Devotion for December 16 (LCMS Daily Lectionary)

Above:  The Vision of John of Patmos

True Nobility

DECEMBER 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:

Isaiah 32:1-20

Psalm 24 (Morning)

Psalms 25 and 110 (Evening)

Revelation 4:1-11

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As for the knave, his tools are knavish.

He forges plots

To destroy the poor with falsehoods

And the needy when they plead their cause.

But the noble has noble intentions

And is constant in noble acts.

–Isaiah 32:7-8, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

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Who can ascend the hill of the LORD?

and who can stand in his holy place?

“Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,

who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,

nor sworn by what is a fraud.

They shall receive a blessing from the LORD

and a just reward from the God of their salvation.”

–Psalm 24:3-5, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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Round the throne in a circle were twenty-four thrones, and on them twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads.

–Revelation 4:4, The New Jerusalem Bible

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Nobility, according to the standards of many traditional societies, is a matter of heredity or marriage.  One is a Lord, an Earl, a Duke, a Prince, a Lady, a Duchess, a Princess, a King, or a Queen because of who one’s parents are or one’s spouse is.  In this definition of nobility society is structured–ordered, really–with well-defined social barriers and with deference.  It is not, however, the standard in Isaiah 32.

Here I find the link between Isaiah 32 and Revelation 4.  There is far more going on in both texts, of course.  Revelation 4 is where the symbolism in that book begins to get hip-deep.  And Isaiah 32 also condemns those who exploit their fellow human beings.  That verdict appears earlier in Isaiah  and repeats throughout the rest of the Bible.  There are many rabbits I could chase, but the true standard of nobility is where I choose to dwell.

The aristocrats of God’s perfected Earth will be those who have noble intentions and who are constant in noble acts, Isaiah 32:8 tells us.  And the vision of John of Patmos echoes down the corridors of time to this day.  The count of twenty-four elders could mean several things; it might even mean more than one of them simultaneously.  The number might refer to twenty-four courses of priests, or to twelve Apostles plus twelve patriarchs, or simply to twelve doubled.  The latter option might indicate the combined company of faithful Jews and Gentiles.  But the elders represent faithful people, and they will be victorious in heaven.  The white robes of the elders remind one of the unstained robes of the faithful, as in Revelation 3:4; those who wear white robes are fit for the presence of God and Jesus in heaven.

As we read in 1 Samuel 16:7,

For not as man sees [does the LORD see];  man sees only what is visible, but the LORD sees into the heart.

—TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

We are all imperfect, of course; God knows this.  What does God see (through grace-colored glasses) when looking at my heart  or at your heart?  May God see nobility.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 31, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FEAST OF JOHN WYCLIFFE, BIBLE TRANSLATOR

NEW YEAR’S EVE

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/true-nobility/

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