And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying “What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
–Mark 1:28, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition (2002)
One may legitimately question whether Christ’s action in Mark 1:21-28 constituted a teaching. Assuming that it was, was it a new teaching?
Despite traditional Christian attempts to divorce Jesus from Judaism, one would have had a difficult time finding someone more Jewish than Jesus of Nazareth. Judaism was not monolithic two millennia ago. (Neither is it monolithic today.) Jesus was a man of his culture, place, and faith. With ease he quoted Deuteronomy, the various Isaiahs, and Rabbi Hillel. There was continuity from the Hebrew Bible (as in the Ten Commandments, repeated in Deuteronomy 5) to Jesus.
There is much continuity from the Hebrew Bible to the New Testament. The teaching to walk, not just talk, the talk, is present in both, as in the context of the Ten Commandments and the Letter of James. The theme of trusting in God, who cares about us (as in Psalm 40), is also present in the New Testament. As one considers the lilies of the field, one may recall that Job had a different opinion in Job 3. If each of us lives long enough, each of us also sometimes thinks that God does not care about us.
Occasionally, at the Oconee Campus of the University of North Georgia, where I teach, someone from a campus ministry politely asks me if I believe in God. I ask this person what he or she means, for the answer depends on the question. Many people used “believe in God” to mean “affirm the existence of God,” but belief, in the creedal sense, is trust. My answer is that I always affirm the existence of God and usually trust in God.
I (usually) trust in God, incarnate in the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth, whose teachings were mostly old, in continuity with the Hebrew Bible. The Golden Rule and the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) are old, for example.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 13, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MILTON SMITH LITTLEFIELD, JR., U.S. PRESBYTERIAN AND CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
THE FEAST OF SIGISMUND VON BIRKEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, U.S. POET, JOURNALIST, AND HYMN WRITER
Grace is free yet certainly not cheap. Also, most, if not all people might have their price, but God has none. We find this theme in Numbers 22 and 23, in which Balaam, despite having his price, obeys God. We also find this theme in Acts 8, in which Simon Magus offers to purchase the Holy Spirit, succeeding in giving us the word “simony.”
The attitude in Psalm 56:10-13 is preferable: Be loyal to God. And, as we read in Mark 4, what we put in determines what we get out. Grace is free yet not cheap; it requires much of us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JAMES LEWIS MILLIGAN, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCULF OF NANTEUIL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
The Book of Job exists in layers, both prose and poetic. This fact creates complexity in interpreting the text. The best way to interpret the Book of Job is to read it as the composite text it has become. Yes, the core of the poetic section of the Book of Job is its oldest portion, but I read that core in the context of the prose introduction (Chapters 1 and 2). There we read why Job suffers: God permits it to happen as part of a wager with the Satan, his loyalty tester. Job suffers and two cycles of speeches follow. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite take turns arguing that Job’s protestations of his innocence cannot be accurate, for God, being just, would not permit an innocent person to suffer. Job argues against his alleged friends, who cease speaking eventually. Job makes his concluding argument in Chapters 29-31. God answers him in Chapters 38-41, and Job repents in Chapter 42. Then, in the prose epilogue in Chapter 42, God “burns with anger” toward Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar and favors Job.
The speeches of Elihu are obviously not original to the Book of Job. As a matter of the structure of the Book of Job Elihu comes out of nowhere, goes away without any subsequent mention or appearance, and interrupts the narrative, filling the gap between Job’s final argument and God’s reply.
The prose section of Chapter 32 (verses 1-6) tells us that Elihu was angry with the three alleged friends and with Job. He was angry with Job
for thinking that he was right and God was wrong
–Verse 2, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
and with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar
for giving up the argument and thus admitting that God could be unjust.
–Verse 3, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Elihu is, in his words,
filled with words, choked by the rush of them
–Verse 18, The Jerusalem Bible (1966)
within himself.
The Book of Job is also complex theologically. Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu commit the same error. The presume to know how God does and should act. The premise of the Book of Job supports the main character’s claim of innocence, yet not everything the others say is inaccurate. Much of it sounds like portions of the Books of Psalms and Proverbs, after all. And Elihu, as he points fingers, does not err completely in what he says, even as he should justly point a finger at himself.
Do we Christians not speak at length about the love, mercy, and justice of God? Yet does not Job, in the text bearing his name, deserve an honest answer, not the “I am God and you are not” speeches in Chapters 38-41? The theodicy of Elihu, for all its errors, is not complete idiocy.
Psalm 89, which is about the divine covenant with David, alternates between thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness to the monarch and lament for divine renunciation of that covenant before ending on a hopeful note. God has yet to end that renunciation, but the psalm ends:
Blessed be the LORD forever.
Amen and Amen.
–Verse 52, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Hebrews 11:35b-40 tells us that many faithful people of God have suffered, been poor and/or oppressed, and become martyrs.
The world was not worthy of them.
–Verse 38a, The Revised English Bible (1989)
They became beneficiaries of God’s better plan for them, we read in verse 40. Their cases contradict the arguments of Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu. The case of Jesus also contradicts their speeches. We read an example of foreshadowing of his crucifixion in Luke 5:35.
Timothy Matthew Slemmons has stretched Elihu’s speeches across seven Sundays in his proposed Year D. This is therefore the first of seven posts in which I will ponder Elihu’s argument in the context of other portions of scripture. The journey promises to be interesting and spiritually edifying.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SHEPHERD KNAPP, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF GOTTFRIED WILHELM SACER, GERMAN LUTHERAN ATTORNEY AND HYMN WRITER; AND FRANCES ELIZABETH COX, ENGLISH HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN DUCKETT AND RALPH CORBY, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS IN ENGLAND
Underpinning much of the Bible is an ethos of mutuality and of recognition of complete human dependence on God. We are responsible to each other and for each other. We are supposed to support each other in vocations from God, not seek to advance on the proverbial ladder by kicking other people off that ladder. And we ought to act based on the knowledge that everything we have comes from God. There is no such being as a self-made person.
St. Paul the Apostle, writing in Romans 12, likened Christian community to the body of Christ. He meant what he wrote plainly–that Christians are members of each other and that all spiritual gifts are necessary. Nobody in the body of Christ is insignificant and no gift is too small.
God has equipped all people for a productive role or roles in society. One vital function of each person is to help others to fulfill their vocation or vocations as the opportunities to do so present themselves. Whenever I read about a person who has accomplished much, I notice that others helped him or her along the way to one accomplishment or another. Such helpers tend not to receive the credit they should, but they are always essential.
Nehemiah, who left a position in the Persian royal court, was able, with the help of King Artaxerxes I (reigned 465-424 B.C.E.) and many others, most of whose names have not come down to us, to help rebuild Jerusalem. The efforts of those whose labors supported Nehemiah’s project were no less important than Nehemiah’s zeal. The visionary and his helpers were essential, for one without the other would have accomplished nothing.
In the spirit of mutuality we ought to help each other spiritually. Each of us has blind spots in spiritual matters, but others can tell us what occupies them. We also need encouragement to continue to do the right things the right ways. Positive reinforcement is also crucial to maintaining good practices. A third category of mutual spiritual help is providing feedback in the middle ground between “keep doing that” and “stop doing the other thing.” Sometimes we are moving in the right direction yet require advice in how to pursue that path more effectively. Often we have difficulty recognizing our deficiencies in that category also.
A true friend is one who says and does that which one needs, not necessarily what one wants. A “yes man” is not a true friend. Within the bounds of social and ecclesiastical friendship we ought to be true friends to each other. How many of us will fulfill that vocation?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 3, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE EVE OF THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI: PROPER FOR THE GOODNESS OF CREATION
THE FEAST OF THEODOR FLIEDNER, PIONEER OF THE DEACONESS MOVEMENT IN THE LUTHERAN CHURCH
THE FEAST OF GEORGE KENNEDY ALLEN BELL, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF CHICHESTER
THE FEAST OF JOHN RALEIGH MOTT, ECUMENICAL PIONEER
Almighty God, by grace alone you call us and accept us in your service.
Strengthen us by your Spirit, and make us worthy of your call,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 23
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 19:1-15 (Thursday)
Jeremiah 20:7-13 (Friday)
Jeremiah 20:14-18 (Saturday)
Psalm 65:5-12 (All Days)
Revelation 18:11-20 (Thursday)
2 Peter 3:1-7 (Friday)
Luke 10:13-16 (Saturday)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Those who dwell at the ends of the earth tremble at your marvels;
the gates of the morning and evening sing your praise.
–Psalm 65:7, Common Worship (2000)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The prophet Jeremiah would have been thrilled for that statement to have applied to Jerusalem. Alas, some people there even sacrificed their children to pagan gods at the valley whose name became the source for the label “Gehenna,” a place of suffering in the afterlife. Jeremiah condemned such idolatrous and violent practices and pronounced divine punishment. For his trouble he faced flogging and imprisonment. Yet those who mistreated him would, he said, die as exiles in Babylon. That prediction came true.
A common expectation in New Testament times was that Jesus would return quite soon. It was an age of apocalyptic hopes that God would end the violent and exploitative rule of the Roman Empire, set the world right, and that the divine order would govern the planet. In that context a lack of repentance was especially bad, as in Luke 10:13-16. In Revelation 18 the Roman Empire had fallen (within the Johannine Apocalypse only), but the imperium survived well beyond the first century of the Common Era. Discouragement and scoffing had become evident by the 80s and 90s, the timeframe for the writing of 2 Peter. Yet the calls to repentance remained applicable.
Divine time and human time work differently, but some things remain the same. Fearful theocrats react badly to honest prophets. The realization that God has not met a human schedule leads to bad spiritual results. Violent, oppressive, and exploitative governments continue to exist. And the promise that God will destroy the evil order then replace it with a holy and just one remains a future hope. In the meantime we would do well to consider the moral lessons of Revelation 18. For example, do we benefit from any violent, oppressive, and/or exploitative system? If so, what is the “Babylon” or what are the “Babylons” to which we have attached ourselves, from which we benefit, and whose passing we would mourn?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 23, 2014 COMMON ERA
PROPER 29–CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY–THE LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF JOHN KENNETH PFOHL, SR., U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP; HIS WIFE, HARRIET ELIZABETH “BESSIE” WHITTINGTON PFOHL, U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICIAN; AND THEIR SON, JAMES CHRISTIAN PFOHL, SR., U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT CLEMENT I OF ROME, BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT COLUMBAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF MIGUEL AUGUSTIN PRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
The readings for these three days tell of faithfulness to God, of faithlessness, and of vindication. Along the way we read of two different Sauls.
Hannah was childless. For this her husband’s other wife mocked her. But Elkanah loved Hannah, his wife. And God answered Hannah’s prayer for a child, giving her the great prophet Samuel. He, following divine instructions, anointed two kings of Israel–Saul and David, both of whom went their own sinful ways. Yet Saul, no less troublesome a figure than David, faced divine rejection. Saul’s attempts at vindication–some of them violent–backfired on him.
Saul of Tarsus, who became St. Paul the Apostle, had to overcome his past as a persecutor of the nascent Christian movement as well as strong opposition to his embrace of the new faith and to his mission to Gentiles. Fortunately, he succeeded, changing the course of events.
And Jesus, who dined with notorious sinners, brought many of them to repentance. He, unlike others, who shunned them, recognized the great potential within these marginalized figures. For this generosity of spirit our Lord and Savior had to provide a defense to certain respectable religious authorities.
Sometimes our quests for vindication are self-serving, bringing benefit only to ourselves. Yet, on other occasions, we have legitimate grounds for vindication. When we are in the right those who cause the perceived need for vindication–for whatever reason they do so–ought to apologize instead.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALLAN CRITE, ARTIST
THE FEAST OF CHARLES ELLIOTT FOX, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY
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)
Now suppose that some branches were broken off, and you are wild olive, grafted among the rest to share with the others the rich sap of the olive tree….
Sometimes a lectionary is too choppy. At such occasions extended readings are appropriate. Such is the case with the readings for January 21 and 22 on the daily lectionary from the Lutheran Service Book (2006).
The Book of Joel, from the Persian period (539-332 B.C.E.) of Jewish history, opens with frightening images. Read the first chapter, O reader of this post, for full effect. Locusts, flames, and other forces have devastated the land. And, as Chapter 2 opens, the terrifying Day of the LORD approaches. The earth trembles, the sky shakes, and stars go dark. Yet even then there is the possibility of forgiveness, assuming repentance, or turning around.
Paul spends Romans 10 and 11 dealing with the question of Jews who have rejected Jesus. In this context he likens Gentiles to branches grafted onto the tree of Judaism. Gentiles, he advises, ought not to become proud and dismissive. As much as there is divine mercy, there is also divine judgment–for Jews and Gentiles alike.
There is an often repeated misunderstanding about God as He comes across in the Hebrew Scriptures. The God of the Old Testament, we hear, is mean, violent, and vengeful. This is a gross oversimplification–read Joel 2 for evidence of that statement. I am convinced that some of the violent imagery and some of the stories containing it result from humans projecting their erroneous assumptions upon God. Yet I refuse to say that all–or even most–of such incidents flow from that practice. I seek, O reader, to avoid any stereotype–frightful or cuddly–about God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 31, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA SKOBTSOVA, ORTHODOX MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENJAMIN, ORTHODOX DEACON AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS ASBURY, U.S. METHODIST BISHOP
The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time, saying,
Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.
So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out,
Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!
And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
…
When God say what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he said he would bring upon them and he did not do it.
Psalm 62:6-14 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
6 For God alone my soul in silence waits;
truly, my hope is in him.
7 He alone in my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold, so that I shall not be shaken.
8 In God is my safety and my honor;
God is my strong rock and my refuge.
9 Put your trust in him always, O people,
pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.
10 Those of high degree are but a fleeting breath,
even those of low estate cannot be trusted.
11 On the scales they are lighter than a breath,
all of them together.
12 Put no trust in extortion;
in robbery take no empty pride;
though wealth increases, set not your heart upon it.
13 God has spoken once, twice have I heard it,
that power belongs to God.
14 Steadfast love is yours, O Lord,
for you repay everyone according to his deeds.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 (New Revised Standard Version):
I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with this world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of the world is passing away.
Mark 1:14-20 (New Revised Standard Version):
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying,
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea–for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them,
Follow me and I will make you fish for people.
And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired him, and followed him.
The Collect:
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Rumi, or, as Persians and Afghanis call him, Jelaluddin Balkhi, lived from 1207 to 1273 C.E. He was one of the great poets. Professor Coleman Barks has translated many of Rumi’s works into English. Among these is “A Basket of Fresh Bread,” part of which I quote here:
Stay bewildered in God,
and only that.
Those of you are scattered,
simplify your worrying lives. There is one
righteousness: Water the fruit trees,
and don’t water the thorns. Be generous
to what nurtures the spirit and God’s luminous
reason-light. Don’t honor what causes
dysentery and knotted-up tumors.
Don’t feed both sides of yourself equally.
The spirit and the body carry different loads
and require different attentions.
Too often
we put saddlebags of Jesus and let
the donkey run loose in the pasture.
Don’t make the body do
what the spirit does best, and don’t let a big load
on the spirit that the body could carry easily.
(Source = The Essential Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne, A. J. Arberry, and Reynold Nicholson, HarperCollins, 1995; paperback, 1996; page 256)
Following God requires us to make changes. The grace may be free to us, but it is not cheap. We read in Jonah 3 that the prophet’s message found a receptive audience, but we discover in Jonah 4 that this fact disappointed Jonah. He needed to lay aside his desire to see the people of Nineveh suffer for their sins.
As for Paul of Tarsus, all I can say is that I do not recall hearing this passage or the verse immediately before it read at a wedding, for good reason.
Yet those who marry will experience distress in life, and I would spare you that.–1 Corinthians 7:28b
Paul expected Jesus to return very soon, so marriage and other matters of daily life seemed relatively unimportant to him. Two thousand years later, however, human relationships continue and Jesus has yet to return. Some parts of the Bible are timeless; others are not.
And the Apostles? Some of them left family businesses behind, and most of them died because they insisted on spreading the news of Jesus. Nearly two thousand years later countless members of successive generations have known the mercies of Jesus because of what these men did. I owe my faith in part to them.
Grace was not cheap for them. This is the grace which grants repentance–literally turning around or changing one’s mind–and then forgiveness of sins. Such grace scandalizes some of us from time to time, but we benefit from grace, too. Consider this: Somebody might find the grace God has extended to you scandalous.
Playing with Rumi’s word pictures, how often do we put the saddle bags on Jesus and let the donkey run loose in the pasture? How often do we, perhaps out of ignorance, malnourish ourselves spiritually? And how often do we water thorns? I need to deal with these issues at least as much as do many other people.
The reality is that we–you and I–will not be the most effective ambassadors for Christ until, by grace, we begin to correct these bad habits and continue to replace them with good habits. What we–you and I–do affects others in ways we cannot imagine. Our influence, whether direct or indirect, is greater than we know. So, by grace, may it be as positive as possible.
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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