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:  Head of Herod, by Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Image in the Public Domain

Five Kings

DECEMBER 18, 2022

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Isaiah 7:10-14 (15-17)

Psalm 24

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-25

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Stir up your power, O Lord, and come.

Take away the hindrance of our sins

and make us ready for the celebration of your birth,

that we may receive you in joy and serve you always,

for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 14

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Stir up your power, O Lord, and come among us with great might,

and because we are sorely hindered by our sins,

let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver 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), 14

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Kings populate the readings for this Sunday.

The kings in Isaiah 7:10-17 were Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah.  Immediately–in context–God was with Judah and the leadership of that kingdom during the Syro-Ephraimite War.  The conception of the future King Hezekiah to an almah (young woman) was the sign of this.

YHWH is the King of Glory in Psalm 24.

Jesus was the king in Romans 1:1-7.  The death and resurrection of Christ revealed in yet another way that he was the Son of God.  (May we avoid the heresy of Adoptionism.)

Herod the Great was a client king of the Roman Empire.  To accuse Herod of being mean was to understate reality.  The man ordered the deaths of relatives and strangers alike.

Therefore, I, as a historian, attest that the story of the Massacre of the Innocents is plausible.  It is consistent with the character of Herod the Great.

Matthew 1:18 quotes and reapplies Jeremiah 31:15, a text about Israel, personified as Rachel, weeping for her lost children, exiles during the Babylonian Exile.  Jeremiah 31:16 predicts the return of the exiles, though.  There is hope, even if it is deferred sometimes.

That must have been cold comfort to grieving parents, though.

As we approach the twelve days of Christmas, may all of us cling to hope.  That hope may seem like cold comfort, especially if we grieve the absence of someone who has died or has not been able to attend for another reason.  I need encouragement to cling to hope as much as the next grieving person; I know the feeling of more than one “blue Christmas.”  Yet hope abides.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 8, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT THORFINN OF HAMAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF A. J. MUSTE, DUTCH-AMERICAN MINISTER, LABOR ACTIVIST, AND PACIFIST

THE FEAST OF ARCANGELO CORELLI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF NICOLAUS COPERNICUS AND GALILEO GALILEI, SCIENTISTS

THE FEAST OF HARRIET BEDELL, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS AND MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF SAINT PEPIN OF LANDEN, SAINT ITTA OF METZ, THEIR RELATIONS, AND SAINTS AMAND, AUSTREGISILUS, AND SULPICIUS II OF BOURGES, FAITHFUL CHRISTIANS ACROSS GENERATIONAL LINES

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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA

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…and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord….

Above:   St. Joseph, by William Dyce

Image in the Public Domain

Proclaiming Jesus the Son of God

DECEMBER 18, 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 7:10-17

Isaiah 12 (at least verses 2-6)

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-24

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Ahaz, King of Judah (reigned 743/735-727/715 B.C.E.) was hardly a pious monotheist.  In fact, he practiced idolatry openly.  2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28 gave him scathing reviews.  Ahaz, confronted with an alliance of Israel and Aram against him, chose to rely on Assyria, not God.  That was a really bad decision.  Nevertheless, God sent a sign of deliverance; a young woman of the royal court would have a baby boy.  God would not only protect Judah but judge it also.

Surely God is our salvation, but how often do we take the easy way out and not trust in God?  When God arrives in the form of a helpless infant, as in Matthew 1, one might not recognize the divine presence.  What we expect to see might prevent us from seeing what is in front of us for what it is.  God approaches us in many guises, many of them unexpected.

At first reading Romans 1:4 might seem surprising, perhaps even similar to the Adoptionist heresy.

—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

One might think of John 1:1-18, which declares that the Son is co-eternal with the Father.  One might also ponder the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:32-34) as well as the preceding testimony of St. John the Baptist in each Gospel.  One might even recall the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8; Matthew 17:1-13; Luke 9:28-36).

The proclamation mentioned in Romans 1:4 need not contradict those other proclamations.  No, one should interpret it as a subsequent proclamation that Jesus was the Son of God.  One should notice the theological context in Romans 1:  Easter as the beginning and foretaste of the prophesied age of divine rule on Earth.

“Kingdom of God” has more than one meaning in the New Testament.  Usually, though, it indicates divine rule on Earth.  This kingdom is evident in the ministry of Jesus in the Gospels, written after the death of St. Paul the Apostle.  The Kingdom of God is both present and future; it is here, yet not fully.

As we, being intellectually honest readers of scripture, acknowledge the existence of certain disagreements regarding the dawning of the age of God, according to St. Paul and the authors of the canonical Gospels, may we also never cease to trust in God, regardless of how much evil runs rampant and how much time has elapsed since the times of Jesus and St. Paul.  God keeps a schedule we do not see.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 15, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZACHARY OF ROME, POPE

THE FEAST OF SAINTS JAN ADALBERT BALICKI AND LADISLAUS FINDYSZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS IN POLAND

THE FEAST OF OZORA STEARNS DAVIS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF VETHAPPAN SOLOMON, APOSTLE TO THE NICOBAR ISLANDS

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/03/15/proclaiming-jesus-the-son-of-god/

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Above:  The Harrowing of Hades

Hope and Fear

DECEMBER 1, 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 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 7:10-8:8

Psalm 90 (Morning)

Psalms 80 and 72 (Evening)

1 Peter 3:1-22

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A Related Post:

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/when-i-survey-the-wondrous-cross/

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He [Jesus Christ] suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again.

–The Apostles’ Creed

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Christ himself died once and for all for sins, the upright for the sake of the guilty, to lead us to God.  In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life, and in the spirit, he went to preach to the spirits in prison.  They refused to believe long ago, while God patiently waited to receive them…..

–1 Peter 3:18-20a, The New Jerusalem Bible

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The reading from Isaiah tells of the births of two boys.  Immanuel’s arrival marked hope that the Syro-Ephraimite threat to Judah would end soon.  It also contained a promise of divine judgment; read 7:17.  The arrival of Maher-shalal-hash-baz marked the doom of the Syro-Ephraimite thread at Assyria’s hands.  Hope and judgment, bound together, were part of the same message.  The author of the Gospel of Matthew read a different meaning into Isaiah 7, relating it to Jesus.  The combination of hope and judgment is also present there.  That is sound New Testament-based theology.

As much as judgment is potent, so is mercy.  1 Peter 3:19 is one basis (see also 1 Peter 4:6) for the line (from the Apostles’ Creed) about Jesus descending to the dead.  This passage indicates that Hell, at one time at least, had an exit.  And it might have one again.  There is always hope in God.  If God does not give up on us–as I suspect is true–may we extend each other the same courtesy.  Final judgment belongs to God, and I do not presume to a station higher than the one I occupy.  But I do propose that certain ideas we might have heard and internalized relative to divine judgment might be mistaken.  With God all things are possible; may we embrace that mystery.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 3, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN OWEN SMITH, UNITED METHODIST BISHOP IN GEORGIA

THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY IN ASIA

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/hope-and-fear/

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Above:  Christ with Beard

Subversive Compassion

NOVEMBER 30, 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 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 6:1-7:9

Psalm 102 (Morning)

Psalms 130 and 16 (Evening)

1 Peter 2:13-25

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Some Related Posts:

Isaiah 6-7:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/week-of-proper-9-saturday-year-2/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/week-of-proper-10-tuesday-year-2/

A Prayer for Compassion:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/a-prayer-for-compassion/

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I have covered the reading from Isaiah already, so I refer you, O reader, to the labeled links for them.  At this time and place I choose to say the following:  A pressing question for many Christians in the latter portion of the first century C.E. was whether one could be both a good Christian and a good Roman.  Also, the author of 1 Peter assumed that Jesus would be back quite soon to sort out the world order.  As I write these words, our Lord has not returned. The world order is what we have made it; may we exercise our agency responsibly to improve it.  This does involve resisting authority sometimes, as in the case of tyrannical governments.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer plotted to assassinate Adolf Hitler.  Many faithful Christians–Protestants and Roman Catholics–sheltered Jews and resisted the Third Reich.  And, throughout church history, bishops have called monarchs to account.

We who read and interpret the Bible must be careful to read it as a whole, not to fixate so much on certain passages that we ignore inconvenient ones and distort the composite meaning of the texts.  There is something called confirmation bias, which means that we tend to pay attention to evidence which supports our opinions and ignore or dismiss that which does not.  I look for this in myself and try to safeguard against prooftexting, the confirmation bias method of misreading the Bible.

I keep returning to the example Jesus set.  (I am a professing Christian, literally a “partisan of Christ.”)  He violated many religious customs, some of them from the Law of Moses itself.  He seems to have favored compassion over any other factor when they came into conflict.  And he taught this ethic with his words.  So we have in our Lord the union of words and deeds favoring compassion above all else in guiding our actions toward others.  Compassion trumps all else.

As much as I disagree with those aspects of Christian traditions which deal favorably with tyrants and dictators, justify servitude, and smile upon gender inequality, I find Jesus to be the strong counterpoint to them.  Somewhere–very soon after our Lord’s time on the planet ended–the church began to accommodate itself–frequently in ways inconsistent with Christ–to the Roman Empire.  Jesus was a subversive.  I mean this as a compliment.  I follow the subversive, or at least I try to do so.  If I am to be an honest Christian, this is what I must do.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 3, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN OWEN SMITH, UNITED METHODIST BISHOP IN GEORGIA

THE FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY IN ASIA

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/subversive-compassion/

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Above: The Annunciation, by El Greco

“Hail Mary, Full of Grace….”

DECEMBER 20, 2023

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Isaiah 7:10-17 (Revised English Bible):

The LORD spoke further to Ahaz.

Ask the LORD your God for a sign,

he said,

whether from Sheol below or from heaven above.

But Ahaz replied:

No, I will not put the LORD to the test by asking for a sign.

Then the prophet said:

Listen, you house of David.  Not content with wearing out the patience of men, must you also wear out the patience of men, must you also wear out the patience of my God?  Because you do, the Lord of his own accord will give you a sign; it is this:  A young woman is with child, and she will give birth to a son and call him Immanuel.  By the time he has learnt to reject what is bad and choose what is good, he will eating curds and honey; before that child has learnt to reject evil and choose good, the territories of those two kings before whom you now cringe in fear will lie desolate.  The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house, a time the like of which has not been since Ephraim broke away from Judah.

Psalm 24 (Revised English Bible):

To the LORD belong the earth and everything in it,

the world and all its inhabitants.

For it was he who founded it on the seas

and planted it firm on the waters beneath.

Who may go up the mountain of the LORD?

Who may stand in his holy place?

One who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who has not set his mind on what is false

or sworn deceitfully.

Such a one shall receive blessing from the LORD,

and be vindicated by God his saviour.

Such is the fortune of those who seek him,

who seek the presence of the God of Jacob.

Lift up your heads, you gates,

lift yourselves up, you everlasting doors,

that the king of glory may come in.

Who is this king of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, you gates,

lift them up, you everlasting doors,

that the king of glory may come in.

Who is he, this king of glory?

The LORD of Hosts, he is the king of glory.

Luke 1:26-38 (Revised English Bible):

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, with a message for a girl betrothed to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David; the girl’s name was Mary.  The angel went in and said to her,

Greetings, most favoured one!  The Lord is with you.

But she was deeply troubled by what he said and wondered what this greeting could mean.  Then the angel said to her,

Do not be afraid, Mary, for God has been gracious to you; you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David, and he will be king over Israel for ever; his reign shall never end.

Mary said,

How can this be?  I am still a virgin.

The angel answered,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason the holy child to be born will be called Son of God.  Moreover your kinswoman Elizabeth has herself conceived a son in her old age; and she who is reputed barren is now in her sixth month, for God’s promises can never fail.

Mary said,

I am the Lord’s servant; may it be as you have said.

Then the angel left her.

The Collect:

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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I grew up a low church Protestant, specifically Southern rural United Methodist.  This happened in the context of a religious culture in which the Southern Baptists (especially the fundamentalist wing of that denomination) and their ways dominated, with Cleveland, Tennessee, Church of God-ers and their ilk not far behind.  This was a religious milieu in which the Mother of Our Lord and Savior received insufficient attention.

For a long time I did not pay her enough respect.  I have changed my ways since becoming an Episcopalian, however, for I am “one step from Rome,” as an old, fun ditty says.  (“I am an Anglican; I’m TEC;/I’m not high church, nor low church/but Catholic and Protestant and free.  I’m not a Luth’ran,/nor a Presby,/nor a Baptist white with foam./I am an Anglican, just one step from Rome./I am an Anglican, just one step from Rome.”–sung to the tune of “God Bless America,” by the way)  Now the Hail Mary is part of my prayer life.

Jesus became the man he did in large part because of who Mary was.  May we honor her, the Mother of God, the Theotokos, and in some way the spiritual mother of us all.

KRT

Written on June 3, 2010

O BLESSED MOTHER

O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You learned you were pregnant

Outside of wedlock?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

The anonymous, thronging crowds

Ignored you in your hour of need in Bethlehem?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You experienced birth pangs,

As well as the stresses of parenthood?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

Your eldest son confused you,

Then seemed to reject you?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You watched your eldest son die?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You buried your eldest son?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You discovered your resurrected son?

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O Blessed Mother,

How did you feel when

You ascended and became

Queen of Heaven?

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O Blessed Mother,

Strong and humble,

Faithful and human,

Intercede for us.

Amen.

Kenneth Randolph Taylor

May 30, 1997

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/hail-mary-full-of-grace/

Above:  King Ahaz

Emmanuel:  God is With Us, and We Need to Be With God

DECEMBER 18, 2022

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Isaiah 7:10-16 (New Revised Standard Version):

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying,

Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.

But Ahaz said,

I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.

Then Isaiah said:

Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 (New Revised Standard Version):

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock!

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth

before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.

Stir up your might,

and come to save us!

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

O LORD God of hosts,

how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?

You have fed them with the bread of tears,

and given them tears to drink in full measure.

You make us the scorn of our neighbors;

our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face sine, that we may be saved.

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,

the one whom you made strong for yourself.

Then we will never turn back from you;

give us life, and we will call on your name.

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Romans 1:1-7 (New Revised Standard Version):

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:18-25 (New Revised Standard Version):

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means,

“God is with us.”

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

The Collect:

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Here is the historical background of the reading from Isaiah:

The Kings of Aram (or Syria) and Israel (the northern Hebrew kingdom) planned to create an alliance of states to oppose the Assyrian Empire, a major power in 735 B.C.E.  When King Ahaz of Judah did not join this effort the forces of Aram and Israel attempted to overthrow him and to place a more compliant monarch on the throne.  This situation concerned Ahaz (understandably so), and he turned to Assyria, not God, for protection.  Ahaz put on airs of righteousness, making a show of not asking God for a sign.  Yet, as Isaiah stated, God would send a sign anyway.  An almah, or young woman of marriageable age (married or not, virgin or not left undefined) would give birth to a healthy baby boy, and the kingdom would be out of immediate danger by the time the child could able to “reject the bad and choose the good.”

Thus the birth of a child became a sign of deliverance from certain death.

Confronting and dealing with Assyria was foolish.  The Assyrian Empire conquered Aram, deprived Israel of much territory, and made Judah a dependency.  Trusting in God would have been a better choice.

That is a timeless lesson.

KRT
Written on June 2, 2010.

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/emmanuel-god-is-with-us-and-we-need-to-be-with-god/