Archive for the ‘Grief’ 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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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS
PART XXIV
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Psalm 31
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People steeped in scripture speak and, if they are literate, write in scriptural terms. I know this from experience. Perhaps you, O reader, do, too. And, not surprisingly, the Bible contains texts from people steeped in scripture. Therefore, some parts of the Bible echo other portions of the Bible. Psalm 31 is a fine text for a study of this pattern. Psalm 31 quotes the prophet Jeremiah, alludes to Jonah, and echoes other psalms.
The psalmist had been seriously ill for a long time. He, feeling abandoned by friends and besieged by enemies, turned to God. The psalmist also acknowledged his sinfulness and confessed his sins. He was also honest about his anger:
Let the wicked be humiliated,
hurled into Sheol!
–Verse 18b, Mitchell J. Dahood
I understand that resentment-fueled anger. I recall easily praying along similar lines, minus Sheol.
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Chrit our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), 355
God knows us better than we know ourselves. So, misguided piety which tells us not to tell God x, y, and z does not conceal x, y, and z from God. May we be honest with God and ourselves. If that honesty leads to seemingly impious prayers, so be it. We can take everything to God, who already knows everything about us. Those parts of our spiritual lives that are not all sunshine and kittens can transform, by grace. But we need to be honest. We cannot move forward in the right direction until we (a) admit where we are, and(b) trust God and lead us along the proper path forever.
The paths of God may not be identical for any two people. The paths will vary according to circumstances. Yet the paths of God terminate at the same destination and have the same moral-spiritual definition. They are paths of love for God, other people, ourselves, and all of creation. They are paths of mutuality and the Golden Rule. They are paths of honesty with God and ourselves. Many of these paths intersect, and overlap, so some of us may walk together for a while. May we support each other as we do so.
One of the most difficult conditions about which to be honest is brokenness. Admitting that one is spiritually and/or emotionally broken may violate a cultural norm or a social more. Doing so may also threaten one’s ego. Admitting one’s brokenness to God leads to accepting one’s complete dependence upon God. So much for rugged individualism!
I admit frankly and readily that I am not spiritually and emotionally whole. I carry a heavy load of grief from which, I expect, I will never recover fully. Trauma persists. I tell you nothing that I have not admitted to God. I know that spiritual self-sufficiency is a delusion.
“How happy those who know their need for God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs!
“How happy are those who know what sorrow means, for they will be given courage and comfort.”
–Matthew 5:3-4, J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English–Revised Edition (1972)
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 29, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF ANTONIO CALDARA, ROMAN CATHOLIC COMPOSER AND MUSICIAN
THE FEAST OF JOHN BURNETT MORRIS, SR., EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
THE FEAST OF PHILIPP HEINRICH MOLTHER, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, BISHOP, COMPOSER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS BECKET, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, AND MARTYR, 1170
THE FEAST OF THOMAS COTTERILL, ENGLISH PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGIST
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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS
PART VI
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Psalms 6 and 38
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Petitions of innocence and pleas for deliverance from enemies are replete in the Book of Psalms. This post covers two such texts, similar to each other. The psalmist(s) feel(s) punished and targeted by God. One may reasonably recall the titular character of the Book of Job. The psalmist(s) feel(s) his/their spiritual anguish physically. And his/their “wanton enemies” (38:20) increase. The psalmist(s) turn(s) to God for deliverance.
Psalm 6 speaks of Sheol–the underworld, the abode of the dead–where nobody can praise God. This is an accurate account of Jewish theology regarding the afterlife at the time of the composition of Psalm 6.
Platonism divides us into souls and bodies. Jewish theology tells us that no such division exists, however. Naturally, then, spiritual anguish and torment manifest physically. What else should one expect? When one experiences deep grief, one may lack energy and vitality for a time. I know this experience. Perhaps you, O reader, know it, too.
I recently completed a program as part of a grief support group under the auspices of my Episcopal parish. Bonny died more than three years ago. I have fared better vis-a-vis grief since moving away from Athens, Georgia, where she lived and died. However, profound grief has never been far away since her death, on October 14, 2019. I benefited from the grief support group, which contained many references to God. When I attended a session about dealing with holiday grief at my mother’s Methodist church, I felt gratitude that I had chosen the grief support I had selected. The alternative program was bonk-bonk-over-the-head Evangelical. It made me uneasy. My tastes have long run closer to Roman Catholicism.
The light of God may be constant. I assume that it is so. However, that light seems brighter in the context of the surrounding darkness. When the bottom falls out and the darkness becomes more prominent than it had been, God’s light shines in the midst of the darkness. Grace–always present–may seem more present, for one may pay more attention to it during such times.
Assuming that I will live to a ripe old age and retain my faculties, I will mourn Bonny until my dying day. Until that final day–whenever it will arrive–I will turn to God and express my grief. My pain is before me always, but God is by my side always, too.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 12, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, ABOLITIONIST AND FEMINIST; AND MARIA STEWART, ABOLITIONIST, FEMINIST, AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS BARTHOLOMEW BUONPEDONI AND VIVALDUS, MINISTERS AMONG LEPERS
THE FEAST OF JONATHAN KRAUSE, SILESIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT LUDWIK BARTOSIK, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941
THE FEAST OF THOMAS CANNING, U.S. COMPOSER AND MUSIC EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LOUIS POTEAT, PRESIDENT OF WAKE FOREST COLLEGE, AND BIOLOGIST; HIS BROTHER, EDWIN MCNEILL POTEAT, SR., SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND PRESIDENT OF FURMAN UNIVERSITY; HIS SON, EDWIN MCNEILL POTEAT, JR., SOUTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER, MISSIONARY, HYMN WRITER, AND SOCIAL REFORMER; HIS BROTHER, GORDON MCNEILL POTEAT, SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN BAPTIST AND CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND MISSIONARY; AND HIS COUSIN, HUBERT MCNEILL POTEAT, SOUTHERN BAPTIST ACADEMIC AND MUSICIAN
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Above: Icon of the Raising of Lazarus
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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Ezekiel 37:1-3 (4-10) 11-14
Psalm 116:1-9
Romans 8:11-19
John 11:1-53 or John 11:47-53
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Almighty God, our redeemer, in our weakness we have failed
to be your messengers of forgiveness and hope in the world.
Renew us by your Holy Spirit, that we may follow your commands
and proclaim your reign of love;
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), 19
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Almighty and eternal God, because it was your will that your Son
should bear the pains of the cross for us
and thus remove from us the power of the adversary,
help us so to remember and give thanks for our Lord’s Passion
that we may receive remission of our sins
and redemption from everlasting death;
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), 38
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Life and death are themes in three of the four readings.
- We read a portion of Psalm 116, by someone grateful to have recovered from a serious illness.
- We read Romans 8:11-19, in which the relationship of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus enables our adoption as “sons” (literally, in verse 14) of God. (Verses 16 and 17, in the Greek text, do use the neuter “children,” however.) Through the Son of God, each Christian is a son of God, therefore, an heir. That metaphor from the Hellenistic culture, in which sons, not daughters, inherited, may require explanation in 2022.
- We read a portion of John 11, in restores his beloved friend, St. Lazarus of Bethany, to life. The Fourth Gospel presents this event as the proverbial last straw that led to the crucifixion of Christ.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 is the odd reading out. It is about the restoration of Judah, defeated and scattered, after the end of the Babylonian Exile. Ezekiel 37:1-14 is not about the resurrection of the dead; the language is visionary and poetic.
In a poetic way, however, the four readings fit together well. Individuals, communities, societies, congregations, institutions, et cetera, need metaphorical resurrection. They need restoration to a better state in God. I know this about myself.
The current version of myself is one of many who have existed. The current version is not as happy and well-adjusted as the one who existed before Bonny, ma chèrie, died violently. I need a resurrection and a restoration.
Perhaps you, O reader, relate to that analysis. Maybe you resemble that remark. Fortunately, hope for all of us exists in God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 28, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JAMES SOLOMON RUSSELL, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, EDUCATOR, AND ADVOCATE FOR RACIAL EQUALITY
THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH RUNDLE CHARLES, ANGLICAN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT GUNTRAM OF BURGUNDY, KING
THE FEAST OF KATHARINE LEE BATES, U.S. EDUCATOR, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF RICHARD CHEVNIX TRENCH, ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN
THE FEAST OF SAINT TUTILO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND COMPOSER
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Adapted from this post
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Above: The Celestial City and the River of Bliss, by John Martin
Image in the Public Domain
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READING REVELATION, PART XV
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Revelation 21:1-22:5
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God’s creative destruction finally complete, the fully-realized Kingdom of God may arrive. The language of the Kingdom of God in the New Testament is simultaneously present tense and future tense. The partially-realized Kingdom of God is here and has been here for a long time. Yet much remains to come.
In Revelation 21:1-22:5, finite language speaks of infinite grace and a new world order. Death, grief, pain, chaos, and other causes of suffering are no more. The New Jerusalem is a new, renewed creation. It is paradise restored, after Genesis 3. Mythological language, best suited to describe the fully-realized Kingdom of God.
Presbyterian minister Ernest Lee Stoffel, writing in The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), proposed:
The re-creating power of Christ’s suffering love is time-less. The reign of Christ’s suffering love is time-less. The re-creating power of suffering love can happen “in time” and “beyond time.”
–103
He was, I suppose, channeling C. H. Dodd’s Realized Eschatology–the Kingdom of God does not come; it is. God is time-less. Our perspectives are time-bound, however. Therefore, certain events make the reality of the Kingdom of God more evident than before.
I recognize much of merit in the case Dodd made. Maybe the temporal perspective of this student of the past is too strong for Realized Eschatology to satisfy me fully. Nevertheless, I admit that my point of view is limited.
Stoffel’s case makes much sense. In Genesis 1:1, God began to create. God continues to create. God continues to re-create.
That satisfies me fully.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 20, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PHILIP SCHAFF AND JOHN WILLIAMSON NEVIN, U.S. GERMAN REFORMED HISTORIANS, THEOLOGIANS, AND LITURGISTS
THE FEAST OF FRIEDRICH FUNCKE, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, COMPOSER, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JAMES W. C. PENNINGTON, AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, AND ABOLITIONIONIST
THE FEAST OF JOHN HARRIS BURT, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF OHIO, AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF MARY A. LATHBURY, U.S. METHODIST HYMN WRITER
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Above: Inconsolable Grief, by Ivan Kramskoi
Image in the Public Domain
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READING SECOND ISAIAH, PART VIII
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Isaiah 50:1-52:12
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In Second Isaiah, YHWH is the father and Jerusalem is the mother of the covenant community, metaphorically.
The Third Servant Song is Isaiah 50:4-9. The audience this time is the covenant community–especially those members thereof who have fallen away. The Third Servant Song occurs in the textual context of divine frustration with Hebrew exiles (50:1-3, 10-11), many of whom remained rebellious. Reading the Third Servant Song on Christian autopilot identifies the servant as Jesus. This is overly simplistic and ahistorical. The servant here speaks the message of God to disheartened Hebrew exiles. The theology of Isaiah 50:4-9 is that the exiles deserved the Babylonian Exile (40:1-3), but that YHWH was about to vindicate them anyway.
Some of the despairing exiles relied on God and accepted this message. Others rejected it and, poetically, laid down in pain. They did not respond favorably and faithfully to God, mighty, strong, and sovereign. They rejected grace. They rejected God, in whom judgment and mercy exist in balance.
In Jeremiah (8:11; 27:8-11; 28:1-17), false hopes and prophets of peace and restoration belied the upcoming Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.) and its aftermath. The truth was hard to hear. Words of comfort were mostly lies. Those words of comfort that were not lies focused on seemingly distant restoration, eventually.
In contrast, in a different time, words of imminent divine deliverance and consolation seemed, to many, ridiculous. After so many years of the Babylonian Exile, that response was predictable.
When populations have been poor, oppressed, discriminated against, et cetera, the hope of a better future may seem ridiculous. Yet there is always a better future with God. How many people want to embrace that hope? How many people think they can embrace that hope? And to what extend is the continued state of poverty, oppression, discrimination, et cetera, a self-fulfilling prophecy?
The answers to the these questions vary according to circumstances, of course. Machinery of oppression, discrimination, and the maintenance of poverty exists. Most people over the course of documented time have lacked the agency that proponents of pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps assume many people have. Telling someone without shoes,
Pull yourself up by your bootstraps,
is cruel and unrealistic. Yet other people are fortunate enough to possess agency. But do they know this? And do they know how to use that agency most effectively?
Second Isaiah addressed a population, of course.
Above: Bonny Thomas (1965-2019), Whose Death Broke My Heart and Shattered My Life
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
On the individual level, grief can be as crippling as it is on the collective level. I know this grief. I know the grief over the death of dreams and aspirations. I also know the grief that lingers after someone has died. I know what life-shattering grief is; I deal with it daily. I talk to God about it. I remain broken, and I talk to God about it. Doing that is what I know to do. I am broken and shattered, but I am not alone.
We–collectively and individually–are all broken. The fortunate are less broken that others. Leaning into the strength and faithfulness of God is the way of healing.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 10, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MYLES HORTON, “FATHER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT”
THE FEAST OF SAINTS EUMENIOUS AND PARTHENIOS OF KOUDOUMAS, MONKS AND FOUNDERS OF KOUDOMAS MONASTERY, CRETE
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH OF DAMASCUS, SYRIAN ORTHODOX PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1860
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS SPIRA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF RUED LANGGAARD, DANISH COMPOSER
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Above: Tear Ducts
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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Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44
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[The Lord GOD] will destroy death for ever….
–Isaiah 25:8a, The Revised English Bible (1989)
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Writing another devotional blog post for All Saints’ Day can prove challenging, given how many I have composed. My perspective on this hobby of writing lectionary-based devotions is unique, O reader. I am the only mortal who knows how often I have repeated myself.
Anyway, the connection between Isaiah 25:5-9 and Revelation 21:1-6a is obvious. Isaiah 25:6-9, set during the great eschatological banquet, is a fine choice to pair with Revelation 21:1-6a.
I have joined the company of those who visit someone’s grave and talk. In my case, those are the graves of my father (who had Alzheimer’s Disease and died a combination of ailments on October 30, 2014) and my girlfriend (who struggled with mental illness until she died violently on October 14, 2019). Therefore, Isaiah 25:6-9 has special meaning for me. Perhaps you, O reader, also find special meaning in this text. We mere mortals grieve because we are human and have emotions. We need not grieve alone. Hopefully, we can rely on other people to help us through the grieving process. And God is with us, of course.
Jesus wept.
–John 11:35, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
Jesus weeps with us. We are not alone.
Sister Ruth Fox, O.S.B., wrote “A Franciscan Blessing” (1985), which reads, in part:
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer
from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
One day, I will be a position to help someone experiencing grief. I will be able to assist that person because of my grief. So be it. Life in God requires people to look out for each other.
The Feast of All Saints is an occasion to ponder all who have preceded us in the Christian faith. They constitute a “great cloud of witnesses.” Some are famous. Most are obscure. We may know a few of them by name. To miss them is legitimate.
At the right time (the time of God’s choosing), may we join them on the other side of the veil. In the meantime, we have work to do and God to glorify.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 30, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF LESSLIE NEWBIGIN, ENGLISH REFORMED MISSIONARY AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT BATHILDAS, QUEEN OF FRANCE
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK OAKELEY, ANGLICAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINTS GENESIUS I OF CLERMONT AND PRAEJECTUS OF CLERMONT, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; AND SAINT AMARIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT JACQUES BUNOL, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/30/devotion-for-all-saints-day-year-d-humes/
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Above: Jesus, from The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964)
A Screen Capture
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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 13:1-16 or Ezra 1:1-7; 3:8-13
Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26
Revelation 7:9-17
John 11:1-3. 16-44
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Jesus wept.
–John 11:35, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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They will never hunger or thirst again; neither the sun nor scorching wind will ever plague them because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears like their eyes.
–Revelation 7:16-17, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
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I could take so many paths through the assigned readings for this week. These readings are rich texts. I will take just one path, however.
Before I do, here are a few notes:
- Abraham waited for God to tell him which land to claim. Abraham chose well.
- Lot chose land on his own. He chose poorly. However, at the time he seemed to have chosen wisely; he selected fertile land.
- I agree with Psalm 136. Divine mercy does endure forever.
- The chronology of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah weaves in and out of those books. I know, for I blogged my way through them in chronological order at BLOGA THEOLOGICA last year.
For the record, the chronological reading order of Ezra-Nehemiah follows:
- Ezra 1:1-2:70; Nehemiah 7:6-73a;
- Ezra 3:1-4:5;
- Ezra 5:1-6:22;
- Ezra 4:6-24;
- Nehemiah 1:1-2:20;
- Nehemiah 3:1-4:17;
- Nehemiah 5:1-19;
- Nehemiah 6:1-7:5;
- Nehemiah 11:1-12:47;
- Nehemiah 13:1-31;
- Nehemiah 9:38-10:39;
- Ezra 7:1-10:44; and
- Nehemiah 7:73b-9:38.
I take my lead in this post from the New Testament readings. Tears are prominent in both of them. Tears are on my mind during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are also on my mind as I continue to mourn the violent death of my beloved. Her departure from this side of the veil of tears has left me shaken and as forever changed me.
The full divinity and full humanity of Jesus are on display in John 11. We read that Jesus wept over the death of his friend, St. Lazarus of Bethany. We also read of other people mourning and weeping in the immediate area. We may not pay much attention to that. We may tell ourselves, “Of course, they grieved and wept.” But two words–“Jesus wept”–remain prominent.
There is a scene in The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964) that fits this theme. At the time, Hollywood studios had recently released technicolor movies about a Jesus who had no tear ducts yet had an impressive command of Elizabethan English while resembling a Northern European. Yet Pier Paolo Pasolini, who committed about half of the Gospel of Matthew to film, presented a Jesus who had tear ducts. Immediately after the off-camera decapitation of St. John the Baptist, the next shot was a focus on Christ’s face. He was crying. So were the men standing in front of him.
Jesus wept.
We weep. Jesus weeps with us until the day God will wipe away all tears of those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 23, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE ALMSGIVER, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA
THE FEAST OF CHARLES KINGSLEY, ANGLICAN PRIEST, NOVELIST, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD GRUBB, ENGLISH QUAKER AUTHOR, SOCIAL REFORMER, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JAMES D. SMART, CANADIAN PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF PHILLIPS BROOKS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF MASSACHUSETTS, AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/23/devotion-for-proper-19-year-d-humes/
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Above: De Profundis, by Horatio Walker
Image in the Public Domain
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For the First Sunday in Lent, 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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We beseech thee, O Lord, by the mystery of our Savior’s fasting and temptation,
to arm us with the same mind that was in him toward all evil and sin;
and give us grace to keep our bodies in such holy discipline,
that our minds may be always ready to resist temptation,
and obey the direction of thy Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 146
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Genesis 22:1-14
Psalm 130
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Matthew 4:1-11
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Before I settle into the main business of this blog post, I choose to get some preliminary matters out of the day.
- I have written about the near-sacrifice of Isaac many times. (Check the category for Genesis 22, O reader.) It is a terrible, traditionally misinterpreted tale. In modern times, the state Department of Family and Children’s Services would be all over Abraham like lint on a cheap suit, and properly so. Police officers would arrest Abraham for attempted murder, and properly so. A prosecutor would try to convict Abraham in court, and properly so. God tested Abraham. Abraham failed that test. He should have asked questions, to be sure he understood correctly.
- The Temptation of Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4) offers more familiar, much written-about ground. (Check the category for Matthew 4, O reader.)
I take my key note from Psalm 130, a prayer for forgiveness, both individual and collective. The text affirms the merciful love of God, as well as the human obligation to confess sins, feel remorse for them, and repent of them. That is the academic side of Psalm 130 for me.
There is no error is offering an objectively accurate analysis and summary of a text, of course. In the case of Psalm 130, however, I add the dimension of grief. During the years I loved Bonny Thomas, who struggled with mental illness, I returned frequently to Psalm 130. I cried to God from the depths. After Bonny lost her battle with mental illness and died violently, I cried again to God from the depths. I have continued to do so.
We can cry to God from the depths in proper confidence that God will hear us and take pity on us. We can also be present for others in their depths. Having been or being in the depths can enable us to help others in the depths better than we could aid them otherwise.
This point ties into 2 Corinthians 6:6. One of the ways we prove we are servants of God is by being kind. Speaking of kindness, Jesus can help us, too. He knows temptations, too. So, in the darkness of the depths, we can find a cause for rejoicing and recognize that we have everything we need.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 6, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
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Above: Pearl of Grief, by Rembrandt Peale
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Second Sunday Before Lent, 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 God, who seest that we put not our trust in anything that we do;
mercifully grant that by thy power,
we may be defended against all adversity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 139
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Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
Psalm 71
2 Timothy 3:10-4:5
Luke 8:4-15
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These four readings include the unifying theme of perseverance in faith during times of misfortune. Do we become stronger or weaker in faith during such times?
The bottom has fallen out of my life twice–in late 2006 and early 2007 then again on October 14, 2019. I rebounded spiritually from the 2006-2007 collapse years ago. I am still rebuilding spiritually from Bonny’s sudden, violent death on October 14, 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has added complications on top of my personal catastrophe.
I have grown the most spiritually during times of distress. The light of God has seemed brighter in the darkness. Perhaps that light was as bright as it had always been. If so, the darkness around it magnified the light’s effectiveness. I remain grateful for that spiritual growth without wanting to relive those experiences or anything similar to them.
Life is unfair. It hurts horribly, sometimes. If one relies on one’s own resources, one cannot move along from one moment to the next, let alone one day to the next. If one relies on God, both directly and indirectly, however, one can do that. Life will still hurt, but one will not feel alone in that hurt. Jesus can identify with us, our temptations, and our pain.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 12, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, ABOLITIONIST AND FEMINIST; AND MARIA STEWART, ABOLITIONIST, FEMINIST, AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS BARTHOLOMEW BUONPEDONI AND VIVALDUS, MINISTERS AMONG LEPERS
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LOUIS POTEAT, PRESIDENT OF WAKE FOREST COLLEGE, AND BIOLOGIST; HIS BROTHER, EDWIN MCNEILL POTEAT, SR., SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER, SCHOLAR, AND PRESIDENT OF FURMAN UNIVERSITY; HIS SON, EDWIN MCNEILL POTEAT, JR., SOUTHERN BAPTIST MINISTER, MISSIONARY, MUSICIAN, HYMN WRITER, AND SOCIAL REFORMER; HIS BROTHER, GORDON MCNEILL POTEAT, SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN BAPTIST AND CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND MISSIONARY; AND HIS COUSIN, HUBERT MCNEILL POTEAT, SOUTHERN BAPTIST ACADEMIC AND MUSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT LUDWIK BARTOSIK, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941
THE FEAST OF THOMAS CANNING, U.S. COMPOSER AND MUSIC EDUCATOR
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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