Archive for the ‘Psalm 6’ Tag
Above: Christ Pantocrator
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Faithful Servants of God, Part V
FEBRUARY 5, 2023
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Ecclesiastes 4:1-12 or Ezekiel 22:23-31
Psalm 6
Galatians 3:1-11
Matthew 5:13-21
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Peeking behind the Law of Moses is a spiritually helpful practice. Some commandments in the Law of Moses are timeless principles. Others, however, are culturally specific examples. Failure to recognize between an example bound by time and space and a timeless principle leads to legalism.
Reading Galatians 3:1-11 and Matthew 5:13-20 together is quite helpful. We read that Jesus never objected to the Law of Moses, but to the misinterpretation, bad teaching, and flawed execution of it. That also seems to have been an objection of St. Paul the Apostle.
The other readings pertain to oppression. We read of violations of one timeless principle in the Law of Moses–do not exploit anyone. We read of religious figures and royal officials who were predators of the weak and vulnerable. Alas, this problem is as current in 2018 as it was in antiquity. So is the sin of certain religious figures supporting those predatory potentates and officials.
The timeless principles of the Law of Moses continue to condemn those who sin thusly. Indeed, apart from variations on themes, there is nothing new under the sun.
Do we condemn or condone such perfidy?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 21, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH, AND JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH, COMPOSERS
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF FLÜE AND HIS GRANDSON, SAINT CONRAD SCHEUBER, SWISS HERMITS
THE FEAST OF SAINT SERAPION OF THMUIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM EDWARD HICKSON, ENGLISH MUSIC EDUCATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/03/21/faithful-servants-of-god-part-vii/
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2018/07/12/devotion-for-proper-3-year-a-humes/
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Above: An Olive Tree
Image in the Public Domain
Good and Bad Fruit
FEBRUARY 20, 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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1 Samuel 28:7-8, 11-25
Psalm 6
2 Peter 2:1-3, 17-22
Matthew 7:13-17
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Psalm 6, with its references to death, fits well with the reading from 1 Samuel 28, in which King Saul, in violation of Jewish law, consults a necromancer. She is actually a somewhat sympathetic character, for she cares about the monarch’s well-being. Meanwhile, one gets the impression that Saul has neglected his duties. I do not agree, however, that committing genocide is a king’s duty.
With great power comes great responsibility, as an old saying tells us. This is true in both secular and sacred settings. In 2 Peter 2, for example, we read condemnations of certain early Christian leaders who, out of embarrassment, sought to reconcile Christianity with pagan permissiveness. As we read in Matthew 7, good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bear bad fruit.
And committing genocide is definitely bad fruit.
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/good-and-bad-fruit-2/
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Above: Jesus Healing the Son of an Official, by Joseph-Marie Vien
Image in the Public Domain
Signs, Wonders, and Faith
FEBRUARY 15, 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:
Job 30:16-31
Psalm 6
John 4:46-54
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I grow weary because of my groaning;
every night I drench my pillow
and flood my bed with tears.
–Psalm 6:6, Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006)
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The titular character of the Book of Job was faithful to God consistently. Even his arguing and complaining came from a place of fidelity. This was remarkable, given the fact that said book says at the beginning that God permitted Job’s suffering as a test of loyalty.
Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.
–Jesus in John 4:48, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
“You” is plural in that quote.
The (possibly Gentile) royal (Herodian) official accepted that Jesus would save his son (who was elsewhere) from death. Thus the audiences for that comment did not include the father. Throughout the canonical Gospels people followed Jesus in search of a cure or healing of some kind. Many received what they sought, but how many gained faith (or a deeper faith–trust, that is) in God?
What do we seek from God? Is the deity merely a dispenser of convenient blessings, in our minds? Or do our professions of faith have substance of high spiritual quality?
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/signs-wonders-and-faith/
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Above: Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod, by James Tissot
Image in the Public Domain
Honoring God and Respecting Persons
FEBRUARY 13 AND 14, 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:
2 Chronicles 26:1-21 (Monday)
2 Kings 7:3-10 (Tuesday)
Psalm 6 (Both Days)
Acts 3:1-10 (Monday)
1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1 (Tuesday)
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O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger,
or discipline me in your wrath.
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.
–Psalm 6:1-2, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
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My comments for the post I wrote prior to this one apply here also, I refer you, O reader, to them and pursue a different line of thought arising from assigned readings.
We ought to glorify God. We cannot do this while committing idolatry, acting to harm another human being (physically or spiritually) other than in self-defense or the defense of another person, or being oblivious to God, who has done much over time and continues to act. Likewise, when we act out of respect for others, we honor the image of God in them.
If you love me, keep my commandments,
Jesus said. He ordered people to love one another and honor God. He also provided an example to emulate. That example points out how dangerous loving one’s neighbors can be. Yet if we are truly to be Christians, we will follow him.
Often we humans designate some of our neighbors as people to look down upon, shun, discriminate against, murder, destroy culturally, et cetera. This is wrong, for all people bear the image of God and therefore possess inherent dignity. We might not get along with many of them, but we ought never to question their humanity or equality with us. The Golden Rule stands.
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/honoring-god-and-respecting-persons/
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Above: Abraham and the Angels
Image in the Public Domain
Mercy, Faith, and Holiness
JANUARY 8 and 9, 2024
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The Collect:
Holy God, creator of light and giver of goodness, your voice moves over the waters.
Immerse us in your grace, and transform us by your Spirit,
that we may follow after your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 22
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The Assigned Readings:
Genesis 17:1-13 (Monday)
Exodus 30:22-28 (Tuesday)
Psalm 69:1-5, 30-36 (Both Days)
Romans 4:1-12 (Monday)
Acts 22:2-16 (Tuesday)
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I will praise the Name of God in song;
I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD more than an offering of oxen,
more than bullocks with horns and hoofs.
The afflicted shall see and be glad;
you who seek God, your heart shall live.
For the LORD listens to the needy,
and his prisoners he does not despise.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and all that moves in them;
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah;
they shall live there and have it in possession.
The children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his Name will dwell therein.
–Psalm 69:32-38, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Genesis 17 tells one version (the Priestly story) of God’s covenant with Abraham. It duplicates much material from the Yahwistic account in Genesis 15 and adds details about circumcision and Sarah’s pregnancy. The P account is a story about the graciousness and power of God and one man’s trust in the deity. Unfortunately, as the saga of Abraham unfolded, the great patriarch came to value his relationship with God so much that he acted in ways which damaged his closest human relationships. I would not have wanted to have been one of Abraham’s sons.
God approached a mortal in Genesis 17. The instructions regarding the sacred anointing oil in Exodus 30:22-28 concerned how people should approach God–with the utmost reverence, OR ELSE. There was a chasm between humans and God (the holy one) in much of the Old Testament. Much later, when St. Paul the Apostle preached about Jesus, many people wanted to cut him off from the land of the living. He had committed blasphemy, they thought.
St. Paul had a higher opinion of Abraham than I do, but the Apostle had a valid point in Romans 4, for the patriarch preceded the Law of Moses. Abraham did manifest active trust in God when he was still Abram, as the Apostle pointed out. And Genesis describes a very close relationship between God and Abraham; they were on speaking terms, face-to-face, according to the texts.
We should, while avoiding extremes (such as seeking to kill people in the name of God) approach God with deep awe and love. We worship the deity, who has not only approached us but incarnated and became one of us. And we have a commandment to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, to respect the image of God in them. May we act accordingly, trusting in God and recognizing the limits of our abilities and knowledge. And may we value being merciful more than being correct in our minds.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 17, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHANN CHRISTIAN TILL, U.S. MORAVIAN ORGANIST, COMPOSER, AND PIANO BUILDER; AND HIS SON, JACOB CHRISTIAN TILL, U.S. MORAVIAN PIANO BUILDER
THE FEAST OF SAINT HUGH OF LINCOLN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROQUE GONZALEZ DE SANTA CRUZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROSE-PHILIPPINE DUCHESNE, ROMAN CATHOLIC CONTEMPLATIVE
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/11/21/mercy-faith-and-holiness/
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Above: Pebbles
Image Source = Steve Shattuck of Canberra, Australia
Job and John, Part XIV: The Power of Words
FEBRUARY 21, 2022
FEBRUARY 22 = ASH WEDNESDAY IN 2022
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Job 16:1-22 (February 21)
Job 17:1-16 (February 22)
Psalm 143 (Morning–February 21)
Psalm 86 (Morning–February 22)
Psalms 81 and 116 (Evening–February 21)
Psalms 6 and 19 (Evening–February 22)
John 7:1-13 (February 21)
John 7:14-31 (February 22)
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A Related Post:
A Prayer for Those Who Have Harmed Us:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/a-prayer-for-those-who-have-harmed-us/
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Why do you want to kill me?
–Jesus speaking in John 7:19b, The New Jerusalem Bible
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What afflicts you that you speak on?
–Job speaking in Job 16:3b, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
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Job 16 and 17 consist of Job’s reply to the second speech of Eliphaz the Temanite. The speaker has no patience with anything he has heard so far, nor should he. Whoever speaks of “the patience of Job” as if Job were patient, does not understand the Book of Job.
Jesus, in John 7, is living under death threats. He is trying not to die just yet because
for me the time is not ripe yet (verse 8, The New Jerusalem Bible).
The words of our Lord’s adversaries afflicted him.
Words have power. According to Hebrew mythology God spoke the universe into being. What realities do we create with our words? What realities do we create with our silences? There is a time to speak. And there is a time to remain silent. There is also a time to say a certain amount and nothing more. May we know the difference and act accordingly.
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-xiv-the-power-of-words/
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Above: Peter’s Vision of the Sheet with Animals, by Henry Davenport Northrop
Scrupulousness
JANUARY 25, 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:
Zechariah 1:1-21/1:1-2:4
Psalm 86 (Morning)
Psalms 6 and 19 (Evening)
Romans 14:1-23
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Do not wreck God’s work for the sake of food.
–Romans 14:20a, The New Jerusalem Bible
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TECHNICAL NOTE:
Zechariah 1:-21 in Protestant Bibles equals Zechariah 1:1-2:4 in Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox ones.
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Was it lawful to eat meat once offered to imaginary deities or to consume food impure by the standards of the Law of Moses? Paul understood the answer to that question to be yes, although he chose to abstain from certain culinary options for the sake of others. It was difficult to find meat not sacrificed to idols, so one might have become a vegetarian to avoid even the appearance of something considered improper. On the other hand, since those gods did not exist, why let good food go to waste?
Scrupulousness is good, but it can go too far. A lack of scrupulousness, in Zechariah, had prompted God’s anger. Yet there would be mercy for the punished Hebrews. Once again judgment and mercy came in proximity to each other. Paul’s personal deprivation aside, I feel no need to deny myself proper pleasures which others might interpret wrongly. The truth is that anything I do might offend someone of a certain rigidity of attitudes. I refuse to permit such rigidity dictate my lifestyle choices. Yet neither will I confront them about their choices. Their business is theirs, as mine is my own.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 9, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, MARTYR AND GERMAN LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/scrupulousness/
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ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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