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:
Jonah 4
Psalm 130
Philippians 4:1-14, 19-23
Matthew 26:69-75
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Be known to everyone for your consideration of others.
–Philippians 4:5a, The Revised English Bible (1989)
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That sentence puts Jonah in his place.
My studies of the Book of Job have provided a lesson applicable to the Book of Jonah. Job and his alleged friends committed the same error: they presumed to know how God does and should act. That, at least, was a lesson of one layer of the authorship of the Book of Job; the prose epilogue threw a wrench into the supposed sin of Job–supposing to know how God does and should act, for God agreed with Job in that epilogue.
When Yahweh had said all this to Job, he turned to Eliphaz of Teman. “I burn with anger against you and your two friends,” he said, “for not speaking truthfully about me as my servant Job has done. So now find seven bullocks and seven rams, and take them back to my servant Job and offer a holocaust for yourselves, while Job, my servant, offers prayers for you. I will listen to him with favor and excuse your folly in not speaking of me properly as my servant Job has done.” Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah and Zophar of Naamath went away to do as Yahweh had ordered, and Yahweh listened to Job with favor.
–Job 42:7-9, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Jonah, anyway, supposed to know how God does and should act. When God extended mercy to Jonah’s national enemy, the reluctant prophet–“that clown,” as a Roman Catholic priest once described him in writing–became disappointed with God. Yet Jonah depended on divine mercy as much as the people of Nineveh did.
If you, O LORD, should make iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
–Psalm 130:3-4, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
The Book of Jonah ends on an ambiguous note. God and the prophet have an unresolved theological confrontation. The text, concluding thusly, invites us to consider who we are more like in the story.
Each of us has an inner Jonah. We object to the scandal of grace on occasion. We tell ourselves that we want justice when we actually seek retribution. We want God to draw the circle tightly around us and people similar to ourselves, not to draw it wide and call even our foes to repentance. Yet there are also those who want God to exclude us.
I do not pretend to know the mind of God; that is a glorious mystery too great for me. I do, however, study scripture, read theology, and recognize patterns. One of these patters is that we are not God. Another pattern is that no theological box defines God. Judgment and mercy exist side-by-side throughout the Bible. Where one ends and the other begins resides in the purview of God, as it should.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 25, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BEDE OF JARROW, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND FATHER OF ENGLISH HISTORY
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALDHELM OF SHERBORNE, POET, LITERARY SCHOLAR, ABBOT OF MALMESBURY, AND BISHOP OF SHERBORNE
THE FEAST OF SAINT MADELEINE-SOPHIE BARAT, FOUNDRESS OF THE SOCIETY OF THE SACRED HEART; AND ROSE PHILIPPINE DUCHESNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN AND MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF SAINT MYKOLA TSEHELSKYI, UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR
That is my paraphrase of one Gospel theme. Some of my recent reading for the Historical Jesus group to which I belong proves helpful here. James D. G. Dunn, in Jesus Remembered (2003), considers Mark 1:15a:
…The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand….
—Revised Standard Version—Second Edition (1971),
words of St. John the Baptist. That “time,” or kairos in Greek,
…can be readily understood to indicate not simply one event, a date in time, but a period of time.
–page 438
I like this understanding of the Kingdom of God as an age. Too much of Protestantism overemphasizes events and minimizes ages and processes in personal life and the Bible. The comprehension of the Kingdom of God as an age and as a promise fulfilled partially, with more to come reconciles several seeming contradictions in biblical texts. Ezekiel’s vision, yet unfulfilled, will become reality. The Kingdom of God, evident since Jesus walked the face of the planet, will become more pronounced.
Frustration over the partial fulfillment of the promise is understandable and predictable. In fact, so is the perception that the Kingdom of God is a promise we will never see made real. Alfred Firmin Loisy (1857-1940), a French Roman Catholic theologian, said that Jesus promised us the Kingdom of God and all we got was the Church, which Christ founded, but not in the form it took in time. For these and other opinions the Roman Catholic Church excommunicated him. Loisy’s disappointment did contain some legitimate points yet missed a crucial truth: we have received a down payment on the Kingdom of God, which is evident in the Church. It has been evident in the Church for nearly two thousand years. But there is more to come.
Patience can be a difficult spiritual lesson to learn. I am still working on it, in fact. And even more patience will be necessary for growth in God, whose timeframe is not ours.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 27, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN
When I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me, holding a scroll. He unrolled it in front of me; it was written on, front and back; and on it was written, “Lamentations, dirges, and cries of grief.”
Revelation 10 borrows a motif—eating a scroll of judgment—from Ezekiel 3. The scroll, in Ezekiel 3:3, tastes as sweet as honey. It is also as sweet as honey in the mouth in Revelation 10, where one reads another detail: the scroll is bitter in the stomach.
I am blessed to have a well-stocked biblical library—acquired mostly at thrift stores, by the way. Germane volumes from said library inform this post greatly. William Barclay writes:
A message of God may be to a servant at once a sweet and bitter thing. It is sweet because it is a great thing to be chosen as the messenger of God; but the message itself may be a foretelling of doom and, therefore a bitter thing.
The word of Christ is certainly a word of forgiveness of sins. This is “sweet.” But what about the “bitter,” the judgment? I have always felt that the gospel of Christ stands also in judgment, that it stands against whatever violates the love of God in the affairs of nations, in their treatment of people.
—The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1981), page 62
And Carl G. Howie writes:
Ezekiel obediently consumed the message of God so that it became part of him.
Yes, judgment and mercy coexist in God. I have affirmed this in writing in blog post many times. But repenting—changing one’s mind, turning around—can stave off divine judgment. Hence the pronouncement by God can lead to a positive result for the target. This is not merely an individualistic matter. No, it is also a social message, one which Hebrew prophets proclaimed. If one a messenger of God, the result of repentance is “sweet” indeed, but the “bitter” will also occur.
“The world,” in the biblical sense, is not the foe’s playground, something for faithful people to shun and from which to hide. No, it is our community, for which all of us are responsible. May we therefore engage it constructively, shining brightly with the light of Christ and challenging it to transform for the better. We stand on the shoulders of moral giants who did this in their times and places, confronting sins ranging from unjust wars to chattel slavery to racial segregation. Will we content ourselves to speak of these men and women in respectful tones or will we dare to play our parts?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 27, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN
Today, in the Book of Exodus, we read instructions immediately prior to the title event of that text. Among them is to remember that day, to speak of it to one’s children. History tells us of many Passover feasts long after that day. Among those Passover feasts was the one during Holy Week in 29 CE, when Jesus died.
Ritual has a proper place in religion. Via ritual we mark time and set aside certain days. And it is appropriate to observe Good Friday in a manner unlike any other day. In The Episcopal Church we read a Passion account, distributing parts among members of the congregation. The liturgy ends on a deafening and somber silence. The ritual communicates a certain degree of the sadness of the crucifixion. The silence speaks louder than any words can.
We remember the first Passover in joy and the crucifixion in stunned silence. Both responses are appropriate.
It seems odd to read of the crucifixion of Jesus on a lectionary before Holy Week. On the other hand, to begin reading Exodus, the book which speaks of the first Passover, before Holy Week is appropriate, for to do so introduces a theme crucial to understanding what Jews were celebrating in Jerusalem.
Anyhow, the Pharoah, in reaction to the first meeting with Moses and Aaron, dug in his heels. He made an impossible demand of Hebrew slaves then punished them for not doing the impossible. And Jesus was dead in Mark 15. The empire had spoken in each case.
It is tempting to jump ahead in each story. I encourage you, O reader, to take each story step-by-step. Let each element of the story speak to you. Do not rush ahead of the narrative. Allow the hopelessness to sink in. Let Jesus be dead for a little while. The rest of each story will follow as it should. Until then….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 29, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE FIRST U.S. PRESBYTERIAN BOOK OF CONFESSIONS, 1967
THE FEAST OF JIRI TRANOVSKY, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINTS LUKE KIRBY, THOMAS COTTAM, WILLIAM FILBY, AND LAURENCE RICHARDSON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
In Genesis we read of the family reunion Joseph engineered. And there is better news: relocation to fertile land, courtesy of the Pharaoh. Then there is bad news: the reduction of Egyptians to slaves of the monarch, courtesy of Joseph.
So Joseph gained possession of all the farm land of Egypt because the famine was too much for them; thus the land passed over to Pharaoh. And he removed the population town by town, fro one end of Egypt’s borders to the other….
–Genesis 47:20-21, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
And the author of the text does not disapprove.
It is a disturbing and frequently overlooked part of the Bible.
Meanwhile, in Mark 13, which is full of disturbing passages, we read of, among other things, wars, universal hatred, kangaroo courts, family betrayals, imperiled infants, and natural portents. This is not a chapter one illustrates for children’s Bibles, I suppose. Yet there is good news after the great eschatatological event: After God destroys the world or just the current world order, something better will follow.
In this post we have the happy mixed with the disturbing (in Genesis) and the disturbing preceding the happy (in Mark). Establishing the links between the Old Testament and the New Testament readings has proved more challenging this time, but I do have something to offer you, O reader. Joseph and the Pharaoh did not create what John of Patmos called the New Jerusalem. Neither did they make a more just society. That is what lies on the other side of the great eschatological process in the Bible. Yet we mere mortals retain the responsibility to act individually and collectively to leave our part of the world better than we found it. The poor might always be with us, but there can still be less poverty. There is always enough for everyone to have enough in God’s economy. May our human economies resemble God’s economy more closely.
Back in Mark 10:13-16 Jesus taught his Apostles regarding the Kingdom of God: Powerless children were the exemplars to emulate. Yet, in Mark 10:35-40, James and John, our Lord’s cousins, requested preferential treatment. They did not yet grasp that leadership in God’s order is about service, not status. Then Jesus provided some examples. We read in the Markan narrative of our Lord healing a blind man (whom others were trying to keep quiet) and entering Jerusalem notas a conquering hero for the final Passover Week of his earthly life.
Meanwhile, back in Genesis, Joseph was in prison for an offense he did not commit. At least he was the de facto assistant warden, with all the privileges attached to that position. But he was still an innocent man in prison. And the chief cup bearer had forgotten his promise to speak to the Pharaoh on his behalf for a while–until he remembered. The chief cup bearer was of no service to Joseph for a long time.
We humans are responsible for one another. We do not act like it as often as we should, but we are. And living this responsibility might entail great risk–even death. It did for Jesus and James. John survived his risks, enduring hardships yet not suffering martyrdom. Joseph, of course, prospered and shared the wealth with his relatives, some of whom had plotted to kill him then decided merely to sell him into slavery. I cannot say for certain where my path of service will lead me, much less where your path of service will lead you, O reader. Yet I can say that the path of service is part of the Kingdom of God and a matter of Christian discipleship.
Rebekah, sister of Laban, was generous, unlike her brother. And, according to the narrative, she became an instrument of God’s will. (She was also a trickster.) Just as the divine promise favored Isaac, the second son of Abraham, it also favored Jacob, the second son of Isaac. The human means of granting this favor in each case were morally difficult, to state the case simply. And so I scratch my head and ask myself what I am supposed to make of such stories.
Now I consider the sequence of events in Mark 8:
Jesus feeds “about four thousand people” with seven loaves and a few small fishes. He has leftovers afterward. (1-10)
Some Pharisees ask for a sign. Jesus refuses. (11-13)
Jesus speaks metaphorically about the yeast of Pharisees and of Herod Antipas. His Apostles take him literally. (14-21)
Jesus cures a blind man at Bethsaida. (22-26)
Jesus confesses Jesus to be the Christ. (27-30)
Jesus predicts his death and resurrection. Peter rebukes him. Jesus rebukes Peter then says that anyone who would follow must take up his own cross. (31-38)
Jesus was surrounded by people who were oblivious–metaphorically blind–to his identity. Peter grasped that Jesus was the Christ–the Messiah–yet misunderstood what that meant. And, as for Pharisees demanding a sign, why was another multiplication of food insufficient?
God comes to us in many ways, including Bible stories. As I reflect on my childhood Christian education, I do not recall many discussions of the nuances of morally difficult stories. There was a great biblical whitewashing in Sunday School. I prefer the Bible straight up, a stiff drink of narrative theology, if you will. This good, stiff drink can prove uncomfortable sometimes, but so be it. Even when I scratch my head and ask myself,
Huh? What?,
I prefer that reality to comfortable ignorance.
We meet Jesus in print via Bible stories yet others encountered him in the flesh. And many of them were confused. You, O reader, and I have the advantage of hindsight. But we are also subject to confusion. Nevertheless, such confusion can turn into knowledge of the truth, as it did in the case of Peter. He, of course, took up his cross (literally). Our crosses might not prove as costly, but what if they do? Are we prepared for that?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 16, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANDREW FOURNET AND ELIZABETH BICHIER, COFOUNDERS OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE CROSS; AND SAINT MICHAEL GARICOITS, FOUNDER OF THE PRIEST OF THE SACRED HEART OF BETHARRAM
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN NEPOMUCENE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
Abram trusted God when he moved his household away from all that he had known. Yet he did not trust God in Egypt. Ironically, Abram did not pay the price for that distrust; others did. Likewise, the Apostles feared for their lives during the storm. May we refrain from being too critical; the actions of Abram and the Apostles were predictable. Any of us, in such a circumstance, might have done the same.
Yet we ought to draw useful spiritual lessons from these stories. I will be brief today, for I have covered similar material recently: Survival is in God alone. Trusting in God can be difficult, but is possible via grace. And I do not presume to have mastered this trust.
The struggle to trust God continues, but with the understanding that what God has in mind is better than what we or others imagine as being best for ourselves. We read in Genesis 13 that
Lot chose for himself (verse 11, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures).
God directed Abram where to go. And the Gereasene demoniac’s neighbors did not rejoice in his new wholeness. We are like that: selfish, at least some of the time.
May we seek the best for each other in the context of the common good while trusting in God. There will be plenty for everybody to have enough. And our identities will depend on whose we are–God’s–not who we are not–in this case, the Gerasene demoniac.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 12, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF DUNCAN MONTGOMERY GRAY, SR., EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF MISSISSIPPI
THE FEAST OF SAINT GREGORY OF OSTIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT, CARDINAL, AND LEGATE; AND SAINT DOMINIC OF THE CAUSEWAY, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL MARSDEN, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
As it was by one man that death came, so through one man has come the resurrection of the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life….
The Christian Bible–regardless of whether one reads the Protestant, Roman Catholic, or one of the several Orthodox canons thereof–opens with the Creation and Fall and ends with the restoration and new creation–a fresh start after a purging. That which went awry because of human sin God sets right. Thus the Apocalypse of John is the best way to end the New Testament. Those who, many moons ago, established the New Testament Canon did an excellent job when they included Revelation. It is an often abused, misused, and misunderstood text, but he Apocalypse is really quite a good read when one knows how to rad the symbolism in historical and theological context.
Almost all (4b forward) of the reading from Genesis for today comes from a source (J) other that (P) which preceded it. We have layers of tradition coexisting and intertwining in the Torah. So one reads to creation myths, two sets of instructions regarding how many animals to take aboard Noah’s Ark, et cetera. None of this is history (as I am trained in historical methods) or science, but all of it is theology, which is more important. I could write much about Genesis 2:4-25, for there is quite a bit there. But, for now, I focus on one concept: intimacy. God and Adam are close. Adam and Eve were close. There is intimacy across the board. There is no domination, subordination, or exploitation. This changes after Chapter 2, unfortunately.
Meanwhile, in Mark 1, Jesus heals many people. In fact, he is popular as a healer and an exorcist, not as a teacher. He is so popular that he has to get away so that he can fulfill his mission, which is preach his message. That message, as recorded in Mark 1:15, is
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel. (The New Jerusalem Bible)
The “gospel” was the good news. Here we have it in its original meaning, the message of Jesus. The application of “gospel” to texts came with the writing of the Gospel of Mark.
People were supposed to follow Jesus around, but not just in search of miracles. Back in Mark 1:17, Jesus called Andrew and Simon Peter to be Apostles by saying
Come after me…. (The New Jerusalem Bible)
That is the Christian definition of discipleship. The people
crowding round the door (Mark 1:33, The New Jerusalem Bible)
were not seeking lessons in discipleship.
I recognize a great similarity between the readings for today. God and Adam were close. And how much closer to us could God get than via the Incarnation? The call in both cases is the same:
Come after me….
God is persistent, to say the least.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURBGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH MONK AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JAMES LEWIS MILLIGAN, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCULF OF NANTEUIL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
