Above:  An Exorcism

Image in the Public Domain

Idolatry and the Sovereignty of God

JANUARY 25-27, 2024

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The Collect:

Compassionate God, you gather the whole universe into your radiant presence

and continually reveal your Son as our Savior.

Bring wholeness to all that is broken and speak truth to us in our confusion,

that all creation will see and know your Son,

Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 23

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The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 3:23-29 (Thursday)

Deuteronomy 12:28-32 (Friday)

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (Saturday)

Psalm 111 (All Days)

Romans 9:6-18 (Thursday)

Revelation 2:12-17 (Friday)

Matthew 8:28-9:1 (Saturday)

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The works of the Lord are great,

sought out by all who delight in them.

His work is full of majesty and honour

and his righteousness endures for ever.

–Psalm 111:2-3, Common Worship (2000)

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We have a batch of overlapping and difficult passages these three days.  Some (such as Moses in Deuteronomy and a herd of swine in Matthew) suffer for the offenses of others.  People also suffer for their own sins in other passages of Scripture.  All of this falls under the heading of the sovereignty of God in Romans 9, in the theological style of God’s speech at the end of the book of Job.

I recognize the mystery of God and am content to leave many questions unanswered.  Comfort with uncertainty is consistent with my Anglican theology.  Nevertheless, I understand that the sovereignty of God can become something it is not supposed to be–a copout and a seemingly bottomless pit into which to pour one’s ignorance and prooftexting tendencies.  We should never use God to excuse slavery, genocide, sexism, homophobia, racism, and a host of other sins.  Whenever God seems to agree with us all of the time, we ought to know that we have created God in our own image.  We have forged an idol.  And God, according to the Hebrew Scriptures, disapproves of idolatry.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 23, 2014 COMMON ERA

PROPER 29–CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY–THE LAST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF JOHN KENNETH PFOHL, SR., U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP; HIS WIFE, HARRIET ELIZABETH “BESSIE” WHITTINGTON PFOHL, U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICIAN; AND THEIR SON, JAMES CHRISTIAN PFOHL, SR., U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICIAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT CLEMENT I OF ROME, BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT COLUMBAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF MIGUEL AUGUSTIN PRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR

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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/idolatry-and-the-sovereignty-of-god/

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Above:  A Trappist Monk at Prayer

Image Source = Daniel Tibi

“But You Refused.”

DECEMBER 14, 2023

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

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

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

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

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

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The Assigned Readings:

Isaiah 30:15-26

Psalm 102 (Morning)

Psalms 130 and 16 (Evening)

Revelation 2:1-29

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Some Related Posts:

In the Stillness of Night:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/in-the-stillness-of-night/

Prayers of Forgiveness, Mercy, and Trust:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/prayers-for-forgiveness-mercy-and-trust/

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For thus said my Lord GOD,

The Holy One of Israel,

“You shall triumph by stillness and quiet;

Your victory shall come about

Through calm and confidence.”

But you refused.

–Isaiah 30:15, TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

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The reading from Isaiah flows immediately from the verses which precede it.  So correct understanding a firm grasp of the context of them.  Judah, the southern kingdom, was engaged in idolatry.  The leaders sought national security through Egypt, with which the Hebrews had a difficult history, including centuries of slavery.  In times contemporary to Isaiah, however, the threat was different; the Pharaoh deposed a king (after the time of Isaiah 30) and named the next one.  Such a nation was hardly a reliable treaty partner.  And economic and legal exploitation were commonplace.

Seek security in me,

Yahweh said via Isaiah.

Be still and quiet, calm and confident.

And, in various places, we read the commandment not to exploit people.  That runs throughout both Testaments and is prominent in the writings of the Prophets.

In Revelation 2 we read messages for four churches, each in a different city with its own circumstances.  I have read about all four; that information is hardly obscure.  My synthesis of the lessons from the messages follows:  Be both orthodox and loving, refrain from participating from the idolatry rampant in society (no easy task in some cases), hold firmly to the Christian faith despite difficulties and ordeals, and repent of errors. There is judgment and there is mercy.

Back in Isaiah, after the pronouncement of judgment in 30:15-17, we arrive at verse 18:

Truly, the LORD is waiting to show you grace,

Truly He will arise to pardon you.

For the LORD is a God of justice;

Happy are all who wait for Him.

—TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures

The cautions in Isaiah 30 and Revelation 2 existed because of a hope that the people for whom they were intended would heed them.  Thus the fact that these pronouncements went forth indicated mercy.  We can read them today and learn from them.  And we can begin by being still and quiet, calm and confident in God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 31, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FEAST OF JOHN WYCLIFFE, BIBLE TRANSLATOR

NEW YEAR’S EVE

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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/but-you-refused/

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