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 First Paragraph of the Shema

Image in the Public Domain

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Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Psalm 119:1-16 (LBW) or Psalm 119:121-128 (LW)

Hebrews 7:23-28

Mark 12:28-34 (35-37)

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Lord, when the day of wrath comes

we have no hope except in your grace.

Make us so to watch for the last days

that the consumation of our hope may be

the joy of the marriage feast of your Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 29

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O Lord, we pray that the visitation of your grace

may so cleanse our thoughts and minds

that your Son Jesus, when he shall come,

may find us a fit dwelling place;

through Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 89

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Jesus knew the tradition of Rabbi Hillel, as he proved in Mark 12:29-31.  Christ stood within his Jewish tradition and within the school of Hillel, in particular.  So, the Christian tradition of pitting Jesus against Judaism has always been erroneous.

After Rabbi Hillel quoted the same verses Jesus eventually quoted also, Hillel said:

The rest is commentary.  God and learn it.

That ethos permeates Psalm 119, in which the Torah refers to divine instruction, with the Law incorporated into it.  Traditional Christian disregard for the Law of Moses–a subsequent theological development–contradicts Psalm 119 and Deuteronomy 6:1-9.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 drips with hindsight, irony, and melancholy. The author, reflecting centuries after the time in the wilderness, understood what had transpired in time and in Jewish folk religion, as opposed to Jewish priestly religion.  This author, consistent with Deuteronomistic theology, affirmed that collective and national disaster was the inevitable result of this pattern.

As Christianity emerged from its Jewish roots, Christian theology developed along divergent paths.  Part of the church, consistent with Judaism, never developed the theology of Original Sin and the Fall of Man, with the ensuing corruption of human nature.  Augustinian theology, which postdates the Epistle to the Hebrews by centuries, could not have informed that document.  The author of Hebrews–perhaps St. Apollos, although Origen wrote that only God knew the author’s identity–affirmed that Christ is the timeless, sinless high priest who covers sins and intercedes for sinners.

So, regardless of one’s opinion of Augustinian theology and the role of the Law of Moses, one can frolic in the good news that God is not chomping on the bit to throw lightning bolts at anyone.  Christ intercedes for us.  Do we even notice, though?

I, without minimizing or denying the importance of works in moral terms, choose not to walk the Pelagian path.  Salvation is a process of grace, and God is in charge of the process.  I also affirm Single Predestination, so some people sit on the chosen list.  How one responds to grace remains an individual decision, with individual responsibility.  Yet grace surrounds even this situation.  The longer I live, the less inclined I am to think of any people as belonging in Hell.  Matters of salvation and damnation are in the purview of God.  I am not God.  Neither are you, O reader.

We–like the author of Deuteronomy 6:1-9, possess hindsight.  We–like the author of Deuteronomy 6:1-9–also live in something called the present.  Therefore, we can have only so much hindsight.  And even the most perceptive human hindsight is…human.  God knows far more than we do.

Yet we can live according to love and mere decency.  This is a certain way to embody divine love, honor God and human dignity, and get into trouble with some conventionally pious people and sometimes with legal authorities.

Nevertheless, this is one standard Jesus upheld in Mark 12:28-34.  The Golden Rule should never be controversial, but it frequently is.

Our works matter morally.  May we, by grace, make them count for as much good as possible.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 11, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE THIRTY-THIRD DAY OF EASTER

THE FEAST OF HENRY KNOX SHERRILL, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

THE FEAST OF BARBARA ANDREWS, FIRST FEMALE MINISTER IN THE AMERICAN LUTHERAN CHURCH, 1970

THE FEAST OF SAINT GJON KODA, ALBANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1947

THE FEAST OF JOHN JAMES MOMENT, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MATTEO RICCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF SAINT MATTHÊÔ LÊ VAN GAM, VIETNAMESE ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1847

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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:  Icon of Amos

Image in the Public Domain

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Amos 5:6-7, 10-15

Psalm 90:12-17 (LBW) or Psalm 119:73-80 (LW)

Hebrews 3:1-6

Mark 10:17-27 (28-30)

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Almighty God, source of every blessing,

your generous goodness comes to us anew every day. 

By the work of your Spirit,

lead us to acknowledge your goodness,

give thanks for your benefits,

and serve you in willing obedience; 

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 28

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Enlighten our minds, we pray, O God,

by the Spirit who proceeds from you, 

that, as your Son has promised,

we may be led into all truth;

through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,

who lives and reigns and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 85

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The prophet Amos channeled the Law of Moses when he condemned economic injustice.  The cheating of people and the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable stirred up the prophet’s righteous anger.  The original context was the northern Kingdom of Israel about half a century prior to its demise in 722 B.C.E.  Sadly, Amos 5:6-15 has never ceased to apply somewhere, at least in spirit.

If Amos were alive today, many people–including many conventionally pious folk–would dismiss him as a “Social Justice Warrior” and as “woke.”  So be it.  Cynics and defenders of social injustice are always present, as is the divine judgment upon them.

The selections from the Book of Psalms attest to dedication to living so as to obey and honor God.  This attitude is a good start–a better start than disregard for those purposes.  Yet a good start does not always result in a good conclusion.  As the lection from Mark 10 indicates, wealth can stand in the way by blinding one to total dependence on God.  Wealth is, by itself, morally and spiritually neutral.  And a review of Christ’s spiritual counsel in the reveals that he tailored advice to fit its recipients, in their circumstances.  Regarding wealth, as we read elsewhere in the New Testament, the love of money is the root of all evil–the delusion that we can and must rely on ourselves, not God.

The most succinct summary of the Epistle to the Hebrews I have heard is:

There is x, then there is Jesus.

In Hebrews 3:1-6, for example, we read that Jesus is greater than Moses.  God is the builder of the household of God, Moses was a faithful member of that household, Christ is faithful as a son over his household, and the people of God are the household of God.  There is a caveat, though:

…And we are his household, as long as we maintain his boldness and the boast of hope.

–Hebrews 3:6, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible

In other words, we are the household of God as long as we do not drop out of it.  Apostasy is a theme in the Epistle to the Hebrews, set against the backdrop of persecution.

What distracts us from God?  What are our idols?  For some, wealth is an idol.  Yet money and property are not idols for all wealthy people.  Fear of persecution is another popular idol.  Insensitivity to human suffering is yet another frequent idol.  The list is long.

May God reveal our idols to us.  Then may we repent and follow God, to the benefit of others and ourselves, as well as to the glory of God, regardless of the cost to us.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 28, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE TWENTIETH DAY OF EASTER

THE FEAST OF JAROSLAV VAJDA, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOZEF CEBULA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941

THE FEAST OF SAINT LOUIS DE MONTFORT, FOUNDER OF THE COMPANY OF MARY (THE MONTFORT MISSIONARIES) AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF WISDOM; AND SAINT MARIE-LOUISE TRICHET, CO-FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF WISDOM

THE FEAST OF SAINT PAMPHILIUS OF SULMONA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND ALMSGIVER

THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CHANEL, PROTOMARTYR OF OCEANIA, 1841

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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 Out Slums, by the U.S. Office of War Information, 1943-1945

Image in the Public Domain

National Archives and Record Administration ID 513549

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Isaiah 50:4-10

Psalm 116:1-8

James 2:1-5, 8-10, 14-18

Mark 8:27-35

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O God, you declare your almighty power

chiefly in showing mercy and pity. 

Grant us the fullness of your grace,

that, pursuing what you have promised,

we may share your heavenly glory;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 27

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O God, without whose blessing we are not able to please you,

mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit

may in all things direct and govern our hearts;

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), 80

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Deuteronomistic theology–ubiquitous in the Hebrew Bible–teaches that the Babylonian Exile was justified punishment for centuries collective and habitual disregard of the Law of Moses.  This is the position of Second Isaiah shortly prior to the promised vindication of the exiles by God.  Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance.

Many exiles did not expect the Babylonian Exile to end; they had become accustomed to the status quo and fallen into despair.  This was psychologically predictable.

Likewise, St. Simon Peter, immediately following his confession of faith in Jesus, did not expect the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  And how many Christians have expected to suffer and perhaps to die for their faith?  Yet many have taken up their crosses and followed Jesus to humiliation and/or martyrdom.  St. (John) Mark, supposedly the author of the Gospel of Mark, died by dragging through the streets of Alexandria, Egypt.

The messages in the lection from James 2 may shock some people, too.  The category of the “deserving poor” is old, even in traditionally Christian cultures.  The opposite category, of course, is the “underserving poor.”  So, allegedly, we may help the “deserving poor” and ignore the “undeserving poor” with a clear moral conscience, right?  Wrong!  The categories of the “deserving poor” and the “undeserving poor,” taken together, constitute a morally invalid and false dichotomy.  God takes mistreating the poor seriously.  All of the poor are the “deserving poor.”

Whoever acts without mercy will be judged without mercy, but mercy triumphs over judgment.

–James 2:13, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible

James 2:13 is consistent with the Sermon on the Mount:

Judge not, that you may not be judged; For by whatever verdict you pass judgment you shall be judged, and in whatever measure you measure it will be meted out to you.

–Matthew 7:1-2, David Bentley Hart, The New Testament:  A Translation (2017)

Clarence Jordan‘s Cotton Patch Version of the Gospel of Matthew puts a Southern Low Church Protestant spin on these verses:

Don’t preach just to keep from getting preached to.  For the same sermon you preach will be applied to you, and the stuff you dish out will be dished up to you.

Jordan’s rendering of James 2:13 also gets to the point:

For there is merciless judgment on a merciless man, and mercy is much more preferred than judgment.

Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE TWELFTH DAY OF EASTER

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN, MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND “PASTOR OF THE REFORMATION”

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND SAINTS GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF SAINT CHIARA BOSATTA, CO-FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF SAINT MARY OF PROVIDENCE

THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN X, KING OF DENMARK AND ICELAND; AND HIS BROTHER, HAAKON VII, KING OF NORWAY

THE FEAST OF MARION MACDONALD KELLARAN, EPISCOPAL SEMINARY PROFESSOR AND LAY READER

THE FEAST OF ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

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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:  Mine de plomb et lavis sur papier (Exterior of Arm and Washing on Paper), by Auguste Rodin

Image in the Public Domain

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Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8

Psalm 15 (LBW) or Psalm 119:129-136 (LW)

Ephesians 6:10-20

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

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O God, we thank you for your Son,

who chose the path of suffering for the sake of the world. 

Humble us by his example,

point us to the path of obedience,

and give us strength to follow his commands;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 27

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Lord of all power and might, Author and Giver of all good things,

graft in our hearts the love of your name,

increase in us true religion,

nourish us with all goodness,

and bring forth in us the fruit of good works;

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), 78

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You shall not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I enjoin upon you.

–Deuteronomy 4:2, The New Jerusalem Bible 1985)

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The author of the Gospel of Mark was mistaken; not all Jews practiced ritual handwashing prior to eating.  In fact, this handwashing, absent from the Law of Moses, was a habit of Pharisees, a minority sect of Judaism at the time of Christ.  So, when Pharisees observed disciples of Jesus not engaging in ritual handwashing prior to eating, they saw disciples behaving as most Jews did.

Mark 7:1-23 (including verses the ILCW Lectionary omits) contrasts being persnickety over such a practice–not in the Law of Moses–with violation of weightier matters, such as honoring one’s parents, a provision of the Law of Moses.  In this context, the charge of hypocrisy against critics of Christ’s disciples still rings down the corridors of time.

Holiness is about being separate and set apart.  Defilement is about being common.  This is a point which J. B. Phillips‘s New Testament in Modern English (1972) makes clear:

Why do your disciples refuse to follow the ancient tradition, and eat their bread with ‘common’ hands?

–Mark 7:5

Other than the point that the “ancient tradition” was not ancient, we have a profound lesson, one with which the ancient traditions of Judaism agreed:  the crucial role of the moral code in the Law of Moses.  Violations of this moral code arise from within people.  The spiritual creepy-crawlies defile people–make them common.

Torah, in the broad definition–as in Psalm 119–is the teaching of God.  This divine instruction includes the Law, still binding in Judaism.  And, in Christianity, the fulfillment of the Law by Jesus has not nullified any moral obligations to God and people.

I write this post not to lambaste dead people and feel morally superior.  I could add many Christians to the Pharisees in Mark 7 as I critique people who have fixated on minor matters and neglected greater issues.  I know of a small, conservative denomination founded officially on theological orthodoxy against the heresy that for men to wear neckties to church was acceptable, according to the Bible.  The “authority of scripture” as the definition of matters including neckties was the standard of theological orthodoxy for those who committed schism in this case.  I also think of a small, conservative Reformed denomination that finally decided in 1982 that not all dancing–ballet, in this case–was sinful.  And I know of a small, conservative Lutheran denomination that continues to condemn all dancing as being sinful.

I write this post not only to lambaste legalistic fun-damn-mentalists and Evangelicals and to feel morally superior.  They deserve a degree of lambasting.  Yes, fishing with dynamite may be fun and momentarily satisfying, but I take the next step.  I ask where I fixate on minor matters at the expense of weightier issues.  I deserve a degree of lambasting, too, for fixating on minor matters at the expense of weightier issues.  No person, congregation, denomination, society, culture, or religious tradition is immune from such an error in choosing where to fixate.

May we, by grace, see the error of our ways, repent, and follow in the correct path.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 14, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTH DAY OF EASTER

THE FEAST OF EDWARD THOMAS DEMBY AND HENRY BEARD DELANY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHIPS FOR COLORED WORK

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTHONY, JOHN, AND EUSTATHIUS OF VILNIUS, MARTYRS IN LITHUANIA, 1347

THE FEAST OF GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT LUCIEN BOTOVASOA, MALAGASY ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 1947

THE FEAST OF SAINT WANDREGISILUS OF NORMANDY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT LAMBERT OF LYONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZENAIDA OF TARSUS AND HER SISTER, SAINT PHILONELLA OF TARSUS; AND SAINT HERMIONE OF EPHESUS; UNMERCENARY PHYSICIANS

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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:  King Jeroboam II of Israel

Image in the Public Domain

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Amos 7:1-15

Psalm 85:8-13 (LBW) or Psalm 126 (LW)

Ephesians 1:3-14

Mark 6:7-14

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Almighty God, we thank you for planting in us the seed of your word. 

By your Holy Spirit help us to receive it with joy,

live according to it,

and grow in faith and hope and love;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

or

Lord God, use our lives to touch the world with your love. 

Stir us, by your Spirit, to be neighbors to those in need,

serving them with willing hearts;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 25

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O almighty and most merciful God,

of your bountiful goodness keep us, we pray,

from all things that may hurt us that we,

being ready in both body and soul,

may cheerfully accomplish whatever things you want done;

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), 69

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The (northern) Kingdom of Israel was doing relatively well.  King Jeroboam II (reigned 788-747 B.C.E.) sat on the throne in Samaria.  The borders were secure and the army was strong.  The economy was thriving.  The economy, in the aggregate, was thriving.  Yet the Neo-Assyrian Empire was a developing foreign threat.  Also, corruption, artificial scarcity, and rampant poverty constituted domestic threats.

Briefly, into this context stepped Amos of Tekoa, a sheep herder and a tender of sycamore trees from the (southern) Kingdom of Judah.  He preached a message of doom and gloom.  The message of the fall of the dynasty then the kingdom constituted treason in Jeroboam II’s Israel.  Yet Amos was correct.  King Jeroboam II died in 747 B.C.E.  His dynasty fell later that year.  And the (norhtern) Kingdom of Israel, reduced to vassalage in the ensuing years, fell to the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 722 B.C.E.

The rejection of God’s message does not nullify it.

The assigned psalms exist in temporal and spiritual tension.  God has delivered the people.  God, please deliver them again.  Lord, please save us from our oppressors.

Not yet.

Given the history of oppressions of the Jewish people, these psalms have a sad, timeless quality.  Yes, they stem from a historical situation, but one could have prayed Psalms 85 and 1 26 just as plaintively after the Fall of Samaria as after the Fall of Jerusalem as during the difficult early decades following the end of the Babylonian Exile, during the Seleucid persecution, and during many periods since then.  Collective arrogance and the disregard of moral obligations of the Law of Moses were as much perils as hostile foreign governments.

We ought to read Mark 6:7-13 in the context of 6:1-6.  As I read them together on the page, the contrast between verses 5-6 and 13 is obvious.  One motif in the Gospels is that rejection of the message of God/Jesus stymied the performance of works of power, and that acceptance of the message facilitated the performance of such works of power.

Just as Jesus was the source of his disciples’ authority and power, he is the source of Christians’ “filial adoption” (verse 5) and his blood is the source of our “fee for liberation, the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (verse 7), to quote David Bentley Hart’s translation of the New Testament.  That is especially impressive for one whom many in religious authority had rejected and whom Pontius Pilate had ordered crucified.  May we also recall that most of the Twelve died as martyrs and that the Gospels teach that each Christian should take up a cross and follow Jesus.

The rejection of God’s message does not nullify it.

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:  Jesus and His Disciples

Image in the Public Domain

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Genesis 3:9-15

Psalm 61:2-5, 8 (LBW) or Psalm 28 (LW)

2 Corinthians 4:13-18

Mark 3:20-35

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O God, the strength of those who hope in you: 

Be present and hear our prayers;

and, because in the weakness of our mortal nature

we can do nothing good without you,

give us the help of your grace,

so that in keeping your commandments

we may please you in will and deed,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 24

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O God, from whom all good proceeds,

grant to us, your humble servants,

that by your holy inspiration we may think the things that are right

and by your merciful guiding accomplish them;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 64

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In the great mythology of Genesis 3, the knowledge of good and evil is not intellectualized and academic.  No, this is lived knowledge.  One can have this knowledge of good and evil only by performing good and evil.  The consequences for humans include the inevitable estrangement from God, who had required only obedience.  This estrangement from God is the opposite of what we read in the selected psalms and in the epistle lection.  In Christian terms, the point of the Incarnation and the Atonement is to reverse that estrangement.  Thus, as one can read in the Epistle to the Ephesians, Christ breaks down the walls of estrangement have from each other.  Nevertheless, O reader, as you may observe, even Christians rebuild these walls of estrangement and separation.  How ironic is that tendency?

The lection from Mark 3 brings us to the topic of the unpardonable sin.  The textual context is invaluable in understanding the unpardonable sin–blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  The context of the inability to discern between good and evil–in this case, manifested in attributing the deeds of Jesus to an alliance with Satan–indicates estrangement from God.  This estrangement is of human origin.  Those who, for any reason, persist in this estrangement from God cut themselves off from God, who reaches out to them.  Many of them may not know of their estrangement from God.

In textual context of the Gospel of Mark, we can read 3:1-6, in which Jesus scandalously healed a man with a withered hand in a synagogue on the sabbath.  That story tells us that some conventionally pious people–other Jews–sought to accuse Jesus of violating the Sabbath for healing that unfortunate man on that day.  In Mark 3:1-6, all the educators are Jewish, so we read of an intra-Jewish dispute.  Verse 5 tells us that Jesus felt anger toward those accusers and grieved their hardness of heart.  Verse 6 informs us that plotting for the death of Jesus ensued immediately.  So, Mark 3:20-35 plays out in the context of a conspiracy to kill Jesus–in the name of God, of course.

Religion–regardless of its label–is what adherents make of it.  If one seeks justification for killing people, one can find it.  One may have to distort that religion to locate that mandate or permission slip, but seeking usually culminates in finding.  And if one is prone to being merciful and compassionate, one can find justification for that in religion, too.  As David Bentley Hart astutely and correctly observes, there is no such thing as generic religion.

In Mark 3, the religion is Second Temple Judaism.  The existence of capital offenses in the Law of Moses is a fact.  Yet so are cultural considerations of antiquity relative to the first century of the Common Era.  Lest we Christians rush to judgment against Judaism, the Law of Moses, or those conspiring Pharisees and Herodians, may we not neglect the logs in our proverbial eyes and the violent sins of our tradition.  We have the blood of victims of crusades, inquisitions, pogroms, and wars of religion on our collective hands.  David Bentley Hart contextualizes this violent past by (a) explaining that the drivers of it were usually political, and (b) that the religious moral vision exposes the sinfulness of such violence.  That is a nuance–one worth considering while never minimizing the devastation of such violence.

Lambasting long-dead Pharisees and Herodians is easy.  Condemning long-dead Christians for killing in the name of Jesus (himself executed horribly) requires minimal moral effort, too.  But think, O reader:  Is there someone whose death you would cheer?  Have you ever applauded anyone’s execution, murder, or any other mode of death?  If so, are you any different from those whom you deplore for plotting or committing violence, especially in the name of God?  If so, you may be estranged from God.  This estrangement need not persist, though.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 3, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE THIRTY-FIFTH DAY OF LENT

MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK

THE FEAST OF LUTHER D. REED, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST

THE FEAST OF SAINTS BURGENDOFARA AND SADALBERGA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESSES, AND THEIR RELATIVES

THE FEAST OF MARC SAGNIER, FOUNDER OF THE SILION MOVEMENT

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY OF EGYPT, HERMIT AND PENITENT

THE FEAST OF REGINALD HEBER, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF CALCUTTA, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SIDNEY LOVETT, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND CHAPLAIN OF YALE UNIVERSITY

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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:  Christ and the Apostles

Image in the Public Domain

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Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Psalm 81:1-10 (LBW) or Psalm 142 (LW)

2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Mark 2:23-28

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Lord God of all nations,

you have revealed your will to your people

and promised your help to us all. 

Help us to hear and to do what you command,

that the darkness may be overcome by the power of your light;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 24

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O God,

whose never-failing providence sets in order all things

both in heaven and on earth,

put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things;

and give us those things that are profitable for us;

through Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 62

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The Sabbath is a divine gift.  The Deuteronomistic version of the Ten Commandments explains that the Sabbath is a mark of freedom; a free person, not a slave, gets a day off from work each week.  This explanation differs from that in the version of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20.  In Exodus 20:11, the Redactor explains the rationale for the Sabbath as emulating God.

The Sabbath is a divine gift.  God liberates us.  God frees us to be out best possible selves, communities, congregations, et cetera.  In turn, obedience is hardly an onerous requirement.  Even during persecution, we are free to cry out to God for deliverance.  And we, as those who follow God, can follow it.  St. Paul the Apostle is identifying our suffering with that of Jesus.  If we suffer with our Lord and Savior–if we take up our cross and follow him–God will not abandon us either.  Our triumph may come in the afterlife, but it will come.

The Sabbath is a divine gift.  Yet many people, out of misguided piety, transform it into a burden.  With that comment I turn my attention to the reading from Mark 2.  People have to eat on the Sabbath, do they not?  Yes, plucking grain on the Sabbath is work, but the Law of Moses does not forbid all work on the Sabbath.  For example, circumcision must occur on the eighth day of a boy’s life, according to the Law of Moses.  If that day falls on the Sabbath, so be it.  Also, the Jewish tradition understands that keeping some commandments may require violating others, due to circumstances.  Prioritizing and ranking commandments is, therefore, necessary.

Yet some people did not receive that memorandum, so to speak.

Lambasting long-dead Pharisees is easy.  Examining ourselves spiritually may be challenging, though.  Do we have our precious categories, which we maintain strictly and piously, to the detriment of others?  Does our piety ever harm anyone or delay someone’s restoration to physical, emotional, or spiritual wholeness?  Does our piety ever cause or prolong the suffering of others?  If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” we practice misguided piety.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 28, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE THIRTIETH DAY OF LENT

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 CHEVENIX 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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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:  Elisha Refuses the Gifts of Naaman, by Pieter de Grebber

Image in the Public Domain

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2 Kings 5:1-14

Psalm 32

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Mark 1:40-45

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Lord God, mercifully receive the prayers of your people. 

Help us to see and understand the things we ought to do,

and give us grace and power to do them;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 16

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O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers

of your people who call upon you,

and grant that they may understand the things they ought to do

and also may have grace and strength to accomplish them;

through Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 27

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“Leprosy” is a misleading translation commonplace in renderings of the assigned readings from 2 Kings 5 and Mark 1.  Modern diagnoses would vary, if we had more detailed language in the ancient texts.  The reference is to a range of dermatological conditions, all of which made one ritually unclean and brought social implications with that status.

I may not have to tell you, O reader, that how others think of then treat one may be devastating.  Ostracism can take a toll on a person, for example.

Healing and cleansing from so-called leprosy meant restoration to family and community.  in Mark 1:40-45, the holiness of Jesus overpowered the cause of the man’s ritual impurity.

Ritual impurity is not sin; one may contract it by following the Law of  oses.  For example, burying the dead properly is an obligation in the Law of Moses.  Yet that act creates corpse impurity in the living.  And one may contract social impurity while going about the mundane activities of daily life.  Ritual impurity, a concept ubiquitous in the ancient Mediterranean world, is alien to my North American context.  Yet I cannot properly understand much of the Bible without grasping ritual impurity and purity.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 flows from 9:19-23, outside of which 9:24-27 makes no sense.  We read of the commitment of St. Paul the Apostle to Christ.  Grace is free yet never cheap.  If you have any doubt of that, O reader, ponder what grace required of St. Paul.

I invite you, O reader, to contrast the restoration to family and community that results from the restoration to ritual purity with the alienation from family and community that may result from following Jesus.  Consider St. Paul, who experienced beatings, scorn, and incarcerations for the sake of Christ.  Consider St. Paul, who became a martyr for the sake of Jesus.  Psalm 32 may seem unduly optimistic, but if one understands well-being to flow from God, that text is realistic.  Persecutions cannot interfere with well-being in God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 12, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINTS TRASILLA AND EMILIANA; THEIR SISTER-IN-LAW, SAINT SYLVIA OF ROME; AND HER SON, SAINT GREGORY I “THE GREAT,” BISHOP OF ROME

THE FEAST OF HENRY WALFORD DAVIES, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF JOHN H. CALDWELL, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER AND SOCIAL REFORMER

THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR AND MARTYR 295

THE FEAST OF RUTILIO GRANDE, EL SALVADORAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1977

THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS

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Adapted from this post

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART LXXVI

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Psalm 132

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Psalm 132 is a prayer for the restoration of the Davidic Dynasty, the last king of which was Zedekiah (reigned 597-586 B.C.E.).  The text, therefore, comes from either the Babylonian Exile or afterward.  A date prior to the dedication of the Second Temple (516 B.C.E.) is probable, based on the text.

The historical record indicates that the Davidic Dynasty never returned to power.  Regarding the question of the anointed one (The Messiah)–the Davidic heir or regnant monarch–the Hebrew prophetic literature diverges in interpretation.  Depending on the prophet one believes, there will either be a Davidic heir and regnant monarch in Jerusalem or the covenantal promises came to apply to the people of Judea–a royal nation.

Psalm 132 calls to mind historical nostalgia, hindsight Biblical authors could not have had, and the Biblical tradition of reinterpreting prophecies.  So be it.  As Psalm 132 teaches, the moral mandates of the Law of Moses remain in force.  Salvation for the Jews (collectively) is a matter of divine choice.  However, dropping out is a matter of persistent and unrepentant disregard of those moral obligations, according to Covenantal Nomism.

I, as a Gentile, stand outside Covenantal Nomism; I come under the New Covenant in Jesus.  However, the same moral mandates Jews have apply to Gentiles, both collectively and individually.  And Gentiles face consequences for disregarding those mandates, too.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 19, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINT NERSES I THE GREAT, CATHOLICOS OF THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH; FAND SAINT MESROP, BIBLE TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AGNES TSAO KOU YING, AGATHA LIN ZHAO, AND LUCY YI ZHENMEI, CHINENSE ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHISTS AND MARTYRS, 1856, 1858, AND 1862; SAINT AUGUSTE CHAPDELAINE, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MISSIONARY, AND MARTYR, 1856; AND SAINT LAURENTIUS BAI XIAOMAN, CHINESE ROMAN CATHOLIC CONVERT AND MARTYR, 1856

THE FEAST OF BERNARD BARTON, ENGLISH QUAKER POET AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ELIZABETH C. CLEPHANE, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN HUMANITARIAN AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH PARRY, WELSH CONGREGATIONALIST ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF MASSEY H. SHEPHERD, JR., EPISCOPAL PRIEST, ECUMENIST, AND LITURGIST; DEAN OF AMERICAN LITURGISTS

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART LXX

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Psalm 119

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Psalm 119, with 176 verses, is the longest entry in the Psalter and the longest chapter in the Bible.  This repetitive “Psalm of the Law” contains themes familiar in the Book of Psalms from Psalm 1 to Psalm 118.  Therefore, I choose not to address all of these themes in this post.  Instead, I opt to focus on the proverbial big picture of Psalm 119.

The key word is torah.  Torah, in the narrow definition, means “Law.”  Yet, in the broad definition, torah is “teaching” or “instruction,” incorporating the Law.  We do well to adopt the broad definition of torah in Psalm 119.

God seems distant in Psalm 119.  Therefore, the psalmist clings to torah, understood as a manifestation of God.  The author writes of torah as being the

decisive factor in every sphere of life.

–Artur Weiser, The Psalms:  A Commentary (1962), 740

So, a closer examination of torah is in order.

The Law of Moses (torah, in the narrow definition) may seem mostly irrelevant to most Christians, especially those who assume that St. Paul the Apostle was a proto-Lutheran and interpret the Epistles to the Romans and the Galatians in a manner which may be inaccurate.  Eastern Orthodox scholar David Bentley Hart contradicts the proto-Lutheran St. Paul hypothesis.  So does E. P. Sanders, notably in Paul and Palestinian Judaism:  A Comparison of Patterns of Religion (1977).  Hart avoids “justification” and “works” in his translation of Romans; he prefers “vindication” and “observances.”  And Sanders holds that St. Paul’s critique of Judaism was not that it was a religion with works-based righteousness, for St. Paul knew better than that.  Sanders also uses a plethora of Second Temple-era Jewish documents (some canonical) to prove that Second Temple Judaism did not teach works-based righteousness.  He argues that, in St. Paul’s mind, the death and resurrection of Jesus changed everything.  So, post-resurrection of Jesus, St. Paul’s critique of Judaism was that it was not Christianity.

The Law of Moses contains both timeless principles and culturally-specific commandments.  The latter may seem irrelevant in one setting in 2023, but “peaking behind the Law” (my term) reveals contemporary applications.  (This is a traditional Jewish practice.)  Consider, for example, the commandment regarding leaving food in the fields for gleaning (Leviticus 19).  One may fulfill this commandment in more than one way without being an agriculturalist.  One may, for example, shop for a local food bank, volunteer to distribute food bank food to people who need it, or volunteer at a soup kitchen.  My parish, Calvary Episcopal Church, Americus, Georgia, sits on a major street near downtown.  We have a “Blessings Box” beside the sidewalk and facing that street.  The raised wooden structure, with a door, is a receptable for food, as well as sanitary and health-related items, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, and hand sanitizer.  The Blessings Box is a parish project, and members of the community who are not parishioners contribute, too.  The principle to feed the hungry poor is timeless.

The Law of Moses teaches mutuality and interdependence within the context of total human dependence upon God.  We are responsible to and for each other.  God commands us to take care of–not to exploit–one another.  Thus, we can have righteousness–right relationship with God, others, self, and all creation.

With this in mind, Psalm 119 may come to life in a fresh way for an otherwise bored reader.  Torah (in the broad definition) is a reason to celebrate.  It is a goal to which aspire.  So, one may say with the psalmist:

Happy are those whose way is blameless,

who follow the teaching the way of the LORD.

–Psalm 119:1, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 13, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AQUILA, PRISCILLA, AND APOLLOS, CO-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

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