Pietism is an error-ridden system of thought. One of its gravest mistakes is the rejection of ritualism, often due to a misinterpretation of Psalm 50. The sacrificial system, commanded in the Law of Moses, is not the problem in Psalm 50. No, the divorce between sacrifices and morality is the offense. Mistaking sacrifices and other acts of public piety for a talisman is wrong. People need to walk the walk, in other words. Their acts of public piety will be genuine.
Speaking of sacrifices, the context of the Transfiguration in Mark 8-9 is the foretelling of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The prose poetry of the account tells us of Elijah (representing the prophets) and Moses (representing the Law) appearing with the glorified Jesus. This is, in context, an apocalyptic scene, as anyone steeped in the culture of Palestinian Judaism would have known. The attempt to institutionalize such a moment is always misguided, for one should keep on moving with Jesus, toward Jerusalem. Faith is a journey, not a permanent shrine.
My journey will not be identical to yours, O reader, nor should it be. Our journeys will properly contain many of the same landmarks, though. The destination will also be the same–God in Christ.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 19, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JAMES ARTHUR MACKINNON, CANADIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
THE FEAST OF ALFRED RAMSEY, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF CHARITIE LEES SMITH BANCROFT DE CHENEZ, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PIERSON MERRILL, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SOCIAL REFORMER, AND HYMN WRITER
At the end of the Season After the Epiphany or the beginning of the Season After Pentecost (depending on the year), we finish hopping and skipping through three books–Job, Deuteronomy, and James. If we pay attention, we notice that Job granted his daughters the right to inherit from his estate–a revolutionary move at that time and place.
Overall, when we add Psalm 48 and Mark 4:1-20 to the mix, we detect a thread of the goodness of God present in all the readings. Related to divine goodness is the mandate to respond positively to grace in various ways, as circumstances dictate. The principle is universal, but the applications are circumstantial.
Consider, O reader the parable in our reading from Mark 4. The customary name is the Parable of the Sower, but the Parable of the Four Soils is a better title. The question is not about the effectiveness of the sower but about the four soils. Are we distracted soil? Are we soil that does not retain faith in the face of tribulation or persecution? Are we soil into which no roots sink? Or are we good soil? Do we respond positively to grace, which is free yet not cheap, or do we not?
Job 42:11 tells that all Job’s “friends of former times” visited him and “showed him every sympathy.” (Job is a literary character, of course, so I do not mistake him for a historical figure.) I imagine Zophar, Bildad, Eliphaz, and even Elihu, who went away as quickly as he arrived, having realized their errors, dining with Job in shalom. That is indeed a scene of grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 19, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JAMES ARTHUR MACKINNON, CANADIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
THE FEAST OF ALFRED RAMSEY, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF CHARITIE LEES SMITH BANCROFT DE CHENEZ, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM PIERSON MERRILL, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, SOCIAL REFORMER, AND HYMN WRITER
Psalm 1 might be overly optimistic, but it functions as a fine counterpoint to the other readings. Those readings address groups. Jeremiah spoke to the Kingdom of Judah. St. Paul the Apostle, addressing Jews in Antioch in Pisidia (in Asia Minor), spoke of the actions of religious authorities in Jerusalem. St. (Simon) Peter the Apostle or someone writing in his name addressed congregations in Asia Minor. Those three pericopes fit well together, for they diagnose societal problems. Hubris is the main ill in Jeremiah 13. From that pride flow other sins. Such a diagnosis fits the pericope from Acts 13 well, for hubris contributed to the execution of an innocent man. The readings from 1 Peter takes as its theme obedience to God.
Then away with all wickedness and deceit, hypocrisy and jealousy and malicious talk of any kind!
–1 Peter 2:1, The Revised English Bible (1989)
So much for a great deal of politics, talk radio, celebrity news, and Internet content!
The words of these days’ pericopes indict as strongly today as they did when they were fresh. Human nature has not changed over time. As Koheleth wrote,
Only that shall happen
Which has happened,
Only that occur
Which has occurred;
There is nothing new
Beneath the sun!
–Ecclesiastes 1:9, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Time passes, technology changes, and political and economic systems come and go, but we are really playing out variations of old themes, are we not? Hubris remains current, malicious gossip has never ceased, and people in power continue to cause innocents to die.
May God have mercy on us all!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 14, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALL CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL ISAAC JOSEPH SCHERESCHEWSKY, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF SHANGHAI
THE FEAST OF THOMAS HANSEN KINGO, DANISH LUTHERAN BISHOP, HYMN WRITER, AND “POET OF EASTERTIDE”
and called the world from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth;
our God comes and will not keep silence.
Consuming fire goes out before him
and a mighty tempest stirs about him.
He calls the heaven above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people:
“Gather to me my faithful,
who have sealed my covenant with sacrifice.”
Let the heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge.
–Psalm 50:1-6, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)
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The readings for these three days weave together two themes: the reality of God and the influence of holy people. Often these holy people were prophets of God; I point to Ahijah of Shiloh (1 Kings 11 and 14) and Jehu son of Hanani (1 Kings 16), who were instrumental in establishing and replacing monarchs. There were many others, such as St. Paul the Apostle (2 Corinthians 2), pseudo-Paul (1 Timothy 1), and Jesus himself (Luke 19). The messenger is crucial, as is the message. If someone refuses to deliver a message from God, another will accept the mission. The message will go forth.
To ponder divine mercy is pleasant, but that statement does not apply to God’s wrath. God is not a teddy bear, so to speak; if one thought to the contrary, one was in serious error. May we have a balanced perspective, one which takes into account both divine judgment and mercy in proper proportions. (This is possible by grace, not human power.) And may we remember that Jesus sought forgiveness for those who had him crucified.
I do not pretend to know the details of every person’s spiritual vocation from God. Sometimes, in fact, my vocation from God confuses me. Yet I am confident that all such vocations for Christians include, in the words of St. Paul the Apostle, being:
…the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.
–2 Corinthians 2:15-16a, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
May we bear the aroma of Christ faithfully.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 4, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FIFTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH MOHR, AUSTRIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT BARBARA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCUS, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CALABRIA, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE POOR SERVANTS AND THE POOR WOMEN SERVANTS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Everlasting God, you give strength to the weak and power to the faint.
Make us agents of your healing and wholeness,
that your good may be made known to the ends your creation,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 24
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The Assigned Readings:
Leviticus 13:1-17 (Thursday)
Leviticus 14:1-20 (Friday)
Leviticus 14:21-32 (Saturday)
Psalm 30 (All Days)
Hebrews 12:7-13 (Thursday)
Acts 19:11-20 (Friday)
Matthew 26:6-13 (Saturday)
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Hear me, LORD, and be kind to me,
be my helper, LORD.
–Psalm 30:11, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers, Harry Mowvley (1989)
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Ritual impurity and purity were major concerns in the Law of Moses. Among the major forms of ritual impurity were those which tzara’at, or the leakage of life, caused. In people it manifested as a range of skin conditions, which were not leprosy, technically Hanson’s Disease. In fabrics (Leviticus 13:47-59) it consisted of damage which mold or mildew caused. And in building materials (14:33-47) people saw evidence of it via mildew or rot in walls.
Dermatological impurity received more fear and attention, however. Some even argued that it constituted divine punishment for sin. The combination of shunning and guilt must have been a terrible burden to bear. Hence restoration to wholeness and community must have been all the more wonderful.
May we refrain from laying burdens atop people. Rather, may we function as instruments of divine healing and reconciliation. May God work through us to restore others to wholeness and community. May God bless others through us. We will receive our blessings as part of that process. There will be blessings all around. Is that not wonderful?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 2, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIOC, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT TUDWAL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP IN CHINA AND JAPAN
THE FEAST OF JOHN BROWN, ABOLITIONIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
Obey God’s laws, whether or not one lives among foreigners with different religions and customs.
Love one’s fellow human beings actively and effectively, trusting in the power of God to enable one to do this.
Do not use God and/or religion to to cover up or to attempt to cover up one’s own perfidy.
The latter point requires some explanation. Korban was a custom by which one gave money to the religious establishment for the support of the professional religious people there. Many people used this practice to deprive their relatives of necesssary funds while looking pious. And many Temple officials knew it. Thus religion became a means of circumventing a basic ethic of the Law of Moses:
Honor your father and your mother.
In other words, motives mattered. They still do.
Ethics are concrete, not abstract. Since we human beings live in communities, our actions and inactions affect each other. Our actions and inactions flow from our attitudes. Thus how we think of each other matters greatly. Do we value each other or do we seek ways to exploit and/or deprive each other? Which people do we think of as our neighbors?
May we not use the letter of the law to the cover up or to attempt to cover up violations of its spirit.
Liturgical time matters, for it sacramentalizes days, hours, and minutes, adding up to seasons on the church calendar. Among the frequently overlooked seasons is the Season after Epiphany, the first part of Ordinary Time. The Feast of the Epiphany always falls on January 6 in my tradition. And Ash Wednesday always falls forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter Sunday. The Season after Epiphany falls between The Feast of the Epiphany and Ash Wednesday. In 2013 the season will span January 7-February 12.
This season ought to be a holy time, one in which to be especially mindful of the imperative to take the good news of Jesus of Nazareth to others by a variety of means, including words when necessary. Words are meaningless when our actions belie them, after all. Among the themes of this season is that the Gospel is for all people, not just those we define as insiders. No, the message is also for our “Gentiles,” those whom we define as outsiders. So, with that thought in mind, I encourage you, O reader, to exclude nobody. Do not define yourself as an insider to the detriment of others. If you follow this advice, you will have a proper Epiphany spirit.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 9, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARTIN CHEMNITZ, GERMAN LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF BARTON STONE, COFOUNDER OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
Job needed friends. He got Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite instead. Alas for Job! And he lamented the lack of support. I would prefer strangulation too; at least it would get me away from those alleged friends.
Counterpoints occur in John. We being with John the Baptist, whose movement had fewer followers than that of Jesus. John continued to point toward our Lord. Then, in Chapter 4, Jesus commenced the longest recorded conversation in the canonical Gospels. This conversation was with not only a woman–unheard of in many circles–but with a Samaritan woman–even more scandalous. Many interpreters–out of mysogyny or tradition or both–have assumed that she had a dubious sexual reputation, but there is no textual proof for that. She could, for example have been in a levirate marriage–legal under the Law of Moses. Jesus helped the woman at the well. I can only imagine what harm Eliphaz, Bildad, or Zophar would have wrought.
Until the next segment of our journey….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 15, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B
THE FEASTS OF SAINT OLGA OF KIEV, REGENT OF KIEVAN RUSSIA; ADALBERT OF MAGDEBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; ADALBERT OF PRAGUE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR; AND BENEDICT AND GAUDENTIUS OF POMERANIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAINT DAMIEN DE VEUSTER, A.K.A. DAMIEN OF MOLOKAI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT EGBERT OF LINDISFARNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND SAINT ADALBERT OF EGMONT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF SAINT MELLITUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha,
Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.
But Elisha said,
As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.
So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him,
Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?
And he said,
Yes, I know; keep silent.
Elijah said to him,
Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.
But he said,
As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.
So they came to Jericho. The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him,
Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?
And he answered,
Yes, I know; be silent.
Then Elijah said to him,
Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.
But he said,
As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.
So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha,
Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.
Elisha said,
Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.
He responded,
You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.
As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out,
Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!
But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
Psalm 50:1-6 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 The LORD, the God of gods, has spoken;
he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty,
God reveals himself in glory.
3 Our God will come and will not keep silence;
before him there is a consuming flame,
and round about him a raging storm.
4 He calls the heavens and the earth from above
to witness the judgment of his people.
5 “Gather before me my loyal followers,
those who have made a covenant with me
and sealed it with sacrifice.”
6 Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause;
for God himself is judge.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (New Revised Standard Version):
Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said,
Let light shine out of darkness,
who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Mark 9:2-9 (New Revised Standard Version):
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus,
Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice,
This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!
Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
The Collect:
O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
One of the recurring themes in Mark 9 is that Jesus was quite powerful. That theme is evident in Mark’s account of the Transfiguration. Isolating this passage and lifting it out of its textual context hides what occurs around it. Namely, Jesus has just said to take up one’s cross. And, a few verses later, he predicts his own passion again.
Jesus is on the way to his death and resurrection, the latter of which reaffirms a major point of the Transfiguration: Jesus, regardless of any appearances to the contrary, is far more powerful than any persecutor or empire.
I feel succinct today, so leave you, O reader, with that thought, as well as with this one: Jesus remains more powerful than any persecutor. Thanks be to God!
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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