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
Proclaiming the words of God can prove to be a risky undertaking.
The prophet Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch knew this truth well. They worked in a particular political context. Not only was there no separation of religion and government, but the monarch, Jehoiakim (reigned 608-598 B.C.E.), was a vassal. Neco, the Pharaoh of Egypt, had chosen him to rule as King of Judah in lieu of Jehoahaz (reigned 609 B.C.E.), another son of the great Josiah (reigned 640-609 B.C.E.). In time Jehoiakim became a vassal of Nebuchadnezzar II (reigned 605-562 B.C.E.) of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire, against whom he rebelled. Nebuchadnezzar II was not amused. (You, O reader, can read more at 2 Kings 23:28-24:7 and 2 Chronicles 36:1-8). The purpose of the contents of the first scroll in Jeremiah 36 was to create an opportunity for repentance–the act of turning around or changing the mind. King Jehoiakim and his courtiers did not repent. No, he burned the scroll. YHWH was not amused. Jeremiah and Baruch found themselves in legal trouble, but YHWH hid them. And Jeremiah dictated a second scroll to Baruch.
St. Paul the Apostle and his traveling companions also knew well the political and legal hazards of proclaiming the words of God. In fact, the Apostle became a martyr because of that proclamation. He also knew the risks of hurting the feelings of people who were precious to him. As St. Paul knew, one is not responsible for the thin skins of other people.
Jesus and St. Paul understood the value of building up others and faithful community. Sometimes acting on this principle requires moving along to another place, to engage in the work of building up others there.
I have belonged to a series of congregations, mostly during my time in the household of my father, a United Methodist minister. I moved on psychologically, burying many memories, when I relocated physically. Nevertheless, I recall that certain members of those rural congregations in southern Georgia, U.S.A., used their positions, whether formal or informal, to build up themselves to the detriment of faith community. They forgot, if they ever knew, that the congregation belonged to God, not to them. Those churches would have been healthier faith communities if those people had acted differently and others had not enabled such destructive behavior. I have seen such behavior less frequently in Episcopal congregations I have attended, not than one denomination is more prone to this pathology than another.
What is God calling you, O reader, to do in the context of faith community? Building it up is a general description, what are the details in your context? And, if proclaiming the words of God faithfully puts you at risk, are you willing to proceed anyway? Whatever your circumstances are or will become, may the love of God and the imperative of building up others, society, and faith community compel you. And may you succeed, by grace.
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
Pray, my lord, if the LORD really is with us, why has all this happened to us? What has become of all those wonderful deeds of his, of which we have heard from our forefathers, when they told us how the LORD brought us up from Egypt?
—The Revised English Bible
He received his answer and won a victory by God’s power, the subsequent narrative tells us. This saving, delivering deity was the same God of Jacob and of Sts. Mary and Joseph of Nazareth. This deity is the God of the baby Jesus also.
I do not pretend to have arrived at a complete comprehension of the nature of God, for some matters exist beyond the range of human capacity to grasp. Yet I do feel confident in making the following statement: God is full of surprises. So we mere mortals ought to stay on the alert for them, remembering to think outside the box of our expectations, a box into which God has never fit. This is easy to say and difficult to do, I know, but the effort is worthwhile.
The Bible is full of unexpected turns. Gideon’s army needed to be smaller, not larger. God became incarnate as a helpless infant, not a conquering hero. The selling of Joseph son of Jacob into slavery set up the deliverance of two nations. The hungry will filled and the full will be sent away empty, the Gospel of Luke says. Outcasts became heroes in parables of Christ. Saul of Tarsus, a persecutor of nascent Christianity, became one of its greatest evangelists. The list could go on, but I trust that I have made my point sufficiently.
So, following God, however God works in our lives, may we walk in the light, for the glory of God and the benefit of others.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 7, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS OF THE PACIFIC
THE FEAST OF ELIE NAUD, HUGUENOT WITNESS TO THE FAITH
THE FEAST OF JANE LAURIE BORTHWICK, TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
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)
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 5:1-7, 10 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
(About two years after the events 2 Samuel 1; in the meantime Ish-bosheth, son of Saul, reigns then dies due to an assassination. Then David orders the execution of the assassins.)
Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said,
Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you that led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord said of you, “You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.”
So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David,
You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off
–thinking,
David cannot come in here.
Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.
…
And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him.
Psalm 89:19-29 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
19 You spoke once in a vision and said to your faithful people:
“I have set the crown upon a warrior
and have exalted one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant;
with my holy oil have I anointed him.
21 My hand will hold him fast
and my arm will make him strong.
22 No enemy shall deceive him,
nor any wicked man bring him down.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and love shall be with him,
and he shall be victorious through my Name.
25 I shall make his dominion extend
from the Great Sea to the River.
26 He will say to you, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 I will make him my firstborn
and higher than the kings of the earth.
28 I will keep my love for him for ever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his line for ever
and his throne as the days of heaven.”
Mark 3:19b-30 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. And when his friends heard it, they went out to seize him, for they said,
He is beside himself.
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said,
He is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.
And he called to him and said to them in parables,
How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house.
Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin
-–for they had said,
He has an unclean spirit.
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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.
This day’s reading from 2 Samuel 5 culminates the material from 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 4, which chronicles David’s rise to power. Speaking of chronicles, compare 1 Samuel 31-2 Samuel 4 with 1 Chronicles 10 and 11. The account in 1 Chronicles rushes, bypassing Ish-bosheth and going directly from the death of Saul to the reign of David and the capture of Jerusalem. O well, so much for inerrancy and infallibility.
The books of Samuel and Kings are quite honest, especially about David. There we read about how he ordered an Amalekite, who claimed to have Saul but, as it turns out, did not, executed. In 2 Samuel we read about David ordering the execution of King Ish-bosheth’s assassins the mutilation of their corpses. In these books we read of David’s infidelity with Bathsheba and David’s arranged murder of her husband. Yet this is the man the narrative extols. Nevertheless, it depicts him fully, warts and all.
David was such an illustrious person that Biblical writers referred back to him centuries later, especially as his successors, members of his dynasty, failed to measure up to him. The reign of David became the ancient “good old days.” The problem with nostalgia, of course, is that the old days were never quite as good as many people think they were. Have you, O reader, ever noticed that Golden Ages seem always to be in the past? Yet even then, in the alleged Golden Ages, people looked to the past for their Golden Ages.
At least the authors and editor of the books we now call 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and 1 Kings were honest about their hero, for heroism does not mean perfection. May we likewise be honest about ours, neither excusing the inexcusable nor giving short shrift to the virtues of these men and women.
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.
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 10:1-10 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? If the worshipers had once been cleansed, they would no longer have any consciousness of sin. But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,’
as it is written of me in the roll of the book.
When he said above,
You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings (those are offered according to the law),
then he added,
Behold, I have come to do your will.
He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Psalm 40:1-11 (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.
11 Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance;;
I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation.
Mark 3:31-35 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
And his mother and his brethren came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him.
Your mother and your brethren are outside, asking for you.
And he replied,
Who are my mother and my brethren?
And looking around on those who sat about him, he said,
Here are my mother and my brethren. Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.
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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.
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Sometimes I read a Bible story and think about how nice and comforting it is. Holy Writ contains many such incidents. It also contains those parts that cause me discomfort. Among these is the reading from Mark. Mary and some “brethren,” who could be her children by Joseph (They were married, and presumably in love, so what is this theology of perpetual virginity?) are concerned about Jesus. They do not understand Jesus, whose mental health they question. Then Jesus says this family members are those who do the will of God. Translation: “My flesh and blood do not understand me, so I adopt you, who listen to me, as my family. Ours is a spiritual kinship.”
I feel the need to make a disclaimer, out of complete honesty. As I write these words, I sit adjacent to a corner Marian shrine. I count six images of Mary (mostly three-dimensional) plus a two-dimensional image of Joseph with young Jesus. I like the Holy Family. Yet Mary, as great as she was (and continues to be), did not always understand her firstborn son. Part of the credibility of many Bible stories flows from the unflattering portraits of sympathetic figures–in this case, Mary of Nazareth, Mother of God.
Through Jesus all of us can become members of the family of God. Through his death and resurrection we have adoption and no need to fear the power of death and evil. We are not alone, and the power of God is peerless.
Mithras was a deity of Persian origin. Mythology stated that his sacrifice of a bull atoned for the sins of the world. Mithras was also the God of the Sun, and his cult was a major competitor of early Christianity in the Roman Empire. Adherents to Mithraism, a male cult popular with Roman soldiers, underwent baptism, swore to adhere to a strict moral code, and attended rituals similar to a Mass. Yet Mithras never walked the face of the earth or had dinner at anybody’s house. He was a figment of many imaginations. And, as the author of Hebrews states plainly, the blood of bulls cannot take away sins.
We Christians follow the genuine article, not a figment of imaginations. And we are, by grace and faith, spiritual family members of that genuine article. Will we strive to be properly thankful children of God? I hope so. We can never repay God for grace, but we can develop a healthy relationship with God and follow that wherever it leads.
Let Us Emphasize Our Common Ground and Build On It
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From Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), the hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
Isaiah 2:2-4
Psalm 122
Ephesians 4:1-6
John 17:15-23
God our Father, your Son Jesus Christ prayed that his followers might be one. Make all Christians one with him as he is one with you, so that in peace and concord we may carry to the world the message of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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Now, for my thoughts….
We Christians have divided ourselves into competing theological and liturgical tribes since the earliest decades of the Jesus movement. For confirmation of this, read the New Testament epistles. Sometimes these divisions are silly or based on ego gratification. Other times, however, the matters are weightier. Yet the tragedy of schism remains, even after stated issues which people used to justify the schism have become moot points or ceased to points of contention. Inertia preserves a high degree of divisiveness within Christianity.
Sometimes schisms remain insurmountable. Yet this fact should not prevent Christians of good will from reaching across boundaries to identify and build upon common ground, to do something positive and for the glory of God together. I do not expect the Anabaptists and Roman Catholics to reconcile, but they can cooperate. Last Sunday afternoon I listened to a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio interview with a Mennonite pastor who maintains a close faith-based relationship with nearby Catholic monks, often praying with them.
And I believe that when two or more denominations cease to have good reasons to remain separate they should open negotiations to unite organically. But when issues, such as baptismal theology, prevent a merger, the groups can still cooperate on other matters. We Christians have more in common with each other than not. May we build on that.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 11, 2010
THE FEAST OF ST. BARNABAS THE APOSTLE
THE FEAST OF THE REVEREND VERNON JOHNS, U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS PIONEER
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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