Archive for the ‘Psalm 98’ Tag
Above: Pentecost Dove
Image Scanned from a Church Bulletin
The Fulfillment of the Promise of Easter
MAY 27, 2023
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Exodus 19:1-9 or Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 33:12-22 (LBW) or Psalm 130 (LBW) or Psalm 98 (LW)
Romans 8:14-17, 22-27
John 7:37-39a
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Almighty and ever-living God,
you fulfilled the promise of Easter
by sending your Holy Spirit to unite the races and nations on earth
and thus to proclaim your glory.
Look upon your people gathered in prayer,
open to receive the Spirit’s flame.
May it come to rest in our hearts
and heal the divisions of word and tongue,
that with one voice and one song
we may praise your name in joy and thanksgiving;
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), 23
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O God, on this day you once taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending a right understanding in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy consolation;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in communion with the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982)
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The Episcopal, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic traditions provide for the Vigil of Pentecost, a service I have never had the opportunity to attend. Page 227 of The Book of Common Prayer (1979) contains a rubric regarding the vigil. The Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), Lutheran Worship (1982), and Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006) offer collects and readings for the Vigil of Easter. The Lutheran Service Book (2006), which offers no collects in the pew edition, includes readings for this vigil.
The Vigil of Pentecost was popular during the Middle Ages. It was one of the favored occasions for baptism. Continental Protestant reformers rejected this vigil in the 1500s; they restored the liturgical primacy of Sunday.
Yet here we are, with Lutherans approving the celebration of the Vigil of Pentecost. Liturgical renewal, blessed by thy name!
The theme of unity carries over from the readings for the preceding Sunday. The faith community gathers in expectation of the fulfillment of divine promises, including the “promise of Easter,” to quote the collect from the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978).
God is the central actor, despite the anthropocentric tendencies of much of human theology. That God is central should cause much thanksgiving and place human egos in proper context.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 26, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM COWPER, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ADELARD OF CORBIE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND ABBOT; AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, SAINT PASCAHSIUS RADBERTUS, FRANKISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
THE FEAST OF RUGH BYLLESBY, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS IN GEORGIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT STANISLAW KUBITSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1940; AND SAINT WLADYSLAW GORAL, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR, 1945
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM STRINGFELLOW, EPISCOPAL ATTORNEY, THEOLOGIAN, AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Icon of the Harrowing of Hades
Image in the Public Domain
Judgment and Mercy
MAY 14, 2023
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:1-6, 14-18 (LBW) or Psalm 98 (LW)
1 Peter 3:15-22
John 14:15-21
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O God, from whom all good things come:
Lead us by the inspiration of your Spirit
to think those things which are right,
and by your goodness to do them;
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
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Lord, because you promised to give what we ask
in the name of your only-begotten Son,
teach us rightly to pray and with all your saints
to offer you our adoration and praise;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 54
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YHWH is no mere tribal deity. No, YHWH is the sole, universal deity. This is a summary of Judeo-Christian monotheism. I affirm it and trust that it is true.
Two properties of YHWH are judgment and mercy. They exist in a balance I dare not even pretend to understand. However, I favor mercy, if I must make an assumption in a given circumstance. I do not want to be a judgmental person, after all. I leave the determination to God.
1 Peter 3:19-20 indicates that divine mercy may reach farther than conventionally pious Christians may often think. This passage tells us that damnation is not necessarily final. This is distressing news for those who prefer unambiguous theological categories and detest theological uncertainty. So be it.
Let us be honest about and with ourselves. We probably seek unbridled mercy for ourselves, people we like, and those similar to us. We probably desire divine judgment for everyone else. How many of those in “everyone else” think the same way about us, people we like, and those similar to us? Grace is scandalous. Divine mercy really rocks the boat and sinks some theological boats.
To be clear, I am not a universalist. As I have written many times already, God sends nobody to Hell. People condemn themselves. C. S. Lewis said it best: The doors to Hell are locked from the inside. Some people never listen, unfortunately for them.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 22, 2022 COMMON ERA
FRIDAY IN EASTER WEEK
THE FEAST OF GENE BRITTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF DONALD S. ARMENTROUT, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF HADEWIJCH OF BRABERT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC
THE FEAST OF KATHE KOLLWITZ, GERMAN LUTHERAN ARTIST AND PACIFIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT VITALIS OF GAZA, MONK, HERMIT, AND MARTYR, CIRCA 625
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: The Conversion of Saint Paul, by Luca Giordano
Image in the Public Domain
Hope
APRIL 5, 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:
Acts 9:1-22
Psalm 98
2 Peter 3:1-7
Mark 12:28-34
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In Mark 12, after Jesus rebuffed two trick questions and evaded a political trap just a few days prior to his crucifixion, he heard a sincere question. His reply was consistent, with the Hebrew Bible and Rabbi Hillel: Love God fully and one’s neighbor as oneself.
Saul of Tarsus, while zealously participating in making Christians martyrs, thought he was loving God fully. God had a different opinion.
All things have continued as they were from as far back as documentation and memory recount. We say that God is the king yet we read headlines and consume news stories that seem to indicate otherwise. Doubting ans scoffing are understandable results. Nevertheless, we must retain hope that divine justice will eventually prevail; we must never surrender to despair. Perhaps God will work through us to improve the world as we cease to seek excuses for disobeying the Golden Rule while pretending to honor it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 28, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN GERARD, ENGLISH JESUIT PRIEST; AND SAINT MARY WARD, FOUNDRESS OF THE INSTITUTE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PLUTARCH, MARCELLA, POTANOMINAENA, AND BASILIDES OF ALEXANDRIA, MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAINT TERESA MARIA MASTERS, FOUNDRESS OF THE INSTITUTE OF THE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FACE
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM AND JOHN MUNDY, ENGLISH COMPOSERS AND MUSICIANS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/06/28/hope-ii/
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Above: Icon of the Resurrection
Image Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
The Light of Christ, Part II
APRIL 8-9, 2023
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
At least three of the following sets:
Genesis 1:1-2:4a and Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26
Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13 and Psalm 46
Genesis 22:1-18 and Psalm 16
Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 and Exodus 15:1b-13, 17-18
Isaiah 55:1-11 and Isaiah 12:2-6
Ezekiel 20:1-24 and Psalm 19
Ezekiel 36:24-28 and Psalms 42 and 43
Ezekiel 37:1-14 and Psalm 143
Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Psalm 98
Then:
Romans 6:3-11
Psalm 114
Matthew 28:1-10
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The history of the Great Vigil of Easter is interesting. We do not know when the service began, but we do know that it was already well-established in the second century C.E. We also know that the Great Vigil was originally a preparation for baptism. Reading the history of the Easter Vigil reveals the elaboration of the rite during ensuing centuries, to the point that it lasted all night and was the Easter liturgy by the fourth century. One can also read of the separation of the Easter Vigil and the Easter Sunday service in the sixth century. As one continues to read, one learns of the vigil becoming a minor afternoon ritual in the Roman missal of 1570. Then one learns of the revival of the Easter Vigil in Holy Mother Church in the 1950s then, in North America, in The Episcopal Church and mainline Lutheranism during the liturgical renewal of the 1960s and 1970s. Furthermore, if one consults the U.S. Presbyterian Book of Common Worship (1993) and The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992), on finds the ritual for the Great Vigil of Easter in those volumes.
The early readings for the Easter Vigil trace the history of God’s salvific work, from creation to the end of the Babylonian Exile. The two great Hebrew Biblical themes of exile and exodus are prominent. Then the literal darkness ends, the lights come up, and the priest announces the resurrection of Jesus. The eucharistic service continues and, if there are any candidates for baptism, that sacrament occurs.
One of the chants for the Easter Vigil is
The light of Christ,
to which the congregation chants in response,
Thanks be to God.
St. Paul the Apostle, writing in Romans, reminds us down the corridors of time that the light of Christ ought to shine in our lives. May that light shine brightly through us, by grace, that we may glorify God every day we are on this side of Heaven.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 29, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PERCY DEARMER, ANGLICAN CANON AND TRANSLATOR AND AUTHOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF SAINT BONA OF PISA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC AND PILGRIM
THE FEAST OF JIRI TRANOVSKY, LUTHER OF THE SLAVS AND FOUNDER OF SLOVAK HYMNODY
THE FEAST OF JOACHIM NEANDER, GERMAN REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/05/29/the-light-of-christ-part-iv/
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Above: Candle Flame
Image in the Public Domain
A Light to the Nations, Part I
MAY 2-4, 2024
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The Collect:
O God, you have prepared for those who love you joys beyond understanding.
Pour into our hearts such love for you that,
loving you above all things,
we may obtain your promises,
which exceed all we can desire,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 34
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 49:5-6 (Thursday)
Isaiah 42:5-9 (Friday)
Deuteronomy 32:44-47 (Saturday)
Psalm 98 (All Days)
Acts 10:1-34 (Thursday)
Acts 10:34-43 (Friday)
Mark 10:42-45 (Saturday)
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Shout with joy to the LORD, all you lands;
lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing….
In righteousness shall he judge the world
and the peoples with equity.
–Psalm 98:5, 10, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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A sense of having a covenant with and a special revelation from God ought not to lead one into spiritual and theological elitism, the religious equivalent of ethnocentrism, which is just as false as cultural relativism. Of course I condemn legalism and spiritual and theological elitism wherever they rear their ugly heads, but more importantly I advocate a healthy sense of ecumenism. I emphasize what I favor–loving one’s fellow human beings in the name of God and behaving toward them accordingly.
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
–Mark 10:45, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
I, as a professing Christian, claim to follow Jesus. Thus, if I am to be an intellectually and spiritually honest Christian, I must serve others in the name of Christ, regardless of the human categories into which they fit. I retain definitions of true religions (Judaism and Christianity), merely false religions, and predatory cults, for I am not a Universalist. Yet my theology is ecumenical, drawing from Judaism and various Christian traditions. Those Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons (members of merely false religions) who come to my front door and whom I fail to avoid sometimes, do not understand this, for they think that they have the ultimate revelation of God. Meanwhile, I live in a home with crucifixes, a menorah, hymnals and service books from a range of denominations, and Bibles from Jewish, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant backgrounds. I remain an observant Episcopalian, but other denominations fascinate me–some more than others. Lutherans and Moravians are especially interesting.
There is God; no such beings as gods exist. Thus all of us are children of God, although many do not know that. To be an effective light to the nations one must, among other things, lay aside contempt for the people one hopes to convert. The failure to do so has been among the most grievous faults of many missionaries for centuries. They people who have set out to do something righteous have destroyed cultures and functioned as agents of imperial powers instead, for the shackles of ethnocentrism have chained them. Fortunately, modern schools of missions are among the places where one may learn how to avoid following in those footsteps.
To be a light to the nations–or one’s community–is a great responsibility, one to approach with much reverence and humility. It is a goal one can accomplish only by grace and which requires the acknowledgment that one does not have a complete understanding of God. Nobody has such a grasp of the divine, but some of us have learned more of the truth than others.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 20, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CANISIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF KATHARINA VON BORA LUTHER, WIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/12/20/a-light-to-the-nations-part-i/
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Above: The Punishment of Korah and the Stoning of Moses and Aaron, by Sandro Botticelli
Numbers and Luke, Part VI: Servant Leadership
MAY 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:
Numbers 16:1-22 (45th Day of Easter)
Numbers 16:23-40/17:5 (46th Day of Easter)
Psalm 98 (Morning–45th Day of Easter)
Psalm 99 (Morning–46th Day of Easter)
Psalms 66 and 116 (Evening–45th Day of Easter)
Psalms 8 and 118 (Evening–46th Day of Easter)
Luke 19:11-28 (45th Day of Easter)
Luke 19:29-48 (46th Day of Easter)
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TECHNICAL NOTE:
Numbers 16 has 35 verses in Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox versions of the Bible yet 50 verses in Protestant ones. So Numbers 17:1-5 in Protestant Bibles = Numbers 16:36-50 in Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox ones. And 17:1-5 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox) = 16:36-40 (Protestant). Life would be simpler if there were just one system of versification in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, would it not?
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ARCHELAUS, received the kingdom of Judaea by the last will of his father, Herod the Great, though a previous will had bequeathed it to his brother Antipas. He was proclaimed king by the army, but declined to assume the title until he had submitted his claims to Augustus. Before setting out, he quelled with the utmost cruelty a sedition of the Pharisees, slaying nearly 3,000 of them. At Rome he was opposed by Antipas and by many of the Jews, but Augustus allotted to him the greater part of the kingdom (Judaea, Samaria, Ituraea) with the title of Ethnarch. He married Glaphyra, the widow of his brother Alexander, though his wife and her second husband, Juba, king of Mauretania, were alive. This violation of the Mosaic Law and his continued cruelty roused the Jews, who complained to Augustus. Archlaus was deposed (A.D. 7) and banished to Vienne. The date of his death is unknown. He is mentioned in Matt. ii. 22, and the parable of Luke xix. 11 seq. may refer to his journey to Rome.
—Encyclopedia Britannica (1955), Volume 2, page 264
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What right did Moses have to rule? And what was the proper basis of the Aaronic priesthood? Korah and his confederates wanted to know. So they challenged Moses and Aaron. They also died trying. Exuent those reels. The basis for all that they opposed was God, the narrative tells us.
The Parable of the Pounds refers to Herod Archelaus, whose 1955 Encyclopedia Britannica entry I have typed verbatim. The appointed king, like Archelaus, was a very bad man. The placement of this parable immediately before our Lord’s Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem cannot be an accident. Jesus is a king, but of a sort very different from any Roman puppet, such as Herod Antipas, who appears in Luke 23:8-12. Antipas was Tetrarch of Galiille and Perea. He had ordered the beheading of St. John the Baptist. Ironically, the Tetrarch’s journey to Rome in search of the title “king” had an unexpected result. The Emperor Caligula, convinced by Herod Agrippa I, brother-in-law of Antipas, that Antipas was conspiring against the Emperor , banished him (Antipas) to Lugdunum, Gaul, now Lyon, France, in 39 CE.
Seeking glory is a dangerous game and wielding authority is a great responsibility. Power might grind down those who lack it, but it also consumes many people who desire it. Moses did not seek the alleged glory of leading a mass of grumblers in the desert. And going to the cross just a few days after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem was the glorification of Jesus in the Gospel of John, albeit a painful and humiliating manner of attaining it.
You know that among the gentiles those they call their rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
–Mark 10:42b-45, The New Jerusalem Bible
The context for that lesson from the Gospel of Mark is shortly before the Triumphal Entry and immediately after James and John, our Lord’s first cousins, ask for honored places in Heaven. And it fits well here, in this post, with the assigned readings for these two days.
Every generation has its share of violent tyrants and petty dictators, unfortunately. Yet every generation also has its servant leaders, men and women who struggle to do the right thing, to wield authority honorably, without losing their souls. It is a difficult calling, one in which, I pray, they will succeed.
I pray also that the rest of us called to other pursuits will work effectively for the benefit of others, not our own aggrandizement, in all the ways in which God leads us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 21, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALL FAITHFUL MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY
THE FEAST OF SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, JESUIT
THE FEAST OF HENARE WIREMU TARATOA OF TE RANGA, COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEING
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN JONES AND JOHN RIGBY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/numbers-and-luke-part-vi-servant-leadership/
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Above: The Unjust Steward
Numbers and Luke, Part II: In It Together
MAY 16, 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:
Numbers 9:1-23
Psalm 98 (Morning)
Psalms 66 and 116 (Evening)
Luke 16:1-18
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A Related Post:
Prayers for Cities, Neighborhoods, Communities, and Those Who Serve Them:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/prayers-for-cities-neighborhoods-communities-and-those-who-serve-them/
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Biblical nuances interest me. In Exodus 12 we read regarding the Passover meal:
No foreigner shall eat of it.
–verse 43a, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
and
If a stranger, who dwells with you would offer the passover to the LORD, all his males must be circumcised; then he shall be as a citizen of the country. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you.
–verses 48-49, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
Then, in Numbers 9, observing the Passover meal (the first one in the wilderness) is mandatory (delayed for reasons of ritual impurity). Then we read:
And when a stranger who resides with you would offer a passover sacrifice to the LORD, he must offer it in accordance with the rules and rites of the passover sacrifice. There shall be one law for you, whether stranger or citizen of the country.
–verse 14, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
Unfortunately, there was a death penalty attached to not obeying the mandate. This is the Law of Moses, after all; there is a death penalty attached to many offenses. On the other hand, however, resident aliens (as opposed to mere strangers) were equally subject with Israelites to the Law. And why not? The Israelites and the resident aliens were, as we say in North America,
in it together.
We humans are all
in it together,
are we not? We do not have to like each other, socialize together, understand each other, or be similar to each other, but we must understand that what one person does affects others. One main fault of extreme libertarianism is its excessive individualism, its failure to give due weight to mutual dependence, the actual state of the human race. Sometimes I need to curtail my appetites for the benefit of others. Yet the collective has no right practice the tyranny of the majority or of the vocal, screaming, hysterical, minority which might control some part of state machinery. The individual and the collective need to exist in balance: rights and liberties, in the light of natural law and the fact that the dissident might be correct, at least partially. Mutual respect goes a long way toward preventing violations of civil liberties and rights.
The unjust steward of the parable knew that he needed others immediately and urgently. So, for selfish reasons, he brought his master into compliance with the anti-usury parts of the Law of Moses. His reasons did not matter to those he helped. Money was a means to several ends, some of them righteous in spite of the person’s motivation. And money was crucial to being able to afford a style of piety which Jesus condemned. Poverty, Jesus said, ought not to mark one as incapable of living faithfully. And those poor people (many of them, anyway) financed the lifestyles of the rich and overtly pious. How just was that?
When Christ comes to be our judge, may he rule that we acted consistently to raise each other up, to bind up each other’s wounds, to bear each other’s burdens as able and always and to avoid stomping on each other. We do, after all, need each other, even if we do not know that fact.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 20, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BAIN OF FONTANELLE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, MONK, MISSIONARY, AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF ONESIMUS NESIB, TRANSLATOR AND LUTHERAN MISSIONARY
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/numbers-and-luke-part-ii-in-it-together/
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Above: A Long-Playing Record
Image Source = Tomasz Sienicki
Leviticus and Luke, Part V: Like a Broken Record
MAY 7-9, 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:
Leviticus 20:1-16, 22-27 (29th Day of Easter)
Leviticus 21:1-24 (30th Day of Easter)
Leviticus 23:1-22 (31st Day of Easter)
Psalm 93 (Morning–29th Day of Easter)
Psalm 97 (Morning–30th Day of Easter)
Psalm 98 (Morning–31st Day of Easter)
Psalms 136 and 117 (Evening–29th Day of Easter)
Psalms 124 and 115 (Evening–30th Day of Easter)
Psalms 66 and 116 (Evening–31st Day of Easter)
Luke 11:37-54 (29th Day of Easter)
Luke 12:1-12 (30th Day of Easter)
Luke 12:13-34 (31st Day of Easter)
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Some Related Posts:
Prayer of Praise and Adoration:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-fifth-sunday-of-easter/
Prayer of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-fifth-sunday-of-easter/
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I admit it; I sound like a broken record: Loving people and seeking justice for them matters far more than does keeping an obscure element of the Law of Moses. Speaking of that law code, shall we consider some provisions of it? We read some sexual laws and an order to execute one for the offense of idolatry. Then there is this law:
If anyone insults his father or his mother, he shall be put to death; he has insulted his father and his mother–his blood guilt is upon him.
–Leviticus 20:9, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
To insult is also to curse, the sort of activity the Prodigal Son committed in Luke 15. Yet the father, the God figure in the parable, forgave the son.
We read in Leviticus 21:16 forward that physically handicapped or deformed Levites were forbidden to serve as priests. It seems that such men were not supposed to serve God in that way because their physical imperfections reflected the divine form inadequately. I am glad of progressive attitudes regarding physical differences in modern times; may these ideas flourish.
Then we read about what makes a sacrifice acceptable. I do not care, for none of that has mattered since the first century CE.
Jesus criticized people who were meticulous about legalistic details while they ignored the imperative of social justice. He advocated humility before God, trust in God, and active concern for the conditions and circumstances of others. I think that he cared about blind and disabled Levites, who got to eat well yet were still second-class spiritual citizens.
Speaking of Levites, contact with a corpse made one unclean (Leviticus 22). That concern played a role in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). And who was the hero in that story?
People matter more than arcane laws. Here ends the lesson, again.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 15, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT LANDELINUS OF VAUX, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; SAINT AUBERT OF CAMBRAI, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; SAINT URSMAR OF LOBBES, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND MISSIONARY BISHOP; AND SAINTS DOMITIAN, HADELIN, AND DODO OF LOBBES, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS
THE FEAST OF EVELYN UNDERHILL, ANGLICAN MYSTIC
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/leviticus-and-luke-part-v-like-a-broken-record/
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Above: The Sin of Nadab and Abihu
Leviticus and Luke Part II: God Concepts
MAY 1 and 2, 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:
Leviticus 9:1-14 (23rd Dayof Easter)
Leviticus 10:1-20 (24th Day of Easter)
Psalm 97 (Morning–23rd Day of Easter)
Psalm 98 (Morning–24th Day of Easter)
Psalms 124 and 115 (Evening–23rd Day of Easter)
Psalms 66 and 116 (Evening–24th Day of Easter)
Luke 9:18-36 (23rd Day of Easter)
Luke 9:37-62 (24th Day of Easter)
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My point of reference is that of a modern, liberal, intellectual North American Christian. God is love, I affirm, and the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth was God incarnate. So my God concept leads me to ask what Jesus would do. Hence the God concept in Leviticus 10 is foreign to me. The sacrifices in Leviticus 9 are likewise alien to me. Parts of the Letter to the Hebrews played back in my head as I read these chapters from Leviticus.
Although I am a ritualist, I do not attach life or death stakes to performing a certain liturgical act just so. What, I wonder, did Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, do that was so bad that they died on what was supposed to be a joyous occasion? I found the following note from the The Jewish Study Bible (Oxford University Press, 2004) helpful:
In biblical thought, however, ritual crimes are dire. Further, the sin of the two brothers was not simply that they went too far in their misguided super-piety. Rather, they acted in utter disregard for the deity. God intended that the manifestations of His Presence would ignite the altar fire, marking His acceptance of His peoples’ devotion. Their intent was for the divine fire to ignite their pans; that is, they were attempting to arrogate control of the deity to themselves. (page 227)
Trying to control God is one sin; misunderstanding God can lead to others. Consider Simon Peter, who grasped that Jesus was the Messiah but not what that entailed–suffering for the Messiah. Then, at the Transfiguration, the Apostle would have institutionalized the event, not distinguishing among Jesus, Moses, or Elijah. Our expectations and best attempts prove inadequate, do they not?
But, for a God concept, I still prefer Jesus to the Yahweh of Leviticus 10.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 13, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF GILBERT KEITH (G. K.) CHESTERTON, AUTHOR
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/leviticus-and-luke-part-ii-god-concepts/
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Above: Epitaph of a Centurion
Exodus and Luke, Part VIII: Damaged Relationships
APRIL 24 and 25, 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 33:1-23 (16th Dayof Easter)
Exodus 34:1-28 (17th Day of Easter)
Psalm 97 (Morning–16th Day of Easter)
Psalm 98 (Morning–17th Day of Easter)
Psalms 124 and 115 (Evening–16th Day of Easter)
Psalms 66 and 116 (Evening–17th Day of Easter)
Luke 7:1-17 (16th Day of Easter)
Luke 7:18-35 (17th Day of Easter)
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The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelite people, ‘You are a stiffnecked people. If I were to go in your midst for one moment, I would destroy you. Now, then, leave off your finery, and I will consider what to do to you.'”
–Exodus 33:5, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
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I detect several consistent patterns in my life. One of them pertains to what happens after I fall out with an institution. I return after some time, but never with the same enthusiasm. The water might be under the bridge, but I cannot forget the flood. So the breach remains in my memory. Things can be better, but not as they were before. Perhaps this is a spiritual failing. (Relationships with individuals are a different matter; I have reverted to a pre-falling out state with them. Institutions are frequently impersonal by nature, however.) I offer neither a defense nor a condemnation of myself relative to this reality relative to institutions; no, I am content at the moment to make an objectively accurate statement.
The relationship between God and the Israelites was damaged, not broken, in Exodus 33. Moses functioned as an intermediary, for there was a distance between God and the people. The narrative would have us believe that the people were entirely to blame, but I argue that God, as the narrative presents God, shared in the blame. Were the people supposed to love and follow a deity who sent away those who had not adored the Golden Calf as punishment for the adoration of that idol?
The relationship between Jesus and the religious authorities (eventually broken) in the Gospel of Luke. And, in Luke 7, our Lord found a Gentile–a Roman officer, no less–whose great faithfulness impressed him. This spoke well for the Centurion but not of those religious authorities.
To tie everything together in a big theological bow, God did come among many of our forebears, and they did not perish. The Incarnation of God in Jesus constituted God among us, with us, and for us. It was how God bridged the gap. Things would not be as they were before. No, they would be better.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 9, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT COLUMBA OF IONA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY AND ABBOT
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/exodus-and-luke-part-viii-damaged-relationships/
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LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS 
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