Above: A Candle
The Universality of God
DECEMBER 17, 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 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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Joshua 23:1-16
Psalm 81:(1) 2-9 (10-16) or Psalm 95
Luke 3:23-38 or Matthew 1:1-17
Hebrews 4:1-11 (12-16)
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In distress you called, and I rescued you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
–Psalm 81:7, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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Do not harden your hears, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your ancestors tested me,
and put me to the proof though they had seen my work.
–Psalm 95:8-9, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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The Deuteronomistic account of the farewell speech of Joshua son of Nun contains reminders to be faithful to God and not to emulate the pagan neighboring ethnic groups. One may assume safely that at least part of the text is a subsequent invention meant to teach then-contemporary Jews to obey the Law of Moses, unlike many of their ancestors, including many who lived and died after the time of Joshua. The theme of fidelity to God recurs in Hebrews 4, which reminds us that God sees everything we do.
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and magnify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
–The Collect for Purity, in The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 355
The two options for Gospel readings are mutually inconsistent genealogies of Jesus. Matthew 1, following Jewish practice, divides the past into periods of 14–in this case, 14 generations–14 being the numerical value of “David” in Hebrew. This version of the family tree begins with Abraham and ends with Jesus, thereby setting his story in the context of God’s acts in history and culminating with the Incarnation. This genealogy lists only four women, two of whom were foreigners and three of whom were the subjects of gossip regarding their sex lives. These facts establish an inclusive tone in the text.
The genealogy in Luke 3 starts with Jesus and works backward to the mythical Adam. The fact that the family tree according to the Gospel of Luke goes back past Abraham (the limits of Judaism, which are porous in the genealogy in Matthew 1) makes the Lukan version more inclusive than its counterpart in Matthew. Jesus has kinship with all people–Jews and Gentiles–it teaches. That is consistent with the fact that the initial audience for the Gospel of Luke was Gentile.
The universality of God is a recurring theme in the Bible. The light of God is for all people, although many will reject it at any given time. The neglect that light is a grave error, one which carries with it many negative consequences, both temporal and otherwise. To write off people and populations is another error. Salvation is of the Jews. From them the light of Christ shines upon we Gentiles. Thanks be to God!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 21, 2016 COMMON ERA
PROPER 16: THE FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF JOHN ATHELSTAN LAURIE RILEY, ANGLICAN ECUMENIST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/08/21/the-universality-of-god-2/
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ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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