Archive for the ‘Psalm 111’ Category
I covered 150 psalms in 82 posts.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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 LXVII
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Psalms 111 and 112
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Psalms 111 and 112 are similar yet different. Both texts are Hebrew acrostic poems that begin with “Hallelujah.” Yet, commentaries tell us, each psalm has a different focus–111 on praise of God, and 112 on praise of the righteous individual. Psalm 111 seems to be the model for Psalm 112, also. God is faithful, gracious, and compassionate, we read in Psalm 112. Meanwhile Psalm 112 sounds like material from speeches by Job’s alleged friends: fidelity to God brings wealth, health, and a host of mighty descendants, among other blessings. Both texts seem to reflect the tidy moral symmetry of moral retribution, which the poetic portion of the Book of Job rejects.
But what if what the texts say something other than what they seem to say? What if cultural blinders prevent us from recognizing the actual content of these psalms? What if some of the content in the previous paragraph is erroneous?
If the wicked in Psalm 112 are, as Walter Brueggemann argues, those who do not practice generosity because they cannot trust divine generosity, Psalm 112 may be about the generosity of God more than the righteous individual. Psalm 112 may tell us that we, trusting in divine generosity, can be generous agents of grace. Such generosity is the path to real joy, Brueggemann writes:
Satisfaction and life fulfillment do not come from greed and self-filling and self-sufficiency. They come from trusting the generosity of God who always feeds us (Ps. 111:5), and we can in turn be generous. The happy person is the one who knows about the abundance of the Creator who withholds nothing needful from his precious creation. Believing that permits a very different social practice.
—The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary (1984), 47
Brueggemann’s case persuades me. My review of patters of treating others badly and cruelly reveals a lack of generosity in those actions and policies. When we do not trust in divine generosity, we may feel that we are in an every-man-for-himself situation. We may feel justified in throwing others to the proverbial dogs to protect “me and mine.” We are wicked, according to Brueggemann’s interpretation of Psalm 112. Then we condemn ourselves to misery, also, and our desire will come to nothing. Yet, if we behave generously toward others, we embark down the proper path.
Trusting in the generosity of God entails acknowledging our complete dependence upon God. That can unnerve us easily and rapidly, especially if we value the delusion of rugged individualism. No, mutuality–not rugged individualism–is a pillar of the Law of Moses.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 10, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SCHOLASTICA, ABBESS OF PLOMBARIOLA; AND HER TWIN BROTHER, BENEDICT OF NURSIA, ABBOT OF MONTE CASSINO AND FATHER OF WESTERN MONASTICISM
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT OF ARIANE, RESTORER OF WESTERN MONASTICISM; AND SAINT ARDO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF HENRY WILLIAMS BAKER, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMNAL EDITOR, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF JULIUS H. HORSTMANN, U.S. PRUSSIAN EVANGELICAL MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT NORBERT OF XANTEN, FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS; SAINT HUGH OF FOSSES, SECOND FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENTENSIANS; AND SAINT EVERMOD, BISHOP OF RATZEBURG
THE FEAST OF PHILIP ARMES, ANGLICAN CHURCH MUSICIAN
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Return from Egypt, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 63:7-9
Psalm 111
Galatians 4:4-7
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almighty God, you wonderfully created
and yet more wonderfully restored the dignity of human nature.
In your mercy, let us share the divine life of Jesus Christ
who came to share our humanity,
and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 14
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Direct us, O Lord, in all our actions by your gracious favor,
and further us with your continual help that in all our works,
begun, continued, and ended in your name,
we may glorify your holy name and
finally by your mercy receive eternal life;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 18
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 63:7-64:11 is a psalm of lament. For this week, we read the first three verses. For more context, O reader, keep reading. The theme of human (collective) faithlessness, in contrast to divine faithfulness, is prominent. That theme runs through the other readings, too.
Yet some people are faithful. They may be Jews or Zoroastrians (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23). Either way, they do what God commands. They may be Jews or Gentiles (Galatians 4:4-7). They are heirs–literally, sons of God. (Sons inherited in St. Paul the Apostle’s cultural context. Daughters did not.)
Grace is free, not cheap. Just ask God–Jesus, in particular, O reader. Grace also requires much of its recipients. Grace transforms its recipients and the world, by extension. Grace requires faithful response to God, whom nobody should mistake for a divine vending machine. Yet certain results are predictable. As logicians remind us:
If x, then y.
In personal matters, I speak and write only for myself, and aspire to do only that. In my experience, God and grace have seemed closest during dark times. I have grown the most, spiritually, when the proverbial bottom has fallen out of my life. God and grace may have been as close during better times, but I have perceived them as being closer during worse times. Maybe the light merely seemed brighter in contrast to the darkness.
I acknowledge my dependence on grace. Daily I establish the goal to be the best possible version of myself. I, being a mere mortal, fail, of course. But striving for that goal is worthwhile. It is something. God can work with something.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 14, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MACRINA THE ELDER, HER FAMILY, AND SAINT GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS THE YOUNGER
THE FEAST OF ABBY KELLEY FOSTER AND HER HUSBAND, STEPHEN SYMONDS FOSTER, U.S. QUAKER ABOLITIONISTS AND FEMINISTS
THE FEAST OF EIVIND JOSEF BERGGRAV, LUTHERAN BISHOP OF OSLO, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND LEADER OF THE NORWEGIAN RESISTANCE DURING WORLD WAR II
THE FEAST OF KRISTEN KVAMME, NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF RICHARD MEUX BENSON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST; CHARLES CHAPMAN GRAFTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, CO-FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST, AND BISHOP OF FOND DU LAC; AND CHARLES GORE, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF WORCESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND OXFORD; FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE RESURRECTION; THEOLOGIAN; AND ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND WORLD PEACE
THE FEAST OF SAVA I, FOUNDER OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND FIRST ARCHBISHOP OF SERBS
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Saul and David, by Rembrandt van Rijn
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Samuel 17:57-18:16 or Jeremiah 32:36-41
Psalm 111
Romans 12:1-8
Luke 17:1-19
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Books of Samuel, in the final form (probably edited by Ezra; this is an ancient theory with contemporary academic champions), consist of various sources. If one knows this, one can notice many of the seams. Inconsistencies become obvious. For example, one may notice that King Saul knew that David was a son of Jesse in 1 Samuel 16:20 and that David played the lyre for the monarch in 16:23. One may also notice that Saul did not recognize David in 17:33 or whose son he was in 17:56. One may notice, furthermore, that David had to identify himself to Saul in 17:58.
I know too much to affirm spiritual inerrancy or infallibility.
I also know that King Saul was similar to many potentates in many lands and at many times. I read in the composite text that Saul was a terrible public servant. (So were almost all of his successors in Israel and Judah.) Truth and justice should prosper under a good ruler. A good ruler should try, at least. A good ruler knows that he or she is a servant holding a temporary job. A good ruler seeks to make responsible decisions and does not mistake events as being about himself or herself. A good ruler thinks about the long-term common good. Consequences of short-sighted leaders are frequently disastrous, as in Jeremiah 32:36-41.
What passes for a psychiatric or psychological diagnosis of King Saul comes from 1 Samuel 16:23–an evil spirit. Cultural anthropology tells us that they, in modern times, can mean anything from severe stress to a mental illness. Either way, the description of Saul is that of a man unfit to rule. After all, those who govern are still servants. God is really the king.
Despite all the bad press about King Saul, I feel somewhat sympathetic for him. I read about him and remember that he never sought the job (1 Samuel 12). I recall that Saul seems not so bad, compared to Solomon. I think of Saul, doing his best yet failing. I know the feeling of working hard yet failing. I ask myself how Saul may have succeeded in life. He seems to have needed counseling, at least.
Tragedy, in the Greek sense, has a particular definition. A good person tries to make good decisions (most of the time, anyway) and fails spectacularly, dooming himself or herself. The accounts of King Saul do not fit that definition exactly, but Greek tragedy does help me understand the first Israelite monarch. I read stories while making a combination of good and bad decisions and often trying to decide wisely. I read of a man with defective judgment. I read of a man whose demise was not inevitable when he became the first King of Israel.
I, like David, mourn for Saul (2 Samuel 1).
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 29, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC AND RELIGIOUS
THE FEAST OF SAINTS BOSA OF YORK, JOHN OF BEVERLEY, WILFRID THE YOUNGER, AND ACCA OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
THE FEAST OF JAMES EDWARD WALSH, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY BISHOP AND POLITICAL PRISONER IN CHINA
THE FEAST OF SIMON B. PARKER, UNITED METHODIST BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF TIMOTHY REES, WELSH ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND BISHOP OF LLANDAFF
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/devotion-for-proper-25-year-c-humes/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
POST XLV OF LX
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Psalm 110, a royal psalm, is a difficult text. It changes voices, forcing one to study the psalm closely just to determine when “he ” is God and when “he” is the human king. In Psalm 110 the monarch (presumably David or a member of his dynasty) is close to God. This is the same God who, in Psalms 111-113, cares for the poor and expects us to do the same. God, almighty and metaphorically “enthroned on high,” also cares effectively for the needy, we read.
Then why is the rate of homelessness so high? Then why, when I drive in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, do I see people begging at major intersections. Some of them are professional panhandlers who choose begging over a job and find it more lucrative than much work, I realize, but not all of them are.
We–you, O reader, and I–have arrived at the difficult intersection of human and divine responsibilities. To reduce the matter to human ineffectiveness seems too simplistic to me. True, human ineffectiveness explains much of the problem, but can God not act directly? Is not God omnipotent?
Wrestling with difficult questions of divine and human responsibilities is a matter to take seriously and to take to God faithfully.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 20, 2017 COMMON ERA
PROPER 15: THE ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF JOHN BAJUS, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Moses Prays for the Healing of Miriam
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Almighty and most merciful God, your bountiful goodness fills all creation.
Keep us safe from all that may hurt us,
that, whole and well in body and spirit,
we may with grateful hearts accomplish all that you would have us to do,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 14:33-53 (Thursday)
Numbers 4:34-5:4 (Friday)
Psalm 111 (Both Days)
2 Timothy 1:13-18 (Thursday)
2 Timothy 2:1-7 (Friday)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.
–Psalm 111:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The word “leprosy,” in the Bible, has a broad definition, applying to a variety of diseases of the skin. Such conditions also fall under the heading of ritual impurity (consult Numbers 5:2a) and require a time of isolation before one returns to one’s community and to a state of ritual purity (consult Leviticus 13).
In Numbers 12 Miriam spoke negatively of Moses. Her punishment was a bad case of snow-white scales, which usually would have caused her to go away for two weeks. It became seven days, however, due to the intercession of her esteemed brother. The rabbinical name for her condition was metzora, from motzi’ shem ra’, or “uttering an evil name.” Her sin was slander, but the object of that offense pleaded to God on her behalf. A time of removal from the community was inevitable, but the goal of the leadership of that community was always restoration.
In Luke 5 Jesus healed a man with some kind of skin disease. It was not leprosy, in the narrow, clinical definition of that term, but it was enough to render the man ritually impure and to isolate him from his community. Then Jesus commanded him to obey the requirements of Leviticus 14 and not to tell anyone (other than the priest, per Leviticus 14). Perhaps the man went to the priest, but he certainly spread the word, causing crowds to deny Jesus as much solitude as he needed.
Salvation was Christ’s primary task on the Earth; healing was something he did. Did crowds come to him mostly to hear the words of salvation or to seek healing? Quite often they flocked to him for the latter purpose. There was nothing wrong with seeking wholeness and restoration, of course, but there was much more to Christ’s mission than individual wholeness and restoration. There was, for example, collective wholeness and restoration.
A community cannot be at its best when people who should be part of it are not. Such people might be outsiders by their choice or the decisions of others. Many people are outsiders because self-identified insiders exclude them, often wrongly. Frequently we human beings define ourselves negatively–according to who or what we are not. This practice harms us and those we exclude improperly. As Professor Luke Timothy Johnson says, one message in the Gospel of Mark is that those who think they are insiders might actually be outsiders. And, as Edmond Browning, a former Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, writes, in Christ there are no outsiders.
May we who follow God (or at least attempt to do so) identify as children of God who bear the divine image and respect the image of God in our fellow human beings. Theological and personality differences will persist, of course, but we need not seek to define ourselves negatively and, by extension, others in the same way.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/devotion-for-saturday-before-proper-23-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Tabernacle
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Almighty and most merciful God, your bountiful goodness fills all creation.
Keep us safe from all that may hurt us,
that, whole and well in body and spirit,
we may with grateful hearts accomplish all that you would have us to do,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 14:33-53 (Thursday)
Numbers 4:34-5:4 (Friday)
Psalm 111 (Both Days)
2 Timothy 1:13-18 (Thursday)
2 Timothy 2:1-7 (Friday)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.
–Psalm 111:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Merely approaching the place of worship is impossible for some people in Numbers 5. The precincts of the Tabernacle are to be ritually pure, excluding
anyone with an eruption or a discharge and anyone defiled by a corpse.
–Verse 2a, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
This rule reflects the fear of ritual impurity as a contagion, albeit a temporary one. A build up of ritual impurity would, the prevailing voice of Numbers 5:2a feared, endangered the Presence of God in the community. That contagion even spread to walls affected by mildew or rot (Leviticus 14:33-53). In Numbers 5, however, the carriers of ritual impurity were those with skin diseases, sexual discharges, and those defiled by a corpse.
When I consider healing stories in the Bible, especially those involving Jesus, the first criterion of ritual impurity is frequently germane; the second criterion is relevant at least once. The healing of the afflicted person is in part a restoration of him or her to wholeness, community, and centers of worship.
I, as a Gentile, seldom think about ritual purity or purity in general, except in negative terms. The self-proclaimed theologically pure seem always to define people of my perspective as impure, after all. And, when I think deeply about ritual purity, I find that the concept offends me. Why, for example, should a gynecological or dermatological condition render one ritually impure? I know that the purpose of the ritual purity system in the Torah is to separate human matters of sex and death from the experience of encountering God. To restate that, the purpose of the Biblical ritual purity system is to heighten one’s God-like state temporarily, therefore making one temporarily eligible to enter the Presence of God in the designated place of worship. Yet what about the spiritual anguish of the good people among the ritually impure?
As much as I approve of the practice of approaching God with full reverence (including in one’s attire at worship) and therefore appreciate the sense of awe with which the Law of Moses treats the Tabernacle, I also detect an exclusionary tone. That bothers me, for the grounds for exclusion seem to be biological and medical, not moral. They seem immoral to me, therefore. I have none of the conditions which might render me ritually impure, but I am nevertheless always ineligible to enter the Presence of God in worship, except by grace. I, as a Christian, understand this grace to have much to do with Jesus of Nazareth. That is a sound teaching.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/devotion-for-thursday-and-friday-before-proper-23-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: St. Edward’s Episcopal Church, Lawrenceville, Georgia, October 19, 2014
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Gracious God, you have placed within the hearts of all your children
a longing for your word and a hunger for your truth.
Grant that we may know your Son to be the true bread of heaven
and share this bread with all the world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 25:6-10a
Psalm 111
Mark 6:35-44
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
He has provided food for his worshippers;
he remembers his covenant for ever.
–Psalm 111:5, Harry Mowvley, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers (1989)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is a post about four banquets: the divine coronation feast in Isaiah 25:6-10a, the sordid feast of Herod Antipas in Mark 6:14-29, the Feeding of the 5000 (Plus) in Mark 6:30-44, and the Holy Eucharist.
The reading from Isaiah 25 speaks of a time immediately after Yahweh has defeated pride, evil, and sorrow, and established the Kingdom of God, in its fullness, on the Earth. This is a time in our future. All people are welcome at Yahweh’s coronation feast, to take place on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem. All is well, except for those whom God has vanquished, namely the Moabites (25:10).
Our next two banquets, which stand is stark contrast to each other, come from Mark 6. The first is a sordid event, with Herod Antipas lusting after the seductive Salome (whose name and image come to us via archaeology, not the Bible) and making a hasty promise which leads to the execution of St. John the Baptist. The Herodian family tree was complicated, for both Herodias and her daughter, Salome, were granddaughters of Herod the Great via different women. Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great via a third woman, married Herodias, who had been the wife of a half-brother of Herod Antipas. Thus Salome was the step-daughter and a cousin of Herod Antipas.
I will not attempt to explain the Feeding the 5000 (Plus) rationally, for doing that constitutes seeking an answer to the wrong question. (And I am more of a rationalist than a mystic.) Neither will I try to explain Jesus walking on water (next in Mark 6) logically, for the same reason. No, I am interested in answering the question which compelled one of my spiritual mentors whenever he studied any passage of scripture:
What is really going on here?
The Markan account of the Feeding of the 5000 men (no word about the number of women and children) uses imagery from elsewhere in the Bible. Jesus is the Good Shepherd feeding the flock. His feeding of the multitude exceeds Elisha’s feeding of 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44) and Elijah’s miracle of the refilling jug of oil (1 Kings 17:8-16). The messianic banquet, an echo of Isaiah 25:6-10a, recurs in the wilderness motif in subsequent pseudipigraphal works, such as in 2 Baruch 29:4 and 4 Ezra 6:52. Two main ideas stand out in my mind:
- Jesus is greater than Elijah and Elisha (see Mark 6:15, in which some people thought that Jesus was Elijah), and
- Nothing we bring to Jesus is inadequate in his capable hands. There will be leftovers after he has finished working with it. We are insufficient by ourselves yet more than sufficient in Christ. That is what grace can effect.
The eucharistic imagery in Mark 6 points to the fourth banquet, which I, as an Episcopalian, celebrate at least once weekly. The Holy Eucharist has constituted the core of my spiritual life since childhood. One reason I left the United Methodism of my youth was to have the opportunities to partake of the sacrament more often. In the Holy Eucharist I meet Jesus in the forms of bread and wine and swear loyalty to him again. No, I am not worthy on my merit (such as it is) to do this, but I rely on his merits to make me worthy to do so. The first step to becoming worthy is acknowledging one’s unworthiness.
The contrast between human systems built on the foundation of violence, exploitation, and oppression on one hand and the Kingdom of God on the other hand is clear. Injustice and artificial scarcity characterize the former, but justice and abundance for all distinguish the latter. We can experience a foretaste of the Kingdom of God, which is partially present already, but we await the fullness of the Kingdom. Until then we can, at least, leave the world better off than we found it. No effort toward this goal is too little in Christ’s capable hands.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 6, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF CARTHAGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF DANIEL G. C. WU, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MISSIONARY TO CHINESE AMERICANS
THE FEAST OF FREDERIC BARKER, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF SYDNEY
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/devotion-for-wednesday-after-proper-12-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Covenant Confirmed, by John Steeple Davis
Image in the Public Domain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Gracious God, you have placed within the hearts of all your children
a longing for your word and a hunger for your truth.
Grant that we may know your Son to be the true bread of heaven
and share this bread with all the world,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Exodus 24:1-11
Psalm 111
Romans 15:22-33
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hallelujah!
I will acknowledge the LORD with my whole being,
in the assembly, the gathering of honest men.
–Psalm 111:1, Harry Mowvley, The Psalms Introduced and Translated for Today’s Readers (1989)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
St. Paul the Apostle planned to travel to Jerusalem then to Rome then to Spain. Events of his time in Jerusalem led to his permanent relocation to Rome, where he died, however.
The pericope from Exodus 24 describes part of the ceremony by which the former Hebrew slaves accepted the covenant. The theology of that text holds that divine holiness was lethal to most mortals (Moses being a notable exception), but that the people saw a reflection of God safely. God was like the Sun in that way in that passage. On the other hand, Jesus, as God incarnate, was among people, with many of whom he ate, so the theology of lethal divine holiness did not apply in the Gospels. Theology changed between the Book of Exodus and the Gospel of Mark.
My main point in this post concerns communities of faith, however. St. Paul longed to travel to Rome to find spiritual refreshment at the congregation there. The covenant in Exodus was between God and the people. Too much emphasis on individualism, an aspect of Western civilization, has long hampered a correct understanding of parts of the Bible in the global West. Roman Catholicism has understood the focus on faith community well, fortunately, but my encounters with certain fundamentalist Protestants with “Jesus-and-me” theology have proven to be discouraging.
We humans have responsibilities to and for each other. We also depend on God for everything and rely on each other’s labor. Nobody is a self-made person, therefore. These principles apply to faith communities also; we need each other. May we know this to be true then act accordingly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 5, 2015 COMMON ERA
EASTER SUNDAY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF MILNER BALL, PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, LAW PROFESSOR, WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, AND HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT NOKTER BALBULUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/devotion-for-tuesday-after-proper-12-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.