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 the Transfiguration of Jesus

Image in the Public Domain

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Exodus 24:12, 15-18

Psalm 2:6-13

2 Peter 1:16-19 (20-21)

Matthew 17:1-9

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Almighty God, on the mountain you showed your glory

in the transfiguration of your Son. 

Give us the vision to see beyond the turmoil of our world

and to behold the king in all his glory;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 17

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O God, in the transfiguration of your Son you confirmed

the mysteries of faith by the witness of Moses and Elijah,

and in the voice from the bright cloud

you foreshadowed our adoption as your children. 

Make us with the king heirs of your glory,

and bring us to enjoy its fullness,

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 17

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O God, in the glorious transfiguration of your only-begotten Son

once confirmed the mysteries of the faith

by the testimony of the ancient fathers,

and in the voice that came from the bright cloud

you wondrously foreshadowed our adoption by grace. 

Therefore, mercifully make us coheirs with our King of his glory,

and bring us to the fullness of our inheritance in heaven;

through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 31

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In the Gospel of Matthew, the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus comes between two predictions of the crucifixion and resurrection.  The plain textual context tells us to interpret the Transfiguration accordingly.  Jesus was on a mission that would cost him dearly yet end in vindication.

The accounts of the Transfiguration also include a nod to the Shekinah (the Divine Presence), from the Hebrew Bible.  This is the cloud that enveloped Moses atop Mount Sinai and filled the First Temple.  This poetic image appeals to me.  The awe and wonder of God remain intact.  God is other yet near and accessible.  The people of God are God’s adopted children (“sons,” literally, in the Greek of Pauline epistles) and heirs.

God, of course, was nearest and most accessible in the Incarnation.  God in the flesh, walking, speaking, and dining with people was remarkably accessible.  Yet the Incarnation defied comprehension.

The Incarnation defies my understanding.  So be it.

Mystery, in antiquity, indicated something one could know only by living into it and by doing.  Mystery, in antiquity, was not a matter of an something unknown one could solve, given reasoning and enough information.  Mystery, in antiquity, was not the same as mystery in an Agatha Christie novel.

Despite this ancient understanding of mystery, I suspect that St. Mary of Nazareth never understood her eldest son as well as God understood her.

Understanding is not always necessary.  We mere mortals can, objectively, explain and understand much.  I affirm history and science, which rely on evidence.  I detest anti-intellectual and anti-scientific attitudes.  (I am a left-of-center Episcopalian.)  Yet, regarding God–Jesus, in particular–evidence can take us only so far.  After the Incarnation (which I do not attempt to explain), evidence takes me to the foot of the cross of Jesus.  Then the understanding that comes from faith takes over.  I understand partially.  Understanding is not necessary in certain situations.  Yet trusting in God is always essential.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 28, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALBERT THE GREAT AND HIS PUPIL, SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS; ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIANS

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREI RUBLEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ICON WRITER

THE FEAST OF DANIEL J. SIMUNDSON, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF HENRY AUGUSTINE COLLINS, ANGLICAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOSEPH BARNBY, ANGLICAN CHURCH MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SOMERSET CORRY LOWRY, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Adapted from this post

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Advertisement

READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XXI

Above:  Jesus and His Apostles

Image in the Public Domain

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

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

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), 355

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

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

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

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

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

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

++++++++++++++++++++

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

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

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

++++++++++++++++++++

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

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

++++++++++++++++++++

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then they said to him:

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

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

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

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

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 30, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

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

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

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

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

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

READING LUKE-ACTS, PART XI

Above:  The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, by Raphael

Image in the Public Domain

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Luke 5:1-11

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Comparing the Gospels of Mark and Luke reveals a difference in chronology germane to this story.  In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus healed St. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law after St. Simon Peter had become a disciple.  St. Luke reversed the order, thereby giving St. Simon Peter another reason to follow Jesus.  St. Luke also provided another reason to become a disciple of Jesus–the miraculous catch of fish.

For the sake of clarity, I note that “miracle,” in the time of Jesus, did not mean a violation of a law of nature.  The category “laws of nature” did not exist yet.  No, in this story, “miracle” indicates an extraordinary event–in this case, a sign of Jesus’s power.  Therefore, St. Simon Peter’s awestruck reaction to Jesus, similar to the prophets’ reactions at their commissioning, fits.

Genders in Biblical languages interest me.  The modern practice of neutering everything or almost everything obscures when neutering a translation is faithful or unfaithful to the original language.  In the Greek version of Luke 5:10, for example, a literal translation reads, “taking human beings alive.”  That is different from “fishers of men.”  To neuter the English translation of Luke 5:10, then, is to be faithful to the Greek text.  Anyway, we read of St. Simon Peter’s new mission, to hunt or gather in human beings for the Kingdom of God.

St. Simon Peter may have known Jesus by reputation already.  St. Simon Peter’s business partners were Sts. James and John, sons of Zebedee.  Sts. James and John were first cousins of Jesus via their mother, St. Mary Salome, sister of St. Mary of Nazareth.

Why not start building a following with family?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 25, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, YEAR C

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

READING JUDITH

Above:  Arphaxad

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART I

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Judith 1:1-16

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Book of Judith is a novella, like the Books of Tobit and Esther.  This story exists in two parts.  Chapters 1-7 establish the crisis facing the Jews of Bethulia.  Chapters 8-16 contain the story of the titular character.  The Book of Judith, composed between 135 and 100 B.C.E., during or shortly after the reign (134-104 B.C.E.) of John Hyrcanus I (named in 1 Maccabees 13:53, 16:1-23), includes details and characters from five centuries, mixed and matched in odd combinations.  The Book of Judith also exists in four Greek recensions, four ancient translations, and a Hebrew translation from the Vulgate version.

The Book of Judith, although never in the Jewish canon of scripture, has canonical status in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.  Certain early Christian writings attest to the high esteem in which some saints held that text.  One can, for example, read St. Jerome (347-419), the great, frequently moody translator of the Vulgate, describing Judith as (1) a model widow, and (2) a type of the Church.  One can also read of St. Jerome describing St. Mary of Nazareth, the Mother and Bearer of God, as a new Judith.  One can also read St. Clement (I) of Rome, Bishop of Rome from 88/91 to 97/101, writing in his (First) Epistle to the Corinthians, cite Esther and Judith as examples of heroic love of their people.  

“Judith,” literally “Jewish woman,” echoes other Jewish women.  These include Jael (Judges 4), Deborah (Judges 4-5), and Sarah (Genesis 11, 12, 16-18, 20-22).

Now, for Judith 1:1-16….

Do not bother trying to keep track of historical dates, O reader; they are all over the chronology.  Likewise, the measurements of the wall of Ectabana are hyperbolic.  Who has ever seen a wall 105 feet high and 75 feet thick, with tower gates 150 feet high and 60 feet wide?

On the surface, this is a story about the warfare between King Arphaxad of the Medes and King Nebuchadnezzar II (allegedly of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, but really of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire).  Chapter 1 ends with Jews in Samaria and Judah dreading the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar II for not supporting his campaign against Arphaxad.

A careful reader may know that King Nebuchadnezzar II governed from Babylon, not Nineveh.

Chapter 1 sets up the rest of the Book of Judith.  One theme is already evident.  That theme is whether one should be loyal to a tyrant.  The answer is “no.”

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 6, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

THE EIGHTH DAY OF ADVENT

THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF MYRA, BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT ABRAHAM OF KRATIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, BISHOP, AND HERMIT

THE FEAST OF ALICE FREEMAN PALMER, U.S. EDUCATOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF HENRY USTICK ONDERDONK, EPISCOPAL BISHOP, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF PHILIP AND DANIEL BERRIGAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND SOCIAL ACTIVISTS

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

Above:  The Assumption of Elijah

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART LXXX

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2 Kings 2:1-18

Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 47:14b-48:12a

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

How glorious you were, Elijah, in your wonderous deeds!

And who has the right to boast which you have?

–Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 48:4, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Elijah was one of three Biblical characters assumed bodily into Heaven.  The first was Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24).  The third was St. Mary of Nazareth, the Theotokos, the Mother of God, and the Queen of Heaven.

2 Kings 2:1-18 contains elements that may require explanation.  For example:

1. The mantle (robe or cloak) was the physical means of parting the River Jordan, in an echo of the parting of the Sea of Reeds in Exodus 14.  Elijah resembled Moses in that scene.
2. The request for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit was the request to become Elijah’s recognized and equipped successor.  According to Deuteronomy 21:17, the eldest son’s portion of the father’s inheritance was double that any of the any sons received.  Elisha asked for the same right as an eldest son, but not regarding property.
3. Elisha resembled Moses in a second parting of the waters in 2 Kings 2:14.

I detect nostalgic exaggeration in Ecclesiasticus/Sirach/Wisdom of Ben Sira 48:8.  As I recall Biblical stories, God (in 1 Kings 19) ordered Elijah to choose his successor and to anoint the next Kings of Israel and Aram.  1 Kings 19 tells us that Elijah chose Elisha shortly thereafter.  2 Kings 8 and 9 tell me that Elisha anointed the next Kings of Israel and Aram.

Nevertheless, Elijah was one of the most remarkable figures in the Bible.  He became a figure of great importance in messianic expectation.  Elijah also became a symbol of the Hebrew prophetic tradition.  Jesus speaking with Elijah and Moses at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36) testified to the greatness of the prophet.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 28, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Above:  Icon of the Resurrection

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For Easter Sunday, Year 1

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Almighty God, who through the resurrection of thine only begotten Son Jesus Christ,

hast overcome death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life;

assist and support us, we beseech thee, the aspirations of thy heavenly grace,

that dying unto sin always, and living unto righteousness,

we may at last triumph over death and the grave, in the full image of our risen Lord:

to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, world without end.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 163

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Isaiah 25:1-9

Psalm 118:14-29

1 Corinthians 15:12-28

John 20:1-10

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

–1 Corinthians 15:19-20, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I am, to a great extent, a product of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment.  I make no apologies for this; I value science, evidence, objective reality, liberty of conscience, constitutional government, human reason, the separation of powers, and the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and dissent.  Call me a radical, if you wish, O reader.  I call myself an Episcopalian.  I get to believe in Jesus and accept fossil records, rock layers, geological time, dinosaurs, and evolution.  I am a modernist in both the Enlightenment and late nineteenth-century meanings of that word.

I do not pretend, however, that my intellectual categories are sufficient for all circumstances.  My scientific, Enlightenment, and historical categories prove helpful most of the time.  As I age, however, I find, much to my surprise, that mysticism is becoming a more prominent component of my spirituality.

I also understand the difference between faith and proof.  I need no faith to accept that which I can prove.  I can also disprove many subjective claims by citing objective evidence.  Faith his how believes that which is true yet one can neither prove nor disprove.

I know that human nature is corrupted (despite what certain Enlightenment philosophers argued) because I study the past and have something of a grasp of current events.  I have as much of a grasp of current events as I can without crossing the line into my spiritual and psychological detriment.  I have as much of a grasp of current events as possible without risking turning into General George Patton’s ideal man–one who can swear profanely for three minutes consistently without repeating any word.  Human depravity is a certainty–a fact–for me; it is not an article of faith for me.  On the other hand, I accept the existence of God on faith.  In fact the I reject the possibility of proving the existence of God logically.

Likewise, I believe (trust, literally) in the resurrection of Jesus.  I do so by faith.  I do not know that the resurrection is true; I believe (trust) that it is.  I stake everything on it being true.  I know that Jesus was a historical figure, but I believe that he was the incarnate Son of God, crucified and resurrected.

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the relatively few Christian doctrines one must accept to be a Christian.  The Virgin Birth is an optional doctrine, for example, but the Incarnation is not.  One may also choose to accept or reject the Immaculate Conception of St. Mary of Nazareth and be a Christian either way.  (Yes, I understand the difference between the Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Birth.  The first sets the stage for the second.)  As I was writing, the resurrection of Jesus, like the Incarnation, is mandatory for inclusion in the Christian faith.  Without the resurrection, we have a dead Jesus, who cannot save anyone from any sins and their consequences.  The resurrection completes the atonement, according to the Classic Theory of the Atonement, or Christus Victor.

The resurrection also contradicts and violates most of my intellectual categories.  So be it.

Happy Easter!

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 4, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT THE AFRICAN, FRANCISCAN FRIAR AND HERMIT

THE FEAST OF ALFRED C. MARBLE, JR., EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF MISSISSIPPI THEN ASSISTING BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA

THE FEAST OF ERNEST W. SHURTLEFF, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.

Above:  The Angel in the Tomb

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Collect:

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Acts 3:12-26 or Job 19:7-27c

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Corinthians 15:19-28

Luke 24:1-12

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

There is a tradition of reading Hebrew Bible texts not about the Messiah as if they were about Jesus.  Consider the reading from Job 19, O reader.  Job, who has lost most of his family, claims God as his kinsman-redeemer, who will defend him against enemies.  Ironically, in Job 1 and 2, we read that God has allowed Job to suffer.  The Book of Job is a composite work, and what we call Job 19 predates what we call Job 1 and Job 2.  Interpreting the Book of Job can be a complicated matter.

The reading from 1 Corinthians 15 should back up by a few verses.  In context, the resurrection of the dead is linked to the resurrection of Jesus.  One must be true for the other one to be true.  Without the resurrection of Jesus, Christian faith is in vain, Christians are still in their sins, and those who have died have perished.  Therefore,

–1 Corinthians 15:19, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)

Death packs a powerful punch.  One can, at best, imagine how those closest to Jesus felt after he died.  Perhaps only a mother can begin to guess with some degree of accuracy how St. Mary of Nazareth felt.  Consider, then, O reader, the fortitude required for the women to go to the tomb.  Grief can sad one’s energy level and cause inaction.  Yet we read of women walking to the tomb.

We can also only imagine how the three women felt when they learned of the resurrection.

Their hope was not in vain.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 4, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT THE AFRICAN, FRANCISCAN FRIAR AND HERMIT

THE FEAST OF ALFRED C. MARBLE, JR., EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF MISSISSIPPI THEN ASSISTING BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA

THE FEAST OF ERNEST W. SHURTLEFF, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Adapted from this post:

https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2020/04/04/devotion-for-easter-sunday-year-c-humes/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  The Angel of Death and the First Passover, by Charles Foster

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For Maundy/Holy Thursday, Year 1

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O Lord God, who hast left unto us in a wonderful Sacrament a memorial of thy passion:

grant, we beseech thee, that we may so use this Sacrament of thy Body and Blood that,

the fruits of thy redemption may continually be manifest in us;

who livest and reignest with the Father, and the Holy Spirit,

ever One God, world without end.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947),161

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Exodus 12:1-14

Psalm 55:1-14

1 Corinthians 11:23-32

Matthew 26:36-46

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the sake of not flying off in several directions in this post, I refer you, O reader, to the germane tags attached to this post.  One could pursue a number of threads.  I have pursued most or all of them over the years.

March 25 is an important date.  It is, according to ancient mythology, the anniversary of the creation of the world.  March 25 is also, in tradition, the anniversary of the conception of Jesus, the annunciation to St. Mary of Nazareth.  Also, March 25 was the date of the crucifixion of Jesus, traditionally.  March 25 is the Feast of the Annunciation, hence December 25 is Christmas Day.  March 25 is also the Feast of St. Dismas, the penitent bandit,

We are approaching Good Friday, the commemoration of the execution of our Lord and Savior.  Although we read of that execution occurring on Friday in the Synoptic Gospels, we also read of it taking place on Thursday–Passover itself–in the Gospel of John.  The Johannine Gospel makes clear that Jesus was the Passover Lamb that year (29 C.E. or so).

We need deliverance from our sins, of course.  Yet that is not all.  When we consider the meaning of the first Passover (the one in Exodus), we ought to perceive that we also need deliverance from the sins of others.  Do we not read in Exodus that the deaths of firstborn sons in Egypt was divine judgment on Egyptians?  Do we not read also that the blood prompted the angel of death to pass over a (Hebrew) home so marked?

The politics of celebrating Passover in Roman-occupied Jerusalem was perilous.  A Roman fortress looked down into the Temple complex.  Passover was not just an annual religious commemoration; it was also a celebration of God having freed Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.  The political parallels to the time were obvious.

A partial explanation of why Jesus died is that he died because of the sins of others–Pontius Pilate, crowd members, various Temple officials, et cetera.  (I am trying to remain focused.)  That was neither the first nor the last time an innocent person has suffered because of the sins of others, usually the sins of members of officialdom or an institution.

People will not stop dying because of the sins of others until the fully-realized Kingdom of God becomes reality.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 1, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF FREDERICK DENISON MAURICE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT GIUSEPPE GIROTTI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1945

THE FEAST OF JOHN GRAY, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, MYTHOLOGIST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, AND PROFESSOR OF HEBREW AND SEMITIC LANGUAGES

THE FEAST OF SAINT LUDOVICO PAVONI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINTS SYRAGIUS OF AUTUN AND ANARCHARIUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; AND SAINTS VALERY OF LEUCONE AND EUSTACE OF LUXEUIT, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  The Holy Kinship of Saint Anne

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the Third Sunday in Lent, Year 1

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Genesis 22:1-19

Psalm 57

2 Corinthians 4

Matthew 20:17-28

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

weight, importance, consideration.

Above:  Icon of the Annunciation

Image in the Public Domain

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For the Second Sunday of Advent, Year 1

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

grant that we may in such wise hear them,

read, mark, and inwardly digest them,

that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word,

we may embrace, and ever hold fast,

the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

—The Book of Worship (1947), 107

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Isaiah 55

Psalm 9:1-14

Romans 15:4-13

Luke 1:18-35

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Do we seek to glorify ourselves?  Many people have.  Many do.  Many will.  Human glory, however, is fleeting.  According to The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (1962), human glory means,

Often methods of seeking self-glorification entail harming others.

We ought to seek to glorify God instead.  We should be humble before God, not boastful.  God glorifies the faithful.  God, who is trustworthy, provides more richly for us than we can provide for ourselves.  From God we receive what we need, not necessarily what we want.  If we are wise, we acknowledge the limits of our understanding, and we thank God for granting us what we need.

Who was St. Mary of Nazareth by herself?  And who was she in God?  She became the Theotokos, the Bearer/Mother of God incarnate.

Each of us, in a less dramatic way, can bear the light of God wherever we go and whatever we do.  That is a high calling, one to accept.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 9, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HARRIET TUBMAN, U.S. ABOLITIONIST

THE FEAST OF EMANUEL CRONENWETT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCES OF ROME, FOUNDRESS OF THE COLLATINES

THE FEAST OF JOHANN PACHELBEL, GERMAN LUTHERAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT SOPHRONIUS OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCH

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++