According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
I, writing as an observant Christian steeped in the ancient traditions of my faith, find a mixed record regarding those traditions. Much of the oeuvre of tradition is essential. Some traditions have outlived their usefulness, though. And other traditions are ridiculous.
The tradition of interpreting certain passages of the Hebrew Bible as prophecies of Jesus falls into the “ridiculous” column. This Sunday, we have two such texts. Deuteronomy 18:15-20 no more contains a messianic prophecy than Jesus is the blessed man of Psalm 1.
The authorship of the Book of Deuteronomy is a complicated matter. If any portion of that book goes back to Moses, I will find that situation surprising. The Deuteronomistic tradition from which Deuteronomy 18:15-20 springs reflects on the past with the benefit of centuries of hindsight; it does not look forward, except morally.
And the blessed man of Psalm 1 is a Jewish male student of the Torah from the time when a woman could not be a student of the Torah. The blessed man of Psalm 1 finds his stability in YHWH. In contrast, those who walk in the council of the wicked are unstable and in motion. When they do sit down, they do so in the wrong seats.
The cultural setting of Corinth in the Second Reading is foreign to me. I do not live in a milieu in which food offered to false gods–imaginary deities–is commonplace. Yet I understand that I, as a human being and a member of society, have an obligation to live according to mutuality. I have a responsibility to think about how my actions will affect others before I act. And my freedom as a Christian is not a licence to do whatever I want to do. On the other hand, avoiding the error of doing little or nothing for rear of creating the wrong impression is crucial.
My father was the pastor of the Vidette United Methodist Church, Vidette, Georgia, from June 1980 to June 1982. I was a boy. Dad forbade me to play in the parsonage yard on Sunday afternoons lest someone get the wrong idea. That was a ridiculous rule.
In the Gospel of Mark, 1:21-28 establishes Jesus as an exorcist/healer and as an authoritative teacher.
When I put on my Rudolf Bultmann hat, I wonder what the “unclean spirit” was. I admit that it may have been a demon. I also consider that it may have been a mental illness or a severe emotional disturbance, in today’s diagnostic terms. The Roman Catholic Church wisely considers other diagnoses before defining any case as a demonic possession.
Anyway, the “unclean spirit” immediately recognized Jesus, who ordered it to be quiet then expelled it. The Messianic Secret remained intact.
Scribes, steeped in tradition, cited teachers who had preceded them. Yet Jesus did no such thing; he taught with authority. And he did not commit the error of doing little or nothing lest he give someone the wrong idea.
I am a Christian for a combination of reasons. One reason is that my family raised me in the faith. yet my faith is mine, not theirs. Ultimately, I am a Christian because of Jesus. His lived and spoken teachings are my desire as I seek to honor God with my intellect. A functional frontal lobotomy is antithetical to my faith, which values scripture, tradition, and reason. In line with Bishop Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998), I assert that Jesus is the only proper basis of Christian confidence.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 10, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF MARIE-JOSEPH LAGRANGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT AGRIPINNUS OF AUTUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; SAINT GERMANUS OF PARIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT DROCTOVEUS OF AUTUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF ALEXANDER CLARK, U.S. METHODIST PROTESTANT MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMNAL EDITOR
THE FEAST OF FOLLIOT SANDFORD PIERPOINT, ANGLICAN EDUCATOR, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN OGLIVIE, SCOTTISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1615
THE FEAST OF SAINT MACARIUS OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
The Law of Moses, unlike the older Code of Hammurabi, to which it bears some similarity, does not bring social class into consideration. No, the Law of Moses is impartial regarding the socio-economic status of both the victim and the perpetrator. In the Code of Hammurabi, for example, the same crime (theft or assault, for example) leads to a harsher penalty when the victim belongs to a higher social class. In the Law of Moses, however, the penalty is the same, regardless of anyone’s socio-economic status. That ethic of socio-economic impartiality carries over into James 2:1-7.
The Hillelian distillation of the Law of Moss comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (the Shema). How we love God, assuming that we do, manifests in how we treat each other. Hypocrisy is as old as human nature. Pious fronts belie both evil intentions and lesser disregard and carelessness. Often those who violate the Golden Rule do so while imagining that they are honoring God. Eliphaz the Temanite and the other so-called friends of Job (who remind me of, “with friends like these, who needs enemies?”) sound like the Book of Psalms much of the time. That fact complicates the interpretation of much of the Book of Job. The best answer I can offer is that what they said applied in certain circumstances, but not that one.
If we were less concerned about who is wright and about insisting that we are right, and if we were more concerned about being good friends to one another, we could fulfill the spirit of most of the assigned texts for today.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 14, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CHARLES AUGUSTUS BRIGGS, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, AND ALLEGED HERETIC; AND HIS DAUGHTER, EMILIE GRACE BRIGGS, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR AND “HERETIC’S DAUGHTER”
THE FEAST OF SAINT METHODIUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE; AND SAINT JOSEPH THE HYMNOGRAPHER, DEFENDER OF ICONS AND “SWEET-VOICED NIGHTINGALE OF THE CHURCH”
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM HIRAM FOULKES, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
David Ackerman, in Beyond the Lectionary (2013), explains the unifying theme of these lections as how the deliverance of spies (in Joshua 2) and St. Paul the Apostle (in Acts 9)
leads to the liberation of Gentile people
–page 29
Rahab and her family become part of the Hebrew community. She is a foreigner, yes, but, as Psalm 117:1 says,
Praise the LORD, all you nations.
St. Paul the Apostle, recently converted, survives to preach to Gentiles. Both he and Rahab escape over city walls. (That shared element is a nice touch.)
With regard to the reading from Mark 8, the formerly blind man sees clearly–literally. Rahab sees clearly–metaphorically–also. So does St. Paul, after his long-term spiritual blindness and short-term physical blindness. Sometimes clear vision of the spiritual variety places one at great risk, as in the case of St. Paul.
The themes of light and of the inclusion of Gentiles fit well into the Season After the Epiphany. For we who are Gentiles this might not seem scandalous. Yet we read in the Bible that such radical inclusion was quite controversial. This fact should prompt us to ponder prayerfully whom we exclude wrongly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 3, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIE-LEONIE PARADIS, FOUNDER OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
The speeches of Job in most of the Book of Job say otherwise.
Elihu, sounding pious and spouting a mix of truth and bad theology, blames the victim in Job 33. Job must be suffering because of a sin, Elihu is certain. Elihu is correct that
God does not fit man’s measure.
–Verse 12b, The Jerusalem Bible (1966).
Nevertheless, Elihu fails to recognize that God does not fit his measure. Spiritual discipline by God is a reality, of course, but it does not explain all suffering.
One can quite easily become fixated on a set of rules and fail to recognize that they do not describe how God works. For example, keeping the Sabbath is a healthy spiritual exercise. It is properly an indication of freedom. It is properly a gift. It is properly a form of recognition of the necessity of rest. It is improperly an occasion of legalism, such as in the cases of Jesus healing on the Sabbath and of he and his Apostles picking corn and grain on that day. They did have to eat, did they not? And did the man with the withered hand deserve to wait another day to receive his healing?
That healing on the Sabbath, according to all three accounts of it, prompted some of our Lord and Savior’s critics to plot his death. Luke 6:11 (The New Revised Standard Version, 1989) reports that they were “filled with fury.”
Compassion is a timeless spiritual virtue, one frequently sacrificed on the altars of legalism and psychological defensiveness. To be compassionate is better than to seek to sin an argument or to destroy one’s adversary.
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 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
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
Above: A Greek Lamb Led to the Slaughter, 500s BCE
Image in the Public Domain
Being Mindful of Others
JANUARY 28, 2024
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Deuteronomy 18:15-22 (New Revised Standard Version):
[Moses speaking]
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said:
If you hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.
Then the LORD replied to me:
They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I have commanded. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak–that prophet shall die.
You may say to yourself,
How can we recognize a word that the LORD has not spoken?
If a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it.
Psalm 111 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the deeds of the LORD!
they are studied by all who delight in them.
3 His work is full of majesty and splendor,
and his righteousness endures for ever.
4 He makes his marvelous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He gives food to those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works
in giving them the lands of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithfulness and justice;
all his commandments are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever,
because they are done in truth and equity.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he commanded his covenant for ever;
holy and awesome is his Name.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
those who act accordingly have a good understanding;
his praise endures for ever.
1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (New Revised Standard Version):
Now concerning food sacrificed to idols we know that
all of us possess knowledge.
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him.
Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that
no idol in the world really exists,
and that
there is no God but one.
Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth–as in fact there are many gods and many lords–yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
Food will not bring us close to God.
We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.
Mark 1:21-28 (New Revised Standard Version):
Then Jesus, Simon Peter, Andrew, and James and John, sons of Zebedee, went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out,
What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
But Jesus rebuked him, saying,
Be silent, and come out of him!
And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on talking to one another,
What is this? A new teaching–with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.
At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
There is a difference between restraining one’s self or one’s children from certain activities (at some or all times) for the spiritual benefit of others and kowtowing to the unreasonable expectations of spiritually uptight people.
I recall that, in the early 1980s, when I measured my lifespan in single digits, my father served the Vidette United Methodist Church, Vidette, Georgia (http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/vidette-united-methodist-church-vidette-georgia/). The parsonage was next to the church building, with just a dead-end road running between the two. For at least part of the time we were there (June 1980-June 1982), I was not supposed to play in the front yard on Sunday afternoons, lest anyone “get the wrong idea,” which I suppose, is that I was not keeping the Sabbath appropriately, i.e., dolefully.
I refuse to live in such a way that I run no risk of offending spiritually uptight people, some of whom take offense easily. Nevertheless, I do try to live a good life, one of gratitude to God. So I decide to do X but not Y, according to that standard, and to leave the taking of offense (or absence thereof) by the spiritually uptight to them. If I were to try not to offend them, I would do little or nothing, and even that might bother them. Even Jesus offended, and he was perfect. How “offensive” then, will I be?
I am not a pietist, obviously.
Nevertheless, as Paul observed, Christian liberty is not a license to do everything which is lawful for one. Sometimes discretion and concern for others dictates that one decide not to do something. This something is not wrong in and of itself, but does the other person know that? Paul was dealing with the eating of meat sacrificed to false and imaginary deities, a circumstance which no longer applies in many cultures in contemporary times. It has no bearing on me in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, in 2011. In fact, I cannot think of anything I do in public that would have a negative spiritual effect on anyone. And my private life is mostly mundane, if one assumes that scandals are interesting. (My life is far from scandalous.)
All this falls into the Lutheran category of “civil righteousness.” Yes, it is laudatory that I did not rob a liquor store last week and that I did perform many good works, but…
Our churches teach that a person’s will has some freedom to choose civil righteousness and to do things subject to reason. It has no power, without the Holy Spirit, to work the righteousness of God, that is, spiritual righteousness.
—Augsburg Confession of Faith, Article XVIII, as quoted in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions–A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord, Paul Timothy McCain, General Editor, Second Edition, Concordia Publishing House, 2006, page 40
I am mindful of the command not to lead the spiritually weak astray, which informs my decisions. To the extent I have succeeded in following the spirit of Paul’s advice in my cultural context, I have done so by grace.
Grace is the work of God. It precedes us and enables us to respond favorably to God. By grace we have free will, so the misuse and abuse of free will is not what God has intended for us. May we encourage and support each other in our Christian pilgrimages of faith, not throwing up road blocks consciously or unconsciously. And may we not have hallucinations of road blocks, either. Thus may we follow Jesus, our Lord and the ultimate authoritative prophet, successfully–by grace, of course.
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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