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:  The Sacrifice of Isaac, by Caravaggio

Image in the Public Domain

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Genesis 22:1-18

Psalm 6

Romans 8:31-39

Mark 1:12-15

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O Lord God, you led your ancient people through the wilderness

and brought them to the promised land. 

Guide now the people of your Church, that, following our Savior,

we may walk through the wilderness of this world

toward the glory of the world to come;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

or

Lord God, our strength,

the battle of good and evil rages within and around us,

and our ancient foe tempts us with his deceits and empty promises. 

Keep us steadfast in your Word, and,

when we fall, raise us again and restore us

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), 17-18

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O almighty and eternal God, we implore you

to direct, sanctify, and govern our hearts and bodies

in the ways of your laws and the works of your laws

and the works of your commandments

that through your mighty protection, both now and ever,

we may be preserved in body and soul;

through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 33

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I know an Episcopal priest who handles well one’s claim not to believe in God.  He asks those who claim not to believe in God to describe the deity in whom they do not believe.  Invariably, that person describes a total bastard deity in whom the priest does not believe either.

Biblically and creedally, belief in God is trust in God.  Of course, the most popular understanding of “believe in God” may be to affirm the existence of God.  Therefore, for the sake of clarity, my answer to whether I believe in God begins with,

What do you mean?

Once I hear the answer to that question, I continue with my reply.  For the record, I always affirm the existence of God and usually trust in God.

The portrayal of God in Genesis 22:1-18 is that of a total bastard deity in whom I do not believe, regardless of how one defines belief in God.  That portrayal of God is of a vicious, monstrous deity.

No, I do not believe in that God.  I do, however, believe–trust–in God, who is love from whom nothing can separate us.  I do believe–trust–in God, who is on our side in the midst of troubles and persecution.  I do believe–trust–in God, whose kingdom breaks into our troubled world.  I do believe–trust–in God, who comforts–not afflicts–the faithful.

The Lord’s Prayer contains a petition for God to

save us from the time of trial.

Divine testing of the faithful is a Biblical concept.  The Wisdom of Solomon 3:5-6 tells us of the righteous deceased:

Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,

because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;

like gold in the furnace he tried them,

and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.

—Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition

Trusting is one matter; abuse is another.  I believe–trust–in God, who tests, not abuses.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 15, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE NINETEENTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZACHARY OF ROME, BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JAN ADALBERT BALICKI AND LADISLAUS FINDYSZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS IN POLAND

THE FEAST OF JEAN BAPTISTE CALKIN, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF OZORA STEARNS DAVIS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF VETHAPPPAN SOLOMON, APOSTLE TO THE SOLOMON ISLANDS

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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 VI

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Psalms 6 and 38

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Petitions of innocence and pleas for deliverance from enemies are replete in the Book of Psalms.  This post covers two such texts, similar to each other.  The psalmist(s) feel(s) punished and targeted by God.  One may reasonably recall the titular character of the Book of Job.  The psalmist(s) feel(s) his/their spiritual anguish physically.  And his/their “wanton enemies” (38:20) increase.  The psalmist(s) turn(s) to God for deliverance.

Psalm 6 speaks of Sheol–the underworld, the abode of the dead–where nobody can praise God.  This is an accurate account of Jewish theology regarding the afterlife at the time of the composition of Psalm 6.

Platonism divides us into souls and bodies.  Jewish theology tells us that no such division exists, however.  Naturally, then, spiritual anguish and torment manifest physically.  What else should one expect?  When one experiences deep grief, one may lack energy and vitality for a time.  I know this experience.  Perhaps you, O reader, know it, too.

I recently completed a program as part of a grief support group under the auspices of my Episcopal parish.  Bonny died more than three years ago.  I have fared better vis-a-vis grief since moving away from Athens, Georgia, where she lived and died.  However, profound grief has never been far away since her death, on October 14, 2019.  I benefited from the grief support group, which contained many references to God.  When I attended a session about dealing with holiday grief at my mother’s Methodist church, I felt gratitude that I had chosen the grief support I had selected.  The alternative program was bonk-bonk-over-the-head Evangelical.  It made me uneasy.  My tastes have long run closer to Roman Catholicism.

The light of God may be constant.  I assume that it is so.  However, that light seems brighter in the context of the surrounding darkness.  When the bottom falls out and the darkness becomes more prominent than it had been, God’s light shines in the midst of the darkness.  Grace–always present–may seem more present, for one may pay more attention to it during such times.

Assuming that I will live to a ripe old age and retain my faculties, I will mourn Bonny until my dying day.  Until that final day–whenever it will arrive–I will turn to God and express my grief.  My pain is before me always, but God is by my side always, too.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 12, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

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

THE FEAST OF SAINTS BARTHOLOMEW BUONPEDONI AND VIVALDUS, MINISTERS AMONG LEPERS

THE FEAST OF JONATHAN KRAUSE, SILESIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT LUDWIK BARTOSIK, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941

THE FEAST OF THOMAS CANNING, U.S. COMPOSER AND MUSIC EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LOUIS POTEAT, PRESIDENT OF WAKE FOREST COLLEGE, AND BIOLOGIST; HIS BROTHER, EDWIN MCNEILL POTEAT, SR., SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND PRESIDENT OF FURMAN UNIVERSITY; HIS SON, EDWIN MCNEILL POTEAT, JR., SOUTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER, MISSIONARY, HYMN WRITER, AND SOCIAL REFORMER; HIS BROTHER, GORDON MCNEILL POTEAT, SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN BAPTIST AND CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND MISSIONARY; AND HIS COUSIN, HUBERT MCNEILL POTEAT, SOUTHERN BAPTIST ACADEMIC AND MUSICIAN

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the ever-popular interpretation that Jesus, as a champion of the poor, was protesting against dishonesty and price-gouging on the part of the vendors and the money changers.

Above: Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple, by Theodor Rombouts

Image in the Public Domain

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For Monday in Holy Week, 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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Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who amid so many adversities do fail through our own infirmities,

may be restored through the passion and intercession of thine only begotten Son,

who liveth and reigneth, with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever One God, world without end.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 159

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Lamentations 1:1-14

Psalm 6

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Matthew 21:12-17

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Lamentations is a good choice to read during Holy Week.  The immediate, historical context in Lamentations 1 is the aftermath of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian conquest of Judah in 586 B.C.E.  Nevertheless, according to the theme of the story of Israel being the story of Jesus–a prominent theme in the Gospel of Matthew–Lamentations 1 reads well in the context of Holy Week.

Interpretation of the “Temple Incident,” as many Biblical scholars call the Cleansing of the Temple, vary.  Douglas R. A. Hare, writing for the Interpretation series of commentaries in 1993, argued against

No, according to Hare, Jesus objected to the secularization of the Temple, for in Jeremiah 7:9-11 (cited in the account in Matthew 21:12-17), the Temple had become a

den of thieves

where the thieves hid their booty and felt safe.  Hare argued that, in Matthew 21:12-17, Jesus, by ejecting buyers and sellers alike, objected to those whose lives, although outwardly religious, contradicted their pious claims.

In other words, outward piety is not a talisman against consequences of hypocrisy and sin.

Furthermore, the Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as a faithful Jew and the Torah as of God.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches the Torah much better than conventionally orthodox religious authorities.  If one, therefore, interprets the Temple Incident as an attack on the system of sacrifices, one misunderstands the story.  No, one should interpret the Temple Incident as foreshadowing of the the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., according to Hare.

After all, the writing of the Gospel of Matthew postdated the destruction of the Temple.  Certainly, that event influenced the telling of stories, including this one.

1 Corinthians 1:18 uses the divine passive voice.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

—Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

God is saving many of of us.  Notice the present tense, O reader.  Salvation is a process, not an event.  This makes sense to me, for I have no great epiphany I can date.  I can, however, recall a series of moments since childhood.  I cannot even recall when I lacked God in my life.  I am also sufficiently Catholic to affirm that salvation is a process the Church mediates via sacraments.

Each of us is a hypocrite.  Each of us, to one degree or another, lives one way and puts on a a face to mask the reality or some portion thereof.  If anyone thinks otherwise about self, that person is wrong.

There is hope, however.  Yet is the cross a stumbling block or folly, functionally, or is it the wisdom of God, in one’s estimation?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 29, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD, COMPOSER, ORGANIST, AND CONDUCTOR

THE FEAST OF DORA GREENWELL, POET AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHN KEBLE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JONAS AND BARACHISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 327

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Above:  Christ Pantocrator

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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Ecclesiastes 4:1-12 or Ezekiel 22:23-31

Psalm 6

Galatians 3:1-11

Matthew 5:13-21

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Peeking behind the Law of Moses is a spiritually helpful practice.  Some commandments in the Law of Moses are timeless principles.  Others, however, are culturally specific examples.  Failure to recognize between an example bound by time and space and a timeless principle leads to legalism.

Reading Galatians 3:1-11 and Matthew 5:13-20 together is quite helpful.  We read that Jesus never objected to the Law of Moses, but to the misinterpretation, bad teaching, and flawed execution of it.  That also seems to have been an objection of St. Paul the Apostle.

The other readings pertain to oppression.  We read of violations of one timeless principle in the Law of Moses–do not exploit anyone.  We read of religious figures and royal officials who were predators of the weak and vulnerable.  Alas, this problem is as current in 2018 as it was in antiquity.  So is the sin of certain religious figures supporting those predatory potentates and officials.

The timeless principles of the Law of Moses continue to condemn those who sin thusly.  Indeed, apart from variations on themes, there is nothing new under the sun.

Do we condemn or condone such perfidy?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 21, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, AND JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH, COMPOSERS

THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF FLÜE AND HIS GRANDSON, SAINT CONRAD SCHEUBER, SWISS HERMITS

THE FEAST OF SAINT SERAPION OF THMUIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON, ENGLISH MUSIC EDUCATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER

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Adapted from this post:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2018/03/21/devotion-for-the-fifth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a-humes/

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And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Above:  Icon of the Crucifixion

Image in the Public Domain

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FOR GOOD FRIDAY, ACCORDING TO A LECTIONARY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP IN THE BOOK OF WORSHIP FOR CHURCH AND HOME (1965)

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Almighty God, we ask you to behold this your family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was content

to be betrayed and given into the hands of wicked men, and to suffer death upon the cross;

who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end.  Amen.

–Modernized from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), page 102

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Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Psalm 6

Hebrews 10:4-7, 10-23

Luke 23:33-38, 44-46

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The reading from Hebrews 10 ends too soon.  It should continue:

–Verses 24 and 25, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

This brings me to two points:

1. We ought to provoke one another to goodness and love, not to wrath and resentment, as we do so often; and
2. We live in community (to which we are responsible), whether or not we like that reality.

Think about those who were complicit, O reader:  Did they not, in their own minds, operate out of righteousness?  For some the rationale was national security, thus Jesus became a scapegoat.  For others the justification was divine law, mainly death and the penalty for blasphemy in the Law of Moses.  Yet Jesus of Nazareth was no blasphemer.  Neither did he threaten to lead an insurrection against Roman occupation.  Many people misunderstood Jesus.

We would do well to examine our motives and actions that flow from them, especially when we ascribe the quality of righteousness to them.  We might be correct on both counts (or just one), or we might be terribly mistaken and deluded.  As Christ prayed, may God have mercy.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 18, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF MARC BOEGNER, ECUMENIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT GIULIA VALLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN

THE FEAST OF SAINT ISAAC HECKER, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

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Above:  The Scapegoat, by William Holman Hunt

Image in the Public Domain

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

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O God, who by the passion of your blessed Son has made

the instrument of shameful death to be to us the means of life and peace:

Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ that we may gladly suffer shame and loss;

for the sake of the same your Son our Lord.  Amen.

–Modernized from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965), page 98

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Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13

Psalm 6

Hebrews 9:11-14

John 11:47-53

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The old Methodist lectionary from The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) has two sets of readings for the same Sunday–Palm/Passion Sunday.  The older tradition is to treat the Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week as a synopsis of that week.  That is what we have here.  Tailoring the observance of this Sunday is to be Palm Sunday–simply starting Holy Week–is what we will have in the next post.

We have sad and blood-soaked readings, as we should for Passion Sunday.  Genesis 22 offers the horrible story of Abraham nearly killing Isaac, his son.  We read previously in Genesis of Abraham negotiating with God for the lives of strangers (18:22-33), but we do not read of him doing the same for the life of his son.  The author of Psalm 6 is a severely ill person pleading for continued life.  Hebrews 9:11-14 reminds us of the power of the blood of Christ.  We read of the plot to scapegoat Jesus in John 11:47-53.  This is consistent with Luke  23, which emphasizes the innocence of Jesus and therefore the injustice of his crucifixion.

A scapegoat saves Isaac in Genesis 22 yet another scapegoat dies at Calvary.  I recall reading about the ultimate failure of the plot of Caiaphas to avoid the destruction of Jerusalem and Temple, for I remember reading about the First Jewish War a few decades later.  Scapegoating is a generally nasty practice, one that usually seeks to pervert justice.  One lesson of the scapegoating and crucifixion of Jesus is that we ought to abandon the practice of seeking scapegoats.

Another lesson is that God can work through human perfidy to fulfill divine purposes.  In the Gospel of John the crucifixion of Jesus is his glorification.  The insidious plot of Caiaphas, therefore, works for a higher purpose, despite the intentions of the high priest.  That is a fine example of the sovereignty of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 18, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF MARC BOEGNER, ECUMENIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT GIULIA VALLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN

THE FEAST OF SAINT ISAAC HECKER, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

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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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All my enemies shall be confronted and quake with fear;

Above:  Psalm 7

Image in the Public Domain

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POST II 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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This post covers two laments and a prayer extolling divine glory.

Psalms of lament interest me.  A Psalmist, who is in a dire situation–illness in Psalm 6 and betrayal in Psalm 7–cries out to God, perhaps more out of desperation than confidence.  After all, if God is as attentive as certain words in Psalms of lament might seem to indicate, why is the faithful Psalmist in such a pickle?  One might detect a degree of sarcasm in some of the praises of God in Psalms of lament.  That would be consistent with what many Jewish Biblical scholars have indicated.  In Judaism, after all, people get to argue with God.

That is one reason I like Judaism so much.  God, as Judaism understands God, is “big” enough to listen to my kvetching and to respond mercifully.  This is good news indeed, I understand, for I argue with and complain to God frequently.  Where else can I go?

One of the most basic contexts in which to read and interpret scripture is other scripture.  Reading Psalms 6 and 7 together, one detects their common setting–grievance.  Then one reads Psalm 8, in which we are, according to the Hebrew text yet not many English-language translations, only slightly lower than the gods (not the angels).  Yet we remain insignificant compared to God, of whom we properly stand in awe, and who is merciful to the faithful.  One should be humble–literally, down to earth–before God.

If our relationship to God is complicated, we should at least rejoice in the fact of the existence of a relationship.  May it be a positive one.

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On a different topic, I applaud the late Father Mitchell J. Dahood for the vividness of his translation of the Book of Psalms.  Consider, for example, O reader, Psalm 6:10 from The Book of Common Prayer (1979):

they shall all turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

Then read Dahood’s rendering of that verse:

Let all my foes be humbled and greatly shaken,

let them return, be humbled in Perdition.

That is more expressive, is it not?

I recommend acquiring Dahood’s three volumes (from The Anchor Bible series) on the Book of Psalms and studying their contents.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 29, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS MARY AND MARTHA OF BETHANY, FRIENDS OF JESUS

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Above:   An Olive Tree

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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1 Samuel 28:7-8, 11-25

Psalm 6

2 Peter 2:1-3, 17-22

Matthew 7:13-17

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Psalm 6, with its references to death, fits well with the reading from 1 Samuel 28, in which King Saul, in violation of Jewish law, consults a necromancer.  She is actually a somewhat sympathetic character, for she cares about the monarch’s well-being.  Meanwhile, one gets the impression that Saul has neglected his duties.  I do not agree, however, that committing genocide is a king’s duty.

With great power comes great responsibility, as an old saying tells us.  This is true in both secular and sacred settings.  In 2 Peter 2, for example, we read condemnations of certain early Christian leaders who, out of embarrassment, sought to reconcile Christianity with pagan permissiveness.  As we read in Matthew 7, good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bear bad fruit.

And committing genocide is definitely bad fruit.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 3, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIE-LEONIE PARADIS, FOUNDER OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM WHITING, HYMN WRITER

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Adapted from this post:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/devotion-for-the-seventh-sunday-after-the-epiphany-ackerman/

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