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:  Mine de plomb et lavis sur papier (Exterior of Arm and Washing on Paper), by Auguste Rodin

Image in the Public Domain

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Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8

Psalm 15 (LBW) or Psalm 119:129-136 (LW)

Ephesians 6:10-20

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

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O God, we thank you for your Son,

who chose the path of suffering for the sake of the world. 

Humble us by his example,

point us to the path of obedience,

and give us strength to follow his commands;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 27

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Lord of all power and might, Author and Giver of all good things,

graft in our hearts the love of your name,

increase in us true religion,

nourish us with all goodness,

and bring forth in us the fruit of good works;

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), 78

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You shall not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I enjoin upon you.

–Deuteronomy 4:2, The New Jerusalem Bible 1985)

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The author of the Gospel of Mark was mistaken; not all Jews practiced ritual handwashing prior to eating.  In fact, this handwashing, absent from the Law of Moses, was a habit of Pharisees, a minority sect of Judaism at the time of Christ.  So, when Pharisees observed disciples of Jesus not engaging in ritual handwashing prior to eating, they saw disciples behaving as most Jews did.

Mark 7:1-23 (including verses the ILCW Lectionary omits) contrasts being persnickety over such a practice–not in the Law of Moses–with violation of weightier matters, such as honoring one’s parents, a provision of the Law of Moses.  In this context, the charge of hypocrisy against critics of Christ’s disciples still rings down the corridors of time.

Holiness is about being separate and set apart.  Defilement is about being common.  This is a point which J. B. Phillips‘s New Testament in Modern English (1972) makes clear:

Why do your disciples refuse to follow the ancient tradition, and eat their bread with ‘common’ hands?

–Mark 7:5

Other than the point that the “ancient tradition” was not ancient, we have a profound lesson, one with which the ancient traditions of Judaism agreed:  the crucial role of the moral code in the Law of Moses.  Violations of this moral code arise from within people.  The spiritual creepy-crawlies defile people–make them common.

Torah, in the broad definition–as in Psalm 119–is the teaching of God.  This divine instruction includes the Law, still binding in Judaism.  And, in Christianity, the fulfillment of the Law by Jesus has not nullified any moral obligations to God and people.

I write this post not to lambaste dead people and feel morally superior.  I could add many Christians to the Pharisees in Mark 7 as I critique people who have fixated on minor matters and neglected greater issues.  I know of a small, conservative denomination founded officially on theological orthodoxy against the heresy that for men to wear neckties to church was acceptable, according to the Bible.  The “authority of scripture” as the definition of matters including neckties was the standard of theological orthodoxy for those who committed schism in this case.  I also think of a small, conservative Reformed denomination that finally decided in 1982 that not all dancing–ballet, in this case–was sinful.  And I know of a small, conservative Lutheran denomination that continues to condemn all dancing as being sinful.

I write this post not only to lambaste legalistic fun-damn-mentalists and Evangelicals and to feel morally superior.  They deserve a degree of lambasting.  Yes, fishing with dynamite may be fun and momentarily satisfying, but I take the next step.  I ask where I fixate on minor matters at the expense of weightier issues.  I deserve a degree of lambasting, too, for fixating on minor matters at the expense of weightier issues.  No person, congregation, denomination, society, culture, or religious tradition is immune from such an error in choosing where to fixate.

May we, by grace, see the error of our ways, repent, and follow in the correct path.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 14, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTH DAY OF EASTER

THE FEAST OF EDWARD THOMAS DEMBY AND HENRY BEARD DELANY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHIPS FOR COLORED WORK

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTHONY, JOHN, AND EUSTATHIUS OF VILNIUS, MARTYRS IN LITHUANIA, 1347

THE FEAST OF GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT LUCIEN BOTOVASOA, MALAGASY ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1947

THE FEAST OF SAINT WANDREGISILUS OF NORMANDY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT LAMBERT OF LYONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENAIDA OF TARSUS AND HER SISTER, SAINT PHILONELLA OF TARSUS; AND SAINT HERMIONE OF EPHESUS; UNMERCENARY PHYSICIANS

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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 XIV

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Psalms 15 and 16

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Psalm 16 is the sequel to Psalm 15.  Therefore, the placement of these two texts in sequence is logical.

I have consulted six commentaries regarding these psalms.  Three commentaries tell me that Psalm 15 was originally a liturgy for entering the Temple in Jerusalem.  The other three argue that this was not necessarily so.  Make of those facts whatever you will, O reader.

Even if we do not read questions ancient Levites posed to pilgrims in the Temple, we do not read a celebration of virtuous living in Psalm 15.  Most of these virtues exist within the context of human mutuality–practicing justice, speaking the truth, committing no evil against others, slandering nobody, exploiting nobody, et cetera.  These are Biblical virtues one can measure tangibly.

Psalm 16, which shares little vocabulary with Psalm 15, focuses on loyalty to God.  The psalmist, disgusted by rampant impiety, seeks refuge in God.  The psalmist readily acknowledges complete dependence on God, another Biblical virtue and the basis of Biblical mutuality.

Thus, when we put Psalms 15 and 16 together, we have the Biblical model of mutuality:

1. Recognition of complete dependence of God,
2. Acknowledgment of our responsibilities to each other, and
3. Acceptance of our responsibilities for each other.

Whenever we act, we have a moral duty before God to behave in a manner that honors our responsibilities to and for each other.  This is not rugged individualism.  Neither is this libertarianism.  No, this is Biblical ethics.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 25, 2022 COMMON ERA

CHRISTMAS DAY

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Above:  King Josiah of Judah

Image in the Public Domain

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For the First Sunday Before Lent, 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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O Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without love are nothing worth;

send thy Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,

the very bond of peace and of all virtues,

without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee.

Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 141

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2 Kings 22:8-20

Psalms 15 and 16

Romans 5:13-25

Luke 7:1-16

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God calls Jews.  God calls Gentiles, too.  God also cares deeply about how we humans treat each other.  Orthopraxy is the practical side of orthodoxy.  Deeds reveal creeds.  Faith without works is dead.

I grew up around an evangelical subculture in small towns and communities in rural Georgia, mostly in the southern part of the state.  The cultural milieu was primarily racist, provincial, conservative, conformist, homophobic, anti-intellectual, anti-scientific, and anti-Roman Catholic.   I grew up United Methodist in a subculture the Southern Baptist Convention defined.  My latent Roman Catholic tendencies ceased to be latent after a while.  My intellectualism and acceptance of science added to my marginalization.  My rebelliousness in the face of continuous pressures to conform increased.  Fortunately, my parents raised me to think for myself.  They also raised me to oppose racism.

So, O reader, know that I am a churchy person with a sometimes jaundiced view of the institutional church.  I recall examples of life-long church members protesting they were not racists as they opposed funding a denominational scholarship fund for African-American college students.  I know the pressures to fit into an ecclesiastical subculture in violation of my personality type.  I know the feeling of having people indicate that my preference for contemplative prayer over oral, extemporaneous prayer (which they preferred) is inherently defective.  A difference is not necessarily a defect.  I know that the church has shot many of its own, so to speak.  It has shot me, so to speak.

Deeds reveal creeds.  Works reveal active faith.  God has created an astounding variety of personalities.  Each of us has received spiritual gifts.  All of them are essential.  So are all the personalities.

Deeds reveal creeds.  Do we believe that diversity is crucial in the church?  Do we believe that there are no outsiders and marginal characters in Christ?  Some of us do.  Others do not, based on their deeds.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 13, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, “THE GREAT MORALIST”

THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN FURCHTEGOTT GELLERT, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ELLA J. BAKER, WITNESS FOR CIVIIL RIGHTS

THE FEAST OF PAUL SPERATUS, GERMAN LUTHERAN BISHOP, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF PIERSON PARKER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A. Thank you very much.

Above:  $100 Bill

Image in the Public Domain

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For the First Sunday after Trinity, 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, the Strength of all them that put their trust in thee;

mercifully accept our prayers;

and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do good thing without thee,

grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments,

we may please thee, both in will and deed;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 184

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Deuteronomy 6:1-15

Psalms 1 and 15

1 Timothy 6:6-19

Luke 7:19-35

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–Gordon Gecko, Wall Street (1987)

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The readings this week are about behavior, which is about attitudes.  Revere God.  Revere only God.  Obey divine commandment reverently.  Remember that, contrary to what Gordon Gecko said in Wall Street (1987), greed is not good.  Do not give into hubris, which goes before the fall.

The love of money is the root of all evil, and in pursuit of it some have wandered from the faith and spiked themselves on many a painful thorn.

–1 Timothy 6:10, The Revised English Bible (1989)

Psychological research reveals that, to a certain extent, more money can reduce stress and increase happiness by improving one’s quality of life.  When one can pay all one’s bills, afford all of one’s necessities, and reduce or eliminate debt, one feels better, of course.  However, past a certain financial threshold, more money does not increase one’s happiness.  In fact, in cases of extreme wealth, more money may decrease happiness and increase stress.

Money is a morally neutral tool.  It is also worth what consensus decrees it is worth.  Money is psychological.  The moral aspects of money pertain to (1) how one uses it, and (2) how one relates to it.  Money is one of the more common idols.

Revere only God, we read.  Trust and obey God, we read.  God is faithful.  Are we?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 12, 2020 COMMON ERA

EASTER SUNDAY

THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND HIS NEPHEW, WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT DAVID URIBE-VELASCO, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927

THE FEAST OF GODFREY DIEKMANN, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, ECUMENIST, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP

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all nations.

Above:  Jacob Struggles with the Angel, from the Gutenberg Bible

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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Genesis 32:3-31 or Isaiah 14:5-20

Psalm 15

1 Corinthians 3:10-23

Matthew 10:1-15

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Jacob had been wrestling all his life.  In the womb he and his brother Esau had struggled with each other.  Jacob had, so to speak, wrestled with Esau during childhood and adulthood.  Jacob had also been wrestling with himself.  On the eve of what turned out to be reconciliation with Esau, Jacob literally wrestled with God or an angel in human form and received a blessing, as well as a limp.  Jacob, literally “supplanter,” also became Israel, literally “may God rule.”

I admire Judaism, from which I learn much.  One aspect of Judaism I find especially helpful is struggling with God as part of a relationship with God.  One finds evidence of that collective struggle throughout the Hebrew Bible.  One also finds evidence of divine judgment and mercy, hence restoration following exile.  The reading from Isaiah 14 is a song of taunting against the defeated Babylonian/Neo-Chaldean monarch.

According to the high standards of Psalm 15, not one of we mere mortals has any hope, except via grace.  Moral perfectionism is an impossible standard, but we should still strive to be the best versions of ourselves we can be.

St. Paul the Apostle wrote to the quarrelsome Corinthian church that it was God’s temple.  (The “you” is plural in the reading.)  That congregation needed to shape up and come closer to its spiritual potential.  Unfortunately, as anyone who has studied the (First) Letter to the Corinthians from St. Clement (I) of Rome (circa 100) should know, the congregation remained quarrelsome and troublesome for at least a generation after St. Paul’s demise.

As my father taught me, troubled people cause trouble..  They are like Jacob.  They are wrestling, metaphorically, with themselves and others.  Perhaps they are wrestling with God also.  In the meantime, in the context of congregational life, are holding a church back, and other members of that community are permitting them to do so.  This is a dynamic present in come congregations I have observed.

One progression in the Gospel of Matthew is the expansion of the audience for the message.  The audience in 7:6 consists of Jews.  Yet, in 28:19, the audience is

I, as a Gentile, am grateful for this expansion of the audience.  Through it the wisdom of Judaism, has come to me.  As I struggle with God, others, and myself, I hope that I cause no trouble in churches.  I hope that I am improving spiritually.  I hope that people will recognize the light of Christ in me.  To the extent any of this comes true, God deserves all the glory.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 24, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THOMAS À KEMPIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHN NEWTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH, U.S. BAPTIST MINISTER AND THEOLOGIAN OF THE SOCIAL GOSPEL

THE FEAST OF SAINTS VINCENTIA GEROSA AND BARTHOLOMEA CAPITANIO, COFOUNDERS OF THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LOVERE

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/07/24/devotion-for-proper-12-year-a-humes/

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Above:  Parable of the Unjust Judge

Image in the Public Domain

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FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT, ACCORDING TO A LECTIONARY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP IN THE BOOK OF WORSHIP FOR CHURCH AND HOME (1965)

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Almighty God, who through your Son continually prompts us to conform our wills to yours:

Grant that we may love the thing you desire for us,

and find your commandments in the purified wishes of our hearts;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

–Modernized from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), page 96

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Lamentations 3:22-26, 31-33

Psalm 15

2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Luke 18:1-14

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The theme of persisting in righteousness and not losing heart unites these readings.  The hopeful voice in Lamentations 3 belongs to an exile.  Moral rectitude might quality one to dwell on God’s holy hill, but it will not always prevent suffering and other hardships.  Self-righteousness gets one nowhere with God quickly, but persistence, combined with humility, pleases God, who is just.

One major point of the Parable of the Unjust Judge in Luke 18 is that God is just, unlike the corrupt judge.  The woman has to resort to intimidation to receive justice from him.  The justice of God can be either encouraging  or frightening, depending on one’s perspective and deeds.  Divine justice takes into account both judgment and mercy, and is not necessarily fair, as we think of fairness.  That can work to our advantage, for our standards of fairness, applied to us, are probably harsher than divine justice.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 17, 2017 COMMON ERA

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

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, ABOLITIONIST AND FEMINIST; AND MARIA STEWART, ABOLITIONIST, FEMINIST, AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB AND DOROTHY BUXTON, FOUNDERS OF SAVE THE CHILDREN

THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER

THE FEAST OF MARY CORNELIA BISHOP GATES, U.S. DUTCH REFORMED HYMN WRITER

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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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POST V 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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Psalm 15 is consistent with the Law of Moses, which teaches that we human beings depend on God, are responsible to God and each other, rely on each other, and have no right to exploit each other.  The text describes ethical and moral obligations in practical terms.  That is useful, for a simple statement of a timeless principle without the offering of even one culturally specific example can prove to be confusing.

The faithful can come from a variety of backgrounds.  Some of them are converts, as in the case of the author of Psalm 16.  Some of the faithful have to endure false accusations.  Consider, O reader, the author of Psalm 17, accused of idolatry.  The text does not indicate how long he has been walking with God.  We can say for certain that his accusers are among those who cast slurs on their neighbors.

Often, out of an excess of caution, motivated by the best of intentions–to refrain from judging, lest God judge us according to the standards by which we judge others–many of us in the human race choose not to state the unpleasant and the obvious.  Malicious people exist.  They do not strive to live according to the Golden Rule.  They also occupy all strata of societies.  They range from school bullies to certain government and corporate officials.  Many might even imagine themselves to be pious.  A host of them certainly put on airs of piety.

The real test, of course, is that one will know a tree by its fruit.  So, O reader, what kind of tree are you?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 31, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

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Above:  The Parable of the Sower

Image in the Public Domain

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The Collect:

Eternal God, you draw near to us in Christ, and you make yourself our guest.

Amid the cares of our lives, make us attentive to your presence,

that we may treasure your word above all else,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 43

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The Assigned Readings:

Genesis 12:10-20 (Thursday)

Genesis 13:1-18 (Friday)

Genesis 14:1-16 (Saturday)

Psalm 15 (All Days)

Hebrews 5:1-6 (Thursday)

Ephesians 3:14-21 (Friday)

Luke 8:4-10 (Saturday)

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Yahweh, who can find a home in your tent,

who can dwell on your holy mountain?

Whoever lives blamelessly,

who acts uprightly,

who speaks the truth from the heart,

who keeps the tongue under control,

who does not wrong a comrade,

who casts no discredit on a neighbour,

who looks with scorn on the vile,

but honours those who fear Yahweh,

who stands by an oath at any cost,

who asks no interest on loans,

who takes no bribe to harm the innocent.

No one who so acts can ever be shaken.

–Psalm 15, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

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Abram (later Abraham) was a fascinating, contradictory, and frequently puzzling figure, for he was a human being.  In Genesis 12-14 alone he pretended that Sarai (his wife) was his sister, lied to the Pharaoh (who, unlike Abram, suffered because of the lie), prospered (in large part due to that lie), remained in Canaan and engaged in warfare while Lot, his nephew, moved to Sodom.  At the end of Chapter 14 Abram encountered Melchizedek, hence one reason for the reading from Hebrews 5, I suppose.

The traditional name of the reading from Luke 8 is the Parable of the Sower.  Nevertheless, the emphasis in the story is the soils, so, as some commentators I have read have argued, we should refer to the Parable of the Four Soils.  Each of us is, under the best circumstances, good soil, albeit not entirely so.  That is a fact of human nature.  Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah had serious defects of character, as did St. Paul the Apostle.  Likewise, you, O reader, and I have character flaws.  Nevertheless, may the lovely prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21 be others’ prayer for us and our prayer for others.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 16, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ADALBALD OF OSTEVANT, RICTRUDIS OF MARCHIENNES, AND THEIR RELATIONS

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ABRAHAM KIDUNAIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT, AND MARY OF EDESSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ANCHORESS

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/devotion-for-thursday-friday-and-saturday-before-proper-11-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/

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