I know that the portion of Psalm 106 I have quoted follows verse 12, but those verses seem more applicable to the readings from Judges 4 and 5 than Psalm 106:1-12. If I had quoted from the first 12 verses of Psalm 106 I would have selected verse 10, set in the context of the Exodus from Egypt:
He rescued them from their foes,
he reclaimed them from enemy hands.
–Harry Mowvley translation
The story in Judges 4 and 5 is consistent with a motif in that book:
The Israelites have fallen into pervasive sin.
YHWH permits a foreign group to oppress the Israelites.
The Israelites cry out to YHWH.
YHWH sends a leader or leaders to resist the oppressors.
The oppression ceases.
The Israelites follow God for a time.
The cycle repeats.
As a note in The Jewish Study Bible–Second Edition (2014) informs me, nowhere does the text of Judges 4 and 5 identify any of the human protagonists–Deborah the prophetess, Barak the army commander, and Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite–as the deliverer of the Israelites. Each of those individuals played a crucial role in the liberation, but God delivered the Israelites from oppression. That theme occurs elsewhere in the Book of Judges and other portions of the Bible, as in the Exodus and the end of the Babylonian Exile.
A motif in the Bible is that God works through people much of the time. These might be upstanding individuals or they might be scoundrels, at least on their bad days. Some of these instruments of God are not even believers. These realities point toward the power and sovereignty of God.
As much as I find Martin Luther to have been a morally troublesome character, his theology of relying on the faithfulness of God is beyond reproach. We who follow God are children of God, members of the household of God, so we ought to act boldly and confidently in righteousness. Such righteous confidence should banish faithless and selfish fears (distinct from well-reasoned fears, such as that of touching hot surfaces), enabling us to love our neighbors (both near and far) selflessly. We have the spiritual armor of God, of which St. Paul the Apostle or someone writing in his name imagined as being like the armor of a Roman soldier. Every piece of the armor is God’s. If it is good enough for God, it is good enough for mere mortals. After the reading from Ephesians 6 comes this advice:
Constantly ask God’s help in prayer, and pray always in the power of the Spirit.
–Ephesians 6:18, The Revised English Bible (1989)
After all, we depend on God’s power, not our own.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MATTHEW THE EVANGELIST, APOSTLE AND MARTYR
Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus Christ, most merciful redeemer,
for the countless blessings and benefits you give.
May we know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly,
day by day praising you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 22
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The Assigned Readings:
1 Samuel 9:27-10:8 (Monday)
1 Samuel 15:10-31 (Tuesday)
Psalm 86 (Both Days)
2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 (Monday)
Acts 5:1-11 (Tuesday)
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Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth;
knit my heart to you that I may fear your name.
–Psalm 86:11, Common Worship (2000)
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The assigned readings for these two days pertain to the theme of commitment to God.
The lessons from 1 Samuel tell us of King Saul of Israel. We read first of God choosing him and Samuel anointing him. In Chapter 15 we find one account of God and Samuel rejecting the monarch for violating the rules of holy war. Saul’s army did not kill enough people and destroy enough property, apparently. (1 Samuel 15 does not reflect my understanding of God.) Two facts attract my attention:
Saul simultaneously seeks forgiveness and shifts the blame.
1 Samuel 13 contains a different account of God and Samuel rejecting Saul. There the monarch’s offense is to usurp the priest’s duty. Making an offering to God properly was a major issue in the Old Testament, for some people died because they made offerings improperly.
When we turn to the New Testament readings we find fatal lack of commitment in Acts 5 and a stern Pauline warning regarding human relationships in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1. The unified message of the pericopes is to commit to God–not to be content with half measures. We should, I propose, feel free to ask questions about people dying because of deception in Acts 5 and why Saul’s offense in 1 Samuel 15 was such a bad thing to have done, for asking intelligent questions is not a faithless act. Nevertheless, I recall the words of Jesus to a man who used an excuse to refuse our Lord and Savior’s call to discipleship. Christ said:
Once the hand is laid on the plow, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
–Luke 9:62, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
At that point in the Lukan narrative Jesus was en route to Jerusalem for the climactic week of Passover. He was neither offering nor accepting excuses. Who dares offer one?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 20, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF RICHARD WATSON GILDER, U.S. POET, JOURNALIST, AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF HENRY FRANCIS LYTE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF LEO TOLSTOY, NOVELIST
THE FEAST OF SAINT MECHTILD OF MAGDEBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC MYSTIC
These readings teach about sacred vocation–the vocation to walk with God, to be a light in the world, and even to convert adversaries when possible. It is a vocation which one ignores at the peril of oneself and the health of one’s society. Indeed, society is just people, so enough people can change society.
And, if one feels unqualified, that is because one is not qualified for the great tasks God has assigned to one. Jeremiah was young. Gideon’s army was too small. The eleven surviving Apostles had feet of clay. St. Paul the Apostle had a difficult personality. Rahab was a prostitute. And Jacob/Israel was a trickster. I could continue, but I trust that I have made my point plainly.
Each of us has weaknesses and strengths inside self. And each of us has access to a much greater strength–God, who works through people much of the time. Furthermore, strengths can emerge from weaknesses. If that is not evidence of grace, I do not know what is.
So, O reader, what is God calling and empowering you to do?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 3, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ARTHUR CARL LICHTENBERGER, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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)
The Ezekiel and Romans readings function best when one reads them continuously. Lectionaries are useful, but sometimes they are too choppy.
We begin with the lessons from Ezekiel. Exiles will return to their ancestral homeland; that is one meaning of the Valley of Dry Bones. Another traditional interpretation infers the resurrection of the dead before the last judgment. I see no reason that is flawed. But, as a narrative matter, the former reading of the text takes me my next point, which is that, in the homeland, God and the people will commune:
I will make a covenant of friendship with them–it shall be an everlasting covenant with them–I will establish them, and I will place My Sanctuary among them forever. My Presence shall rest over them; I will be their God and they shall be My People. And when My Sanctuary abides among them forever, the nations shall now that I the LORD do sanctify Israel.
–Ezekiel 37:26-28, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
What Ezekiel understood as the Second Temple applies nicely to Jesus, in whom we have reconciliation with God, in whom our offenses are lifted from us and through whom we have justification. It is in Jesus that we are free from slavery to sin. Voltaire said that we human beings are free as we choose to be. If we choose to give ourselves over to someone’s authority, we lose a measure of freedom. And even coercion cannot deprive a person of inner freedom if he or she opts to retain it. Mohandas Gandhi was a free man in some prison cells, for example. Likewise, if we choose to enslave ourselves to sin and shame, we have ourselves to blame. But, if we seek liberty in Christ, we have grace and enough free will to choose to follow him to thank.
One of the most difficult forms of slavery to break is that of honor and shame. What others think of us does affect us, so we have to care about that somewhat. What other people say about influences whether we obtain certain employment (or keep it), for example. Yet the most important assessment comes from God. May the divine assessment be,
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 Samuel 3:1-20 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down within the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called,
Samuel! Samuel!
and he said,
Here I am!
and ran to Eli, and said,
Here I am, for you called me.
But he said,
I did not call; lie down again.
So he went and lay down. And the LORD called again,
Samuel!
And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said,
Here I am, for you called me.
But he said,
I did not call, my son; lie down again.
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said,
Here I am, for you called me.
Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel,
Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.”
So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
And the LORD came and stood forth, calling us at other times,
Samuel! Samuel!
And Samuel said,
Speak, for your servant hears.
Then the LORD said to Samuel,
Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel, at which the two ears of every one that hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken against his house, from beginning to end. And I tell him that I am about to punish his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering for ever.
Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said,
Samuel, my son.
And he said,
Here I am.
And Eli said,
What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.
So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said,
It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him.
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
Psalm 40 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 I waited patiently upon the LORD;
he stooped to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;
he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God;
many shall see, and stand in awe,
and put their trust in the LORD.
4 Happy are they who trust in the LORD!
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.
5 Great things are they that you have done, O LORD my God!
how great your wonders and your plans for us!
there is none who can be compared with you.
6 Oh, that I could make them known and tell them!
but they are more than I can count.
7 In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure
(you have given me ears to hear you);
8 Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required,
and so I said, “Behold I come.
9 In the roll of the book it is written concerning me:
‘I love to do your will, O my God;
your law is deep in my heart.’”
10 I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation;
behold, I did not restrain my lips;
and that, O LORD, you know.
Mark 1:29-39 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
And immediately he left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him of her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them.
That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered together about the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak because they knew him.
And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him followed him, and they found him and said to him,
Every one is searching for you.
And he said to them,
Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.
And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
So Hannah had her child. The rest of the story, as we read it in 1 Samuel, is that, after a few years, she left Samuel to live with Eli, the high priest of the Hebrews, at Shiloh. Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, but they would not succeed their father. According to 1 Samuel 2:17, they “treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.” There would be an heir, however; Samuel went on to succeed Eli as high priest.
This was the call of God on the life of Samuel; it surprised him. Even the method of the call shocked the young man.
Once, more years ago than I choose to admit here, I encountered a woman who said that God was speaking to her at that time. She might have been correct. I have never heard a disembodied voice of God, but I have encountered messages from God in several ways: via people, nature, the Bible, and “secular” literature and classical music. (I think of the line separating the sacred from the secular as being more porous than many people imagine it.)
How is God calling you? And what is God saying? May you listen, understand, and obey.
