Archive for the ‘Isaiah 62’ Tag
Above: The Tabernacle
Image in the Public Domain
Precious to God
NOT OBSERVED IN 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 61:10-62:3
Psalm 147:13-21 (LBW) or Psalm 147:12-20 (LW)
Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18
John 1:1-18
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Almighty God, you have filled us with the
new light of the Word who became flesh and lived among us.
Let the light of our faith shine in all that we do;
through your Son, 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), 15
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O God, our Maker and Redeemer,
who wonderfully created and in the incarnation of your Son
yet more wondrously restored our human nature,
grant that we may ever be alive in him who made himself to be like us;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 19
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The people of God are precious to God. All people are precious to God, of course. I focus on the people of God in this post because that is the axis of the through line in the assigned readings.
The readings from Isaiah and the Psalms, in the context of the Babylonian Exile, speak of the vindication of the Jewish exiles. Reading the first portion of Psalm 147 augments this theme.
Ephesians 1:5 refers to God having predestined certain people through Jesus Christ “for adoption toward him.” Adopted children of God receive an inheritance. The audience in the Epistle to the Ephesians was Gentile Christians.
John 1:14, in the Greek text (not necessarily in most English translations) speaks of the Word (Logos) of God–Jesus–pitching a tent in humankind. This tent is the Tent of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:8-9). John 1:14 contains echoes of Joel 3:7; Zechariah 2:10; Ezekiel 43:7; Sirach 24:8; and other passages.
When the Prologue proclaims that the Word made his dwelling among men, we are being told that the flesh of Jesus Christ is the new localization of the ancient Tabernacle. The Gospel will present Jesus as the replacement of the Temple (ii.19-22), which is a variation of the same theme.
—Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to John I-XII (1966), 33
The verb meaning “to pitch a tent” or “to dwell” occurs also in Revelation 7:15 (to refer to God’s presence in Heaven) and in Revelation 21:3:
He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people.
God is present among us. Do we notice? God may seem thoroughly camouflaged, given the way the world is. Yet God, who has long been present, will not depart. People are precious to God. Do we notice? Do we consider others precious to God? Do we think of ourselves as precious to God?
How we think of ourselves and others dictates how we treat others. This underpins the Golden Rule. This also underpins mutuality, a Biblical virtue.
So, how do we think of ourselves and others?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 16, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERTO DE NOBOLI, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BERARD AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS IN MOROCCO, 1220
THE FEAST OF EDMUND HAMILTON SEARS, U.S. UNITARIAN MINISTER, HYMN WRITER, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF EDWARD BUNNETT, ANGLICAN ORGANIST AND COMPOSER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JUANA MARIA CONDESA LLUCH, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE HANDMAIDS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, PROTECTRESS OF WORKERS
THE FEAST OF TIMOTHY RICHARD MATTHEWS, ANGLICAN PRIEST, ORGANIST, AND HYMN TUNE COMPOSER
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Annunciation to the Shepherds, by Rembrandt van Rijn
Image in the Public Domain
Divine Audacity
DECEMBER 24-25, 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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First Service (Christmas Eve)
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-20
Second Service (Christmas Dawn)
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 97 (LBW) or Psalm 2 (LW)
Hebrews 1:1-9
John 1:1-14
Third Service (Christmas Day)
Isaiah 62:10-12
Psalm 98
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2:1-20
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Almighty God, you made this holy night shine with the brightness of the true Light.
Grant that here on earth we may walk in the light of Jesus’ presence
and in the last day wake to the brightness of his glory;
through your only Son, 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), 14
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Almighty God, you have made yourself known in your Son, Jesus, redeemer of the world.
We pray that his birth as a human child will set us free from the old slavery of our sin;
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), 14
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O God, as you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ,
grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer,
may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our judge;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 16
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The Christian observance of Christmas began in the West, in the 300s. At Rome, by 336, December 25 had become the beginning of the church year. Pope St. Gregory I “the Great” (d. 604) wrote of three Christmas Masses–at St. Mary Major, at midnight; at St. Anastasia’s Church, at dawn; and at St. Peter’s, during the day.
Luke 2:1-20 is not historical. I, as a student of history, cannot refute the evidence for this conclusion. However, I embrace the prose poetry of Luke 2:1-20, for it speaks of a great truth: Jesus, not the Emperor Augustus, was the Son of God and the savior of the world, regardless of what the Roman government and coinage claimed.
I have the sources and background to parce all the assigned readings. Yet I choose not to do so in this post. Instead, O reader, I invite you to frolic in divine audacity, evident in the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity as a baby (however that worked). I invite you, O reader, to frolic in divine audacity, which continues to influence lives and societies for the better. I also invite you, O reader, to frolic in the mystery of divine love, to feel comfortable leaving the mystery mysterious, and to respond favorably to God daily, in gratitude.
Merry Christmas!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 9, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY: THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF JULIA CHESTER EMERY, UPHOLDER OF MISSIONS
THE FEAST OF EMILY GREENE BALCH, U.S. QUAKER SOCIOLOGIST, ECONOMIST, AND PEACE ACTIVIST
THE FEAST OF GENE M. TUCKER, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF JOHANN JOZEF IGNAZ VON DÖLLINGER, DISSDENT AND EXCOMMUNICATED GERMAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, THEOLOGIAN, AND HISTORIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT PHILIP II OF MOSCOW, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA, AND MARTYR, 1569
THE FEAST OF THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, U.S. DISCIPLES OF CHRIST EVANGELIST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple, by William Holman Hunt
Image in the Public Domain
Sonship and Fatherhood
JANUARY 2, 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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Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Psalm 147
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 2:41-52
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The Reverend George Washington Barrett (d. 1956), a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, as well as one of my great-grandfathers, preached in the early years of the twentieth century that Jesus grew up in a Christian home. That analysis would have shocked the author of the Gospel of Matthew, who understood Jesus to have been a thoroughly Jewish figure whose life story echoed the history of Israel. In that Gospel, with its prominent contrast between Heaven and Earth, the young Jesus’s identification of God as his (heavenly) Father while St. Joseph, the man who raised the Messiah, was alive, brought up issues of types of fatherhood.
By faith and grace we are sons of God–members of the divine household. For the purpose of inclusion, a cause near and dear to my generally liberal heart, certain contemporary translations render the Greek word for “sons” as “children.” In so doing they lose the connection between the Son of God (4:4) as well as the “Spirit of his Son” (4:6) and each of us as a son of God by God’s actions (4:7), a case St. Paul the Apostle made in a culture in which only sons inherited. The gendered, seemingly exclusive language is actually inclusive, and the modernized, inclusive, neutered language sacrifices literary and theological subleties. I know a New Testament scholar who favors translating “sons” as “sons and daughters” rather than “children” for modern readers. He concedes that doing so sacrifices some meaning while stating that all modern translations sacrifice some meaning. I favor a translation that sacrifices as little meaning as possible and abhors superficial inclusiveness that makes us feel good and accomplishes little else.
We are, anyway, heirs of God, by faith and grace. We, the “sons of God,” are not exclusively male or Jewish; we come from many categories, but all of us are in God. This is wonderful news! The love of God, although unconditional, imposes the duty of faithful response on its recipients, not all of whom obey.
We can ever repay God, but at least we can be grateful. The metaphor of God as Father is a wonderful one. Yes, maternal images for God exist in the Bible, but the paternal ones are on my mind as I write this post, based partially on texts that use the word “father.” When human fathers disown their children, abuse them, et cetera, the metaphor of God as Father emphasizes the contrast between God and such sub par human fathers. One might think of St. Joseph, certainly a fine father (He did raise Jesus), but even he had human failings. As fine a father (as in the man who raises a child) St. Joseph was, we are supposed to understand, God is better. God is perfect. God adopts us. God cares deeply about us.
Do we care deeply about God?
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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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/03/17/sonship-and-fatherhood/
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Above: Nativity and Annunciation to the Shepherds
Image in the Public Domain
Reasons for Hope
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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Proper 2
Isaiah 62:6-12
Psalm 97
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2:[1-7] 8-20
Proper 3
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 98
Hebrews 1:1-12
John 1:1-14
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The Reverend Will Humes, consistent with the Roman Catholic tradition of the three masses of Christmas, provides Propers 1, 2, and 3 in his proposed lectionary. Proper 1 is for Christmas Eve. Propers 2 and 3 are for Christmas Day.
St. Gregory I “the Great,” Bishop of Rome (d. 604), provided the oldest surviving documentation of the three masses of Christmas. The midnight mass was at the Church of St. Mary Major. The second mass, at dawn, was at St. Anastasia’s Church. The third mass of the day was at the Church of St. Peter.
Proper 2
The context of Isaiah 62 was the end of the Babylonian Exile. The nations had witnessed the vindication of Israel in 61:10-62:2. The best days of the returning exiles lay ahead. The problem was that, according to all historical sources, those predictions of paradise on Earth did not come true. Returning exiles lived in a poor, backwater satrapy of the Persian Empire. Many people pushed those vaunted hopes into the future.
God is in charge. This is good news for the righteous and bad news for those He consumes. Justification by grace, which results from divine mercy, makes the justified heirs to eternal life, which is knowing God via Jesus (John 17:3). Part of living faithfully, of responding favorably to God in response to divine mercy, is striving to live more patiently as one acknowledges God’s promises. There is always hope, even though some of it has yet to arrive.
Regardless of the year you are reading this post, O reader, I guarantee that global news looks nothing like God’s full-blown reign on Earth. This is a matter of human sinfulness and of divine scheduling. Mustering patience can be difficult, I know, but we need not rely on our strength, which is insufficient anyhow. Fortunately, God seems to smile upon even the effort to muster patience; at least the attempt is a sign of good faith.
Proper 3
The readings from Hebrews 1 and John 1 present the heavenly Jesus, who dwelt among people and met with both acceptance and rejection. All the people of the Earth should rejoice because of the Incarnation, but most do not. This is unfortunate. It is also a matter for divine judgment and mercy; I will not presume to know more about the balance of those two factors than the very little I perceive.
The reading from Isaiah 52 is a prophecy of the restoration of Jerusalem. The Presence of God will dwell with the people, as it did after the Exodus and before the crossing into Canaan, we read. The full victory of God remains for the future, but the Incarnation constitutes a unique divine intervention into human events. The Incarnation points toward intervention and tells us, among other things, that we who follow Christ have excellent reasons to hope for the future.
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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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/03/17/reasons-for-hope/
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Above: Ruins of the Temple of Apollo, Corinth
Image in the Public Domain
Judgment, Mercy, and Ethical Living, Part II
NOT OBSERVED IN 2015
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The Collect:
Loving God, by tender words and covenant promise you have joined us to yourself forever,
and you invite us to respond to your love with faithfulness.
By your Spirit may we live with you and with one another in justice, mercy, and joy,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 25
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The Assigned Readings:
Hosea 3:1-5 (Monday)
Hosea 14:1-9 (Tuesday)
Isaiah 62:1-5 (Wednesday)
Psalm 45:6-17 (All Days)
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11 (Monday)
2 Corinthians 11:1-15 (Tuesday)
John 3:22-36 (Wednesday)
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Your throne is God’s throne, for ever;
the sceptre of your kingdom is the sceptre of righteousness.
You love righteousness and hate iniquity;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
–Psalm 45:6-7, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)
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The readings for these three days, taken together, use marriage metaphors for the relationship between God and Israel and the relationship between God and an individual. Idolatry is akin to sexual promiscuity, for example. That metaphor works well, for there were pagan temple prostitutes.
Idolatry and social injustice are a pair in many Old Testament writings, for the Bible has much to say about how we ought to treat others, especially those who have less power or money than we do. Thus Psalm 45, a royal wedding song, becomes, in part, a meditation on justice. Also, as St. Paul the Apostle reminds us by words and example, nobody has the right to place an undue burden upon anyone or cause another person grief improperly.
May we recall and act upon Hosea 14:1-9, which states that, although God judges and disciplines, God also shows extravagant mercy. May we forgive ourselves for our faults. May we forgive others for their failings. And may we, by grace, do all the above and recall that there is hope for us all in divine mercy. Such grace calls for a positive response, does it not?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 4, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FIFTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH MOHR, AUSTRIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT BARBARA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCUS, HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CALABRIA, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE POOR SERVANTS AND THE POOR WOMEN SERVANTS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/12/06/judgment-mercy-and-ethical-living-part-ii/
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Above: Interior, Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, Palestine, Between 1934 and 1939
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-matpc-04039
The Incarnated Light
DECEMBER 25, 2022
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The Collects:
All-powerful and unseen God, the coming of your light
into our world has brightened weary hearts with peace.
Call us out of darkness, and empower us to proclaim the birth of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
and
Almighty God, you gave your only Son to take on our human nature
and to illumine the world with your light.
By your grace adopt us as your children and enlighten us with your Spirit,
through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 20
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The Assigned Readings:
Set One:
Isaiah 62:6-12
Psalm 97
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2:[1-7] 8-20
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Set Two:
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 98
Hebrews 1:1-4 [5-12]
John 1:1-14
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Some Related Posts:
O Blessed Mother:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/o-blessed-mother/
A Christmas Prayer:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/a-christmas-prayer/
Blessing of a Nativity Scene:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/blessing-of-a-nativity-scene/
A Christmas Prayer: God of History:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/a-christmas-prayer-god-of-history/
A Christmas Prayer: Immanuel:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/a-christmas-prayer-immanuel/
Christmas Blessings:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/christmas-blessings/
A Christmas Prayer of Thanksgiving:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/a-christmas-prayer-of-thanksgiving/
The Hail Mary:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/the-hail-mary/
O Little Town of Bethlehem:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/o-little-town-of-bethlehem/
Joy to the World:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/joy-to-the-world/
Christmas Prayers of Praise and Adoration:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/christmas-prayers-of-praise-and-adoration/
Christmas Prayers of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/christmas-prayers-of-dedication/
A Prayer of Thanksgiving for Christmas:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/a-prayer-of-thanksgiving-for-christmas/
How Can I Fitly Greet Thee:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/how-can-i-fitly-greet-thee/
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Light has dawned for the righteous:
and joy for the upright in heart.
–Psalm 97:11, A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989)
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You have made known your victory:
you have displayed your saving power to all nations.
–Psalm 98:3, A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989)
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The readings for Christmas Day, the first day of Christmas, focus on the arrival of salvation. In some ways this announcement constitutes old news, especially when reading the lessons from Isaiah. And, as another text tells us:
In many and various ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also created the ages. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.
–Hebrews 1:1-4, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition
Salvation was–and remains–old news. And the one new means of it is about 2,000 years old in human terms now. Through Jesus we have access to
…the cleansing power of a new birth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit….The result is that we are acquitted by his [Christ’s] grace, and can look forward in hope to inheriting life eternal.
–Titus 3:5b and 7, J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition (1972)
The Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, proclaimed to shepherds, is potentially good news for people of various socio-economic backgrounds and cultural origins. Grace is good news, is it not? Yet grace, although free, is costly, not cheap. It demands much of us. And there is potentially bad news from a certain point of view. To follow Jesus–to be a disciple–might cost one more than one wants to pay. It has cost many people their lives.
On this Christmas Day and on all other days may we accept the challenge to take up a cross and follow Jesus, the Word made flesh and the Light who shines in the darkness without the darkness overcoming it.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 10, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN SCHEFFLER, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, POET, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF GEORG NEUMARK, GERMAN LUTHERAN POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN HINES, PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/the-incarnated-light/
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Above: Logo of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union
When God Acts
JANUARY 16, 2022
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Isaiah 62:1-5 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures):
For the sake of Zion I will not be silent,
For the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still,
Till her victory emerge resplendent
And her triumph like a flaming torch.
Nations shall see your victory,
And every kin, your majesty;
And you shall be called by a new name
Which the LORD Himself shall bestow.
You shall be a glorious crown
In the hand of the LORD,
And a royal diadem
In the palm of your God.
Nevermore shall you be called “Forsaken,”
Nor shall your land be called “Desolate”‘;
But you shall be called “I delight in her,”
And your land “Espoused.”
For the LORD takes delight in you,
And your land shall be espoused.
As a youth espouses a maiden,
You sons shall espouse you;
And as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
So will your God rejoice over you.
Psalm 36:5-10 (New Revised Standard Version):
Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart!
1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (Revised English Bible):
About gifts of the Spirit, my friends, I want there to be no misunderstanding.
You know how, in the days when you were still pagan, you used to be carried away by some impulse or other to those dumb heathen gods. For this reason I must impress upon you that no one who says
A curse of Jesus!
can be speaking under the influence of the Spirit of God; and no one can say
Jesus is Lord!
except under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
There are varieties of gifts, but he same Spirit. There are varieties of service, but the same Lord. There are varieties of activity, but in all of them and in everyone the same God is active. In each of us the Spirit is seen to be at work for some useful purpose. One, through the Spirit, has the gift of wise speech, while another, by the power of the same Spirit, can put the deepest knowledge into words. Another, by the same Spirit, is granted faith; another, by the one Spirit, gifts of healing, and another miraculous powers; another has the gift of prophecy, and other the ability to distinguish true spirits from false; yet another has the gift of tongues of various kinds, and another the ability to interpret them. But all these gifts are the activity of one and the same Spirit, distributing them to each individual at will.
John 2:1-11 (Revised English Bible):
Two days later there was a wedding at Cana-in-Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also among the guests. The wine gave out, so Jesus’s mother said to him,
They have no wine left.
He answered,
That is no concern of mine. My hour has yet to come.
His mother said to the servants,
Do whatever he tells you.
There were six stone water-jars standing near, of the kind used for Jewish rites of purification; each held from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants,
Fill the jars with water,
and they filled them to the brim.
Now draw some off,
he ordered,
and take it to the master of the feast,
and they did so. The master tasted the water now turned into wine, not knowing its source, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He hailed the bridegroom and said,
Everyone else serves the best wine first, and the poorer only when the guests have drunk freely; but you have kept the best wine til now.
So Jesus performed at Cana-in-Galilee the first of the signs which revealed his glory and led his disciples to believe in him.
The Collect:
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Some Related Posts:
Prayer of Praise and Adoration:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-second-sunday-after-epiphany/
Prayer of Confession:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/prayer-of-confession-for-the-second-sunday-after-epiphany/
Prayer of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-second-sunday-after-epiphany/
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Once I read a story which might be apocryphal. There was, in the days prior to the time of Prohibition in the United States, a certain woman who traveled along the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) lecture circuit and spoke of the evils of alcohol. God, she said, wanted people to abstain from it all times. She completed her remarks and asked if anyone had any questions. One young man raised his hand. The speaker called on him. He asked,
If what you say is true, how do you explain Jesus turning water into wine?
She replied,
I would like him better if he had not done that.
The readings for this Sunday speak of ways in which God acts. In Isaiah God will act in a spectacular fashion to restore exiles. As one who has read certain other parts of the Hebrew Scriptures knows, some people objected to the rebuilding of Jerusalem, its walls, and the Temple. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 contains an explanation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. All of them are manifestations of God yet the variety of them offends certain conformists. And Jesus turning water into wine in John 2:1-11, his first miracle in that Gospel, caused discomfort for many advocates of temperance. Once, years ago, I watched a documentary about Jesus movies. The program mentioned a silent film from the United States. Scenes from the wedding feast at Cana were there, but with an explanation about the use of wine in biblical times.
When God acts we might become uncomfortable. That is our problem, not any indication of a fault with God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 30, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CLIMACUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF SAINT INNOCENT OF ALASKA, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOAN OF TOULOUSE, CARMELITE NUN, AND SAINT SIMON STOCK, CARMELITE FRIAR
THE FEAST OF KARL RAHNER, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/when-god-acts/
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Above: Adoration of the Shepherds, by Gerard van Hornthorst
Waiting for Complete Deliverance
JANUARY 2, 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 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:
Isaiah 62:1-12
Psalm 48 (Morning)
Psalms 45 and 29 (Evening)
Luke 2:1-20
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Some Related Posts:
How Can I Fitly Greet Thee:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/how-can-i-fitly-greet-thee/
O Little Town of Bethlehem:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/o-little-town-of-bethlehem/
A Christmas Prayer: Immanuel:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/a-christmas-prayer-immanuel/
O Blessed Mother:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/o-blessed-mother/
A Christmas Prayer:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/a-christmas-prayer/
A Christmas Prayer: God of History:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/a-christmas-prayer-god-of-history/
Christmas Blessings:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/christmas-blessings/
A Christmas Prayer of Thanksgiving:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/a-christmas-prayer-of-thanksgiving/
The Hail Mary:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/the-hail-mary/
Joy to the World:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/joy-to-the-world/
Christmas Prayers of Praise and Adoration:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/christmas-prayers-of-praise-and-adoration/
Christmas Prayers of Dedication:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/christmas-prayers-of-dedication/
A Prayer of Thanksgiving for Christmas:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/a-prayer-of-thanksgiving-for-christmas/
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…Your Deliverer is coming!….
–Isaiah 62:11c, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
The passage from Isaiah 62 addresses a conquered nation, one delivered by God and the Persians and living within the borders of the Persian Empire. Redemption for the Jewish nation is partial as of Isaiah 62; full redemption will follow.
Likewise, in Luke 2, the birth of Jesus marks partial redemption. The Roman Empire is still in power in Luke 2. In fact, the Roman Empire was in power at the time of the writing of the Gospel of Luke, after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
The world remains a violent place, a site of injustice. Our full redemption remains a matter of the future. How it will come to pass is a matter for God to decide and to accomplish. May we be faithful while we wait.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 22, 2012 COMMON ERA
ASH WEDNESDAY
THE FEAST OF ERIC LIDDELL, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY TO CHINA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PRAETEXTATUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF ROUEN
THE FEAST OF RASMUS JENSEN, LUTHERAN MISSIONARY TO CANADA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS THALASSIUS, LIMNAEUS, AND MARON, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/waiting-for-complete-deliverance/
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Above: Christ the Sun Mosaic, the Vatican
The Logos of God
DECEMBER 31, 2023
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Isaiah 61:10-62:3 (New Revised Standard Version):
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garment of salvation,
has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the LORD God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all nations.
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
Psalm 147:12-20 (New Revised Standard Version):
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
He grants peace within your borders;
he fills you with the finest of wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down hail like crumbs–
who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the LORD!
Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 (New Revised Standard Version):
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying,
Abba! Father!
So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
John 1:1-18 (New Revised Standard Version):
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out,
This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.”)
From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
The Collect:
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through 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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The prologue to the Gospel of John speaks (in Greek) of Jesus as the Logos (Word, in English) of God. Embedded within this idea is that grace and nature are not separate. Nature owes its existence to grace, and nature can be a means of grace. Furthermore, nature is a form of grace.
The Enlightenment was a wonderful corrective to abuses and excesses of the ages preceding it. So let nobody give short shrift to the Enlightenment. Yet this era, like all epochs, contained certain excesses and errors of its own. Among these was Deism, the idea that God is like a watchmaker. The watchmaker puts the watch together and winds it up, then leaves it alone. In contrast, the doctrine of the Logos indicates a God active in nature and our lives up to the present, and presumably well into the future. These dealings are for purpose of helping us find our proper equilibrium relative to God, and therefore to enjoy and glorify God. The love in this relationship should be mutual. That, at least, is the ideal. We, abusing or misusing our free will, however, make decisions which sabotage this plan.
So may we reciprocate the love God extends to us.
KRT
Written on June 5, 2010
Above: The Traditional Site of the Birth of Jesus, at the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, Israel
Love Descended
DECEMBER 25, 2023
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The Collect:
O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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The Revised Common Lectionary lists three sets of readings for Christmas Day.
Set One:
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)
Set Two:
Isaiah 62:6-12
Psalm 97
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2:(1-7), 8-20
Set Three:
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 98
Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)
John 1:1-14
I choose to list the scriptural citations for Christmas Day and proceed to my thoughts.
Part One:
December 25 is the first day of Christmas; January 5 is the last. There are twelve days of Christmas. So I encourage everyone to think in terms of this sacred time, not commercial time. I live in North America, where many retailers put out their Christmas displays before Halloween. History tells me that many Evangelicals over time have either ignored Christmas (as too Roman Catholic) or preferred it as a secular, commercial celebration of the family, or complained about excessive commercialization. (They have correct in this matter only in the last example. For more details, follow this link.
So I hope you, O reader, will keep a sacred Christmas season without falling into crankiness about crass commercialism. Life is too short to be habitually irritated. Let us enjoy God instead.
I refer you also to this post.
Part Two:
We bore the image of God yet disregarded God, gave God inadequate attention, mistreated each other, institutionalized injustice, and misunderstood divine demands.
So God spoke through the Prophets.
Yet we persisted in our misguided ways.
So Love descended, became one of us (yet much more), and demonstrated righteousness.
We murdered Love.
Yet God raised Love from the dead.
We persist in our misguided ways.
And God is still speaking.
Are we listening?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 4, 2010 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN XXIII, BISHOP OF ROME
http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/love-descended/
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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