The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple falls on February 2, forty days after Christmas. The origins of the Feast of the Presentation date to the 300s, in Jerusalem, where the original date was February 14-forty days after January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. In the English Prayer Book tradition the Feast of the Presentation has been the Feast of the Purification of Saint Mary the Virgin, per the beginning of Leviticus 12, hinted at in Luke 2:22-23.
The readings from Malachi 3 and Psalm 24, along with Luke 2:22-40, convey a sense of awe and wonder. They tell us to take notice, for God, or a messenger thereof, has arrived. Where better to be than in the Temple? This is an event that has changed the world, after all. When we read of the divine arrival in Luke 2 and Hebrews 2, we read of the Incarnation as an infant, not a conquering hero in armor. Via living as a human being, one fully human as well as fully divine, Christ can identify with our suffering and help those enduring tests, we read in Hebrews 2:18.
It would have been easy to fail to recognize the infant Jesus for who he was, but Simeon and Anna knew who he was. They spread their wisdom in their time and place. Certainly some who heard them considered that message ridiculous, as it must have seemed to have been.
Fortunately, we can, via hindsight and the Bible, recognize the wisdom of Simeon and Anna, as well as the true identity of that infant boy.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 20, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SEBASTIAN CASTELLIO, PROPHET OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
THE FEAST OF CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, HYMN WRITER AND ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA JOSEFA SANCHO DE GUERRA, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SERVANTS OF JESUS
THE FEAST OF SAMUEL RODIGAST, GERMAN LUTHERAN ACADEMIC AND HYMN WRITER
The main two readings for today are unhappy. The prophet Jeremiah, having just accepted God’s call, receives his commission, complete with the following promise:
They will attack you,
But they shall not overcome you;
For I am with you–declares the LORD–to save you.
–Jeremiah 1:19, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Jeremiah spent much time on the run from the law, in custody, and finally, in exile.
Jesus, just a few days away from his death, lamented over Jerusalem. Then he cleansed the Temple of merchants profiteering from the upcoming Passover. Certainly the memory of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. informed the telling of that story, but one did not need to be a seer or a genius to predict that, in time, yet another rebellion by Jews would lead to Roman forces destroying the city. The account is historically plausible.
In both readings the cause of the disaster is the same–prolonged, systematic, and societal failure to recognize God and to act accordingly. One might interpret the resulting disaster not so much as God being vengeful as the proverbial chickens coming home to roost. Actions have consequences. We know that the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah strayed far from the societal vision of mutuality underpinning the Law of Moses, and that idolatry was ubiquitous. In the case of the reading from Luke, the Temple establishment was in league with the occupying Roman forces. Perhaps the wrath of God in these cases, if one chooses to interpret the doom as such, was as simple as,
You have made your bed. Now sleep in it.
I am cautious in addressing this matter, for I seek to avoid committing certain errors. Within my memory during the last decade and more, certain prominent professing Christian evangelists have brought reproach on Christianity by blaming some natural disasters (frustrated by human shortsightedness in matters such as civil engineering) on God, whom they have portrayed as vengeful. Was Hurricane Katrina (2005) God’s wrath for toleration and acceptance of homosexuality? Of course not! How dare anyone suggest that it was! Despite my caution, I recognize that there is such a thing as the wrath of God, and that it frequently takes the form of having to deal with the consequences of one’s actions and inactions. My concept of God differs greatly from that of those who worship the gangster God of whom all people should stand in terror and whom nobody can possibly belove.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 5, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF DAVID NITSCHMANN, SR., “FATHER NITSCHMANN,” MORAVIAN MISSIONARY; MELCHIOR NITSCHMANN, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND MARTYR; JOHANN NITSCHMANN, JR., MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; ANNA NITSCHMANN, MORAVIAN ELDRESS; AND DAVID NITSCHMANN, MISSIONARY AND FIRST BISHOP OF THE RENEWED MORAVIAN CHURCH
THE FEAST OF BRADFORD TORREY, U.S. ORNITHOLOGIST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK, NORTHERN BAPTIST PASTOR AND OPPONENT OF FUNDAMENTALISM
THE FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH, 1972
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:
Proverbs 12:10-21 (Thursday)
Job 36:1-23 (Friday)
Psalm 147:1-11, 20 (Both Days)
Galatians 5:2-15 (Thursday)
1 Corinthians 9:1-16 (Friday)
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He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
–Psalm 147:3, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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One important task to perform while reading and inwardly digesting the Book of Job is to remember who is speaking at a given point. Consider, O reader, Elihu. He was an original part of the poem, and he rehashed arguments of the three main alleged friends, who also blamed the victim. These four characters could not accept that the titular character had done nothing to deserve his circumstances of suffering. They were correct some of the time regarding aspects of their cases, but they proceeded from a false assumption.
One is repaid in kind for one’s sinful deeds.
–Proverbs 12:14b, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
Yet the Book of Job tells us that Job did not suffer because of any sin. No, the narrative tells us, God permitted the suffering as a test of loyalty.
Sometimes circumstances challenge our preconceptions and theological soundbites. May we recall that we are free in God to love God and to care for each other, not to win theological arguments. Alleged orthodoxy means far less than sound orthopraxy.
Here ends the lesson, O reader. Go forth to love your neighbor as yourself, bearing his or her burdens, weeping with those who weep, and rejoicing with those who rejoice. Be agents of divine grace to those to whom God sends you and whom God sends to you.
DECEMBER 1, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF NICHOLAS FERRAR, ANGLICAN DEACON
THE FEAST OF SAINT CHARLES DE FOUCAULD, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT
THE FEAST OF SAINT EDMUND CAMPION, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
The two main readings for today pertain to the Law of God–a law which is not a burden (unless one treats it as such)–a law written on proverbial human hearts. This is the law which our Lord and Savior summarized in two commandments. Thus loving God and loving our fellow human beings as we love ourselves are part of the same process. We cannot love God, whom we cannot see, if we do not love our fellow human beings, whom we can see.
The late Thomas Merton recalled a profound spiritual experience: one day, in a city, he realized that he loved everybody. This ethic informed his ethical choices. How could it not do so? For as we think, thus we are.
So we have a tangible standard: the example of Jesus, who set a very high bar. The call of Christian discipleship is the invitation to follow him–frequently a risky proposition. Our Lord and Savior’s active compassion caused much difficulty for him with certain people. Indeed, the Bible and the past are replete with stories of others who got into deep trouble due to their active compassion. Many of these people faced persecution and/or death because of it.
Yet active compassion is our call. And, even when we face persecution and/or death for following Christ in it, we may trust in God’s faithfulness, even if some of the promises (such as wealth) of Psalm 112 do not come true. Sometimes the result of faithfulness in this world is ruin and reproach; the good news awaits us on the other side.
So, O reader, what do those around you need? This not necessarily the same as what they want. And whose needs is God calling you to meet, at least partially?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 8, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILFRED THOMASON GRENFELL, MEDICAL MISSIONARY TO NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN
THE FEAST OF ERIK ROUTLEY, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM DWIGHT PORTER BLISS, EPISCOPAL PRIEST; AND RICHARD THEODORE ELY, ECONOMIST
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)
Sometimes I read texts and find inspiration. Then there are Zechariah 12:1-13:9 and Titus 1:1-2:6. One of the benefits of a lectionary is that it leads one who follows it to read uncomfortable passages. One, in reading the Bible, ought not to focus only on one’s favorite passages and those with which one agrees.
The imagery in Zechariah is stark and the polemics in Titus are jarring. If I were (A) a female, (B) a man from Crete, or (C) a woman from Crete, I would really take offense. and Zechariah II’s imagery of divine wrath upon the enemies of Judah turning Jerusalem into
…a bowl of reeling…
do not comfort me. I read that God will cause the people of Judah to feel compassion for the afflicted Gentiles, but the Gentiles are still slain.
For all my discomfort, I refuse to seek convenient ways to explain away passages. Inadequate rationalizations will not suffice. No, I own my discomfort, for I seek to be honest–and to take my discomfort to God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 11, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIONYSIUS OF CORINTH, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY NEYROT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF GEORGE AUGUSTUS SELWYN, ANGLICAN PRIMATE OF NEW ZEALAND
THE FEAST OF SAINT STANISLAUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF KRAKOW
Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.
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Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 47:2-11 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
As the fat is selected from the peace offering,
so David was selected from the sons of Israel.
He played with lions as with young goats,
and with bears as with lambs of the flock.
In his youth did he not kill a giant,
and take away reproach from the people,
when he lifted his hand with a stone in the sling
and struck down the boasting of Goliath?
He appealed to the Lord, the Most High,
and he gave him strength in his right hand
to slay a man mighty in war,
to exalt the power of his people.
So they glorified him for his ten thousands,
and praised him for the blessings of the Lord,
when the glorious diadem was bestowed upon him.
For he wiped out his enemies on every side,
and annihilated his adversaries the Philistines;
he crushed their power even to this day.
In all that he did he gave thanks
to the Holy One, the Most High, with ascriptions of glory;
he sang praise with all his heart,
and he loved his Maker.
He placed singers before the altar,
to make sweet melody with their voices.
He gave beauty to the feasts,
and arranged their times throughout the year,
while they praised God’s holy name,
and the sanctuary resounded from early morning.
The Lord took away his sins,
and exalted his power for ever;
he gave him the covenant of kings
and a throne of glory in Israel.
Psalm 18:31-33, 46-50 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
31 As for God, his ways are always perfect;
the words of the LORD are tried in the fire;
he is a shield to all who trust in him.
32 For who is God, but the LORD?
who is the Rock, except our God?
33 It is God who girds me about with strength
and makes my way secure.
46 The LORD lives! Blessed is my Rock!
Exalted is the God of my salvation!
47 He is the God who gave me victory
and cast down the peoples beneath me.
48 You rescued me from the fury of my enemies;
you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you saved me from my deadly foe.
49 Therefore will I extol you among the nations, O LORD,
and sing praises to your Name.
50 He multiplies the victories of his king;
he knows loving-kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants for ever.
Mark 6:14-29 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said,
John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.
But others said,
It is Elijah.
And others said,
It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.
But when Herod heard of it he said,
John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.
For Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’ daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl,
Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it.
And he vowed to her,
Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.
And she went out, and said to her mother,
What shall I ask?
And she said,
The head of John the Baptist.
And she came in immediately with haste to the king, and asked, saying,
I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
And the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
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The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
One might add to the Canadian Anglican lectionary another response, an alternative to Psalm 18:31-33, 46-50. Psalm 151 is part of the Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox traditions.
First I offer the New Revised Standard Version rendering:
1 I was small among my brothers,
and youngest in my father’s house;
I tended my father’s sheep.
2 My hands made a harp;
my fingers fashioned a lyre.
3 And who will tell my Lord?
The Lord himself; it is he who hears.
4 It was he who sent his messenger
and took me from my father’s sheep,
and anointed me with his anointing oil.
5 My brothers were handsome and tall,
but the Lord was not pleased with them.
6 I went out to meet the Philistine,
and he cursed me by his idols.
7 But I drew his own sword;
I beheaded him, and took away disgrace from the people of Israel.
And here is the translation of Psalm 151 from the St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint (2008):
Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
–The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question #1, as contained in the Book of Confessions (1967), of The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
The lectionary readings pair two rulers and two beheadings with only the most superficial similarities. The differences, however, are quite revealing.
Herod Antipas was a son of Herod the Great. Antipas, like his father, was a cruel and devious man who held his position only because the Roman Empire said so. Antipas had married Herodias, his late half-brother’s niece. Let that sink in. John the Baptist had called him out on this, so Antipas had him arrested and imprisoned. Then, at a party, Antipas so enjoyed his wife’s/late half-brother’s niece’s daughter erotic dancing (Let that sink in.) that he made a hasty pledge, which culminated in the execution of the forerunner of the Messiah. Antipas, by the way, died in exile in Gaul.
In contrast to Herod Antipas we have David, which, 1 and 2 Samuel tell us, was far from perfect. But David comes across as a hero and a man who heeded criticism from prophets. And from David came the lineage which included Jesus, who called Herod Antipas “that fox.”
The basic virtue of David was that he tried (much of the time, at least) to glorify God and defend his kingdom. It is always a good thing for anyone to glorify God. And, when a ruler faces a national security threat, it is good for him or her to defend his or her realm while obeying basic principles of human rights. David, as the texts present him, believed in something greater than himself, but Herod Antipas seems to have been a mere opportunist.
David glorified God, and history and tradition have honored him justifiably. May we glorify God in our own day and circumstances, for that is the right thing to do.
Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.
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Hebrews 12:18-24 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given,
If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.
Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said,
I tremble with fear.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel.
Psalm 48:1-3, 7-9 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised;
in the city of our God is his holy hill.
2 Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion,
the very center of the world and the city of the great King.
3 God is in her citadels;
he is known to be her sure refuge.
7 As we have heard, so have we seen,
in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God;
God has established her for ever.
8 We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
9 Your praise, like your Name, O God, reaches to the world’s end;
your right hand is full of justice.
Mark 6:7-13 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
And he called to him the Twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them,
Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them.
So they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.
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The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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An understanding of the reading from Hebrews requires a firm grasp of the Hebrew Scriptures. Most of the images come from the accounts of the time during which Moses was on Mount Sinai, communing with God. The emphasis on the majesty of God led to a sense of terror of a deity perceived as unapproachable. And the reference to the blood of Abel is to the fact the shedding of his blood led to vengeance, but the shedding of the blood of Jesus leads to reconciliation.
In the reading from Mark Jesus sends out his Apostles. They are to pack lightly and to trust God to provide their needs. Not only did God provide the Apostles’ needs, God empowered these men to perform great deeds.
God is majestic, of course, but this reality need not distract us from the approachability of God. Indeed, God, especially in the form of Jesus, has acted to make approachability plain. The Incarnation demonstrates approachability in an impressive way. And sending Apostles out to the people constitutes approachability of a different form.
Lest anyone think that divine approachability is absent from Jewish texts, I refer you to Psalm 121, just to choose a passage off the top of my head:
The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade
on your right hand.
(verse 5, Revised Standard Version, 1952)
God has approached us in love. Have we responded? If so, how? If we have not done so already, may we respond in love and awe. May this response be evident in how we think of and treat ourselves and others. If we have done this already, may we continue to do so.
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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