Above:  Christ Cleansing a Leper, by Jean-Marie Melchior Doze

Image in the Public Domain

Blessings All Around

FEBRUARY 9-11, 2012

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The Collect:

Everlasting God, you give strength to the weak and power to the faint.

Make us agents of your healing and wholeness,

that your good may be made known to the ends your creation,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 24

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The Assigned Readings:

Leviticus 13:1-17 (Thursday)

Leviticus 14:1-20 (Friday)

Leviticus 14:21-32 (Saturday)

Psalm 30 (All Days)

Hebrews 12:7-13 (Thursday)

Acts 19:11-20 (Friday)

Matthew 26:6-13 (Saturday)

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Hear me, LORD, and be kind to me,

be my helper, LORD.

–Psalm 30:11, The Psalms Introduced and Newly Translated for Today’s Readers, Harry Mowvley (1989)

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Ritual impurity and purity were major concerns in the Law of Moses.  Among the major forms of ritual impurity were those which tzara’at, or the leakage of life, caused.  In people it manifested as a range of skin conditions, which were not leprosy, technically Hanson’s Disease.  In fabrics (Leviticus 13:47-59) it consisted of damage which mold or mildew caused.  And in building materials (14:33-47) people saw evidence of it via mildew or rot in walls.

Dermatological impurity received more fear and attention, however.  Some even argued that it constituted divine punishment for sin.  The combination of shunning and guilt must have been a terrible burden to bear.  Hence restoration to wholeness and community must have been all the more wonderful.

May we refrain from laying burdens atop people.  Rather, may we function as instruments of divine healing and reconciliation.  May God work through us to restore others to wholeness and community.  May God bless others through us.  We will receive our blessings as part of that process.  There will be blessings all around.  Is that not wonderful?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 2, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE THIRD DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF SAINT BRIOC, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT TUDWAL, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS, EPISCOPAL BISHOP IN CHINA AND JAPAN

THE FEAST OF JOHN BROWN, ABOLITIONIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/12/06/blessings-all-around/

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Above:  Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun and Her Daughter, by Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun

Job and John, Part VII:  Good and Bad Examples

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

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

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

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Job 8:1-22

Psalm 123 (Morning)

Psalms 30 and 86 (Evening)

John 4:27-45

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Bildad the Shuhite, alleged friend #2, insults Job for expressing himself and goes on to repeat arguments Eliphaz the Temanite had made.  Understandably, Job does not find this helpful.  In contrast, the woman at the well becomes a gateway for Jesus to reach out to many of her fellow villagers.  I know which person I wish to emulate.

Too often we human beings feel as if we must say something to a person in distress.  Frequently this takes the form of a platitude such as

I know how you feel

when, in fact, the speaker has no idea how the other person feels.  But at least the speaker in such a case means well.  That, nevertheless, does not excuse the unhelpful words.  I have tried to be present and helpful for a suffering person.  I have tried to be properly cautious in choosing my words, with affects in mind.  Sometimes these words have fallen flat and even just being present has proved to be no help, so far as I have been able to tell.  But at least I have not blamed her or told her that I knew how she felt.  Overall, I think, I have succeeded in performing a good work.  As I type these words, the next chapter in that story is unfolding.  Maybe what I did to help my friend will help others as well.  Even if it does not, at least it proved useful to her.

Until the next segment of our journey….

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 15, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

THE FEASTS OF SAINT OLGA OF KIEV, REGENT OF KIEVAN RUSSIA; ADALBERT OF MAGDEBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; ADALBERT OF PRAGUE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR; AND BENEDICT AND GAUDENTIUS OF POMERANIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF SAINT DAMIEN DE VEUSTER, A.K.A. DAMIEN OF MOLOKAI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST

THE FEAST OF SAINT EGBERT OF LINDISFARNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND SAINT ADALBERT OF EGMONT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF SAINT MELLITUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/job-and-john-part-vii-good-and-bad-examples/

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Above:  Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, by Gustave Dore

Freedom in Jesus

JANUARY 14 and 15, 2024

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

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

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

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The Assigned Readings:

Ezekiel 36:33-37:14 (January 14)

Ezekiel 37:15-28 (January 15)

Psalm 136 (Morning–January 14)

Psalm 123 (Morning–January 15)

Psalms 97 and 112 (Evening–January 14)

Psalms 30 and 86 (Evening–January 15)

Romans 5:1-21 (January 14)

Romans 6:1-23 (January 15)

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The Ezekiel and Romans readings function best when one reads them continuously.  Lectionaries are useful, but sometimes they are too choppy.

We begin with the lessons from Ezekiel.  Exiles will return to their ancestral homeland; that is one meaning of the Valley of Dry Bones.  Another traditional interpretation infers the resurrection of the dead before the last judgment.  I see no reason that is flawed.  But, as a narrative matter, the former reading of the text takes me my next point, which is that, in the homeland, God and the people will commune:

I will make a covenant of friendship with them–it shall be an everlasting covenant with them–I will establish them, and I will place My Sanctuary among them forever.  My Presence shall rest over them; I will be their God and they shall be My People.  And when My Sanctuary abides among them forever, the nations shall now that I the LORD do sanctify Israel.

–Ezekiel 37:26-28, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

What Ezekiel understood as the Second Temple applies nicely to Jesus, in whom we have reconciliation with God, in whom our offenses are lifted from us and through whom we have justification.  It is in Jesus that we are free from slavery to sin.  Voltaire said that we human beings are free as we choose to be.  If we choose to give ourselves over to someone’s authority, we lose a measure of freedom.  And even coercion cannot deprive a person of inner freedom if he or she opts to retain it.  Mohandas Gandhi was a free man in some prison cells, for example.  Likewise, if we choose to enslave ourselves to sin and shame, we have ourselves to blame.  But, if we seek liberty in Christ, we have grace and enough free will to choose to follow him to thank.

One of the most difficult forms of slavery to break is that of honor and shame.  What others think of us does affect us, so we have to care about that somewhat.  What other people say about influences whether we obtain certain employment (or keep it), for example.  Yet the most important assessment comes from God.  May the divine assessment be,

Well done, good and faithful servant.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 25, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LORD

THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR B

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/freedom-in-jesus/

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Above:  Elisha Refusing the Gifts of Naaman, by Pieter Fransz de Grebber

Of Skin Conditions, Stigma, Healing, and Humility

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

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2 Kings 5:1-14 (New Revised Standard Version):

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram.  The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.  Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.  She said to her,

If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria!  He would cure him of his leprosy.

So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said.  And the king of Aram said,

Go then, and I will sent along a letter to the king of Israel.

He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments.  He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read,

When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said,

Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?  Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.

But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king,

Why have you torn your clothes?  Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.

So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house.  Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying,

Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.

But Naaman became angry and went away, saying,

I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?  Could I not wash in them, and be clean?

He turned and went away in a rage.  But his servants approached and said to him,

Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?  How much more, when all he said to you was, “Wash, and be clean”?

So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

Psalm 30 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  I will exalt you, O LORD,

because you have lifted me up

and have not let my enemies triumph over me.

2  O LORD my God, I cried out to you,

and you restored me to health.

3  You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead;

you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.

4  Sing to the LORD, you servants of his;

give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness.

5  For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,

his favor for a lifetime.

6 Weeping may spend the night,

but joy comes in the morning.

7  While I felt secure, I said,

“I shall never be disturbed.

You,  LORD, with your favor, made me as strong as the mountains.”

8  Then you hid my face,

and I was filled with terror.

9  I cried to you, O LORD;

I pleaded with the LORD, saying,

10  “What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the Pit?

will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness?

11  Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me;

O LORD, be my helper.”

12  You have turned my wailing into dancing;

you have put off my sack-cloth and clothed me with joy.

13  Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing;

O LORD my God, I will give you thanks for ever.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (New Revised Standard Version):

Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may win it.  Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.  So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

Mark 1:40-45 (New Revised Standard Version):

A leper came Jesus begging him, and kneeling he said to him,

If you choose, you can make me clean.

Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him,

I do choose.  Be made clean!

Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.  After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him,

See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.

But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could not longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and the people came to him from every quarter.

The Collect:

O  God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/sixth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-a/

Mark 1:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/week-of-1-epiphany-thursday-year-1/

Matthew 8 (Parallel to Mark 1):

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/12/13/week-of-proper-7-friday-year-1/

Luke 5 (Parallel to Mark 1):

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/sixth-day-of-epiphany/

2 Kings 5:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/seventeenth-day-of-lent/

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Leprosy, in the Bible, is a broad term.  It refers to a variety of skin conditions in addition to Hansen’s Disease.  Aside from the physical signs, which could be difficult, there was stigma, which could be harder to handle.

Consider the case of Naaman, a successful military commander in the service of the King of Aram, an enemy of the King of Israel.  The author of 2 Kings 5 tells us that Naaman has won victories over the Israelite army with the help of God.  We also know that Naaman’s forces have kidnapped and enslaved at least one Israelite young woman, whom he has taken into his household as a servant.  We may also conclude that Naaman’s case of leprosy (whatever the modern diagnosis would be) was not severe, for he was still functional as a military commander.  Nevertheless, whatever Naaman had bothered him badly enough that he went to see Elisha.

The prophet Elisha did not stand on ceremony, much to Naaman’s disappointment and ire.  And, instead of staging an elaborate healing ritual, the prophet sent word by a messenger that Naaman ought to bathe in the humble Jordan River seven times.  One can imagine Naaman thinking in Aramaic, “That’s it!?!”

Note the role of servants in the story.  An enslaved servant girl tell’s Naaman’s wife about Elisha.  Naaman, despite his exalted view of himself, is just a servant of his king, and his success is due entirely to God.  Elisha himself does not speak to Naaman at first, but sends a messenger.

Being proud and mighty does not count for much in 2 Kings 5, does it?

We have another story of a cured leper in Mark 1.  This time the man is anonymous.  All he did to get cured was to ask Jesus, who agreed graciously.  But why did our Lord order the man to stay quiet? Biblical scholars have detected the theme of the Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark.  Throughout that book God knows who Jesus is, as do Jesus as well as Satan and any evil spirit whom our Lord encounters.  That, however, was a small circle of the knowledgeable.  No, Jesus had work to do, and that work culminated, in Mark, with his crucifixion, at which point his Messianic identity became plain.  There is also the matter of being able to go from place to place without having encountering thronging crowds.  The leper did not obey our Lord’s injunction to stay quiet, so Jesus had to remain in the hinterlands for a little while, but the crowds came to him.  So much for Plan A!

Divine grace falls upon the already humble and the recently humbled, upon the Jew and the Gentile, upon esteemed and the anonymous.  It arrives via unexpected and seemingly unlikely avenues, and it makes demands upon us.  What happened to the leper Jesus healed in Mark 1?  Maybe he rejoined his family; that is the most likely answer.  But what further impact did the incident have on the man?  The text is silent on that point.  As for Naaman, he renounced his faith in Rimmon, his former deity, and followed Yahweh (verse 18).  As to what that entailed for Naaman, the text is silent.

How will grace come to you this day, the next day, the day after that, et cetera?  And what will it require of you?  Will you do it?

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/of-skin-conditions-stigma-healing-and-humility/

Above: Westminster Abbey (as in the Westminster Confession of Faith and accompanying Catechisms)

God’s Purpose for Us

DECEMBER 21, 2023

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Isaiah 54:1-10 (Revised English Bible):

Sing, barren woman who never bore a child;

break into a shout of joy, you that have never been in labour;

for the deserted wife will have more children

than she who lives with her husband,

says the LORD.

Enlarge the space for your dwelling,

extend the curtains of your tent to the full;

let out its ropes and drive the tent-pegs home;

for you will spread from your confines right and left,

your descendants will dispossess nations

and will people cities now desolate.

Fear not, you will not be put to shame;

do not be downcast, you will not suffer disgrace.

It is time to forget the shame of your younger days

and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood;

for your husband is your Maker;

his name is the LORD of Hosts.

He who is called God of all the earth,

the Holy One of Israel, is your redeemer.

The LORD has acknowledged you a wife again,

once deserted and heart-broken;

your God regards you as a wife still young,

though you were once cast off.

For a passing moment I forsook you,

but with a tender affection I shall bring you home again.

In an upsurge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment;

but now have I pitied you with never-failing love,

says the LORD, your Redeemer.

For this to me is like the days of Noah;

as I swore that the waters of Noah’s flood

should never again pour over the earth,

so now I swear to you

never again to be angry with you or rebuke you.

Though the mountains may move and the hills shake,

my love will be immovable and never fall,

and my covenant promising peace will not be shaken,

says the LORD in his pity for you.

Psalm 30 (Revised English Bible):

I shall exalt you, LORD;

you have lifted me up

and have not let my enemies be jubilant over me.

LORD my God, I cried to you and you healed me.

You have brought me up, LORD, from Sheol,

and saved my life as I was sinking into the abyss.

Sing a psalm to the LORD, all you his loyal servants;

give thanks to his holy name.

In his anger is distress, in his favour there is life.

Tears may linger at nightfall,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

I felt secure and said,

I can never be shaken.

LORD, by your favour you made my mountain strong;

when you hid your face, I was struck with dismay.

To you, LORD, I called

and pleaded with you for mercy:

What profit is there in my death,

in my going down to the pit?

Can the dust praise you?

Can it proclaim your truth?

Hear, LORD, and be gracious to me;

LORD, be my helper.

You have turned my laments into dancing;

you have stripped off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that I may sing psalms to you without ceasing.

LORD my God, I shall praise you for ever.

Luke 7:24-30 (Revised English Bible):

After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak about him to the crowds:

What did you go into the wilderness to see?  A reed swaying in the wind?  No?  Then what did you go out to see?  A man dressed in finery?  Grand clothes and luxury are to be found in palaces.  But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes indeed, and far more than a prophet.  He is the man of whom scripture says,

“Here is my herald, whom I send ahead of you,

and he will prepare your way before you.”

I tell you, among all who have been born, no one has been greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he is.

When they heard him, all the people, including the tax-collectors, acknowledged the goodness of God, for they had accepted John’s baptism; but the Pharisees and lawyers, who had refused his baptism, rejected God’s purpose for themselves.

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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“What is the chief and highest end of man?“

“Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.”

–The Westminster Larger Catechism (1646), Question #1, from The Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

The above quote summarizes the greatest human destiny well.  Each of us is on this planet to fill positive roles, thereby leaving our environs and those in them better than we found them, for the glory of God and the benefit of others.  And, along the way, we are called to enjoy God.

Once I heard a proposal for how to live spiritually.  It held that we are supposed to engage in a daring dance with God, laying aside dourness and rigid orthodoxies.  This image appeals to me, for I an neither dour nor rigidly orthodox.  The most important aspect of the metaphor is that God be the dancing partner.  And I suspect that the dance is not necessarily respectable ballroom dancing.  Maybe it is the Charleston, tango, or lambada.  Let the dance begin, or continue.

Yet many of our fellow human beings do not choose a positive path.  They opt for a life of violence and hatred.  From time to time, when I house and pet sit (for I have opted to live without cable television), I watch MSNBC programs about prisons.  I see profiles of some people who lead truly vile lives.  As a law-abiding citizen I am glad that authorities keep them away from people such as me.  I know also that these individuals did not have to become who they did and come to live where they do.  And I realize that they do not live beyond the reach of grace, for grace is available everywhere.

We humans make choices.  Often we must lie in the beds we have made.  This fact, however, does not mean that we have to keep making these beds.  Also, history contains stories of people whom God has converted from violent lives to peaceful, righteous ones.  There is always hope through God.

May we embrace this hope and glorify and enjoy God forever.

KRT

Written on June 1, 2010

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/gods-purpose-for-us/