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
But when Moses repeated those words to the Israelites, they would not listen to him, because of their cruel slavery, they had reached the depths of despair.
Active faith by which we follow God has changed the world for the better. In the United States of America, for example, it fueled the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Such active faith overturned Apartheid in the Republic of South Africa. This continues to compel people to work for social justice all over the planet.
Yet passiveness born of resignation stymies progress. Giving up on improving conditions in this world and seeking a better lot only in the afterlife does nothing to work for a just society on this plane of reality. The Hebrew prophets condemned social injustice. Our Lord and Savior did likewise. Indeed, seeking to improve this reality is part and parcel of loving one’s neighbor and pursuing the great Jewish ethic of healing the world.
So may each of us never make peace with oppression. May all of us take to heart and act on the following prayer:
O God, your Son came among us to serve and not to be served, and to give his life for the life of the world. Lead us by his love to serve all those to whom the world offers no comfort and little help. Through us give hope to the hopeless, love to the unloved, peace to the troubled, and rest to the weary, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 22, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK PRATT GREEN, BRITISH METHODIST MINISTER, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF BARTHOLOMEW ZOUBERBUHLER, ANGLICAN PRIEST
Certain themes repeat in the Bible. Among these is the one which states that we have a mandate to seek reconciliation with each other, not vengeance against each other. A perhaps apocryphal story comes to mind:
A congregation gathered on the day that the aged St. John the Evangelist visited it. He entered (with assistance) and sat down at the front of the assembly. The Apostle said, “My children, love one another.” Then he motioned to his helpers to assist him in leaving. Someone, disappointed with the brevity of John’s words, followed him and asked why he had said just to love one another. The Apostle answered, “When you have done that, I will tell you more.”
Loving one another is that basic. And often it proves difficult, for we might feel righteous while pondering how another has wronged us. Maybe another has behaved perfidiously toward us. But nursing a grudge hurts the person who encourages it and does no harm to its intended target.
The readings for these days range from maxims to stories about how we ought to behave toward others. Sometimes all parties are both the wronged and the perpetrators. (Life is frequently complicated in that way.) The seeming outlier among these readings is Luke 18:18-30. The wealthy man in that passage kept many of the truly timeless provisions of the Law of Moses–honoring his parents, not murdering or stealing, etc. But his attitude toward his wealth prevented him from treating others as properly as he should have been doing all along.
His health was morally neutral; his attitude was not. Your “wealth,” O reader, might not be funds or property, but your attitude toward it is a vital issue. The same applies to all of us.
So may we seek peace with each other, knowing that perhaps nobody is fully innocent in a particular situation. Thus nobody is in a good position to judge anyway. And may we not let our attitude(s) regarding anything obstruct such reconciliation.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 19, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF HENRY MARTYN, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL OF THE CROSS, FOUNDER OF THE PASSIONIST CONGREGATION
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 16 and 17 consist of Job’s reply to the second speech of Eliphaz the Temanite. The speaker has no patience with anything he has heard so far, nor should he. Whoever speaks of “the patience of Job” as if Job were patient, does not understand the Book of Job.
Jesus, in John 7, is living under death threats. He is trying not to die just yet because
for me the time is not ripe yet (verse 8, The New Jerusalem Bible).
The words of our Lord’s adversaries afflicted him.
Words have power. According to Hebrew mythology God spoke the universe into being. What realities do we create with our words? What realities do we create with our silences? There is a time to speak. And there is a time to remain silent. There is also a time to say a certain amount and nothing more. May we know the difference and act accordingly.
Until the next segment of our journey….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 26, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET
THE FEAST OF SAINT PASCHASIUS RADBERTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
Above: The Missal, by John William Waterhouse, 1902
Trust
FEBRUARY 21, 2022
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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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James 3:13-18 (Revised English Bible):
Which of you is wise or learned? Let him give practical proof of it by his right conduct, with the modesty that comes of wisdom. But if you are harbouring bitter jealousy or the spirit of rivalry in your hearts, stop making false claims in defiance of the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes from above; it is earth-bound, sensual, demonic. For with jealousy and rivalry come disorder and the practice of every kind of evil. But the wisdom from above is in the first place pure; and then peace-loving, considerate and sincere, rich in compassion and in deeds of kindness that are its fruit. Peace is the seed-bed of righteousness, and the peacemakers will reap its harvest.
Psalm 19:7-14 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
7 The law of the LORD is perfect and revives the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent.
8 The statutes of the LORD are just and rejoice the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear and gives light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean and endures forever;
the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold,
sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb.
11 By them also is your servant enlightened,
and in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can tell how often he offends?
cleanse me from my secret faults.
13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me;
then shall I be whole and sound,
and innocent of a great offense.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.
Mark 9:14-29 (Revised English Bible):
When they came back to the disciples they saw a large crowd surrounding them and scribes arguing with them. As soon as they saw Jesus the whole crowd were overcome with awe and ran forward to welcome him. He asked them,
What is this argument about?
A man in the crowd spoke up:
Teacher, I brought my son for you to cure. He is possessed by a spirit that makes him dumb. Whenever it attacks him, it flings him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, grinds this teeth, and goes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.
Jesus answered:
What an unbelieving generation! How long shall I be with you? How long must I endure you? Bring him to me.
And they brought the boy to him; and as soon as the spirit saw him it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell on the ground and rolled about foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked his father,
How long has he been like this?
He replied,
From childhood; it has often tried to destroy him by throwing him into the fire or into water. But if it is at all possible for you, take pity on us and help us.
Jesus said,
It is possible! Everything is possible to one who believes.
At once the boy’s father cried:
I believe; help my unbelief.
When Jesus saw that the crowd was closing in on him, he spoke sternly to the unclean spirit.
Deaf and dumb spirit,
he said,
I command you, come out of him and never go back!
It shrieked aloud and threw the boy into repeated convulsions, and then came out, leaving him like a corpse; in fact, many said,
He is dead.
But Jesus took hold of his hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up.
Then Jesus went indoors, and his disciples asked him privately,
Why could we not drive it out?
He said,
This kind cannot be driven out except by prayer.
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The Collect:
O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
–Matthew 5:3, New Living Translation, First Edition (1996)
The traditional English-language rendering is, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…,” but what I have quoted above cuts to the chase nicely. And it relates to our reading from Mark 9.
Today we would diagnose the boy’s problem in organic terms; we would identify a disease he had. In the times of Jesus, however, the commonly held understanding was that spirits caused epilepsy and other ailments. So that was how the story’s author described the reality of the events. None of that pertains to what interests me there, however. No, I care more about this line:
I believe; help my unbelief.
To believe, in biblical terms, is to trust. So the line should be,
I trust; help my lack of trust.
Does this not describe us at least some of the time? Jesus accepted the trust the father had to offer. Likewise, Jesus accepts the trust we have to offer. Jesus gave the father good reason to trust more. And he gives us good reasons to trust more.
In a dog-eat-dog world in which “Do unto others before they do unto you” seems like the Golden Rule to many people, where laying aside jealousies and rivalries is “being soft,” a negative thing is some quarters, do we trust in Jesus, divine love incarnate? Do we listen and obey the call of the Hebrew prophets ringing down through the ages and off the pages of Scripture, the call to trust God more than wealth and instruments of warfare? Are we afraid of being “soft,” or do we trust in God, who is strong?
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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Genesis 9:1-17 (Revised English Bible):
God blessed Noah and his sons; he said to them,
Be fruitful and increase in numbers, and fill the earth. Fear and dread of you will come on all the animals on earth, on all the birds of the air, on everything that moves on the ground, and on all fish in the sea; they are made subject to you. Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you; I give them all to you, as I have given you every green plant. But you must never eat flesh with its life still in it, that is the blood. And further, for your life-blood I shall demand satisfaction; from every animal I shall require it, and from human beings also I shall require satisfaction for the death of their fellows.
“Anyone who sheds human blood,
for that human being his blood will be shed;
because in the image of God
has God made human beings.”
Be fruitful, then, and increase in number; people the earth and rule over it.
God said to Noah and his sons:
I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, all birds and cattle, all the animals with you on earth, all that have come out of the ark. I shall sustain my covenant with you: never again will all living creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood, never again will there be a flood to lay waste the earth.
God said,
For all generations to come, this is the sign which I am giving of the covenant between myself and you and all living creatures with you:
my bow I set in the clouds
to be a sign of the covenant
between myself and the earth.
When I bring clouds over the earth,
the rainbow will appear in the clouds.
Then I shall remember the covenant which I have made with you and all living creatures, and never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all creation. Whenever the bow appears in the cloud, I shall see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and living creatures of every kind on earth.
So God said to Noah,
This is the sign of the covenant which I have established with all that lives on earth.
Psalm 102:15-22 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
15 The nations shall fear your Name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For the LORD will build up Zion,
and his glory will appear.
17 He will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless;
he will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation,
so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD.
19 For the LORD looked down from his holy place on high;
from the heavens he beheld the earth;
20 That he might hear the groan of the captive
and set free those condemned to die;
21 That they may declare in Zion the Name of the LORD,
and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together,
and the kingdoms also, to serve the LORD.
Mark 8:27-33 (Revised English Bible):
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples,
Who do people say that I am?
They answered,
Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others one of the prophets.
He asked,
And you, who do you say that I am?
Peter replied,
You are the Messiah.
Then he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him; and he began to teach them that the Son of Man had to endure great suffering, and to be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; to be put to death, and to rise again three days afterwards. He spoke about it plainly. At this Peter took hold of him and began to rebuke him. But Jesus, turning and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter.
Out of my sight, Satan!
he said.
You think as men think, not as God thinks.
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The Collect:
O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; 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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In the Southern United States, my native region, we have a saying: “God bless him (or her).” I apply this to Simon Peter. “God bless him.”
The author of the Gospel of Mark states of Jesus that “He spoke about it plainly.” “It” refers to his impending arrest, torture, execution, and resurrection. Recall that Jesus had spoken of another matter in metaphors just a few verses before, and the Apostles did understand then. Now, that our Lord and Savior has laid metaphors aside and begun to use plain Aramaic, the Apostles are just as dense. They hear his words, but they do not like them. “Surely Jesus cannot mean this, can he? No, this cannot be.” This is my paraphrase of what Apostles, namely Peter, must have thought.
The prevailing concept of Messiahship was that the Messiah would be the conquering hero who would expel the Roman occupiers. This is understandable; who likes to live in his or her home, under foreign domination? One of the messages in the Gospel of Mark is this: The role of the Messiah is not to conquer, but to suffer, die, and rise again. This is Messiah 101.
God does not think as we do, so attempting to follow God carries the risk of getting it wrong. This was Peter’s situation, “God bless him.” Yet consider what he became. How is that for grace?
God is gracious, as the reading from Genesis makes plain. God establishes a covenant with people and does not require anything of us; this is about what God will do and will not do. God will be gracious to us, and the symbol (because we like visuals) is a rainbow. Professor Richard Elliott Friedman quotes Rabbi Martin Lawson regarding this sign: The rainbow symbolizes the covenant with Noah because it is “a bow pointed away from the earth.” The origin of the name rainbow in English and Hebrew derives from the fact that the rainbow has the same shape as a bow used to shoot arrows. The arrows are pointed away from earth.
The presence of Jesus on the earth is likewise an indication of grace. God is on our side. Are we on God’s side? (God bless us.)
