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:  Manna

Image in the Public Domain

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Exodus 16:2-15

Psalm 78:23-29 (LBW) or Psalm 119:89-104 (LW)

Ephesians 4:17-24

John 6:24-35

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Gracious Father,

your blessed Son came down from heaven

to be the true bread which gives life to the world. 

Give us this bread,

that he may live in us and we in him,

Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

OR

Almighty God, judge of us all,

you have placed in our hands the wealth we call our own. 

Give us such wisdom by your Spirit

that our possessions may not be a curse in our lives,

but an instrument for blessing;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26

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Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church;

and because it cannot continue in safety without your help,

protect and govern it always by your goodness;

for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 73

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Human memories can be notoriously short and selective.  The grumbling in the wilderness is one example.  We may recall that the Exodus itself was impressive and that this was only one manifestation of divine action and presence.  Yet we read of grumbling and a lack of confidence in God.  We who have read the Torah understand that the quail and the manna did not terminate the grumbling.

Then we turn to John 6:24-35, set on the day after the Feeding of the Five Thousand.  We can read verse 14, in the immediate context of the miracle:

This is indeed the prophet who is come into the world.

—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible

Then we can move to the next day and to verses 30-31, in which some of the people whom Jesus had fed asked him:

What sign will you do, that we may see and believe in you?  What work will you do?  Our fathers ate manna in the desert….

—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible

Some memories are simultaneously long and notoriously short and selective.  These two examples have the vibe of,

What will you do for me today?

Psalm 78, Psalm 119, and Ephesians 4:17-24 teach a different way:  Remember then act accordingly.  Recall what God has done and respond faithfully–both collectively and individually.  Psalm 119 uses first-person singular pronouns liberally.  Psalm 78 opens with an appeal to “my people.”  And the audience for the Epistle to the Ephesians was also collective.  (The earliest copies lack “in Ephesus” in 1:1, but we are still reading a letter intended for at least one congregation.)

By grace, may we–both collectively and individually–recall what God has done for others and for us–for our forebears and in living memory.  May this recollection inspire us to trust in God, even when we occupy a spiritual wilderness or another period of uncertainty.  Besides, what we think we may need and what God knows we need may differ from each other.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 12, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FOURTH DAY OF EASTER

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

THE FEAST OF CARL F. PRICE, U.S. METHODIST HYMNOLOGIST AND COMPOSER

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

THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA OF JESUS OF THE ANDES, CHILEAN ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENO OF VERONA, BISHOP

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Adapted from this post

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Advertisement

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 Meeting of Esau and Jacob, by James Tissot

Image in the Public Domain

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Exodus 24:3-11

Psalm 145 (LBW) or Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26 (LW)

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16

John 6:1-15

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O God, your ears are always open to the prayers of your servants. 

Open our hearts and minds to you,

that we may live in harmony with your will

and receive the gifts of your Spirit;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26

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O God, the Protector of all who trust in you,

without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy,

increase and multiply your mercy on us,

that with you as our Ruler and Guide,

we may so pass through things temporal,

that we lose not the things eternal;

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), 71

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This Sunday we read the Johannine version of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Plus).  You, O reader, may recall that we read the Markan account of that miracle last Sunday.  With that comment, I move along to other material.

Besides, I have written about the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Plus) frequently at this weblog.

The reading from Exodus 24 (source = E) agrees with Ephesians 4 regarding the three-tiered cosmos.  In Exodus 24, the mythological explanation for the sky being blue is that the sky, as the floor of God’s palace, is like a pavement of sapphire.  The Bible is not a science book.  To quote the great Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who got into deep trouble for distinguishing between science and theology following the Protestant Reformation,

The Bible tells us how to go to Heaven, not how the Heavens go.

Mythology aside, can one see God and live?  The Hebrew Bible, consisting of sources, disagrees with itself.  Not only do sources contradict each other, but sometimes the same source may not of one mind.  We read in Exodus 24:9-11 (source = E) that the answer is affirmative.  We read in Exodus 33:11 (source = E) that God spoke to Moses

face to face, as one man speaks to another.

Yet we read in Exodus 33:20-24 (source = E, or not, depending on which exegete one believes) that no human being may see God and live, that nobody may see God’s face, and that Moses saw God’s back.

Nevertheless, as often as anyone saw Jesus of Nazareth in the flesh, one saw God–with a face, even.

God is gracious, the assigned readings tell us.  So, we who follow God have an obligation to practice such graciousness.  David Bentley Hart’s translation of Ephesians 4:2-3 reads:

…With all humility and gentleness, with magnanimity, bearing with one another in love, Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace….

In a way, following that advice constitutes seeing the face of God and living.  We read of the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 33.  We read that, following decades of enmity and the plausible fear of violence from Esau, Jacob the erstwhile trickster told his brother:

…for to see your face is like seeing the face of God….

–Genesis 33:10, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

That line from the story of Jacob and Esau deserves more attention that most readers of Genesis 33 give it.

We–in our families, congregations, communities, et cetera–need to live the principles of Ephesians 4:2-3.  This is the essence of righteousness, which is right relationship with God, self, others, and all of creation.  This is righteousness, which is synonymous with justice in the Bible.  By grace, may it be our reality.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 10, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND DAY OF EASTER

THE FEAST OF PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, SCIENTIST, AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT BADEMUS, PERSIAN MARTYR, 376

THE FEAST OF SAINT BONIFACY ZUKOWSKI, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC FRIAR AND MARTYR, 1942

THE FEAST OF SAINT FULBERT OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF HENRY VAN DYKE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST

THE FEAST OF HOWARD THURMAN, U.S. PROTESTANT THEOLOGIAN

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Adapted from this post

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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)

Above:  Mosaic from the Church of the Multiplication, Tabgha, Israel

Image in the Public Domain

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Jeremiah 23:1-6

Psalm 23

Ephesians 2:13-22

Mark 6:30-34

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Pour out upon us, O Lord,

the spirit to think and to do what is right,

that we, who cannot even exist without you,

may have the strength to live according to your will;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

OR

O God, you see how busy we are with many things. 

Turn us to listen to your teachings

and lead us to choose the one thing which will not be taken from us,

Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26

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Grant us, Lord, the Spirit to think

and to do always such things as are pleasing in your sight,

that we, who without you cannot do anything that is good,

may by you be enabled to live according to your will;

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), 70

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God is the Good Shepherd in Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Psalm 23.  The other shepherds–the kings–have led the flock astray, and scattered it, so God will find proper shepherds, we read.  And, in Psalm 23, God either pursues or accompanies the psalmist, depending on the translation one reads.  Either way, the enemies cannot keep up.  Neither may they attend the divine banquet.

In Mark 6:24 we read:

…and [Jesus] took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd….

—The Revised New Jerusalem Bible

So, we read, Jesus fed more than five thousand people.  So, we read, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, fed many “sheep.”  Divine pity contributes to mercy.  We should all thank God for divine pity.

The language of shepherding does not occur in Ephesians 2:13-22, but the lection fits well with the theme of shepherding.  Jesus breaks down the walls of hostility separating peoples.  Thereby, Jesus forms one, larger flock, so to speak.  This flock is a holy Temple in God.  That sounds wonderful!  Who could oppose that?

The answer to that question is many people.  One of my favorite single-frame cartoons depicts Jesus and people holding large pencils standing on a surface.  The people are drawing lines on that surface.  Yet Jesus is using the eraser on his pencil.  My study of schisms and mergers in Christianity confirms that most schisms occur to the right and most mergers occur to the left.  Some schisms precede mergers by a few years, as in Group B leaving Group A to merge into the new Group C.  My analysis of ecclesiastical mergers also reveals that most mergers result in the formation of at least two denominations–the merged one and at least one schismatic group.  Erasing lines makes some people nervous.  And what if we consider some of the other “sheep” allegedly unworthy of ecclesiastical fellowship with the self-proclaimed theologically pure and/or orthodox?  Donatism thrives.

Has Christ been split up?

–1 Corinthians 1:13a, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible

No, but we cannot honestly say the same of the flock, which consists of birds of a feather flocking together.  The big tent is a noble concept, but many people have no intention of living under it.

Jesus defines the church, as my priest, channeling the Pauline tradition, says correctly.  My congregation divided traumatically in 2012, when I was an active member of a parish in opposite corner of the state.  The parish schism of 2012 occurred to the right.  As I prepare to publish this post, a nearby congregation of another denomination has split because most members rejected affiliation with a big tent.  Jesus defines the church and erases lines of division.  But some people are hell-bent on drawing new lines.

May God take pity on us all.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 9, 2023 COMMON ERA

EASTER DAY

THE FEAST OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MARTYR, 1945

THE FEAST OF JOHANN CRUGER, GERMAN LUTHERAN ORGANIST, COMPOSER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR

THE FEAST OF JOHN SAMUEL BEWLEY MONSELL, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET; AND RICHARD MANT, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF DOWN, CONNOR, AND DROMORE

THE FEAST OF LYDIA EMILIE GRUCHY, FIRST FEMALE MINISTER IN THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA

THE FEAST OF MIKAEL AGRICOLA, FINNISH LUTHERAN LITURGIST, BISHOP OF TURKU, AND “FATHER OF FINNISH LITERARY LANGUAGE”

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LAW, ANGLICAN PRIEST, MYSTIC, AND SPIRITUAL WRITER

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Adapted from this post

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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)

Above:  Cross and Crown

Image in the Public Domain

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Isaiah 55:1-5

Psalm 104:25-31 (LBW) or Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26 (LW)

Romans 8:35-39

Matthew 14:13-21

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Gracious Father,

your blessed Son came down from heaven

to be the true bread which gives life to the world. 

Give us this bread,

that he may live in us and we in him,

Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

OR

Almighty God, judge of us all,

you have placed in our hands the wealth we call our own. 

Give us such wisdom by your Spirit

that our possessions may not be a curse in our lives,

but an instrument for blessing;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 26

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Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church;

and because it cannot continue in safety without your help,

protect and govern it always by your goodness;

for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 73

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The story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, present in all four canonical Gospels, is a topic about which I have written many times during the years I have been composing lectionary-based posts.  I refer you, O reader, to those posts for more about that event.

Second Isaiah applied the Davidic Covenant to the people of Judah, delivered from the Babylonian Exile.  He wrote that the Jewish people had royal status, not a human king.  This transformation of the Davidic Covenant accounted for the fall of the Davidic Dynasty in 587/586 B.C.E.  Historically, that dynasty never returned to power.  Second Isaiah, having democratized the Davidic Covenant, did not include an idealized future king–the Messiah–in his theology.  This vision of the future contrasted with Second Zechariah, who wrote of such a Davidic monarch in Zechariah 9:9-12.

God provided for that royal nation.  The authors of Psalms 104 and 136 also understood God as being active in nature and history.  The theme of God feeding people carried over into the Feeding of the Five Thousand.

For I am certain of this:  neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nothing already in existence and nothing still to come, nor any power in the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever, will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

–Romans 8:38-39, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

This is excellent news!  Do you, O reader, trust that this is true?

Psalm 23 tells us that divine kindness and faithful love either pursue or accompany (depending on the translation) us, even in the presence of our enemies.  God is on our side.  Are we on God’s side?

The people of God are a royal nation.  May we think and act accordingly, loving God fully and our neighbors (all people) as ourselves.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 20, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH AUGUSTUS SEISS, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, LITURGIST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF ALFRED RAMSEY, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF BERNARD ADAM GRUBE, GERMAN-AMERICAN MINISTER, MISSIONARY, COMPOSER, AND MUSICIAN

THE FEAST OF CHARLES COFFIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF HANS ADOLF BRORSON, DANISH LUTHERAN BISHOP, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN SPARROW-SIMPSON, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND PATRISTICS SCHOLAR

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Adapted from this post

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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART LXII

Above:  The Death of Simon Magus

Image in the Public Domain

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Acts 8:9-25

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The Encarta World English Dictionary (1999) defines simony as:

…in Christianity, the buying or selling of sacred or spiritual things.

That volume then informs me that “simony” derives from the Latin simonia, via French, in the 1200s C.E.

The unabridged Random House Dictionary of the English Language (1973) provides two definitions of simony.  The first is:

the making of profit out of sacred things. 

The second definition is:

the sin of buying or selling ecclesiastical preferments, benefices, etc.

Both kinds of simony have plagued Christian history.  The buying and selling of ecclesiastical offices–even the papacy–has been scandalous.  And how many crosses could one have made by putting together all the alleged pieces of the true cross of Christ?

“Simony” derives from Simon Magus, who offered to purchase the Holy Spirit.

Was Simon Magus’s repentance in Acts 8:24 sincere?

We, the readers of Acts 8, are to contrast the attitudes of Simon Magus and the Ethiopian eunuch.  We are to seek instruction in the faith, not seek the spectacular and the power that comes from channeling it.  Recall the temptations of Jesus, O reader.  Remember that one of them was to attract followers by being spectacular.

While miracles are a frequent phenomenon in Luke’s story world, the spectacular is always a means to draw people to hear the word of God.

–Robert W. Wall, in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume X (2002), 140

Yes, but how long are their attention spans?  Recall John 6:30, O reader:

So they said to [Jesus], “What sign are you going to give us, then, so that we may see it and believe you?  What work are you going to perform?”

—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

Recall, O reader, that in the Johannine narrative, those asking these questions had been some of the people Jesus had fed during the Feeding of the Five Thousand on the previous day.

I repeat my question:  How long are people’s attention spans?

May we seek a deeper relationship with God because of who God is, `not because of what we think God can do for us.

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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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XXI

Above:  Jesus and His Apostles

Image in the Public Domain

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Luke 8:16-21; 11:14-36

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In the Gospel of Luke, the Parable of the Lamp functions as an extension of the Parable of the Sower/the Four Soils.  Love and devotion to God accumulate within someone and draw others to God via that person.  The light shines.  Also, nobody has any secrets from God.

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid:  Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), 355

The lamp in the parable had a spout, a cover, and a rounded body.  This was a small oil lamp.  It belonged on a lampstand, not under a bed or in a jar.  Theologically, a lamp stood for the light of God, shining in the darkness, in this parable.

The lamp is Jesus.  In other words, do not hide Jesus.

Luke 8:19-21, adapted from Mark 3:20-22, tones down the critique of Christ’s biological family.  In Mark 3, they think Jesus is out of his mind.  That, explicit in Mark 3, is absent in Luke 8.The Lucan version omits the relatives’ motive for seeking to speak with Jesus.  Therefore, the Lucan version presents them positively.  Nevertheless, the statement of fictive kinship carries over from the Marcan version.  The theme of hearing and doing, present in the Parables of the Sower/the Four Soils and the Lamp, continues here.  The biological family of Jesus functions as exemplars of hearing and doing in the Lucan version.

The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox insistence on the perpetual virginity of St. Mary of Nazareth puzzles me.  Of course, given that I reject the Virgin Birth, perpetual virginity predictably puzzles me.  In the Greek language, brothers and sisters can also be cousins.  Or they can be brothers and sisters.

The Marcan version of the story fits well with that Gospel’s theme that supposed insiders are really outsiders, and vice versa.  The Lucan version of the story is consistent with that Gospel’s toning down of the Marcan theme, given that the Acts of the Apostles follows the Gospel of Luke.  So, the eleven apostles who survived the Gospel of Luke could not be dolts if their transformation in Acts was to be believable.  Furthermore, the depiction of the biological family of Jesus in Luke 8 flows from previous material, in which St. Mary knew who her (firstborn) son was, Luke 2:39-52 notwithstanding.

The challenge to we of today is to be members of Christ’s spiritual family, that is, to hear the word of God (what God says) and to keep it.

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“Master,” said John, “we saw a man who was casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following with us.”

But Jesus said, “Forbid him not, for he who is not with you is for you.”

–Luke 9:49-50, Helen Barrett Montgomery, The Centenary Translation of the New Testament (1924)

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“He who is not for me is against me, and he who is not gathering with me is scattering.”

–Luke 11:23, Helen Barrett Montgomery, The Centenary Translation of the New Testament (1924)

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Critics of Jesus did not understand that God was acting through Jesus.  The healings Jesus performed indicated the presence of the Kingdom of God, not evil. Judgment would come for those who slandered Jesus.

Likewise, when Jesus had removed evil from someone, that person needed to become filled with the word of God (what God said), or else evil would return in greater quantity than it had been when Christ had expelled it.

Luke 11:27 calls back to 8:19-21.  Regardless of how blessed and pious Christ’s biological family was, those who listened to and heard the word of God were blessed, too.  Loyalty to God, present in Jesus, takes precedence over family ties–no disrespect to relatives intended.  This is good news for the vast majority of us not of the family tree of Jesus.

Cutting through the symbolism and Biblical allusions in Luke 11:29-36, the message of these verses is:

1. Repentance is crucial,
2. The faith of many Gentiles contrasts with the faithlessness of many Jews,
3. God seeks to attract all people, and
4. The Christian life involves the whole body and all human action.

Seeking signs indicates a lack of trust in God.  Receiving a sign and not understanding it indicates obliviousness, at least.  Recall the Johannine version of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (John 6:1-14), O reader.  You and I may agree that it was an astounding sign.  Yet, recall the events of the next day, too.

Then they said to him:

“What sign, then, are you performing, so that we may see it and come to believe in you?  What work are you doing?  Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.'”  

–John 6:30-21, Helen Barrett Montgomery, The Centenary Translation of the New Testament (1924)

Those who asked that question had fined at the Feeding of the Five Thousand.

We need not seek signs; they are plentiful.  We need merely to pay proper attention, understand plainly, and behave and think accordingly, whoever we are.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 30, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FEAST OF ALLEN EASTMAN CROSS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF GEORGE WALLACE BRIGGS, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHN MAIN, ANGLO-CANADIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MONK

THE FEAST OF JOSIAH BOOTH, ENGLISH ORGANIST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TUNE COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF FRANCES JOSEPH-GAUDET, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EDUCATOR, PRISON REFORMER, AND SOCIAL WORKER

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So they said, “What sign will you yourself do, the sight of which will make us believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers ate manna in the desert; as scriptures says, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

Above:  Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, by Francisco Herrera the Elder

Image in the Public Domain

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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Genesis 2:15-25 or Acts 20:1-12

Psalm 120

Revelation 1:9-10

John 6:1-15

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Genesis 2:15-25 presents, in the format of a myth, a portrait of life in harmony and innocence in the Garden of Eden.  That is not the kind of life known during any documented epoch of the human past, or the of the present.  Therefore, an encounter with God may seem frightening.  Or it may seem intimate and comfortable.  Or  it may astound.  Given the variety of encounters with God, both direct and indirect, as well as the range of people and circumstances, one cannot legitimately say that an encounter with God will definitely proceed in a given manner.

To ask that we have more than a very short-term memory of the encounter is reasonable, though.  We read of the Feeding of the Five Thousand in John 6:1-15.  If we keep reading, we reach the events of the next day, in the immediate area.  We read in John 6:30-31:

—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

Jesus must have rolled his eyes and muttered an ancient equivalent of,

Oy vey!

The author of the Gospel of John did not record that reaction, of course.

Not being oblivious to God is one step toward living in harmony with God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 15, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AND MARTYR, 1968

THE FEAST OF ABBY KELLEY FOSTER AND HER HUSBAND, STEPHEN SYMONDS FOSTER, U.S. QUAKER ABOLITIONISTS AND FEMINISTS

THE FEAST OF BERTHA PAULSSEN, GERMAN-AMERICAN SEMINARY PROFESSOR, PSYCHOLOGIST, AND SOCIOLOGIST

THE FEAST OF GENE M. TUCKER, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF JOHN COSIN, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF COSIN

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/15/devotion-for-proper-9-year-d-humes/

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More love to thee, O Christ,

Above:  The Feeding of the Multitude

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year 2

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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)

Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)

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O Lord, we beseech Thee to keep Thy Church and Household continually in Thy true religion;

that they who do lean only upon the hope of Thy heavenly grace

may evermore be defended by Thy mighty power

through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 132

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Job 38:22-41

Psalm 119:33-48

Romans 8:1-11

John 6:26-35

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More love to thee!

Hear thou the prayer I make

On bended knee;

This is my earnest plea:

More love, O Christ, to thee,

More love to thee,

More love to thee.

–Elizabeth Payson Prentiss (1818-1878), published in 1869

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The readings for this Sunday fit thematically with those for the previous post in this series.  I could repeat myself excessively and justify that decision, therefore.  However, I do choose not to do so.  No, I opt to refer you, O reader, to that post and to focus on the Gospel lection in this post.

John 6:26-35 has much in common with Luke 14:25-35.  Both teach us to love Christ most of all.  Luke 14:25-35 tells us to love Jesus more than ourselves, our friends, our relatives, and our possessions.  John 6:26-35, set on the day following the Feeding of the Five Thousand, identifies Jesus as the Bread of Life.  Yesterday’s bread ceases to satisfy after a little while; one becomes hungry again.  Daily food is vital for one set of needs.  Only Jesus can satisfy other, greater needs.  We should love him more than mere food and drink.

One of the consistent themes in the New Testament is the precedence of Jesus.  There is x, then there is Jesus.  This theme recurs in the Gospels, the Pauline epistles, and the Letter to the Hebrews, for example.  X may be good and necessary.  It is less important than Jesus, though.  He deserves more love than they do.  So be it.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 9, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE ELEVENTH DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF SAINT LIBORIUS WAGNER, GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1631

THE FEAST OF GEORGE JOB ELVEY, ANGLICAN COMPOSER AND ORGANIST

THE FEAST OF JOHN HOWARD BERTRAM MASTERMAN, ANGLICAN SCHOLAR, HYMN WRITER, PRIEST, AND BISHOP OF PLYMOUTH

THE FEAST OF OLIVIER MESSIAEN, CLAIRE DELBOS, AND YVONNE LORIOD, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS

THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER FOURIER, “THE GOOD PRIEST OF MATTAINCOURT;” AND ALIX LE CLERC, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF NOTRE DAME OF CANONESSES REGULAR OF SAINT AUGUSTINE

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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33

Above:  The Shunammite Woman and Elisha

Image in the Public Domain

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PART LXXXIII

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2 Kings 4:1-44

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In you, O LORD, I seek refuge;

let me never be put to shame;

in your righteousness deliver me!

Incline your ear to me,

rescue me speedily!

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me!

–Psalm 31:1-2, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

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Miracle stories attested to the bona fides of a prophet, in the cases of Elijah and Elisha.  These miracles were practical in 2 Kings 4.  A poor widow’s children did not become slaves because God, acting through Elisha, enabled their mother to pay her debts.  The Shunammite woman gave birth to a son, who died and whom Elisha restored to life.  Flour neutralized a natural poison.  A hundred men ate from a small quantity of food, and there were leftovers afterward.

One may recall 1 Kings 17 and think of the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath.  One may detect similarities between that account and the first two stories in 2 Kings 4.

One may also notice a similarity between 2 Kings 4:38-41 and 2 Kings 2:19-22, another miracle story involving Elisha.

One, looking forward, may also detect a similarity between 2 Kings 4:42-44 and Gospel accounts of Jesus feeding thousands of people with a small quantity of food, as well as having leftovers afterward.  The difference between 100 men, in the case of Elisha, and 4000-plus and 5000-plus, in the cases of Jesus, point to the Son of God being greater than Elisha.

I live in a town in a university town in the U.S. South.  College football is the dominant cultus in my community.  (Sports have legitimate places in society, but not as quasi-religions.)  Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, one could easily stand at a particular intersection near campus on a home game day and see people holding signs reading,

I NEED TICKETS.

Desires are not needs.  Necessities include food, shelter, and clothing.  One can lead a full life without ever attending a football game.  Wisdom entails know the difference between “I want” and “I need.”  If one has wrestled with mortality, one may have a strong sense of what is necessary and what is merely desirable.

The focus on necessities in these four miracle stories reinforces a major teaching in the Bible.  God cares about what we need.  And God frequently provides our necessities via human beings.  There is enough for all people to have a sufficient supply of their necessities at all times.  The problem relates to distribution, not supply.  And the fulfillment of certain desires is harmless while the fulfillment of other desires is dangerous.  The fulfillment of proper desires can improve the quality of one’s life.  That is important.  But desires are still not necessities.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 28, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS

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I will strive to follow a blameless course…

Above:  The Grief of Hannah

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 1:1-20 or Jeremiah 14:1-22

Psalm 101

Romans 5:12-21

Luke 11:27-36

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Your love and justice will I sing,

to you, Yahweh, will I chant,

I will rhapsodize about your dominion complete.

When will you come to me?

–Psalm 101:1b-2a, Mitchell J. Dahood (1970)

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The Psalter in The Book of Common Prayer (1979) renders the third line quoted above as,

The germane notes in Dahood’s third (of three) volumes on the Book of Psalms for The Anchor Bible series cite Hebrew words and linguistic nuances to justify his choice of translation.  Part of the pleasure of reading Dahood on the Psalms is studying, after a fashion, under a master of his field–in his case, ancient Semitic languages.  I recommend purchasing his three volumes on the Psalms if one seeks to study the Book of Psalms deeply.

Part of the Hebrew text of Psalm 101 can legitimately read in English as,

I will strive to follow a blameless course,

and as,

I will rhapsodize about your dominion complete.

Think about that, O reader.  One rendering focuses on deeds; the other zeroes in on joyfulness and singing.  No single English-translation can capture the richness of the Hebrew text.

The attitude of the Psalmist, like that of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:1-20, contrasts with that of the wicked people and generations in the other assigned readings.

1. Human nature is flawed; that is obvious to me.  Human depravity is not even an article of faith for me; I need no faith to accept that for which I have evidence.
2. Sadly, false prophets (frequently supporting a political establishment) remain with us.  One may read of the false prophets in the Book of Jeremiah and think readily of some of some of their contemporary counterparts.
3. The quest for signs indicates faithlessness.  Furthermore, human memories and attention spans can be fleeting.  Consider, O reader, John 6.  One reads of the Feeding of the Five Thousand in the first fifteen verses.  One also reads in verse 30, set on the following day, “Then what sign will you do, that we may see, and believe you?”

May we, by grace, pay attention.  May we mark, learn, and inwardly digest the law of of God.  May we find that law written on our hearts.  Then may we rejoice.  May we rhapsodize consistently and strive to follow a blameless course.  And may we succeed, by grace.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 19, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALPHEGE, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, AND MARTYR, 1012

THE FEAST OF DAVID BRAINERD, AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALIST THEN PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY AND MINISTER

THE FEAST OF SAINT EMMA OF LESUM, BENEFACTOR

THE FEAST OF MARY C. COLLINS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MISSIONARY AND MINISTER

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS PETRI, SWEDISH LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN, HISTORIAN, LITURGIST, MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND “FATHER OF SWEDISH LITERATURE;” AND HIS BROTHER, LAURENTIUS PETRI, SWEDISH LUTHERAN ARCHBISHOP OF UPPSALA, BIBLE TRANSLATOR, AND “FATHER OF SWEDISH HYMNODY”

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Adapted from this post:

https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/04/19/devotion-for-proper-15-year-c-humes/

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