There are Baptists, then there are Baptists.

Above:  The Pool of Bethesda

Image in the Public Domain

Rich in Good Deeds

NOT OBSERVED IN THE SEASON AFTER THE EPIPHANY 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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Zephaniah 1:1-18 or Proverbs 25:6-22

Psalm 119:73-77, 103-105

1 Timothy 6:9-21

John 5:1-18

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Idols abound.  They include wealth, power, prestige, and foreign religions.  Even the most well-meaning people are vulnerable to these temptations.

As we read in 1 Timothy 6, we should be rich in good deeds.  As we read in Psalm 119, we should delight in the Law of God.  And, as even much of Second Temple Judaism affirmed, performing a good deed on the Sabbath is acceptable.

Those who criticized Jesus for healing on the Sabbath in John 5:16f seemed not to have cared about that final detail.  Sabbath laws were flexible in Second Temple Judaism, or at least in portions thereof.  There were schools of Judaism.  And, within each school, personal agendas informed how some people responded and reacted to various deeds on the Sabbath.

None of this should surprise us–especially Gentiles.  I recall a saying from my formative years (as a United Methodist) in southern Georgia, U.S.A., in the Bible Belt:

So, may we lay aside the stereotype of Second Temple Judaism as a legalistic religion with works-based righteousness.  May we do so as we follow the advice (from 1 Timothy 6) to be rich in good works.  After all, one knows a tree by its fruits.

We can take nothing with us when we die.  We can, at that time, however, leave a legacy of faithful, active love.  We can leave a legacy of trust in God, love of God, and love of our fellow human beings.  We can leave the world better than we found it.  We can leave this life rich in good deeds.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 4, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FEAST OF SAINT ELIZABETH ANN SETON, FOUNDRESS OF THE AMERICAN SISTERS OF CHARITY

THE FEAST OF FELIX MANZ, FIRST ANABAPTIST MARTYR, 1527

THE FEAST OF SAINTS GREGORY OF LANGRES, TERTICUS OF LANGRES, GALLUS OF CLERMONT, GREGORY OF TOURS, AVITUS I OF CLERMONT, MAGNERICUS OF TRIER, AND GAUGERICUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS

THE FEAST OF JOHANN LUDWIG FREYDT, GERMAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND EDUCATOR

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https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2021/01/04/devotion-for-proper-7-year-d-humes/

https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/04/rich-in-good-deeds/

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Advertisement

Above:   Abraham and Melchizedek

Image in the Public Domain

Glorification

FEBRUARY 11, 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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Genesis 14:18-20

Psalm 110:1-4

Hebrews 7:1-3, 11-19

John 5:30-47

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The LORD has sworn and he will not recant:

“You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

–Psalm 110:4, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)

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Melchizedek, a Canaanite priest-king whose name means “Zedek is my king,” appears briefly and mysteriously in Genesis 14.  (Zedek was a Canaanite deity.)  The name “Melchizedek” recurs in Psalm 110, which identifies the monarch as a priest.  The Letter to the Hebrews associates Melchizedek with Jesus.

Jesus is a powerful figure in all of the canonical Gospels.  That power is more evident in deeds than in words in the Synoptic Gospels.  In the Gospel of John Jesus is considerably more verbose.  His plethora of words accompanies mighty signs.  Jesus accepts no glory from people (John 5:41), seeking to glorify God the Father instead, just as Abraham gives all glory to YHWH in Genesis 14.

This Sunday is traditionally the Sunday of the Transfiguration.  In the chronology of the Synoptic Gospels the Transfiguration occurs en route to Jerusalem the last time; Jesus is going to the city not to seek his own glory, but to obey and glorify God.  And, in the Gospel of John, the glorification of Jesus by God is his crucifixion.

Regardless of the ambiguous details of Melchizedek, most of which I have not written about because they are irrelevant to my main point in this post, the principle that we mere mortals should seek to glorify God, not ourselves, remains.  It is a counter-cultural message, for quite often we tend to praise those who seek their own glory.  That glory is fleeting, but God’s glory is everlasting.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MAY 3, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIE-LEONIE PARADIS, FOUNDER OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM WHITING, HYMN WRITER

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/glorification/

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Above:  Statue of Jesus with Votice Candles Baltimore Basilica, Baltimore, Maryland, by Carol Highsmith

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-highsm-16721

The Light of Christ

JANUARY 6, 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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Deuteronomy 4:(9) 10-24 (25-31) 32-40

Psalm 75 or 76

John 5:31-47

1 John 2:3-29

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We give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks; your name is near.

People tell of your wondrous deeds.

–Psalm 75:1, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

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Glorious are you, more majestic than the everlasting mountains.

–Psalm 76:4, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

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One should read Deuteronomy 4 in the knowledge that someone wrote it long after the time of Moses then placed it in the great man’s mouth.  Thus one will read that text while knowing what the real audience is a later generation of Hebrews.  “Learn from the past and refrain from repeating those mistakes,” the text really says.  Unfortunately, as we know, that message fell mostly on deaf ears, and the negative consequences of actions ensued.

Rejection of Jesus occupies the readings from John and 1 John.  In John 5 Jesus was speaking to a hostile Jewish audience.  Nevertheless, as in Deuteronomy 4, the text came from a later time and the actual audience was contemporary to the time of composition.  The text still challenges audiences.  Do we rest on our spiritual laurels while lacking the love of God in ourselves?  If we have the love of God in ourselves, we will act on it with regard to others.  We will seek their best and have compassion for them.  We will, to cite 1 John 2, keep the commandments of Jesus.  If they seem new, we have not been paying (sufficient) attention, for they are old.

Whoever claims to be in light

but hates his brother

is still in darkness.

Anyone who loves his brother remains in light

and there is in him nothing to make him fall away.

But whoever hates his brother is in darkness

and is walking about in darkness

not knowing where he is going,

because darkness has blinded him.

–1 John 2:9-11, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)

The Feast of the Epiphany is about the light of Christ shining among Gentiles.  May we who bear that light do so as effectively as possible, by grace.  May we glorify and enjoy God forever, and thereby inspire others to do the same.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 2, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT WILLIAM OF ROSKILDE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF DAVID CHARLES, WELSH CALVINISTIC MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF NEW GUINEA

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/the-light-of-christ-2/

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Above:  An Icon of the Last Judgment

Image in the Public Domain

Judgment, Sins, and Suffering

NOT OBSERVED IN 2015

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The Collect:

Almighty God, in signs and wonders your Son revealed the greatness of your saving love.

Renew us with your grace, and sustain us by your power,

that we may stand in the glory of your name,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 25

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The Assigned Readings:

Lamentations 5:1-22

Psalm 38

John 5:19-29

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LORD, do not rebuke me in anger

or punish me in your wrath….

But, LORD, do not forsake me;

my God, be not far aloof from me.

Lord my deliverer, hasten to my aid.

–Psalm 38:1, 21-22, The Revised English Bible (1989)

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Often we suffer because of the sins of others; that is objectively correct statement.  I wish that it were false, but wishing will not alter that reality.  Other times we suffer the consequences of our actions; that is also an objectively correct statement.  We suffer, most basically, because we live, for the hail stones rain down upon the godly and the ungodly.

Yet, John 5:25-29 tells us, there will be a time when we will receive judgment or reward on the basis of grace and our actions.  (We cannot stand on our own merit, such as it is.)  This will fill many with hope and others with dread.  Some will feel both emotions.  But at least our judge will be one who has identified with people to the point of becoming incarnate as a man.  He forgave those who had him crucified, did he not?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 3, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FOURTH DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARUTHAS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF MAYPHERKAT AND MISSIONARY TO PERSIA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BERNARD OF PARMA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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

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

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/12/06/judgment-sins-and-suffering/

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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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Above:  Job and His Alleged Friends

Job and John, Part IX:  Perceptions

FEBRUARY 15, 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 11:1-20

Psalm 130 (Morning)

Psalms 32 and 139 (Evening)

John 5:19-29

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Zophar the Naamathite opens his address in Job 11:1-20 by insulting Job.  A note on page 1519 of The Jewish Study Bible makes a succinct point:

Like Bildad in 8.2, Zophar here, in the house of a man bereft of his children (1.18-19) and infested with maggots (7.5), has the colassal gall to tell Job, the master of the house, that he talks too much!

And Zophar persists in the practice of relying on “received wisdom” as a basis for his theodicy.

The reading from John 5 constitutes part of a discourse attributed to Jesus after he healed the paralyzed man at the Pool at Bethesda on a Sabbath.  (The Synoptic Jesus does not talk as much as does the Johannine Jesus, by the way.)  The content of the discourse interest me, but the relative newness of it fascinates me today.  Zophar’s discourse was stale and insulting.  Yet our Lord’s discourse was revolutionary.  Consider one verse, O reader:

In all truth I tell you,

whoever listens to my words,

and believes in the one who sent me,

has eternal life;

without being brought to judgement

such a person has passed from death to life.

–John 5:24, The New Jerusalem Bible

If I did not take the truth of that verse as a given, I might think Jesus to have been a madman.  Now, of course, my position has become “received wisdom.”  (I am aware of the irony of that reality.)  Some “received wisdom” is wiser than the rest.  And other “received wisdom” is pure drivel.

The power of “received wisdom” holds sway over the intellects and imaginations of people, does it not?  When I started my abortive doctoral studies in history at The University of Georgia (UGA), Athens, Georgia, the Graduate Coordinator informed me that I would learn the “received wisdom.”  He used that term; I recall that part of the conversation clearly.  I wound up questioning much of the “received wisdom,” with the predictable result in the social sciences.  But I maintained my intellectual integrity.  And I am a terrible liar.  Please understand me correctly, O reader; that happened years ago, and the trauma of that experience has washed out of my system.  Yet memories remain.  And objective reality remains.  I have no desire to start an argument with anyone at the UGA Department of History.  What would I gain from it?  Yet I offer this cautionary tale of the allure received foolishness masquerading as received wisdom.  The experience remains with me and makes me a better teacher.  I hold my students accountable for getting the facts correct then reasoning their ways to interpretations.  I do not grade them according to whether I agree with those interpretations.  And some of the kindest comments on course evaluations begin the acknowledgement that the student disagreed with me often in subjective matters.

Reality is objective, of course.  But our understandings of it are inherently subjective.  Two people can absorb the same stimuli and understand it differently.  Culture (defined as social learning), educational attainment, age, cognitive development, intellectual capacity, and other factors shape our perceptions.  Sometimes our proverbial tapes are running, so we hear yet do not listen and see yet do not comprehend.  So the character of Zophar , who was an insulting idiot, understood himself as standing on the shoulders of theological giants.  And our Lord’s words were blasphemous in the ears of some people despite those words’ truth–and therefore lack of blasphemy.  Reality is objective and our perceptions are subjective, yet our perceptions can be correct.  May they be so, by grace.

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-ix-perceptions/

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https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/uga-and-me/

Above:  Pool at Bethesda

Image Source = Library of Congress

Job and John, Part VIII:  Inadequate God Concepts

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

FEBRUARY 14, 2024 = ASH WEDNESDAY

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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 9:1-35 (February 13)

Job 10:1-22 (February 14)

Psalm 15 (Morning–February 13)

Psalm 36 (Morning–February 14)

Psalms 48 and 4 (Evening–February 13)

Psalms 80 and 27 (Evening–February 14)

John 4:46-54 (February 13)

John 5:1-18 (February 14)

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Job, in the speech which encompasses Chapters 9 and 10, feels powerless before God, whom he understands as being omnipotent.  The speaker demands to know why God has done what God has done and is doing what God is doing relative to himself (Job):

I say to God, “Do not condemn me;

Let me know what you are charging me with….”

–Job 10:2, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

This is, in the context of the narrative, understandable and justifiable.  The Book of Job does open with God permitting Job’s sufferings.  The text offers no easy answers to the question of the causes of the suffering of the innocent.

John 4:46-5:18 offers us happier material.  Jesus heals a royal official’s son long-distance then a poor man paralyzed for thirty-eight years up close and in person.  Unfortunately for our Lord, he performs the second miracle on the Sabbath and speaks of himself as equal to God, prompting some opponents (labeled invectively as “the Jews”) to plot to kill him.  I said that the material was happier, not entirely joyful.

The paralyzed man and the observers probably understood his disability to have resulted from somebody’s sin.  The Book of Job, of course, repudiated that point of view.

It occurs to me that Job’s alleged friends and our Lord’s accusers had something in common:  Both sets of people were defending their God concept, one which could not stand up to observed reality.   J. B. Phillips wrote a classic book, Your God is Too Small (1961), which I most recently too long ago.  In this slim volume he pointed out that inadequate God concepts and attachments to them cause dissatisfaction with God and blind us to what God is.  Our Lord’s critics in the Gospel of John were blind to what God is and found Jesus unsatisfactory.  And, in the Book of Job, as we will discover as we keep reading, all of the mortals who speak have inadequate God concepts.  Yet Job’s is the least inadequate.

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-viii-inadequate-god-concepts/

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Above: The Earth in 1972, Courtesy of Apollo 17

The Universality of God

DECEMBER 22, 2023

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Isaiah 56:1-8 (Revised English Bible):

These are the words of the LORD:

Maintain justice, and do what is right;

for my deliverance is close at hand,

and my victory will soon be revealed.

Happy is the person who follows these precepts

and holds fast to them,

who keeps the sabbath unprofaned,

who keeps his hand from all wrongdoing!

The foreigner who has given his allegiance to the LORD must not say,

The LORD will exclude me from his people.

The eunuch must not say,

I am naught but a barren tree.

These are the words of the LORD:

The eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,

who choose to do my will

and hold fast to my covenant,

will receive from me something better than sons and daughters,

a memorial and a name in my own house and within my walls;

I shall give them everlasting renown,

an imperishable name.

So too with the foreigners who give their allegiance to me,

to minister to me and love my name

and become my servants,

all who keep the sabbath unprofaned

and hold fast to my covenant:

these I shall bring to my holy hill

and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their offerings and sacrifices

will be acceptable on my altar;

for my house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations.

This is the word of the Lord GOD,

who gathers those driven out of Israel:

I shall add to those who have already been gathered.

Psalm 67 (Revised English Bible):

May God be gracious to us and bless us,

may he cause his face to shine on us,

that your purpose may be known on earth,

your saving power among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, God;

let all peoples praise you.

Let nations rejoice and shout in triumph;

for you judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations of the earth.

Let all the peoples praise you, God;

let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its harvest.

May God, our God, bless us.

God grant us his blessing,

that all the ends of the earth may fear him.

John 5:33-36 (Revised English Bible):

[Jesus said,]

You [certain Jews] sent messengers to John and he has testified to the truth.  Not that I rely on human testimony, but I remind you of it for your salvation.  John was a brightly burning lamp, and for a time you were ready to exult in his light.  But I rely on a testimony higher than John’s: the work my Father has given me to do and to finish, the very work I have in hand, testifies that the Father has sent me.

The Collect:

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; 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, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

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Peter began:  “I now understand how true it is that God has no favourites, but that in every nation those who are god-fearing and do what is right are acceptable to him.”–Acts 10:34-35 (Revised English Bible)

This quote from the Apostle Peter fits nicely with the designated readings for this day.  We read that God welcomes righteousness from anyone, not just members of a select population.  So the message of God is for all people, but not all accept it, of course.  Nevertheless, all whose lives reveal godliness are acceptable to God.  In God there are no outsiders.  To borrow a line from a hymn, “In Christ there is no east or west.”  In Christ there is no longer male or female, Jew or Gentile, domestic or foreign, citizen or alien, heterosexual or homosexual, “White” or African descent or First Nations, et cetera.

Yet we mortals insist on making such distinctions, often out of good intentions (yet sometimes out of prejudice).  Yet with God the standard is different:  it is active love of God, others, and self, manifested in one’s life.  And that rule excludes prejudices.

KRT

Written on June 2, 2010

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/the-universality-of-god/