Archive for the ‘Law of Moses’ Tag
Above: Icon of the Ministry of the Apostles
Image in the Public Domain
The Divine Mandate for Social Justice
MAY 7, 2023
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Acts 17:1-15
Psalm 33:1-11 (LBW) or Psalm 146 (LW)
1 Peter 2:4-10
John 14:1-12
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, form the minds of your faithful people into a single will.
Make us love what you command and desire what you promise,
that, amid, all the changes of this world,
our hearts may be fixed where true joy is found;
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
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, you make the minds of your faithful to be of one will;
therefore grant to your people that they may love what you command
and desire what you promise,
that among the manifold changes of this age our hearts
may ever be fixed where true joys are to be found;
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), 53
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
…the people who have been turning the whole world upside down have come here now….
–Acts 17:6b, The Revised New Jerusalem Bible (2019)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
One need not be evil to favor maintaining the status quo, even when it is exploitative and for overturning. Good, morally defensible change can cause disorientation and discomfort, even among conventionally pious people. The terms “revolutionary,” “liberal,” “conservative,” and “reactionary” are inherently relative to the center, the definition of which varies according to time and place. These four labels are, in the abstract, morally neutral. In circumstances, however, they are not. Being conservative, for example, may be right or wrong, depending on what one hopes to conserve. And, if one is not a revolutionary in certain circumstances, one is morally defective.
The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., called for a
moral revolution of values
on April 4, 1967, when he finally unambiguously and unapologetically opposed the Vietnam War. That address, which he delivered at the Riverside Church, Manhattan, proved to be extremely controversial, mainly because of King’s position on the Vietnam War. That controversy obscured much of the rest of the contents of the speech. (King was correct to oppose the Vietnam War, by the way.) The other content of that speech remains prophetic and germane. The call for a society that values people more than property, for example, has not come to fruition, sadly.
Sometimes “turning the world upside down” is really turning it right side up, as in Psalm 146 and the Beatitudes. Giving justice to the oppressed, feeding the hungry, caring for the strangers, sustaining the orphan and the widow, and frustrating the way of the wicked are examples of turning the world right side up, not upside down. You, O reader, and I live in an upside-down world.
This is theologically orthodox. False theological orthodoxy mistakes social justice for heresy and bolsters social injustice. However, the Law of Moses, the Hebrew prophets, and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth are consistent in holding that social injustice is a divine mandate.
So be it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 21, 2022 COMMON ERA
THURSDAY IN EASTER WEEK
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROMAN ADAME ROSALES, MEXICAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1927
THE FEAST OF SAINT CONRAD OF PARZHAM, CAPUCHIN FRIAR
THE FEAST OF DAVID BRAINERD, AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALIST THEN PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY AND MINISTER
THE FEAST OF GEORGE B. CAIRD, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST THEN UNITED REFORMED MINISTER, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, AND HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF GEORGIA HARKNESS, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, ETHICIST, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIMON BARSABAE, BISHOP; AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS, 341
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: St. Mary of Bethany and Jesus (Nicholas Ge)
Image in the Public Domain
Selfless Love
MARCH 25, 2024
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 36:5-10
Hebrews 9:11-15
John 12:1-11
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, your Son chose the path which led to pain
before joy and the cross before glory.
Plant his cross in our hearts,
so that in its power and love we may come at last to joy and glory;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 19
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ
chose to suffer pain before going up to joy,
and crucifixion before entering into glory,
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find this path to be the way of life and peace;
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), 41
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In context, the servant in Isaiah 42:1-9 is the Jewish people personified, created and appointed to be a covenant people and a light to the nations. In context, this group was about to emerge from the Babylonian Exile, which the Deuteronomistic theology of the Bible explained as divine punishment for persistent, collective violation of the moral mandates in the Law of Moses. To identify this servant with sinless Jesus requires theological gymnastics.
Yet here we are.
Hebrews 9:11-15 presents Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant via his sacrificial death (and his resurrection). Do not forget the resurrection, O reader. Without it, we have dead Jesus, who can do nothing to redeem anyone.
But I am getting ahead of the story.
Each of the canonical Gospels contains a version of the story of a woman anointing Jesus. Scholars tell us that there were two anointings–one of Christ’s head and another one of his feet–and that the Johannine account merges elements of both. So be it. In the Gospel of John, the setting was the home of Sts. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany, and St. Mary of Bethany was the anointer. We read of her, with her hair down (in the style of a harlot, not a respectable woman who could afford expensive nard ointment from India), behaving in an undignified and loving way. We read that this anointing foreshadowed the anointing of Jesus’s corpse a few days later.
Displays of selfless love may shock one. Ponder what Jesus did later that week, O reader. Ponder what St. Mary of Bethany did at the beginning of the week, too. Consider that these acts were different from each other yet had much in common. The application of any given timeless principle varies according to who, when, and where one is.
What does the playing out of selfless love entail and look like where and when you are, O reader?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 8, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF HENRY MELCHIOR MUHLENBERG, PATRIARCH OF AMERICAN LUTHERANISM; HIS GREAT-GRANDSON, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND LITURGICAL PIONEER; AND HIS COLLEAGUE, ANNE AYERS, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERHOOD OF THE HOLY COMMUNION
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIONYSIUS OF CORINTH, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF GODFREY DIEKMANN, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, PRIEST, ECUMENIST, THEOLOGIAN, AND LITURGICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT HUGH OF ROUEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, ABBOT, AND MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIE BILLIART, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
THE FEAST OF TIMOTHY LULL, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, SCHOLAR, THEOLOGIAN, AND ECUMENIST
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Abraham’s Journey from Ur to Canaan, by József Molnár
Image in the Public Domain
Faith and Works
MARCH 5, 2023
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Genesis 12:1-8
Psalm 105:4-11
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 4:5-26 (27-30, 39-42)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I grew up with a stereotype of Second Temple Judaism. I learned that the Judaism of Christ’s time was a legalistic faith with works-based righteousness. I learned a lie.
As E. P. Sanders thoroughly documented in his seminal work, Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977), Second Temple Judaism taught Covenantal Nomism. Salvation came by the grace of being born Jewish. The maintenance of that salvation was a matter of habitually keeping the moral mandates in the Law of Moses. The failure to do so resulted in dropping out of the covenant. St. Paul’s objection to Second Temple Judaism was that it was not Christianity. For the Apostle, the death and resurrection of Jesus changed everything.
The Law of Moses, which postdated Abraham, defined the lines one should not cross. “Do this, not that,” was necessary guidance. The application of timeless principles to culturally-specific circumstances was essential.
It remains so. Unfortunately, many devout people fall into legalism by failing to recognize the difference between timeless principles and culturally-specific examples.
Faith, for St. Paul the Apostle, was inherently active. He dictated, in Greek translated into English:
For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
–Romans 3:28, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
The author of the Letter of James defined faith differently. He understood faith as intellectual assent to a proposition. Therefore, he reminded his audience that faith without works is dead (2:17) then wrote that Abraham’s works justified the patriarch (2:21f):
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
–James 2:24, The New American Bible–Revised Edition (2011)
Despite the superficial discrepancy between Romans and James, no disagreement exists. When people use the same word but define it differently, they may seem to disagree when they agree.
Or justification may not be a factor at all.
Consider a different translation, O reader. David Bentley Hart, The New Testament: A Translation (2017) is a literal version that, in the words of its Eastern Orthodox translator, “provokes Protestants.” Hart renders Romans 3:28 as:
For we reckon a man as vindicated by faithfulness, apart from observances of the Law.
“Justified” becomes “vindicated,” and “works” become “observances.” Then we turn to James 2:24:
You see that a human being is made righteous by works, and not by faith alone.
“Justified” becomes “made righteous.”
Justification is a legal term. “Vindicated” and “made righteous” are not. That is a crucial distinction. I acknowledge the existence of the matter. Nevertheless, the point about using the same word and understanding it differently holds in both interpretations.
The reading from John 4 has become the subject of much misinterpretation, too. For nearly two millennia, a plethora of Christian exegetes have sullied the reputation of the Samaritan woman at the well. Yet Jesus never judged her. And his conversation with her was the longest one recorded in the canonical Gospels.
Jesus violated two major social standards in John 4. He spoke at length with a Samaritan and a woman he had not previously met. Jesus was not trying to be respectable. He had faith in the Samaritan woman at the well, who reciprocated.
For reasons I cannot fathom, God seems to have faith in people. My opinion of human nature is so low as to be subterranean. Observing the irresponsible behavior of many people (especially government officials who block policies intended to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic) confirms my low opinion of human nature. Yet God seems to have faith in people.
May we reciprocate. And may our deeds and words be holy.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 4, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CORNELIUS THE CENTURION
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Ash Wednesday Cross
Image in the Public Domain
Repentance
FEBRUARY 14, 2024
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Joel 2:12-19
Psalm 51:1-13
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made,
and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent.
Create in us new and honest hearts, so that,
truly repenting of our sins, we may obtain from you,
the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness;
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), 17
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Almighty and everlasting God,
because you hate nothing you have made
and forgive the sins of all who are penitent,
create in us new and contrite hearts that we,
worthily repenting of our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
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), 32
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The prophet Joel, in the 400s B.C.E. interpreted a plague of locusts as divine punishment on the people for disobeying the Law of Moses repeatedly and habitually. He also understood that repentance remained an option.
I do not share Joel’s first assumption. I do not interpret natural disasters as acts of divine judgment. Those who live in Kansas may expect tornadoes. Those who reside near the Gulf of Mexico may expect hurricanes and tropical storms. Those who live near fault lines may expect earthquakes. Those who live near active volcanoes may expect volcanic activity. Those who live in a flood plain may expect floods. Such is nature.
The Hebrew prophetic tradition could not make up its mind when repentance remained an option and when God had stopped listening. (I know; I read the Hebrew prophetic books carefully recently.) However, I have made up my mind on part of the issue: So long as one has breath, repentance remains an option. Whether one can repent after death is a question I cannot answer. The answer to that question is for God to provide. I do not presume to know the balance of divine judgment and mercy.
Remorse for sins prepares the way for repentance of those sins. Talk is cheap. Nevertheless, some words are necessary and helpful. Martin Luther was correct; language–especially sacramental language–has power. And actions are where, as a cliché says, the rubber meets the road.
Lent is a season in which the Church (that part of it with good liturgical sense, at least) focuses on repentance. We mere mortals need to repent individually. Societies, cultures, kingdoms, empires, nation-states, and institutions need to repent collectively. Even the best of us, who have mastered the Lutheran theological category of civil righteousness, have fallen far short of God’s standard. The rest of us have fallen far short of the same standard, too. Everyone above a very young age struggles with habitual sins we know better than to commit.
Fortunately, God welcomes penitents and knows that we mere mortals are, poetically, like dust. May we be penitent dust daily. And may we observe Lent in such a way that we grow spiritually during this season.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 29, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LYDIA, DORCAS, AND PHOEBE, CO-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Christ and the Adulteress, by Rocco Marconi
Image in the Public Domain
In Vain
MAY 29, 2022
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Acts 19:1-20
Psalm 97
3 John
John 8:1-11
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The name of Jesus has power, but only when people who believe in him use it. Consider, O reader, the hilarious scene in Acts 19:11-20 and the serious issue (division of a congregation by one man) in the Third Letter of John. God is the king and the earth should exult, as Psalm 97 reminds us. However, some people still use religion self-servingly.
John 7:53-8:11 is a floating pericope. Some ancient copies of the Gospel of Luke place it in different locations. The final version of the Gospel of Luke lacks it. And one can jump from John 7:52 to 8:12 without missing a beat. This floating pericope is a compelling story–originally part of the Gospel of Luke–that has settled down as John 7:53-8:11.
Those who sought to entrap Jesus (yet again) used an adulteress as their pawn. They seemed unconcerned about the whereabouts of the man with whom she had sinned. Where was he? His absence was conspicuous.
These Pharisees had distorted the Law of Moses to attempt to entrap Jesus. They had focused on the death penalty (Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22) for one sinner and not the other one. These Pharisees had also ignored the real issue at work in the Law of Moses vis-à-vis adultery: the protection and stability of a man’s property. Whatever Jesus wrote, he compelled the accusers to leave. He reversed the trap.
Then Jesus forgave the woman.
The Law of God is not a blunt weapon to manipulate for one’s purposes. Neither is the name of Jesus.
This point leads me back to Exodus 20:7:
You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name.
—The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
Robert D. Miller, II, of The Catholic University of America, offers a germane analysis of this commandment in his Understanding the Old Testament course (2019) for The Great Courses. He explains:
This is a warning that there is no possibility of involving the name of God without something happening.
–Course Guidebook, 39
That something may involve ricochet.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 12, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH
THE FEAST OF SAINT AELRED OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF RIEVAULX
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HENRY ALFORD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/in-vain/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Good Shepherd
Image in the Public Domain
Sacred Vocations
MAY 15, 2022
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Acts 16:11-34
Psalm 23
2 Thessalonians 3:6-18
John 10:1-18
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2 Thessalonians 3:6-18, in context, contains a crucial message: Do not use waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus as an excuse for idleness. Mutuality, a value from the Law of Moses, remains germane. We all depend on are are responsible to and for each other. As The Book of Common Prayer (1979) reminds us, we depend upon each other’s labor.
Performing the labor God has assigned to us may get us into trouble, as it did in Acts 16:11-34. If so, perhaps an opportunity for evangelism will arise from the circumstance.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Such a shepherd deserves our best efforts, does he not? May we, by grace, not fail him.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 11, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODOSIUS THE CENOBIARCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF CHARLES WILLIAM EVEREST, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MIEP GIES, RIGHTEOUS GENTILE
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAULINUS II OF AQUILEIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCH OF AQUILEIA
THE FEAST OF RICHARD FREDERICK LITTLEDALE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/11/sacred-vocations-part-ii/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Miracle of the Catch of 153 Fish
Image in the Public Domain
Positive Identity
MAY 1, 2022
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Acts 15:1-11
Psalm 19
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
John 21:1-14
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Psalm 19 tells us that divine teaching is perfect and that it renews life and makes the simple wise. Objectively, circumcision is part of the Law of Moses (Leviticus 12:3). Objectively, circumcision is a Biblical practice since Genesis 17:9-14. One need not think of of Judaizers at the time of earliest Christianity as evil people.
Yet consider the argument of St. Paul the Apostle in Acts 15:7b-12, O reader. Why ignore the absence of any mention of circumcision in Deuteronomy? Why overlook the references to “circumcision of the heart” in Deuteronomy 10:16 and 30:6? And why value circumcision of the flesh more than “circumcision of the heart” (Jeremiah 9:25-36)? Why overlook the lesser emphasis on physical circumcision before the Babylonian Exile relative to during and after the Babylonian Exile?
Circumcision was also a matter of identity. It marked a man as belonging to the covenant.
One person’s mark of identity can be another person’s barrier, though. This is where the reading from Acts 15 hits home for you, O reader, and for me. Each of us has something that is a matter of spiritual identity. That something is also an obstacle to someone else. How can we remain faithful to God without throwing out the proverbial bathwater? How can we know what we must retain at all costs? I offer no easy answers to challenging questions.
The reading from 2 Thessalonians 2 refers to apostasy–turning away from God. Returning to fishing in John 21 may not have constituted apostasy, but it was a bad idea. The question of what to do next was challenging. The old and familiar pattern had an appeal. Continuing to follow Jesus was a better idea.
May we find our identity in following Jesus.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 11, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEODOSIUS THE CENOBIARCH, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF CHARLES WILLIAM EVEREST, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF MIEP GIES, RIGHTEOUS GENTILE
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAULINUS II OF AQUILEIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCH OF AQUILEIA
THE FEAST OF RICHARD FREDERICK LITTLEDALE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/11/positive-identity-part-ii/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: The Taking of Christ, by Jacques de l’Ange
Image in the Public Domain
Loving Like Jesus
MARCH 20, 2022
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Hosea 6:1-11
Psalm 103:1-18
Colossians 2:6-19
John 18:1-14
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Looking for Jesus is a theme in the readings from the New Testament. The germane question is why one seeks him–to control or arrest him, with ultimate lethal intent or to follow him. One can never control Jesus, of course. But one can follow him. Doing so entails repentance–actions, not just words or intentions. Fortunately, God seems to like repentance.
Aspects of the readings from Hosea 6 and Colossians 2 require unpacking. Hosea 6:4-11 condemns mistaking sacred rituals for talismans. The Law of Moses, of which the Book of Hosea is fond, mandates certain rituals, but does not mistake them for talismans. Obey the Law of Moses, with its moral obligations and keep the rituals, Hosea 6 teaches. Likewise, there are Hellenistic cultural contextual issues at work in Colossians 2. May you, O reader, and I never repeat the error of the General Assembly of the old Presbyterian Church in the United States (the “Southern Presbyterian Church”), which approved the following resolution:
There is no warrant for the observance of Christmas and Easter as holy days, but rather the contrary (see Galatians iv. 9-11; Colossians ii. 16-21), and such observance is contrary to the principles of the Reformed faith, conducive to will-worship, and not in harmony with the simplicity of the gospel in Jesus Christ.
The theme of the reading from Colossians 2 is the proper use of Christian liberty. We are free in Christ to follow him. The worldly distractions you, O reader, and I may contend with may be quite different from those for the original audience of the Letter to the Colossians. May we not mistake culturally specific examples of timeless principles for those principles.
Loving one’s neighbor as one loves oneself can get one in deep trouble. Obeying the moral obligations of divine commandments can be perilous. Of course, the servant is not greater than the master.
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/07/loving-like-jesus-part-iv/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Icon of Micah
Image in the Public Domain
Opposing Corruption
MARCH 7, 2021
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Micah 3:5-12
Psalm 63:1-8
Titus 3:1-15
Luke 22:1-6, 39-53
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Psalm 63 is a royal text. Titus 3:1 instructs Christians to obey civil authorities. Yet in Luke 22 and Micah 3, the authorities (civil and religious) are corrupt. The stance of faith is to confront corruption, not to support it or accept its bribes.
In full disclosure, the founders of my country rebelled against the British Empire. I think of a line from Man of the Year (2006):
If dissent were unpatriotic, we would still be British.
Furthermore, nuances regarding obedience to the civil magistrate exist in Christian theology. For obvious reasons, when to resist and when to obey civil authority has been a question in segments of German theology since 1933. One may think, for example, of the great Karl Barth (1886-1968) and the Theological Declaration of Barmen (1934), anti-Nazi. Nevertheless, extreme law-and-order-affirming Christian theology exists. One historical prime example of this attitude I found during research into conservative Presbyterianism (the Presbyterian Church in America, or PCA, to be precise) comes from The Presbyterian Journal, the magazine that midwifed the birth of the PCA in 1973. In the October 30, 1974, issue, the editor agreed with a letter-writer, one Joan B. Finneran, “an elect lady of Simpsonville, Maryland.” Finneran wrote that God establishes governments and commands people to obey earthly authority, therefore
When a Herod or a Hitler comes into power, we must thereby assume this is the LORD’s plan; He will use even such as these to put His total plan into effect for the good of His people here on earth.
Finneran needed to read the Theological Declaration of Barmen.
What should we do in good conscience when systems are corrupt and inhumane? Corruption leads to collective ruin, after all. Timeless principles are useful, but they are also vague. Proper applications of them varies according to circumstances. If I say,
Oppose corruption and work against the exploitation of the poor and the powerless,
I sound like the Law of Moses, various Hebrew prophets, and Jesus. I also provide no guidance about how best to follow that counsel. Proper application of timeless principles depends upon circumstances–who, when, and where one is.
That guidance must come from the Holy Spirit.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 25, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT DISMAS, PENITENT BANDIT
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/03/25/opposing-corruption/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Above: Icon of Habakkuk
Image in the Public Domain
Private and Public Morality
FEBRUARY 21, 2021
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Assigned Readings:
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:2-14
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Titus 1:1-16
Luke 18:31-43
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Three ideas intertwine to the point of becoming inseparable in these assigned readings: trusting God, having good public morality, and having good private morality. Responsibility is both individual and collective. Leaders receive particular attention in the readings from Habakkuk and Titus. Injustice–social, economic injustice, to be precise–is rife while corrupt rulers pile up what is not properly theirs. Furthermore, for a bishop (in the case of the reading from Titus) to teach properly, the home life cannot contradict spoken orthodoxy.
The Law of Moses forbids exploitation. This teaching informs Judeo-Christian orthodox morality all the way from both Testaments to current times. Yet many professing, conventionally devout Jews and Christians somehow justify exploitation. Fortunately, many other Jews and Christians condemn exploitation in words and deeds. Their witness is consistent with the Law, the prophets, and Jesus.
Jesus died at the hands of an unjust system of a violent empire. It dominated with fear and intimidation. Jesus, however, exposed that empire for what it was by being better than it was.
Can we see that? Can we also see the link between public and private morality, as well as the connection between them and trusting in God?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 23, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR AND ISAAC THE GREAT, PATRIARCHS OF ARMENIA
THE FEAST OF MEISTER ECKHART, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN AND MYSTIC
THE FEAST OF SAINT METODEJ DOMINICK TRCKA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1959
THE FEAST OF SAINT VICTORIAN OF HADRUMETUM, MARTYR AT CARTHAGE, 484
THE FEAST OF SAINT WALTER OF PONTOISE, FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND ECCLESIASTICAL REFORMER
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/private-and-public-morality/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS 
You must be logged in to post a comment.