Devotion for Saturday Before the Eighth Sunday After Epiphany, Year A (ELCA Daily Lectionary)

Above:  The Pool of Hezekiah, Jerusalem, Palestine, Between 1898 and 1946

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reference Number = LC-DIG-matpc-08508

Turning Toward the False and Illusory

FEBRUARY 26, 2011

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The Collect:

God of tender care, like a mother, like a father,

you never forget your children, and you know already what we need.

In our anxiety give us trusting and faithful hearts,

that in confidence we may embody the peace and justice

of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 25

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The Assigned Readings:

Isaiah 31:1-9

Psalm 131 (Both Days)

Luke 11:14-23

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O Israel, trust in the Lord,

from this time forth and for evermore.

–Psalm 131:4, Common Worship (2000)

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The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume V (1956), page 338 on Isaiah 31:1-3:

This oracle is a companion piece to 30:1-7, with its references to the Judean embassy seeking Egyptian help, to the illusory strength of Egypt, to the wisdom and the spirit of God, and to the inevitable discomfiture of a plan to seek foreign aid rather than to rely on God.  The propensity of human beings in time of danger to grasp for material support at whatever moral cost, and to neglect the priority of spiritual realities because they are intangible, is here vividly set out.  The grandiose dreams of the Judean leaders will come to nothing; instead, they will invoke the nemesis of history.  For this the prophet gives two reasons:  (a) their policy flouts the wise purpose of Yahweh, which alone governs the course of events; and (b) they are putting their trust in something as weak and transitory as themselves, which will perish with them.

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King Hezekiah, seeking defense against Assyria, had entered into an alliance with Egypt, whose leadership, as Volume V (1956) of The Interpreter’s Bible stated on page 330, made grand promises yet could do nothing more than talk.  For this talking the Pharaoh received tribute from Judah.  There was no security to find in that alliance.

A common belief in the Hellenistic Mediterranean world was that demonic possession caused a variety of conditions.  Today we call them a range of terms, from stress to mental illness.  In those days, however, the term for treating those conditions was exorcism.  Some of our Lord and Savior’s opponents accused him of exorcising via a league with Satan.  Even inside the cultural milieu the logic failed immediately.

The unifying theme this day is turning away from God and toward that which is false, illusory, and incapable of meeting the needs of the moment.  We humans do this often.  Related to this pattern is a constant–human nature, with its strengths and weaknesses.  The weaknesses share the central seat with divine fidelity in this post.

Whenever we seek substitutes for God, whether they be sports, drugs, bad religion, or other idols, we attempt to force square pegs into round holes.  We set off upon foolish and doomed errands.  May we cease to do that, by grace and for the glory of God, the benefit of our fellow human beings, and the best interests of ourselves.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

PROPER 24–THE TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

THE FEAST OF MARY A. LATHBURY, U.S. METHODIST HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT BERTILLA BOSCARDIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN AND NURSE

THE FEAST OF JOHN HARRIS BURT, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF TARORE OF WAHOARA, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/turning-toward-the-false-and-illusory/

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