthew 10:34-42 (Saturday)
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Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked,
nor lingered in the seat of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful.
–Psalm 1:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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As I indicated in the previous post, Psalm 1 is overly optimistic. It is also in the company of many passages of the Hebrew Bible, such as our reading from Deuteronomy 7. “Obey God and prosper,” they say. Deuteronomy 29 is correct to remind people of God’s mighty acts. Such grace requires a faithful response, does it not? And, in the long view, the good prosper and the wicked perish in the end. In the meantime, however, we still read of the righteous Job suffering (Job 1 and 2), the persecution of the righteous (Matthew 10:16ff), and the query of the martyrs in heaven, who want to know how long until God avenges them (Revelation 6:10).
If St. Paul the Apostle wrote or dictated the Letter to the Colossians, he produced the document in prison. Regardless of the reality of the question of authorship, the advice for Archippus applies to all of us:
See that you carry out the duty entrusted to you in the Lord’s service.
–Colossians 4:17b, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Grace does, after all, require a faithful response.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 18, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MALTBIE DAVENPORT BABCOCK, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN I, BISHOP OF ROME
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/05/18/devotion-for-friday-and-saturday-before-proper-18-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: St. Paul, by Lucas van Leyden
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Direct us, O Lord God, in all our doings by your continual help,
that all our works, begun, continued, and ended in you,
may glorify your holy name; and finally, by your mercy,
bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 47
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 39:1-23
Psalm 1
Philippians 2:25-30
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Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked,
nor lingered in the seat of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful.
–Psalm 1:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Psalm 1 is overly optimistic, for it says of the righteous in verse 3 that
everything they do shall prosper.
St. Paul the Apostle spent much time in prison and died as a martyr. Joseph son of Jacob was in prison for a crime he did not commit. As other portions of scripture (including certain psalms) indicate, sometimes the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper.
I think of a story Archbishop Desmond Tutu told. During the Holocaust a Nazi guard was taunting a Jew who had to clean especially disgusting toilets.
Where is your God now?
the guard taunted the Jew, who replied,
Right here, beside me in the muck.
God was beside Joseph in the Egyptian prison and St. Paul in the prison (wherever it was) when Epaphroditus, sent by the church at Philippi, was there to tend to the Apostle’s needs. Epaphroditus almost died performing that duty. God was present with St. Paul directly and indirectly.
I have learned via experience that grace seems more evident during times of crisis than during good times. Perhaps grace is in greater supply during the dark times; perhaps not. That is a matter for God to know and for me to ponder. What I know for sure is that grace seems more evident in difficult times, much as a light is more obvious in a dark room than in a well-lit one. Like Joseph and St. Paul, I have experienced grace directly and indirectly (via people) during dark times. I have also rejoiced and felt worthy simultaneously.
Has God called you, O reader, to be Epaphroditus to someone experiencing great hardship, for the sake of righteousness or another reason? Or has someone been Epahproditus to you?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 18, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MALTBIE DAVENPORT BABCOCK, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN I, BISHOP OF ROME
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/05/18/devotion-for-thursday-after-proper-18-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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