Archive for the ‘Cheap Grace’ Tag
Above: Elisha Refuses the Gifts of Naaman, by Pieter de Grebber
Image in the Public Domain
Exclusion and Inclusion
NOT OBSERVED IN 2024
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 32
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Mark 1:40-45
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Lord God, mercifully receive the prayers of your people.
Help us to see and understand the things we ought to do,
and give us grace and power to do them;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 16
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O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers
of your people who call upon you,
and grant that they may understand the things they ought to do
and also may have grace and strength to accomplish them;
through Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 27
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“Leprosy” is a misleading translation commonplace in renderings of the assigned readings from 2 Kings 5 and Mark 1. Modern diagnoses would vary, if we had more detailed language in the ancient texts. The reference is to a range of dermatological conditions, all of which made one ritually unclean and brought social implications with that status.
I may not have to tell you, O reader, that how others think of then treat one may be devastating. Ostracism can take a toll on a person, for example.
Healing and cleansing from so-called leprosy meant restoration to family and community. in Mark 1:40-45, the holiness of Jesus overpowered the cause of the man’s ritual impurity.
Ritual impurity is not sin; one may contract it by following the Law of oses. For example, burying the dead properly is an obligation in the Law of Moses. Yet that act creates corpse impurity in the living. And one may contract social impurity while going about the mundane activities of daily life. Ritual impurity, a concept ubiquitous in the ancient Mediterranean world, is alien to my North American context. Yet I cannot properly understand much of the Bible without grasping ritual impurity and purity.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 flows from 9:19-23, outside of which 9:24-27 makes no sense. We read of the commitment of St. Paul the Apostle to Christ. Grace is free yet never cheap. If you have any doubt of that, O reader, ponder what grace required of St. Paul.
I invite you, O reader, to contrast the restoration to family and community that results from the restoration to ritual purity with the alienation from family and community that may result from following Jesus. Consider St. Paul, who experienced beatings, scorn, and incarcerations for the sake of Christ. Consider St. Paul, who became a martyr for the sake of Jesus. Psalm 32 may seem unduly optimistic, but if one understands well-being to flow from God, that text is realistic. Persecutions cannot interfere with well-being in God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 12, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF SAINTS TRASILLA AND EMILIANA; THEIR SISTER-IN-LAW, SAINT SYLVIA OF ROME; AND HER SON, SAINT GREGORY I “THE GREAT,” BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF HENRY WALFORD DAVIES, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF JOHN H. CALDWELL, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER AND SOCIAL REFORMER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MAXIMILIAN OF TREVESTE, ROMAN CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR AND MARTYR 295
THE FEAST OF RUTILIO GRANDE, EL SALVADORAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1977
THE FEAST OF SAINT THEOPHANES THE CHRONICLER, DEFENDER OF ICONS
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Oak Tree in the Midlands of England, 1865-1890
Image in the Public Domain
Divine Comfort
DECEMBER 17, 2023
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11
Luke 1:46b-55
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28
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Almighty God, you once called John the Baptist
to give witness to the coming of your Son and to prepare his way.
Grant us, your people, the wisdom to see your purpose today
and the openness to hear your will,
that we may witness to Christ’s coming and so prepare his way;
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), 13
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Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ,
you once proclaimed salvation;
now grant that we may know this salvation and serve you
in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 13
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The emphasis in three of the four readings this week is on comfort.
- The context in (Third) Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11 is the disappointment of many Jewish former exiles regarding the condition of their ancestral homeland.
- The readings from the New Testament share the context of the first century of the Common Era. The Magnificat blends comfort and castigation–comfort for those who need it and castigation for those who deserve it. Divine judgment and mercy remain in balance. As I have read, the purpose of the Gospel is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. That saying is consistent with the Gospel of Luke, with its theme of reversal of fortune. Indeed, comfort for the afflicted is frequently an affliction for those afflicting them.
Given that the emphasis this week is divine comfort, may we dwell there, too. May we frolic in it and thank God for it. And may we ponder how God is calling us to function as agents of divine comfort. How much better would the world be if more people went out of their way to comfort others instead of ignoring or afflicting them? Receiving grace imposes the obligation to extend it to others. Grace is free, not cheap.
So, O reader, pay attention and look around. How is God calling you to extend comfort?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 1, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE EIGHTH DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANNA OF OXENHALL AND HER FAITHFUL DESCENDANTS, SAINT WENNA THE QUEEN, SAINT NON, SAINT SAMSON OF DOL, SAINT CYBI, AND SAINT DAVID OF WALES
THE FEAST OF EDWARD DEARLE, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF GEORGE WISHART, SCOTTISH CALVINIST REFORMER AND MARTYR, 1546; AND WALTER MILNE, SCOTTISH PROTESTANT MARTYR
THE FEAST OF RICHARD REDHEAD, ANGLICAN COMPOSER, ORGANIST, AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROGER LEFORT, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF BOURGES
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: The Return from Egypt, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
The Faithfulness of God
DECEMBER 31, 2023
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Isaiah 63:7-9
Psalm 111
Galatians 4:4-7
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
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Almighty God, you wonderfully created
and yet more wonderfully restored the dignity of human nature.
In your mercy, let us share the divine life of Jesus Christ
who came to share our humanity,
and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 14
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Direct us, O Lord, in all our actions by your gracious favor,
and further us with your continual help that in all our works,
begun, continued, and ended in your name,
we may glorify your holy name and
finally by your mercy receive eternal life;
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), 18
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Isaiah 63:7-64:11 is a psalm of lament. For this week, we read the first three verses. For more context, O reader, keep reading. The theme of human (collective) faithlessness, in contrast to divine faithfulness, is prominent. That theme runs through the other readings, too.
Yet some people are faithful. They may be Jews or Zoroastrians (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23). Either way, they do what God commands. They may be Jews or Gentiles (Galatians 4:4-7). They are heirs–literally, sons of God. (Sons inherited in St. Paul the Apostle’s cultural context. Daughters did not.)
Grace is free, not cheap. Just ask God–Jesus, in particular, O reader. Grace also requires much of its recipients. Grace transforms its recipients and the world, by extension. Grace requires faithful response to God, whom nobody should mistake for a divine vending machine. Yet certain results are predictable. As logicians remind us:
If x, then y.
In personal matters, I speak and write only for myself, and aspire to do only that. In my experience, God and grace have seemed closest during dark times. I have grown the most, spiritually, when the proverbial bottom has fallen out of my life. God and grace may have been as close during better times, but I have perceived them as being closer during worse times. Maybe the light merely seemed brighter in contrast to the darkness.
I acknowledge my dependence on grace. Daily I establish the goal to be the best possible version of myself. I, being a mere mortal, fail, of course. But striving for that goal is worthwhile. It is something. God can work with something.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 14, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MACRINA THE ELDER, HER FAMILY, AND SAINT GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS THE YOUNGER
THE FEAST OF ABBY KELLEY FOSTER AND HER HUSBAND, STEPHEN SYMONDS FOSTER, U.S. QUAKER ABOLITIONISTS AND FEMINISTS
THE FEAST OF EIVIND JOSEF BERGGRAV, LUTHERAN BISHOP OF OSLO, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND LEADER OF THE NORWEGIAN RESISTANCE DURING WORLD WAR II
THE FEAST OF KRISTEN KVAMME, NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF RICHARD MEUX BENSON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST; CHARLES CHAPMAN GRAFTON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, CO-FOUNDER OF THE SOCIETY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST, AND BISHOP OF FOND DU LAC; AND CHARLES GORE, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF WORCESTER, BIRMINGHAM, AND OXFORD; FOUNDER OF THE COMMUNITY OF THE RESURRECTION; THEOLOGIAN; AND ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND WORLD PEACE
THE FEAST OF SAVA I, FOUNDER OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND FIRST ARCHBISHOP OF SERBS
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Icon of Amos
Image in the Public Domain
Mutuality in God
JANUARY 16, 2022
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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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Amos 3:1-8 or Proverbs 1:1-19
Psalm 115:1-11
1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-17
John 1:35-42
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The Humes lectionary provides two options for the First Reading. I will write about both of them.
Amos 3:1-8 includes a variation on the old saying that great responsibility accompanies great privilege. Grace is free, not cheap. One can never purchase it, but accepting it entails taking on duties. To tie Proverbs 1:1-19 into that principle, one has a duty to show love for God by doing love to one’s fellow human beings. Elsewhere in Amos, we read of greedy, exploitative people, as we do in Proverbs 1:8-19.
These men lie in wait for their own blood,
they set a trap for their own lives.
This is the fate of everyone greedy of loot:
unlawful gain takes away the life of him who acquires it.
–Proverbs 1:18-19, The New American Bible (1991)
Whatever we do to others, we do also to ourselves.
The audience in Amos 3 is collective; it is the people of Israel. To be precise, it is the people of Israel during the reigns of King Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah (785-733 B.C.E.) and King Jeroboam II of Israel (788-747 B.C.E.). The Deuteronomic theology of the Book of Amos teaches that actions have consequences. Obey the Law of Moses, please God, and reap the benefits. Alternatively, disobey the Law of Moses, displease God, and reap the negative consequences. Many of those commandments pertain to social justice, especially economic justice.
Our Western culture, with its pervasive individualism, easily overlooks collective responsibility. Politically, the Right Wing emphasizes individual responsibility. Meanwhile, the Left Wing stresses collective responsibility. Both sides err in so far as they give short shrift to or ignore either type of responsibility. Just as divine judgment and mercy exist in balance, so do individual and collective responsibility. Mutuality holds them in balance.
Psalm 115 condemns idolatry. The real idols are ideas, not objects. A statue of a god, for example, can be a work of art to display in a museum. Idolatry is about misplaced, disordered love, to go Augustinian on you, O reader. In the case of the greedy people in Proverbs 1, their idol was attachment to wealth.
The reading from 1 Timothy 1 reminds us that God embraces repentance. Remorse is an emotion that enables repentance, a series of actions.
Regardless of who wrote or dictated the First Letter to Timothy (probably not St. Paul the Apostle), St. Paul seemed unlikely to have become what he became in God. Saul of Tarsus certainly did not expect it. And, to turn to John 1:35-42, calling St. Simon “Peter,” or “Rock,” may have seemed ironic at first. But Jesus recognized potential in him. St. Simon Peter eventually grew into that potential. St. Paul the Apostle grew into his potential, as well.
If we are to grew into our potential individually, we need the help of God and other people. St. Paul had Ananias. St. Simon Peter had Jesus. Who do you have, O reader?
Likewise, if we are to grow into our potential collectively, we need the help of God and other groups of people. We live in a web of mutuality. We know this, do we not? Globalization, at least, should have taught us that the communities and nation-states can affect the fates of our communities and nation-states.
Will we work for the common good? Or will we persist in delusions of amoral rugged individualism and isolationism?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 28, 2020 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST (TRANSFERRED)
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/12/28/mutuality-in-god-v/
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Above: Cyrus II
Image in the Public Domain
To Glorify and Enjoy God
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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2 Chronicles 36:11-23 or Joshua 24:1-7, 13-25
Psalm 83:1-5, 13-18
Ephesians 6:11-24
Luke 7:1-17
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One should serve God, of course. Not trying to do so is mainly unacceptable. Yet trying to do so does not guarantee succeeding in doing so; one can be sincerely wrong. The history of religion is replete with those who have committed evils while laboring under the impression they were serving God. So is the present state of religion.
We are morally responsible for and to each other. Saying and writing that sentence is easy. Understanding how it properly translates into attitudes and actions in various contexts can prove very challenging, though.
Praying is a good start, of course. Yet we must distinguish between a dialogue and an internal monologue if we are to know the difference between God and what we want to hear.
God’s choice of human instruments may surprise us, as may the number of “others” who are among the faithful. We humans tend to prefer neat, orderly categories, such as “insiders” and “outsiders.” But what if we, who think ourselves as insiders, are really outsiders? I tell people sometimes that the lists of people who are in Heaven and who are not there would astound and scandalize us if we could see them.
Grace is astounding, is it not? It is free yet not cheap. Likewise, judgment and mercy exist in context of each other; they are in balance God knows what that balance is. So be it.
May we, by grace, succeed is serving God, in glorifying and enjoying God in the moment and forever.
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://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2020/03/22/devotion-for-proper-7-year-c-humes/
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/03/22/to-glorify-and-enjoy-god-ii/
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Above: The Ark Passes Over the Jordan, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
The Scandal of Grace
JANUARY 24, 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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2 Chronicles 12:1-14 or Joshua 3:7-17
Psalm 76
Ephesians 1:11-23
Luke 4:13-30
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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
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/03/17/the-scandal-of-grace-vii/
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Above: The Transfiguration, by Raphael
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-90565
Divine Glory and Sacrificial Love
FEBRUARY 19, 2023
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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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Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 2
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9 (or 1-13)
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Interestingly, the Transfiguration account in Matthew follows on the heels of Jesus saying,
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
–16:28, The New American Bible (1991)
In that scene, Jesus, looking very much like Moses (and standing with Moses and Elijah) on a mountaintop, stands in divine glory. We can read another version of the Transfiguration in Luke 9:28-36, shortly before Jesus sets his face literally and figuratively toward Jerusalem–to die.
It is appropriate that we read of the Transfiguration on the Sunday immediately preceding Lent, at the end of which are Good Friday and Holy Saturday. We are supposed to recall the supreme divine love behind the Incarnation and the Atonement, as well as to remember that God calls us to love like Jesus, who loved all the way to a cross.
That is a variety of love that carries a high price tag. The grace, although free, is certainly not cheap. It is, however, the path to life at its fullest and most abundant.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 23, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR AND ISAAC THE GREAT, PATRIARCHS OF ARMENIA
THE FEAST OF MEISTER ECKHART, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN AND MYSTIC
THE FEAST OF SAINT METODEJ DOMINIK TRCKA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT VICTORIAN OF HADRUMETUM, MARTYR AT CARTHAGE, 484
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/03/23/divine-glory-and-sacrificial-love/
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Above: Icon of the Life of Christ
Image in the Public Domain
The Universal Offer of Salvation
JANUARY 1, 2024
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In Numbers 6:22-27, the Aaronic Benediction was for Israelites only. In Galatians 3 and 4, St. Paul the Apostle, writing in large letters, with his own hand (6:11-12), argued that, by faith, in Christ, the Son of God, anyone, even if not male, free, or Jewish, became a son of God, an adopted member of the household of God, and therefore an heir. (Only sons inherited in St. Paul’s time and place.) The blessing was as close to universal as possible, St. Paul argued, given that many rejected the offer.
The love of God is universal; salvation is not. Grace, although free to us, is certainly not cheap, for it demands much of us. The family of Jesus provides a good example; Sts. Joseph and Mary, we read, were observant Jews. On the eighth day, in accordance with Leviticus 12:3, they took Jesus for his bris, we read. (Interestingly, Leviticus 12:3 mandates the circumcision of a boy on the eighth day, with no exception for the Sabbath, although Leviticus 16:31 and 23:3 state that the Sabbath should be a day of complete rest. Sometimes the language in the Law of Moses states principles and not the exceptions as plainly as some readers might wish.)
The Holy Name of Our Lord and Savior means
YHWH saves
or
YHWH is salvation.
Philippians 2 reminds us that the price of that salvation was the self-sacrifice of Jesus–death on a cross–followed by resurrection, of course. The cross is the background of much of the content of the canonical Gospels until it moves into the foreground. Christ crucified, at the center of St. Paul’s theology, is essential to Christianity. If the message of Christ crucified depresses us or otherwise makes us uncomfortable, that is a matter we should take to God in prayer.
The Holy Name of Jesus calls us to each of us to take up a cross and follow him, if we dare. Do we dare?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 17, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND
THE FEAST OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT, “THE CORN LAW RHYMER”
THE FEAST OF ELIZA SIBBALD ALDERSON, POET AND HYMN WRITER; AND JOHN BACCHUS DYKES, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HENRY SCOTT HOLLAND, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND PRIEST
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Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation:
Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world,
our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 151
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Numbers 6:22-27
Psalm 147 (at least verses 13-21)
Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 or Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 2:15-21
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/03/17/the-universal-offer-of-salvation/
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Above: The Prophet Balaam and the Angel, by John Linnell
Image in the Public Domain
Grace: Free, Not Cheap
JANUARY 21, 2024
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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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Numbers 22:22-35; 23:7-12
Psalm 56:10-13
Acts 8:9-13, 18–25
Mark 4:21-23
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In God the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will not be afraid,
for what can mortals do to me?
I am bound by the vow I made to you, O God;
I will present to you thank-offerings;
For you have rescued my soul from death and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
–Psalm 56:10-13, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Grace is free yet certainly not cheap. Also, most, if not all people might have their price, but God has none. We find this theme in Numbers 22 and 23, in which Balaam, despite having his price, obeys God. We also find this theme in Acts 8, in which Simon Magus offers to purchase the Holy Spirit, succeeding in giving us the word “simony.”
The attitude in Psalm 56:10-13 is preferable: Be loyal to God. And, as we read in Mark 4, what we put in determines what we get out. Grace is free yet not cheap; it requires much of us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 2, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT SIGISMUND OF BURGUNDY, KING; SAINT CLOTILDA, FRANKISH QUEEN; AND SAINT CLODOALD, FRANKISH PRINCE AND ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF JAMES LEWIS MILLIGAN, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCULF OF NANTEUIL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2017/05/02/grace-free-not-cheap/
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Above: The Adoration of the Shepherds, by Mikael Toppelius
Image in the Public Domain
Deciding or Refusing to Repent
DECEMBER 25, 2023
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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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Isaiah 6:(8) 9-13 or Jeremiah 10:1-16 (17-25)
Psalm 35 or 94
John 12:17-19, 37-50
Romans 11:2b-28 (29-32) 33-36
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You have seen, O LORD, do not be silent!
O Lord, do not be far from me!
–Psalm 35:22, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD,
and whom you touch out of your law,
giving them respite from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the Lord will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
–Psalm 94:12-15, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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Some of the readings for this occasion seem to indicate that God has, at various times, designated entire populations and refused to permit them to repent of their sins. This reading is at odds with the theology of unlimited atonement (by Jesus, via his death and resurrection), which ends a process begun by the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity as Jesus of Nazareth. My understanding is that (A) all of us are sinners, (B) God desires all sinners to repent, and (C) many sinners simply refuse to repent. In Judaism one can find an interpretation of the lection from Isaiah that insists that God predicted that many people would not understand and did not desire them to fail to understand. In this reading First Isaiah’s mission was to help people to repent, not to prevent it. This makes sense to me.
Why might one not repent? One might identify a set of reasons, but perhaps the most basic reason is that one must recognize something as an error before one seeks to correct it. Spiritual blindness is a major problem from which all people suffer. We can, by grace, see what occupies our blind spots. Assuming that we do this, do we want to change? Maybe we think that necessary change is pointless or too difficult. Or perhaps we are simply afraid to take action by trusting in God and venturing into unknown (to us) spiritual territory. Either way, one does not repent.
Whoever loves himself or herself more than God is lost, we read in John 12. To be a Christian is to follow Jesus, who went to a cross then a tomb, which he occupied only briefly.
To think this much about Good Friday and Easter Sunday on Christmas Day might seem odd, but it is theologically correct. The recognition of this reality is hardly new. Indeed, Johann Sebastian Bach incorporated the Passion Chorale tune into his Christmas Oratorio.
Grace is free to all, fortunately. Yet many will not accept it and the demands accompanying it. Each of us has a responsibility to say “yes” to God, whose grace is always free and never cheap. Each of us has a responsibility to love his or her neighbors as he or she loves himself or herself. Doing so will, for different people, lead to different ends in this life, and translate into action in a variety of ways, depending on circumstances. The principle is constant, however. Jesus, who came to us first as a baby, demands nothing less than taking up one’s cross and following him.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 30, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF HENRIETTE LUISE VON HAYN, GERMAN MORAVIAN HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/08/30/deciding-or-refusing-to-repent/
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ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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