Archive for the ‘Crucifixion’ Tag
Above: Christ Pantocrator
Job and John, Part XXIII: Overturning Expectations
NOT OBSERVED IN 2019
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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 everlasting 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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The Assigned Readings:
Job 38:1-18 (March 6)
Job 40:1-24 (March 7)
Psalm 97 (Morning–March 6)
Psalm 51 (Morning–March 7)
Psalms 16 and 62 (Evening–March 6)
Psalms 142 and 65 (Evening–March 7)
John 12:30-36a (March 6)
John 12:36b-50 (March 7)
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The glorification of Jesus in the Gospel of John is his crucifixion. This is an unlikely glorification, for crucifixion was a humiliating and protracted form of execution. And, according to the Law of Moses, one who died on a tree was cursed. Yet Jesus was not cursed. He was, in the Johannine Gospel, the Passover Lamb, for he died on the cross on the same day that sacrificial animals met their fates at the Temple.
Overturning expectations seems to be one of the things God does. This is both comforting and disturbing. I would prefer that God apologize to Job, but that is not how the Book of Job reads. That disturbs me. Yet I derive comfort from God transmuting shame into honor and glory, as in the case of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. As for my doubts, questions, and causes for discomfort, I take them to God.
Until the next segment of our journey….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 27, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY
THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTONY AND THEODOSIUS OF KIEV, FOUNDERS OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MONASTICISM; SAINT BARLAAM OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT; AND SAINT STEPHEN OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF THE EARLY ABBOTS OF CLUNY
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH WARRILOW, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/job-and-john-part-xxiii-overturning-expectations/
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Above: Unhappy Jesus
Job and John, Part XVIII: Impatience
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
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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 everlasting 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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The Assigned Readings:
Job 21:1-21
Psalm 33 (Morning)
Psalms 85 and 91 (Evening)
John 8:39-59
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Why should I not lose my patience?
–Job speaking in Job 21:46, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
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As I have written more than once already–including in this series of Job and John posts, anyone who speaks of “the patience of Job” as if Job were patient fails to understand the Book of Job correctly. In fact, Job is quite impatient in Chapter 21.
Likewise, Jesus is far from the embodiment of patience in John 8:39-59. People accuse him of being possessed. He also states that his accusers are children of Satan, not of God. And, at the end, he says,
In all truth I tell you,
before Abraham was,
I am.
–8:58, The New Jerusalem Bible
“I am” is the same in Greek as “I AM” in Hebrew.
I read this part of the Johannine Gospel and recognize that the strained relations between the community of “John” and their fellow Jews at the end of the first century CE shaped the narrative. How could they not? We humans tell the past in the context of the present and the recent past. That is how historical memory works. Yet I know that relations between Jesus and Palestinian Jewish leaders were frosty at best and hostile at worst. His crucifixion attests to that reality. And I take comfort in the fact that the concerted efforts to silence Jesus failed. Who can kill I AM after he has refused to stay dead?
The portrayal of Jesus in much material intended for children is sanitized. He almost always nice, at least according to the art in children’s Bibles I have examined. And our Lord is usually patient and serene. Why would anyone seek to execute such a nice man? But read the Gospels. Jesus was nice to many people yet confrontational toward others. And he was sometimes impatient and even quite angry. He made powerful enemies. Jesus was much more interesting than the serene Savior presented to many children (and adults). The real Jesus was–and is–a worthy Lord. The serene Savior is a safe and sanitized fiction. I am impatient with it.
Until the next segment of our journey….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 26, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET
THE FEAST OF SAINT PASCHASIUS RADBERTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/job-and-john-part-xviii-impatience/
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Above: Troy Davis March, Atlanta, Georgia, September 16, 2011
(Note the Episcopal flag and the Diocese of Atlanta banner; I am proud to belong to his denomination and diocese thereof.)
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
Job and John, Part XVII: Judicial Murder, Legalized Killing
FEBRUARY 25, 2020
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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 everlasting 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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The Assigned Readings:
Job 20:1-23, 29
Psalm 62 (Morning)
Psalms 73 and 8 (Evening)
John 8:21-38
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Job 20 offers us the second speech of Zophar the Naamathite. There is nothing new there. According to Zophar, only the wicked suffer. And Job is suffering. So Job must be wicked. But the Book of Job argues against this line of reasoning. And so does the life of Jesus. By writing these words I have repeated myself from previous posts in this Job and John series.
Above: Another Scene from the Troy Davis March
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
The lifting up of Jesus (John 8:27) is the crucifixion. And those who wanted to kill him, although descended from Abraham were not of God. A child of God obeys God. And one of the most basic commandments in Torah is not to commit murder. What was the crucifixion if not legalized murder? Execution is legalized murder; may we not labor under any delusions to the contrary. If I were to take somebody’s life, the state might accuse me of murder or a related charge. But it is legal for the state to take a life. I see no moral difference.
I , as a Christian, follow my Lord and Savior, one whom legal authorities subjected to torture and execution. Therefore I cannot think of those activities except in the context of what happened to Jesus.
Until the next segment of our journey….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 26, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET
THE FEAST OF SAINT PASCHASIUS RADBERTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/job-and-john-part-xvii-judicial-murder-legalized-killing/
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Above: A Crucifix
Job and John, Part X: Questions of Divine Abuse
FEBRUARY 16, 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 everlasting 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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The Assigned Readings:
Job 12:1-6, 12-25
Psalm 56 (Morning)
Psalms 100 and 62 (Evening)
John 5:30-47
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Job, in Chapter 12, accuses God of abusing power. This is understandable when coming from that character in the context of the narrative. And, given the contents of the first two chapters, it seems like a reasonable statement, from a certain point of view.
The abuse in John 5 is of human origin. Rather, abuse will flow from human plotting and scheming against Jesus. The refusal to accept Jesus, combined with the willingness to do or to commit or to sanction violence, will lead to our Lord’s death. And, if if one really affirms Penal Substitutionary Atonement, the death of Jesus constitutes divine abuse. The depiction of God in that theological formulation sounds to me like
I will not be satisfied until my Son is tortured then killed!
There are, fortunately, two other understandings of the mechanics of the atonement present in the writings of the Church Fathers.
I have more questions than answers regarding the abusiveness (alleged or actual) of divine actions. My goal is to be faithful, not to attempt a vain theodicy. If my explanations are wrong, so be it; I can accept that. As the Book of Job will reveal, God had only brief words for the alleged friends but a speech for Job. He who asked questions got a dialogue, if not satisfactory answers.
Until the next segment of our journey….
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 26, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICHT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES
THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET
THE FEAST OF SAINT PASCHASIUS RADBERTUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/job-and-john-part-x-questions-of-divine-abuse/
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ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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