The story of King Josiah of Judah (reigned 640-609 B.C.E.) exists in two versions, each with its own chronology. The account in 2 Chronicles 34:1-35:37 is more flattering than the version in 2 Kings 22:1-23:30. Both accounts agree that Josiah was a strong king, a righteous man, and a religious reformer who pleased God, who postponed the fall of the Kingdom of Judah. The decline of the kingdom after Josiah’s death was rapid, taking only about 23 years and four kings.
Josiah’s reforms met with opposition, as did Jesus and nascent Christianity. The thorny question of how to treat Gentiles who desired to convert was one cause of difficulty. The decision to accept Gentiles as they were–not to require them to become Jews first–caused emotional pain for many people attached to their Jewish identity amid a population of Gentiles. There went one more boundary separating God’s chosen people from the others. For Roman officialdom a religion was old, so a new faith could not be a legitimate religion. Furthermore, given the commonplace assumption that Gentiles making offerings to the gods for the health of the empire was a civic, patriotic duty, increasing numbers of Gentiles refusing to make those offerings caused great concern. If too many people refused to honor the gods, would the gods turn their backs on the empire?
Interestingly enough, the point of view of much of the Hebrew Bible is that the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah fell because of pervasive idolatry and related societal sinfulness. The pagan Roman fears for their empire were similar. How ironic!
The pericope from John 1 is interesting. Jesus is gathering his core group of followers. One Apostle recruits another until St. Nathanael (St. Bartholomew) puts up some opposition, expressing doubt that anything good can come out of Nazareth. St. Philip tries to talk St. Nathanael out of that skepticism. “Come and see,” he replies. Jesus convinces that St. Nathanael by informing him that he (Jesus) saw him (St. Nathanael) sitting under a fig tree. Father Raymond E. Brown spends a paragraph in the first of his two volumes on the Gospel of John listing a few suggestions (of many) about why that was so impressive and what it might have meant. He concludes that all such suggestions are speculative. The bottom line is, in the words of Gail R. O’Day and Susan E. Hylen, is the following:
The precise meaning of Jesus’ words about the fig tree is unclear, but their function in the story is to show that Jesus has insight that no one else has…because of Jesus’ relationship with God.
—John (2006), page 33
Jesus was doing a new thing which was, at its heart, a call back to original principles. Often that which seems new is really old–from Josiah to Jesus to liturgical renewal (including the revision of The Book of Common Prayer). Along the way actually new developments arise. Laying aside precious old ideas and embracing greater diversity in the name of God for the purpose of drawing the proverbial circle wider can be positive as well as difficult. Yet it is often what God calls us to do–to welcome those whom God calls insiders while maintaining proper boundaries and definitions. Discerning what God calls good and bad from one or one’s society calls good and bad can be quite difficult. May we succeed by grace.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 5, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF DAVID NITSCHMANN, SR., “FATHER NITSCHMANN,” MORAVIAN MISSIONARY; MELCHIOR NITSCHMANN, MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND MARTYR; JOHANN NITSCHMANN, JR., MORAVIAN MISSIONARY AND BISHOP; ANNA NITSCHMANN, MORAVIAN ELDRESS; AND DAVID NITSCHMANN, MISSIONARY AND FIRST BISHOP OF THE RENEWED MORAVIAN CHURCH
THE FEAST OF BRADFORD TORREY, U.S. ORNITHOLOGIST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK, NORTHERN BAPTIST PASTOR AND OPPONENT OF FUNDAMENTALISM
THE FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH, 1972
Compassionate God, you gather the whole universe into your radiant presence
and continually reveal your Son as our Savior.
Bring wholeness to all that is broken and speak truth to us in our confusion,
that all creation will see and know your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 23
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The Assigned Readings:
Deuteronomy 3:23-29 (Thursday)
Deuteronomy 12:28-32 (Friday)
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (Saturday)
Psalm 111 (All Days)
Romans 9:6-18 (Thursday)
Revelation 2:12-17 (Friday)
Matthew 8:28-9:1 (Saturday)
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The works of the Lord are great,
sought out by all who delight in them.
His work is full of majesty and honour
and his righteousness endures for ever.
–Psalm 111:2-3, Common Worship (2000)
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We have a batch of overlapping and difficult passages these three days. Some (such as Moses in Deuteronomy and a herd of swine in Matthew) suffer for the offenses of others. People also suffer for their own sins in other passages of Scripture. All of this falls under the heading of the sovereignty of God in Romans 9, in the theological style of God’s speech at the end of the book of Job.
I recognize the mystery of God and am content to leave many questions unanswered. Comfort with uncertainty is consistent with my Anglican theology. Nevertheless, I understand that the sovereignty of God can become something it is not supposed to be–a copout and a seemingly bottomless pit into which to pour one’s ignorance and prooftexting tendencies. We should never use God to excuse slavery, genocide, sexism, homophobia, racism, and a host of other sins. Whenever God seems to agree with us all of the time, we ought to know that we have created God in our own image. We have forged an idol. And God, according to the Hebrew Scriptures, disapproves of idolatry.
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 Law of Moses and other segments of the Bible speak of the responsibilities we humans have toward each other. Authors thunder condemnations of judicial corruption and economic exploitation from the pages of the Bible. And the Law of Moses provides culturally-specific applications of the universal, timeless standard to care for the less fortunate. The texts for today offer examples of these generalizations.
Furthermore, those in authority are supposed to look out for the best interests of their people. Often, however, many of them do not even try to do this. Too often I read news stories of the vulnerable members of society suffering from cuts in government social programs as either
no private sector agents step up to do the work as well or better,
no private sector agents can do the work as well or better, or
no private sector agents do the work, but not as effectively.
Something is terribly wrong and socially sinful when one or more of these scenarios is part of reality. That which is most effective is the strategy I favor in any given case. This is about ideology, not “please do not confuse me with the facts” ideology.
Perhaps the most difficult advice from the readings for these days is this:
Never repay one wrong with another, or one abusive word with another; instead, repay with a blessing. That is what you are called to do, so that you inherit a blessing.
–1 Peter 3:9-10, The New Jerusalem Bible
We have all violated that rule, have we not? The desire for revenge is natural yet wrong. And the goal of having the last word might satisfy one in the short term yet does not help matters. And, when forgiveness comes slowly, the desire to forgive might precede it. Giving up one’s anger (even gradually) and the target(s) of it to God and moving on with life is a positive thing to do. And praying for–not about–people can change the one who prays. That is also good.
There is also the question of violence, which can prove to be complicated. Sometimes, when the oppressors insist on continuing to oppress, the best way to deliver their victims is devastating to the perpetrators. Yet, on other occasions, violence does not resolve the issue at hand and creates new problems instead. It is often easier to make such distinctions with the benefit of hindsight, which, of course, does not exist in the heat of the moment of decision. So I offer no easy one-size-fits-all formulas here, for none exist. The best I can do is pray that those in authority will decide and behave wisely.
Yes, sometimes life offers a choice between just the bad and the worse. In such cases I favor choosing the bad, for at least it is not worse. The best we can do is all that anyone ought to expect of us. And, if we strive to love one another as actively and effectively as possible, we are at least on the right track.
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)
Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Execute true justice and deal loyally and compassionately with one another. Do not defraud the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; and do not plot evil against one another.–But they refused to pay heed….
I urge you, brothers, be on your guard against the people who are out to stir up disagreements and bring up difficulties against the teaching which you learnt. Avoid them.
Who were the people whom Paul advised Roman Christians to avoid? It seems that they were Judaizers–who argued that Gentiles needed to convert to Judaism and conform to Jewish customs as conditions of becoming Christians–or to Gnostics–who considered self-knowledge to be salvation and being one’s true self as discipleship–or both. As various Pauline epistles attest, Paul criticized both in strong terms. Self-knowledge is good, of course, but it does not equal salvation. And I suppose that being oneself, assuming that one is a good and compassionate person, is also a virtue. Certainly, one ought to be the person whom God created one to be. That is a component of discipleship, but the Christian definition of discipleship is following Jesus. And, if one needs to become and Jewish and to keep Jewish customs in order to be Christian, many incidents in the canonical Gospels where Jesus clashes with religious authorities make no sense.
There are good rules and bad ones. Good rules include those Zechariah extolled: Executing true justice; dealing loyally and compassionately with one another; dealing honestly with the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; and seeking the best for one another. Against such things there are no divine laws. I know of no divine law against compassion, generosity, and hospitality. Yet throughout time human laws against them have existed. They continue to exist. Once, in the United States, aiding a fugitive slave’s quest for freedom constituted a federal crime. Fortunately, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 passed into history. Today showing compassion to certain people might constitute aiding and abetting criminals, technically speaking. A criminal is simply one whom the state has labeled as such, for a crime is whatever the state defines as such. An escaped slave used to be a criminal–a thief, technically speaking.
My bottom line is this: May we execute true justice. May we deal loyally and compassionately with one another. May we not defraud the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor. May we not plot evil against one another. May we not impose needless burdens on one another. And, if living according to these rules constitutes a crime, may we remember that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, died as a criminal, according to the Roman Empire. Definitions of crime differ according to time and place, but certain moral absolutes exist. That standard is the most important one of all.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 11, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIONYSIUS OF CORINTH, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY NEYROT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF GEORGE AUGUSTUS SELWYN, ANGLICAN PRIMATE OF NEW ZEALAND
THE FEAST OF SAINT STANISLAUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF KRAKOW
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 11:1-17 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
(In Chapters 8-10, David fights wars and shows kindness to Jonathan’s son.)
In the spring of the year, the time when the kings go forth to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking upon the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said,
Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
So David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself form her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David,
I am with child.
So David sent word to Joab.
Send me Uriah the Hittite.
When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered. Then David said to Uriah,
Go down to your house, and wash your feet.
And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David,
Uriah did not go down to his house,
David said to Uriah,
Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?
Uriah said to David,
The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field; shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.
Then David said to Uriah,
Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.
So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day, and the next. And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but did not go down to his house.
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote,
Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.
And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. And men of the city came out and fought with Joab; and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite was slain also.
Psalm 51:1-10 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness;
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight.
5 And so you are justified when you speak
and upright in your judgment.
6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth,
a sinner from my mother’s womb.
7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me,
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure;
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
9 Make me hear of joy and gladness,
that the body you have broken may rejoice.
10 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquities.
Mark 4:26-34 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
And he said,
The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.
And he said,
With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
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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.
The text from 2 Samuel 11 contains a euphemism. To “wash one’s feet” was to have sexual relations. In fact, there are other Old Testament euphemisms which speak outwardly of feet but refer really to genitals. This information proves useful in understanding the story.
Quite simply, King David lusted after another man’s wife, Bathsheba, and got her pregnant. The other man was Uriah the Hittite, a soldier deployed to the front lines of the current war. David tried to cover up his sin by recalling Uriah and ordering him to have sexual relations with Bathsheba. That way the birth of a baby would not create suspicion. But Uriah obeyed a convention by which a soldier at war abstained from sexual intercourse. The combination of Uriah’s nobility and David’s perfidy led to a battlefield murder of the soldier.
My mind casts back to 1 Samuel 8, when Samuel tells people that they really do not want a king to govern them. Beginning in verse 11, he said:
These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your menservants and maid servants, and the best of your cattle, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.
And that king will have the power to seduce a married woman, impregnate her, and order the killing of her husband, who, out of a sense of military nobility and loyalty to his fellow soldiers, does not play his part in the attempted royal cover-up.
Let that sink in.
This, however, is only part of the story. For the next portion, read the post for Week of 3 Epiphany: Saturday, Year 2.
For now, however, mourn Uriah the Hittite and all other innocent victims of violence, those who have died because they were inconvenient. And, as opportunities present themselves to you, act nonviolently to aid such people, as you are able.
Above: The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1632
The Power of Faith
JANUARY 28, 2023
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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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Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it men of old received divine approval.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where to go. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only-begotten son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.”
THEN
Canticle 16 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
(The Song of Zechariah, Luke 1:68-79)
OR
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 the one chosen out of the people.
20 I have found David my servant;
with my holy oil I have 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 from the Great Sea to the River.
26 He will say to me, ‘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 forever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his line for ever,
and his throne as the days of heaven.”
THEN
Mark 4:35-41 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them,
Let us go across to the other side.
And leaving the crowd, they took him with them, just as he was, in the boat. And the other boats were with him. And a great storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him,
Teacher, do you not care if we perish?
And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
Peace! Be still!
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them,
Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?
And they were filled with awe, and said to one another,
Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
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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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I am a product of the Scientific Revolution of the 1600s. Thus I understand the natural world in a way First Century C.E. inhabitants of Judea could not have done. For them, the world was spirit-haunted, and evil spirits caused everything from epilepsy to wind storms on the Sea of Galilee. It was a pre-scientific way of grasping the natural world. Note that Jesus calmed the storm with language nearly identical to that he used when addressing a demoniac (or mentally ill person) in Mark 1:25. In each case he allegedly demonstrated his power over evil spirits and certainly established calm for someone.
Faith, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, entails setting out and not knowing where one is going. What was a literal journey for Abraham can be a spiritual journey for each of us. At any given era of history there are always people experiencing varieties of difficulty. But at this time, the hangover of financial excesses, this reality is more obvious to many of us. I hope that responsible leaders in all nations will take the proper measures necessary to prevent a repeat, but I choose to focus now on personal, spiritual lessons and amendment of life. Many of us do not know where we are going or what we will do when we get there. For that matter, many of us do not know what we will do where we are. Doubt and uncertainty can trouble us, but I propose embracing them and trusting in God. God knows, and we do not; and that is okay. May we seek divine guidance and take this opportunity to reorder priorities for the longterm. Confident in God’s love and providence, may we find calm in the midst of fear, doubt, and uncertainty. There is one certainty that matters; this certainty is God. And that should be enough.
The power of faith is the ability, in the midst of a storm, literal or metaphorical, to rest calmly in the love of God. May all of us seek and find that faith, if he have not found it already.
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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