According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  Icon of the Transfiguration of Jesus

Image in the Public Domain

The Glory of God

FEBRUARY 11, 2024

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2 Kings 2:1-12a

Psalm 50:1-6

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Mark 9:2-9

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Almighty God, on the mountain you showed your glory

in the transfiguration of your Son. 

Give us the vision to see beyond the turmoil of our world

and to behold the king in all his glory;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 17

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O God, in the transfiguration of your Son you confirmed

the mysteries of faith by the witness of Moses and Elijah,

and in the voice from the bright cloud

you foreshadowed our adoption as your children. 

Make us with the king heirs of your glory,

and bring us to enjoy its fullness,

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 17

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O God, in the glorious transfiguration of your only-begotten Son

once confirmed the mysteries of the faith

by the testimony of the ancient fathers,

and in the voice that came from the bright cloud

you wondrously foreshadowed our adoption by grace. 

Therefore, mercifully make us coheirs with our King of his glory,

and bring us to the fullness of our inheritance in heaven;

through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 31

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I have been writing lectionary-based weblog posts for more than a decade.  I have, therefore, written about the Transfiguration of Jesus–upon the occasions of August 6 and the Last Sunday After the Epiphany–already.

My comments from previous years, accessible at ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS and BLOGA THEOLOGICA, remain available for reading.  I choose not to duplicate them in full here.

The glory of Christ, evident in one way at the Transfiguration, was usually evident in his faithful and compassionate service.  Yet a visual demonstration–the fulfillment of Mark 9:1–was helpful.

Sometimes we mere mortals need the visual element to reinforce that of which we have heard.  We, like apostles in the Gospel of Mark, may not understand despite the evidence we have seen.  Then, after the spectacular show, we may still not understand as we should.

Psalm 50:1-6, with its imagery of fire, fits well with the First Reading.  The psalm, as a whole, contains contrasts–the faithfulness of God, the fidelity of some, and the judgment of the faithless.  I mention this for the sake of completeness, so that nobody may legitimately accuse me of cherry-picking verses in this matter of divine judgment and mercy.  One may also recall that, in readings from the Hebrew Bible for the last two Sundays on this series, we have read of God forgiving faithless peoples for divine purposes.  Yet we read this week, if we keep reading Psalm 50 past verse 6:

Understand this, you who forget God,

lest I tear you apart, with no one to save you.

–Verse 22, Robert Alter

Divine judgment and mercy exist in a perpetual balance I know I do not understand.  May none of us begrudge divine mercy, upon which we depend.  Some mercy is an example of divine glory.

May this glory shine in our lives as we deal with each other.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 14, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF FANNIE LOU HAMER, PROPHET OF FREEDOM

THE FEAST OF ALBERT LISTER PEACE, ORGANIST IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

THE FEAST OF HARRIET KING OSGOOD MUNGER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALISTS HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF NEHEMIAH GOREH, INDIAN ANGLICAN PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENZINA CUSMANO, SUPERIOR OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR; AND HER BROTHER, SAINT GIACOMO CUSMANO, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR AND THE MISSIONARY SERVANTS OF THE POOR

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LEDDRA, BRITISH QUAKER MARTYR IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY, 1661

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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA

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Advertisement

According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)

Above:  Icon of Hosea

Image in the Public Domain

Sufficiency in God

NOT OBSERVED IN 2024

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Hosea 2:14-16 (17-18) 19-20

Psalm 103:1-13

2 Corinthians 3:1b-6

Mark 2:18-22

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Almighty and everlasting God, ruler of heaven and earth: 

Hear our prayer and give us your peace now and forever;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978)

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O Lord, mercifully hear our prayers,

and having set us free from the bonds of our sins,

defend us from all evil;

through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 30

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…our sufficiency is from God….

–2 Corinthians 3:5b, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition

Our (individual and collective) sufficiency is from God.  God qualifies us (individually and collectively) for our callings from God.  God, who has given us many reasons to rejoice, provides our sufficiency.  God, who forgives more readily than many human beings do, gives us sufficiency.

This truth contradicts an old and ubiquitous lie in my culture.  I refer to the lie of the self-made person, as in the self-made millionaire.  Considering even only human factors, one should need only a second or so–if that long–to realize the falsehood of the proposition.  One may realize quickly that teachers, bankers, and road builders, among others, enabled the so-called self-made millionaires on the way to such wealth.  Furthermore, we all depend entirely on God.  We depend upon each other, but we also depend completely on God.  If we think otherwise, we delude ourselves.

When one reads past Psalm 103:13, one finds this verse immediately:

For [God] knows our devisings, 

recalls that we are dust.

–Verse 14, Robert Alter

Psalm 103 goes on to speak of the transience of human lives and the timeliness of God, whose kindness to the faithful never ends.  And, as Hosea 2 tells us this week and Isaiah 43 told us last week, God chooses sometimes to forgive the faithless.

We mere mortals are dust.  If we are to have sufficiency, it must come from God, not ourselves.  May we demonstrate proper humility before God, from whose love we are inseparable.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 14, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF FANNIE LOU HAMER, PROPHET OF FREEDOM

THE FEAST OF ALBERT LISTER PEACE, ORGANIST IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

THE FEAST OF HARRIET KING OSGOOD MUNGER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALISTS HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF NEHEMIAH GOREH, INDIAN ANGLICAN PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENZINA CUSMANO, SUPERIOR OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR; AND HER BROTHER, SAINT GIACOMO CUSMANO, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR AND THE MISSIONARY SERVANTS OF THE POOR

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LEDDRA, BRITISH QUAKER MARTYR IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY, 1661

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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA

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trample the wicked to a pulp.

Above:  The Transfiguration

Image in the Public Domain

Judgment and Mercy

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ,  who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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Malachi 3:19-24/4:1-6

Psalm 99

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Luke 9:18-36

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How well can we understand the judgment and mercy of God?  Christianity dwells on divine mercy yet the New Testament contains plenty of judgment.  Need I remind anyone of Revelation?  Furthermore, anger and fantasies of violence recur throughout the Psalms.  We read of the Day of the LORD in Malachi.  In that passage we read, according to TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures (1985), that the faithful will

Who do we say God is?  Who do we say Jesus is?  We cannot escape all spiritual veils, for we know in part and carry cultural blinders.  Yet we can, by grace, recognize Jesus sufficiently to follow him to Jerusalem, so to speak.

God will tend to judgment and mercy.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 22, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF SAINT DEOGRATIAS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF CARTHAGE

THE FEAST OF EMMANUEL MOURNIER, PERSONALIST PHILOSOPHER

THE FEAST OF JAMES DE KOVEN, EPISCOPAL PRIEST

THE FEAST OF THOMAS HUGHES, BRITISH SOCIAL REFORMER AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON, ENGLISH MUSIC EDUCATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/03/22/judgment-and-mercy-part-xvi/

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Above:  Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor

Image Source = Library of Congress

Transfigurations

FEBRUARY 27, 2022

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Exodus 34:29-35 (Richard Elliott Friedman, 2001):

And it was when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’s hand when he was coming down from the mountain.  And Moses had not known that the skin of his face was transformed when He was speaking with him.  And Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses; and, here, the skin of his face was transformed, and they were afraid of going over to him.  And Moses called to them.  And Aaron and all the chiefs in the congregation came back to him, and he spoke to them.  And after that all the children of Israel went over.  And he commanded them everything that YHWH had spoken with him in Mount Sinai.  And Moses finished speaking with them, and he put a veil on his face.  And when Moses would come in front of YHWH to speak with Him, he would turn away the veil until he would go out; and he would go out and speak to the children of Israel what had been commanded.  And the children of Israel would see Moses’ face, that the skin of Moses’ face was transformed, and Moses would put back the veil on his face until he would come to speak with Him.

Psalm 99 (New Revised Standard Version):

The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!

He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

The LORD is great in Zion;

he is exalted over all the peoples.

Let them praise your great and awesome name.

Holy is he!

Mighty King, lover of justice,

you have established equity;

you have executed justice

and righteousness in Jacob.

Extol the LORD our God;

worship at his footstool.

Holy is he!

Moses and Aaron were among his priests,

Samuel also was among those who called on his name.

They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.

He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;

they kept his decrees,

and the statutes that he gave them.

O LORD our God, you answered them;

you were a forgiving God to them,

but an avenger of their wrongdoings.

Extol the LORD our God,

and worship at his holy mountain;

for the LORD our God is holy.

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:6 (An American Translation):

So since I have such a hope, I speak with great frankness, not like Moses, who used to wear a veil over his face, to keep the Israelites from gazing at the fading of the splendor from it.  Their minds were dulled.  For to this day, the same veil remains unlifted, when the read the old agreement, for only through union with Christ is it removed.  Why, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil hangs over their minds, but

whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

Now the Lord here means the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And all of us, reflecting the splendor of the Lord in our unveiled faces, aer being changed into likeness of him, from one degree of splendor to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

So since by the mercy of God I am engaged in this service, I never lose heart.  I disown disgraceful, underhanded ways.  I refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s message.  It is by the open statement of truth that I would commend myself to every human conscience in the sight of God.  If the meaning of my preaching of the good news is veiled at all, it is so only in the case of those who are on the way to destruction.  In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep the light of the good news of the glorious Christ, the likeness of God, from dawning upon them.  For it is not myself but Christ Jesus that I am proclaiming as Lord; I am only a slave of yours for Jesus’ sake.  For the God who said,

Let light shine out of darkness,

has shone in my heart, to give me the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, that is on the face of Christ.

Luke 9:28-42a (New Revised Standard Version):

About eight days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus,

Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah

–not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said,

This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!

When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted,

Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.

Jesus answered,

You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.

While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

The Collect:

O God, who before the passion of your only ­begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Prayer of Praise and Adoration:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-last-sunday-after-epiphany/

Prayer of Confession:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/prayer-of-confession-for-the-last-sunday-after-epiphany/

Prayer of Dedication:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-last-sunday-after-epiphany/

O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/o-wondrous-type-o-vision-fair/

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I like this Sunday, for its readings match up nicely.  Exodus and 2 Corinthians refer to Moses wearing a veil after communing with God, a counterpart to the never veiled Jesus during the Transfiguration.  This is a prime example of why lectionaries are useful.

The presentation of Yahweh in the Torah is awe-inspiring.  One ought not look too closely, for to do so would be dangerous.  And Moses had an incredibly shiny face from communing with God.  (All Charlton Heston got was streaked hair!)  But, for most people, there was a certain distance, and Moses found a veil necessary in public.

The Transfiguration revealed our Lord’s true nature.  But notice that there was no veil in the area.  Part of the meaning of the Incarnation is God’s approachability, indeed God’s approaching.  There is always a mystery there, but it is one which seeks us out.

I suspect that there is much poetry–perhaps more than literal truth–in the Exodus and Luke accounts.  This does not trouble me, for poetry and metaphor are frequently better at conveying deep truth than are any straight-forward reports.  As we moderns read the Bible, may we not abandon religious imagination, often the most memorable and profound aspect of certain texts.  In religious imagination we encounter God in beauty, something mere facts cannot convey.  How will our encounters with God in such beauty change us and be obvious to others?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 14, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT FULBERT OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF EDWARD THOMAS DEMBY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHOP OF ARKANSAS, AND HENRY BEARD DELANY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT WANDREGISILUS OF NORMANDY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT, AND SAINT LAMBERT OF LYONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/transfigurations/

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Above:  The Calling of St. Matthew, by Hendrick ter Brugghen

Sit Down and Eat

NOT OBSERVED IN 2018

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Hosea 2:14-20 (New Revised Standard Version):

Therefore, I will now allure her,

and bring her into the wilderness,

and speak tenderly to her.

From there I will give her vineyards,

and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There she shall respond as in the days of her youth,

as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

On that day, says the LORD, you will call me,

My husband,

and no longer will you call me,

My Baal.

For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more.  I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety.  And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy.  I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.

Psalm 103:1-13, 22 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits.

3 He forgives all your sins,

and heals all your infirmities;

4 He redeems your life from the grave

and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness.

5 He satisfies you with good things,

and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

6 The LORD executes righteousness

and judgment for all who are oppressed.

7 He made his ways known to Moses

and all his works to the children of Israel.

8 The LORD is full of compassion and mercy,

slow to anger and of great kindness.

9 He will not always accuse us,

nor will he keep his anger for ever.

10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

11 For as the heavens are as high above the earth,

so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.

12 As far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our sins from us.

13 As a father cares for his children,

so does the LORD care for those who fear him.

22  Bless the LORD, all you works of his,

in all places of his dominion;

bless the LORD, O my soul.

2 Corinthians 3:1-6 (New Revised Standard Version):

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we?  You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Mark 2:13-22 (New Revised Standard Version):

Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.  As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him,

Follow me.

And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples–for there were many who followed him.  When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples,

Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?

When Jesus heard this, he said to them,

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him,

Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?

Jesus said to them,

The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.

The Collect:

Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who care for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/eighth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a/

Mark 2:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/week-of-1-epiphany-saturday-year-1/

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/week-of-2-epiphany-monday-year-1/

Matthew 9 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/week-of-proper-8-saturday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/week-of-proper-8-friday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/proper-5-year-a/

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/third-day-of-lent/

Luke 5 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/fourth-day-of-lent/

2 Corinthians 3:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/week-of-proper-5-wednesday-year-1/

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The passage from Hosea occurs in the context of a condemnation of national idolatry and the pronouncement of punishment for it.  Monotheism did not come easily or quickly to the Hebrews of the Old Testament.  In fact, pagan fertility cults held much appeal.  With that in mind, note, O reader, the references to fertility that YHWH promises to give in the context of divine graciousness.  There is even the likening of a relationship with God to a marriage.  “You have sinned,” God says, “and I will discipline you accordingly.  Then I will show mercy on you.”

Speaking of mercy, Jesus ate with notorious sinners, including literal tax thieves.  He even called one of them to join his inner circle.   This extraordinary gesture of grace, of acting based on the potential of person’s future, reflected the Spirit, which gives life.  Scribes, of course, objected vocally, but Jesus argued well against their case.  He would have welcomed them at the table, too, if they had sat down.

The difference between the scribes and the notorious sinners was that the latter recognized their need for grace.  Already being outcasts, they had no prestige to lose.  Too often we human beings cling tenaciously to poor substitutes for God.  These might be deities from competing religions.  Or they might be money or possessions or social status or some combination of these.  None of them fills the God-shaped hole, however.

May we lay our pretenses aside and sit down with Jesus.

KRT