Above: Finding of the Silver Cup
Image in the Public Domain
Free to Serve God, Part II
FEBRUARY 21 and 22, 2022
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The Collect:
O Lord Jesus, make us instruments of your peace,
that where there is hatred, we may sow love,
where there is injury, pardon,
where there is despair, hope.
Grant, O divine master, that we may seek
to console, to understand, and to love in your name,
for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 25
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 33:1-17 (Monday)
1 Samuel 24:1-22 (Tuesday)
Psalm 38 (Both Days)
1 Corinthians 11:2-16 (Monday)
1 Corinthians 11:17-22, 27-33 (Tuesday)
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O LORD, do not forsake me;
be not far from me, O my God.
Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.
–Psalm 38:21-22, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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David was in mortal danger from King Saul, yet spared his life. The founder of an influential dynasty could have dispatched his would-be killer, but one man was a better person than the other.
Reconciling and seeking the common good tie most of these days’ readings together. Certain past deeds were indeed wrong, but how can people move forward without forgiveness? This is not a call to dodge justice, for justice and forgiveness can coexist. My point relative to justice is that it is separate from revenge. Seeking the common good unites the material in 1 Corinthians, an odd mixture of sexism and egalitarianism. The advice regarding women’s head coverings has a cultural component, for he condemns the unveiled, loose, flowing hairstyle associated with promiscuous women. As for abuses of the Eucharist, that was the only or one of the few good meals certain church members got each week, so stinginess with regard to the potluck supper placed the poorest Christians at Corinth at a nutritional disadvantage. Also, other members took the occasion to become drunk. All of the above negative behaviors were disrespectful of the ritual.
Overcoming factionalism and acting in conjunction with others for the common good is inherently just. Doing so facilitates service to God also, for how can we love God, whom we cannot see, if we despise our fellow human beings, whom we can see? We are free in God to love God and each other; may we strive to do so.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 27, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ARTHUR CAMPBELL AINGER, ENGLISH EDUCATOR, SCHOLAR, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT AEDESIUS, PRIEST AND MISSIONARY; AND SAINT FRUDENTIUS, FIRST BISHOP OF AXUM AND ABUNA OF THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX TEWAHEDO CHURCH
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH GRIGG, ENGLISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/free-to-serve-god-part-ii/
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ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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