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:  Icon of Hosea

Image in the Public Domain

Sufficiency in God

NOT OBSERVED IN 2024

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Hosea 2:14-16 (17-18) 19-20

Psalm 103:1-13

2 Corinthians 3:1b-6

Mark 2:18-22

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Almighty and everlasting God, ruler of heaven and earth: 

Hear our prayer and give us your peace now and forever;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978)

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O Lord, mercifully hear our prayers,

and having set us free from the bonds of our sins,

defend us from all evil;

through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 30

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…our sufficiency is from God….

–2 Corinthians 3:5b, Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition

Our (individual and collective) sufficiency is from God.  God qualifies us (individually and collectively) for our callings from God.  God, who has given us many reasons to rejoice, provides our sufficiency.  God, who forgives more readily than many human beings do, gives us sufficiency.

This truth contradicts an old and ubiquitous lie in my culture.  I refer to the lie of the self-made person, as in the self-made millionaire.  Considering even only human factors, one should need only a second or so–if that long–to realize the falsehood of the proposition.  One may realize quickly that teachers, bankers, and road builders, among others, enabled the so-called self-made millionaires on the way to such wealth.  Furthermore, we all depend entirely on God.  We depend upon each other, but we also depend completely on God.  If we think otherwise, we delude ourselves.

When one reads past Psalm 103:13, one finds this verse immediately:

For [God] knows our devisings, 

recalls that we are dust.

–Verse 14, Robert Alter

Psalm 103 goes on to speak of the transience of human lives and the timeliness of God, whose kindness to the faithful never ends.  And, as Hosea 2 tells us this week and Isaiah 43 told us last week, God chooses sometimes to forgive the faithless.

We mere mortals are dust.  If we are to have sufficiency, it must come from God, not ourselves.  May we demonstrate proper humility before God, from whose love we are inseparable.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 14, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF FANNIE LOU HAMER, PROPHET OF FREEDOM

THE FEAST OF ALBERT LISTER PEACE, ORGANIST IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

THE FEAST OF HARRIET KING OSGOOD MUNGER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALISTS HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF NEHEMIAH GOREH, INDIAN ANGLICAN PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENZINA CUSMANO, SUPERIOR OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR; AND HER BROTHER, SAINT GIACOMO CUSMANO, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR AND THE MISSIONARY SERVANTS OF THE POOR

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LEDDRA, BRITISH QUAKER MARTYR IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY, 1661

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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA

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Advertisement

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:  Jesus Heals the Man with Palsy, by Alexandre Bida

Image in the Public Domain

Forgiveness

NOT OBSERVED IN 2024

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Isaiah 43:18-25

Psalm 41 (LBW) or Psalm 130 (LW)

2 Corinthians 1:18-22

Mark 2:1-12

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Lord God, we ask you to keep your family, the Church, faithful to you,

that all who lean on the hope of your promises

may gain strength from the power of your love;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 16

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God of compassion, keep before us the love

you have revealed in your Son, who prayed even for his enemies;

in our words and deeds help us to be like him

through whom we pray, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 16

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O Lord, keep your family and Church continually in the true faith

that they who lean on the hope of your heavenly grace

may ever be defended by your mighty power;

through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.  

—Lutheran Worship (1982), 28

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The key word this week is forgiveness.  A second word–faithfulness–relates to it.  As we read in 1 Corinthians 1:18, God is faithful.

I, I wipe away your transgressions for My sake,

and your offenses I do not recall.

–Isaiah 43:15, Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible:  A Translation with Commentary, Vol. 2, Prophets (2019), 766

Those are words addressed to Jews at the twilight of the Babylonian Exile.  This forgiveness is unconditional and absolute, apparently without any sign of repentance.

Psalm 130 reminds us that nobody could endure if God were to “watch for wrongs” (Robert Alter) and encourages the chosen people of God to wait for God, in whom is steadfast kindness.

Psalm 41 cites the betrayal by the author’s enemies, including a former friend.  The author, not forgiving, seeks divine vindication:

But you, LORD, take note of me to raise me up

that I may repay them.

–Psalm 41:11, The New American Bible–Revised Edition

A rejoinder from the Gospels is appropriate:

For if you forgive others, the wrongs they have done, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs that you have done.

–Matthew 6:14-15, The Revised English Bible

Forgiveness, from a human perspective, can be challenging to commit or to accept.  Committing forgiveness liberates one, regardless of the effect on the person or persons forgiven.  Lugging a grudge around is never spiritually helpful and healthy.

Forgiving someone is a matter separate from seeking justice.  Some deeds are inexcusable and indefensible.  Sometimes justice requires punishment.  Forgiveness precludes revenge, not justice.

Isaiah 43:25 occurs in a particular context.  I notice the lack of penitence and repentance between verses 24 and 25.  This does not mean that penitence and repentance are irrelevant; they occur in other passages.  Yet Isaiah 43:25 tells us that sometimes God forgives for divine purposes.

Divine judgment and mercy exist in balance throughout the Bible.  Trust nobody, O reader, who pretends to know what that balance is.  I have some guesses.  Some may be correct for the same reason for the same reason that a broken clock is correct twice a day.  Grace remains a glorious mystery.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 14, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF LENT

THE FEAST OF FANNIE LOU HAMER, PROPHET OF FREEDOM

THE FEAST OF ALBERT LISTER PEACE, ORGANIST IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

THE FEAST OF HARRIET KING OSGOOD MUNGER, U.S. CONGREGATIONALISTS HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF NEHEMIAH GOREH, INDIAN ANGLICAN PRIEST AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT VINCENZINA CUSMANO, SUPERIOR OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR; AND HER BROTHER, SAINT GIACOMO CUSMANO, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS SERVANTS OF THE POOR AND THE MISSIONARY SERVANTS OF THE POOR

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM LEDDRA, BRITISH QUAKER MARTYR IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY, 1661

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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA

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Above:  The Calling of St. Matthew, by Hendrick ter Brugghen

Image in the Public Domain

The Power of Words

FEBRUARY 16, 2020

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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of 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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Job 11:7-20 or Deuteronomy 15:7-11

Psalm 43

James 3:1-13

Mark 2:13-28

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Words matter.  They can inflict pain, even when one imagines oneself to be acting righteously, as in the case of Zophar the Naamathite, who proceeded from a false assumption while lecturing Job on repentance.  Words can call others to discipleship.  Words can remind one  of the divine mandate on individuals and societies to care for the less fortunate.  Words can reach the throne of God.

Words can create justice or injustice; they make the future.  May we, being mindful of the power of words, trust in God and strive to use these tools for the common good and the glory of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 16, 2019 COMMON ERA

TRINITY SUNDAY, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF GEORGE BERKELEY, IRISH ANGLICAN BISHOP AND PHILOSOPHER; AND JOSEPH BUTLER, ANGLICAN BISHOP AND THEOLOGIAN

THE FEAST OF JOHN FRANCIS REGIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF NORMAN MACLEOD, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS COUSIN, JOHN MACLEOD, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF RUFUS JONES, U.S. QUAKER THEOLOGIAN AND COFOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/06/16/words-matter-ii/

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Above:  Job and His Alleged Friends

Image in the Public Domain

The Idol of Certainty

FEBRUARY 4, 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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Job 8:8-22 or Deuteronomy 11:18-28

Psalm 42

James 2:18-26

Mark 2:1-12

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In the perfect moral universe of Bildad the Shuhite and those who think like him, piety is a shield against misfortune.  This is an attitude present in parts of the Book of Psalms.  That book also contradicts the attitude, however, for certain psalms acknowledge that innocent people suffer.

Jesus, without ignoring that the suffering of many resulted partially from their sins, did not state that all human suffering resulted from the sins of the suffering.  His sinless life testified to a different reality, that sometimes we suffer because of the sins of others, and piety sometimes leads to persecution and/or death.

Certainty can become an idol, as in the cases of Bildad (Job 8) and the accusers of Jesus (Mark 2).  Idols abound; certainty is one of the most popular ones.  I refer to false, misplaced certainty, not to confirmed knowledge, such as 2 + 2 = 4.  No, I refer to certainty that fills voids meant for faith in God.  The human psyche craves certainty.  Unfortunately, false certainty leads to conspiracy theories, to other denial of reality, and to idolatry.  In reality, what we do not know outweighs what we do know, and humility is in order; certainty be damned much of the time.

May we walk the path of faith in Christ without ignoring that of which we can objectively be certain.  May God grant us the wisdom to recognize the difference between matters in which we need faith and those in which we can reasonably have certainty.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 15, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN ELLERTON, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF CARL HEINRICH VON BOGATSKY, HUNGARIAN-GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF DOROTHY FRANCES BLOMFIELD GURNEY, ENGLISH POET AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT LANDELINUS OF VAUX, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; SAINT AUBERT OF CAMBRAI, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; SAINT URSMAR OF LOBBES, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND MISSIONARY BISHOP; AND SAINTS DOMITIAN, HADELIN, AND DODO OF LOBBES, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/06/15/honest-faith-versus-false-certainty-ii/

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Above:  The Calling of St. Matthew, by Hendrick ter Brugghen

Sit Down and Eat

NOT OBSERVED IN 2018

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Hosea 2:14-20 (New Revised Standard Version):

Therefore, I will now allure her,

and bring her into the wilderness,

and speak tenderly to her.

From there I will give her vineyards,

and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There she shall respond as in the days of her youth,

as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

On that day, says the LORD, you will call me,

My husband,

and no longer will you call me,

My Baal.

For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more.  I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety.  And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy.  I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.

Psalm 103:1-13, 22 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits.

3 He forgives all your sins,

and heals all your infirmities;

4 He redeems your life from the grave

and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness.

5 He satisfies you with good things,

and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

6 The LORD executes righteousness

and judgment for all who are oppressed.

7 He made his ways known to Moses

and all his works to the children of Israel.

8 The LORD is full of compassion and mercy,

slow to anger and of great kindness.

9 He will not always accuse us,

nor will he keep his anger for ever.

10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

11 For as the heavens are as high above the earth,

so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.

12 As far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our sins from us.

13 As a father cares for his children,

so does the LORD care for those who fear him.

22  Bless the LORD, all you works of his,

in all places of his dominion;

bless the LORD, O my soul.

2 Corinthians 3:1-6 (New Revised Standard Version):

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we?  You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Mark 2:13-22 (New Revised Standard Version):

Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.  As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him,

Follow me.

And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples–for there were many who followed him.  When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples,

Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?

When Jesus heard this, he said to them,

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him,

Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?

Jesus said to them,

The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.

The Collect:

Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who care for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son 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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Some Related Posts:

Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/eighth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a/

Mark 2:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/week-of-1-epiphany-saturday-year-1/

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/week-of-2-epiphany-monday-year-1/

Matthew 9 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/week-of-proper-8-saturday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/week-of-proper-8-friday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/proper-5-year-a/

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/third-day-of-lent/

Luke 5 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/fourth-day-of-lent/

2 Corinthians 3:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/week-of-proper-5-wednesday-year-1/

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The passage from Hosea occurs in the context of a condemnation of national idolatry and the pronouncement of punishment for it.  Monotheism did not come easily or quickly to the Hebrews of the Old Testament.  In fact, pagan fertility cults held much appeal.  With that in mind, note, O reader, the references to fertility that YHWH promises to give in the context of divine graciousness.  There is even the likening of a relationship with God to a marriage.  “You have sinned,” God says, “and I will discipline you accordingly.  Then I will show mercy on you.”

Speaking of mercy, Jesus ate with notorious sinners, including literal tax thieves.  He even called one of them to join his inner circle.   This extraordinary gesture of grace, of acting based on the potential of person’s future, reflected the Spirit, which gives life.  Scribes, of course, objected vocally, but Jesus argued well against their case.  He would have welcomed them at the table, too, if they had sat down.

The difference between the scribes and the notorious sinners was that the latter recognized their need for grace.  Already being outcasts, they had no prestige to lose.  Too often we human beings cling tenaciously to poor substitutes for God.  These might be deities from competing religions.  Or they might be money or possessions or social status or some combination of these.  None of them fills the God-shaped hole, however.

May we lay our pretenses aside and sit down with Jesus.

KRT

Above:  A 300s Depiction of Jesus with a Beard

God’s “Yes”

NOT OBSERVED IN 2018

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During the period of November 2011-December 2012, also known as Year B on the Revised Common and Roman Catholic lectionaries, seven Sundays will fall between the Feast of the Epiphany (always January 6) and Ash Wednesday (forty days, not counting Sundays, before Easter Sunday).  There can be as many as nine and as few as four Sundays, depending on various factors, such as the date for Easter Sunday and which day of the week January 6 falls on in any given year.  And there is a set of readings each year (A, B, and C) for the Last Sunday after the Epiphany.  Nevertheless, I have converted much of my Bible study into a blogging project, so I follow lectionaries and mark days not observed any given church year accordingly.

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Isaiah 43:18-25 (New Revised Standard Version):

Do not remember the former things,

or consider the things of old.

I am about to do a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

The wild animals will honor me,

the jackals and the ostriches;

for I give water in the wilderness,

rivers in the desert,

to give drink to my chosen people,

the people whom I formed for myself

so that they might declare my praise.

Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;

but you have been weary of me, O Israel!

You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,

or honored me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with offerings,

or wearied you with frankincense.

You have not bought me the sweet cane with money,

or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened me with your sins;

you have wearied me with your iniquities.

I , I am He

who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,

and I will not remember your sins.

Psalm 41 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  Happy are they who consider the poor and the needy!

the LORD will deliver them in the time of trouble.

2  The LORD preserves them and keeps them alive,

so that they may be happy in the land;

he does not hand them over to the will of their enemies.

3  The LORD sustains them on their sickbed

and ministers to them in their illness.

4  I said, ” LORD, be merciful to me;

heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

5  My enemies are saying wicked things about me;

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

6  For if they come to see me, they speak empty words;

their heart collects false rumors;

they go outside and spread them.

7  All my enemies whisper together about me

and devise evil against me.

8  “A deadly thing,” they say, “has fastened on him;

he has taken to his bed and will never get up again.”

9  Even my best friend, whom I trusted,

who broke bread with me,

has lifted up his heel and turned against me.

10  But you, O LORD, be merciful to me and raise me up,

and I shall repay them.

11  By this I know you are pleased with me,

that my enemy does not triumph over me.

12  In my integrity you hold me fast,

and shall set me before your face for ever.

13  Blessed be the LORD God of Israel,

from age to age.  Amen.  Amen.

2 Corinthians 1:18-22 (New Revised Standard Version):

As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been

Yes and No.

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not

Yes and No;

but in him it is always

Yes.

For in him every one of God’s promises is a

Yes.

For this reason it is through him that we say the

Amen

to the glory of God.  But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.

Mark 2:1-12 (New Revised Standard Version):

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.  So many gathered around that house that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them.  Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.  And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,

Son, your sins are forgiven.

Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,

Why does this fellow speak in this way?  It is blasphemy!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?

At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves and he said to them,

Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”?  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins

–he said to the paralytic–

I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.

And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying,

We have never seen anything like this!

The Collect:

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/seventh-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a/

Mark 2:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/week-of-1-epiphany-friday-year-1/

Luke 5 (Parallel to Mark 2):

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/ninth-day-of-advent/

Matthew 9 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/proper-8-year-a/

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The readings for the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B, concern the faithfulness and mercy of God.  Let us take them, each in turn, and relate them to each other.

The lesson from Isaiah 43 exists in context of the end of the Babylonian Exile.  God, via Deutero-Isaiah, declares what is about to happen then asks, in so many words, “How have you treated me?”  The answer is, in so many words, “with little regard.”  “But,” God says in so many words, “I will forgive you anyway.”  Simply put, God is faithful, and this fact becomes quite plain when we are not faithful.

The faithfulness of God is Paul’s theme in the excerpt from 2 Corinthians.  Paul writes that he, in his dealings with the Corinthian church, has not vacillated.  Neither does God vacillate, Paul writes.  Christ, he says, is God’s “yes,” for the answer to all God’s promises is “yes” through Jesus.

Speaking of Jesus (a good thing to do), he says yes to paralyzed man with four very good friends.   A merely decent human being watching the healing would rejoice for the formerly paralyzed man, at least.  Such an observer might also wonder at the power of God he or she had just witnessed, and therefore give thanks and glory to God.  So why were the scribes grumpy and obsessed with notions of blasphemy?  Jesus, by being and acting like himself, contradicted what they had grown up to believe.  And the reality of his power belied these men’s livelihoods and raison d’etres.  This scared them.

Their only hope was that God overlooked their sin.  And our only hope is that God will choose to ignore ours.

KRT

Above:  Samuel Anoints David

Seemingly Unlikely Qualifications in Dangerous Times

JANUARY 16, 2024

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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1 Samuel 16:1-13 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

The LORD said to Samuel,

How long will you grieve over Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel?  Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.

And Samuel said,

How can I go?  If Saul hears it, he will kill me.

And the LORD said,

Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.”  And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me him whom I will name to you.

Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem.  The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said,

Do you come peaceably?

And he said,

Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.

And he sacrificed Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought,

Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.

But the LORD said to Samuel,

Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel.  And he said,

Neither has the LORD chosen this one.

Then Jesse made Shammah pass by.  And he said,

Neither has the LORD chosen this one.

And Jesse made seven of this sons pass before Samuel.  And Samuel said to Jesse,

The LORD has not chosen these.

And Samuel said to Jesse,

Are all your sons here?

And he said,

There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.

And Samuel said to Jesse,

Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he comes here.

And he sent, and brought him in.  Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.  And the LORD said,

Arise, anoint him; for this is he.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward.  And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

Psalm 89:19-27 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

19 You spoke once in a vision and said to your faithful people:

“I have set the crown upon a warrior

and have exalted the one chosen out of the people.

20 I have found David my servant;

with my holy oil I have anointed him.

21 My hand will hold him fast

and my arm will make him strong.

22 No enemy shall deceive him,

nor any wicked man bring him down.

23 I will crush his foes before him

and strike down those who hate him.

24 My faithfulness and love shall be with him,

and he shall be victorious through my Name.

25 I shall make his dominion extend

from the Great from the Great Sea to the River.

26 He will say to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, and the rock of my salvation,’

27 I will make him my firstborn

and higher than the kings of the earth.

Mark 2:23-28 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to him,

Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?

And he said to them,

Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him; how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the showbread, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?

And he said to them,

The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath.

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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 Links:

Week of 2 Epiphany:  Tuesday, Year 1:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/week-of-2-epiphany-tuesday-year-1/

Matthew 12 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/week-of-proper-10-friday-year-1/

Luke 6 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/week-of-proper-17-saturday-year-1/

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It was a dangerous time for Samuel.  He was on a mission to find Saul’s replacement, but Saul was not going to vacate the throne for years, as events played out.  From a certain point of view Samuel was on a treasonous mission, hence the necessity of the plausible cover story about making a sacrifice to God.

This is how 1 Samuel 9:2b-3 describes Saul shortly before he became king:

…a handsome young man.  There was not a man among the sons of Israel more handsome than he; from his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

Now reread the account from 1 Samuel 16:1-13.  God tells Samuel not to focus on outward appearances.  David was the Anti-Saul.  Both were handsome, according to the texts, but David was “ruddy.”  Outwardly he did not seem qualified to govern a kingdom, but the shepherd became the founder of a dynasty.

David did find himself in great danger for the next few years, given the political threat he posed to Saul.  There was even a civil war, but David won in the end.  The rest is history.

As a student of history, especially the U.S. Presidency, I am well aware of the fact that one’s resume can be of limited value in evaluating whether a candidate will be a good leader.  For example, James Buchanan (in office 1857-1861) had a long and distinguished resume, yet was a terrible president.  And Herbert Hoover (in office 1929-1933) was a great humanitarian, a man who had overseen food rationing at home during World War I then fed much of Europe.  To “Hooverize” something was to do it well, right up until the Great Depression.  On the other hand, Abraham Lincoln had a much shorter political resume than did Buchanan before become President of the United States in 1861.  And Harry Truman, before making his name in the Senate during World War II, owed his federal career to patronage from a corrupt man.

Perhaps we ought to reevaluate our concepts of qualifications for certain posts sometimes.  It is vital not to fall into the grave error of anti-intellectualism when doing this, for anti-intellectualism leads to other mistakes.   The impulse to favor “people like me” while eschewing alleged eggheads and others who have studied crucial issues of the day closely for years is politically unwise.  But the lesson to focus too much on outward appearances–today we would say one’s image on television–remains timeless.

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/seemingly-unlikely-qualifications-in-dangerous-times/

Above:  A Flock of Sheep

This is Bad!?!

JANUARY 15, 2024

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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1 Samuel 15:16-23 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

Then Samuel said to Saul,

Stop!  I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.

And he said to him,

Say on.

And Samuel said,

Though you are little in your own eyes, are yo not the head of the tribes of Israel?  The LORD sent you on a mission, and said,

“Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.”  Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?  Why did you swoop on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?

And Saul said to Samuel,

I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.

And Samuel said,

Has not the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

as in obeying the voice of the LORD?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

and to listen than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of divination,

and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,

he has also rejected you from being king.

Psalm 50:7-15, 24 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak:

“O Israel, I will bear witness against you;

for I am God, your God.

8 I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices;

your offerings are always before me.

9 I will take no bull-calf from your stalls,

nor he-goats out of your pens;

10 For all the beasts of the forest are mine,

the herds in their thousands upon the hills.

11 I know every bird in the sky,

and the creatures of the fields are in my sight.

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the whole world is mine and all that are in it.

13 Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,

or drink the blood of goats?

14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving

and make good your vows to the Most High.

15 Call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you shall honor me.”

24 Whoever offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me;

but to those who keep in my way will I show the salvation of God.”

Mark 2:18-22 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him,

Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?

And Jesus said to them,

Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.  The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.

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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:

Week of 2 Epiphany:  Monday, Year 1:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/week-of-2-epiphany-monday-year-1/

Matthew 9 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/week-of-proper-8-saturday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/week-of-proper-17-friday-year-1/

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The Amalekites were traditional enemies of the Hebrews.  Saul led his military forces against them and captured the king and spared his life, but killed civilians, including women and young children.  This did not offend Samuel.  No, the fact that Saul’s forces kept the best livestock for themselves, and therefore did not consecrate these first fruits of victory to God, annoyed Samuel.

The Old Testament contains bloody stories of what I can describe only as genocide and wholesale slaughter.  The authors of these narratives think that God condoned this killing.  But I have just one question:

Which population would Jesus order killed?

KRT

Above:  A Donkey

Saul:  “An odd thing happened when I was chasing my father’s runaway donkeys.”

JANUARY 13, 2024

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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1 Samuel 9:1-4, 15-19; 10:1ab (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth; and he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man.  There was not a man among the sons of Israel more handsome than he; from his soldiers upward he was taller than any of the people.

Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost.  So Kish said to Saul his son,

Take one of the servants with you, and arise, go, and look for the donkeys.

And they passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them.  And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there.  Then passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

…

Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to Samuel:

Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel.  He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the affliction of my people, because their cry has come to me.

When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him,

Here is the man of whom I spoke to you!  He it is who shall rule over my people.

Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate, and said,

Tell me where is the house of the seer?

Samuel answered Saul,

I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.

Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said,

Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel?  And you shall reign over the people of Israel and you will save them from the hand of their enemies round about.

Psalm 21 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 The king rejoices in your strengh, O LORD;

how greatly he exults in your victory!

2 You have given him his heart’s desire;

you have not denied him the request of his lips.

3 For you meet him with blessings of prosperity,

and set a crown of fine gold upon his head.

4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him:

length of days, for ever and ever.

5 His honor is great, because of your victory;

splendor and majesty have you bestowed upon him.

6 For you will give him everlasting felicity

and will make him glad with the joy of your presence.

7  For the king puts his trust in the LORD;

because of the loving-kindness of the Most High, he will not fall.

Mark 2:13-17 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

He went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about him, and he taught them.  And as he passed on, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him,

Follow me.

And he rose and followed him.

And as he sat at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him.  And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples,

Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?

And when Jesus heard it, he said to them,

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

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The Collect:

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Week of 1 Epiphany:  Saturday, Year 1:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/week-of-1-epiphany-saturday-year-1/

Matthew 9 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/week-of-proper-8-friday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/proper-5-year-a/

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/third-day-of-lent/

Luke 5 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/fourth-day-of-lent/

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Saul, son of Kish, woke up one day.  He probably thought that it would be just another day, not all that different from recent ones.  His father sent him and a servant on a mission to find two runaway donkeys.  This assignment was below Saul’s social standing, but there is no evidence that he complained about this fact.  So Saul and the servant searched long, far, and unsuccessfully for the wandering animals.  They were gone for a long time, probably long enough to cause Kish concern for the safety of his son and servant.

Saul did not find the donkeys; another person did that (1 Samuel 9:20).  He found Samuel, instead.  The surprising end of Saul’s donkey chase was his anointing as the first human King of Israel.  Certainly he did not foresee that on the morning of the day he set out to seek runaway donkeys.

This was a surprising call.  There is no hint of Saul’s bad end in this, our introduction to him.  At this point in the narrative there is still hope that he might be a good king, one who protects his subjects.

We read of another surprising call in Mark 2.  Matthew/Levi was a Roman tax collector, a literal tax thief for the occupying power.  But he answered our Lord’s call to pursue a different vocation, apostleship, which ended in martyrdom.

When will God call you?  What will the results be?

KRT

Above:  Crown of King Christian IV of Denmark

Image Source = Ikiwaner

The Destructive Allure of Conformity

JANUARY 12, 2024

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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1 Samuel 8:4-22a (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him,

Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations.

But the thing displeased Samuel when they said,

Give us a king to govern us.

And Samuel prayed to the LORD.  And the LORD said to Samuel,

Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.  According to all the deeds they have done for me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.  Now then, listen to their voice; only, you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.

So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking a king from him.  He said,

These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you:  he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.  He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.  He will also take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.  He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.  He will take your menservants and maidservants, and the best of your cattle and your donkeys, and put them to his work.  He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.  And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.

But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said,

No! but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.

And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD.  And the LORD said to Samuel,

Listen to their voice, and make them a king.

Psalm 89:15-18 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

15  Happy are the people who know the festal shout!

they walk, O LORD, in the light of your presence.

16  They rejoice daily in your Name;

they are jubilant in your righteousness.

17  For you are the glory of their strength,

and by your favor our might is exalted.

18  Truly, the LORD is our ruler;

the Holy One of Israel is our King.

Mark 2:1-12 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.  And many were gathered together , so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them.  And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.  And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay.  And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,

Child, your sins are forgiven.

Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,

Why does this man speak like this?  It is blasphemy!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?

And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit what they questioned like this within themselves, said to them,

Why do you question like this in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk”?  But that you too may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins

–he said to the paralytic–

I say to you, rise, take up your pallet, and go home.

And he rose, and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying,

We never saw anything like this!

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The Collect:

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Week of 1 Epiphany:  Friday, Year 1:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/week-of-1-epiphany-friday-year-1/

Matthew 9 (Parallel to Mark 2):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/week-of-proper-8-thursday-year-1/

Luke 5 (Parallel to Mark 2):

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/ninth-day-of-advent/

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God was supposed to be the King of Israel.  Judges governed, each in his or her own time, but there was supposed to be only one king.  In the ancient world, however, monarchy was most common form of government.  Being different can be very difficult, especially in a social species, such as Homo sapiens sapiens.  The rest is history, culminating in the Pharonic reign of King Solomon, after which the kingdom ruptured.

The wrath of God is not so much God afflicting us actively as it is God backing off and doing nothing as the chickens come home to roost.  But at least God gives a warning far in advance.

Sometimes I am a conscious contrarian.  One of the most effective ways to persuade me not to do something, such as see a certain movie or read a specific book, is to point out how popular it is.  The “join the bandwagon” appeal backfires with me much of the time.  If other people are trying act like others, I try to do the opposite, within my sense of self.  Other times I act without regard to what others think, but I just happen to emerge as one with very different tastes.  Either way, peer pressure has a limited effect on me.

So being different makes great sense to me.  It does, of course, limit my social mixing.  It has done so for most of my life, and deep introversion has become my default mode.  I am not quite the death of the party, but I am far from its life.  I recall that, when I grew up, many of members of my age peer group made my life difficult because of these tendencies.  They succeeded in violating the Golden Rule and in driving me deeper into myself.  Why would I want to emulate those who taunted me?  I hypothesize, by the way, that my childhood experiences in school contributed to my dislike for children, and therefore have informed my choice to remain childless.  I also suspect that my staunch nonconformity with regard to certain conventions (namely social and cultural history, given my preference for old-style institutional and Great Man history) in the study of history contributed to the premature demise of my doctoral program at The University of Georgia.  But this was a matter of principle; whatever I did academically, I was determined to do it with respect for my intellectual integrity.  By the way, sometimes the cost of maintaining one’s integrity is painful and high, but the price for prostituting one’s soul and mind is higher.

This above all:  to thine ownself be true,

And it it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not be false to any man.

–William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, Scene III, lines 78-80

Anyhow, the desire of the people in 1 Samuel 8 to be like their neighbor nations makes no sense to me; I stand with God and Samuel.  But, as the text says, “the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel.”  They wanted to conform to the example of those around them.

Of all the words in the English language, the most profane ones, in my opinion, are “conform” and “conformity.”  God, you see, has granted each of us gifts to share with others.  Consenting to conformity stifles the unique blessings we can bring to the table and extinguishes the light we are to be to the nations, or at least to those in our vicinity.

May we never fear to be properly different, for the glory of God.

KRT

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