Archive for the ‘Easter Week’ Tag
Above: The Angel in the Tomb
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 118:1-2, 15-24
1 Corinthians 15:19-28
John 20:1-9 (10-18) or Mark 16:1-8
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O God, you gave your only Son
to suffer death on the cross for our redemption,
and by his glorious resurrection
you delivered us from the power of death.
Make us die every day to sin,
so that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection;
through 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), 20-21
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Almighty God the Father, through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ,
you have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us.
Grant that we,
who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection,
may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 47
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Isaiah 24-27, part of Third Isaiah, is a proto-apocalypse. Daniel contains a fully fully-developed apocalypse in chapters 7-12, which date to the Hasmonean period. Revelation (the Apocalypse of John) and some pseudepigraphal works are fully-developed apocalypses, too. Isaiah 24-27 contains many of the features of those later writings.
The apocalyptic genre is optimistic, for it proclaims that God will win in the end. The proto-apocalypse in Isaiah 24-27 is optimistic in so far as it speaks of the metaphorical resurrection of Judah while using the language of destroying death and reviving corpses.
The assigned readings, taken together, speak of an illness. A conquered people may move into a better future. And the resurrection of Jesus makes renewed individual and collective life in God possible.
As I write these words, I live in troubled, cynical times. Anti-democratic forces, competing in elections around the world, have much popular support. Sometimes they win elections. Many candidates who speak favorably of family values engage in political bullying and celebrate cruelty and insensitivity. Many such candidates frequently win elections, too. The great web of mutuality that protects members of society–the most vulnerable ones, especially–continues to fray under the assault by a selfish variety of individualism. The morally neutral act of remaining informed regarding current events becomes an occasion of inviting excessive stress into one’s life. Hope seems to be in short supply. Positive statements about the Kingdom of God may ring hollow. One may feel like the women at the empty tomb of Jesus–afraid. I do.
And, when we turn our attention to death itself, we may experience the depths of despair and the harsh reality of someone’s loss. The light may go out of our lives, as it did for Theodore Roosevelt on February 12, 1884, when his mother and first wife died.
I understand my grief well enough to know not to resort to platitudes. I comprehend that death stings. I know from the past and from current events that the world has long been and continues to be rife with delusion and injustice. I, as a student of history, grasp that history does not repeat itself, but that history rhymes. It rhymes because many people fail to learn the lessons of the past.
Yet the Christian hope teaches me that the Reverend Doctor Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) was correct:
This is my Father’s world,
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
The battle is not done,
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.
–Quoted in The Hymnal (1933), #70
Happy Easter!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 18, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT LEONIDES OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 202; ORIGEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN; SAINT DEMETRIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT ALEXANDER OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, BISHOP, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF ELIZA SIBBALD ALDERSON, POET AND HYMN WRITER; AND JOHN BACCHUS DYKES, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL OF CYPRUS, EASTERN ORTHODOX MARTYR, 760
THE FEAST OF ROBERT WALMSLEY, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Tango Postcard, 1920
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 105:1-7
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
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Almighty God, we have celebrated with joy
the festival of our Lord’s resurrection.
Graciously help us to show the power of the resurrection
in all that we say and do;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 21
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Grant, almighty God,
that we who have celebrated the mystery of the Lord’s resurrection
may by the help of your grace bring forth
the fruits thereof in our life and conduct;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 50
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Given that I have written lectionary-based devotions for more than a decade, I choose not to use this post to focus on a passage that may not seem like the obvious bullseye.
John 20:30-31 is probably the original conclusion to the Fourth Gospel. That conclusion ends:
…that through this belief [that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God] you may have life in his name.
—The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
This theme, present also in the readings from Acts and 1 Peter, is where I dwell today, instead of defending St. Thomas the Apostle again. Two words attract my attention:
- Belief, in the full, Biblical sense, is trust. Whenever someone asks me if I believe in God, I ask what that person means. In vernacular English, “believe” indicates acceptance of a preposition. In the English-language vernacular, to believe in God is to affirm the existence of God. I always affirm the existence of God. I usually trust in God. Likewise, to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God is to trust that he is both of those.
- “Life” refers to eternal life. In Johannine theology, eternal life is knowing God via Jesus. Logically, beginning with Johannine theological assumptions, to trust that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God leads to eternal life. If x, then y.
These are articles of faith; we have no evidence for them or against them. When trust in God is required, the quest for certainty constitutes idolatry. Certainty feels comforting. We can be certain of much, either by proving or disproving propositions. Yet much falls into the gray zone of faith; we have it or lack it. That uncertainty may unnerve us. Fundamentalism undercuts trust in God by offering the crutch of false certainty.
Somewhere, years ago, I heard an intriguing spiritual metaphor–performing a daring dance with God. That daring dance is the dance of trust, of faith. It is daring from a human perspective. May God have this dance?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 18, 2022 COMMON ERA
MONDAY IN EASTER WEEK
THE FEAST OF ROGER WILLIAMS, FOUNDER OF RHODE ISLAND; AND ANNE HUTCHINSON, REBELLIOUS PURITAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT CORNELIA CONNELLY, FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF THE HOLY CHILD JESUS
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY ANNA BLONDIN, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF SAINT ANNE
THE FEAST OF MARY C. COLLINS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MISSIONARY AND MINISTER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS MURIN OF FAHAN, LASERIAN OF LEIGHLIN, GOBAN OF PICARDIE, FOILLAN OF FOSSES, AND ULTAN OF PERONNE, ABBOTS; SAINTS FURSEY OF PERONNE AND BLITHARIOUS OF SEGANNE, MONKS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROMAN ARCHUTOWSKI, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1943
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Supper at Emmaus, by Caravaggio
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Daniel 12:1c-3 or Jonah 2:2-9
Psalm 150 (LBW) or Psalm 146 (LW)
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Luke 24:13-49
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Almighty God, give us the joy of celebrating our Lord’s resurrection.
Give us also the joys of life in your service,
and bring us at last to the full joy of life eternal;
through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 21
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Almighty God the Father,
through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ
you have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us.
Grant that we, who celebrate with jo the day of the Lord’s resurrection,
may be raised from the depth of sin by your life-giving Spirit;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 49
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Major lectionaries for Sundays and other holy days usually provide readings without specifying a morning or an evening service. Some exceptions exist. There are, for example, the main and the evening for services for Easter Day, as well as the Easter Vigil.
The main purpose for the evening service on Easter Day is to tell the story in Luke 24:13-49–the road to Emmaus story. One textual curiosity is the timing of the Ascension of Jesus–immediately after the events of Luke 24:13-49 or forty days later (Acts 1:6-12). That the same author (St. Luke) wrote both accounts adds to the confusion.
Anyway, Luke 14:13-49 tells us that God prevented the disciples on the road to Emmaus from recognizing Jesus for a while. That explanation seems unnecessary; one may surmise reasonably that those disciples did not expect to encounter Jesus. Therefore, they did not recognize him. Are you, O reader, likely to recognize someone walking around when you think that person is dead? We humans tend not to see what we do not expect to see. We look yet we do not see.
God acts. The evidence surrounds us, and we miss much of it. The proof is not wearing camouflage. No, we are paying inadequate attention. This statement applies daily. In science, people speak of
life as we know it.
I suspect that the universe teems with life, most of it not life as we know it. If we were to encounter it, we would probably not recognize it. Blessings often assume forms we do not recognize. We encounter a plethora of blessings daily and fail to recognize many of them.
How do you, O reader, and I need to expand our definitions and expectations so we can recognize more of what God has done and is doing?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 17, 2022 COMMON ERA
EASTER DAY
THE FEAST OF DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF EMILY COOPER, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF LUCY LARCOM, U.S. ACADEMIC, JOURNALIST, POET, EDITOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAX JOSEF METZGER, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1944
THE FEAST OF WILBUR KENNETH HOWARD, MODERATOR OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Easter Celtic Cross
Image Scanned from a Church Bulletin
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 15-24
Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-9 (10-18) or Matthew 28:1-10
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O God, you gave your only Son
to suffer death on the cross for our redemption,
and by his glorious resurrection
you delivered us from the power of death.
Make us die every day to sin,
so that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection;
through 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), 20-21
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Almighty God the Father, through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ,
you have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us.
Grant that we,
who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection,
may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 47
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I have been writing lectionary-based devotions for more than a decade. In that time, I have exhausted what I can write for the main service of Easter Day.
So be it. Trying to explain the resurrection is pointless. (I have heard people debate the mechanics of it, pointlessly.) One may read an attempt by St. Clement I of Rome, circa 96 C.E., in his Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Clement). That attempt is pious yet inadequate. No explanation is adequate.
Therefore, O reader, I refer you to the assigned readings (especially from the New Testament) and wish you a happy Easter–all fifty days of it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 16, 2022 COMMON ERA
HOLY SATURDAY
THE FEAST OF SAINT BERNADETTE OF LOURDES, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY
THE FEAST OF CALVIN WEISS LAUFER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMNODIST
THE FEAST OF ISABELLA GILMORE, ANGLICAN DEACONESS
THE FEAST OF MIKAEL SUMA, ALBANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, FRIAR, AND MARTYR, 1950
THE FEAST OF PETER WILLIAMS CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL DEACON; AND HIS WIFE, ANNIE BESANT CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL EDUCATOR
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Adapted from this post
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Above: Manna
Image in the Public Domain
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For Easter Sunday, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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Mighty God, who raised up Jesus from the dead:
give us such trust in thee, that all our days we may rejoice,
looking to that perfect day when we shall feast in paradise with Christ our Lord,
to whom be praise and glory evermore. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 122
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Exodus 16:4-17
Revelation 1:1-8
John 20:1018
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These three readings tell of astounding news.
God always provides enough, often through mundane and natural methods. Manna and quail, for example, occur naturally. Perhaps the technical description of manna (crystalized insect excrement) disgusts one, but the substance is not harmful. People still consume it safely, in fact.
Manna was not miraculous, but it was astounding at the time. The resurrection of Jesus was both astounding and miraculous, though. Doubts in real time were understandable.
The Christ of Revelation 1:1-8 is the risen, ascended, and glorified figure descending to a mixed reaction. Judgment and mercy come mixed in that description. Yet one may recall Christ’s intercession–his prayer from the cross that God forgive those who did not know what they were doing. That intercession seems at first to conflict with Revelation 1:1-8. The two do not conflict, though; God condemns nobody, but people condemn themselves.
How do we respond to the astounding news from God daily? Do we grumble or do we rejoice?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 26, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, U.S. JOURNALIST, TRANSLATOR, AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDRA GIACINTO LONGHIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TREVISO
THE FEAST OF PHILIP DODDRIDGE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VIRGIL MICHEL, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ACADEMIC, AND PIONEER OF LITURGICAL RENEWAL
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Above: Post-Resurrection Appearances
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Easter Sunday, Year 2, according to the U.S. Presbyterian lectionary of 1966-1970
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Almighty God, who through the raising of Jesus Christ from the dead hast given us a living hope:
keep us joyful in all our trials, and guard our faith that we may receive
the heavenly inheritance which thou hast prepared for us;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
—The Book of Common Worship–Provisional Services (1966), 122
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Exodus 14:15-29
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Matthew 28:1-20
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These three readings pertain to salvation history, to two of God’s mighty acts–the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt and the resurrection of Jesus. In each reading one finds evidence of new life–new life as free people, new life for a former corpse, and new life in Christ.
Writing good devotions for Easter can be difficult, for one may not want to draft Easter Devotion #5753, repeating the previous devotions for the holy day. In some ways I prefer to feel the resurrection, for I cannot explain it. I must accept the resurrection of Jesus on faith or not at all, for nobody can prove or disprove it. In this matter, as in many others, certainty is impossible. It is also spiritually undesirable.
New life in Christ entails taking up one’s cross and following him in faith, not in seeking certainty in matters in which it is impossible. I practice the Christian faith, not the Christian certainty. Certainty has its place elsewhere in life. I, as a student of history, respect objective reality and the ability to document it. The resurrection of Jesus is not a matter for historical interpretation, though. It is, however, a matter of faith.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 26, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, U.S. JOURNALIST, TRANSLATOR, AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDRA GIACINTO LONGHIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TREVISO
THE FEAST OF PHILIP DODDRIDGE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VIRGIL MICHEL, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ACADEMIC, AND PIONEER OF LITURGICAL RENEWAL
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Above: The Angel in the Empty 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:
Acts 2:42-47 or Job 19:7-27c
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Mark 16:1-8
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Ah, that these words of mine were written down,
inscribed on some monument
with iron chisel and engraving tool,
cut into the rock for ever.
This I know: that my Avenger lives,
and he, the Last, will take his stand on earth.
After my awaking, he will set me close to him,
and from my flesh I shall look upon God.
He, whom I shall see will take my part:
these eyes will gaze on him and find him not aloof.
My heart within me sinks…
You, then, that mutter, “How shall we track him down,
what pretext shall we find against him?”
may well fear the sword on your own account.
There is an anger stirred to flame by evil deeds;
you will learn that there is indeed a judgment.
–Job 19:23-29, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
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In the context of the Book of Job in its final form, the continued faith of Job, afflicted with divine consent by the loyalty tester (the Satan) then rejected by surviving relatives and insulted repeatedly by so-called friends, makes little sense. The Avenger/Vindicator/Redeemer, or kinsman-redeemer who was to avenge innocent blood, had to be God, for whom the alleged friends presumed to speak. One irony in the Book of Job, in its final form, is that we who read Chapters 1, 2, and 42 know that Elihu, Zophar, Bildad, and Eliphaz were wrong when claiming that God protects the innocent, in Job’s case. Yet Job still trusts in God.
The reading of this passage on Easter Sunday makes sense. Did not the resurrection of Jesus vindicate him? And does it not vindicate we who, in faith, accept his resurrection?
Job’s attitude, in contrast to the forgiving spirit of Jesus on the cross, is understandable. Job’s attitude also vindicates the human need for justice. God will judge and show mercy as God deems appropriate.
The Gospel of Mark originally ended with,
…and they were terrified
at the empty tomb. Such fear was understandable; the women at the tomb had no hindsight regarding the resurrection of Jesus. Hindsight was impossible at the time.
I try to minimize how much I anthropomorphize God. Some of it is unavoidable, given human perspective. To a great extent, God is, for lack of a better word, other–not quite unknowable, but still other. The somewhat unknowable other terrifies us sometimes, even in showing extreme mercy, for we do not understand. With hindsight, however, we can find reasons to rejoice, not fear.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 26, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, U.S. JOURNALIST, TRANSLATOR, AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDRA GIACINTO LONGHIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TREVISO
THE FEAST OF PHILIP DODDRIDGE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VIRGIL MICHEL, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ACADEMIC, AND PIONEER OF LITURGICAL RENEWAL
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2019/06/26/devotion-for-easter-sunday-year-b-humes/
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Above: Easter Celtic Cross
Image Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 2:22-41 or Job 19:7-27c
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Matthew 28:1-10
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The reading from Job 19 might seem at first to be an odd selection for Easter Sunday. The choice makes much sense on this occasion, however. The lesson reminds us that even innocent people suffer, despite what certain conventionally pious people, such as alleged friends who insult the afflicted, claim. Reading the Book of Job and the Gospel of John together highlights the falseness of the arguments of Job’s alleged friends, for, in the Johannine Gospel, the crucifixion of Jesus is Christ’s glorification.
Psalm 118 is a prayer of thanksgiving for victory in battle. The theme of victory certainly applies to Easter, central to the Christian liturgical year. Likewise the resurrection of Jesus is central to Christianity, as 1 Corinthians 15, in its entirety, affirms.
The body of Christian doctrine is varied and frequently self-contradictory, given the wide variety of competing denominations. An orthodox Christian in one denomination is simultaneously a heretic, according to the standards of many other denominations. Yet, for all the variation in doctrines not essential to salvation, a few doctrines are mandatory. The Incarnation is one. The atonement (with at least three interpretations of it dating to the Patristic Era) is a second. The resurrection of Jesus is a third.
In the academic study of history one, assuming that one’s facts are correct and one’s chronology is in order, one must still be able to answer one question satisfactorily:
So what?
St. Paul the Apostle, in 1 Corinthians 15, answers that question ably down the corridors of time. Through the resurrection of Jesus, we read (especially after verse 11), we Christians, liberated from our former states of sin, have hope; we lead resurrected lives. Otherwise, if the resurrection is false,
…we of all people are most to be pitied.
–1 Corinthians 15:19b, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Yet we are not, thanks to God.
Happy Easter!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 30, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOAN OF ARC, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF APOLO KIVEBULAYA, APOSTLE TO THE PYGMIES
THE FEAST OF JOSEPHINE BUTLER, ENGLISH FEMINIST AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LUKE KIRBY, THOMAS COTTAM, WILLIAM FILBY, AND LAURENCE RICHARDSON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/devotion-for-easter-sunday-year-a-humes/
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Above: Icon of the Resurrection
Image Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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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:
At least three of the following sets:
Genesis 1:1-2:4a and Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26
Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13 and Psalm 46
Genesis 22:1-18 and Psalm 16
Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 and Exodus 15:1b-13, 17-18
Isaiah 55:1-11 and Isaiah 12:2-6
Ezekiel 20:1-24 and Psalm 19
Ezekiel 36:24-28 and Psalms 42 and 43
Ezekiel 37:1-14 and Psalm 143
Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Psalm 98
Then:
Romans 6:3-11
Psalm 114
Matthew 28:1-10
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The history of the Great Vigil of Easter is interesting. We do not know when the service began, but we do know that it was already well-established in the second century C.E. We also know that the Great Vigil was originally a preparation for baptism. Reading the history of the Easter Vigil reveals the elaboration of the rite during ensuing centuries, to the point that it lasted all night and was the Easter liturgy by the fourth century. One can also read of the separation of the Easter Vigil and the Easter Sunday service in the sixth century. As one continues to read, one learns of the vigil becoming a minor afternoon ritual in the Roman missal of 1570. Then one learns of the revival of the Easter Vigil in Holy Mother Church in the 1950s then, in North America, in The Episcopal Church and mainline Lutheranism during the liturgical renewal of the 1960s and 1970s. Furthermore, if one consults the U.S. Presbyterian Book of Common Worship (1993) and The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992), on finds the ritual for the Great Vigil of Easter in those volumes.
The early readings for the Easter Vigil trace the history of God’s salvific work, from creation to the end of the Babylonian Exile. The two great Hebrew Biblical themes of exile and exodus are prominent. Then the literal darkness ends, the lights come up, and the priest announces the resurrection of Jesus. The eucharistic service continues and, if there are any candidates for baptism, that sacrament occurs.
One of the chants for the Easter Vigil is
The light of Christ,
to which the congregation chants in response,
Thanks be to God.
St. Paul the Apostle, writing in Romans, reminds us down the corridors of time that the light of Christ ought to shine in our lives. May that light shine brightly through us, by grace, that we may glorify God every day we are on this side of Heaven.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 29, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PERCY DEARMER, ANGLICAN CANON AND TRANSLATOR AND AUTHOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF SAINT BONA OF PISA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC AND PILGRIM
THE FEAST OF JIRI TRANOVSKY, LUTHER OF THE SLAVS AND FOUNDER OF SLOVAK HYMNODY
THE FEAST OF JOACHIM NEANDER, GERMAN REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2018/05/29/devotion-for-the-great-vigil-of-easter-years-a-b-c-and-d-humes/
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Books and a Globe, from the Library, St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia, June 9, 2017
Photograph by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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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:
2 Kings 4:18-20, 32-37
Isaiah 52:1-2
Acts 13:26-31
Mark 16:9-20
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In the lessons for this day, we read of different forms of death and resurrection to life.
The Shunammite widow’s son was essential to her well-being in that patriarchal society, in which widows and orphans were particularly vulnerable. The revivification of the son by God via the prophet Elisha was for the benefit of both mother and son.
The death of the Kingdom of Judah and the ensuing Babylonian Exile was traumatic. The exile did end, however, albeit without the restoration of the kingdom. Indeed, the realities of life after the conclusion of the exile did not march the promises recorded in scripture. The Jews lived under foreign rule in a poor province, after all. Eventually Judea experienced independence for about a century, but then the Romans came. The Jews of Palestine lived in exile at home.
The resurrection of Jesus was a game changer. Without it we Christians would have a dead Jesus and would be the most pitiable people anywhere (1 Corinthians 15:19). Yet Jesus did not remain on the Earth for long afterward. No, he gave his followers a mandate.
The work of God is properly our task as human beings. We have orders to love sacrificially, build each other up, and care for each other’s needs. We have commands to share the good news of the Incarnation via Jesus and of his saving life, death, and resurrection. I do not pretend to grasp the full meaning of Jesus being the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), but I affirm that the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus play crucial parts in that truth.
May we, by grace, being glory to God, draw people to Christ, and strengthen others in their faith.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 11, 2017 COMMON ERA
TRINITY SUNDAY, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT BARNABAS THE APOSTLE, COWORKER OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2017/06/11/devotion-for-easter-sunday-ackerman/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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