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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART LXXIII

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Psalms 122, 125, 127, 128, and 134

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Psalms 122, 125, 127, 128, and 134 are similar to each other.  Jerusalem or the Temple feature prominently in most of these texts.  Obeying and trusting God–both communally and individually–is another connecting thread.  Active faith–both individual and collective–manifests partially in how we treat each other.

I could focus on any of a number of facets in these texts.  Indeed, as the leader of a lectionary discussion group, I have taken detailed notes on some of these psalms.  I know, for example, that in Psalm 122, the thrones of judgment either stood or stand in Jerusalem, depending on the translation one reads.  Comparing translations of one psalm can yield differences in verb tenses.  Differences in interpretations follow.  Yet, in this post, I opt to focus on a few lines from Psalm 127, as quoted in The Book of Common Prayer (1979):

It is in vain that your rise early and go to bed so late;

vain, too, to eat the bread of toil,

for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Years ago, before I deleted my Facebook account, I read Psalm that verse (Psalm 127:3) quoted on that social media platform.  Another used commented:

Says who?

I did not reply, but I could have written:

The author of Psalm 127.

This verse flows from the two preceding verses, which teach that building the house or watching over the city is in vain unless God builds and keeps watch.  In other words, God is in control.  The house in Psalm 127 is the home, by the way.

Anyway, we–both individually and collectively–can expend all the effort we can muster.  Yet if we do so in the delusion that we can accomplish anything of lasting value apart from God, we labor in vain.  We may build structures and stockpile money, for example, but is doing so of lasting significance?  These accomplishments will prove transitory, as in the myth of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), a story transformed into a Jewish commentary on the conquered Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire after the Babylonian Exile.  Thus, in the words of Psalm 125:

Those who trust in the LORD

are like Mount Zion

that cannot be moved,

enduring forever.

–Verse 1, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

And, as we read in Psalm 128, those who stand in awe of God will enjoy the fruits of their labors (verse 2).  Why not?  Those are labors consistent with what God builds.

Many monuments to human egos dot the landscape.  They may be architecturally impressive or aesthetically pleasing.  Some may even possess artistic merit and historic value.  I, as a student of history, like historic value and value it.  Yet monuments to God are more impressive.  So are deeds of justice and kindness.  They are never in vain.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 16, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF PHILIP MELANCHTHON, GERMAN LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN AND SCRIBE OF THE REFORMATION

THE FEAST OF CHARLES TODD QUINTARD, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF TENNESSEE

THE FEAST OF CHARLES FREDERICK MARTIN, SR., AND CHARLES AUGUSTUS ZOEBISCH, GERMAN-AMERICAN INSTRUMENT MAKERS

THE FEAST OF LOUIS (LEWIS) F. KAMPMANN, U.S. MORAVIAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF NICHOLAS KASATKIN, ORTHODOX BISHOP OF ALL JAPAN

THE FEAST OF PEDRO CASALDÁLIGA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF SÃO FÉLIX; “BISHOP TO THE POOR”

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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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Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

Above:  The Logo of the Moravian Church

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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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 8:13-22; 9:12-17 or Acts 28:1-10

Psalm 134

Revelation 5:1-14

John 8:48-59

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Revelation 5:1-14 provides the keynote for this blog post.  This scriptural text is one I cannot read without hearing the finale of Handel’s Messiah thundering inside my cranium.

Ernest Lee Stoffel, writing in The Dragon Bound:  The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), summarized verses 6-14 with five words:

THE VICTORY OF SUFFERING LOVE.

Stoffel elaborated:

What is this really saying?  I believe it is saying the suffering love of God is the key that will help us live with our suffering and ourselves.  There is something in the universe that has not been defeated by pain and evil and sin.  That something is the crucified love of the Creator.  I have to believe that love is the key to the world’s destiny, and that it will triumph over my pain and sin.  I believe I can give my pain and sin to that love, which is also wisdom….

–43-44

I go off the Humes lectionary briefly to bring in a germane text:

“I have told you all this

so that you may find peace in me.

In the world you will have hardship,

but be courageous:

I have conquered the world.”

–John 16:33, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

Divine, suffering love has triumphed and conquered.  This love figuratively hung up its bow of war in the beautiful mythology of Genesis 9:12-17.  This divine love called and accompanied St. Paul the Apostle.  This love has long inspired people to bless the Lord.

What should a person or a faith community do with the “victory of suffering love” in the context of heartbreaking, preventable human suffering?  I write this post during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The news is mostly grim.  The temptation to curse God, fate, or whatever, then to curl up in a ball of despair is great.  Yes, vaccines are available, to an extent.  Yes, more vaccines are in the process of gaining official approval.  And yes, people continue to die needlessly, before they can receive a vaccination.  We, as a species, will spend a long time digging our way out of the wreckage of this pandemic.  Furthermore, many people will never recover from the economic carnage.  Many people will always have health-related effects of COVID-19.  And the dead will remain deceased.  None of this had to happen.

Do we trust that the crucified love of the Creator has remained unconquered?  Do we trust that Jesus has conquered the world?  Depending on the time of day, I may or may not so trust.  Yet I know that I must take my fears and doubts to the foot of the cross of Christ and deposit them there.  Having faith is not living free of doubts.  No, having faith entails wrestling with them and even with God.  Having faith entails never giving up the idol of false certainly and resisting the allure of easy answers to difficult questions.

God is faithful.  God is faithful when we neglect to be faithful.  God is faithful when we strive unsuccessfully to be faithful.  God is faithful when we are faithful.  May we stand, sit, or assume any posture we can in the presence of God wherever we are.  And may we bless the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, whose love remains unconquered.  May we cooperate with that love.  May it conquer our despair and grief.  May it heal the world.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 22, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN JULIAN, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNOLOGIST

THE FEAST OF ALEXANDER MEN, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1990

THE FEAST OF SAINT LADISLAO BATTHÁNY-STRATTMANN, AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN AND PHILANTHROPIST

THE FEAST OF LOUISE CECILIA FLEMING, AFRICAN-AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY AND PHYSICIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENT PALLOTTI, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE CATHOLIC APOSTALATE, THE UNION OF CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE, AND THE SISTERS OF THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/22/devotion-for-proper-17-year-d-humes/

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Above:  Jeremiah

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Fifth 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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O God, from whom all good things do come; grant to us thy humble servants,

that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be right,

and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same;

through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 173-174

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Jeremiah 20:11-14

Psalms 133 and 134

Revelation 3:14-22

John 17:1-19

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The complaint against the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22 is being spiritually lukewarm.  Although the assigned Psalms differ in time with the lament of Jeremiah, one can state accurately that the authors of these texts were spiritually hot.  The Book of Jeremiah fits neatly into a wonderful Hebrew tradition–arguing faithfully with God.  The relationship is not always pleasant, but it exists, at least.

Jesus of Nazareth, the historical figure and the incarnate form of the Second Person of the Trinity (however that works and whatever it means) had a unique relationship with YHWH.  This was a priest the author of the Gospel of John kept emphasizing.  That author reserved “son” for Jesus and wrote that we, through Jesus, can become children of God.

In other words, each of us can have a relationship with God.  It will also be unique, particular to each person’s circumstances.

May we, by grace, encourage one another in our journeys with Christ, our relationships with God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 9, 2020 COMMON ERA

MAUNDY THURSDAY

THE FEAST OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MARTYR, 1945

THE FEAST OF JOHANN CRUGER, GERMAN LUTHERAN ORGANIST, COMPOSER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR

THE FEAST OF JOHN SAMUEL BEWLEY MONSELL, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET; AND RICHARD MANT, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF DOWN, CONNOR, AND DROMORE

THE FEAST OF LYDIA EMILIE GRUCHY, FIRST FEMALE MINISTER IN THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA

THE FEAST OF MIKAEL AGRICOLA, FINNISH LUTHERAN LITURGIST, BISHOP OF TURKU, AND “FATHER OF FINNISH LITERARY LANGUAGE”

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Book One: Psalms 1-41

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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119:1-32

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Also in the Greek:  Psalm 151

151

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God bless America.

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POST LV 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.

Psalms 132 and 133 come from the time after the Babylonian Exile.  Psalm 132 reflects the aspirations of many for the restoration of the Davidic Dynasty.  Psalm 133 celebrates the rebuilding of the Temple and the resumption of worship there.  Communal hopes for a better future mark these texts.  Psalm 134 flows naturally from its immediate predecessor; in Psalm 134 people bless God and God blesses them.

People also bless God in Psalm 135.  This text condemns idolatry and extols the greatness of God, as evident in nature and in previous dealings with the Israelite people.  The name of God, we read, endures forever.

In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a frequent refrain was

At the same time a new bumper sticker read,

AMERICA, BLESS GOD.

“God bless America,” by itself in that context, was incomplete, for it ignored human duties to God (while avoiding theocracy and calls for it, of course).

May we not be so concerned about obtaining divine blessings that we fall into or remain in a transactional relationship with God.  May we nurture a mindset of gratitude because it is the correct spiritual practice.

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:  Icon of Elijah

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

1 Kings 17:1-6

Psalm 134

Revelation 20:11-14a

John 4:46-54

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Easter is a season that lasts for fifty days, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost.  The Sixth Sunday of Easter falls late in the season, with just two weeks left until Pentecost.

Late in the season of Easter the theme of new life from death continues.

1. God provides for the physical needs of the unpopular prophet Elijah during a drought.  Later in 1 Kings God acts through Elijah to restore a widow’s son to life from physical death (17:17-24).
2. The author of Psalm 134 affirms the value of blessing and praising God.  The text is a priestly benediction.  And why not bless and praise God, upon whom we depend totally, who has given us life and upon whom we depend for the sustenance of life?
3. God acts through Jesus to restore a young man near death to health in John 4.  Notably Jesus dos this from a distance, thereby proving that he does not need to be in the proximity of the ailing person.
4. God rescues the faithful from cosmic death in Revelation 20, after the final divine victory over evil and prior to th descent of the New Jerusalem in Chapter 21.

Life is precious.  We ought to enjoy it while using our time (however much God grants us) to glorify God and help each other as much as our talents, abilities, and circumstances permit.  May we help each other do this as we are able to do so.  And may others do the same for us as they are able, all for the glory of God and the benefit of others.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 14, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT METHODIUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCH

THE FEAST OF DOROTHY FRANCES BLOMFIELD GURNEY, ENGLISH POET AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF HANS ADOLF BRORSON, DANISH LUTHERAN BISHOP, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

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Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2017/06/14/devotion-for-the-sixth-sunday-of-easter-ackerman/

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Above:  The Garden of Gethsemane

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Haggai 2:10-19

Psalm 3 or 134

Matthew 26:36-56 or Mark 14:32-52 or Luke 22:39-53 or John 18:1-12

Romans 7:1-14

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The reality of the Temple at the time of Jesus was a far cry from the prediction of what the Temple would become, according to Haggai 2:10-19.  The Second Temple, which Herod the Great had ordered expanded, had become the seat of collaboration with the Romans.  Many Jews attended events at the Temple faithfully, but they did so under the watchful gazes of Roman soldiers at the fortress next door.  In this context the annual commemoration of the Passover–of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt–occurred.

The law of God is good, but abuses of it are bad.  Among these abuses was the crucifixion of Jesus, the judicial killing of a scapegoat.  That event is still in the future–albeit the near future–in the assigned readings from the Gospels.  Nevertheless, this is not too early to notice the contrast between the forgiving attitude of Jesus and the vengeful author of Psalm 3.  Forgiveness is, of course, the best policy.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 20, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE TWENTY-FOURTH DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL TAIT, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CANISIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN BLEW, ENGLISH PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/devotion-for-proper-23-year-d/

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Above:  The Moravian Logo in Stained Glass

Image Source = JJackman

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AgnusDeiWindow.jpg)

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The Collect:

O God, your Son makes himself known to all his disciples in the breaking of bread.

Open the eyes of our faith, that we may see him in his redeeming work,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 33

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The Assigned Readings:

Exodus 24:1-11

Psalm 134

John 21:1-14

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Some Related Posts:

Exodus 34:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/devotion-for-the-eleventh-day-of-easter-lcms-daily-lectionary/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/week-of-proper-11-saturday-year-1/

John 21:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/sixth-day-of-easter-friday-in-easter-week/

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/fifteenth-day-of-easter-third-sunday-of-easter-year-c/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/devotion-for-june-23-24-and-25-lcms-daily-lectionary/

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Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,

you that by night stand in the house of the Lord.

Lift up your hands toward the sanctuary

and bless the Lord.

The Lord who made heaven and earth

give you blessing out of Zion.

–Psalm 134, Common Worship (2000)

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The daily realities and worldviews of biblical characters, being different from my own, require me to do some homework if I am to understand correctly what certain texts describe.  A case in point is Exodus 24, which recounts the sealing of the covenant between the Israelites and Yahweh with Moses sprinkling the blood of sacrificial bulls on the people.  Blood, in the worldview of these ancients, made life possible.  Thus, in this ritual act,

Israel now begins a new life of obedience, signified by sacrifice, the “book of the covenant,” and by the “blood of the covenant.”

–The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume I (Nashville, TN:  Abingdon Press, 1994), page 881

We know how obedient many of that group of Israelites turned out to be, do we not?

The interpretive angle that blood makes life possible fits well into atonement theology, especially when one considers Jesus, both priest and sacrifice.  I recall to mind the image which the Gospel of John provides:  Jesus dying as sacrificial animals die at the Temple.  Jesus is the Passover Lamb; his death is the Passover meal.  The original Passover (in Exodus) protected Israelites from the sins of Egyptians, so any properly reasoned theology of atonement which uses Passover imagery must move beyond a tunnel-vision focus on one’s own sins.

The theology of scapegoating disturbs me.  Jesus became a political scapegoat, dying as one.  I agree with others who reject Penal Substitutionary Atonement; Jesus did not take my place on the cross.  Rather, the Classic Theory–the conquest of evil, completed via the Resurrection–is closer to my theology.  Actually, I propose that the entire life of Christ was essential for the Atonement.  And I interpret the death of Jesus as having several meanings, including the point that scapegoating does not work.

My holistic understanding of the Atonement takes into account the vital role of bloodshed in the New Testament reflections on the crucifixion.  If the blood of sacrificial bulls made new spiritual life possible, even sealing the covenant, how much more does the blood of Christ affect those of us who follow him?  We have a New Covenant through him, do we not?  The imagery of blood fits well here.

More important, though, is the Resurrection, through which we have a living Jesus, not a dead one.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 15, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT:  THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF THOMAS BENSON POLLOCK, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PROXMIRE, UNITED STATES SENATOR

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Adapted from this post:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/devotion-for-the-eighteenth-day-of-easter-year-a-elca-daily-lectionary/

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