Peeking behind the Law of Moses is a spiritually helpful practice. Some commandments in the Law of Moses are timeless principles. Others, however, are culturally specific examples. Failure to recognize between an example bound by time and space and a timeless principle leads to legalism.
Reading Galatians 3:1-11 and Matthew 5:13-20 together is quite helpful. We read that Jesus never objected to the Law of Moses, but to the misinterpretation, bad teaching, and flawed execution of it. That also seems to have been an objection of St. Paul the Apostle.
The other readings pertain to oppression. We read of violations of one timeless principle in the Law of Moses–do not exploit anyone. We read of religious figures and royal officials who were predators of the weak and vulnerable. Alas, this problem is as current in 2018 as it was in antiquity. So is the sin of certain religious figures supporting those predatory potentates and officials.
The timeless principles of the Law of Moses continue to condemn those who sin thusly. Indeed, apart from variations on themes, there is nothing new under the sun.
Do we condemn or condone such perfidy?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 21, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, AND JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH, COMPOSERS
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF FLÜE AND HIS GRANDSON, SAINT CONRAD SCHEUBER, SWISS HERMITS
THE FEAST OF SAINT SERAPION OF THMUIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON, ENGLISH MUSIC EDUCATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER
That verse from Psalm 138 works well in a lectionary with his pericope from Judges 3, the story of chieftain Othniel of Kerizzite. Living among and intermarrying with polytheistic Gentiles had led to idolatry and other offenses, the text tells us, and King Cushan-rishathaim (literally “Dark double-wickedness”) of Aram-naharaim (in upper Mesopotamia) oppressed the Israelites. The people cried out to God, who selected Othniel to liberate them, and peace and holiness reigned for a few decades, until people repeated the cycle.
Repentance is turning around spiritually–something which proved to be a temporary turn for many people in the Book of Judges. Is that not an accurate description for many of we mere mortals? We turn away from sin and toward God then turn away from God again. Repentance was among the components of our Lord and Savior’s teaching. Repentance remains a germane topic, for human nature, with all of its virtues and vices, is constant over time.
May we, by grace, turn 180 degrees toward God and remain there, not turn 180 degrees again, thereby returning to where we had been before we repented.
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:
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
And sometimes one ought to act faithfully, not just be still faithfully. In the case of the Book of Ruth, for example, people were active, not passive. There was more going on than children’s Sunday School lessons (and even many, if not most, adult Sunday School lessons) admit, for that activity entailed seduction before love became a reality. As Jennifer Wright Knust writes in Unprotected Texts:
To the writer of Ruth, family can consist of an older woman and her beloved immigrant daughter-in-law, women can easily raise children on their own, and men can be seduced if it serves the interests of women.
–page 33
And, as Krust writes on page 35, the emotional bond and subsequent covenant between Ruth and Naomi helped both of them and Israel as a whole. I add that it has helped many subsequent generations all over the world due its role in the genealogy of Jesus.
Family–not in the sense of marriage or ancestry–unites the readings for these three days. The ethic of mutual responsibility (part of the Law of Moses) runs through the New Testament also. The more fortunate, who ought not to depend on their wealth in lieu of God, have responsibilities to the less fortunate. Philemon had responsibilities to Onesimus, who was not necessarily a slave or even a fugitive. (A very close reading of the text–one passage in particular–in the Greek raises serious questions about the traditional understanding).
This notion of mutual responsibility and the opinion of wealth one finds in Luke and James are profoundly counter-cultural in my North American setting, where rugged individualism and the quest for wealth are accepted values. Yet with mutual responsibility comes inderdependence. And the quest for enough wealth for one’s present and future needs, although laudable, becomes insatiable greed for some people. Such greed is socially destructive, denying others enough. There is always enough for everyone in God’s economy; scarcity is a feature of human, sinful economic systems.
May we, by grace, act faithfully and effectively to reduce such sinfulness where we are. And, if we have not fallen into greed, may we not do so. If we have, may we confess and repent of it.
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)
Job could have cursed God, with some justification. The Book of Job does tell us that God sanctioned Job’s sufferings. Yet Job cursed the day of his birth. And John the Baptist could have identified himself as the Chosen One of God. Many people would not have known the difference between such a claim and the truth. Yet each figure acted according to an internalized sense of integrity.
How we behave when few others would know truth from fiction or nobody is watching indicates much about our integrity. This principle extends far beyond individualistic issues; it applies to questions such as how our actions affect the environment. (Environmental stewardship is a biblical mandate.) And the problems of others are also ours, as ours are theirs. We human beings are social creatures, thus what one person does affects others. Simply striving to treat others as people who bear the image of God (which they are) can lead one to violate social conventions and cause trouble for one. As a student of civil rights history, I know that segregation was the social order in the South. Thus resisting it could be risky, to state the case mildly.
The highest state of morality is following internalized morality instead of the consensus. May you, O reader, demonstrate integrity and morality of the highest order.
Until the next segment of our journey….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 13, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT HERMENEGILD, VISIGOTHIC PRINCE AND ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT HUGH OF ROUEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP, ABBOT, AND MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARTIN I, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF MIKAEL AGRICOLA, FINNISH LUTHERAN BISHOP OF TALLINN
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.
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.
Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a parched garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
Psalm 112 (New Revised Standard Version):
Praise the LORD!
Happy are those who fear the LORD,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
The descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
They rise in the darkness, as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
It is well with those who deal graciously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered forever.
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn is exalted in honor.
The wicked see it and are angry;
they gnash their teeth and melt away;
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16) (New Revised Standard Version):
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
What no eye has seen, nor eye heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him–
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. [And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.
Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.
For who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ.]
Matthew 5:13-20 (New Revised Standard Version):
Jesus said,
You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Collect:
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Once I concluded a Saturday afternoons-only World History II course with a classroom screening of The Battle of Algiers, the great Italian film about asymmetrical urban warfare between French and Algerian forces in Algiers, Algeria, in 1956 and 1957. Filmed in 1965 and released the following year, this movie shows how French and Algerian forces took turns attacking each other, always with lethal results, often the death of innocent people who were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of my students commented during our discussion time that the cycle of violence was pointless. She was correct. Mohandas Gandhi stated that “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” rule leads to a world full of blind and toothless people.
The readings for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A, flow naturally from those for the Fourth Sunday. Likewise my thoughts for the Fifth Sunday fit well with those for the Fourth Sunday. My thoughts for the Fifth Sunday are these:
To the extent that we are bound by our sins we have ourselves to blame. The rope we use to tie up ourselves and each other most often is fear. Many pundits, politicians, and well-meaning people who sit around “country kitchen” restaurant tables most mornings drinking coffee and pretending to solve the problems of the world tell us that we need to be afraid–very afraid. They tell us to fear those who disagree with us, and not to cooperate with them, even on matters of agreement. They say that we must fear those who are different from us, whether linguistically, racially, ethnically, culturally, or according to another criterion.
There are dangerous people in the world, of course, and therefore legitimate reasons for healthy fear. Some people want to kill, wound, or maim others, for example. Certain individuals lack any conscience. They are truly bad men and women. Yet in this devotion I write of irrational, ideological, destructive, and needless apprehension. That is my focus for now.
So certain media outlets–such as websites, radio shows, and television programs and channels–attract large audiences and reap huge profit margins by scaring people and spreading rumors. Some politicians spread lies, which many of their constituents are willing to believe. And the common good suffers.
All this runs contrary to love. When we cease to fear each other needlessly and begin listen to each other and to help each other as able we find that we have more in common than we might have suspected previously. We realize that the other person is really human, too. We discover common ground upon which to build and to enact actions for the common good. Disagreements will continue, but they need not lead to hostility. Besides, no mere mortal is correct or incorrect about everything. And this can help facilitate righteousness and bring us closer to the mind of Christ.
Above: The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, by Caravaggio, 1608
God is With the Righteous (Even When Appearances Seem to Indicate Otherwise)
FEBRUARY 5, 2021
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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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