Above: Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
Image in the Public Domain
Yahweh, Unconquered
APRIL 5 and 6, 2024
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The Collect:
Almighty God, with joy we celebrate the day of our Lord’s resurrection.
By the grace of Christ among us,
enable us to show the power of the resurrection in all that we say or do,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 32
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The Assigned Readings:
Daniel 2:1-23 (Friday)
Daniel 2:24-49 (Saturday)
Psalm 133 (Both Days)
Acts 4:23-31 (Friday)
John 12:44-50 (Saturday)
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Oh, how good and pleasant it is
when brethren live together in unity!
It is like fine oil upon the head
that runs down upon the beard,
Upon the beard of Aaron,
and runs down upon the collar of his robe.
It is like the dew of Hermon
that falls upon the hills of Zion.
For there the LORD has ordained the blessing:
life for evermore.
–Psalm 133, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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I have read the Book of Daniel closely in both the Jewish and Protestant twelve-chapter version and the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox fourteen-chapter version. In neither version does the internal chronology make sense. That is fine, for we are not reading history. No, we are reading theology.
How can one life faithfully at home or abroad within a violent empire and under the rule of foreigners? That issue is one question which unites the pericopes for these two days. In the ancient world of the Old Testament a common assumption was that the fall of a kingdom or empire indicated the defeat of its gods also. Thus warfare was cosmic and political. Yet Daniel 2 argues that nobody has conquered Yahweh. Kingdoms and empires come and go, but God remains unvanquished. Ultimately the Kingdom of God, present in part already, will become fully evident. In the meantime, God is present to strengthen the faithful as necessary. We even have the example of Jesus, God incarnate, who identifies with us.
No, we are not reading history in the Book of Daniel. We are reading excellent theology instead.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 17, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF MARIA STEWART, EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB, FOUNDER OF SAVE THE CHILDREN
THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER
THE FEAST OF SAINT OLYMPIAS, ORTHODOX DEACONESS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/yahweh-unconquered/
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LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS 
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