Divine judgment and mercy come packaged together. When the oppressed go free, what price do the oppressors pay? We humans frequently judge ourselves and select our punishments. Furthermore, as in 2 Chronicles 12, deliverance is partial sometimes. To quote a cliché, God sometimes makes us lie down in the bed we have made. Another example of the mixture of divine judgment and mercy comes from Joshua 3. We read of the crossing of the Israelites into the Promised Land. If we know the narrative well, we are aware that the generation that left slavery in Egypt did not enter the Promised Land.
May we be meek before God. May we embrace the love of God for all people–including those quite different from us. May we, unlike former neighbors of Jesus in Nazareth, never seek a claim to divine blessings just for ourselves and those similar to us. May we celebrate the scandal of grace and the responsibilities grace imposes upon its recipients. After all, grace is free, but not cheap.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 17, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND
THE FEAST OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT, “THE CORN LAW RHYMER”
THE FEAST OF HENRY SCOTT HOLLAND, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAN SARKANDER, SILESIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND “MARTYR OF THE CONFESSIONAL,” 1620
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA BARBARA MAIX, FOUNDRESS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
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
That is true. Yet what are we readers supposed to do with Romans 7:1-6?
I found the Commentary on Romans (Swedish, 1944; English, 1949) by Swedish Lutheran Bishop Anders Nygren helpful in considering that question. Nygren’s Commentary has proven to be influential and durable, for other published exegetes have quoted and/or referred to it. So why not cut out the middle man and go directly to Nygren?
Nygren argued that, according to St. Paul the Apostle, the Law (Torah) never dies. It has not expired or run its course, and Christ has neither superceded, negated, nor repealed it:
The law does not die. There is only one way to liberation. Only in the fact that the Christian has died with Christ is he really and truly set free beyond the realm of the law. Paul’s emphasis lies on this genuine liberation.
–Page 272
On page 268 Nygren presents in two columns the parallels between Romans 6 and 7:1-6. In Chapter 6 Christians die to sin so that they might walk in newness of life, in freedom from sin. When we turn to Chapter 7, we read of dying to the law for the purpose of serving in the new life of the Spirit, in freedom from the law.
This liberation has come through the death of Christ, and through the fact that by baptism we have become sharers in His death.
–Page 269
As a note in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (2003) stated well,
The point Paul desires to make is that death ends obligations; the law has lost its claim over Christians, who have transferred their allegiance to Christ.
–Page 2019
The theme of liberation via God to live righteously in the joy of God applies also to Isaiah 61:1-7. The speaker in that text is most likely the author of the last few chapters of the Book of Isaiah. The notes in The Jewish Study Bible–Second Edition (2014) identify him as Deutero-Isaiah. I think that Trito-Isaiah is the accurate label, but that is a minor issue. The prophet speaks of his mandate from God
To bind up the wounded of heart,
To proclaim release to the captives,
Liberation to the imprisoned;
To proclaim a year of the LORD’s favor
And a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn….
–Isaiah 61:1b-2, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
The historical context of this pericope is the return of the Hebrew exiles to their ancestral homeland. Decades of captivity had understandably caused much despondency and prompted much derision, hence the necessity of the prophet’s mission.
In a broader sense, is not the prophet’s mission that of all who have known the love of God? Grace is free yet definitely not cheap; it requires a positive, faithful response. The wounded of heart and those who mourn are always around us. Captives and prisoners (both literal and metaphorical) are numerous also. The mission of Trito-Isaiah is mine as well as yours, O reader. Jesus claimed it as part of his mission in Luke 4:16-19. If he claimed it for himself, should not we who follow him?
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
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)
Never try to get revenge: leave that, my dear friends, to the Retribution. As scripture says: Vengeance is mine–I will pay them back, the Lord promises. And more: If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat; if thirsty, something to drink. By this, you will be heaping red-hot coals on his head. Do not be mastered by evil, but master evil with good.
Versification of parts of the Hebrew Bible differs depending upon whether one reads from a Protestant translation or a Jewish, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox one. Such is the case in Joel, where 2:1-32 in Protestant versions equals 2:1-3:5 in Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox translations. And Joel 4 in Jewish, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox versions equals Joel 3 in Protestant translations.
Vengeance is a primal emotions. It jumps off the pages of the Book of Psalms. Consider, O reader, these cringe-worthy lines:
Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem ‘s fall;
how they cried, “Strip her, strip her
to her very foundations.”
Fair Babylon, you predator,
a blessing on him who repays you in kind
what you have inflicted on us;
a blessing on him who seizes your babies
and dashes them against the rocks.
–Psalm 137:7-9, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
And how often have relatives of murdered people stated in public their desire for the death penalty for the guilty and cited revenge as it is a good thing? Revenge poisons a person’s soul and does not undo the damage the perpetrator has inflicted. There will be retribution for some from God, in whom there is also mercy. I know the desire for revenge well, and I have had to rid myself of it.
As Paul advised,
As much as possible,and to the utmost of your ability, be a peace with everyone.
–Romans 12:18, The New Jerusalem Bible
Such matters involve more than one party, of course. And, if not all parties consent to mutual peace, there will be no reconciliation. I suppose that simply pursuing revenge–rather, leaving judgment to God–is the best possible outcome in such a case. Getting on with one’s life is better for oneself than obsessing over a real or imagined injury.
Life is short, certainly in geological terms. May we not mar our brief time on earth with the quest for revenge more than we have done so already.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 2, 2012 COMMON ERA
MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JOHN PAYNE AND CUTHBERT MAYNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS AND MARTYRS
