Archive for the ‘Psalm 75’ Category
I covered 150 psalms in 82 posts.
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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 LIII
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Psalms 75, 76, and 77
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Psalms 75, 76, and 77 are psalms “of Asaph,” a Levite and, for a time, the choir director at the Temple in Jerusalem. These texts tell us of characteristics of God, in time and theology:
- God renders justice.
- God is victorious, and resident in Jerusalem.
- God properly inspires awe.
- God is sovereign.
- God has a track record of acting faithfully toward the Chosen People, as in the Exodus from Egypt.
- God’s faithfulness never disappears.
- God is merciful.
- God is compassionate.
Many people consider mercy and compassion to be signs of weakness. They mistake being strong for being a cruel bastard. In contrast, divine strength, mercy, and compassion coexist. Yes, divine rescue of the oppressed may prove most unpleasant for the oppressors. However, even in other circumstances, mercy and compassion flow from strength, just as cruelty flows from weakness and fear. This fear is the fear of what will happen if one ceases to act cruelly. So, cruelty becomes a perverse self-defense mechanism.
Just as God is strong enough to show mercy and compassion, may we mortals also possess such strength, mercy, and compassion.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 27, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JEROME, PAULA OF ROME, EUSTOCHIUM, BLAESILLA, MARCELLA, AND LEA OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANGELA MERICI, FOUNDER OF THE COMPANY OF SAINT URSULA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CAROLINA SANTOCANALE, FOUNDER OF THE CAPUCHIN SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE OF LOURDES
THE FEAST OF CASPAR NEUMANN, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MARY EVELYN “MEV” PULEO, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PHOTOJOURNALIST AND ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
THE FEAST OF PIERRE BATIFFOL, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, HISTORIAN, AND THEOLOGIAN
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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS
PART XLVI
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Psalms 63 and 73
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Psalms 63 and 73 are similar to each other; they express faith in God, come from circumstances of affliction, and insist that the wicked will reap what they have sown.
The dubious superscription of Psalm 63 links the text to a time when David was hiding in the wilderness of Judah and people were trying to kill him. This may refer to a portion of the reign of King Saul. Alternatively, Absalom’s rebellion works as a context for the superscription. Yet the psalm is a general lament from someone in mortal danger from human beings. And who is the king in the last verse? Is the king God or a mortal? Is this verse original to Psalm 63? Your guesses are as good as mine, O reader.
The superscription of Psalm 73 attributes the text to Asaph, a Levite and the choir director at the Temple in Jerusalem. I do know if this attribution is historically accurate. That question may be irrelevant anyway. For your information, O reader, the Asaph psalms are numbers 50, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, and 83.
The psalmist–perhaps Asaph–notices how many wicked people flourish. He reports having doubted the purpose of remaining faithful until he visited the Temple. The psalmist concludes that God will remain faithful to the pious and that the wicked will go to destruction. This is mostly repetitive from other psalms, so I need not delve into that territory again, in this post.
Instead, I focus on the positive influence of religious institutions and congregations. Rugged individualism is not a spiritual virtue. We all rely upon God and each other. We need faith community to teach and support us in paths of God. This is why toxic faith and abusive and hateful religious institutions are so harmful; they drive people away from God and damage those whom they deceive. Many people project their bigotry and spiritual blindness onto God. In so doing, they create a mockery of religion that violates the Golden Rule. Yet positive, loving faith community embraces the Golden Rule.
If God has created us in his image, we have returned him the favor.
–François-Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire (1694-1778)
I, as an Anglican-Lutheran-Catholic Episcopalian with liberal tendencies in South Georgia, U.S.A., belong to a visible minority. I may belong to the one congregation in my county where I can speak my mind theologically without prompting either (a) concerns that I may be a damned heretic, or (b) certainty of that opinion, with (c) suspicions that I am too Catholic, tacked onto either (a) or (b). The growing influence of Eastern Orthodox spirituality within me places me more out of step with most of my neighbors and renders me more alien to the spirituality of the majority of nearby congregations. Certainly, I belong to the one congregation in my county I can feel comfortable joining. If I were a Low Church Protestant with liberal tendencies, I could choose from a handful of congregations. So, given my spiritual and religious reality, I understand the importance of faith community. My congregation, which helps to keep me grounded spiritually, is precious to me.
We human beings are social creatures. Even I, an introvert, am a social being. My personality type does not exempt me from evolutionary psychology. Faith is simultaneously individual and communal. Individual faith exists within the framework of a community. The two forms of faith interact. So, a solo person who claims to be “spiritual but not religious” pursues a nebulous path to nowhere.
May we, by grace, understand how much we rely on God and each other. Then may we act accordingly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 20, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT FABIAN, BISHOP OF ROME, AND MARTYR, 250
THE FEAST OF SAINTS EUTHYMIUS THE GREAT AND THEOCTISTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS
THE FEAST OF GREVILLE PHILLIMORE, ENGLISH PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF HAROLD A. BOSLEY, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF HARRIET AUBER, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF RICHARD ROLLE, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC SPIRITUAL WRITER
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Above: A Salt Shaker
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 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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Grant, O Lord, we beseech thee, that the course of this world
may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance,
that thy Church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 190
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1 Samuel 3:1-9
Psalm 75
Acts 6:1-15; 7:54-60
Matthew 5:13-16
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But I shall confess him for ever;
I shall sing praises to the God of Jacob.
He will break down the strength of the wicked,
but the strength of the righteous will be raised high.
–Psalm 75:9-10, The Revised English Bible (1989)
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Yes, but martyrdom remains possible. Ask St. Stephen the Deacon, Christian protomartyr.
Samuel, of course, grew up and became one of the great religious leaders of the people of Israel had. People did not always heed his advice, though. Yet Samuel did his best to be salt and light where and when he was.
Salt is interesting. An insufficient quantity of it is negative. So is an excessive quantity. Likewise, light pollution is real; just as too much darkness is negative. However, enough salt and light are positive. Equilibrium, then, is essential.
The Christian Church has a calling to be salt and light in the world. Each member of the Church as the same mandate, too. Christian history is a mixed bag, though. Stains on the record of the Church include Anti-Semitism, Inquisitions, Crusades, and witch hunts. These and other examples of sins committed in the name of Christ testify to severe blind spots in the minds of institutions and individuals. These and other examples are evidence of darkness, not light.
By grace, may we–collectively and individually–shed more light and less darkness. May God shine through us. And may we add the flavor of God where it is lacking. But may our zeal not manifest itself in ways that work against our purpose.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 13, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT HILARY OF POITIERS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF POITIERS, “ATHANASIUS OF THE WEST,” AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TOURS
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN KEIMANN, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF GEORGE FOX, FOUNDER OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS
THE FEAST OF MARY SLESSOR, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY IN WEST AFRICA
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL PREISWERK, SWISS REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
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Above: The Parable of the Tares
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Third Sunday of 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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Almighty and Everlasting God, who hast given to us, thy servants, grace,
by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity,
and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity;
we beseech thee, that thou wouldst keep us steadfast in this faith,
and evermore defend us from all adversities;
who livest and reignest, One God, world without end. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 182
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Isaiah 12:1-6
Psalms 67 and 75
Revelation 21:1-27
Matthew 13:14-52
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The fully realized Kingdom of God will arrive on schedule–God’s schedule. Or it will seem to arrive, from a human perspective, one bound by time. Either way, this will be wonderful news for the oppressed and catastrophic news for their oppressors. Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance.
We–you and I, O reader–live in the age of weeds (tares) growing among the wheat. May we not presume to know more than do. Our judgment regarding who is a weed and who is wheat may be flawed. The Church and many congregations have a shameful track record of harming members spiritually (especially with legalism and bigotry) instead of nurturing them. I know refugees from the Church. Perhaps you do, too, O reader. The irony of a bumper sticker,
JESUS, SAVE ME FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS,
is rich. Nobody needs saving from actual followers of Jesus. Yet those “followers of Jesus” from whom people need deliverance almost certainly think they follow Christ.
As the Gospel of Mark (in its entirety) and Matthew 25:31-46 teach us bluntly, many who think they are insiders are really outsiders, just as many who imagine themselves to be outsiders are actually insiders. Wheat or weeds? One may not know to which category one, much less another person, belongs. That may be either good or bad news, depending on one’s case.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 29, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FIRST DAY OF ADVENT: THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK COOK ATKINSON, ANGLICAN CHURCH ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JENNETTE THRELFALL, ENGLISH HYMN WRITER
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Above: Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness, by James Tissot
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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2 Chronicles 10:1-11, 19 or Joshua 2
Psalm 75
Ephesians 1:1-14
Luke 4:1-13
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The Gospel reading for today is one account of the temptation of Jesus. I have written of those temptations and their implications for people and institutions today in other blog posts. (Just follow the germane tags, O reader.) I am not included to repeat myself today–at least not regarding that point.
Perhaps the main temptation I face is to pretend to know more than I do. This is an error of King Rehoboam of Israel/Judah in 2 Chronicles 10. We read of the disastrous consequences for his realm in that chapter. Perhaps one would judge a prostitute harshly. Yet Joshua praises Rahab, who saved the lives of Israelite spies and won a place in Israelite society for herself and her family (Joshua 6:22-25). We even read of her place in the family tree of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).
In God, in Christ, our pretenses prove to be worthless. That which we know is inadequate, and we do not know as much as we imagine. Besides, salvation is not a matter of knowledge. If it were, learning would constitute a saving work. God is sovereign. God knows much more than we do. If we approach God with humility, we will learn more than we can imagine. We will certainly learn how little we know. Perhaps this humility will lead us to become more cautious about judging others.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 15, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR A
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 OZORA STEARNS DAVIS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VETHAPPAN SOLOMON, APOSTLE TO THE NICOBAR ISLANDS
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2020/03/15/devotion-for-the-second-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-c-humes/
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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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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
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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
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POST XXIX 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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Judgment and mercy unite Psalms 75, 76, and 77. Divine judgment falls upon the wanton and arrogant in Psalm 75. They have the option of not being arrogant and wanton, but they have chosen to ignore warnings. God is the warrior who fights for Israel in Psalm 76; his mercy on Israel is judgment on their foes. That judgment has fallen upon Israel in Psalm 77, in which the author, an exile, asks God for another exodus as he recounts past divine mercies, such as the first exodus. That psalmist acknowledges human responsibility for the fates of the two kingdoms–Israel and Judah.
To determine moral responsibility can be difficult. One reason for this reality is the fact of our filters, which he learn, and which might be inaccurate. How can we recognize the distinction between what is really right and wrong and what we think the difference is? How can we cut through assumptions that history and science contradict and cease to call diseases sins instead? Just as we ought not to mistake non-sins for sins, we ought to refrain from committing the opposite error also.
May we succeed via grace, the only way that is possible.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 14, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CROFT, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JONATHAN MYRICK DANIELS, EPISCOPAL SEMINARIAN AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF MATTHIAS CLAUDIUS, GERMAN LUTHERAN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR
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Above: Icon of the Resurrection
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:
Exodus 34:27-28 (29-35) or Deuteronomy 9:8-21
Psalms 71:15-24 or Psalm 75 or Psalm 76
John 21:20-25 or Luke 24:36-49 or John 20:19-31
2 Corinthians 3:7-11 (4:16-5:1) 5:2-5 (6-10) or Revelation 1:1-3 (4-8) 9-20
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Once again we read of the coexistence of divine judgment and mercy. This time the emphasis is on mercy, given the context of the assigned lessons. The bleakest reading comes from Genesis 34, where we learn of two brothers committing violence (including honor killings) in reaction to either the rape of their sister (Dinah) by a foreign man or to her consensual non-marital sexual relations with a foreigner. This story contrasts with the crucifixion of Jesus, in which those complicit in that act of violence unambiguously targeted an innocent man.
We who call ourselves Christians have a responsibility to follow Jesus–Christ crucified, as St. Paul the Apostle wrote. St. Paul, as Saul of Tarsus, had approved of the execution of at least one Christian, St. Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:1a). Saul of Tarsus had also dragged other Christians to prison (Acts 8:1b-3).
We who call ourselves Christians also have a responsibility to follow Jesus, the resurrected one. May we die to our sins. May we die to our desires to commit or condone violence against those we find inconvenient and/or who threaten our psychological safety zones. May we die to the desire to repay evil for evil. May we die to the thirst for revenge. And may God raise us to new life in the image of Christ. May we seek to glorify God alone and succeed in that purpose, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 10, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN NITSCHMANN, SR., MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; DAVID NITSCHMANN, JR., THE SYNDIC, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY BISHOP; AND DAVID NITSCHMANN, THE MARTYR, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF CECIL FRANCES ALEXANDER, POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN LUDWIG BRAU, NORWEGIAN MORAVIAN TEACHER AND POET
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN LEONARDI, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF THE MOTHER OF GOD OF LUCCA; AND JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2016/10/10/devotion-for-easter-sunday-evening-year-d/
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Above: The Angel in Christ’s Tomb
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:
Deuteronomy 7:1-26
Psalms 71:15-24 or Psalm 75 or Psalm 76
John 5:19-30
2 Corinthians 1:1-17 (18-22) or Philippians 1:1-2 (3-11) 12-20
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Concepts of God interest me. God, we read, delivers the faithful (sometimes). On other occasions, faithful people suffer for the sake of righteousness, without deliverance. God is a judge, we read, but God also acts mercifully and finds the Hebrew people attractive, despite the record of murmuring, of committing idolatry, and of committing other violations of the Law of Moses.
Deuteronomy 7, placed in the mouth of Moses long after his death, commands Hebrews to destroy the people of Canaan, not to marry them or to come under their influence otherwise. That is a description of genocide. That is something I cannot imaging Jesus advocating. When I read Deuteronomy 7 I do so through the lenses of what the late Donald Armentrout called “Gospel glasses.” To do otherwise would be for me to be disingenuous as a Christian.
Jesus died violently for a set of reasons. Among them was the fact that some people considered him to be an enemy of God. After all, Leviticus 24 orders the execution of blasphemers. If I am to be consistent while condemning the execution of alleged blasphemers in the Islamic world because of my values of religious toleration and of attempting to emulate Christ, I must also condemn such violence committed in the name of God in the Jewish and Christian traditions.
One meaning of the crucifixion is that human beings executed Jesus unjustly. One meaning of the resurrection is that God defeated the evil plans of those human beings–not with violence, but with power and perfect love.
May we leave terminal retribution to God, whose judgment is infinitely better than ours, and of whom mercy is also a quality.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 10, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN NITSCHMANN, SR., MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; DAVID NITSCHMANN, JR., THE SYNDIC, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY BISHOP; AND DAVID NITSCHMANN, THE MARTYR, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF CECIL FRANCES ALEXANDER, POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN LUDWIG BRAU, NORWEGIAN MORAVIAN TEACHER AND POET
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN LEONARDI, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF THE MOTHER OF GOD OF LUCCA; AND JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2016/10/10/devotion-for-easter-sunday-morning-year-d/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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