Archive for the ‘Prosperity Theology’ Tag
Above: A Vineyard
Image in the Public Domain
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 22:24-30 (LBW) or Psalm 22:25-31 (LW)
1 John 3:18-24
John 15:1-8
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O God, form the minds of your faithful people into a single will.
Make us love what you command and desire what you promise,
that, amid, all the changes of this world,
our hearts may be fixed where true joy is found;
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), 22
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O God, you make the minds of your faithful to be of one will;
therefore grant to your people that they may love what you command
and desire what you promise,
that among the manifold changes of this age our hearts
may ever be fixed where true joys are to be found;
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), 53
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A common thread running through the readings for this Sunday is asking and receiving. For example:
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
–1 John 3:21-23, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
In other words, if we want what God desires, and if we pray for that, we will receive it. That makes sense. This message contradicts Prosperity Theology, an old heresy popular in certain quarters these days. If I, for example, need reliable transportation, praying for that is morally and spiritually acceptable. And I may receive a Chevrolet, not a Cadillac. I will, however, get from Point A to Point B safely and reliably. On a related note, the good life, in terms of the Book of Psalms, includes having enough for each day, not necessarily being wealthy.
Elsewhere in the New Testament, one can read about having the mind of Christ. That concept applies to the material for today. We have Jesus as, among other things, our role model. We, as Christians, must follow his example. We must love as he loved. When we consider that Christ’s love led to his execution, we realize that this mandate is serious business, not a mere slogan. The Right Reverend Robert C. Wright, the Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta, says to
love like Jesus.
Bishop Wright understands that this is serious business, not a mere slogan.
Think, O reader, what may happen to you if you were to love like Jesus in your context and to pray for causes consistent with the will of God? How would that change you? How would it change your community, your nation-state, and the world? What repercussions might you face for loving like Jesus? How many professing Christians would oppose you?
During my research for my M.A. thesis, I found a case in point. J. Robert Harris was the pastor of the Fort Gaines Baptist Church, Fort Gaines, Georgia, in the early and middle 1950s. He left that position under a cloud between August and November 1955. The chatty local newspaper never mentioned his departure, which followed either his firing or his forced resignation. (I read two versions of the story.) Harris had publicly supported the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and involved an African-American youth in his church’s vacation Bible school. Harris became the pastor of the Plains Baptist Church, Plains, Georgia, which he served until his resignation in the late 1960s. Failing health was the official cause of the resignation. However, the pastor’s recent sermon in favor of civil rights had been unpopular with his congregation. Harris had once preached a sermon in which he had asked his flock, in so many words:
If being Christian were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
In the case of J. Robert Harris, the answer was affirmative. He loved like Jesus and ran afoul of other professing Christians entrenched in racist social norms.
Loving like Jesus makes one a radical in a world with upside-down standards. Loving like Jesus entails living the Golden Rule. Loving like Jesus entails living both versions of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5 and Luke 6). Loving like Jesus entails bearing much fruit (John 15:8).
Psalm 22 speaks of God acting. In Hebrew thought, the actions of God reveal the divine character. Likewise, my actions reveal my character. And your actions, O reader, reveal your character. Is it a godly character?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 22, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT DEOGRATIAS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF CARTHAGE
THE FEAST OF EMMANUEL MOURNIER, FRENCH PERSONALIST PHILOSOPHER
THE FEAST OF JAMES DE KOVEN, EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF THOMAS HUGHES, BRITISH SOCIAL REFORMER AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON, ENGLISH MUSIC EDUCATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER
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Adapted from this post
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READING THE GENERAL EPISTLES, PART XII
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Jude
2 Peter 2:1-22
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The second chapter of Second Peter expands on the Epistle of Jude. Almost all of the points in Jude exist in 2 Peter 2.
One may recognize the thematic relationship of 2 Peter 1 to Jude and 2 Peter 2. False teachers, evil desires, and spiritually undisciplined lives provide the connective tissue.
We also read another repetition of the Biblical motif that divine judgment and mercy exist in balance. In other words, we will reap what we have sown. Grace is free, not cheap; it mandates a faithful response. Yes, God imposes mandates. Freedom is a gift to use properly, not to abuse and misuse.
References to the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha abound in Jude and 2 Peter 2. I choose to explain the references:
- Jude 5 refers to Numbers 14 and 26:64-65. Apostasy is possible, and carries with it the loss of salvation.
- Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4 refer to Genesis 6:1-4. An elaborate version of the story of the “watchers” exists in 1 Enoch 6-19 (especially chapter 10).
- Jude 7 and 2 Peter 2:6-7 refer to Genesis 19:1-25, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. The “unnatural vice” is rape, whether heterosexual or homosexual, and of a person or an angel. Jude 7 and 2 Peter 2:6-7 present the scenario opposite of Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4, in which angels lusted after human women.
- The combination of the preceding two points indicates the grave consequences of violating God’s intended order for creation.
- Jude 9, drawing on Exodus 2:11-12, indicates familiarity with the Assumption/Testament of Moses, a text from the first century C.E. Between one-third and one-half of that text is missing. The lost portion includes the section depicting St. Michael the Archangel disputing with Satan over the body of Moses and quoting Zechariah 3:2: “May the Lord rebuke you!” Even angels do not rebuke Satan in Zechariah 3:2, Jude 9, and the Assumption/Testament of Moses. The lesson in Jude 9 is that, if we mere mortals revile angels, we sin.
- Jude 11 refers to Cain (Genesis 4:8-16), Balaam (Numbers 16:1-25), and Korah (Numbers 31:16). 2 Peter 2:15-16 refers to Balaam and his talking donkey (Numbers 22:28-33). Rebellion against God leads to punishment and reproof.
- 2 Peter 2:5 refers to Genesis 6:17.
- Jude 14-15 refers to 1 Enoch 1:9.
These false teachers did more than teach falsehoods; they behaved scandalously at agape meals (Jude 12, 2 Peter 2:13-14). These false teachers doomed themselves and disrupted faith community.
I approach Jude and 2 Peter 2 from a particular background. I grew up feeling like the resident heretic. My heresies were asking “too many” questions, being an intellectual, accepting science and history, harboring Roman Catholic tendencies, and not being a Biblical literalist. Some in my family regard me as a Hell-bound heretic. I embrace the label “heretic.” I even own a t-shirt that reads,
HERETIC.
I approach the label “false teacher” cautiously. One ought to make accusations with great caution, and based on evidence. False teachers abound. I am not shy about naming them and their heresies. These include the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons, Prosperity Theology, and the excesses of Evangelicalism. The list is long. The standards of orthodoxy and orthopraxy are as simple and difficult as the Incarnation, crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus; the Atonement; and the Golden Rule. Proper love–in mutuality–builds up. It does not tear people down. Proper orthodoxy maintains divine standards and is generous, not stingy. It is loving, not hateful. And it leads to humility before God and human beings.
I affirm that I am doctrinally correct about some matters and wrong regarding others. I also affirm that I do not know when I am wrong and when I am right. The life of Christian discipleship is about trust in God, not about certainty. The quest for certainty, when faith–trust–in God is called for is an idolatrous and psychologically comforting effort. Proper Christian confidence–grounded in Christ alone–says:
I may be wrong, but I act as if I am right. I can neither prove nor disprove this article of faith, but I act as if I am right.
May you, O reader, and I trust in the faithfulness of God. May we walk humbly with God and live with our fellow human beings in loving, respectful mutuality. We can do all of the above only via grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT HONORIUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF JOANNA P. MOORE, U.S. BAPTIST MISSIONARY AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF MARY RAMABAI, PROPHETIC WITNESS AND EVANGELIST IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF RICHARD CHALLONER, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOLAR, RELIGIOUS WRITER, TRANSLATOR, CONTROVERSIALIST, PRIEST, AND TITULAR BISHOP OF DOBERUS
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Above: Stamps of Saint Teresa of Calcutta
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 7:11-24 or Acts 24:1, 10-23, 27
Psalm 131
Revelation 3:7-13
John 8:12-30
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We Gentiles need to be very careful to push back against any Anti-Semitic interpretations of our assigned readings from Revelation 3, John 8, and Acts 24. We may need someone to remind us that the struggle within the Gospel of John was intra-Jewish. So was the conflict between the Jewish Christian community that produced it and the Jews around them. We may need a reminder that St. Paul the Apostle was Jewish, too.
The church at Philadelphia was Gentile. It was also small, poor, and at odds with many local Jews. Conflict produced invective.
Being small may or may not be beautiful. What is beautiful is being faithful. And Christ promises to honor that faithfulness.
–Ernest Lee Stoffel, The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (1981), 34
If we stop thinking about importance in human terms, we will do well spiritually. Large does not equal important, in the eyes of God. Neither does wealthy. Neither does successful. Neither does being free. Neither does being popular.
St. Teresa of Calcutta said that God calls us to be faithful, not successful. Many people have worshiped at the altar of success, long a popular idol. The heresy of Prosperity Theology has appealed to many people for a very long time. Yet the prophet Jeremiah, by human standards, was a failure. So was Jesus.
Does anyone reading this post want to argue that Jeremiah and Jesus were failures? Not I.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 20, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT FABIAN, BISHOP OF ROME, AND MARTYR, 250
THE FEAST OF SAINTS EUTHYMIUS THE GREAT AND THEOCRISTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS
THE FEAST OF GREVILLE PHILLIMORE, ENGLISH POET, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF HARRIET AUBER, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF RICHARD ROLLE, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC SPIRITUAL WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/20/devotion-for-proper-15-year-d-humes/
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Above: The Story of Tobit, by the Workshop of the Master of the Prodigal Son
Image in the Public Domain
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READING TOBIT
PART 1
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Tobit 1:1-15
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The Book of Tobit, present in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles, falls into the canon of scripture for about three-quarters of the Christian Church. Tobit, like Esther, Jonah, and Judith, is a work of fiction that teaches theological and spiritual truths. The Catholic Study Bible (1990) and The Catholic Bible–Personal Study Edition (1995) describes the Book of Tobit as a novel. The Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) accurately describes the Book of Tobit as a novella. The Book of Tobit is too long to be a short story and too short to be a novel.
The Orthodox Study Bible (2008) acknowledges that the Book of Tobit is a work of fiction. The introduction to the Book of Tobit describes the work as a love story in which a father sends his son out into the world. The son finds and saves a bride, whom he brings home. The introduction to the Book of Tobit links this story to Christ in John 3:16 and describes the Book of Tobit as an icon of the story of salvation.
The Book of Tobit is another Hellenistic work about Jews in exile. (The Book of Daniel is also such a work.) Superficially set in the eighth century B.C.E., the Book of Tobit teaches faith in God and trust in providence from the temporal perspective of the second century C.E.
The titular character is Tobit. His son is Tobias. “Tobit” is a shorter variation on “Tobias.” Both names mean, “the LORD is good.”
Tobit 1:2 signals the book’s status as fiction by naming the wrong Neo-Assyrian king. The verse names the monarch as Shalmaneser V (reigned 727-722 B.C.E.) Historical records tell us Sargon II (reigned 722-705 B.C.E.) was the king who completed Shalmaneser V’s work and conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel. (See 2 Kings 17:1-6, O reader.) However, historical records and 2 Kings 15:19 tell us that Tiglath-Pilesar III, also known as Pul (reigned 745-727 B.C.E.), took the tribe of Naphtali into exile.
Tobit was a devout Jew. The impossible internal chronology had Tobit live in excess of 150 years (1:4f), despite his age at death (14:1) being 112. Anyhow, he eschewed idolatry and made his offerings at the Temple in Jerusalem (Numbers 18:12-13; Deuteronomy 18:3-4). Tobit also distributed money to widows, orphans, and converts. He kept the food laws (Exodus 34:15; Leviticus 7:26-27; Leviticus 11:1-47; Leviticus 17:10-14; Deuteronomy 12:23-25; Deuteronomy 14:3-21; and Deuteronomy 15:23) in exile, too. Tobit obeyed the Law of Moses regardless of how difficult doing so proved to be. At home and in exile, Tobit was a model Jew.
Tobit also deposited ten talents of silver with a relative, Gabael, in Media. That amount equaled 3000 shekels.
The germane note in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (2003) reads:
A substantial amount, but efforts to express in modern monetary units are futile.
Other sources do express that amount in modern monetary units, though. The Catholic Study Bible (1990) estimates the value as being about $10,000. The Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011) estimates the value as being at least $10,000.
We also read of Tobit’s wife, Anna, which means “Grace.” Remember that, O reader; the name is sometimes ironic.
The Book of Tobit contains similarities to the Books of Job and Daniel. We read of Tobit working for the king in Chapter 1. One may recall that Daniel worked for several monarchs. And one may remember accounts of Daniel’s piety. The parallels to Job, already becoming apparent, will become stronger as we continue.
Tobit 1 contains the Theory of Retribution, that God rewards faithfulness and punishes faithlessness. The Theory of Retribution, a hallmark of Deuteronomic theology, is prominent throughout the Book of Tobit and in much of the Hebrew Bible. Deuteronomy 28 teaches the Theory of Retribution, which informs the Books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. In particular, consult Joshua 7:1-8:29; Judges 3:7-11; and 2 Samuel 11:1-12:15, for example, O reader.
The counterbalance also exists un the Hebrew Bible. Blessings also come undeserved. A relationship with God should not be a quid-pro-quo arrangement. See Deuteronomy 4:32-40; 6-11; 8:17-18; 9:4-6; 10:15; and 23:6, O reader. Likewise, that seems undeserved is a form of testing (Deuteronomy 8: 2, 3, 5, 16-17), and repentance following suffering precedes divine mercy (Deuteronomy 30:1-10).
What we do matters. How we respond to God is crucial. One does know a tree by its fruits. And actions have consequences. However, Prosperity Theology remains a heresy. Many of the devout suffer. Many of the devout become martyrs. And many of the devout endure poverty.
The Bible is a nuanced sacred theology. Any impression to the contrary is erroneous.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 25, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM HILEY BATHURST, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF ISAAC WATTS, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JAMES OTIS SARGENT HUNTINGTON, FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF THE HOLY CROSS
THE FEAST OF PETRUS NIGIDIUS, GERMAN LUTHERAN EDUCATOR AND COMPOSER; AND GEORG NIGIDIUS, GERMAN LUTHERAN COMPOSER AND HYMN WRITER
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Above: King Jotham of Judah
Image in the Public Domain
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READING 1-2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS, 2 KINGS 1-21, 1 CHRONICLES, AND 2 CHRONICLES 1-33
PART XCVIII
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2 Kings 15:32-38; 16:1-20
2 Chronicles 27:1-9; 28:1-27
Isaiah 7:1-8:15
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Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hope for the wages of holiness,
nor discern the prize for blameless souls;
for God created man for incorruption,
and made him in the image of his own eternity,
but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his party experience it.
–Wisdom of Solomon 2:21-24, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
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King Azariah/Uzziah of Judah (Reigned 785-733 B.C.E.)
King Jotham of Judah (Reigned 759-743 B.C.E.)
King Ahaz of Judah (Reigned 743/735-727/715 B.C.E.)
King Pekah of Israel (Reigned 735-732 B.C.E.)
King Rezin of Aram (Reigned 750-732 B.C.E.)
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The contrast between Kings Jotham (father) and Ahaz (son) of Judah was striking. Jotham was pious, but Ahaz went all-in for idolatry. Jotham was a capable monarch, but Ahaz reduced the Kingdom of Judah to a vassal state of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
The Syro-Ephraimite War occurred in the context of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Kingdoms of Israel and Aram sought to force the Kingdom of Judah to join their coalition against Assyria. King Ahaz refused to do so, however. Therefore, the Kings of Israel and Aram wanted to depose him and to replace him with a monarch who would join their coalition. The Syro-Ephraimite War was the context of Isaiah 7:1-8:15, a text many, if not most, Christians read seemingly in reference to the birth of Jesus and not in historical context. King Ahaz turned not to God but to the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians conquered Aram in 732 B.C.E. They also reduced the Kingdom of Israel to vassalage. A decade later, the Assyrians added Israel to their empire.
The Chronicler included material absent in 2 Kings. He told the story about Judean prisoners of war in Israel and of the prophet Obed’s warning that Israelite tactics against Judah in the Syro-Ephraimite War angered God. The appeal to Leviticus 25:39-43, 46, worked. The prisoners of war received aid and went home; they did not become slaves.
A theme present in the germane readings from 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah is the imperative of trusting God and keeping the commandments. We need to avoid prosperity theology, a heresy. Keeping God’s laws does not necessarily lead to health, wealth, and security. In fact, obeying God may lead to death, poverty, and insecurity, depending on circumstances. The myriad number of martyrs attests to this. The example of Jesus also attests to this. However, being on God’s side is preferable to opposing it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 6, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN GREGOR, FATHER OF MORAVIAN CHURCH MUSIC
THE FEAST OF GIOVANNI GABRIELI AND HANS LEO HASSLER, COMPOSERS AND ORGANISTS; AND CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI AND HEINRICH SCHÜTZ, COMPOSERS AND MUSICIANS
THE FEAST OF HALFORD E. LUCCOCK, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAGDELEINE OF JESUS, FOUNDRESS OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF JESUS
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Above: Pact of Judas, by Duccio di Buoninsegna
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, Year 1
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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 God, our Refuge and Strength, who art the author of all godliness;
be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church;
and grant that those things which we ask faithfully, we may obtain effectually;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 225
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Zephaniah 3:14-20
Psalm 144:1-10, 15
Philippians 1:3-11
Mark 14:1-17
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The sovereignty and trustworthiness of God is the theme that unites the readings this week.
- People are like vapor, but God is the bulwark of the author in Psalm 144.
- Zephaniah, after mostly pronouncing doom on Judah and some of its neighbors, mixes divine mercy with divine judgment in Chapter 3. The text concludes with a prophecy of messianic times.
- The in-text context of Philippians 1 is one of the periods of incarceration of St. Paul the Apostle. The mood is upbeat for a letter from prison.
- The countdown to the crucifixion of Jesus continues in Mark 14:1-17. We read of Judas Iscariot betraying Christ.
God is sovereign and trustworthy at all times. Affirming that truth during dark times may be difficult. Contrary to the heresy of Prosperity Theology, of course, God never promised the faithful a life without challenges and suffering. Servants have never been greater than their master. Jesus suffered. He said to take up one’s cross and follow him daily. God has consistently proven to be more powerful than evildoers and principalities. The Roman Empire executed Jesus. God resurrected him.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA, PATRIARCH; AND SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, PATRIARCH AND “FATHER OF ORTHODOXY”
THE FEAST OF CHARLES SILVESTER HORNE, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHARLES FRIEDRICH HASSE, GERMAN-BRITISH MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF JULIA BULKLEY CADY CORY, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT
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Above: The Holy Kinship of Saint Anne
Image in the Public Domain
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For the Third Sunday in Lent, Year 1
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Lectionary from A Book of Worship for Free Churches (The General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States, 1948)
Collect from The Book of Worship (Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1947)
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Almighty God, who hast been the hope and confidence of thy people in all ages;
mercifully regard, we beseech thee, the prayer with which we cry unto thee out of the depths,
and stretch forth the right hand of thy majesty and defense;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—The Book of Worship (1947), 150
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Genesis 22:1-19
Psalm 57
2 Corinthians 4
Matthew 20:17-28
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Regarding the near-sacrifice of Isaac and my rejection of a traditional interpretation of that story, I choose not to repeat myself in this post. If you wish, O reader, follow the germane tags.
One theme in this group of readings is persistence in following God. When foes have their proverbial knives out, remain firm in faith. Even a superficial reading of martyrology reveals that the knives, et cetera, have frequently been literal. (Consider the case of St. James Intercisus, who won the crown of martyrdom in what is now Iran in 421. “Intercisus” means “cut into pieces.”)
The servant is not greater than the master. This is a lesson from Matthew Matthew 20:17-28. Attentive readers of the Gospels may know that Sts. James and John, sons of Zebedee, were first cousins of our Lord and Savior. One may realize, then, that their mother (St. Mary Salome), was Christ’s aunt (sister of St. Mary of Nazareth).
Modern-day helicopter parents and snowplow/lawnmower parents have nothing on St. Mary Salome, assuming that she asked the question. One can read in Mark 10:35-45 that Sts. James and John made the request themselves.
To imagine that following Jesus is a path to an easy life full of riches is to labor under a false impression. (Prosperity Theology is a heresy.) This a lesson, history tells us, that both brothers learned. We read in hagiography that one became a martyr and the other, although he died of natural causes (old age, mainly), suffered for his faith. Sometimes living one’s faith leads on one’s death. If living one’s faith does not lead to one’s death, it will, nevertheless, lead to some negative consequences in this life. The servant is not greater than the master.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 25, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT DISMAS, PENITENT BANDIT
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Above: Icon of Abraham
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Almighty God, you sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your church.
Open our hearts to the riches of your grace,
that we may be ready to receive you wherever you appear,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 44
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The Assigned Readings:
Job 21:1-16 (Thursday)
Ecclesiastes 6:1-6 (Friday)
Genesis 11:27-32 (Saturday)
Psalm 33:12-22 (All Days)
Romans 9:1-9 (Thursday)
Acts 7:1-8 (Friday)
Matthew 6:19-24 (Saturday)
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We are waiting for Yahweh;
he is our help and our shield,
for in him our heart rejoices,
in his holy name we trust.
Yahweh, let your faithful love rest on us,
as our hope has rested in you.
–Psalm 33:20-22, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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Sometimes the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. This reality has frustrated many for ages and contradicted incarnations of Prosperity Theology (a heresy that does not die) since antiquity. In the Book of Job the titular character’s alleged friends insisted that he must have done something to deserve his suffering. The text, with all of its layers of authorship, explains in Chapters 1 and 2 why Job suffered; God allowed it. Job was a pawn in a heavenly wager.
We who follow God wait for God, but, if we are realistic, we will not expect that doing so will lead to life on Easy Street. Sometimes, in fact, it will lead to suffering for the sake of righteousness. On other occasions suffering will just happen, seemingly for no reason. Suffering is a part of life, I have become convinced.
Yet we need not suffer alone. In Christ Jesus God suffered in human flesh, after all. The divine promise is not that a proper relationship with God will be present during suffering. This has been my experience. We are members of God’s household via grace, not lineage, and the pilgrimage of faith begins with one step. In God we find intangible and eternal (in the Johannine sense of that word, that is, “of God,” see 17:3) treasures, the variety that outlasts and is vastly superior to the most appealing temporal prizes.
Of course we should love God for selfless reasons; the rewards will come. I recall a story about a woman who walked around carrying a torch and a bucket of water. The torch, she said, was to burn up heaven and the water was to extinguish the flames of hell so that nobody would seek to follow God to enter heaven or to avoid hell. Yet we humans seem to have mixed motivations much of the time, do we not? Certain evangelists emphasize the possibility of damnation to frighten people into salvation. Although I affirm the existence of both heaven and hell, I argue that terror is not a basis for a mature relationship with God, whom many Jews and Christians describe as loving and compassionate.
May we wait for Yahweh, who is our loving and compassionate help and shield, in whom our hearts rejoice. May we wait for God in times of prosperity and of scarcity, of suffering and of ease, of pain and of pleasure.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 23, 2016 COMMON ERA
WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK
THE FEAST OF GEORGE RUNDLE PRYNNE, ANGLICAN PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR, PATRIARCH OF ARMENIA
THE FEAST OF HEINRICH VON LAUFENBERG, GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT TURIBIUS OF MOGROVEJO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/devotion-for-thursday-friday-and-saturday-before-proper-14-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: The Beheading of St. Paul, by Enrique Simonet
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O God of creation, eternal majesty,
you preside over land and sea, sunshine and storm.
By your strength pilot us,
by your power preserve us,
by your wisdom instruct us,
and by your hand protect us,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 40
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The Assigned Readings:
Job 29:1-20 (Thursday)
Job 29:21-30:15 (Friday)
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32 (Both Days)
Acts 20:1-16 (Thursday)
Acts 21:1-16 (Friday)
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Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
and his mercy endures for ever.
Let all those whom the LORD has redeemed proclaim
that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
–Psalm 107:1-2, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Placing that Psalm in the lectionary for these two days seems ironic, especially when considering the other two pericopes.
The titular character of the Book of Job suffered, but not because of any sin he committed. Compounding his plight was the fact that he had to endure alleged friends, who blamed him for his plight. They insisted that, since God does not punish the innocent, Job must have sinned, thus prompting his extreme suffering. They advised him to repent of his sins, therefore. Actually, the text tells us, God permitted the suffering as a test of loyalty. Job protested his innocence and lamented his fate. Anyone who speaks of the “patience of Job,” as if he had any, ought to pay better attention to the story.
Meanwhile, in the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul the Apostle was traveling to Jerusalem. He hoped to arrive in time for the first day of Pentecost. At Caesarea the Apostle learned that his journey would take him to a bad fate. He accepted the prophecy calmly, saying,
…I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
–Acts 21:13c, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
He went on to die for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ at Rome “off-camera,” so to speak, after the end of the Acts of the Apostles.
The alleged friends of Job thought that suffering resulted necessarily from sins. Yet St. Paul the Apostle suffered for the sake for the sake of righteousness.
Nevertheless, the assumption that we suffer solely or primarily because of our wrongdoing persists. Also commonplace is a related assumption which says that, if we live righteously, we will prosper and be safe and well. This is the heresy of Prosperity Theology.
Tell that heresy to Jesus and to the Christian martyrs, if you dare,
I say. I conclude that false ideas live on because too many people pay little or no attention to the evidence around them. Perhaps these individuals are merely incurious. (Many people are not very inquisitive, intellectually or otherwise.) Or maybe they are distracted among the other details of life. Regardless of the reason(s), they need to pay better attention and respond to the situation that is, not the situation they imagine exists.
To claim that God never punishes the innocent or permits them to suffer is to make a pious comment–one which is false. What is the functional difference between permitting innocent people to suffer and punishing them? I recognize none. One is passive and the other is active, but the results are the same. The problem of suffering is complicated for we monotheists, for we lack the luxury of blaming an evil deity for misfortune while letting a good deity off the hook. Yes, how we live on this plane of reality affects the afterlife, but the rain still falls on the just and on the unjust in this life. Wicked people still prosper and righteous people still suffer on this side of Heaven. All of this can be difficult to reconcile with the idea of a loving and just God, hence bad theology in defense of God. I prefer an honest question to a false certainty, however.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 24, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THOMAS ATTWOOD, “FATHER OF MODERN CHURCH MUSIC”
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIDACUS JOSEPH OF CADIZ, CAPUCHIN FRIAR
THE FEAST OF OSCAR ROMERO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF SAN SALVADOR; AND THE MARTYRS OF EL SALVADOR
THE FEAST OF PAUL COUTURIER, ECUMENTIST
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/devotion-for-thursday-and-friday-before-proper-7-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Jesus and His Apostles
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
Almighty God, by grace alone you call us and accept us in your service.
Strengthen us by your Spirit, and make us worthy of your call,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 23
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The Assigned Readings:
Proverbs 8:1-21
Psalm 46
Mark 3:13-19a
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The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
–Psalm 46:7, Common Worship (2000)
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One understanding of divine wisdom in the Bible is that it became part and parcel of Jesus, the incarnated Logos of God, per John 1. That thought fills my mind as I read from Proverbs 8. The cry to all humankind filled the preaching of Christ’s Apostles. It echoes down the corridors of time.
I wonder how many of those men would have followed Jesus had they known what awaited them. One became disappointed in Jesus, whom he betrayed before committing suicide. Ten became martyrs. The twelfth lived to a ripe old age and died in exile. Will we also follow Jesus? Will we become disappointed in him then betray him somehow also? Might we face danger and perhaps die for the faith we profess? If we knew what awaited us from the beginning of our walk with Christ, would we have accepted the invitation?
Sometimes wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible promises prosperity as a reward for faithfulness to God. Such passages lead to Prosperity Theology, a heresy. Often, actually, fidelity to God leads to hardship. As Proverbs 8, verse 19 states that the fruits of wisdom are superior to fine gold and verse 21 says that any financial reward for faithfulness will be honest wealth. There is an offset to Prosperity Theology in that pericope.
May we follow God in Christ wherever the path leads. If we become disappointed, may we realize that the fault resides within us, not God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 23, 2014 COMMON ERA
PROPER 29–CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY–THE LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF JOHN KENNETH PFOHL, SR., U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP; HIS WIFE, HARRIET ELIZABETH “BESSIE” WHITTINGTON PFOHL, U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICIAN; AND THEIR SON, JAMES CHRISTIAN PFOHL, SR., U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT CLEMENT I OF ROME, BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT COLUMBAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF MIGUEL AUGUSTIN PRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/devotion-for-wednesday-after-the-third-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-b-elca-daily-lectionary/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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