Archive for December 2015
Above: Christ Pantocrator
Image in the Public Domain
Deeds as Credentials
MAY 11, 2022
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The Collect:
O God of peace, you brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus Christ, the shepherd of the sheep.
By the blood of your eternal covenant, make us complete
in everything good that we may do your will,
and work among us all that is well-pleasing in your sight,
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 33
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 50:17-20
Psalm 100
John 10:31-42
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Acknowledge that the LORD is God;
He made us and we are His,
His people, the flock He tends.
–Psalm 100:3, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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Do we acknowledge God via our deeds and attitudes? Or does “God” function merely as a mechanism for self-justification? The genuine God is a truly challenging character.
Our deeds are our credentials, for better and worse. By them we might glorify God or ourselves. (The first choice is superior, obviously.) Sometimes we might labor under the erroneous impression that we are glorifying God. Indeed, identifying correctly what we are actually doing can prove difficult on occasion. May we, by grace, perceive and behave correctly.
The proper response to the extravagance of God’s grace is gratitude, which comes with responsibility. Grace is free yet costly. Our deeds are our credentials. Are they credentials of the Golden Rule, of compassion, of love of God and our fellow human beings? Or are they credentials of self-aggrandisement? Are they credentials of leaving the world or some part of it better than we found it or they credentials of the opposite?
May we love one another, just as God loves us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 31, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF JOHN WYCLIFFE, BIBLE TRANSLATOR
NEW YEAR’S EVE
THE FEAST OF PHILIPP HEINRICH MOLTHER, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, BISHOP, COMPOSER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF ROSSITER WORTHINGTON RAYMOND, U.S. NOVELIST, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND MINING ENGINEER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/deeds-as-credentials/
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Above: Men in Boat (1860), by Alfred R. Waud (1828-1891)
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsca-20362
In the Same Boat
MAY 10, 2022
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The Collect:
O God of peace, you brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus Christ, the shepherd of the sheep.
By the blood of your eternal covenant, make us complete
in everything good that we may do your will,
and work among us all that is well-pleasing in your sight,
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 33
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 45:1-9
Psalm 100
Acts 9:32-35
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Acknowledge that the LORD is God;
He made us and we are His,
His people, the flock He tends.
–Psalm 100:3, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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Acknowledging that the LORD is God entails, among other things, living accordingly. Psalm 14:1a and 53:2a (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, 1985) tell us that
The benighted man thinks,
“God does not care.”
The standard English-language translation from the Hebrew text is close to the rendering in The Revised English Bible (1989):
The impious fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
The difference in translation is mostly in the second half of that passage. The issue in Psalms 14 and 53 is practical atheism, not the denial of the existence of God. Belief in God, in the Biblical sense, is trust in God, not mere affirmation of divine existence. Thus the benighted man/impious fool operates under the mistaken idea that God does not care. Actually, God cares deeply, especially about how we mortals treat each other.
Land was a patrimony and therefore a matter of great importance in Biblical times. A member of one generation held it in trust for heirs. Yet monarchs evicted legitimate landowners and seized land some times. This is the matter in Ezekiel 45:8b-9 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures, 1985):
My princes shall no more defraud My people, but shall leave the rest of the land to the several tribes of the House of Israel.
Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough, princes of Israel! Make an end of lawlessness and rapine, and do what is right and just! Put an end to your evictions of My people–declares the Lord GOD.
References to such evictions occur in 1 Kings 21:1-16; Isaiah 5:8; and Micah 2:2.
The timeless message here is that nobody has any right to improve his or her financial position by victimizing others, especially the powerless and the less powerful. Climbing the ladder of success by kicking others off it is immoral.
St. Simon Peter’s healing of Aeneas, a man bedridden with paralysis for eight years, built up Aeneas, restoring him to health and community.
Whatever we do to each other is what we do to ourselves. If we keep others”in their place,” seemingly to improve our circumstances, we really hurt ourselves, for we doom ourselves to monitor others instead of pursuing proper opportunities. May we build each other up in the name of Jesus Christ, enabling each other to become the people we can become in God, for the glory of God and the benefit of the whole. To use a cliché, we are all in the same boat.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 31, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF JOHN WYCLIFFE, BIBLE TRANSLATOR
NEW YEAR’S EVE
THE FEAST OF PHILIPP HEINRICH MOLTHER, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, BISHOP, COMPOSER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF ROSSITER WORTHINGTON RAYMOND, U.S. NOVELIST, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND MINING ENGINEER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/in-the-same-boat/
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Above: Icon of the Second Coming
Image in the Public Domain
Hope in God
MAY 9, 2022
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The Collect:
O God of peace, you brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus Christ, the shepherd of the sheep.
By the blood of your eternal covenant, make us complete
in everything good that we may do your will,
and work among us all that is well-pleasing in your sight,
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 33
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 37:15-28
Psalm 100
Revelation 15:1-4
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Raise a shout for the LORD, all the earth;
worship the LORD in gladness;
come into His presence with shouts of joy.
Acknowledge that the LORD is God;
He made us and we are His,
His people, the flock He tends.
Enter His gates with praise,
His courts with acclamation.
Praise Him!
Bless His name!
For the LORD is good;
His steadfast love is eternal;
His faithfulness is for all generations.
–Psalm 100, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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Ezekiel 37:15-28 and Revelation 15:1-4 point toward the future. The reunion of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah remains unrealized, for the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel reside in various places in the Old World and are rarely Jewish in the contemporary sense of that word. Corrupt human systems govern the world; God has yet to destroy them and to replace them with justice. Yet we are not foolish to hope for the best in times to come.
Opening the Christian Bible (in all of its competing canons) with Genesis and concluding it with Revelation makes sense. The sacred anthology starts with the creation and corruption of paradise and ends with the restoration of it–from Eden to Eden. The Bible comes full circle, ending with the restoration of the broken. Much harrowing material coexists with comforting passages in the middle.
We who live in the in-between times, those bookended by the announcement of the promises in Ezekiel 37:15-28 and Revelation 15:1-4 and the fulfillment of them, are wise to remember, in the words of Psalm 100, that God is our shepherd and that we are God’s sheep. Wandering off into danger is detrimental to us, just as we are important to our shepherd. Do we honor our shepherd? The answer to that questions is, under the best of circumstances, not nearly enough. Fortunately, we can do much better, by grace. May we do so. And may we hold fast to the hope that what God has promised to do, God will do.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 31, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF JOHN WYCLIFFE, BIBLE TRANSLATOR
NEW YEAR’S EVE
THE FEAST OF PHILIPP HEINRICH MOLTHER, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, BISHOP, COMPOSER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF ROSSITER WORTHINGTON RAYMOND, U.S. NOVELIST, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND MINING ENGINEER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/hope-in-god/
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Above: The Logo of the Moravian Church
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
In Pursuit
MAY 5-7, 2022
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The Collect:
O God of peace, you brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus Christ, the shepherd of the sheep.
By the blood of your eternal covenant, make us complete
in everything good that we may do your will,
and work among us all that is well-pleasing in your sight,
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 33
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 11:1-25 (Thursday)
Ezekiel 20:39-44 (Friday)
Ezekiel 28:25-26 (Saturday)
Psalm 23 (All Days)
Revelation 5:1-10 (Thursday)
Revelation 6:1-7:4 (Friday)
Luke 12:29-32 (Saturday)
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The LORD is my shepherd;
I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me to water in places of repose;
He renews my life;
He guides me in right paths
as befits His name.
Though I walk through a valley of deepest darkness,
I fear no harm, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff–they comfort me.
You spread a table for me in full view of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my drink is abundant.
Only goodness and steadfast love shall pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for many long years.
–Psalm 23, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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Psalm 23 is a familiar passage. Perhaps familiarity breeds not contempt so much as it encourages turning on the automatic pilot when reading or hearing it.
O yes, I know this passage well,
we who are immersed in scripture might say to ourselves before we stop paying attention. But how well do we really know the text?
Psalm 23 might have originated during the Babylonian Exile or afterward. Imagine, O reader, Judean exiles pondering their foreign environs and hoping for a return to their ancestral homeland, of which they have only heard. Or imagine exiles who have returned coming to terms with the fact that realities of life in that homeland fall short of fond hopes and prophetic promises.
Only goodness and steadfast love shall pursue me
all the days of my life
–Psalm 23:6a, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
takes on a certain meaning then. The enemies do not pursue; not “goodness and steadfast love” do–or will. That is a timeless hope.
The themes of judgment, mercy, exile, and return run through these days’ readings. Exile comes, persists for decades, and ends. Restoration (by God, via human agents thereof) follows. God expects us to live in ways that glorify Him, but we fall sort of that standard often. Furthermore, obeying God in this life does not guarantee a peaceful, safe, and prosperous life. Neither does disobeying God in this life guarantee the opposite result. Yet there is the question of the afterlife. Furthermore, for the divine order to come into its own, God must destroy its sinful, human predecessor.
Frequently good news for the oppressed constitutes catastrophic news for their oppressors who, ironically, hurt themselves by engaging in the work of oppression. Thus oppression creates both victims and oppressors, but only only victims. We humans are often the victims of our own bad decisions, thus we are frequently simultaneously victims and oppressors. This need not be the case, for we can, by grace, walk the path of righteousness more often than not. Enemies might still pursue us, as they did Jesus, but so will divine goodness and steadfast love.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 31, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF JOHN WYCLIFFE, BIBLE TRANSLATOR
NEW YEAR’S EVE
THE FEAST OF PHILIPP HEINRICH MOLTHER, GERMAN MORAVIAN MINISTER, BISHOP, COMPOSER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF ROSSITER WORTHINGTON RAYMOND, U.S. NOVELIST, POET, HYMN WRITER, AND MINING ENGINEER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/in-pursuit/
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Above: The Vision of Ezekiel, Fra Angelico
Image in the Public Domain
Commissioned and Equipped
MAY 2-4, 2022
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The Collect:
Eternal and all-merciful God,
with all the angels and all the saints we laud your majesty and might.
By the resurrection of your Son, show yourself to us
and inspire us to follow 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 33
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 1:1-25 (Monday)
Ezekiel 1:26-2:1 (Tuesday)
Isaiah 6:1-8 (Wednesday)
Psalm 121 (All Days)
Acts 9:19-31 (Monday)
Acts 26:1-18 (Tuesday)
Luke 5:1-11 (Wednesday)
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I lift up my eyes to the hills;
from where is my help to come?
My help comes from the LORD,
the maker of heaven and earth.
–Psalm 121:1-2, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Most of the readings for these three days are stories of commissioning by God, accompanied by a spectacular vision or event. Ezekiel and Isaiah become prophets, fishermen become Apostles, and Saul of Tarsus becomes St. Paul the Apostle, the great evangelist. God qualifies the called, who know well that they are, by themselves, inadequate for the tasks to which God has assigned them.
I do not know about you, O reader, but I have seen no visions and have not witnessed miraculous deeds. Neither has God called me to do anything in the same league as the tasks assigned to Ezekiel, Isaiah, St. Paul, and the original twelve Apostles. I do know some of my inadequacies, however, and affirm that God has work for me to do. Furthermore, I acknowledge my need for grace to complete those tasks for the glory of God.
Each of us has a role to play in God’s design. Many of us seek or will seek to fulfill it, but others do not or will not seek to do so. God will win in the end, as the Book of Revelation tells me, so divine victory is up to God, not any of us. Nevertheless, is responding faithfully to God and accepting the demands of grace not better than doing otherwise?
What is God calling and equipping you, O reader, to do?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 20, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CANISIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN BLEW, ENGLISH PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/20/commissioned-and-equipped/
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Above: The Prophet Isaiah, by Gustave Dore
Image in the Public Domain
Hospitality and Grace
APRIL 30, 2022
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The Collect:
Eternal and all-merciful God,
with all the angels and all the saints we laud your majesty and might.
By the resurrection of your Son, show yourself to us
and inspire us to follow 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 33
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 18:1-8
Psalm 30
Luke 14:12-14
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Genesis 18:1-8 and Luke 14:12-14 offer lessons regarding hospitality and the spirituality thereof.
Hospitality often defined the difference between life and death in Biblical times, as it continues to do. Extending hospitality was a moral duty, according to Old Testament authors and Jesus. It was, for them, part of the Law of Love and the web of obligations binding members of society together in mutual responsibility and in interdependence.
In the rural U.S. South in the 1800s it was commonplace for a farmhouse to have a guest room which opened onto the front porch and not into any room. A traveling stranger might need to spend the night. That type of accommodation saved the lives of many people.
The two examples of hospitality in the main readings for this day differ from each other. In Genesis 18 Abraham lavishes hospitality on three men, presumably God and two angels. We learn that they are present to announce Sarah’s upcoming and most improbable pregnancy. One might project words from Psalm 30 backward in time and place them into the mouth of Sarah, once she stopped laughing:
You have turned my wailing into dancing;
you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing;
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks for ever.
–Verses 12 and 13, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
The reading from Luke 14 is part of a scene. Jesus is dining at the home of a leader of the Pharisees on the Sabbath. Our Lord and Savior heals a man with dropsy in verses 1-6. Already Christ’s host and the other guests are hostile, for they watch him closely. Dropsy, aside from being a physical condition, functions as a metaphor for greed, for, although the affected man’s body retained too much fluid, he was thirsty for more. Jesus heals the sick man–on the Sabbath, in the presence of critics, no less, and symbolically criticizes his greedy host and other guests while restoring the man to wholeness. Then our Lord and Savior notices how the other guests choose the positions of honor in contrast to Proverbs 25:6-7a:
Do not exalt yourselves in the king’s presence;
Do not stand in the place of nobles.
For it is better to be told, “Stop up here,”
Than to be degraded in the presence of the great.
—TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
This is a story from the Gospel of Luke, with a theme of reversal of fortune, so the incident fits the Gospel well.
Jesus sounds much like the subsequent James 2:1-13. Sit in the lowest place, he advises; do not exalt oneself.
For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted?
–Luke 14:11, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Likewise, Jesus continues, invite and honor the poor, the lame, the blind, and the crippled with table fellowship. This ethos of the Kingdom of God’s priorities being at odds with those of the dominant perspectives of the world is consistent with the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-11) and the Beatitudes and Woes (Luke 6:20-26).
Give to those who can never repay, Jesus commands us. And why not? Has not God given us so much that we can never repay God? The demand of grace upon us is in this case is to do likewise to others–to do unto others as God has done unto us, to give without expectation of repayment.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 20, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CANISIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN BLEW, ENGLISH PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/20/hospitality-and-grace/
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Above: The Prophet Isaiah, by Gustave Dore
Image in the Public Domain
Living to Glorify God
APRIL 28 and 29, 2022
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The Collect:
Eternal and all-merciful God,
with all the angels and all the saints we laud your majesty and might.
By the resurrection of your Son, show yourself to us
and inspire us to follow 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 33
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 5:11-17 (Thursday)
Isaiah 6:1-4 (Friday)
Psalm 30 (Both Days)
Revelation 3:14-22 (Thursday)
Revelation 4:1-11 (Friday)
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Sing to the LORD, you servants of his;
give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness.
For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,
his favor for a lifetime.
Weeping may spend the night,
but joy comes in the morning.
–Psalm 30:4-6, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The author of Psalm 30 was certainly a supporter of God. That characterization did not apply to the drunks in Isaiah 5 on the indecisive church at Laodicea.
In contrast to those examples stand Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, visions of divine glory. The proper response to that glory is utter humility which praises God and asks how best to glorify God in one’s life. That is, to use the language of Revelation 3:14-22, being hot for God.
The Larger Westminster Catechism begins:
Q: What is the chief and highest end of man?
A: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.
–Quoted in The Constitution of The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 1963-64, page 49
That is a fine statement of principle, but how does it properly translate into actions? The answer to that question depends on who one is, where one is, and when one is. May each of us, regardless of our circumstances, glorify God as effectively as possible in them.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 20, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CANISIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN BLEW, ENGLISH PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/20/living-to-glorify-god/
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Above: The Wrath of Ahasuerus, by Jan Steen
Image in the Public Domain
Religious Persecution and Fearless Confession of Faith
APRIL 25-27, 2022
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The Collect:
O God of life, you reach out to us amid our fears
with the wounded hands of your risen Son.
By your Spirit’s breath revive our faith in your mercy,
and strengthen us to be the body of your Son,
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 33
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The Assigned Readings:
Esther 7:1-10 (Monday)
Esther 8:1-17 (Tuesday)
Esther 9:1-5, 18-23 (Wednesday)
Psalm 122 (All Days)
Revelation 1:9-20 (Monday)
Revelation 2:8-11 (Tuesday)
Luke 12:4-12 (Wednesday)
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I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
–Psalm 122:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The reading from Luke 12 states the theme for this post. The call to remain faithful to God is also a major theme in the Books of Esther and Revelation, where the context is persecution. In Esther the threat is an impending genocide.
The Book of Esther is a work of fiction, but that fact does not indicate that the text teaches no truth. The character of King Ahasuerus is that of an easily manipulated absolute monarch and a man who demands complete obedience. The portrayal of him is quite unflattering. Certainly Esther takes a great risk when going to him, admitting her Jewish identity, and asking the monarch to halt the genocide before it begins.
Another major theme in Revelation is that God will win in the end. Until then many people will have to decide whether to confess their faith fearlessly and in a positive manner, fearlessly and in a negative manner, or to take the easy way out of the path of danger. To profess one’s faith fearlessly and positively, in the style of Psalm 122, is easy in good circumstances, which many of us are fortunate to enjoy. I am blessed, for example, to live in a nation-state where nobody acts to prevent me from attending the congregation of my choice and where I have the opportunity to write and publish these religious posts without legal consequences. Unfortunately, many of my fellow human beings are not as fortunate. The true test of my mettle would be what I would do if I were to live in a context of religious persecution.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 20, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CANISIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM JOHN BLEW, ENGLISH PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/20/religious-persecution-and-fearless-confession-of-faith/
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Above: Goliath Laughs at David, by Ilya Repin
Image in the Public Domain
Unexpected Agents of Grace
APRIL 21-23, 2022
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The Collect:
O God of life, you reach out to us amid our fears
with the wounded hands of your risen Son.
By your Spirit’s breath revive our faith in your mercy,
and strengthen us to be the body of your Son,
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 33
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Samuel 17:1-23 (Thursday)
1 Samuel 17:19-32 (Friday)
1 Samuel 17:32-51 (Saturday)
Psalm 150 (All Days)
Acts 5:12-16 (Thursday)
Acts 5:17-26 (Friday)
Luke 24:36-40 (Saturday)
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Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy temple;
praise him in the firmament of his power.
Praise him for his mighty acts;
praise him for his excellent greatness.
Praise him with the blast of the ram’s horn;
praise him with the lyre and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe.
Praise him with resounding cymbals;
praise him with loud-clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD.
Hallelujah!
–Psalm 150, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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The reasons to praise God are myriad, beyond any human capacity to count. One of those reasons is that God frequently works via people some of us (at best) consider unlikely agents of grace.
Consider David, O reader. Yes, I know that 2 Samuel 21:19 has Elhanan, son of Jair from Bethlehem kill Goliath of Gath, and that 1 Chronicles 20:5 has the same Elhanan kill Lahmi, brother Goliath. If that is not sufficiently confusing, David plays the lyre for King Saul in 1 Samuel 16 yet has not gone to work for the monarch yet in chapter 17. These contradictions result from the combining of differing traditions in the canon of scripture. Such contradictions are commonplace in the Old Testament, starting in the early chapters of Genesis. One needs merely to read the texts with great attention to detail to detect them.
I use 1 Samuel 17, in which David, not Elhanan, kills Goliath, for that is the version the framers of the lectionary I am following chose.
In 1 Samuel 17 young David seemed to be the least likely person to rid Israel of the menace Goliath posed. A crucified troublemaker from the Galilee seemed to be an unlikely candidate for an inspiring and timeless religious figure. Apostles hiding in fear after the crucifixion of Jesus seemed to be unlikely candidates for leaders in a movement to change the world. They faced persecution; most of them died as martyrs. As Jesus said,
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
–Luke 6:22-23, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
The theme of seemingly unlikely agents of grace occurs in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). It is easy to overlook the fact that many in the original audience found the idea of a good Samaritan shocking, even beyond improbable.
The real question I address is not the identities of agents of grace but human biases regarding who is more or less likely to be one. We mere mortals need to learn theological humility, especially regarding how we evaluate each other. Do we even attempt to look upon each other as God perceives us?
The composite pericope from Acts 5 reminds us that functioning as an agent of grace might lead one to harm. Sometimes people suffer for the sake of righteousness because the light exposes darkness for what it is.
…the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
–John 1:5, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2010)
Perhaps we do not recognize agents of grace sometimes because we are caught up in the darkness and are oblivious to that fact. Mustache-twirling villains, commonplace in simplistic morality plays, are rare in real life. Most “bad guys” imagine themselves to be good, or at least engaged in necessary, if unpleasant work.
Another reason for failing to recognize agents of grace is functional fixedness. We simply do not expect something, so we do not look for it. We seek agents of grace as we know them and miss those agents of grace who do not fit our preconceptions.
How might God surprise you, O reader, with unexpected (to you) agents of grace? And what will that grace cost you?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 18, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARC BOEGNER, ECUMENIST
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/unexpected-agents-of-grace/
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Above: Women at the Empty Tomb, by Fra Angelico
Image in the Public Domain
Jesus, the Resurrection, and the Presence of God
APRIL 20, 2020
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The Collect:
Almighty God, you give us the joy of celebrating our Lord’s resurrection.
Give us also the joys of life in your service,
and bring us at last to the full joy of life eternal,
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:
2 Samuel 6:1-15
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Luke 24:1-12
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The presence of God was a frightful thing in much of the Old Testament. It was not always so, for Abraham and God got along quite well and casually, according to much of Genesis. God seems to have been the patriarch’s best friend. God seems to have been more distant (at least in presentation) by the Book of Exodus. In 2 Samuel 6 unfortunate Uzzah, who reached out to steady the Ark of the Covenant because the oxen pulling the cart had stumbled, died.
The LORD was incensed at Uzzah. And God struck him down on the spot for his indiscretion, and he died there beside the Ark of God.
–Verse 7, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Why acting to prevent the Ark of the Covenant from falling to the ground constituted an indiscretion, much less an act worthy of death by the proverbial hand of God, eludes me. I do not think that it was indiscretion, but a faithful and respectful action. Nevertheless, I acknowledge that the faith community which repeated this story as part of its oral tradition until someone thought to write it down understood the matter differently.
Getting too close to the presence of God was, according to many for a long time, fraught with peril. But what about those stories of God and Abraham taking strolls together, once with the patriarch haggling with God over the lives of people he did not know? Perceptions of God have changed much over time.
This is a devotion for Wednesday in Easter Week, hence the reading from the beginning of Luke 24. There the tomb is empty and Jesus is elsewhere. The narrative catches up with him in the pericope which begins with verse 13. The link between the two main assigned readings is the physical presence of God. It is a cause of peril for one who touches the Ark of the Covenant in 2 Samuel 6 yet not in the Gospels. There Jesus walks, talks, and dines with people, much as God did with Abraham.
To focus on the resurrection theme in Luke 24 I turn to two other readings. I imagine certain followers of Jesus, once they had recovered from the shock of the resurrection, reciting part of Psalm 118:
The same stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the LORD’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
On this day the LORD has acted;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
–Verses 22-24, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
I think also of 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989):
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
I admit to doubts regarding certain doctrines and dogmas of the Church, but affirming the resurrection of Jesus is mandatory if one is to be a Christian. Without the resurrection we are left with Dead Jesus, who cannot redeem anybody from anything. The resurrection is therefore an indispensable of the process of atonement. Actually, the resurrection is the final stage in that process, one I understand as having commenced with the Incarnation.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 18, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARC BOEGNER, ECUMENIST
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/jesus-the-resurrection-and-the-presence-of-god/
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LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS 
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