For St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia

Above:  The Temptations of Jesus

Image in the Public Domain

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Lent 2019

 

Texts:  Mark 1:12-13; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13

Reading the Bible for spiritual formation is an ancient Benedictine practice.  My primary purpose in writing this short piece is to ask, how do the accounts (mainly the Lukan and Matthean ones) of the temptations of Jesus challenge us, both as individuals and a parish, to follow Jesus better than we do.

The Temptation to Turn Stones into Bread

Bread was especially precious in ancient Palestine, with relatively little arable land.

We are blessed to be able to purchase our bread inexpensively at stores.  Bread is abundant in our context, so we probably take it for granted more often than not.  We can, however, think of some tangible needs related to scarcity.

One challenge is not to permit tangible needs to overtake intangible necessities.  We all depend entirely on God and dwell within a web of mutual responsibility and dependence.  According to the late Henri Nouwen, this temptation is the temptation to be relevant.  Relevance is not necessarily bad; in fact, it is frequently positive.  However, maintaining the proper balance of tangible and intangible needs is essential.  Furthermore, Christ’s refusal to cave into the temptation to use his power to make bread—to cease to depend on God—ought to remind us never to imagine that we do not depend entirely on God.

Questions

1. Do we permit tangible needs to distract us from intangible necessities?  If so, how?
2. Do we manifest the vain idea that we do not depend entirely on God?  If so, how?

The Temptation to Jump from the Pinnacle of the Temple

Many scholars of the New Testament have proposed what the pinnacle of the Temple was.

That matter aside, this temptation is, according to Nouwen, the temptation to be spectacular.  It is also the temptation to attempt to manipulate God by trying to force God to intervene in a miraculous way.  That effort, like turning stones into bread, would indicate a lack of faith.

We humans frequently like the spectacular, do we not?  We tell ourselves and others that, if only God would do something spectacular, we will believe.  We are like those who, in the Gospels, only wanted Jesus to do something for them, and not to learn from him.

Questions

1. Does our attraction to the spectacular distract us from the still, small voice of God?  If so, how?
2. Does our attraction to the spectacular reveal our lack of faith?  If so, how?
3. Does our attraction to the spectacular unmask our selfishness?  If so, how?

The Temptation to Worship Satan in Exchange for Earthly Authority

Many Palestinian Jews at the time of Christ thought of Satan as the power behind the Roman Empire and of the Roman pantheon as a collection of demons.  Jesus affirmed God the Father as the only source of his identity.

This temptation is about idolatry, power, and morally untenable compromises.

Many well-intentioned people—ministers, politicians, and appointed office holders, for example—have, in the name of doing good, become corrupt and sacrificed their suitability to do good.  They have sacrificed their moral integrity on the altar of amoral realism.

Some compromises are necessary, of course.  As Reinhold Niebuhr reminded us, we cannot help but commit some evil while trying to do good, for human depravity has corrupted social systems and institutions.

Questions

1. Have we established our identity apart from God?  If so, how?
2. How have we, with good intentions, committed or condoned evil?
3. Have we made morally untenable compromises?  If so, how?

The Good News

The good news is both collective and individual.

I discover the principle, then:  that when I want to do right, only wrong is within my reach.  In my inmost self I delight in the law of God, but I perceive in my outward actions a different law, fighting against the law that my mind approves, and making me a prisoner under the law of sin which controls my conduct.  Wretched creature that I am, who is there to rescue me from this state of death?  Who but God?  Thanks be to him through Jesus Christ our Lord!  To sum up then:  left to myself I serve God’s law with my mind, but with my unspiritual nature I serve the law of sin.

–Romans 7:21-25, The Revised English Bible (1989)

Jesus has modeled the way to resist temptation—to trust God and to understand scripture.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 10, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF MARIE-JOSEPH LAGRANGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR

THE FEAST OF SAINT AGRIPINNUS OF AUTUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; SAINT GERMANUS OF PARIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT DROCTOVEUS OF AUTUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OGLIVIE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MACARIUS OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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Adapted from this post:

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/03/10/thoughts-and-questions-about-the-temptations-of-jesus/

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Above:  The Israelites’ Cruel Bondage in Egypt, by Gerard Hoet

Image in the Public Domain

Trusting in God

MARCH 3 and 4, 2022

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The Collect:

O Lord God, you led your people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land.

Guide us now, so that, following your Son, we may walk safely through the wilderness of this world

toward the life you alone can give, 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 27

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The Assigned Readings:

Exodus 5:10-23 (Thursday)

Exodus 6:1-13 (Friday)

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 (Both Days)

Acts 7:30-34 (Thursday)

Acts 7:35-42 (Friday)

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Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

and abides under the shadow of the Almighty,

Shall say to the Lord, “My refuge and my stronghold,

my God, in whom I put my trust.”

–Psalm 91:1-2, Common Worship (2000)

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Trust was of the essence for Moses, Aaron, and the Hebrew slaves.  Straw and mud were the ingredients of ancient Egyptian bricks.  Requiring slaves to collect their own straw while not reducing the quota of bricks was unrealistic and unfair.  Blaming the Pharaoh was correct, for he gave the order.  Casting blame on Moses and Aaron was wrong, however.  Even Moses had a momentary lack of trust in God.

That lack of trust in God early in the narrative of the Book of Exodus was predictable.  I refrain from criticizing any of the Hebrews who manifested it, for I have done the same thing in less dire circumstances.  Yet, after a while, people should have learned that God is trustworthy.  The fact of their eventual freedom should have constituted enough of a miracle.

God, who equips the called for their vocations, knows that we cannot do everything on our own power.  Fortunately, we do not need to do everything on our own power.  Sometimes God intervenes directly.  On other occasions God sends us help via people.  Will we recognize that assistance when we encounter it?  Will we trust God?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 10, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF EDWIN HATCH, ANGLICAN PRIEST, SCHOLAR, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT LEO THE GREAT, BISHOP OF ROME

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/11/10/trusting-in-god-6/

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Above:  Temple of Solomon

I scanned the image from a Bible salesman’s sample book from the late 1800s.  The volume is falling apart, unfortunately, but it is quite nice to have nevertheless.

Faults of the Temple

MARCH 4-6, 2024

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The Collect:

Holy God, through your Son you have called us to live faithfully and act courageously.

Keep us steadfast in your covenant of grace,

and teach us the wisdom that comes only 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 28

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The Assigned Readings:

1 Kings 6:1-4, 21-22 (Monday)

2 Chronicles 29:1-11, 16-19 (Tuesday)

Ezra 6:1-6 (Wednesday)

Psalm 84 (All Days)

1 Corinthians 3:10-23 (Monday)

Hebrews 9:23-28 (Tuesday)

Mark 11:15-19 (Wednesday)

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How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

My soul has a desire and a longing to enter the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

–Psalm 84:1, Common Worship:  Daily Prayer (2005)

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The Temple at Jerusalem was the heart of Judaism for a long time.  There, for centuries, was the Ark of the Covenant.  The Temple was where one had an especially palpable sense of the presence of God, although God dwelt everywhere.  King Solomon, using forced labor (see 1 Kings 5:27-30), oversaw the construction of the first Temple, an elaborate structure.  Forces of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire destroyed Solomon’s Temple in 587 B.C.E., but the Persian Empire provided support for the construction of the Second Temple.  King Herod the Great, a client ruler within the Roman Empire, expanded the Second Temple greatly, creating the Temple of which we read in the Gospels.  That Temple was the seat of Judean collaboration with the Roman occupiers.  It was also the site of the sacrifices of animals which poor people had purchased with currency they had exchanged for a fee; Roman currency was technically idolatrous.  The rich got richer and the poor got poorer in the name of piety.  The Temple system was corrupt.

This was why our Lord and Savior criticized that system and competed with it.  Thus many of his staunchest opponents benefited from that system.  Regardless of the number of purifications and rededications of the Temple, the flaw therein remained, for the upkeep of the Temple depended greatly upon money from people who could not afford to pay.

Thus Jesus, in the New Testament, replaces the Temple and the accompanying system.  In him are no political conflicts of interest related to collaboration with an occupying power.  In him are no demands for fees the poor cannot afford to pay.  In him there is no corruption.  He is the Passover lamb, whose blood, death, and Resurrection have atoned for sins.  (The Passover lambs in the Book of Exodus protected Israelites from the sins of Egyptians, not themselves, by the way.)  He is the Alpha and the Omega.  He is, in the words of 1 Corinthians 3, the foundation of the Church, God’s building.

And Judaism has done quite well without a Temple since 70 C.E., not that one should celebrate the Roman destruction of Jerusalem during the First Jewish War.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 10, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN ROBERTS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR

THE FEAST OF HOWELL ELVET LEWIS, WELSH CONGREGATIONALIST CLERGYMAN AND POET

THE FEAST OF KARL BARTH, SWISS REFORMED THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF THOMAS MERTON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MONK

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/faults-of-the-temple/

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Above:  The Original Text

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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Loving God, who loves us, mourns with us, and rejoices with us,

the death of dreams and aspirations is among the most traumatic losses to endure.

It cuts to the emotional core of a person, causing great anguish, grief, and anger.

Regardless if the dream was indeed the one a person should have followed

(assuming that it was not morally wrong, of course),

the pain and disappointment are legitimate, I suppose.

I have known these emotions in this context more than once.

I wish them upon nobody, not even those who inflicted them upon me.

May we, by grace, function as your ministers of comfort

to those experiencing such a death or the aftermath of one

and who are near us or whom you send our way.

And may we, by grace, help others achieve their potential

and refrain from inflicting such pain upon others.

In the name of Jesus, who identified with us, suffered, died, and rose again.  Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 19, 2014 COMMON ERA

HOLY SATURDAY, YEAR A

Above:  The Dogma of the Redemption, by John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-133671

A Great Mutuality of Blessing

MARCH 3 AND 4, 2023

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The Collect:

O God, our leader and guide, in the waters of baptism

you bring us to new birth to live as your children.

Strengthen our faith in your promises, that by your

Spirit we may lift your life to all the world 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 27

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The Assigned Readings:

Micah 7:18-20 (9th Day)

Isaiah 51:4-8 (10th Day)

Psalm 121 (Both Days)

Romans 3:21-31 (9th Day)

Luke 7:1-10 (10th Day)

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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, Book of Common Worship (1993)

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Recently I finished watching Professor Phillip Cary’s Teaching Company DVD series, Luther:  Gospel, Law, and Reformation (2004).  He is a well-informed scholar who has no qualms about stating his opinions plainly, therefore not feigning a disinterested objectivity.  His stance is one of academic hospitality while standing his ground.  Thus one learns, for example, how John Calvin’s theology differed from that of Martin Luther and where Cary comes down on those issues.  That is fair.

A point Cary made in one lecture applies to the readings for these two days.  Everyone, he said, receives his or her blessing from someone else.  God blesses the Jews, the Chosen People.  They benefit, yes, but so do Gentiles, through whom other blessings flow to Jews.  There is a great mutuality of blessing.  This principle remains true in other, smaller settings–communities, families, congregations, et cetera.  I can think of examples of it in my life.  And perhaps you, O reader, can do likewise.

Blessings–such as forgiveness of sin  via God–especially Jesus–are wonderful.  They are for the benefit of the forgiven, of course, but they also serve a greater purpose.  With great blessings come great responsibilities to function as conduits of grace for others.  The reality of God does nothing to detract from the human need for physical means of grace, such as other people and the sacraments.  Blessing others can range from a simple task to a more involved one and prove perilous to oneself.  Sometimes the latter is what love requires of one.  Yet whatever grace demands of us, may we respond affirmatively.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 25, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SQUANTO, COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEING

THE FEAST OF JAMES OTIS SARGENT HUNTINGTON, FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF THE HOLY CROSS

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/a-great-mutuality-of-blessing/

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Above:  Lent Wordle

I found the image in various places online, including here:  http://standrewauh.org/a-study-for-lent/

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The congregational response to “We pray to you, O God” is “Hear our prayer.”

We pray for the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, that it may show the face of Christ to the world and draw people to you,

We pray to you, O God.

We pray for

• Katharine, our Presiding Bishop;
• Robert and Keith, our Bishops; and
• Beth, our Rector;
• and all clergy and lay members,
• that they may serve you faithfully,

We pray to you, O God.

We pray for

• Barack, our President;
• Nathan, our Governor;
• Nancy, our Mayor; and
• all others who hold positions of authority and influence,

that justice may prevail,

We pray to you O God.

That we may, by grace, do your will each day,

We pray to you, O God.

That all who suffer may find succor,

We pray to you, O God.

We pray for (_____) and all who have died, that they may enjoy and glorify you forever,

We pray to you, O God.

We pray for our own needs and those of others.

Congregationally specific petitions follow.

The Celebrant adds a concluding Collect.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 2, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

Above:  The Tomb of Leah

Genesis and Mark, Part XVI:  People Ought Not To Be Property or Commodities

MARCH 4, 2024

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting 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:

Genesis 29:1-20

Psalm 119:73-80 (Morning)

Psalms 121 and 6 (Evening)

Mark 9:14-32

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Some Related Posts:

Prayer:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/prayer-for-monday-in-the-third-week-of-lent/

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The LORD saw that Leah was unloved and he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.  Leah conceived and bore a son, and named him Reuben, for she declared “The LORD has seen my affliction;” it also means: “Now my husband will love me.”

–Genesis 29:31-32, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

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At once the father of the boy cried out, “I have faith.  Help my lack of faith!”

–Mark 9:24b, The New Jerusalem Bible

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The father of the epileptic boy (considered at the time to be demon-possessed) had faith that Jesus could help.  The man knew, however, that he ought to have more faith–trust, that is.  This is a realization which all of us who have lived long enough can apply to our own circumstances.

I trust you, my God, but not as much as I should.

Jacob lacked a proper amount of faith.  He would not have been a trickster if he had not lacked it.  Ironically, he became the victim of a trick his uncle Laban played on him.  But Jacob was not the only victim; Leah was the greater victim.  Always the other woman despite being the senior wife, she had to compete with her younger sister.  Leah’s lament that her husband did not love her broke my heart as I read it again while preparing this post.

May we never forget that people ought never to be property or commodities.  Women ought never to be pawns in brokered marriages, for example.  I write of attitudes ingrained in societies, which are of human origin.  People established these attitudes and other people have perpetuated them, so still other people can change them.  This might be a difficult and long process, but it is possible.  Indeed, it has happened.  We, like the faithless disciples in Mark 9, will not be able to exorcise by our own power that which we need to exorcise.  No, we will need prayer and trust in God to make it work.  This strategy has worked; witness the roles of certain churches  and religious leaders in the civil rights movement in the United States.  Witness also the parallel examples regarding the downfall of Apartheid in the Republic of South Africa.  Also, the need for such movements to expand civil rights in many places continues to exist.  May such movements flourish and succeed in expanding the circle of inclusion, growing it until it encompasses those whom the rest of us have marginalized for own convenience and out of our blindness to social injustice.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 22, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF RICHARD BIGGS, ACTOR

THE FEAST OF ROTA WAITOA, ANGLICAN PRIEST

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/genesis-and-mark-part-xvi-people-ought-not-to-be-property-or-commodities/

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Above:  An Old Family Bible

Image Source = David Ball

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God of glory,

as we prepare to study the Bible,

may we approach the texts with our minds open,

our intellects engaged,

and our spirits receptive to your leading,

so that we will understand them correctly

and derive from them the appropriate lessons.

Then may we act on those lessons.

For the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Amen.

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KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 7, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG, SHEPHERD OF LUTHERANISM IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES

THE FEAST OF FRED KAAN, HYMNWRITER

THE FEAST OF JOHN WOOLMAN, ABOLITIONIST

Above:  A Scene from the March for Troy Davis, September 16, 2011

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

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God of justice,

may we have proper priorities.

Taking our cues from the prophets and Jesus,

may we eschew idolatry,

love you fully,

love our neighbors as we love ourselves,

care for widows and orphans,

plead their cases,

feed the hungry,

clothe the naked,

visit the sick and the imprisoned,

resist and condemn judicial corruption and other official injustice,

and value the most vulnerable members of society.

May we love the unloved,

comfort the comfortless,

give hope to the hopeless,

include the improperly excluded,

and recognize your image in each other.

May we succeed by grace and for your glory and our common good.

Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS OF VILLANOVA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF VALENCIA

THE FEAST OF PHILANDER CHASE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Above:  The Arch at The University of Georgia, Across from Downtown Athens, Georgia

(I live a few miles from this site.  UGA is the professional home of several people who have harmed me.)

Image Source = Josh Hallett

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Dear Jesus,

who forgave even those who consented to your crucifixion,

help us to pray for those who have harmed us.

May those who have harmed us, whether

knowingly or unknowingly,

willfully or accidentally,

maliciously or not,

cease to do harm.

And may they know your love, forgiveness, and joy,

so that they may prosper and succeed in the good they do and will commit.

Whether or not we can or do reconcile with them,

may anger, distrust, and misunderstanding

fade away and disappear.

And, together or separately,

may we and those who have harmed us

move into the future productively and positively,

for the common good.

Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODORE OF TARSUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

THE FEAST OF FIORELLO LA GUARDIA, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

THE FEAST OF THOMAS JOHNSON, JOHN DAVY, AND THEIR COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CHALMERS SMITH, PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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ADDENDUM:

I have progressed spiritually since September 19, 2011.  But I do think it was a positive sign that, on that date, I could pray as I did.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 17, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT PASCHAL BAYLON, FRANCISCAN

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ALBANY, NEW YORK

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM HOBART HARE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF SOUTH DAKOTA

THE FEAST OF WIREMU TE TAURI, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY

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[Update: Those negative emotions washed out of my system years ago.  I would not have been human had I not had such emotions, but I would have been foolish not to drop that burden years ago.–2017]

https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/uga-and-me/

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