Archive for the ‘Cheap Grace’ Tag
Above: Pentecost, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
Image in the Public Domain
Forgiveness
APRIL 7, 2024
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Acts 3:13-15, 17-26
Psalm 148
1 John 5:1-6
John 20:19-31
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Almighty God, we have celebrated with joy
the festival of our Lord’s resurrection.
Graciously help us to show the power of the resurrection
in all that we say and do;
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), 21
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Grant, almighty God,
that we who have celebrated the mystery of the Lord’s resurrection
may by the help of your grace bring forth
the fruits thereof in our life and conduct;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 50
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Biblical authors did not always define certain words the same way. For example, “sin” meant a moral failing in Matthew 18:18 yet a theological failing in John 20:22-23. In the Johannine theological context, sin was the failure to recognize the revelation of God in Jesus. Hence, a Christian did not sin, in Johannine theological terms (1 John 3:6). Also, forgiving sins was a task for the faith community empowered by the Holy Spirit. This faith community, empowered by the Holy Spirit, continued the work of Jesus.
The First Epistle of John tells us that the love of God entails keeping divine commandments, which are not burdensome. The Gospel of John has Jesus say that those who love him will keep his commandments (14:23). The most basic commandment of Jesus is the Golden Rule. That should not be burdensome, should it?
God forgives sins, whichever definition one uses. So should the communities of the people of God. Repentance must precede forgiveness, especially if one defines sins as moral failings. Forgiveness without prior repentance is cheap grace–something meaningless and not transformative.
Just as repentance must precede forgiveness for forgiveness to mean anything, truth must precede reconciliation, something else Jesus brings and God grants. In the Johannine lexicon, truth means “activated integrity.” It is not a philosophical abstraction; no truth is something lived. The hard work of being honest must precede the graces of reconciliation and forgiveness. This is a lesson which many people–including certain politicians and many of their supporters–prefer to ignore. They seek to brush difficulties of the collective and/or individual past under the proverbial rug. They seek the cheap graces of painless forgiveness and faux reconciliation without prior repentance and the acknowledgment of reality. And they often do so in the name of Jesus, unfortunately. They, therefore, mock God, truth, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 20, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SEBASTIAN CASTELLIO, PROPHET OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, HYMN WRITER AND ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN
THE FEAST OF ELLEN GATES STARR, U.S. EPISCOPAL THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA JOSEFA SANCHO DE GUERRA, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SERVANTS OF THE POOR
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL RODIGAST, GERMAN LUTHERAN ACADEMIC AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SIMON WILLIAM GABRIEL BRUTÉ DE RÉMUR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF VINCENNES
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Jacob’s Ladder, by William Blake
Image in the Public Domain
Grace: Transformation
FEBRUARY 25, 2024
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Genesis 28:10-17 (18-22)
Psalm 115:1, 9-18 (LBW) or Psalm 142 (LW)
Romans 5:1-11
Mark 8:31-38
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Heavenly Father, it is your glory always to have mercy.
Bring back all who have erred and strayed from your ways;
lead them again to embrace in faith
the truth of your Word and hold it fast;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
or
God our Father, your Son welcomed
an outcast woman because of her faith.
Give us faith like hers,
that we also may trust only in our Love for us
and may accept one another as we have been accepted by you;
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), 18
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O God, whose glory is always to have mercy,
be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways,
and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith
to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 34
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People reach out to God in the assigned psalms. God, however, reaches out to people in the other readings. The assigned psalms also acknowledge that God has reached out. Reaching extends in both directions.
Divine reaching out is grace. Grace, by definition, is unmerited, free, and not cheap. It costs God much. We can read the canonical Passion narratives and learn what it cost Jesus. And grace imposes demands upon its recipients. Sometimes the cross one bears may be close to literal, not metaphorical. The long line of martyrs attests to a variety of crosses those who have died for the faith have carried.
Regardless of what grace demands of one, it transforms its recipients. Priorities change, for example. Even just that matter leads to consequences, which may be unpleasant or worse. This is a truth which many members of the original audiences of the canonical Gospels understood. One may reasonably imagine such people nodding their heads knowingly at stories of Jesus speaking of suffering for the sake of righteousness and of enduring rejection from relatives.
Those of us fortunate enough not to suffer any of those consequences can still attest that grace has transformed us. Grace has been transforming me for as long as I can remember–since early childhood. It has been transforming me since before I can remember, actually. Grace is a divine initiative; God is the lead actor, so to speak.
If grace should do nothing else, it should make one more gracious. Perhaps you, O reader, know of or know someone who became more difficult and perhaps intolerable following his or her conversion experience. If a conversion experience makes a person obnoxious, something has gone wrong.
Grace transformed Jacob from a trickster into a patriarch and confirmed the covenantal promise applied to him.
How might grace transform you, O reader?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 15, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE NINETEENTH DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZACHARY OF ROME, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JAN ADALBERT BALICKI AND LADISLAUS FINDYSZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS IN POLAND
THE FEAST OF JEAN BAPTISTE CALKIN, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF OZORA STEARNS DAVIS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VETHAPPPAN SOLOMON, APOSTLE TO THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Jesus Before Pilate, First Interview, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
Human Agents of God
APRIL 3, 2022
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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:
Hosea 14:1-9 (Protestant and Anglican)/Hosea 14:2-10 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox)
Psalm 34
Colossians 3:12-4:6
John 18:28-40
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He who is wise will consider these words,
He who is prudent will take note of them.
For the paths of the LORD are smooth;
The righteous can walk on them,
while sinners stumble on them.
–Hosea 14:10, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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I would feel better about Colossians 3:12-4:6 if it did not accept slavery.
Repent and return to God, Hosea 14, urges. Accept divine forgiveness and act accordingly. Forgive each other. After all, everybody needs forgiveness. And, although grace is free, it is not cheap. Become a vehicle of grace. Remain a vehicle of grace. And do not be an in instrument of injustice, as Pontius Pilate was. That is my composite summary of the four readings.
And, of course, never accept cultural practices that run afoul of the Golden Rule.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 8, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT THORFINN OF HAMAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF A. J. MUSTE, DUTCH-AMERICAN MINISTER, LABOR ACTIVIST, AND PACIFIST
THE FEAST OF ARCHANGELO CORELLI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS AND GALILEO GALILEI, SCIENTISTS
THE FEAST OF HARRIET BEDELL, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS AND MISSIONARY
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/08/human-agents-of-god-part-ii/
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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: Icon of Aaron
Image in the Public Domain
Speech and Grace
MAY 19, 2024
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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:
Exodus 4:1-17 or Deuteronomy 5:1-33 or Deuteronomy 31:23-29 or Daniel 12:1-13
Psalm 119:113-136
Matthew 10:9-23 or Luke 12:1-12
2 Corinthians 11:1-12:1
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If we love God, we will keep divine commandments, the summary of which is to love God with our whole selves and to practice the Golden Rule. Details of those generalizations tend to be culturally specific, but the principles are timeless. We cannot keep divine commandments all the time, but we can be aware of the mandate to obey God, try to obey, and trust in the faithfulness of God. We will have help for our vocations from God. This help might arrive via human beings or directly from God. Furthermore, circumstances might be quite treacherous and we might suffer and/or die, but God will never abandon those who are faithful.
Appropriately a recurring theme in some of the assigned readings for this day is speaking. To be precise, God sends Aaron to speak for Moses and the Holy Spirit to speak through persecuted Christians. Speech is powerful; it can build up or tear down. Speech can inspire people to greatness and positive action or convince them that all hope is lost or that they should act negatively. It can glorify God or blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Speech can exonerate or convict the innocent. It can bless or curse. Speech can elevate a situation with beauty and profundity or downgrade it with vulgarity.
Out of the same mouth come praise and curses. This should not be so, my friends. Does a fountain flow with both fresh and brackish water from the same outlet? My friends, can a fig tree produce olives, or a grape vine produce figs? No more can salt water produce fresh.
–James 3:10-12, The Revised English Bible (1989)
May we glorify God via our words and deeds, and may God speak and act through us. Grace is free yet never cheap; it will cost us something. Grace will require us to sacrifice that which detracts and distracts from glorifying God. Grace will also never abandon us and will flow through us to benefit others and glorify God. Will we be willing vehicles of grace?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 12, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARTIN DOBER, MORAVIAN BISHOP AND HYMN WRITER; JOHANN LEONHARD DOBER, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; AND ANNA SCHINDLER DOBER, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF EDITH CAVELL, NURSE AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT KENNETH OF SCOTLAND, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF SAINT NECTARIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE, ARCHBISHOP
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/10/12/speech-and-grace/
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Above: Entry Into Jerusalem, by Giotto
Image in the Public Domain
The Sin of Religious Violence
MARCH 24, 2024
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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:
Deuteronomy 11:1-17 or Isaiah 43:8-15
Psalm 94 or 35
John 8:48-59
Romans 1:8-15 (16-17) 18-32; 2:1-11 or Galatians 6:1-6 (7-16) 17-18
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Accuse my accuser of Yahweh,
attack my attackers.
–Psalm 35:1, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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That verse summarizes much of Psalms 35 and 94. The plea of the persecuted for God to smite their enemies, although understandable and predictable, but it is inconsistent with our Lord and Savior’s commandment to love our enemies and to pray for our persecutors (Matthew 5:43). Sometimes divine smiting of evildoers is a necessary part of a rescue operation, for some persecutors refuse to repent. Nevertheless, I suspect that God’s preference is that all people repent of their sins and amend their lives.
We read in Deuteronomy 11 (placed in the mouth of Moses long after his death) of the importance of following divine laws–or else. Then, in Isaiah 43, set in the latter phase of the Babylonian Exile, which, according to the Biblical narrative, resulted from failure to obey that law code, we read of impending deliverance by God from enemies. Both readings remind us of what God has done for the Hebrews out of grace. Grace, although free, is never cheap, for it requires a faithful response to God. We are free in God to serve God, not be slaves to sin. We are free in God to live as vehicles of grace, not to indulge inappropriate appetites. We are free in God to lay aside illusions of righteousness, to express our penitence, and to turn our backs on–to repent of–our sins.
This is a devotion for Palm Sunday. We read in John 8 that some Jews at Jerusalem sought to stone Jesus as a blasphemer (verse 59). I suppose that they thought they were acting in accordance with Leviticus 24:10-23. Later in the Fourth Gospel (Chapters 18 and 19) certain religious authority figures are complicit in his death–as a scapegoat (11:47-53).
This desire to kill those who offend our religious sensibilities strongly is dangerous for everyone. It is certainly perilous for those who suffer because of it. Furthermore, such violence causes spiritual harm to those who commit it. And what if one’s judgment is wrong? One has committed a most serious offense before God. This tendency toward religious violence exists in various traditions, has a shameful past and an inexcusable present reality, and does nothing inherently to glorify God. In fact, it detracts from the glory of God. That God can work through such abominations committed in His name testifies to divine sovereignty. Exhibit A is the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 10, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN NITSCHMANN, SR., MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; DAVID NITSCHMANN, JR., THE SYNDIC, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY BISHOP; AND DAVID NITSCHMANN, THE MARTYR, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF CECIL FRANCES ALEXANDER, POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN LUDWIG BRAU, NORWEGIAN MORAVIAN TEACHER AND POET
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN LEONARDI, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF THE MOTHER OF GOD OF LUCCA; AND JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/10/10/the-sin-of-religious-violence/
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Above: Saint Augustine, by Philippe de Champaigne
Image in the Public Domain
The Sin of Not Loving
MARCH 10, 2024
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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:
Isaiah 54:1-17 or 37:14-38
Psalm 39
John 8:12-30
James 4:(1-3) 4-6 (7-8a) 8b-17 or Galatians 4:1-3 (4-7) 8-3, 5:1
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Love, and do what you will: whether you hold your peace, through love hold your peace; whether you cry out, through love cry out; whether you correct, through love correct; whether you spare, through love do you spare; let the root of love be within, of this root can nothing spring but what is good.
–St. Augustine of Hippo
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The more familiar version of that excerpt from a sermon is:
Love God and do as you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.
One might identify a plethora of scriptural verses consistent with this nugget of wisdom from St. Augustine. The reading from James comes to mind immediately. In the background of St. Augustine’s counsel is the fidelity of God (evident in the readings from Isaiah). Yes, we will not escape all the consequences of our sins, but, for the Hebrews in the Old Testament, divine mercy follows God’s judgment. We are free in Christ to follow him. Nevertheless, many choose the yoke of slavery to sin. Maybe they prefer that which is familiar or seemingly easier. After all, grace, although free, is never cheap; it costs us something. Yet following Christ is the way of ultimate life, in this realm of existence as well as in the next one.
I like the advice from St. Augustine, for it cuts through legalism (as Jesus did, to the ire of certain religious people) and offers a concise path, one more different from legalism. Legalism leans toward a checklist morality, which is shallow and typical, for example, of the alleged friends of Job. Loving God (and, by extension, our fellow human beings) is about relationships. The Holy Trinity itself is about, among other things, relationships. We human beings are, by nature, relational. We are, according to divine law, responsible to and for each other in a web of interdependence.
Taking up one’s cross and following Christ requires one to surrender much, including one’s selfish desires and illusions of independence. It requires one to grow into a mindset that will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved. In so doing it liberates one to do as one pleases–as one ought to wish to do.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 9, 2016 COMMON ERA
PROPER 21: THE TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINT DENIS, BISHOP OF PARIS, AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAINT LUIS BERTRAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY PRIEST
THE FEAST OF ROBERT GROSSETESTE, SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF WILHELM WEXELS, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; HIS NIECE, MARIE WEXELSEN, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN NOVELIST AND HYMN WRITER; LUDWIG LINDEMAN, NORWEGIAN ORGANIST AND MUSICOLOGIST; AND MAGNUS LANDSTAD, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, FOLKLORIST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/10/09/the-sin-of-not-loving/
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Above: Elijah and the Chariot of Fire
Image in the Public Domain
Elijah and John the Baptist
JUNE 4, 2022
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The Collect:
God our creator, the resurrection of your Son offers life to all the peoples of the earth.
By your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love,
empowering our lives for service and our tongues for praise,
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 36
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The Assigned Readings:
2 Kings 2:1-15a
Psalm 104:23-34, 35b
Luke 1:5-17
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May the glory of the LORD endure for ever;
may the LORD rejoice in all his works.
–Psalm 104:32, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Elijah was a great prophet of God. He departed this earth in 2 Kings 2:1-15a, not having died. Expectations that he would return to prepare for the coming of the Messiah circulated for centuries. In Luke 9, for example, some speculated that Jesus was the returned Elijah. No, the chapter insisted, Jesus was greater than Elijah. St. John the Baptist fulfilled Elijah’s function (Matthew 17:12-13) and Jesus was the Messiah. Both Elijah and St. John the Baptist ran afoul of officialdom for the sake of righteousness.
The glory of the LORD endures forever. It would do so even without the efforts of many faithful people, but such efforts are certainly laudable. They are good works related to active faith in God. Grace is free yet not cheap, for it makes demands on its recipients. Sometimes the cost is one’s life.
Just as St. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and, according to tradition, Elijah pointed to the Messiah, may each of us follow Christ, lead others to him, and seek his glory, not our own.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 8, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT THORFINN OF HAMAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF GALILEO GALILEI, SCIENTIST
THE FEAST OF HARRIET BEDELL, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/01/08/elijah-and-john-the-baptist/
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Above: The Good Shepherd
Image in the Public Domain
God Cares, Part I
MARCH 26, 2022
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The Collect:
God of compassion, you welcome the wayward,
and you embrace us all with your mercy.
By our baptism clothe us with garments of your grace,
and feed us at the table of your love,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives
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:
Exodus 32:7-14
Psalm 32
Luke 15:1-10
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How blest is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin has been remitted.
How blest the man
to whom Yahweh imputes no guilt,
And in whose spirit there is no guile.
But I had become like a potsherd,
my bones had wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night, O Most High,
your hand was oppressive;
I was ravaged, O Shaddai,
as by the drought of summer.
My sin I made known to you,
and did not hide my guilt from you.
I said, “I shall confess, O Most High,
my transgressions, O Yahweh!”
Then you forgave my sinful guilt.
–Psalm 32:1-5, Mitchell Dahood, The Anchor Bible (1966)
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Acknowledging one’s sins is pat of the process of repentance, or turning away from them.
The key word in the assigned reading from Luke 15 is repentance. Jesus answers criticisms for welcoming and dining with sinners by telling parables of being lost then found and welcomed. Sheep were essential to the livelihood of shepherds in verses 3-6, just as the small amount of money in verses 8 and 9 probably constituted the woman’s entire savings. In each case a penitent sinner is as precious to God as the lost sheep is to the shepherd and the ten silver coins are to the woman. Heavenly celebration ensues after the return of the newly penitent. This theme continues in verses 11-32, traditionally the Parable of the Prodigal Son, although the loving father and the dutiful yet resentful older brother are equally compelling characters.
I detect a difference in the portrayal of God in Luke 15 and Exodus 32. God seeks the lost in two parables in Luke 15 and waits for the return of the penitent in the third parable. In Exodus 32, however, Moses has to persuade God not to destroy the Israelites. Granted, they probably did not know the error of their ways, but the God of Luke 15 would have responded differently than the God of Exodus 32. The God of Luke 15 would have, like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (for lack of a better name), waited for them to realize their sins then repent.
In universe, then, did the ten silver coins know that they were lost? The Prodigal Son came to his senses in time. And the lost sheep was an especially stupid animal. Yet all of these were precious in Luke 15.
I acknowledge that both judgment and mercy exist in God. The balance of them is beyond my purview. Yet I rely on divine mercy, which I understand to be vast. That mercy, extended to me, requires much of me. I am, for example, to act mercifully toward others and to respond gratefully to God. Grace is free, not cheap.
Principles are easy to state, but coming to understand how best to apply them in daily life is frequently difficult. A well-meaning person might, out of faithfulness and compassion, act in such a way as to make a bad situation worse accidentally. The most effective method of helping might not be obvious to one. What is a person who seeks to apply the Golden Rule properly to do? May you, O reader, find the proper answers in your circumstances.
May each of us, precious in the sight of God, remain faithful, repent when we depart from the proper path, and function as the most effective agents of divine mercy possible, by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 30, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/god-cares-part-i/
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Above: Peter’s Conflict with Simon Magus, by Avanzino Nucci
Image in the Public Domain
Simony and Mustard Seeds
APRIL 25-27, 2024
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The Collect:
O God, you give us your Son as the vine apart from whom we cannot live.
Nourish our life in his resurrection,
that we may bear the fruit of love
and know the fullness of your joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 34
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The Assigned Readings:
Amos 8:1-7 (Thursday)
Amos 8:11-13 (Friday)
Amos 9:7-15 (Saturday)
Psalm 22:25-31 (All Days)
Acts 8:1b-8 (Thursday)
Acts 8:9-25 (Friday)
Mark 4:30-32 (Saturday)
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The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the LORD shall praise him:
“May your heart live for ever.”
–Psalm 22:25, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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As I have written many times, a recurring theme in the Bible is that God cares deeply about how we treat each other, especially the poor and the other vulnerable individuals. In Amos, for example, we read of predators who long for the next religious observance so they can cheat many people. God promised to destroy such malefactors and never to forget their deeds.
Another bad actor was Simon Magus from Acts 8. He tried to purchase God’s free blessings, earning the rebuke of St. Simon Peter. From this account has come the word “simony,” or the buying and selling of ecclesiastical offices. That practice has been the avoidable cause of much scandal in the Church for millennia.
The third strain of this devotion comes from Mark 4. Some seeds are actually smaller than mustard seeds. This fact proves that Jesus was a better theologian than horticulturist. The points remain applicable, however, for a large plant–a weed, really–grows from a tiny seed. The mustard plant goes where it will; the Kingdom of God is unstoppable.
So, to put all the pieces together, the great Kingdom of God, in which the last are first, the first are last, and the servant of all is the greatest, comes via small vehicles. The Kingdom of God is the opposite of exploitative and corrupt human systems. Also, grace is free but not cheap, for it requires commitment from its recipients. Buying grace, if possible, might be easier from a human point of view, but it would not be better from a moral perspective.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 19, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTIETH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF LARS OLSEN SKRESFRUD, LUTHERAN MISSIONARY
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/12/19/simony-and-mustard-seeds/
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LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS 
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