Archive for the ‘Psalm 106’ Category
I covered 150 psalms in 82 posts.
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Posted February 25, 2023 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 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
READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS
PART LXIV
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Psalms 105, 106, 107, 126, and 137
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Psalms 106, 126, and 137 reflect the harrowing experience of the Babylonian Exile. Psalms 105, 106, and 107 are similar yet different. Hence, I write based on these five psalms in this post.
The Hebrew Bible has a small collection of repeated “God is…” statements. The more common manner of explaining divine attributes is to recall what God has done and to state what God does. By extension, we humans–both collectively and individually–are like what we do and have done. Judaism, having neither invented nor accepted Augustinian Original Sin, teaches that we can keep the covenant if only we will; doing so is neither beyond our reach nor too difficult for us (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). Sirach 15:15, a Jewish text from the Hellenistic period, agrees:
If you wish, you can keep the commandments,
and to behave faithfully is within your power.
—The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Psalms 105, 106, and 107, taken together, present a stark contrast between divine faithfulness and human infidelity, with its terrible consequences.
Although Robert Alter dates the composition of Psalm 137 to the early part of the Babylonian Exile, The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014) places composition after the Babylonian Exile. Either way, the anger and resentment of exiles is palpable in the text. Why should it not be so? The treacherous Edomites bear the brunt of particularly potent venom. Without attempting a justification of
Happy who seizes and smashes your infants against the rock,
(to quote Robert Alter’s translation), I ask one question:
What else did you expect?
Treating a population harshly frequently and predictably leads to such resentment, complete with revenge fantasies.
Etymology tells us that the English word “anger” derives from the Old Norse angr, meaning “grief.” We mourn that which we have lost. So, we become angry. If all we do with that anger is to take it to God, we do well. However, if we permit that anger to consume us, we harm ourselves.
Whether Psalm 126 anticipates the end of the Babylonian Exile or reflects upon it, having happened, is a matter of scholarly debate. Either way, the juxtaposition of Psalm 126 to Psalms 106 and 137 works well and continues the story. That God ended the Babylonian Exile pays off Psalm 106:47:
Deliver us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from among the nations.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah detail a portion of the troubles returned exiles endured. Beside those books one may properly read the conclusion of Psalm 126:
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like watercourses in the Negeb.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap with songs of joy.
Though he goes along weeping,
carrying the seed-bag,
he shall come back with songs of joy,
carrying his sheaves.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 7, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF HELDER CAMARA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF OLINDA AND RECIFE
THE FEAST OF SAINT ADALBERT NIERYCHLEWSKI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1942
THE FEAST OF DANIEL J. HARRINGTON, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF GREGORIO ALLEGRI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, COMPOSER, AND SINGER; AND HIS BROTHER, DOMENICO ALLEGRI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC COMPOSER AND SINGER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MOSES, APOSTLE TO THE SARACENS
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM BOYCE AND JOHN ALCOCK, ANGLICAN COMPOSERS
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Above: Lamentations
Image in the Public Domain
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READING LAMENTATIONS, PART V
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Lamentation 4:1-22
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The main bright ray of hope in the Book of Lamentations is in Chapter 3. Theological whiplash continues as the readings revert to…lamentations. Chapter 4 describes the siege of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E.. as well as the suffering and degradation of the city’s residents at the time.
Some points require explanation:
- In verse 1, gems and gold represent people. They are precious yet discarded.
- Jackals (verse 3) had a reputation as despicable scavengers.
- Ostriches (verse 3) were supposedly cruel and neglectful parents (Job 39:13-18).
- Starving children were too weak to cry in verse 4. (Ezekiel 3:16; Psalm 137:6; Job 29:10)
- The inhabitants of Sodom died quickly (Genesis 19:24-25), but the inhabitants of Jerusalem suffered a long agony.
- Coral and sapphire were colors associated with vigor in verses 7-8. Those colors have disappeared.
- Fire represented divine wrath (Lamentations 2:3 and 4:11; Deuteronomy 32:22; Isaiah 10:17; Jeremiah 17:27). There was also the literal fire that destroyed Jerusalem, of course.
- Contrary to popular belief (Psalms 46 and 48), Mount Zion was not inviolable. The belief that God would not let Mount Zion fall came from foreigners (Lamentations 4:12).
- Shedding blood (verses 13 and 14), in this case, referred to committing idolatry (Ezekiel 22:1-5; Psalm 106:37-40). The people most closely associated with purity were the most impure. Those once among the most respected in society had become as impure as lepers (verse 15).
- The Poet spoke in verses 1-16 and 21-22. The Community spoke in verses 17-20.
- The tone in verse 21 is ironic. Edom comes in for condemnation here and in Amos 1:11-12; Isaiah 21:11-12; Obadiah; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Ezekiel 25:12-14; and Ezekiel 35:1-15.
- Verse 22 offers a glimmer of hope. The Babylonian Exile will end, we read. Justice will prevail because punishes sins, we read.
I ponder the idea of a world in which justice prevails because God punishes sins. I think about the world as it is and perceive that it bears little resemblance to God’s ideal world. The disparity between reality and the ideal is discouraging. Were I more poetic, and if I had the desire to compose a set of lamentations for the world and United States of America in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, I would do so.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 19, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN DALBERG ACTON, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC HISTORIAN, PHILOSOPHER, AND SOCIAL CRITIC
THE FEAST OF ADELAIDE TEAGUE CASE, EPISCOPAL PROFESSOR OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION, AND ADVOCATE FOR PEACE
THE FEAST OF MICHEL-RICHARD DELALANDE, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF VERNARD ELLER, U.S. CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PIERSON MERRILL, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SOCIAL REFORMER, AND HYMN WRITER
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Above: Fresco of Samuel
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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1 Samuel 8:4-20; 11:14-15 or Jeremiah 19:1-6, 10-12a
Psalm 106:1-16, 19-23, 47-48
Romans 8:1-11
Luke 12:35-48
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These assigned readings pertain to collective matters–sins, punishment for sins, and life in the Holy Spirit. The context is that of a group–a faith community, a kingdom, et cetera. All of that is consistent with the Biblical theme of mutuality. We are responsible to and for each other.
Collective guilt and responsibility may seem unfair, assuming a certain perspective. For example, sometimes a court releases a wrongly-convicted person who has spent years in prison yet whom evidence has exonerated. Perhaps an expert witness lied under oath. Maybe DNA has proven the prisoner’s innocence. Perhaps the prisoner pleaded guilty to a lesser charge to avoid a certain conviction on a more severe charge. Maybe the testimony of eyewitnesses proved to be unreliable, as it frequently does. Perhaps the prosecutor engaged in professional misconduct by withholding exculpatory evidence. Either way, taxpayers have borne the financial costs of what went wrong, leading to the incarceration of an innocent person. And taxpayers may bear the financial costs of paying reparations to the wrongly convicted. We not begrudge giving a liberated, wrongly-convicted person a fresh start and the financial means to begin a new life, do we? We know, after all, that the wrongly-convicted person has paid for the actions of others with time in prison.
Whatever one person does affects others, whether one behaves as a private citizen or in an official capacity. Likewise, society is people. What society does wrong and sinfully does affect even those members of it who vocally oppose those sinful actions. Those activists for justice also suffer when their society incurs punishment for its sins.
On the other hand, given that society is people, individuals can change their society. Individuals can improve their society or make it worse.
May all of us leave our societies better than we found them.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 23, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF TOYOHIKO KAGAWA, RENEWER OF SOCIETY AND PROPHETIC WITNESS IN JAPAN
THE FEAST OF JAKOB BÖHME, GERMAN LUTHERAN MYSTIC
THE FEAST OF MARTIN RINCKART, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA MARIA OF THE CROSS, FOUNDRESS OF THE CARMELITE SISTERS OF SAINT TERESA OF FLORENCE
THE FEAST OF WALTER RUSSELL BOWIE, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, SEMINARY PROFESSOR, AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/04/23/devotion-for-proper-19-year-c-humes/
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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
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POST XLIII 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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I have little to write about Psalm 107, which continues the pattern of writing of the forty or so years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness in the context of the postexilic period. I note that Psalm 107, with its focus on the faithfulness of God, is closer in tone to Psalm 105 than to Psalm 106, although Psalm 107 does contain the obvious element of human sin. I also notice that the grouping of Psalms 105-107 in their cluster is logical. I cannot help but repeat myself theologically, so I quote J. Clinton McCann, Jr., from Volume IV (1996) of The New Interpreter’s Bible:
Thus the message of Psalm 107 is simple but radical: There is ultimately no such thing as self-sufficiency, for human life depends on God. The good news is that we can depend on God.
–Page 1119
Do we affirm this? Do live according to this? Doing so can be difficult, I know; I continue to struggle with it, off and on. The struggle is in itself a positive indication, for it proves the existence of faith in God.
We can depend on God. May we know it and never forget it. Thus, stepping out on faith, may we follow, not step away from, God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 18, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ERDMANN NEUMEISTER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PORCHER DUBOSE, EPISCOPAL THEOLOGIAN
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POST XLII 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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Psalms 105 and 106 are simultaneously similar and different. Although Psalm 105 focuses on the faithfulness of God, Psalm 106 concentrates on human faithlessness. The catalog of sins is self-explanatory: they forgot God’s deeds quickly, they forgot God (who saved them), they provoked wrath on themselves, et cetera. We read of divine judgment and mercy, in balance.
The story of the Hebrews in Psalm 106, in broad terms, is the story of all of us who identify as being devout. We (both collectively and individually), if we are intellectually and spiritually honest, admit that God has done much for us, that we have forgotten with scandalous rapidity God and what God has done, that we have brought negative consequences upon ourselves, and that God has not gone anywhere. We, if we are honest with ourselves and others, acknowledge that divine graciousness continues amid judgment.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 18, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ERDMANN NEUMEISTER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PORCHER DUBOSE, EPISCOPAL THEOLOGIAN
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Above: A Checklist
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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Isaiah 57:14-19
Psalm 106:47-48
1 John 3:11-14a; 4:1-6
Luke 1:1-4
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The assigned readings for this Sunday, taken together, speak of the importance of knowing God. Those who love God keep divine commandments, or at least attempt to do so. One can succeed by grace, fortunately. The faithful who receive the crown of martyrdom are still more fortunate than those who trust in idols.
Discerning divine commandments does seem difficult sometimes. As I read 1 John 3:14b-24, I find some guidance regarding that topic:
- Do not hate.
- Love each other so much as to be willing to die for each other.
- Help each other in financial and material ways.
- Do not mistake lip service for sincerity.
Those instructions are concrete, not abstract. And, by acting accordingly, we demonstrate the presence of the Holy Spirit within ourselves.
I notice the emphasis on compassion, not checklists. Legalism is a powerful temptation. Indeed, many who fall into that trap do so out of the sincere desire to honor God. Yet they wind up fixating on minor details and forgetting compassion frequently instead of remembering the big picture: compassion, such as that of the variety that Jesus modeled all the way to the cross.
Living compassionately is far more rigorous a standard than is keeping a moral checklist.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 30, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF JAMES MONTGOMERY, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN ROSS MACDUFF AND GEORGE MATHESON, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTERS AND AUTHORS
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2017/04/30/devotion-for-the-second-sunday-after-christmas-ackerman/
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Above: Moses Strikes the Rock in Horeb, by Gustave Dore
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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Numbers 12:1-16 or 20:1-13 (14-21) 22-29
Psalm 106:(1) 7-18, 24-18 (43-48) or Psalm 95
Luke 1:(57) 58-67 (68-79) 80
Hebrews 3:1-19
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Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes,
and were brought low through their iniquity.
Nevertheless he regarded their distress
when he heard their cry.
–Psalm 106:43-44, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your ancestors tested me,
and put me to the proof, though you had seen my work.
–Psalm 95:8-9, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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In most of the readings for this day we read of grumbling against God and/or Moses despite God’s proven track record, frequently in the presence of those who go on to grumble. Miriam and Aaron question the authority of Moses in Numbers 12. Miriam becomes ritually unclean because of this (Do not question Moses!), but her brother intercedes for her. People witness then seem to forget God’s mighty acts in Psalms 95 and 106, as well as in Hebrews 3. And, in Numbers 20, Moses disobeys instructions from God. He is supposed to speak to a rock to make water come out of it, but he strikes it instead.
By word and act Moses is thus appropriating to himself an act of God. In doing this he is undoing the message that God and Moses himself have been conveying to the to the people up to this point. The people have continuously directed their attention to Moses instead of to God….Until this episode Moses has repeatedly told the people, “It is not from my own heart,” and “You are congregating against YHWH,” but now his words and actions confirm the people’s own perception.
–Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah with a New English Translation and the Hebrew Text (2001), page 495
Moses was generally trustworthy in the sight of God, per the positive assessment of him in Hebrews 3. At Meribah he gave into human weakness. All of us have caved into our own weaknesses on multiple occasions, have we not? Have we not, for example, sought our own glory instead of that of God? Have we not yielded to the temptation to be spectacular, which Henri J. M. Nouwen identified in The Way of the Heart (1981) as one of Satan’s temptations of Jesus in Luke 4 and Matthew 4? If we have lived long enough, yes, we have.
And you, my child, will be called Prophet of the Most High,
for you will be the Lord’s forerunner to prepare his way
and lead his people to a knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of sins:
for in the tender compassion of our God
the dawn of heaven will break upon us,
to shine on those who live in darkness, under the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet in the way of peace.
–St. Zechariah in Luke 1:76-79, The Revised English Bible (1989)
St. John the Baptist grew up and became one who admitted the truth that he was not the Messiah (Luke 3:15-17 and Mark 1:7-8). He pointed to cousin Jesus instead (Matthew 3:13-14 and John 3:25-36).
The spiritual vocations of Christians vary in details, but the common threads run through those calls from God. We who call ourselves Christians have, for example, a responsibility to glorify God, not ourselves, and to point to Jesus. We also have an obligation to lead lives defined by gratitude to God, not rebellion against God. We can succeed, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 20, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN BAJUS, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2016/08/20/devotion-for-the-second-sunday-of-advent-year-d/
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Above: Eyes
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Almighty God, you anointed Jesus at his baptism with the Holy Spirit
and revealed him as your beloved Son.
Keep all who are born of water and the Spirit faithful in your service,
that we may rejoice to be called children of God,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 22
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The Assigned Readings:
Numbers 27:1-11
Psalm 106:1-12
Luke 11:33-36
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Happy are those who uphold justice,
who do what is right on every occasion.
–Psalm 106:2, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers (1989), by Harry Mowvley
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The reference to human eyes in Luke 11:33-36 might prove confusing. The assumption regarding eyes in that text was one common to the Hellenistic world in which the Gospel According to Luke originated. That assumption was that one’s inner darkness or light shone in the eyes. The concern of the text, therefore, is one’s inner life. Does light or darkness dominate? As Jesus said elsewhere in the Gospels, that darkness which comes from within a person, not that darkness which enters one from outside, defiles one.
The reading from Numbers 27 refers to the rebellion of Korah against Moses in Chapter 16. The perspective of the Book of Numbers is that Moses was God’s anointed, so to oppose Moses was to resist God. Numbers 16:31-35 describes the unfortunate fate of those rebels. Among those followers was Zelophehad, who had only female heirs. Other ancient cultures in the region had liberal inheritance laws permitting women to inherit even when male heirs existed. Ancient Israel was an especially patriarchal society, though, so an exception benefiting women, such as the daughters of Zelophehad, came into being.
Standards of justice are concrete, for particular cases define them. Does one seek to do the right thing? Does one succeed in that goal? Or does one create or perpetuate injustice? How one treats vulnerable people is a fine standard of justice.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN CAMPBELL SHAIRP, SCOTTISH POET AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF PHILANDER CHASE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS OF VILLANOVA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF VALENCIA
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/devotion-for-wednesday-after-the-first-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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