READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART XXXVIII

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Psalm 50

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The Law of Moses commands certain rituals and sacrifices.  Hebrew prophetic literature, which condemns violations of the Law of Moses, never teaches that people should ignore the mandated rites and sacrifices.  Neither does Psalm 50.  No, these texts condemn violating the moral aspect of the Law of Moses then cynically keeping the rituals and making sacrifices.  Sacred rites and not talismans.

God’s covenant is a covenant, not a contract; it is not a quid pro quo arrangement.  And God in not a vending machine either.  Yet divine covenant does impose certain obligations on the people.  The social portion of these duties is, in one word, mutuality.  We are all responsible to and for each other.  Exploitation is always wrong.  The Golden Rule must be normative.  In modern terms, attempting to cover up flagrant violations of the moral code by keeping sacred rituals and making mandated sacrifices is like sitting on the front row of pews in church, so as to be visible, despite exploiting vulnerable people.  God’s covenant calls for true piety, not a façade.

I recall one of my favorite movies, The Night of the Hunter (1955).  The antagonist is “preacher” Harry Powell, a Great-Depression-era confidence man and serial killer.  He knows the right words to say.  Harry sings Gospel hymns with gusto.  So, he fools many people into thinking that he is something he is not.  His opposite is Miss Cooper, a morally upright elderly woman who takes in orphans.  She recognizes a wolf in sheep’s clothing when she sees one.  Regardless of how often Harry sings “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” he never says “Jesus” in the movie.  But Miss Cooper does.

Sacred rituals are beautiful.  I, a happily ritualistic Episcopalian, affirm them.  They create the environment for proper worship.  Yet they are in vain if one mocks God by hiding perfidy behind them.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 12, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH

THE FEAST OF SAINT AELRED OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF RIEVAULX

THE FEAST OF SAINT CAESARIUS OF ARLES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF ARLES; AND HIS SISTER, SAINT CAESARIA OF ARLES, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF HENRY ALFORD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME

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READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART IV

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Psalm 4

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Psalm 4 is direct; its major theme is confidence in hesed, the faithfulness of God.  In typical Jewish theological fashion, God is like what God has done.  The psalmist recalls that God has vindicated him.  Therefore, the psalmist expresses confidence that God will do so again.

The people, likewise, should cease to offer insincere sacrifices.  They ought to offer righteous sacrifices and trust in God.  A subtext comes from the prophetic literature, which condemns those who act impiously–often exploitatively–and use sacred rituals as talismans.  This mocks God, who objects strenuously.  There is no fault in sacred rituals per se; God ordains them in the Law of Moses.  Yet their efficacy comes bound up with keeping the moral mandates in the Law of Moses.

For the sake of truth in advertising, I divulge that I am a ritualistic Episcopalian.  Proper liturgy sets the table, so to speak, for worship.  Most of what passes for liturgy in many Protestant congregations leaves me cold, uninspired, and unimpressed.  It is stale white-bread worship at best and an undignified noise fest at worst.  Most Protestant worship services feel like so-so social gatherings to me.  So, I gravitate to Prayer Books, smells, and bells.  I stand in contrast to my Pietistic and puritanical Low Church Protestant forebears.  Proper ritual is not an “external.”  No, it is essential.

Dr. Charles Smith was a Canadian pathologist.  He was also the favorite expert of many a crown prosecutor who suspected that a baby’s death was not due to natural causes.  Dr. Smith’s expert testimony in court guaranteed a conviction.  The threat of his testimony in court prompted innocent parents to plead guilty to a reduced charge.  The problem with Smith’s testimony was that he lied under oath.  This fact came to light as pathologist after pathologist contradicted his findings.  Smith lost his professional license and gained a disgraced reputation.  He, unrepentant and confronted with the truth, cited his Evangelical Christian faith and his desire to save young lives as defenses.  Meanwhile, prosecutors reviewed cases and judges started freeing parents and clearing their names.  Yet the prosecutors and judges could not reverse the damage Smith had inflicted on the parents.

Words are insufficient; works must not belie them.  We mere mortals are like what we do and have done.  Protestations of our piety ring hollow when evidence contradicts them.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 11, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF EL MOZOTE, EL SALVADOR, DECEMBER 11-12, 1981

THE FEAST OF HOWARD CHANDLER ROBBINS, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMN TUNE COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT KAZIMIERZ TOMAS SYKULSKI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1942

THE FEAST OF LARS OLSEN SKREFSRUD, HANS PETER BOERRSEN, AND PAUL OLAF BODDING, LUTHERAN MISSIONARIES IN INDIA

THE FEAST OF LUKE OF PRAGUE AND JOHN AUGUSTA, MORAVIAN BISHOPS AND HYMN WRITERS

THE FEAST OF SEVERIN OTT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

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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:  All Saints

Image in the Public Domain

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Isaiah 26:1-4, 8-9, 12-13, 19-21

Psalm 34:1-10

Revelation 21:9-11, 22-27 (22:1-5) (LBW) or Revelation 7:2-17 (LW)

Matthew 5:1-12

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Almighty God, whose people are knit together

in one holy Church, the body of Christ our Lord: 

Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints

in lives of faith and commitment,

and to know the inexpressible joys

you have prepared for those who love you;

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), 36

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O almighty God, by whom we are graciously knit together

as one communion and fellowship

in the mystical body of Jesus Christ, our Lord,

grant us to follow your blessed saints

in all virtuous and godly living

that we may come to those unspeakable joys

which you have prepared for those who unfeignedly love you;

through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 116

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The communion of saints is the whole family of God, the living and the dead, those whom we love and those whom we hurt, bound together in Christ by sacrament, prayer, and praise.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), 862

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Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

—The Westminster Larger Catechism (1647)

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I am a ritualistic Episcopalian and a student of history.  Therefore, ecclesiastical history appeals to me.  The study of lives of the sains–glorified, canonized, beatified, declared venerable, or none of these–is a spiritually profitable venture.  Reading about how members of the family of Christ have lived their baptismal vows in a variety of cultures, places, and centuries can help one live one’s baptismal vows.  I find that my ongoing study of lives of the saints frequently makes me feel spiritually inadequate.

Notice the quote from the Episcopal catechism, O reader.  The communion of saints includes

those whom we love and whose whom we hurt.

Our spiritual kinfolk include those whom we do not recognize as being so.  Therefore, we hurt them.  We may even feel justified in doing this to them.

Who are your “secret” (to you) kinfolk in Christ, O reader?  Who are mine?

May we all, by grace, grow into our spiritual vocations of glorifying God, and fully enjoying God forever.  May we do this together.  And may we cease to hurt one another.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 21, 2022 COMMON ERA

PROPER 16:  THE ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF SAINT BRUNO ZEMBOL, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC FRIAR AND MARTYR, 1942

THE FEAST OF SAINTS CAMERIUS, CISELLUS, AND LUXURIUS OF SARDINIA, MARTYRS, 303

THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILLIAN OF ANTIOCH, MARTYR, CIRCA 353; AND SAINTS BONOSUS AND MAXIMIANUS THE SOLDIER, MARTYRS, 362

THE FEAST OF SAINT VICTOIRE RASOAMANARIVO, MALAGASY ROMAN CATHOLIC LAYWOMAN

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Adapted from this post

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READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XLVII

Above:  Christ Cleansing the Temple, by Bernandino Mei

Image in the Public Domain

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Luke 19:28-46

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As my project of reading Luke-Acts and blogging about it brings me to Holy Week, I find myself in territory I have explored in detail more than once for more than a decade, via lectionaries.  I choose, therefore, to refer you, O reader, to my previous germane posts and to focus on broader themes in the upcoming posts.

The Temple Incident–the Cleansing of the Temple–occurs in all four canonical Gospels.  However, the Gospel of John alone places it near the beginning of Christ’s ministry.  The Synoptic Gospels place the Temple Incident shortly after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, during that fatal Passover week.

Luke 19:46 depicts Jesus as quoting Jeremiah 7:11, a reference to those who habitually and unrepentantly violated the ethical mandates of the Law of Moses then used sacred rituals as talismans.  The Gospel of Luke wants us to understand that this pattern was repeating at the Second Temple during the time of Jesus.

Luke 19:28-46 describes a scenario when, at a politically perilous time, Jesus entered Jerusalem and moved inside it like a proverbial bull in a china shop.  Understand, O reader, that observing Passover–the celebration of the end of Hebrew slavery in Egypt–in Roman-occupied Jerusalem created a delicate situation.  Know that law-and-order Roman imperial officials tolerated no disturbance of their order, especially in Jerusalem during the week of Passover.  And understand that the Second Temple was a seat of collaboration with the Roman Empire.

May we avoid overgeneralizations.  We read in the Gospels, for example, that Jesus had some supporters who were Pharisees.  We may reasonably assert, therefore, that not all Pharisees were hostile to Christ.  We know that the Temple was also a holy site for many devout Jews.

Using sacred rituals to cover up violations of God’s moral mandates (such as economic justice, a major concern for St. Luke, Jesus, Hebrew prophets, and the Law of Moses) remains current.  O reader, ask yourself, “Where would Jesus make a scene today?”

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 29, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS LYDIA, DORCAS, AND PHOEBE, CO-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE

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READING HAGGAI-FIRST ZECHARIAH, PART V

Above:  Haggai, by James Tissot

Image in the Public Domain

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Haggai 2:10-19

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Jerusalem, December 18, 520 B.C.E.–a seemingly unremarkable date.

In the third oracle (2:10-19), Haggai offered an explanation for why the situation in Jerusalem had not improved, despite the resumption of construction of the Second Temple.  Holiness was not transferrable, but ritual impurity was (Numbers 5:2; 6:6; 9:10; 19:11, 13).  Tainted and unacceptable offerings to God made the work of the people unclean, impure (verse 14).  The problem was with the altar upon which people laid the offerings.  Priests were using the altar, despite not having properly purified it ritually (Ezra 3:107; 1 Esdras 5:47-73).

Nevertheless, December 18, 520, B.C.E., marked a turning point in the people’s relationship with God:

Consider, from this day onwards,…:  will the seed still be diminished in the barn?  Will the vine and the fig, the pomegranate and the olive still bear no fruit?  Not so; from this day I shall bless you.

–Haggai 2:18-19, The Revised English Bible (1989)

Yet read Zechariah 1:18-21/2:1-4, set two months later.

I am an Episcopalian and a ritualist.  Therefore, I grasp the importance of dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s.

However, I am also a Gentile to whom ritual purity and impurity are foreign concepts.  These are concepts about which I have read, especially in regard to whether Jesus accepted them and how to interpret them in healing stories involving Jesus.  These are also concepts I have rethought, especially in regard to Jesus, after reading Matthew Thiessen, Jesus and the Forces of Death (2020).  Studying Haggai 2:10-19, I must dig into the text and read regarding the Biblical background of the ritual purification of altars.  Jewish sources teach me much.

This is a rule binding on your descendants for all time, to make a distinction between sacred and profane, between clean and profane, and to teach the Israelites all the decrees which the LORD has spoken to them through Moses.

–Leviticus 10:9b-11, The Revised English Bible (1989)

When we move from one context to another, a timeless principle remains:

What is at stake is attitude.

–W. Eugene March, in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII (1996), 728

Approaching God reverently and respectfully is essential.  Rules dictate how to do so.  So be it.  This is a serious matter in the Hebrew Bible.  This explains why Leviticus 12-15 describe how to dispose of ritual impurity of various types.  This is why Leviticus 16 pertains to the annual purging of the sacred precincts of impurity.  This is why Leviticus 1-7 go into great detail about types of offerings to God.  This is why Exodus 35-38 detail the construction of the Tabernacle.  This is why Exodus 39 focuses on the making of the priests’ vestments.  I respect all this, even though I enjoy eating pork.

I also notice that God changed the relationships, for the people’s benefits.  People were still supposed to use a purified altar, of course.

Grace is free, not cheap.

For the sake of completeness and intellectual honesty, however, I note that the first vision of Zechariah (Zechariah 1:8-17) contradicts the pressing of the giant reset button in Haggai 2:10-19.  I will get to Zechariah 1:8-17 in due time.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 12, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JASON OF TARSUS AND SOSIPATER OF ICONIUM, COWORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELISTS OF CORFU

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READING HOSEA, PART V

Above:  Dew (Hosea 6:4)

Image in the Public Domain

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Hosea 5:8-6:6

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Remorse for and repentance for sins must be sincere if they are to prove effective.  Hosea 6:1-3 offers an example of insincere remorse for and repentance of sins, hence the divine rebuttal in 6:4-6.

The (northern) Kingdom of Israel had erred by breaking the covenant with God.  The way to resolve the problem was to repent, to return to God.  Instead, Israel turned to the Assyrian Empire.   One historical reference was to King Menahem (r. 747-737 B.C.E.), who paid tribute to the Assyrian monarch, Tiglath-pileser III (r. 745-727 B.C.E.) in 738 B.C.E.  (See 2 Kings 15:19-20).  The once-powerful (northern) Kingdom of Israel had become a vassal state of the Assyrian Empire.  The Assyrian king did not have Israel’s best interests in mind; God did.  Another historical reference may have been to King Hoshea (r. 732-722 B.C.E.), the a rebellious vassal of the Assyrian Empire and the last King of Israel.  (See 2 Kings 17:1-41).  Ironically, “Hosea” and “Hoshea,” literally “rescue,” were the same name.

For I desire goodness, not sacrifice;

Obedience to God, rather than burnt offerings.

–Hosea 6:6, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985)

Alternative translations to “goodness” and “obedience to God” exist.  These include:

1. “Loyalty” and “acknowledgment of God” (The Revised English Bible, 1989),
2. “Loyalty” and “knowledge of God” (The New American Bible–Revised Edition, 2011),
3. “Steadfast love” and “knowledge of God” (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989), and
4. “Trust” and “knowledge of God” (Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, 2019).

The Law of Moses commands certain burnt offerings, of course.  The Book of Hosea does not argue for nullifying any portion of the covenant with God, bound up with the Law of Moses.  The Book of Hosea does insist that these mandatory sacrifices are not talismans.  People must offer these mandatory sacrifices devoutly and sincerely if these sacred rituals are to have the desired, divinely-intended effects.

John Mauchline (1902-1984), of the University of Glasgow, wrote:

It is not necessary to conclude that Hosea regarded sacrifice as having no value whatsoever as an act of worship.  What is meant is that sacrifice as an expression of a living faith in the Lord may be a genuine religious act, but the Lord’s delight is in the true knowledge of the demands of his service and in the cultivation of that love which is the cultivation of that love which is the will for his people.  It should be noted in passing that whereas Samuel is reported to have called for obedience, not sacrifice, from Saul, Hosea’s demand is for love (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22).

—The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 6 (1956), 628

Gale A. Yee, late of of the University of Saint Thomas, Saint Paul, Minnesota, and of the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, added:

It is not the sacrificial system that Hosea condemns, but the dishonesty of its worshipers, whose conduct blatantly contradicts the demands of God’s covenant.

—The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 7 (1996), 252

Sister Carol J. Dempsey, O.P., of the University of Portland, Portland, Oregon, wrote:

Ethical living is more important than religious rituals.  True worship is not defined solely by ritual practice; rather, it consists of an attitude and way of life characterized by justice, righteousness, and steadfast love–the hallmarks of the covenant and the necessary ingredients for right relationships with all creation (cf. Jer. 9:24).

–In Daniel Durken, ed., The New Collegeville Bible Commentary:  Old Testament (2015), 1495-1496

If one could be a card-carrying ritualist, I would carry that card inside my wallet.  Proper liturgy, as I understand it, sets the table for worship for me.  Low Church Protestant worship, which throws out the proverbial baby with the equally proverbial bath water, leaves me spiritually cold and uninspired.  Visiting houses of worship where such a poor excuse for liturgy is the offering is, for me, engaging in a mere perfunctory social gathering.  I feel like saying yet never say:

There, I was a sociable human being; I put in an appearance.  I did what you expected of me.  Are you happy now?  And do you call that a liturgy?

In some settings, I develop the difficult-to-resist urge to quote Presbyterian theologian and Davidson College professor Kenneth J. Foreman, Sr. (1891-1967):

One does not plead for the use of incense–Presbyterians are not likely to come to that–but at least one may protest against mistaking a general odor of mustiness for the odor of sanctity.

—“Better Worship for Better Living,” Presbyterian Survey, August 1932, p. 482

Rituals occupy important places in cultures.  I admit this readily; I am not a Puritan, taking time out from whipping Baptists (see here and here) and executing Quakers (see here and here) to argue that God’s altar needs no polishing and, therefore, will get none.  Neither am I a Pietist, speaking scornfully and dismissively of “externals.”  I like externals!  Externals are important.  Yet even beautiful liturgies, entered into without devotion, are mere pageants.  Conducting splendid rituals, even in accordance with divine commandments, while shamelessly practicing human exploitation, for example, makes a mockery of the rituals.  And, on a less dramatic level, I recall having attended some Holy Eucharists when I, for reasons to do solely with myself, should have stayed home.  I remember some times that I habitually attended church on Sunday morning, but was not in the proper spiritual state.  I recall that I got nothing out of the ritual that usually feeds me spiritually because I brought nothing to it.  I remember that I merely got my attendance card punched, so to speak.

All people and societies have disappointed God.  We have all fallen short of divine high standards, possible to fulfill via a combination of human free will and divine grace.  The grace is present and sufficient.  But do we want to do what God requires?  Do we–individually and collectively–want to fulfill the ethical demands of divine law and covenant?  If we do, we become partners with God.  If we do not, we disappoint God and condemn ourselves.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 16, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANDREW FOURNET AND ELIZABETH BICHIER, COFOUNDERS OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE CROSS; AND SAINT MICHAEL GARICOITS, FOUNDER OF THE PRIESTS OF THE SACRED HEART OF BETHARRAM

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN NEPOMUCENE, BOHEMIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1393

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF THE SUDAN, 1983-2005

THE FEAST OF SAINT UBALDO BALDASSINI, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF GUBBIO

THE FEAST OF SAINT VLADIMIR GHIKA, ROMANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1954

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Above: Wheat Harvest

Image in the Public Domain

Photographer = Scott Bauer, United States Fish and Wildlife Service

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For the Fifth 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, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people,

that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved ever more,

both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 154

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Hosea 6:1-6

Psalm 2

Hebrews 9:11-28

John 12:23-33

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Rituals have legitimate places in religion.  They are essential to civilization.  Rituals are not properly talismans, though.  They cannot protect people from the consequences of persistent disobedience to God, individually and collectively.

We are counting down to Holy Week, hence the reading from Hebrews 9 and the lesson from John 12.  Jesus is the greatest role model in how we love people–selflessly, and at the cost of one’s life, if necessary.  Robert C. Wright, the Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta (and my bishop), exhorts people to “love like Jesus.”  Bishop Wright understands what that means.

Loving like Jesus is the mandate of every Christian person, congregation, diocese, denomination, et cetera.  It is the definition of being Christian.  When we love like Jesus, we may worthily perform sacred rituals.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 8, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT THORFINN OF HAMAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF A. J. MUSTE, DUTCH-AMERICAN MINISTER, LABOR ACTIVIST, AND PACIFIST

THE FEAST OF ARCHANGELO CORELLI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS AND GALILEO GALILEI, SCIENTISTS

THE FEAST OF HARRIET BEDELL, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS AND MISSIONARY

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Above:  The Marriage at Cana, by Paolo Veronese

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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Amos 5:18-24 or Proverbs 3:5-18

Psalm 117

1 Timothy 3:1-13

John 2:1-12

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Rituals are part of religion.  The Law of Moses specifies elements of ritualism, down to priestly vestments and certain details of sacred spaces.  May we human beings shun Puritanical and Pietistic excesses as we focus on the point of Amos 5:18-24.  That point is that sacred rituals are not talismans.  They do not shield people from the consequences of a lack of righteousness–in this case, manifested in the exploitation of the vulnerable and in corruption.

Divine judgment and mercy exist in balance.  We may praise God for having merciful love (as in Psalm 117), but divine justice is catastrophic for the habitually unrighteous (as in Amos 5).  Therefore, blessed and happy are those who find wisdom (as in Proverbs 3).

1 Timothy 3, somewhat bound by cultural context, does contain a timeless element, too.  Ecclesiastical leaders have a duty to lead by example.  They must have fine character.  Their deeds must not belie the sacred truth.

Hypocrisy offends, does it not?  I recall a news story from years ago.  A minister had preached against gambling.  Then someone caught him gambling in a casino.

Deeds reveal creeds.  Words may deceive, but deeds to not lie.  In Jewish theology, God is like what God has done and is doing.  The same principle applies to human beings.

In the Gospel of John, Christ’s first miracle was turning water into wine at Cana.  This was no mere parlor trick.  Yes, Jesus saved his host from embarrassment.  Christ also pointed to his glory, that is, God’s presence in him.  Jesus pointed to God.

Divine grace is extravagant.  It saves us from sins and from ourselves.  Sometimes it may save us from embarrassment.  Do we accept that grace and point to God?  Do we accept that grace and love our neighbors as we love ourselves?  Or do we reject that grace?

Our deeds will reveal our creeds.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 30, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

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

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

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

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM ADAMS BROWN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND SOCIAL REFORMER

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Adapted from this post:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2020/12/30/devotion-for-the-fourth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-d-humes/

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

Above:  The Temple of Solomon

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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PART LVII

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1 Kings 5:1-18 (Protestant)

1 Kings 5:15-32 (Jewish and Roman Catholic)

3 Kingdoms 5:15-32 (Eastern Orthodox)

2 Chronicles 2:1-18

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Those who act deceitfully shall not dwell in my house,

and those who tell lies shall not continue in my sight.

–Psalm 101:7, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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Given that I have already covered the problems of forced labor and of the discrepancies between 1 Kings 5:13/27 (depending on versification) and 2 Chronicles 2:16, I choose to focus on another passage.

Yet who is really able to build [God] a house, since the heavens and even the highest heavens cannot contain him?

–2 Chronicles 2:5a, The New American Bible (1991)

I have stood inside magnificent, beautiful cathedrals.  I have felt spiritually at home in them, for I understand the liturgical importance of sacred space.  I admit without any reluctance that I am a ritualist.  Architecture and liturgy, hand-in-hand, set the stage properly.  They take one of ordinary life.  I also know that, in the case of many medieval cathedrals, the construction of those edifices was an expression of faith.  I eschew the Puritanical-Pietistic suspicion of “externals” that minimizes the importance of sacred spaces and proper rituals.

At the same time, I take King Solomon’s point.  Even the vault of heaven cannot contain God.  No structure, therefore, regardless of how grand it is, can contain God, either.  However, containing God is not the purpose of such buildings.  Yes, the First Temple contained the Ark of the Covenant and was the site of sacrifices.  God did not dwell solely at the First Temple, though.

I can find God in many places.  God speaks to me in my thoughts, via the Bible, by means of people, in rituals, and via nature.  God has more than one channel, so to speak.  And nothing–no building, no denomination, no intellectual category, no aspect of nature–can contain God.  God can, however, speak through them.  And we ought to listen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 21, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE MCGOVERN, U.S. SENATOR AND STATESMAN; AND HIS WIFE, ELEANOR MCGOVERN, HUMANITARIAN

THE FEAST OF DAVID MORITZ MICHAEL, GERMAN-AMERICAN MORAVIAN MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF JAMES W. C. PENNINGTON, AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, EDUCATOR, AND ABOLITIONIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT LAURA OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, FOUNDRESS OF THE WORKS OF THE INDIANS AND THE CONGREGATION OF MISSIONARY SISTERS OF IMMACULATE MARY AND OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA

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Leave no room for selfish ambition and vanity, but humbly reckon others better than yourselves. Look to each other’s interests and not merely to your own.

Above:  Anna at the Presentation of Jesus, by Giotto

Image in the Public Domain

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For the Second Sunday after Christmas, 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 poured upon us the new light of thine incarnate Word;

grant that the same light enkindled in our hearts may shine forth in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 120

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Joshua 1:1-9

Psalm 91

Philippians 2:1-11

Luke 2:21-32

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George Washington Barrett (1873-1956), one of my great-grandfathers, was a Southern Methodist minister of the old school, including Pietistic condemnations of “worldly amusements” and of ritualism.  He was my opposite.  My great-grandfather also preached that Jesus grew up in a Christian home.  This shocked me when I read his sermon notes, in his handwriting.  Jesus growing up in a Christian home would have surprised St. Luke, certainly.  Our Lord and Savior was Jewish, of course.  He grew up in an observant Jewish home that would have made Joshua, son of Nun, glad.

The essence of much of Judeo-Christian moral teaching is that one, by internalizing and living according to divine law, becomes one’s best possible self in this life.  This does not guarantee a life free of suffering, persecution, and economic hardship, of course.  In fact, one may have to endure much because of one’s piety.  The darkness has not conquered the light, and it has not ceased to try.

The focus in Philippians 2:1-11 is a moral and ethical living in a communal context, with Jesus as a model.  (We all know what happened to him, do we not?)  The following advice applies at all times and places, without any necessity for adjustment from cultural contexts not explicit in texts:

In other words, obey the Golden Rule and the Law of Love, the fulfillment of much of the Law of Moses.  Acting accordingly does not guarantee success in that moral and ethical endeavor, but it is a good start, at least.  Whenever I determine to build up others, I risk tearing them down if I choose the wrong strategy.  Looking to each other’s interests does not necessarily entail doing to them as they want, but it does necessarily involve doing to them as they need.  But what if I do not know what they need?  Good intentions alone are insufficient.

God requires us to be faithful, not successful.  May we heed divine guidance as we make decisions daily.  May we pursue proper goals via correct methods.  And may we succeed in these purposes, for the glory of God and the benefit of others, by grace.  May our lives be beacons of the grace of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 13, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF YVES CONGAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT HELDRAD, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF JAMES THEODORE HOLLY, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF HAITI, AND OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC; FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN BISHOP IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

THE FEAST OF SAINTS PLATO OF SYMBOLEON AND THEODORE STUDITES, EASTERN ORTHODOX ABBOTS; AND SAINT NICEPHORUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCH

THE FEAST OF SAINT RODERIC OF CABRA AND SOLOMON OF CORDOBA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS, 857

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