Above:  Abraham and Lot Divided the Land

Image in the Public Domain

The Sin of Selfishness

MARCH 3, 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:

Genesis 13:1-18 or 2 Samuel 7:18-29

Psalm 38

John 7:40-52

Galatians 3:1-22 (23-29) or James 3:1-18

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Abram and Lot had to separate their families and herds.  Abram (God’s covenant with whom is a topic in Galatians 3, Genesis 15, and Genesis 17) was generous in giving Lot the first choice of land.  It might have seemed like a good choice at the moment, but it was a selfish and short-sighted decision that placed him in the proximity of bad company and set up unfortunate events in Genesis 19.

David’s character flaws had begun to become obvious by the time of 2 Samuel 7.  Nevertheless, there was much good about him.  God’s covenant with him was a matter of pure grace, for not even the best of us has ever been worthy of such favor.  David became a great historical figure and, in the minds of many throughout subsequent centuries, a legendary figure.  Our Lord and Savior’s descent from him was a messianic credential.

Among David’s better qualities was a sense of honesty regarding his character, at least some of the time (2 Samuel 11 and 12).  He was a mere mortal, complete with moral blind spots and the tendency to sin.  Psalm 38, attributed to David, typifies this honesty at a time of distress.  This is a situation with which many people have identified.

Liberation in Christ is a theme of the Letter to the Galatians.  This is freedom to enjoy and glorify God.  This is freedom to build up others.  This is freedom to become the people we ought to be.  According to mythology God spoke the world into existence.  With our words, whether spoken or written, we have the power to bless people or to inflict harm upon them.  We have the power to build them up or to libel and/or slander them.  We have the power to help them become the people they ought to be or to commit character assassination.  We have the power to inform accurately or to mislead.  We have the power to heal or to soothe feelings or to hurt them.  We have the power to act out of consideration or out of a lack thereof.  We have the power to be defenders or bullies.  We have the power to create peace or conflict.  We have the power to work for justice or injustice.

The peace shown by peacemakers brings a harvest of justice.

–James 3:18, The New Jerusalem Bible (1989)

May we approach God humbly, avoid making selfish decisions, build up others, and generally function as vehicles of grace.  May our thoughts, words, and deeds glorify God and create a world better than the one we found.  May we recognize that pursuing selfish gain hurts us as well as others.  We might gain in the short term, but we hurt ourselves in the long term.  Our best and highest interest is that which builds up community, nation, and world.

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-selfishness/

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Above:  Lamb Altarpiece, Ghent, by Jan van Eyck (circa 1395-1441)

Exodus and Hebrews, Part V: The Sins of Others

APRIL 6, 2023

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

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

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

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Exodus 12:1-28

Psalm 38 (Morning)

Psalms 126 and 102 (Evening)

Hebrews 5:1-14

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Some Related Posts:

 Prayer:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/prayer-for-holy-thursdaymaundy-thursday/

Lord, Help Us Walk Your Servant Way:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/lord-help-us-walk-your-servant-way/

That Solemn Night:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/that-solemn-night/

At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing:

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

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It is appropriate to read instructions for the first Passover on Maundy Thursday.  Although the Synoptic Gospel narrative sets the crucifixion of Jesus on Friday–one day after the Passover meal, the Gospel of John places the crucifixion on Thursday–the day of Passover.  In simple terms, Jesus dies on the cross as sacrificial animals go to the slaughter at the Temple.  Jesus in the Passover Lamb in the Gospel of John.

The original Passover lambs in the Book of Exodus preserved the Hebrews from the consequences of the sins of others, especially the Pharaoh.  And Christ, as high priest in Hebrews 5, has no need to sacrifice for our sins (as he has none) but only for the sins of others.

The sins of others affect us; how can they not, given the fact that our lives intersect in society?  Likewise, our virtues affect each other for the same reason.  May we therefore, through Christ our sinless High Priest and Passover Lamb, affect each other more positively than negatively.  May we spread love, friendship, empathy, and compassion to each other.  May we not place others in harm’s way needlessly or accidentally.  May we build a better society.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 30, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA, HISTORIAN AND ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF APOLO KIVEBULAYA, ANGLICAN EVANGELIST

THE FEAST OF JOACHIM NEANDER, GERMAN REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF JOSEPHINE BUTLER, WORKER AMONG WOMEN

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/exodus-and-hebrews-part-v-the-sins-of-others/

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Above:  Hebrews Making Bricks in Egypt

Exodus and Mark, Part IV:  Seemingly Insurmountable Odds

MARCH 30 and 31, 2023

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

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

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

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Exodus 4:19-31 (32nd Day of Lent)

Exodus 5:1-6:1 (33rd Day of Lent)

Psalm 38 (Morning–32nd Day of Lent)

Psalm 22 (Morning–33rd Day of Lent)

Psalms 126 and 102 (Evening–32nd Day of Lent)

Psalms 107 and 130 (Evening–33rd Day of Lent)

Mark 15:16-32 (32nd Day of Lent)

Mark 15:33-47 (33rd Day of Lent)

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Some Related Posts:

In the Dark and Cloudy Day:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/in-the-dark-and-cloudy-day/

I Do Not Ask, O Lord:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/i-do-not-ask-o-lord/

Dear God….:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/dear-god/

Strengthen Us, Good Lord:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/strengthen-us-good-lord/

Litany from a Novena to St. Jude the Apostle:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/litany-from-a-novena-to-st-jude-the-apostle/

Novena Prayer in Time of Difficulties:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/novena-prayer-in-time-of-difficulties/

Prayers:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/prayer-for-thursday-in-the-fifth-week-of-lent/

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/prayer-for-friday-in-the-fifth-week-of-lent/

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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

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/exodus-and-mark-part-iv-seemingly-insurmountable-odds/

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Above:  The New Jerusalem

Genesis and Mark, Part XXIII: Human and Divine Economics

MARCH 23 and 24, 2023

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

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

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

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Genesis 45:1-20, 24-28 (26th Day of Lent)

Genesis 47:1-31 (27th Day of Lent)

Psalm 38 (Morning–26th Day of Lent)

Psalm 22 (Morning–27th Day of Lent)

Psalms 126 and 102 (Evening–26th Day of Lent)

Psalms 107 and 130 (Evening–27th Day of Lent)

Mark 13:1-23 (26th Day of Lent)

Mark 13:24-37 (27th Day of Lent)

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Some Related Posts:

New Every Morning is the Love:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/new-every-morning-is-the-love-by-john-keble/

For Social Righteousness:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/for-social-righteousness/

O Lord, You Gave Your Servant John:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/o-lord-you-gave-your-servant-john/

For the Kingdom of God:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/for-the-kingdom-of-god-by-walter-rauschenbusch/

O Day of Peace That Dimly Shines:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/o-day-of-peace-that-dimly-shines/

Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/where-cross-the-crowded-ways-of-life/

Prayers:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/prayer-for-thursday-in-the-fourth-week-of-lent/

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/prayer-for-friday-in-the-fourth-week-of-lent/

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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.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 22, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF RICHARD BIGGS, ACTOR

THE FEAST OF ROTA WAITOA, ANGLICAN PRIEST

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/genesis-and-mark-part-xxiii-human-and-divine-economics/

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Above:  Martin Luther King, Jr.

Image Source = Library of Congress

Genesis and Mark, Part XVIII: True Human Worth

MARCH 6 and 7, 2024

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

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

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

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Genesis 37:1-36 (19th Day of Lent)

Genesis 39:1-12 (20th Day of Lent)

Psalm 5 (Morning–19th Day of Lent)

Psalm 38 (Morning–20th Day of Lent)

Psalms 27 and 51 (Evening–19th Day of Lent)

Psalms 126 and 102 (Evening–20th Day of Lent)

Mark 10:1-12 (19th Day of Lent)

Mark 10:13-31 (20th Day of Lent)

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Some Related Posts:

A Prayer to See Others as God Sees Them:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/a-prayer-to-see-others-as-god-sees-them/

Prayers:

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

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

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We must rapidly begin to shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society.  When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

–The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., Riverside Church, New York, New York, April 4, 1967

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People matter to God.  That is an ethic I discern from many biblical passages, including pronouncements of the Hebrew Prophets and of Jesus.  And so how we treat each other matters to God.  Joseph may have been annoying, but he was still part of the family.  Women are people, not marital property to discard lightly. The most powerless among us are poster children for the Kingdom of God.  And we ought to be more attached to each other than to our wealth.

These are timeless lessons many of us seem never to learn.  Martin Luther King, Jr., taught such lessons in April 1967, when he denounced U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and he lost much support.  Those who, for moral imperative love of country, criticize the government, especially during time of war, run the risk of incurring the wrath of jingoists.

Nevertheless, a basic truth remains:  People ought always to be valuable for who they are, never as financial commodities one can discard casually.  A person’s true worth is incalculable, for there is no spreadsheet designed to record such data.  So, O reader, the next times you look around and see other people, ask yourself how valuable they are to God, and so ought to be to you.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 22, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF RICHARD BIGGS, ACTOR

THE FEAST OF ROTA WAITOA, ANGLICAN PRIEST

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/genesis-and-mark-part-xviii-true-human-worth/

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Above:  The Sacrifice of Isaac, by Caravaggio

Genesis and Mark, Part XIII: Arguing for Compassionate Deeds

FEBRUARY 28 and 29, 2024

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

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

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

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Genesis 22:1-19 (13th Day of Lent)

Genesis 24:1-31 (14th Day of Lent)

Psalm 5 (Morning–13th Day of Lent)

Psalm 38 (Morning–14th Day of Lent)

Psalms 27 and 51 (Evening–13th Day of Lent)

Psalms 126 and 102 (Evening–14th Day of Lent)

Mark 7:1-23 (13th Day of Lent)

Mark 7:24-37 (14th Day of Lent)

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Some Related Posts:

Behind the Lines, a.k.a. Regeneration (1997):

http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/behind-the-lines-a-k-a-regeneration-1997/

Prayers:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/prayer-for-wednesday-in-the-second-week-of-lent/

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/prayer-for-thursday-in-the-second-week-of-lent/

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What can I say or write about the near-sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22 without repeating myself?  Nothing! I refuse to make apologies for it.  There is no record in Genesis that father and son spoke again after that incident.  They must have had conversations afterward, but Isaac’s relationship to Abraham must not have been the same as before.  How could it have been?  Really, O reader, if you were Isaac, how much would you want to say to your old man after such an incident?

One traditional lesson drawn from Genesis 22 is that God does not desire human sacrifice.  And narrative praises Abraham for his faithfulness.  Really?  But should not Abraham have pleaded for the life of his son?  He begged God to save the lives of strangers in Genesis 18:22-33.  Sometimes we are supposed to argue; sometimes that constitutes passing the test of faithfulness.  The Syro-Phoenician woman in Mark 7:24-30 passed the test with flying colors.

Abraham apparently loved his son and sought a wife for him in Genesis 24.  The patriarch was not a villain, but his record as a parent was troublesome.  (What about his treatment of his first son?) But Abraham did take care of his second son–at least after trying to kill him.

Jesus, in Mark 7, presents a great lesson in several parts.

1. Food does not make one unclean.
2. Ritual purity–in this case, in the form of the ceremonial washing of pots–is irrelevant.
3. Being a Gentile or a disabled person ought not to marginalize one.  (People with major disabilities and deformities were impure.  A blind man or a man with crushed genitals or a deformed arm could not serve as priest, according to the Law of Moses.  The Law of Moses did not anticipate the Americans with Disabilities Act.)
4. No, bad attitudes and resulting sins of commission and/or omission made one unclean.
5. All foods are clean.  (Mark 7:19)
6. A Gentile woman impresses Jesus with her faith and debating skills.
7. But manipulating the Law of Moses and interpretations thereof to the detriment of others does make one unclean.

The standard (once more) is compassion.  Any human tradition which contradicts it is wrong.

To point to such violations from long ago is easy, and does not cost one anything or cause one even the slightest discomfort.  So I invite you, O reader, to look around.  Consider your present reality.  Where are violations (considered respectable and proper) of compassion?  And will you argue with them?  What will that cost you?  What will not arguing with them cost you?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 15, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE FIRST U.S. PRESBYTERIAN BOOK OF COMMON WORSHIP, 1906

THE FEAST OF CAROLINE CHISHOLM, HUMANITARIAN

THE FEAST OF PIRIPI TAUMATA-A-KURA, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/genesis-and-mark-part-xiii-arguing-for-compassionate-deeds/

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Above:  The Separation of Abraham and Lot

Genesis and Mark, Part IX:  Trust and Distrust in God

FEBRUARY 22 and 23, 2024

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

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

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

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Genesis 11:27-12:20 (8th Day of Lent)

Genesis 13:1-18 (9th Day of Lent)

Psalm 38 (Morning–8th Day of Lent)

Psalm 22 (Morning–9th Day of Lent)

Psalms 126 and 102 (Evening–8th Day of Lent)

Psalms 107 and 130 (Evening–9th Day of Lent)

Mark 4:1-21 (8th Day of Lent)

Mark 5:1-20 (9th Day of Lent)

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Some Related Posts:

Prayers:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/prayer-for-thursday-of-the-first-week-of-lent/

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/prayer-for-friday-of-the-first-week-of-lent/

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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

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/genesis-and-mark-part-ix-trust-and-distrust-in-god/

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Above:  Fishing on the Sea of Galilee

Image Source = Library of Congress

Genesis and Mark, Part II:  The Image of God

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

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

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

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

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Genesis 1:20-2:3

Psalm 38 (Morning)

Psalms 126 and 102 (Evening)

Mark 1:14-28

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A Related Post:

Prayer:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/prayer-for-thursday-after-ash-wednesday/

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Certainly Jesus knew James and John, the sons of Zebedee, for Zebedee was our Lord’s uncle.  James and John were therefore first cousins of Jesus.  There was nothing inherently wrong with fishing; it was honest and socially useful work.  Yet our Lord had a higher purpose in mind for his cousins.

The concept of the image of God unites the readings from Genesis and Mark.  But what is the image of God?  It is not physical, for God is spirit.  Perhaps the best way to identify the image of God in human beings is to notice some contrasts with the rest of the Animal Kingdom.  We are almost genetically identical to chimpanzees, but they do not compose sonnets.  Elephants are quite intelligent and mourn their dead.  Who knows (other than God and whales) what whale songs mean?  I, along with some great Christian saints, assume that our fellow creatures of certain intelligence possess souls, but they members of these species have not forged civilizations as we know them.  Likewise, I adore cats.  Their bodies are perfectly evolved for their purposes in nature.  And I have no doubt that cats I have known well have had souls.  But I, as a human, have a spark which cats lack.

We humans have potential which other mammals lack.  And we ought to live up to higher standards.  We are animals biologically; evolutionary forces have shaped us physically.  But we are more than skin, meat, blood, and bones; we are souls who bear the image of God.

Thus we ought to act accordingly.  We should pursue our highest and greatest potential. We ought to help others pursue and achieve theirs.  We ought to love each other and ourselves as bearers of the divine image.  If we do this, we will cease to hate and kill one another.  We will cease to exploit each other and condone or turn a blind eye to exploitation.  We will cease to discriminate against each other.  We will do all this because we recognize the divine spark in each other and know that we are not so different from each other as we thought once.

I propose a Lenten discipline to continue afterward:  Looking for and finding the image of God in others then treating them with the great respect due a bearer of the divine image.  That is an excellent habit, one which will banish a host of bad ones.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 28, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE FIRST U.S. METHODIST BOOK OF WORSHIP, 1945

THE FEAST OF SAINT GUALFARDUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT

THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CHANEL, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/genesis-and-mark-part-ii-the-image-of-god/

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