Moses and Aaron had been leaders of the Israelite community in the desert for decades. Both of them had, however, rebelled against God. Their penalty was never to enter the Promised Land. Aaron died, and a son became the next priest. Moses passed the torch of leadership to Joshua son of Nun before dying. God’s work continued via different people.
Saul of Tarsus had also rebelled against God before God intervened directly and Saul became St. Paul the Apostle, one of the greatest and most influential Christian theologians and evangelists. The Apostle’s life after his conversion was much more hazardous than it had been prior to his fateful journey to Damascus. Apart from biography, perhaps the greatest difference between Moses and Aaron on one hand and St. Paul on the other hand was that Moses and Aaron rebelled against God while on duty for God. St. Paul was a reformed rebel. Richard Elliott Friedman wrote,
Leaders of a congregation cannot violate the very instruction that they uphold and teach to others.
—Commentary on the Torah with a New English Translation and the Hebrew Text (2001), page 497
Or rather, they can violate that instruction yet may not do so.
A leader is one whom others follow. If one thinks that one might be a leader, one should turn around and see if anybody is following one. If no person is following one, one is merely walking.
With leadership comes the responsibility to lead well. Among the best forms of leadership is setting a good example. Hypocrisy creates scandal much of the time and weakens one’s ability to lead properly. For example, one who condemns gambling (a good thing to criticize) yet frequents casinos or a casino and gets caught doing so justly loses credibility.
Are you a leader, O reader? If so, may you lead well, as God directs you, for the glory of God and the benefit of those who follow you.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 9, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DENIS, BISHOP OF PARIS, AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS
THE FEAST OF SAINT LUIS BERTRAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY PRIEST
THE FEAST OF ROBERT GROSSETESTE, SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF WILHELM WEXELS, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR; HIS NIECE, MARIE WEXELSEN, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN NOVELIST AND HYMN WRITER; LUDWIG LINDEMAN, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN ORGANIST AND MUSICOLOGIST; AND MAGNUS LANDSTAD, NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER, FOLKLORIST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
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:
Isaiah 46:1-13
Psalm 147:1-11, 20
Matthew 12:9-14
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Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God!
how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!
–Psalm 147:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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An idol is anything (tangible or otherwise) which takes the place of God in one’s life. Thus an idol can be a doctrine, an activity, an object, or a figment of one’s imagination. It need not necessarily be bad; it can be inherently neutral, in fact, for how we think of it makes it an idol. I am convinced that the Bible is frequently an idol, given how many people put it in the place of God. The sacred anthology ought, of course, to function as an icon–something through which one sees God.
We read of two different types of idols in the lessons for today. There are old school false deities and images thereof in Isaiah 46. Monotheism took a long time to take hold among the Hebrews, hence the many condemnations of idolatry in the Old Testament. Our Lord and Savior confronted the idol of legalism in Matthew 12:9-14, for he healed on the Sabbath. Rules said that he should have done that on another day. To save a life and to provide the most minimal first aid on the Sabbath were “legal,” but healing was not. Yet, as Jesus demonstrated every day is a good day to perform a good deed.
I suspect that legalists think of themselves as righteous seekers after God. They are simply following the rules, I think they tell themselves. Yet they mistake the means for the end. And, as a result, they often oppose compassionate deeds on a technicality. As I wrote in the previous post, alleged orthodoxy means far less than sound orthopraxy. And, if God is love, is not compassion sound orthopraxy?
May we reject all idols, including those which seem to be of God.
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
Ritualism, in and of itself, is positive. It, paired with lived faith in God–the kind of faith which finds expression in, among other things, an active concern for what James 3:18 (The New Jerusalem Bible) calls
a harvest of justice,
is consistent with the witness of Hebrew prophets who decried judicial and political corruption and economic exploitation. In fact, the instructions for the house of worship in the Law of Moses indicate a space designed for ritualism. But the Law of Moses (when it does not call for stoning people or reflect a negative view of female biology) speaks of lived holiness for the community.
Many activities are positive. Among these is washing one’s hands before eating–certainly a sanitary action. Yet sanitation was not the concern Jesus addressed in Mark 7. No, our Lord and Savior discussed tradition for its own sake and the sake of making some people appear holier than others. He knew that washing hands could not purify one’s self-righteous attitude. So rituals ought not to function as totems, which people imagine vainly will protect them from the wrath of God or merely from the consequences of their bad deeds and sins of omission.
May each of us engage in good deeds and rituals.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 10, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN LEONARDI, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF THE MOTHER OF GOD; AND SAINT JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS, FOUNDER OF THE CLERKS REGULAR OF RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS
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)
My discomfort with Zechariah and Titus continues. (See link.) As for the former, God’s reign of holiness arrives only after rapes, battles, and plagues. And, in Titus, instructions for slaves to obey their masters coexist with a beautiful summary of God’s saving love. When one thinks that Christ might return soon, reforming one’s society and emancipating slaves seems unimportant, I suppose. But that was nearly 2,000 years ago. History has rendered its verdict, has it not?
To be holy is to be “called out.” In the name of being holy many people have committed and/or condoned violence. In the name of being holy many people have looked down upon their neighbors. In the name of being holy many people have obsessed over minor details–such as ritually pure pots, long skirts, and short hair–while ignoring social injustice, such as racism and economic exploitation.
The kindness and love of God our Saviour for humanity (Titus 3:4, The New Jerusalem Bible)
requires us to move, by grace, toward thinking of our fellow human beings in those terms. Thus the length of a skirt or one’s hair ought to matter less than whether the courts are corrupt or economic exploitation is a current problem. I think of Philip Yancey’s comments about the Bible college he attended in the 1960s. Civil rights were not on the agenda, but his hair had to be short and women’s skirts had to be long. And, judging from pictures of Jesus, the Lord’s haircut would have kept him out of the college.
Holiness ought to be a high standard, not a petty one.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 12, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALFRED LEE, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
THE FEAST OF ALAN PATON, NOVELIST AND WITNESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS IN SOUTH AFRICA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JULIUS I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM OF OCKHAM, PHILOSOPHER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN, SOCIAL ACTIVIST
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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1 Kings 3:3-15 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father; only he sacrificed and burnt incense at the high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings upon that altar. At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said,
Ask what I shall give you.
And Solomon said,
You have shown great and merciful love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart before you; and you have kept for him this great and merciful love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this great people of yours?
It pleased the LORD that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him,
Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.
And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Then he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings and peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.
Psalm 119:9-16 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
9 How shall a young man cleanse his way?
By keeping to your words.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your promise in my heart,
that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD;
instruct me in your statutes.
13 With my lips will I recite
all the judgments of your mouth.
14 I have taken greater delight in the way of your decrees
than in all manner of riches.
15 I will meditate on your commandments
and give attention to your ways.
16 My delight is in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Mark 6:30-34 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them,
Come away by yourselves to a quiet place, and rest a while.
For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. As he landed he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
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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.
This famous account, actually a dream sequence, occurs at the beginning of Solomon’s nearly forty-year reign. It is a significant dream, unlike the few which I have and recall afterward. Those dreams I do remember usually fall into the category of “My brain was blowing off steam and conflating events, occasionally with science fiction.” I seem to do my best thinking while conscious.
Solomon, however, seemed to do better while unconscious. Already, in 1 Kings 2, he has killed a half-brother, a rival for the throne. And, later in 1 Kings, Solomon will have severe lapses in judgment, usually involving the intersection of women and foreign relations. Solomon, the son, stood in the shadow of his father, whom he surpassed in some ways. And, after Solomon, the kingdom went downhill, largely due to his policies regarding building projects, labor, and taxation to fund these.
Solomon should have stayed on the path of wisdom. His father, David, was tending sheep when the prophet Samuel arrived under the cover story of coming to sacrifice to the LORD–with Jesse and the sons. King David, when he did his job well, was a good national shepherd. This was Solomon’s vocation, one at which he failed on a large scale. He could have said what King Louis XV of France did: “After me, the deluge.” Rehoboam fared better than did Louis XVI, but the kingdom of Saul, David, and Solomon did come apart.
I cannot help but think about all of this when reading 1 Kings 3. Solomon had an opportunity to do well, but he squandered it. The fact of his existence indicated that his father had really strayed from the laws of God at times, but none of that mattered in 1 Kings 3. Solomon had a golden opportunity, and meant well at the time, but….
May we recognize opportunities God grants us, seek to use them for the common good, and, by grace, succeed. Mindful of human weaknesses and the corresponding need for support and encouragement, may we uphold each other in these vocations. And may we, who are not in positions of power, pray for those who are, that they may know good from evil, wise from foolish, and choose the the good and the wise, and act accordingly, for the common good.
Above: The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, by Caravaggio, 1608
God is With the Righteous (Even When Appearances Seem to Indicate Otherwise)
FEBRUARY 3, 2023
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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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Hebrews 13:1-8 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for God will judge the immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said,
I will never fail you or forsake you.
Hence we can confidently say,
The Lord is my helper,
I will not be afraid;
what can man do to me?
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.
Psalm 27:1-13 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear?
the LORD is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh,
it was they, my foes and my adversaries, who stumbled and fell.
3 Though an army should encamp against me,
yet my heart shall not be afraid;
4 And though war should rise up against me,
yet will I put my trust in him.
5 One thing I asked of the LORD;
one thing I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life;
6 To behold the fair beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
7 For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter;
he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling
and set me high upon a rock.
8 Even now he lifts up my head
above my enemies round about me.
9 Therefore I will offer in his dwelling an oblation with sounds of great gladness;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
10 Hearken to my voice, O LORD, when I call;
have mercy on me and answer me.
11 You speak in my heart and say, “Seek my face.”
Your face, LORD, will I seek.
12 Hide not your face from me,
nor turn away your servant in displeasure.
13 You have been my helper;
cast me not away;
do not forsake me, O God of my salvation.
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.
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A link to my thoughts for the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (August 29):
The reading from Hebrews is pleasant enough. It contains sage advice on how we can live together harmoniously in society before it makes the famous statement about the unchanging nature of Christ. The portion of the psalm is pleasant, also, reinforcing the excerpt from Hebrews.
Then we arrive at the Gospel reading, which tells of disturbing events. The author of Mark has framed the execution of St. John the Baptist as a flashback. The present day of the reading has Herod Antipas, the Roman client ruler of the Galilee, hearing about the wonders of Jesus and thinking that St. John the Baptist, whom he has had killed, has risen from the dead. The flashback part of the story tells of how Herod Antipas had married Herodias, the niece of his late half-brother, Alexander, and former wife of his brother, Philip Herod I. (Think then, what that makes Salome, the daughter of Herodias, in relation to Herod Antipas, other than daughter-in-law.) St. John the Baptist is in prison for speaking the truth, which is that this marriage is incestuous. Herodias is spiteful and capable of murder; Herod Antipas, who leers erotically at Salome’s dancing, is more concerned with notions of public honor than sparing a life; and Salome seems to be a willing pawn in her mother’s plot.
I wonder how much better events would have played out had Herodias, Salome, and Herod Antipas lived in accordance with the advice in Hebrews 13:1-8. That text did not exist at the time, but the principles did.
The text of Psalm 27 says that God protects the faithful, but St. John the Baptist died the way he did. What are we supposed to make of this? The theology in some of the psalms is overly simplistic, if not optimistic, in places: God will protect the faithful, the righteous will prosper, and the evil will meet their doom. But have you looked around the world recently or read history? Liars and cheaters win, courts convict both the innocent and the guilty, both the righteous and the unrighteous prosper and stumble, and dictators execute political prisoners. Perhaps the most generous assessment of some of the theology of Psalms (and Proverbs) is that it is true in the long term, perhaps even the afterlife.
Back in this life, meanwhile, evil wins much of the time.
But, as Voltaire wrote, “Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.” Consider the cases of jailed civil rights activists in the Deep South of the United States in the 1960s. These were nonviolent people who challenged the racial status quo. For their troubles local authorities arrested and jailed them. Without resorting to unpleasant and graphic details, I assure you, O reader, that Southern jails, especially in Mississippi, were hellholes and places where guards delighted in humiliating these brave men and women. Yet faith lifted the spirits of these incarcerated activists. Many prisoners sang so much and so happily that they irritated and angered those who had jailed them. They were incarcerated, yet they were free because they chose to be free and because they tapped into their deep faith.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has retired recently from public life, tells the story of a Nazi guard and a Jew during the Holocaust. The guard was forcing the Jew to clean an especially disgusting toilet. “Where is your God now?” the guard asked the Jew. “With me in the muck,” the Jew replied.
Where was God when St. John the Baptist was languishing in prison and as he died? God was with the saint. And where was God when the guards raped and humiliated civil rights activists during the 1960s? God was with the activists. Jesus said that many would suffer for the sake of righteousness, but that they would not be alone. This promise holds true today, despite any appearances to the contrary.
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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