According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  Easter Celtic Cross

Image Scanned from a Church Bulletin

Happy Easter!

APRIL 9, 2023

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Acts 10:34-43

Psalm 118:1-2, 15-24

Colossians 3:1-4

John 20:1-9 (10-18) or Matthew 28:1-10

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O God, you gave your only Son

to suffer death on the cross for our redemption,

and by his glorious resurrection

you delivered us from the power of death. 

Make us die every day to sin,

so that we may live with him forever in the joy of the resurrection;

through 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), 20-21

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Almighty God the Father, through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ,

you have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. 

Grant that we,

who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection,

may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 47

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I have been writing lectionary-based devotions for more than a decade.  In that time, I have exhausted what I can write for the main service of Easter Day.

So be it.  Trying to explain the resurrection is pointless.  (I have heard people debate the mechanics of it, pointlessly.)  One may read an attempt by St. Clement I of Rome, circa 96 C.E., in his Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Clement).  That attempt is pious yet inadequate.  No explanation is adequate.

Therefore, O reader, I refer you to the assigned readings (especially from the New Testament) and wish you a happy Easter–all fifty days of it.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 16, 2022 COMMON ERA

HOLY SATURDAY

THE FEAST OF SAINT BERNADETTE OF LOURDES, ROMAN CATHOLIC VISIONARY

THE FEAST OF CALVIN WEISS LAUFER, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMNODIST

THE FEAST OF ISABELLA GILMORE, ANGLICAN DEACONESS

THE FEAST OF MIKAEL SUMA, ALBANIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, FRIAR, AND MARTYR, 1950

THE FEAST OF PETER WILLIAMS CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL DEACON; AND HIS WIFE, ANNIE BESANT CASSEY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL EDUCATOR

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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA

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He who is wise will consider these words,

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 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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Don’t you dare do that in my name!

Above:  Clarke County Jail, Athens, Georgia

Image Source = Google Earth

God is Watching Us

MARCH 27, 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 11:1-11

Psalm 105

Colossians 3:1-11

John 18:15-27

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God is a like a loving father in Hosea 11:1-11.  The people of Israel and Judah are like a perpetually rebellious son in that passage.  Not only does God call for the people (plural) to repent in Hosea 1:1-11, but God also repents of destructive plans.  Mercy follows judgment.

In context, those collective, persistent sins involved committing idolatry and treating human beings badly.  Authors in both the Old and New Testaments banged the drum of the message that God cares deeply about the treatment of human beings, especially vulnerable ones, by individuals, communities, systems, institutions, and governments.

Recently, in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, where I live, I read about a local miscarriage of justice.  Without ever receiving either proper mental health care or a trial, an elderly, mentally ill woman spent nearly a year in the Clarke County jail.  The District Attorney’s Office had refused to drop the charges at the time the article went to print.  There should never have been any legal charges, just proper mental health care.

When governments act unjustifiably, they do so in the name of the people.  I say,

I say,

Repent of injustice.

I say,

God is watching us.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 7, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF FRANÇOIS FÉNELON, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF CAMBRAI

THE FEAST OF SAINT ALDRIC OF LE MANS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANGELA OF FOLIGNO, PENITENT AND HUMANITARIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT GASPAR DEL BUFALO, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARIES OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

THE FEAST OF SAINT LUCIAN OF ANTIOCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR, 312

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/07/god-is-watching-us/

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Above:  The Crossing of the Red Sea, by Nicolas Poussin

Image in the Public Domain

Reliable Promises of God

APRIL 10 AND 11, 2023

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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:

Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 (2nd Day)

Exodus 15:1-18 (3rd Day)

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 (Both Days)

Colossians 3:5-11 (2nd Day)

Colossians 3:12-17 (3rd Day)

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I will give thanks to you, for you answered me

and have become my salvation.

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.

–Psalm 118:21-24, Book of Common Worship (1993)

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God had acted dramatically to convince the Pharaoh to free the Hebrews.  Yet many of them complained in fear before the Exodus.  This indicated a lack of confidence in God–particularly in divine promises.  God remained reliable, of course.  And human faithfulness and fear, evident in murmuring, grumbling, and other forms of complaining, persisted, unfortunately.

Agent K was correct in Men in Black (1997); people are panicky creatures.  Often we are slaves to our unhealthy mentalities, which vary widely.  Frequently we seek firm answers in places where they do not exist while ignoring them where they do exist–in God.  So, if we do not find, this fact might be due to where we are looking, not that we are not seeking.

I was probably the world’s worst Cub Scout.  Yet I did take some positive lessons from that brief time.  There was a skit I learned over thirty years ago.  The plot, for lack of a better term, was that a boy was looking for some object on the floor and enlisting others to help him find it.  Unfortunately, he had lost it somewhere else.  The reason he was looking for it where he was seeking it is that the light shone there.

In the light and in the darkness we can always trust the promises of God, who freed the Hebrews from Egypt and raised Jesus from the dead.  These promises contain both judgment and mercy.  The latter commands that we respond mercifully to others and build up communities.  So may we follow this excellent advice:

Let the gospel of Christ dwell among you in all its richness; teach and instruct one another with all the wisdom it gives you.  With psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, sing from the heart in gratitude to God.  Let every word and action, everything you do, be in the name of the Lord Jesus, and give thanks through him to God the Father.

–Colossians 3:16-17, The Revised English Bible (1989)

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 2, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIOC, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND OF SAINT TUDWAL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP IN CHINA AND JAPAN

THE FEAST OF JOHN BROWN, ABOLITIONIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/reliable-promises-of-god/

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Above:  St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Rome, Georgia, April 8, 2012 (Easter Sunday)

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Our Spiritual Resurrections

APRIL 17, 2022

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The Assigned Readings for This Sunday:

Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Colossians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43

John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10

The Collect:

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

On This Day, the First of Days:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/on-this-day-the-first-of-days/

Thine is the Glory:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/thine-is-the-glory/

Now the Green Blade Rises:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/now-the-green-blade-rises/

Come Away to the Skies, My Beloved:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/come-away-to-the-skies-my-beloved/

The Strife is O’er, the Battle Done:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/the-strife-is-oer-the-battle-done/

Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/good-christians-all-rejoice-and-sing/

That Easter Day with Joy Was Bright:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/that-easter-day-with-joy-was-bright/

Alleluia! Alleluia! Hearts and Voices Heavenward Raise:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/alleluia-alleluia-hearts-and-voices-heavenward-raise/

Alleluia! Alleluia! Give Thanks to the Risen Lord:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/alleluia-alleluia-give-thanks-to-the-risen-lord/

Hail Thee, Festival Day! (Easter):

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/hail-thee-festival-day-easter/

At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/at-the-lambs-high-feast-we-sing/

Alleluia, Song of Gladness:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/alleluia-song-of-gladness/

Hymn of Promise:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/hymn-of-promise/

Prayers of Thanksgiving:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/easter-prayers-of-thanksgiving/

Prayers of Confession:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/easter-prayers-of-confession/

Prayer of Praise and Adoration:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-easter-sunday/

Prayer of Dedication:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/prayer-of-dedication-for-easter-sunday/

Prayer:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/prayer-for-easter-sunday/

Welcome, Thou Victor in the Strife:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/welcome-thou-victor-in-the-strife/

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Rise, heart; thy Lord is risen.  Sing his praise

Without delays,

Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise

With him may’st rise;

That, as his death calcined thee to dust,

His life may make thee gold, and much more, Just.

–George Herbert

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St. Paul the Apostle understood the Resurrection of Jesus as a literal event.  (He was correct.)  He also used it as material for a metaphor:  Just as Jesus died and rose again, we must die to our sins and rise again spiritually.

So the Resurrection of Jesus affects us today.  It calls us to live for a purpose higher than satisfying appetites, not that all appetites are negative.  But we are more than biological creatures; we are also spiritual ones.   This higher calling has more than one aspect to it.  Evangelism is one element.  Another is treating each other properly, as fellow bearers of the image of God.  The Baptismal Covenant (found on pages 304 and 305 of The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, of The Episcopal Church) summarizes this ethic well.

That is our challenge as Christians, then.  We must, as we read in Colossians 3:5-17, put away the negative and replace it with the positive, which includes

compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience

(3:12, New Revised Standard Version)

plus forgiveness and love (3:13-14).  May we do this in the name of our Resurrected Lord and Savior, who lives inside us. Being can make more converts and better disciples than preaching can, for the former is what one is.  The latter, however, is what one says, and deeds can belie words.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 1, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT PAMPHILIUS OF CAESAREA, BIBLE SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR, APOLOGIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMEON OF SYRACUSE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/our-spiritual-resurrections/

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Above:  Resurrection of Jesus (Eastern Orthodox Icon)

Without This, Christianity is a Lie.

APRIL 9, 2023

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The Assigned Readings for This Sunday:

Acts 10:34-43 or Jeremiah 31:1-6

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Colossians 3:1-4 or Acts 10:34-43

John 20:1-18

The Collect:

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Sometimes Easter devotions, sermons, and homilies degenerate into the same category as high school and college graduation addresses; they begin to sound alike.  So I choose to keep this one succinct.  In the late 1990s I belonged to St. Thomas Aquinas Episcopal Church, Baxley, Georgia.  One Easter Sunday our celebrant was The Reverend Canon Robert “Bob” Carter, Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Georgia.  Canon Carter delivered the shortest and most concise Easter sermon I have heard.  And now I share it with you verbatim:

Christ is alive!  It’s true!  It’s true!

Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

Published originally at SUNDRY THOUGHTS OF KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on June 20, 2010