According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  Pentecost, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld

Image in the Public Domain

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Acts 3:13-15, 17-26

Psalm 148

1 John 5:1-6

John 20:19-31

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Almighty God, we have celebrated with joy

the festival of our Lord’s resurrection. 

Graciously help us to show the power of the resurrection

in all that we say and do;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 21

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Grant, almighty God,

that we who have celebrated the mystery of the Lord’s resurrection

may by the help of your grace bring forth

the fruits thereof in our life and conduct;

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), 50

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Biblical authors did not always define certain words the same way.  For example, “sin” meant a moral failing in Matthew 18:18 yet a theological failing in John 20:22-23.  In the Johannine theological context, sin was the failure to recognize the revelation of God in Jesus.  Hence, a Christian did not sin, in Johannine theological terms (1 John 3:6).  Also, forgiving sins was a task for the faith community empowered by the Holy Spirit.  This faith community, empowered by the Holy Spirit, continued the work of Jesus.

The First Epistle of John tells us that the love of God entails keeping divine commandments, which are not burdensome.  The Gospel of John has Jesus say that those who love him will keep his commandments (14:23).  The most basic commandment of Jesus is the Golden Rule.  That should not be burdensome, should it?

God forgives sins, whichever definition one uses.  So should the communities of the people of God.  Repentance must precede forgiveness, especially if one defines sins as moral failings.  Forgiveness without prior repentance is cheap grace–something meaningless and not transformative.

Just as repentance must precede forgiveness for forgiveness to mean anything, truth must precede reconciliation, something else Jesus brings and God grants.  In the Johannine lexicon, truth means “activated integrity.”  It is not a philosophical abstraction; no truth is something lived.  The hard work of being honest must precede the graces of reconciliation and forgiveness.  This is a lesson which many people–including certain politicians and many of their supporters–prefer to ignore.  They seek to brush difficulties of the collective and/or individual past under the proverbial rug.  They seek the cheap graces of painless forgiveness and faux reconciliation without prior repentance and the acknowledgment of reality.  And they often do so in the name of Jesus, unfortunately.  They, therefore, mock God, truth, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 20, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF SEBASTIAN CASTELLIO, PROPHET OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, HYMN WRITER AND ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN

THE FEAST OF ELLEN GATES STARR, U.S. EPISCOPAL THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND REFORMER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA JOSEFA SANCHO DE GUERRA, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SERVANTS OF THE POOR

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL RODIGAST, GERMAN LUTHERAN ACADEMIC AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SIMON WILLIAM GABRIEL BRUTÉ DE RÉMUR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF VINCENNES

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Adapted from this post

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I covered 150 psalms in 82 posts.

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART LXXXII

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Psalms 146, 147, 148, 149, and 150

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Psalms 146-150 constitute the concluding doxology of the Hebrew Psalter.  Pulling these texts together, a partial list of statements about God emerges:

1. God heals, restores, and delivers individuals and communities.
2. God, the Creator, is evident in nature and history.
3. Nature itself praises God.
4. God is universal and sovereign.
5. God, who grants military victory, punishes the wicked.

These themes recur in the Hebrew Psalter, from Psalm 1 to Psalm 145.  Rather than repeat many comments from previous posts in this series, I prefer to focus on a point that has become prominent in my theology and prayers.  This is also a point about which I have written in this series.  Some repetition is inevitable in this series.

I grew up learning about sin.  It seemed abstract to me for a long time.  The sins about which I learned were mostly personal peccadilloes; collective, institutional sins received less attention.  As I aged and read more deeply, I began to focus less on personal peccadilloes (without ignoring them) and to focus more on collective, institutional sins.  My inner Reinhold Niebuhr asserted itself.  Later, I incorporated sin and repentance into my concept of “God’s best.”  I came to think of congregations, communities, et cetera enjoying God’s best for them, and to pray that God’s best for them would be their reality.  So, repentance and amendment of life are not mostly about angering or grieving God, lest punishment ensue.  No, repentance and amendment of life are mostly about responding faithfully to God in love, awe, and loyalty, and growing into full potential in God.  “God’s best” is shalom–complete well-being.

Thank you, O reader, for joining me on this journey through the Book of Psalms.  As we take leave of each other, I wish you shalom.  May you and yours grow into your full potential in God.  May God’s best for you–both individually and in community–become your reality.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 25, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FOURTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS THE ELDER, SAINT NONNA, AND THEIR CHILDREN: SAINTS GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS THE YOUNGER, CAESARIUS OF NAZIANZUS, AND GORGONIA OF NAZIANZUS

THE FEAST OF BERNHARDT SEVERIN INGEMANN, DANISH LUTHERAN AUTHOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT FELIX VARELA, CUBAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND PATRIOT

THE FEAST OF JOHN ROBERTS, EPISCOPAL MISSIONARY TO THE SHOSHONE AND ARAPAHOE

THE FEAST OF KARL FRIEDRICH LOCHNER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF THEODOR FLIENDER, RENEWER OF THE FEMALE DIACONATE; AND ELIZABETH FEDDE, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN DEACONESS

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Above:  Thessaloniki (Formerly Thessalonica), Greece

Image Source = Google Earth

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For the Sunday Next Before Advent, 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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Absolve, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy people from their offenses;

that from the bonds of our sins which, by reason of our frailty,

we have brought upon us, we may be delivered by thy bountiful goodness;

through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with

thee and the Holy Spirit, ever One God, world without end.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 236

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Isaiah 35:3-10

Psalm 148

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Luke 12:35-43

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The two primary themes of the Hebrew Bible are exile and exodus.  Both themes are present in Isaiah 35:3-10.  The exile is the Babylonian Exile.  The exodus is the return from the Babylonian Exile.  Placing this reading at the end of the church year makes sense, for the language transitions neatly into texts for Advent.

Psalm 148 is a beautiful hymn.  It reads like reality after God has finally vanquished evil.

Speaking of eschatology, the background of St. Paul the Apostle’s First Letter to the Thessalonians includes the realization that Jesus may not be returning as soon as many people expected.  The question in Chapter 5, then, is how to live while waiting.  The answer is to continue to live according to the Golden Rule, both collectively and individually.  Build each other up.  Repay evil with good.  Support one another.  Do not become discouraged in behaving properly.  The reading from Luke 12:35-43 agrees.

Even when dashed eschatological expectations are not a factor, many people may become discouraged.  For example, compassion fatigue is a real and labeled phenomenon in the context of serial appeals for assistance in the wake of disasters.  Having compassion and behaving compassionately can be emotionally exhausting.

The readings tell us not to give up, however.  However eschatology shakes out, may God find us living righteously, both collectively and individually, at any given moment.  We–as communities and individuals–have vocations from God.  We have work to do.  May we complete it well and faithfully, by grace.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 3, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANSKAR AND RIMBERT, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOPS OF HAMBURG-BREMEN

THE FEAST OF ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER, ENGLISH POET AND FEMINIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALFRED DELP, GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945

THE FEAST OF JEMIMA THOMPSON LUKE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER; AND JAMES EDMESTON, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL DAVIES, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Above:  The Lost Piece of Silver,by John Everett Millais

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The Assigned Readings:

Acts 12:1-19

Psalm 148

1 Thessalonians 3:1-4:2

Luke 15:1-10

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The Gospel of Luke establishes the context for the Parables of the Lost Sheep/Good Shepherd and the Lost Coin:

–Luke 15:1-2, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

Do you, O reader, identify with the Pharisees and scribes or with the tax collectors and sinners in that passage?  Should not anyone be glad that Jesus was spending time in the company of those who knew they needed him?  The best translation of the first beatitude (Matthew 5:3) is not,

Blessed are the poor in spirit…,

but

Blessed are those who know their need for God….

God desires us, fortunately for us.

Psalm 148 invites all of creation to praise God.  The text never qualifies that principle or says, “unless….”  Indeed, times of affliction (as in the readings from Acts and 1 Thessalonians) are times to praise God.

If that principle confused you, O reader, I understand your confusion.  Praising God in times of joy and plenty is relatively easy.  Yet difficult times cast the blessings of God in stark contrast to what surrounds them.  Blessings become easier to recognize.  Nevertheless, one is in difficult circumstances.  Anxiety, uncertainty, and grief erect high walls to praising God.  Yet God is with us in our doldrums.  God seeks us, for we are valuable because God says we are.

That is a reason to rejoice and to praise God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 8, 2020 COMMON ERA

WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK

THE FEAST OF HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG, PATRIARCH OF AMERICAN LUTHERANISM; HIS GREAT-GRANDSON, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGICAL PIONEER; AND HIS COLLEAGUE, ANNE AYRES, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERHOOD OF THE HOLY COMMUNION

THE FEAST OF SAINT DIONYSIUS OF CORINTH, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT HUGH OF ROUEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, ABBOT, AND MONK

THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIE BILLIART, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME

THE FEAST OF TIMOTHY LULL, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, THEOLOGIAN, AND ECUMENIST

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Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2020/04/08/devotion-for-the-fifth-sunday-of-easter-year-c-humes/

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feed my sheep.

Above:  The New Jerusalem

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Second 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 hast given thine only Son to be unto us

both a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life;

give us grace that we may always most thankfully receive his inestimable benefit,

and also daily endeavor ourselves to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life;

through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 168

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Ezekiel 34:11-16

Psalm 148

Revelation 21:10-14, 21-27

John 21:15-25

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The pericope from Ezekiel 34, read narrowly, condemns bad Hebrew monarchs–shepherds, figuratively–who tended themselves, not the flock (the people).  Read broadly, the passage condemns all political and religious leaders who have or still do tend themselves, not the flock.  In John 21 we read of Jesus telling St. Simon Peter to

In Revelation 21 we read of God finally displacing the bad shepherds, fulfilling the promise of Ezekiel 34.

One function of stating an ideal in prophecy is to establish a high standard, thereby pointing to to all who fall short of that standard.  In our time this is what much the Apocalypse of John (Revelation) does effectively.  The current world order falls far short of the divine order’s high standard.  Corruption and deceit persist.  God must act because, too often, many people acquiesce or cooperate instead of doing their duty.

On the level short of international, national, or state/provincial politics, much less denominational leadership, I know of congregations that have disbanded because that was the only feasible option after a person or a few people (usually lay members) in positions of influence or authority have tended themselves, not to flock.  This predatory shepherding is detrimental to the flock.  On the rational level, such negative behavior makes no sense.  Why act out of perceived self-interest and thereby damage, destroy, and soil one’s own nest?  The answer, of course, is that these malefactors are irrational and do not know what they are really doing.

May all shepherds be good shepherds.  May they tend their flocks, not themselves.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 6, 2020 COMMON ERA

MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF CARTHAGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 413

THE FEAST OF BENJAMIN HALL KENNEDY, GREEK AND LATIN SCHOLAR, BIBLE TRANSLATOR, AND ANGLICAN PRIEST

THE FEAST OF DANIEL G. C. WU, CHINESE-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF EMIL BRUNNER, SWISS REFORMED THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF MILNER BALL, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, LAW PROFESSOR, WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, AND HUMANITARIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT NOKTER BALBULUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

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Above:  Icon of the Life of Christ

Image in the Public Domain

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Isaiah 63:7-9

Psalm 148

Philippians 2:12-18

Luke 2:21-40 or Matthew 2:13-23

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Judgment and mercy exist in balance in the Bible.  An act of mercy for the Hebrews (as in Isaiah 63) is judgment upon the Edomites (as in Isaiah 63:1-6).  Divine mercy exists not because of imagined human fidelity among a given population (such as the Hebrews), but as pure grace.  So, as Psalm 148 reminds us, all of creation should praise God.

Divine graciousness creates the obligation of faithful response–manifested in devotion, not the impossible standard of moral perfection.  We cannot be morally perfect, but we can do better, by grace–and as faithful response.  Many will respond favorably to divine graciousness.  Many others, however, will be indifferent.  Still others will be violently hostile, for their own perfidious reasons.

Divine graciousness certainly has the power to offend.  That fact makes a negative point about those who find such graciousness offensive.  Taking offense wrongly is one error; becoming violent about it is a related and subsequent one.  How we respond individually to divine graciousness is our responsibility.  If we get this wrong, we will harm others as well as ourselves.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 17, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND

THE FEAST OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT, “THE CORN LAW RHYMER”

THE FEAST OF ELIZA SIBBALD ALDERSON, POET AND HYMN WRITER; AND JOHN BACCHUS DYKES, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF HENRY SCOTT HOLLAND, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND PRIEST

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Adapted from this post:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2018/03/17/devotion-for-the-first-sunday-after-christmas-years-a-b-c-and-d-humes/

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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

119:33-72

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Also in the Greek:  Psalm 151

151

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Hallelujah,

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POST LX 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 146-150 constitute the doxology of the Book of Psalms.  Each of these five psalms begins and ends with the same word:

literally,

Praise God.

Psalm 147 comes from after the Babylonian Exile.  The text praises God, upon whom the faithful depend entirely.  God is the One who rebuilds Jerusalem, gathers in exiles, and heals their broken hearts and binds up their wounds.  God, we read, values those who acknowledge their dependence on Him and stand in awe of Him; the strength of horses and swiftness of men do not impress Him.  One might quote Psalm 146:3-4:

Put not your trust in the great,

in mortal man who cannot save.

His breath departs;

he returns to the dust;

on that day his plans come to nothing.

—TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

The theme of the created order praising the Creator explains the beautiful poetry of Psalm 148.  Angels, inanimate objects, beasts, and human beings praise God.

People continue to praise God in Psalms 149 and 150.  There is no person who should not praise God, we read.  All people should extol God, we read.  I am certain that the shackled kings and the nobles bound in iron chains under a divine decree of doom (149:8-9) are not praising God, however.  These are people who should have confessed their sins and repented.  We human beings do reap what we sow.  However, when one reaps negatively, the rest of us need not goat.  No, we should grieve.

One can never thank God for every blessing of which one is aware by name because the blessings are so numerous.  Many of them are so commonplace that they become mundane, so we simply do not pay attention to a host of them.  We miss them when they are absent, however.  For example, I enjoy dependable electrical service.  I do not think about that very much until a limb falls across a power line during a storm, thereby causing the temporary loss of electrical service.  Also, I drive a reliable automobile.  I do not thank God for this fact as often as I should.

One can never thank God for every blessing of which one is aware by name, but one can thank God for blessings throughout each day.  One can also take some time each day to name a few blessings.  The count adds up to great number quickly.  The goal of these spiritual exercises is to nurture a mindset of gratitude to God, on whom all of us depend completely.

Hallelujah!

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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Above:  Icon of Christ Pantocrator

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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The Collect:

O Lord God, you teach us that without love, our actions gain nothing.

Pour into our hearts your most excellent gift of love, that,

made alive by your Spirit, we may know goodness and peace,

through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 34

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The Assigned Readings:

Daniel 7:13-14 (Friday)

Daniel 7:27 (Saturday)

Psalm 148 (Both Days)

Revelation 11:15 (Friday)

Revelation 11:16-19 (Saturday)

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Let them praise the Name of the LORD,

for his Name only is exalted,

his splendor is over earth and heaven.

He has raised up strength for his people

and praise for all his loyal servants,

the children of Israel, a people who are near him.

Hallelujah!

–Psalm 148:13-14, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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The fact that the Apocalypse of John quotes the Book of Daniel is old news.  The “son of man,” or as TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985) renders the term, “One like a human being,” in Daniel 7, is a heavenly figure the text never identifies specifically.  He might be the archangel Michael.  In subsequent Jewish interpretation “the son of man” is a representation of Israel.  Whoever the “son of man” is in Daniel 7, he receives an everlasting dominion on earth in a vision in that chapter.  In Revelation Jesus receives that everlasting dominion.

Revelation 11:15 cues Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” to start thundering inside my head, it was one of the passages of the composer used in that portion of theMessiah.  The New Revised Standard Version (1989) renders the text as:

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord

and of his Messiah,

and he will reign forever and ever.

The translation in The Revised English Bible (1989) is less traditional:

Sovereignty over the world has passed to our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign for ever!

In Revelation 12-18 God proceeds to destroy the corrupt human order on earth before inaugurating the divine order in chapters 19-22.

Many of the texts regarding the Kingdom of God in the New Testament indicate its partial presence, at least from a human perspective.  It is evident among people, but there will be more to come.  We need not wait for the complete realization of the Kingdom of God to praise and exalt God, whose mighty acts are numerous.  The full Kingdom of God will come to pass and become obvious in human sight in time.  Until then reminders of divine sovereignty are still in order, for appearances often prove both deceptive and discouraging.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 2, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FEAST OF JOHANN KONRAD WILHELM LOEHE, BAVARIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND COORDINATOR OF DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONS

THE FEAST OF SABINE BARING-GOULD, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/devotion-for-friday-and-saturday-before-the-fifth-sunday-of-easter-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/

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This is post #1450 of BLOGA THEOLOGICA.

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