Archive for the ‘Psalm 123’ 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 LXXI
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Psalms 120 and 123
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Psalms 120 and 123 are similar to each other.
Psalms 120-134 are songs of ascents. As you, O reader, read these texts, imagine a caravan of devout Jews making a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Then you will be in the correct frame of mind for getting the most out of the texts.
Psalms 120 and 123 concern the perils of the negative attitudes and words of others. These perils may be individual or collective. That words matter is a point I have made many times at this weblog and already in this series. So, I hereby repeat the headline (“WORDS MATTER”) and decline to unpack it again in this post.
Psalm 120 does require some explanation, though.
Woe to me, for I have sojourned in Meshach,
dwelled among the tents of Kedar.
–Psalm 120:5, Robert Alter
Poetry does not have to be literal. Meshach and Kedar are far-flung places far away from each other. Meshach (Genesis 10:2; Ezekiel 32:26; 38:2-3; 39:1-3) is in northwestern Asia Minor (now Turkey), between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Kedar (Genesis 25:13) is on the Arabian Peninsula. They symbolize barbaric, warlike peoples on the edge of the known world. Robert Alter explains the poetic imagery this way:
…it may be plausible to understand them as metaphors for living among people who behave like strangers, even if those people were within a stone’s throw of Jerusalem (as someone today might say, “I felt as though I were in Siberia or Timbuktu.”
—The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, Vol. 3, The Writings (2019), 292
The germane note in The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014) concludes:
The psalmist feels as if he lives, metaphorically, among these far-away, militant people (v.6); he is alienated from his own society.
–1412
Imagine, O reader, a caravan of devout Jews from a village making their pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem, for one of the major festivals. Then ask yourself why they would sing that psalm.
Psalm 123 begins as an individual prayer (“To You I lift up my eyes”) and concludes as a collective lament. Notice the words “our” and “us,” in verses 2-4, O reader.
Grant us grace, LORD, grant us grace,
for we are sorely sated with scorn.
Surely has our being been sated
with the contempt of the smug,
the scorn of the haughty.
–Verses 3-4, Robert Alter
Psalm 123, unlike other psalms, which complain about slander and libel, reflects frustration with arrogant scorn and contempt. “We” take that complaint to God.
What was happening close to home, for members of a pious caravan to sing Psalm 123 en route to the Temple in Jerusalem?
One need not stretch one’s imagination to grasp additional meanings of these texts for Jews of the Diaspora.
A psalm carries different meanings at different times and in various places. A text composed in one period with one meaning or set of meanings in mind may, therefore, remain germane elsewhere and long after composition. A psalm is a living text.
So, I propose a new context for relating to Psalms 120 and 123. The global Western cultures are becoming increasingly secular, with a growing strain of antitheism. Do not misunderstand me, O reader; I favor the separation of church and state, mainly to prevent the church from become an arm of the state, thereby losing its prophetic, moral edge. Yet the increasingly secular societies, combined with the rise of fashionable atheism and antitheism, heap scorn upon piety and the pious. The devout may, against their will, find themselves alienated from their own society and even from religious establishments which endorse bigotry and Christian or Jewish nationalism. Taking this sense of alienation and spiritual fatigue to God makes sense.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 14, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ABRAHAM OF CARRHAE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPH CARL LUDWIG VON PFEIL, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS, APOSTLES TO THE SLAVS
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS HAROLD ROWLEY, NORTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER, HUMANITARIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHANN MICHAEL ALTENBURG, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR, COMPOSER, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VICTOR OLOF PETERSEN, SWEDISH-AMERICAN LUTHERAN HYMN TRANSLATOR
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Above: Ruins of Ephesus
Image Source = Google Earth
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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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Genesis 3:1-19 or Acts 20:17-38
Psalm 123
Revelation 2:1-7
John 6:16-24
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Words have power. Libel and slander are threats. Some words build up. Other words tear down. Some words make truths plain. Other words confuse. Some words heal, but other words harm. And misquoting God is always a bad idea.
Consider Genesis 2:16-17, O reader:
The LORD God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden, except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From it you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Then, O reader, consider Genesis 3:2-3:
The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, “You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die!”
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
God said nothing about touching the fruit in Genesis 2:16-17.
Misquoting God opens a door that should remain closed.
Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make; you have less love than you used to.
–Revelation 2:4, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Concern for resisting heresy can come at a high cost, if a congregation, person, et cetera, goes about affirming orthodoxy the wrong way. That cost is too little love. This is also a moral in Morris West’s novel Lazarus (1990), about the fictional Pope Leo XIV, a harsh yet extremely orthodox man.
The late Presbyterian minister Ernest Lee Stoffel offered useful analysis of the message to the church at Ephesus:
This is to say that a church can lose its effectiveness if it has no love. As I think about the mission of the church, as I hear calls for “more evangelism” and a stronger application of the Gospel to the social issues of the day, I wonder if we can do either unless we can love first–love each other and love the world, for Christ’s sake.
—The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), 27
To quote St. Paul the Apostle:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
–1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
Orthodoxy without love is devoid of value. May we who say we follow Jesus really follow him. May we love as he did–unconditionally and selflessly. May we–collectively and individually–love like Jesus. May our orthodoxy and our orthopraxy be like sides of one coin. May our deeds reveal our creeds and not belie our professions of faith.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 15, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND MARTYR, 1968
THE FEAST OF ABBY KELLEY FOSTER AND HER HUSBAND, STEPHEN SYMONDS FOSTER, U.S. QUAKER ABOLITIONISTS AND FEMINISTS
THE FEAST OF BERTHA PAULSSEN, GERMAN-AMERICAN SEMINARY PROFESSOR, PSYCHOLOGIST, AND SOCIOLOGIST
THE FEAST OF GENE M. TUCKER, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF JOHN COSIN, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF COSIN
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/15/devotion-for-proper-10-year-d-humes/
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Above: Resurrection of the Righteous and Coronation of the Virgin, by Francesco Bassano the Younger
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Third Sunday after Easter, 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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Almighty God, who showest to them that be in error the light of thy truth,
to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness;
grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion
that they may avoid those things that are contrary to their profession,
and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 169-170
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Isaiah 26:12-16, 19
Psalms 122 and 123
2 Timothy 1:3-14
John 11:1-29
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Some texts are clear. John 11:1-44, for example, makes plain that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. A plain reading of 2 Timothy reveals that the author, writing as St. Paul the Apostle, thought that Jesus had abolished death, of a sort. Psalm 122 obviously includes a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 123, another pilgrimage text, is a prayer for divine mercy.
Isaiah 26:19 is ambiguous, though. Some texts in the Hebrew Bible use life after death as a metaphor for national renewal. Ezekiel 37 does this, for example. Daniel 12:2-3, 12 is the only passage in the Hebrew Bible that unambiguously affirms the personal resurrection of the dead. The germane note in The Jewish Study Bible takes no side in the debate over whether Isaiah 26:19 is literal or metaphorical. Even rabbis disagree. So be it.
In Christian theology, the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead relies on more than one passage of scripture anyway. Beliefs about the afterlife common among Christians have more to do with Greek philosophy than the Bible. Changing minds regarding this issue can be a challenging task. Assumptions often become so entrenched that they become so entrenched that they remain despite evidence and education to the contrary.
Ultimately, nobody on this side of the veil knows what lies on the other side. People have ideas, many of which extend this life into the next one. Heaven–or whatever one calls it–may seem like an extension of what we know on Earth. Our human imaginations cannot conceive of what the afterlife is like. The best we can do is to resort to metaphors and analogies.
I have my ideas. Heaven and Hell are realities, but not places. A place has coordinates and geography. One can map a place. It is to the north of X or to the west of Y. Heaven and Hell, I propose, are spiritual realities. Every person in Heaven got there by grace. All people in Hell sent themselves. And you, O reader, and I may be shocked and perhaps even appalled at who is where.
Such matters are in the purview of God, as they have always been.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 11, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODOSIUS THE CENOBIARCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF CHARLES WILLIAM EVEREST, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MIEP GIES, RIGHTEOUS GENTILE
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAULINUS II OF AQUILEIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCH OF AQUILEIA
THE FEAST OF RICHARD FREDERICK LITTLEDALE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
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Above: Coastal Landscape with Balaam and the Ass, by Bartholomeus Breenburgh
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Third Sunday after Easter, 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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Almighty God, who showest to them that be in error the light of thy truth,
to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness;
grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion
that they may avoid those things that are contrary to their profession,
and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 169-170
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Numbers 22:1-21
Psalms 121 and 123:1-3a
Revelation 3:1-6
John 16:12-22
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Appearances deceive sometimes. Consider, O reader, the case of the church at ancient Sardis at the time of the writing of Revelation. We read that, despite its reputation, the congregation was spiritually dead. There was still hope, however, we read.
After all, one purpose of pronouncing judgment is to convince people to repent, so that condemnation ill no longer is necessary.
Do the right thing, we read. God will help you to do it, we read as we continue. God is faithful, the readings tell us.
Do we believe that? The beginning of evil is the rejection of all the above. When we think that God does not exist or does not care, at least, we conclude that we can and must do everything on our own. Then we slip into amorality; the ends justify the means, we tell ourselves.
Trusting in the faithfulness of God liberates us to grow into our best spiritual selves, thereby leaving the world better than we found it.
May we trust in God, or continue to do so.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 7, 2020 COMMON ERA
TUESDAY IN HOLY WEEK
THE FEAST OF SAINT TIKHON OF MOSCOW, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PATRIARCH
THE FEAST OF SAINT GEORGE THE YOUNGER, GREEK ORTHODOX BISHOP OF MITYLENE
THE FEAST OF JAY THOMAS STOCKING, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MONTFORD SCOTT, EDMUND GENNINGS, HENRY WALPOLE, AND THEIR FELLOW MARTYRS, 1591 AND 1595
THE FEAST OF RANDALL DAVIDSON, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
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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 LIII 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 120-134 are Songs of Ascents, which pilgrims to Jerusalem used en route to festivals at the Temple.
Regarding Psalms 120-125, dependence upon God is a recurring theme. One might be alienated from one’s society (as in Psalm 120) or fear bandits, sunstroke, and lunacy (as in Psalm 121). The dependence upon God might also be national (as in Psalms 123, 124, and 125). Either way, congruity with concern for the shalom of Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile (as in Psalm 122) is certain.
In my distress I called to the LORD
and He answered me.
–Psalm 120:1, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The God of these psalms is one who cares deeply. He is the one who, in the words of Psalm 121,
…will guard your going and coming now and forever.
–Verse 8, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Given the postexilic context, pilgrims would have understood God as also being ready, willing, and able to punish individuals and nations for their persistent sins. The balance of divine judgment and mercy was on their minds.
Do good, O LORD, to the good,
to the upright in heart.
But those who in their crookedness act corruptly,
let the LORD make them go the way of evildoers.
May it be well with Israel!
–Psalm 125:4-5, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Such a balance is useful to ponder, yet only with great reverence and caution. One should also do so with much humility, for no mortal can know where the line between divine judgment and mercy exists. One can, however, study the scriptures and notice an emphasis on mercy for the faithful.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 22, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JACK LAYTON, CANADIAN ACTIVIST AND FEDERAL LEADER OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
THE FEAST OF JOHN DRYDEN, ENGLISH PURITAN THEN ANGLICAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC POET, PLAYWRIGHT, AND TRANSLATOR
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Above: A Hand Dryer
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O God, our eternal redeemer, by the presence of your Spirit you renew and direct our hearts.
Keep always in our mind the end of all things and the day of judgment.
Inspire us for a holy life here, and bring us to the joy of the resurrection,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 52
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The Assigned Readings:
Job 25:1-26:14
Psalm 123
John 5:19-29
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Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
–Psalm 123:4, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Reading a portion of scripture from more than one translation can prove helpful. The principle applies to Job 26 and 27. The speech of Bildad the Shuhite encompasses all six verses of Chapter 25 as well as 26:5-14. Job’s reply fills 26:1-4 and continues in Chapter 27. The notes in The Jewish Study Bible–Second Edition(2014) recognize this, but the translation (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, 1985) keeps the verses in numerical order, causing some confusion when the voice changes without any textual indication indicating that another character is speaking. The Jerusalem Bible (1966), however, places 26:1-4 after 26:5-14 and immediately prior to 27:1, making the text coherent.
Job 24:25 concludes the main character’s rebuttal to Eliphaz the Temanite with:
Who can prove me a liar
or show that my words have no substance?
—The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Bildad attempts to do just that, arguing for the sovereignty of God by pointing to evidences of God in nature. It is a pious-sounding speech–one not entirely false. Nevertheless, it is one applied in the service of a false notion–that Job’s reply to Bildad. Job, with much sarcasm, says:
To one so weak, what a help you are,
for the arm that is powerless, what a rescuer!
What excellent advice you give the unlearned,
never at a loss for a helpful suggestion!
But who are they aimed at, these speeches of yours,
and what spirit is this that comes out of you?
–Job 26:2-4, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Then, in Chapter 27, Job continues to condemn Bildad for spouting empty words.
The words placed in the mouth of Jesus in John 5 are far from empty. They also extol the sovereignty of God, but in the context of a book in which the glorification of Jesus is his crucifixion (something which Bildad would have argued incorrectly was due to our Lord and Savior’s sins) and resurrection. One might profit by reading the Book of Job together with the Gospel of John, for the entirety of the latter contradicts the major assumption of the alleged friends of Job.
One can derive many spiritually helpful and theologically correct lessons from the Book of Job. Among them is this: We need to realize that, regardless of how orthodox we might be or seem to ourselves, we might nevertheless be full of hot air.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 3, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILL CAMPBELL, AGENT OF RECONCILIATION
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LIPHARDUS OF ORLEANS AND URBICIUS OF MEUNG, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS
THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MORAND OF CLUNY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND MISSIONARY
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/devotion-for-wednesday-after-proper-27-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Job and His Alleged Friends
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O God, our eternal redeemer, by the presence of your Spirit you renew and direct our hearts.
Keep always in our mind the end of all things and the day of judgment.
Inspire us for a holy life here, and bring us to the joy of the resurrection,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 52
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The Assigned Readings:
Job 20:1-11 (Monday)
Job 21:1, 17-34 (Tuesday)
Psalm 123 (Both Days)
2 Peter 1:16-21 (Monday)
2 John 1-13 (Tuesday)
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Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
–Psalm 123:4, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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With friends such as Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, who needs enemies? In Job 19:22 the main character laments:
Why do you hound me down like God,
will you never have enough of my flesh?
—The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
in response to Bildad. Then Zophar echoes Bildad in arguing that Job must have sinned and therefore deserve his suffering. Job replies in part:
So what sense is there in your empty consolation?
What nonsense are your answers!
–Job 21:34, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Refraining from blaming victims is a good start, is it not? Compassion is a virtue, and tough love is different from abuse.
Turning to the readings from the New Testament, we find defenses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of Christian orthodoxy, which was in the early phase of development in the first and second centuries of the Common Era. The Gospel, consistent with the Hebrew Prophets, comes with eyewitnesses (most of whom had died by the late first century C.E.), we read. The text of 2 John adds a criticism of Gnostics or proto-Gnostics, who denied the Incarnation. Indeed, many Gnostic texts have survived and are available in English-language translations. They are baffling and non-canonical. Their non-canonical status is appropriate, given that Gnosticism and Christianity are mutually incompatible.
Interestingly, the author of 2 John never accuses these deniers of the Incarnation of being cruel or otherwise mean. No, they are simply wrong and dangerous, he argues. One can be compassionate and theologically mistaken just as surely as one can be theologically correct and lacking in compassion. One can also, of course, lack both compassion and theological correctness. The optimum state is to be theologically correct and compassionate, is it not?
That leads to another, practical matter. One might have compassion yet channel it in a way or ways that prove harmful at worst or not helpful at best. One might read the Book of Job in such a way as to interpret the motivations of the literary characters of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar to be positive–to stage a spiritual intervention. Yet the theological position of that book (in its final, composite form) is that their orthodoxy was actually heresy. If one proceeds from a false assumption, one should not be surprised when arriving at an erroneous conclusion.
Each of us is correct in much and erroneous in much else. May we, by grace, grow in orthodoxy (as God defines it) and effective compassion.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 3, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILL CAMPBELL, AGENT OF RECONCILIATION
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LIPHARDUS OF ORLEANS AND URBICIUS OF MEUNG, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS
THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MORAND OF CLUNY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND MISSIONARY
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/devotion-for-monday-and-tuesday-after-proper-27-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: The March on Washington, August 28, 1963
Photographer = Warren K. Leffler
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ds-04411
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The Collect:
God of the covenant, in our baptism you call us
to proclaim the coming of your kingdom.
Give us the courage you gave the apostles,
that we may faithfully witness to your love and peace
in every circumstance of life,
in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 41
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 7:1-15 (Thursday)
Jeremiah 7:16-26 (Friday)
Jeremiah 7:27-34 (Saturday)
Psalm 123 (All Days)
1 Corinthians 4:8-13 (Thursday)
2 Corinthians 10:7-11 (Friday)
Matthew 8:18-22 (Saturday)
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To you I lift up my eyes,
to you that are enthroned in the heavens.
As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
or the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress.
So our eyes wait upon the Lord our God,
until he have mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of the arrogant,
and of the contempt of the proud.
–Psalm 123, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)
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The composite of the readings from Jeremiah speaks of the importance of treating people properly and refraining from committing idolatry. This is a societal, not an individual issue. The text refers to social institutions, in which individuals are complicit. The divine call to repentance–one which the text indicates will fall on deaf ears and hard hearts–says that sacred rituals and houses of God do not function as talismans, protecting the society and individuals from the consequences of sinful actions and inactions. There is nothing wrong with the rituals when people participate in them with reverence, but hiding behind them while committing idolatry and perpetuating or condoning injustice makes a mockery of those rites.
Often certain people suffer because of the sinful actions and/or inactions of others. That theme exists also in the pericope from 1 Corinthians. There St. Paul the Apostle wrote from a spiritually healthy attitude:
When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly.
–1 Corinthians 4:12b-13a, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
As multiple passages of scripture, not to mention the historical record, attest, following Jesus might, depending on the circumstances, lead to persecution and suffering. Offering excuses as part of an effort to avoid following Jesus is an inadequate substitute for making a commitment to him. Our words and deeds, when they are more or less consistent with a Christian pilgrimage (the best we will be able to achieve via grace, given our human nature), will glorify God and draw others to God and improve our societies.
Society is not an abstraction. No, it is people. Societies have become what they have become because of human decisions. Not only can they change, they have changed and are changing. May they change to increase justice and decrease injustice. May rates of discrimination go down and rates of mutual respect go up. May the shedding of the blood of the innocent cease. May oppression of the strangers, the orphans, and the widows among us come to an end. May we put away our idols, which include greed, insensitivity to human needs, and attachments to racial and ethnic prejudices and hatreds. May we act on the recognition that all of us are in the same boat, therefore whatsoever we do to another, we do to ourselves.
God has the power to save the world, but we can leave it better than we found it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 4, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE EVE OF EASTER, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF BENJAMIN HALL KENNEDY, GREEK AND LATIN SCHOLAR, BIBLE TRANSLATOR, AND ANGLICAN PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT GEORGE THE YOUNGER, GREEK ORTHODOX BISHOP OF MITYLENE
THE FEAST OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/devotion-for-thursday-friday-and-saturday-before-proper-9-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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