Archive for the ‘Psalm 61’ Category
Above: Jesus and His Disciples
Image in the Public Domain
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Genesis 3:9-15
Psalm 61:2-5, 8 (LBW) or Psalm 28 (LW)
2 Corinthians 4:13-18
Mark 3:20-35
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, the strength of those who hope in you:
Be present and hear our prayers;
and, because in the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do nothing good without you,
give us the help of your grace,
so that in keeping your commandments
we may please you in will and deed,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 24
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, from whom all good proceeds,
grant to us, your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration we may think the things that are right
and by your merciful guiding accomplish them;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 64
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the great mythology of Genesis 3, the knowledge of good and evil is not intellectualized and academic. No, this is lived knowledge. One can have this knowledge of good and evil only by performing good and evil. The consequences for humans include the inevitable estrangement from God, who had required only obedience. This estrangement from God is the opposite of what we read in the selected psalms and in the epistle lection. In Christian terms, the point of the Incarnation and the Atonement is to reverse that estrangement. Thus, as one can read in the Epistle to the Ephesians, Christ breaks down the walls of estrangement have from each other. Nevertheless, O reader, as you may observe, even Christians rebuild these walls of estrangement and separation. How ironic is that tendency?
The lection from Mark 3 brings us to the topic of the unpardonable sin. The textual context is invaluable in understanding the unpardonable sin–blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The context of the inability to discern between good and evil–in this case, manifested in attributing the deeds of Jesus to an alliance with Satan–indicates estrangement from God. This estrangement is of human origin. Those who, for any reason, persist in this estrangement from God cut themselves off from God, who reaches out to them. Many of them may not know of their estrangement from God.
In textual context of the Gospel of Mark, we can read 3:1-6, in which Jesus scandalously healed a man with a withered hand in a synagogue on the sabbath. That story tells us that some conventionally pious people–other Jews–sought to accuse Jesus of violating the Sabbath for healing that unfortunate man on that day. In Mark 3:1-6, all the educators are Jewish, so we read of an intra-Jewish dispute. Verse 5 tells us that Jesus felt anger toward those accusers and grieved their hardness of heart. Verse 6 informs us that plotting for the death of Jesus ensued immediately. So, Mark 3:20-35 plays out in the context of a conspiracy to kill Jesus–in the name of God, of course.
Religion–regardless of its label–is what adherents make of it. If one seeks justification for killing people, one can find it. One may have to distort that religion to locate that mandate or permission slip, but seeking usually culminates in finding. And if one is prone to being merciful and compassionate, one can find justification for that in religion, too. As David Bentley Hart astutely and correctly observes, there is no such thing as generic religion.
In Mark 3, the religion is Second Temple Judaism. The existence of capital offenses in the Law of Moses is a fact. Yet so are cultural considerations of antiquity relative to the first century of the Common Era. Lest we Christians rush to judgment against Judaism, the Law of Moses, or those conspiring Pharisees and Herodians, may we not neglect the logs in our proverbial eyes and the violent sins of our tradition. We have the blood of victims of crusades, inquisitions, pogroms, and wars of religion on our collective hands. David Bentley Hart contextualizes this violent past by (a) explaining that the drivers of it were usually political, and (b) that the religious moral vision exposes the sinfulness of such violence. That is a nuance–one worth considering while never minimizing the devastation of such violence.
Lambasting long-dead Pharisees and Herodians is easy. Condemning long-dead Christians for killing in the name of Jesus (himself executed horribly) requires minimal moral effort, too. But think, O reader: Is there someone whose death you would cheer? Have you ever applauded anyone’s execution, murder, or any other mode of death? If so, are you any different from those whom you deplore for plotting or committing violence, especially in the name of God? If so, you may be estranged from God. This estrangement need not persist, though.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 3, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE THIRTY-FIFTH DAY OF LENT
MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK
THE FEAST OF LUTHER D. REED, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF SAINTS BURGENDOFARA AND SADALBERGA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESSES, AND THEIR RELATIVES
THE FEAST OF MARC SAGNIER, FOUNDER OF THE SILION MOVEMENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY OF EGYPT, HERMIT AND PENITENT
THE FEAST OF REGINALD HEBER, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF CALCUTTA, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SIDNEY LOVETT, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND CHAPLAIN OF YALE UNIVERSITY
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I covered 150 psalms in 82 posts.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Posted February 25, 2023 by neatnik2009 in Psalm 1, Psalm 10, Psalm 100, Psalm 101, Psalm 102, Psalm 103, Psalm 104, Psalm 105, Psalm 106, Psalm 107, Psalm 108, Psalm 109, Psalm 11, Psalm 110, Psalm 111, Psalm 112, Psalm 113, Psalm 114, Psalm 115, Psalm 116, Psalm 117, Psalm 118, Psalm 119, Psalm 12, Psalm 120, Psalm 121, Psalm 122, Psalm 123, Psalm 124, Psalm 125, Psalm 126, Psalm 127, Psalm 128, Psalm 129, Psalm 13, Psalm 130, Psalm 131, Psalm 132, Psalm 133, Psalm 134, Psalm 135, Psalm 136, Psalm 137, Psalm 138, Psalm 139, Psalm 14, Psalm 140, Psalm 141, Psalm 142, Psalm 143, Psalm 144, Psalm 145, Psalm 146, Psalm 147, Psalm 148, Psalm 149, Psalm 15, Psalm 150, Psalm 16, Psalm 17, Psalm 18, Psalm 19, Psalm 2, Psalm 20, Psalm 21, Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 24, Psalm 25, Psalm 26, Psalm 27, Psalm 28, Psalm 29, Psalm 3, Psalm 30, Psalm 31, Psalm 32, Psalm 33, Psalm 34, Psalm 35, Psalm 36, Psalm 37, Psalm 38, Psalm 39, Psalm 4, Psalm 40, Psalm 41, Psalm 42, Psalm 43, Psalm 44, Psalm 45, Psalm 46, Psalm 47, Psalm 48, Psalm 49, Psalm 5, Psalm 50, Psalm 51, Psalm 52, Psalm 53, Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Psalm 56, Psalm 57, Psalm 58, Psalm 59, Psalm 6, Psalm 60, Psalm 61, Psalm 62, Psalm 63, Psalm 64, Psalm 65, Psalm 66, Psalm 67, Psalm 68, Psalm 69, Psalm 7, Psalm 70, Psalm 71, Psalm 72, Psalm 73, Psalm 74, Psalm 75, Psalm 76, Psalm 77, Psalm 78, Psalm 79, Psalm 8, Psalm 80, Psalm 81, Psalm 82, Psalm 83, Psalm 84, Psalm 85, Psalm 86, Psalm 87, Psalm 88, Psalm 89, Psalm 9, Psalm 90, Psalm 91, Psalm 92, Psalm 93, Psalm 94, Psalm 95, Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, Psalm 99
READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS
PART XLV
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Psalms 61 and 62
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Psalms 61 and 62 are similar yet different from each other.
The first half of Psalm 61 is an individual lament addressed to God. The text affirms divine status as a refuge “when my heart is faint.” God is, poetically, an impregnable fortress during times when one’s life is under threat from enemies.
The second half of Psalm 61 is a prayer for the king, perceived as being closer to God than the commoners were. Perhaps the second half of Psalm 61 interprets the foes in the first half with the enemies of the kingdom, as if the psalmist feels threatened by national foes. Alternatively, we have a composite psalm.
Psalm 62 expresses trust in God and addresses both the community and the psalmist himself. As in previous psalms, violence functions as a metaphor for slander. Yet God is a refuge for the faithful and falsely accused.
So far, we are in familiar territory in the Book of Psalms. Most comments I could make would be extremely repetitive.
Psalm 62 concludes on the affirmation that God repays people according to their deeds. This is consistent with Ezekiel 3:16-21; 14:12-23; 18:1-32; and 33:1-20, in the context of the Babylonian Exile. Yet intergenerational reward and punishment is the position in Exodus 20:5-6. I make no attempt to harmonize the two positions or to ignore the discrepancy within canon. I also agree with Ezekiel and Psalm 62, given the caveat of forgiveness of sins.
Personal integrity is a recurring theme in the Book of Psalms. Some texts address how to maintain it. Other psalms give voice to victims of slander and emphasize innocence. So, in this context of individual responsibility before God, reward or punishment according to one’s deeds fits theologically. Lest one lapse into the excesses of Western, rugged individualism, though, individual responsibility coexists with collective responsibility in the Bible. May you, O reader, consider that, too. To ignore or to minimize one form of responsibility before God is to commit an error.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 19, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SARGENT SHRIVER AND HIS WIFE, EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER, HUMANITARIANS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALESSANDRO VALIGNANO, ITALIAN JESUIT MISSIONARY IN THE FAR EAST
THE FEAST OF CHARLES WINFRED DOUGLAS, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, LITURGIST, MUSICOLOGIST, LINGUIST, POET, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND ARRANGER
THE FEAST OF HENRY TWELL, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Moses, by Theo van Doesburg
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For the Tenth Sunday after Trinity, Year 1
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, who declarest thine almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity;
mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we,
running the way of thy commandments, may obtain thy gracious promises,
and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 202
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Numbers 32:1-15
Psalm 60:1-5; 61
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Luke 9:18-27
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
One theme present in these readings is to do what is correct, even if that brings suffering into one’s life. Suffering has a range of causes, from life to consequences of sins to the costs of righteousness. Take up your cross daily and follow Jesus, we read in Luke 9:23. Do not endanger the whole with sin, we read in Numbers 21:1-15. Rather, use spiritual gifts to enrich the whole, for the glory of God, we read in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.
What we do affects others. What one person does affects others. What one segment of the population does affects the whole population. In Hebrew theology, therefore, the whole is responsible for the sins of the few. Hebrew theology, as in Numbers 32:1-15, teaches collective responsibility consistent with mutuality. We are responsible to and for each other; that is an example of Hebrew ethical teaching.
The authors of the Hebrew Bible were not libertarians and Western individualists.
We can build up each other or teach each other down. If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 21, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ROMAN ADAME ROSALES, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927
THE FEAST OF SAINT CONRAD OF PARZHAM, CAPUCHIN FRIAR
THE FEAST OF GEORGE B. CAIRD, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST THEN UNITED REFORMED MINISTER, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, AND HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF GEORGIA HARKNESS, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, ETHICIST, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON BARSABAE, BISHOP; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS, 341
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Jezebel and Ahab, by Frederic Leighton
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Exodus 33:12-23 or 1 Kings 21:1-24
Psalm 61:1-5, 8
Hebrews 4:14-5:5, 7-9
Mark 9:14-29
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to Psalms 14 and 53, the fool/benighted man, an amoral person, thinks incorrectly that God either does not care (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, 1985) or is absent (Mitchell J. Dahood, 1968). The erroneous assumption of the fool/benighted man is that God either does not want to answer prayers or cannot do so. Therefore, from that perspective, one must and can rely on one’s own powers and devices. This is the root of evil.
God does care. God is present. God does answer prayers. Sometimes the answer is “no,” which we may not like. God loves us, but is not our vending machine.
St. Augustine of Hippo wrote,
We pray that we may believe and believe that we may pray.
We can simultaneously have faith and doubts. I know this spiritual state. Perhaps you do, too, O reader. We can have enough faith to pray yet not enough to assume that God will answer as we desire. To anyone who knows this spiritual state, I say,
Welcome to the human race. You stand in the company of the communion of saints.
When we cannot pray, or be mindful of God, yet want to do so, we are not bereft. That desire is a solid beginning, a foundation on which God can build.
We err when we place ourselves–individually and/or collectively–in the center of theology and spirituality. God is the only proper center.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 25, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES BAR-ZEBEDEE, APOSTLE AND MARTYR
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2019/07/25/devotion-for-proper-21-year-b-humes/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Book One: Psalms 1-41
Book Two: Psalms 42-72
Book Three: Psalms 73-89
Book Four: Psalms 90-106
Book Five: Psalms 107-150
Also in the Greek: Psalm 151
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Posted August 23, 2017 by neatnik2009 in Psalm 1, Psalm 10, Psalm 100, Psalm 101, Psalm 102, Psalm 103, Psalm 104, Psalm 105, Psalm 106, Psalm 107, Psalm 108, Psalm 109, Psalm 11, Psalm 110, Psalm 111, Psalm 112, Psalm 113, Psalm 114, Psalm 115, Psalm 116, Psalm 117, Psalm 118, Psalm 119, Psalm 12, Psalm 120, Psalm 121, Psalm 122, Psalm 123, Psalm 124, Psalm 125, Psalm 126, Psalm 127, Psalm 128, Psalm 129, Psalm 13, Psalm 130, Psalm 131, Psalm 132, Psalm 133, Psalm 134, Psalm 135, Psalm 136, Psalm 137, Psalm 138, Psalm 139, Psalm 14, Psalm 140, Psalm 141, Psalm 142, Psalm 143, Psalm 144, Psalm 145, Psalm 146, Psalm 147, Psalm 148, Psalm 149, Psalm 15, Psalm 150, Psalm 151, Psalm 16, Psalm 17, Psalm 18, Psalm 19, Psalm 2, Psalm 20, Psalm 21, Psalm 22, Psalm 23, Psalm 24, Psalm 25, Psalm 26, Psalm 27, Psalm 28, Psalm 29, Psalm 3, Psalm 30, Psalm 31, Psalm 32, Psalm 33, Psalm 34, Psalm 35, Psalm 36, Psalm 37, Psalm 38, Psalm 39, Psalm 4, Psalm 40, Psalm 41, Psalm 42, Psalm 43, Psalm 44, Psalm 45, Psalm 46, Psalm 47, Psalm 48, Psalm 49, Psalm 5, Psalm 50, Psalm 51, Psalm 52, Psalm 53, Psalm 54, Psalm 55, Psalm 56, Psalm 57, Psalm 58, Psalm 59, Psalm 6, Psalm 60, Psalm 61, Psalm 62, Psalm 63, Psalm 64, Psalm 65, Psalm 66, Psalm 67, Psalm 68, Psalm 69, Psalm 7, Psalm 70, Psalm 71, Psalm 72, Psalm 73, Psalm 74, Psalm 75, Psalm 76, Psalm 77, Psalm 78, Psalm 79, Psalm 8, Psalm 80, Psalm 81, Psalm 82, Psalm 83, Psalm 84, Psalm 85, Psalm 86, Psalm 87, Psalm 88, Psalm 89, Psalm 9, Psalm 90, Psalm 91, Psalm 92, Psalm 93, Psalm 94, Psalm 95, Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, Psalm 99
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
POST XXII OF LX
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Psalm 60 affirms the idea that angering God leads to abandonment by God. The text also agrees that such divine action is not permanent. Psalm 60 has two distinct and related sections; the second answers the first.
Likewise, Psalm 61 has two sections, but they seem to have little to do with each other. The first part is an individual petition to God. The author affirms that God has been his refuge and seeks to remain close to God. The second section is a prayer that God will extend the life of the monarch.
Psalms 60 and 61 mention enemies. So does Psalm 59, which, unfortunately, includes a request for divine vengeance. Psalm 59 also features a motif commonplace in the Book of Psalms: dehumanizing the enemies. They are not human beings with complexities and inherent dignity, according to the text; no, they are like growling dogs who roam the city in search of food. The depiction of one’s enemies (often national ones) is familiar to me, a student of history. I think immediately of propaganda on all sides during World Wars I and II, for example.
Our enemies might be truly perfidious. Or perhaps the reality of the situation might be nuanced. Either way, our foes are, like us, human beings. They and we stand before God, in whom dwell both judgment and mercy, and whose wisdom exceeds ours by far. Our foes today might become our friends, or at least allies, eventually. And maybe we, not they, are in the wrong. God, in infinite wisdom, knows the truth.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 11, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY THAUMATURGUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF NEOCAESAREA; AND SAINT ALEXANDER OF COMANA “THE CHARCOAL BURNER,” ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR AND BISHOP OF COMANA, PONTUS
THE FEAST OF AUGUSTUS MONTAGUE TOPLADY, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT CLARE OF ASSISI, FOUNDER OF THE POOR CLARES
THE FEAST OF MATTHIAS LOY, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; AND CONRAD HERMANN LOUIS SCHUETTE, GERMAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Christ Pantocrator
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Judges 6:11-18, 36-40
Psalm 61
Acts 19:11-16
John 5:10-18
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the first three readings the emphasis is on God and divine actions. We learn of God disregarding social standing and calling Gideon and working through St. Paul the Apostle. The Psalmist understands that he is subordinate to and dependent upon God, to be sure.
In John 5, however, the issue (and the charge of blasphemy) is relevant to who Jesus was and claimed to be: Son of God, equal to God. In the Johannine Gospels Jesus claims openly to be the Son of God. This stands in contrast to the Christ of the Gospel of Mark, who does not deny being the Son of God, yet orders others not to spread the word yet.
Christ, of course, being the genuine article, gets to announce himself. The rest of us are supposed to follow him in words and deeds.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 17, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF EDITH BOYLE MACALISTER, ENGLISH NOVELIST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT EMILY DE VIALAR, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT JOSEPH OF THE APPARITION
THE FEAST OF JANE CROSS BELL SIMPSON, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS TERESA AND MAFALDA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESSES, QUEENS, AND NUNS; AND SANCHIA OF PORTUGAL, PRINCESS AND NUN
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/devotion-for-proper-11-ackerman/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Wrath of Elihu, by William Blake
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Job 36:1-23
Psalm 61
Matthew 13:53-58
2 Peter 3:1-7 (8-14) 15-18
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Elihu went on speaking.
–Job 36:1a, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
I read those words and thought,
Unfortunately.
“Elihu” means “He is my God.” Elihu mounts a full-throated theodicy; he seeks to prove that God is just. (God needs no human defense, of course.) In the process Elihu accuses Job falsely of having been an agent of economic injustice and states that this alleged sin of Job is the reason for the main character’s sufferings. All of this contradicts Job 1 and 2, as a reader of the text is supposed to know. Elihu, who is falsely confident that he is correct, is blaming the victim.
Later in the Book of Job, a text with layers of authorship, we read two very different answers from God. In Chapters 38-41 God gives Job the “I am God and you are not” speeches. In the prose epilogue, in Chapter 42, however, God speaks briefly to Eliphaz the Temanite, saying:
I burn with anger against you and your two friends for not speaking truthfully about me as my servant Job has done….
–Verse 7b, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
There is no mention of Elihu after Chapter 37. I suppose that this is because the composition of Chapters 32-37 postdates that of the epilogue, but, given that the Elihu material is similar in content to the speeches of Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, he would have met with divine disapproval also, had the Elihu cycle existed at the time of the composition of the epilogue.
In contrast to the arrogance of Elihu (Job 36:4) one finds humility before God in Psalm 61 and 2 Peter 3:14. Divine patience is, in the words of 2 Peter 3:15, an
opportunity for salvation,
but divine judgment and mercy exist in a balance which only God understands fully. May we accept this opportunity for salvation, not imagine that we are enlightened and that our words contain no fallacies. And may we avoid committing the error of people of Nazareth in Matthew 13:53-58, that is, permitting familiarity to blind us to the fact that we do not know as much as we think we do. This is an especially helpful caution regarding passages of scripture with which we are familiar; they retain the ability to contradict our false assumptions and surprise–even scandalize–us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 10, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SALVIUS OF ALBI, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF MORDECAI JOHNSON, EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT NEMESIAN OF SIGUM AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS AND MARTYRS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2016/09/10/devotion-for-the-eighth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-d/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: World Map 1570
Image in the Public Domain
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Collect:
Almighty and most merciful God, your bountiful goodness fills all creation.
Keep us safe from all that may hurt us,
that, whole and well in body and spirit,
we may with grateful hearts accomplish all that you would have us to do,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 50
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
2 Kings 5:15-19a (Monday)
2 Kings 5:19b-27 (Tuesday)
2 Kings 15:1-7 (Wednesday)
Psalm 61 (All Days)
Acts 26:24-29 (Monday)
Ephesians 6:10-20 (Tuesday)
Matthew 10:5-15 (Wednesday)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So I will always sing he praise of your Name,
and day by day I will fulfill your vows.
–Psalm 61:8, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the assigned readings for these three days we read of people accepting and recognizing God or doing the opposite. Jews and Gentiles alike accept and recognize God. Jews and Gentiles alike do the opposite. The standard of acceptability before God has nothing to do with national identity.
This principle occurs elsewhere in scripture. Off the top of my head, for example, I think of the Book of Ruth, in which a Moabite woman adopts the Hebrew faith and marries into a Hebrew family. I recall also that Matthew 1:5 lists Ruth as an ancestor of Jesus. That family tree also includes Rahab the prostitute (Joshua 2:1-21 and 6:22-25), who sheltered Hebrew spies in Jericho. I think also of St. Simon Peter, who, at the home of St. Cornelius the Centurion, said:
The truth I have now come to realize is that God does not have favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.
–Acts 10:34-35, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Nationalism is inherently morally neutral. What people do with it is not morally neutral, however. These applications can be positive or negative. Nationalism seems to be a human concern, not a divine one. As we seek to build up our communities and nations may we not label those who are merely different as dangerous because of those differences. Many of them might be people of God, after all. Others might become followers of God. Furthermore, many within our own ranks might not be devout.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/devotion-for-monday-tuesday-and-wednesday-after-proper-23-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
You must be logged in to post a comment.