Archive for the ‘A Four-Year Lectionary (Humes) Year A’ Category
Above: Pentecost Dove
Image Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Receive the Holy Spirit
MAY 28, 2023
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The Collect:
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
as you sent upon the disciples the promised gift of the Holy Spirit,
look upon your Church and open our hearts to the power of the Spirit.
Kindle in us the fire of your love,
and strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 23
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The Assigned Readings:
Joel 2:21-32
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Acts 2:1-21
John 7:37-39
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Joel 2:21-32 (Protestant and Anglican versification) = Joel 2:21-3:5 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox versification)
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Dating the Book of Joel is difficult, but its message is simple: After the judgment of God and the repentance of Israel divine mercy will be abundant and God will pour out His spirit on all people. The assigned reading, quoted partially in Acts 2:1-21, fits well with Psalm 104. The future age predicted in Joel 2:21-32/2:21-3:5 remains for our future, but its message of God’s universal outpouring of the Holy Spirit is timeless. For the sake of completeness, however, one should not that Chapter 4 (if one is Jewish, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox)/Chapter 3 (if one is Anglican or Protestant) contains both judgment and mercy.
By means of both the witness of the Holy Spirit and Single Predestination, taken together, salvation is available to all people, but many people reject it, hence divine judgment. This is unfortunate, as well as beyond any mere mortal’s pay grade, so to speak. Nevertheless, the extent of the boundaries of divine grace would probably shock most of us, if we knew all the details. These are properly matters in the purview of God.
John 7:37-38, in the original Greek, is a somewhat ambiguous text, due to the question of punctuation. Related to that issue is the matter of theological interpretation, as commentaries reveal. I feel comfortable asserting that Jesus, not the believer, is the source of the rivers of living water. In Christianity we must look to Jesus. God is central; we are not.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 2, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS, THE MARTYRS OF LYONS, 177
THE FEAST OF ANDERS CHRISTENSEN ARREBO, “THE FATHER OF DANISH POETRY”
THE FEAST OF MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER, HYMN WRITER, NOVELIST, AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT STEPHEN OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY, BISHOP, AND MARTYR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/receive-the-holy-spirit-part-ii/
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Above: Saint Peter, by Marco Zoppo
Image in the Public Domain
Suffering
MAY 21, 2023
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 5:17-42
Psalm 46
1 Peter 4:12:5:11
Matthew 24:1-14
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Suffering and persecution are prominent in the assigned readings. The passage from Matthew 24, set during Holy Week, precedes the crucifixion of Jesus. Sometimes suffering is a result of obeying God, yet, as we read in Psalm 46:7 (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989),
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
One might also think of lyrics Doris Plenn wrote in response to McCarthyism:
When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,
And hear their death-knell ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and near,
How can I keep from singing?
In prison cell and dungeon vile,
Our thoughts to them are winging;
When friends by shame are undefiled,
How can I keep from singing?
After all, God transformed a Roman cross, a symbol of humiliation and a means of execution, into the ultimate symbol of grace and victory over death and sin.
Here ends the lesson.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 2, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS, THE MARTYRS OF LYONS, 177
THE FEAST OF ANDERS CHRISTENSEN ARREBO, “THE FATHER OF DANISH POETRY”
THE FEAST OF MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER, HYMN WRITER, NOVELIST, AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT STEPHEN OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY, BISHOP, AND MARTYR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/suffering-part-iii/
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Above: Embrace of Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary
Image in the Public Domain
Humility and Arrogance
JUNE 1, 2020
DURING THE SEASON AFTER PENTECOST
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The Collect:
Almighty God, in choosing the virgin Mary to be the mother of your Son,
you made known your gracious regard for the poor and the lowly and the despised.
Grant us grace to receive your Word in humility, and so made one with 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), 33
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Samuel 2:1-10
Psalm 113
Romans 12:9-16b
Luke 1:39-57
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Depending on the date of Easter, and therefore of Pentecost, the Feast of the Visitation can fall in either the season of Easter or the Season after Pentecost.
The history of the Feast of the Visitation has been a varied one. The feast, absent in Eastern Orthodoxy, began in 1263, when St. Bonaventure introduced it to the Order of Friars Minor (the Franciscans), which he led. Originally the date was July 2, after the octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24). Pope Urban VI approved the feast in 1389, the Council of Basel authorized it in 1441, propers debuted in the Sarum breviary of 1494, and Pope Pius V added the feast to the general calendar in 1561. In 1969, during the pontificate of Paul VI, Holy Mother Church moved the Feast of the Visitation to May 31, in lieu of the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which Pope Pius XII had instituted in 1954. The Episcopal Church added the Feast of the Visitation to its calendar in The Book of Common Prayer (1979). The feast had long been July 2 in The Church of England and much of Lutheranism prior to 1969. Subsequent liturgical revision led to the transfer of the feast to May 31 in those traditions.
The corresponding Eastern Orthodox feast on July 2 commemorates the placing of the Holy Robe of the Mother of God in the church at Blachernae, a suburb of Constantinople.
The theme of humility is prominent in the assigned readings and in the Lutheran collect I have quoted. A definition of that word might therefore prove helpful. The unabridged Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language (1951), a tome, defines humility as
Freedom from pride and arrogance; humbleness of mind; a modest estimate of one’s own worth; also, self-abasement, penitence for sin.
Humility refers to lowliness and, in the Latin root, of being close to the ground. God raising up the lowly is a Lukan theme, as is God overthrowing the arrogant. After all, the woes (Luke 6:24-26) follow the Beatitudes (6:20-25), where Jesus says,
Blessed are you who are poor,
not
Blessed are you who are poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3).
The first will be last and the last will be first, after all.
Wherever you are, O reader, you probably live in a society that celebrates the boastful, the arrogant. The assigned readings for this day contradict that exultation of the proud, however. They are consistent with the ethic of Jeremiah 9:22-23:
Yahweh says this,
“Let the sage not boast of wisdom,
nor the valiant of valour,
nor the wealthy of riches!
But let anyone who wants to boast, boast of this:
of understanding and knowing me.
For I am Yahweh, who acts with faithful love,
justice, and uprightness on earth;
yes, these are what please me,”
Yahweh declares.
—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
St. Paul the Apostle channeled that ethic in 1 Corinthians 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17, among other passages.
That which he understood well and internalized, not without some struggle, remains relevant and timeless.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 1, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR, CHRISTIAN APOLOGIST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAMPHILUS OF CAESAREA, BIBLE SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL STENNETT, ENGLISH SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST MINISTER AND HYMN-WRITER; AND JOHN HOWARD, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON OF SYRACUSE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/humility-and-arrogance-part-ii/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/07/12/devotion-for-the-feast-of-the-visitation-of-mary-to-elizabeth-years-a-b-c-and-d-humes/
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Above: Ascension. Olivet With Clouds, Between 1934 and 1939
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-12383
Empowered by God
MAY 18, 2023
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The Collect:
Almighty God, your only Son was taken up into heaven and in power intercedes for us.
May we also come into your presence and live forever in your glory;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 22
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 24:44-53
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The Feast of the Ascension celebrates the enthronement of Jesus as the King of Heaven. Ascension is an ancient commemoration, one nearly universal in the Church by the 300s. On some calendars it falls on a Thursday, on the fortieth day of Easter, to be precise. On other calendars it transfers to the following Sunday. On still other calendars Ascension is absent, thrown out with the proverbial bath water of Roman Catholic tradition.
For many the rejection of tradition has become a tradition.
The departure of Jesus from this realm placed a great responsibility on the surviving Apostles, whose number did not yet include St. Matthias. They were to have divine assistance, however. So they did. The Apostles’ responsibility to be witnesses of Jesus has passed to we Christians of today. Fortunately, God’s assistance in fulfilling this mission has never ceased.
People have different abilities and personality types. I, for example, am an introvert. People who knock on my door with the intention of converting me always fail. One reason is that I dislike that interruption when I am at home. Annoying me is a bad first step. Besides, I have always been uncomfortable while engaging in excessively extroverted activities for too long. I will not, therefore, knock on anyone’s door with the intention of evangelizing him or her, but I feel at ease sitting at a computer keyboard. What I do there can reach people I will never get to meet anyway. There are many useful roles for introverts in the Church.
Whatever God is calling you, O reader, to do, God also empower you to do. May you do it, for the glory of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 1, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR, CHRISTIAN APOLOGIST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAMPHILUS OF CAESAREA, BIBLE SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL STENNETT, ENGLISH SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST MINISTER AND HYMN-WRITER; AND JOHN HOWARD, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON OF SYRACUSE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/empowered-by-god-part-vi/
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Above: Parable of the Great Banquet, by Jan Luyken
Image in the Public Domain
A Faithful Response, Part IX
MAY 14, 2023
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 5:1-11
Psalm 66
1 Peter 4:1-11
Matthew 22:1-14
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The king’s action–burning the city in which the murderers lived–seems excessive in Matthew 22:7. Yet, if one interprets that passage and the parable from which it comes in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem (70 C.E.), it remains problematic, but at least it makes some sense. Might one understand the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. as divine judgment? One might, especially if one, as a marginalized Jewish Christian in the 80s C.E., were trying to make sense of recent events. A note in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (2003) links this passage to Matthew 24:27-31 and divine judgment on the Roman Empire.
Scholar Jonathan T. Pennington, rejecting the consensus that “Kingdom of Heaven,” in the Gospel of Matthew, is a reverential circumlocution, contends that the Kingdom of Heaven is actually God’s apocalyptic rule on Earth. The kingdoms of the Earth are in tension with God and will remain so until God terminates the tension by taking over. That understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven fits well with the motif of divine judgment in the Gospel of Matthew.
We also read of divine judgment in Acts 5:1-11, which flows from the end of Acts 4. The sins of Ananias and Sapphira against the Holy Spirit were greed and duplicity. As I read the assigned lessons I made the connection between Acts 5:1-11 and Psalm 66:18 (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989):
If if had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the LORD would not have listened.
The brief reading from 1 Peter 4 is packed with themes and some theologically difficult verses, but the thread that fits here naturally is the call (in verse 8) to love one another intensely while living in and for God. That fits with Acts 5:1-11 (as a counterpoint to Ananias and Sapphira) well. That thought also meshes nicely with Psalm 66 and juxtaposes with the judged in Matthew 22:1-14. At the wedding banquet a guest was supposed to honor the king by (1) attending and (2) dressing appropriately. Infidelity to God brings about divine judgment, just as faithfulness to God (frequently manifested in how we treat others) pleases God.
That is a concrete and difficult standard. It is one we can meet more often than not, though, if we rely on divine grace to do so.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 1, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR, CHRISTIAN APOLOGIST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAMPHILUS OF CAESAREA, BIBLE SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL STENNETT, ENGLISH SEVENTH-DAY BAPTIST MINISTER AND HYMN-WRITER; AND JOHN HOWARD, ENGLISH HUMANITARIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON OF SYRACUSE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/06/01/a-faithful-response-part-x/
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Above: Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, by Rembrandt van Rijn
Image in the Public Domain
A Faithful Response, Part VIII
MAY 7, 2023
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 4:23-37
Psalm 31:1-9, 15-16
1 Peter 3:8-22
Matthew 20:1-16
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The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) tells of the generosity of God. The social setting is poverty created by rampant economic exploitation–in this case, depriving people of land, therefore depriving them of economic security. The economics of the Kingdom of God/Heaven–in tension with human systems–the Roman Empire, in particular–are morally superior.
Trusting in God can be difficult during the best of times, given human sins and frailties. Therefore trusting in God in precarious circumstances–such as persecution and/or systematic economic exploitation–can certainly prove to be challenging. Yet, when faith communities do so and, acting on trust in God, take care of their members’ needs, grace is tangibly present.
Dare we have much trust in God?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/05/31/a-faithful-response-part-ix/
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Above: The Sanhedrin
Image in the Public Domain
The Light of Christ, Part III
APRIL 30, 2023
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 4:1-22
Psalm 23
1 Peter 2:11-25
Matthew 13:44-52
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One can find examples of God smiting evildoers in the Bible. The fate of the evil in Matthew 13 falls into a side category, one in which angels smite evildoers–at the end, on the day of judgment. Until then, as in Psalm 23, God simply outclasses and overpowers the wicked, who cannot keep up, much of the time. The wicked cease to pursue the righteous; divine goodness and mercy pursue or accompany the righteous, depending on the translation one considers authoritative.
Although I am reluctant to label members of the Sanhedrin evil, I side with Sts. John and Simon Peter in the confrontation with that council. I also rejoice that the Sanhedrin, for all its authority, lacked the power to prevent the Apostles from preaching. I thank God that the Sanhedrin could not keep up with God and part of the public.
May we be on God’s side. May we heed the advice of 1 Peter 2:12 and behave honorably always, to the glory of God. Human authority is not always worthy of respect and obedience, and slavery (in all its forms) is always wrong, so I agree with part of the reading from 1 Peter 2, a text some have used to justify chattel slavery and submitting to the Third Reich. The politics of early, persecuted Christianity aside, sometimes one must oppose human authority in order to live faithfully, in accordance with the divine commandments. Those figures of authority cannot keep up with God either, and the call to live as one should–to manifest the light of Christ–is timeless.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/05/31/the-light-of-christ-part-v/
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Above: St. Peter, by Dirck van Baburen
Image in the Public Domain
A Faithful Response, Part VII
APRIL 23, 2023
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 3:1-10
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19
1 Peter 2:1-10
Matthew 13:24-35
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The theme of the power of God unites the assigned readings for this Sunday.
The Kingdom of God/Heaven, we read, is like a field of wheat with weeds growing up in it also. We mere mortals should refrain from weeding the field, for unless we show that restraint, we will remove some wheat also.
The Kingdom of God/Heaven–in the Gospel of Matthew, God’s earthly, apocalyptic reign–has small, even invisible beginnings yet grows large and resists any human attempts to control it. The Kingdom of God/Heaven and the Kingdom of Earth will remain in tension until the former supplants the latter.
By the power of God people can obtain salvation, healing, and status as a kingdom of priests. By the power of God people receive grace. With grace comes responsibility to serve as vehicles of grace to others.
I think of the man born lame (Acts 3:1-10) and wonder about the rest of his story. The narrative moves in a different direction, following the Apostles he encountered that important day. I conclude that the man, beaten down by the circumstances of his life, probably did not expect much, but that he received far more than he anticipated in his wildest dreams. I wonder how that man spent the rest of his life. I like to think that he devoted it to the glory of God.
Your story, O reader, might be less dramatic than his. Mine is. Yet we have the same mandate he did–to respond to God faithfully. We mere mortals can never repay divine mercy, but we can serve God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 31, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/05/31/a-faithful-response-part-viii/
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Above: St. Matthias
Image in the Public Domain
Resurrected Lives, Part II
APRIL 16, 2023
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 1:12-26
Psalm 16:5-11
1 Peter 1:3-9, 14-25
Matthew 28:11-20
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Since by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves so that you can experience the genuine love of brothers, love each other intensely from the heart….
–1 Peter 1:22, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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As one’s soul rejoices in God, who resurrected Jesus, who has issued the Great Commission, one requires guidance in how to follow Christ. Certain rules are specific to times and places, but principles are timeless. In 1 Peter 1:22 and elsewhere the germane principle is genuine love for God and others. Love of the unconditional and self-sacrificial variety, we read in 1 Corinthians 13, prioritizes others and is not puffed up. Such love builds up others.
This is a high standard; each of us falls short of it. By grace we can succeed some of the time, however. Furthermore, we can strive for agape love more often than we act on it. We need not attempt moral perfection, which is impossible, but we must seek to do as well as possible, by grace. We are imperfect; God knows that. Yet we can improve.
The surviving Apostles regrouped and restored their number to twelve. They selected St. Matthias to fill the vacancy the death of Judas Iscariot had created. St. Matthias became a martyr; he loved God to the point of dying for the faith. We might not have to make the choice, but we still owe God everything.
Grace is always free yet never cheap. In the wake of Easter it demands that we who accept it lead resurrected lives defined by love.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 30, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOAN OF ARC, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF APOLO KIVEBULAYA, APOSTLE TO THE PYGMIES
THE FEAST OF JOSEPHINE BUTLER, ENGLISH FEMINIST AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LUKE KIRBY, THOMAS COTTAM, WILLIAM FILBY, AND LAURENCE RICHARDSON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/resurrected-lives-part-ii/
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Above: Easter Celtic Cross
Image Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Resurrected Lives, Part I
APRIL 9, 2023
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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
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 2:22-41 or Job 19:7-27c
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Matthew 28:1-10
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The reading from Job 19 might seem at first to be an odd selection for Easter Sunday. The choice makes much sense on this occasion, however. The lesson reminds us that even innocent people suffer, despite what certain conventionally pious people, such as alleged friends who insult the afflicted, claim. Reading the Book of Job and the Gospel of John together highlights the falseness of the arguments of Job’s alleged friends, for, in the Johannine Gospel, the crucifixion of Jesus is Christ’s glorification.
Psalm 118 is a prayer of thanksgiving for victory in battle. The theme of victory certainly applies to Easter, central to the Christian liturgical year. Likewise the resurrection of Jesus is central to Christianity, as 1 Corinthians 15, in its entirety, affirms.
The body of Christian doctrine is varied and frequently self-contradictory, given the wide variety of competing denominations. An orthodox Christian in one denomination is simultaneously a heretic, according to the standards of many other denominations. Yet, for all the variation in doctrines not essential to salvation, a few doctrines are mandatory. The Incarnation is one. The atonement (with at least three interpretations of it dating to the Patristic Era) is a second. The resurrection of Jesus is a third.
In the academic study of history one, assuming that one’s facts are correct and one’s chronology is in order, one must still be able to answer one question satisfactorily:
So what?
St. Paul the Apostle, in 1 Corinthians 15, answers that question ably down the corridors of time. Through the resurrection of Jesus, we read (especially after verse 11), we Christians, liberated from our former states of sin, have hope; we lead resurrected lives. Otherwise, if the resurrection is false,
…we of all people are most to be pitied.
–1 Corinthians 15:19b, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Yet we are not, thanks to God.
Happy Easter!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 30, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOAN OF ARC, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF APOLO KIVEBULAYA, APOSTLE TO THE PYGMIES
THE FEAST OF JOSEPHINE BUTLER, ENGLISH FEMINIST AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LUKE KIRBY, THOMAS COTTAM, WILLIAM FILBY, AND LAURENCE RICHARDSON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/resurrected-lives-part-i/
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This is post #400 of LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS.
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LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS 
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