According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
Divine judgment and mercy exist in balance throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Isaiah 9 opens on a note of mercy. The verb tenses in Hebrew throughout Isaiah 9:1-6 are vague. My historical methodology makes me biased toward interpreting this text as a reference to King Hezekiah of Judah. Yet millennia of Christian interpretation bypasses Hezekiah and makes the text about Jesus. Anyhow, Isaiah 9:1-6 is about the divine deliverance of the Kingdom of Judah from the perils of the Syro-Ephraimite War.
Divine judgment of the (northern) Kingdom of Israel opens Amos 3. Or divine judgment of the Jewish people (in general) opens Amos 3. References to Israel in the Book of Amos are vague sometimes. The status of being God’s chosen people–grace, if ever I heard of it–means that the people (collectively) should have known better than they do or seem to know, we read. They brought judgment upon themselves.
Psalm 27 is a pious Jew’s expression of confidence in God. This text fits well with Isaiah 9 and stands as a counterpoint to Amos 3.
The Corinthian Christians should have known better than they did. That church, still a group of problematic house churches long after the time of St. Paul the Apostle (see 1 Clement, circa 100), compromised its witness by being, among other things, petty and fractious. They brought judgment upon themselves.
Matthew 4:12-23, quoting Isaiah 9:1-2, tells of Christ’s first cousins, Sts. James and John, sons of Zebedee, leaving the family fishing business and following him, after two other brothers, Sts. Andrew and Simon Peter, had done the same.
God sends nobody to Hell. God seeks everyone to follow Him. All those in Hell sent themselves. C. S. Lewis wrote that the doors to Hell are locked from the inside.
Judgment need not necessarily lead to damnation, though. It may function instead as a catalyst for repentance. Some of the Hebrew prophetic books, with their layers of authorship over generations, contradict themselves regarding the time for repentance has passed. That time seems to have passed, according to an earlier stratum. Yet according to a subsequent layer, there is still time to repent.
Anyway, while the time to repent remains, may we–collectively and individually–do so.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 20, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT FABIAN, BISHOP OF ROME, AND MARTYR, 250
THE FEAST OF SANTS EUTHYMIUS THE GREAT AND THEOCTISTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS
THE FEAST OF GREVILLE PHILLIMORE, ENGLISH PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF HAROLD A. BOSLEY, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF HARRIET AUBER, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF RICHARD ROLLE, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC SPIRITUAL WRITER
If one begins to read Ecclesiastes and gives up quickly, one might mistake the theme of the book to be that all is futility and vanity. One might ask,
Why bother doing anything?
If, however, one keeps reading and pays attention, one will arrive at the précis of the book, present at its conclusion, in 12:13-14: The duty of a human being is to stand in awe of God and keep divine commandments, for God is the judge of everything, whether good or evil.
That ethic is consistent with Ezekiel 11:14-20 and Psalm 3. Fidelity to God does not ensure a life full of ease, wine, ad roses, but it is one’s duty. It is the duty to which Jesus, who called his Apostles, continues to call people and for which the Holy Spirit continues to equip the saints.
Sometimes, however, in the name of obeying God, well-meaning people establish or maintain barriers to would-be faithful people who are different. This segue brings me to the reading from Galatians and to the question of circumcising Gentile male converts to Christianity. On one level it is a matter of a commandment as old as the time of Abraham. On another level it is a question of identity. On yet another level it is, for many, a matter of obedience to God.
For St. Paul the Apostle it was a stumbling block to Gentiles. He was correct. Fortunately, St. Paul won that debate.
Fidelity to God is supposed to help others come to God, not to make that more difficult than it is already. May we who follow Christ never be guilty of standing between God and other people.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 19, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH OF NAZARETH, HUSBAND OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD
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
The economic crisis in Judea was one which entailed some Jews exploiting other Jews–poor returnees, to be precise–in violation of Exodus 22:24-26. Seizing property put us collateral for a loan to a poor person violated the letter of the Law of Moses and contradicted the underlying ethos of mutuality. Both civic and religious leaders were guilty, but at least Nehemiah used his gubernatorial power to correct the injustice. He possessed much wisdom and righteousness.
Jesus, a figure far greater than Nehemiah, also possessed much wisdom and righteousness–more than Nehemiah. Our Lord and Savior–a sage yet more than just that–taught in a particular geographical and historical context, one in which the realities of the Roman occupation frustrated the already-harsh realities of peasants’ lives. Much of Christian tradition has ignored or minimized the economic-political background of Christ’s sayings, unfortunately. Perhaps doing otherwise would have led to unpleasant and inconvenient political situations for ecclesiastical organizations and leaders loyal to governments and potentates, or at least dependent upon them. More figures such as Nehemiah among civic leaders as well as among ecclesiastical shepherds would have helped many people. The same thought applies well to current times.
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)
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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)
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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
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
Above: Jonathan and David (1642), by Davids Abschied von Jonathan
David Laments Saul and Jonathan
JANUARY 22, 2022
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Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.
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2 Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12, 19-27 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
After the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag; and on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and earth upon his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obesiance. David said to him,
Where do you come from?
And he said to him,
I have escaped from the camp of Israel.
And David said to him,
How did it go? Tell me.
And he answered,
The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.
…(The visitor, an Amalekite resident alien, claims to have killed Saul at the king’s request before fleeing with the royal crown and armlet.)…
Then David took hold of his clothes, and tore them; and so did all the men who were with him; and they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
…(David orders the execution of the Amalekite.)…
[And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan…]
Your glory, O Israel, is slain upon your high places!
How are the mighty fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor upsurging of the deep!
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan turned not back,
and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
they were swifter than lions.
You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you daintily in scarlet,
who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
How are the mighty fallen
in the midst of battle!
Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
very pleasant have you been to me;
your love tome was wonderful,
passing the love of women.
How are the mighty fallen,
and the weapons of war perished!
Psalm 80:1-7 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock;
shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
stir up your strength and come to help us.
3 Restore us, O God of hosts;
show us the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
4 O LORD God of hosts,
how long will you be angered
despite the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have given them bowls of tears to drink.
6 You have made us the derision of our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
show us the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
John 8:51-59 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
[Jesus said, …]
Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death.
The Jews said to him,
Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophet; and you say, “If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you claim to be?
Jesus answered,
If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is your God. But you have not known him; I know him. If I said, I do not know him, I should be a liar like you; but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad.
The Jews then said to him,
You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?
Jesus said to them,
Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.
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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.
Details matter, some more than others. But it is sufficed to say that if one is mistaken about a preponderance of details (whether historical or literary or theological, etc.), one risks missing even the main point of what one is trying to say. I am a history buff and a stickler for details, so I try to get as many details accurate as often as possible. It is what I do, sometimes driving others inadvertently to fits of frustration with me. C’est la vie.
Using this approach, I consider 2 Samuel 1 and its immediate predecessor, 1 Samuel 31. I accept neither Biblical inerrancy nor infallibility intellectually or as an article of my faith; I have read the book too closely for that. Nevertheless, I do take the Bible quite seriously, try to keep my details straight, and endeavor not to imagine or manufacture a contradiction. When I catch myself in error, I correct myself. So know, O reader, that I have read 1 Samuel 31 and 2 Samuel 1 very closely and found no contradictions between them.
1 Samuel 31 tells us that King Saul and his forces fought Philistines at Mt. Gilboa, where Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul died and the king suffered an injury. Not wanting the Philistines to capture him alive, Saul, asked his armor-bearer to kill him with his sword. When the armor-bearer declined to do this, Saul did it himself. National humiliation followed, with Philistines decapitating Saul’s corpse, placing his armor in a pagan temple, and fastening his body to a wall. Yet “valiant men” of Israel recovered the corpses of Saul and his sons then proceeded to burn them and bury the remains properly.
Now read the portion of Psalm 80 again. It fits well after what I have just described.
So now we come to 2 Samuel 1. An Amalekite resident alien carrying Saul’s crown and armlet wanders into David’s camp. He reports accurately that Saul and Jonathan are dead then states that he killed Saul at the king’s request. The Amalekite says this; there is no narrator’s voice confirming his account. David takes the news badly, orders the execution of the Amalekite, and laments Saul and Jonathan.
There was at least one other living of Saul, however, for he, Ish-bosheth, became king in Saul’s place. (See 2 Samuel 2:8-11.) David’s rebellion continued.
(By the way, compare the accounts in the early chapters in 2 Samuel with those in 1 Chronicles 10 and 11.)
Saul and David had had a difficult relationship. Saul, David’s father-in-law, had tried to kill him more than once. Yet David had spared Saul’s life twice and ordered his men not to kill the king. Saul, in David’s mind, was still “the anointed of the LORD.”
It is easy to understand why David mourned Jonathan, his brother-in-law and good friend, who had saved his life.
How prone are you and I to seek the best for our enemies and to mourn their passing? I can speak only for myself; I need to work on that, by grace.
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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