Above:  The Right Reverend Keith Whitmore, Assistant Bishop of Atlanta, Celebrating the Holy Eucharist at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia,  October 31, 2010

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Living Wisely, Maturely, and In the Ways of Insight

The Sunday Closest to August 17

Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

AUGUST 15, 2021

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FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #1

1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 (New Revised Standard Version):

David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David. The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.

Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said,

Ask what I should give you.

And Solomon said,

You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him,

Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.

Psalm 111 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Hallelujah!

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,

in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.

2 Great are the deeds of the LORD!

they are studied by all who delight in them.

3 His work is full of majesty and splendor,

and his righteousness endures for ever.

4 He makes his marvelous works to be remembered;

the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

5 He gives food to those who fear him;

he is ever mindful of his covenant.

6 He has shown his people the power of his works

in giving them the lands of the nations.

7 The works of his hands are faithfulness and justice;

all his commandments are sure.

8 They stand fast for ever and ever,

because they are done in truth and equity.

9 He sent redemption to his people;

he commanded his covenant for ever;

holy and awesome is his Name.

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

those who act accordingly have a good understanding;

his praise endures for ever.

FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #2

Proverbs 9:1-6 (New Revised Standard Version):

Wisdom has built her house,

she has hewn her seven pillars.

She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,

she has also set her table.

She has sent out her servant girls, she calls

from the highest places in the town,

You that are simple, turn in here!

To those without sense she says,

Come, eat of my bread

and drink of my wine I have mixed.

Lay aside immaturity and live,

and walk in the way of insight.

Psalm 34:9-14 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

9 Fear the LORD, you that are his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger,

but those who seek the LORD lack nothing that is good.

11 Come, children, and listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 Who among you loves life

and desires long life to enjoy prosperity?

13 Keep your tongue from evil-speaking

and your lips from lying words.

14 Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

SECOND READING

Ephesians 5:15-20 (New Revised Standard Version):

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

GOSPEL READING

John 6:51-58 (New Revised Standard Version):

Jesus said,

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying,

How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

So Jesus said to them,

Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.

The Collect:

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Proper 15, Year A:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/proper-15-year-a/

Proper 15, Year B:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/proper-15-year-b/

1 Kings 2 and 3:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/week-of-4-epiphany-thursday-year-2/

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/week-of-4-epiphany-saturday-year-2/

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In the Gospel of John, the Last Supper is implicit, but Eucharistic language and imagery pervade the book.  The combination of such language and imagery in John 6 and Proverbs 9 unifies this Sunday’s readings.

We read in Ephesians 5 not to “be foolish,” but to “understand what the will of the Lord is.”  Likewise, in 1 Kings 3, King Solomon (in a dream) asks God for wisdom.  And, in Proverbs 9, we see Sophia, divine wisdom personified, setting her table, inviting people to eat of her bread, drink her wine, and “lay aside immaturity, and live and walk in the way of insight.”  Then, in John 6, we read of the imperative to eat the body and drink the blood of Jesus, so that we will have life in us.

I have already (http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/proper-13-year-b/) covered much of the Eucharistic content in John 6.  So some other thoughts follow:

1. It is not enough to start well.  One must also finish well.  Solomon started well yet lost his way.
2. We must imitate our Lord’s example, his holy life.  He came to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28).  He acted compassionately on many occasions; this was his pattern.  And he did not shrink back from confronting those who imposed needless burdens, especially economic ones, on others, especially the pious poor (Matthew 21:12-13, for example).
3. It can be relatively easy to identify ancient examples of foolishness and immaturity, but more difficult (not to mention politically loaded) to do the same for contemporary times.  I have my list; you, O reader, probably have yours.  I share an easy, generally non-controversial item from my list:  Televangelists and pastors who give away or sell prayer cloths and/or “healing” spring water, pretend to be able to heal people, and/or teach the heresy called Prosperity Theology.  This kind of hokum is a variety of religion which deserves Karl Marx’s label “the opiate of the masses.”  And here is another item:  I oppose all who use religion to incite or encourage any form of bigotry or to distract people from the imperative to take care of each other in various ways.  This post is not a proper venue to name names, so I refrain from doing so.

By grace may we succeed in living wisely, maturely, and in the ways of insight that, after we die, God will say to each us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

KRT

Published originally at ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on October 6, 2011

Poppies

Image Source = Santosh Namby Chandran

1 (JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA, DISCIPLE OF JESUS)

2 (Georg Weissel, German Lutheran Pastor and Hymn Writer)

• Anna Bernadine Dorothy Hoppe, U.S. Lutheran Hymn Writer and Translator
• Carroll O’Connor, U.S. Roman Catholic Actor and Screen Writer
• Christian Gottfried Gebhard, German Moravian Composer and Music Educator
• Frederick William Foster, English Moravian Bishop, Liturgist, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Peter Julian Eymard, Founder of the Priests of the Blessed Sacrament, the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Priests’ Eucharistic League; and Organizer of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament

3 (JOANNA, MARY, AND SALOME, WITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTION)

4 (John Brownlie, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns)

• Frédéric Janssoone, French Roman Catholic Priest and Friar
• Lambert Beauduin, Belgian Roman Catholic Priest and Pioneer of Liturgical Renewal
• Sarah Platt Doremus, Founder of the Women’s Union Missionary Society

5 (Alfred Tennyson, English Poet)

• Adam of Saint Victor, Roman Catholic Monk and Hymn Writer
• Albrecht Dürer, Matthias Grünewald, and Lucas Cranach the Elder, Renaissance Artists
• Francisco Zanfredini and Michelina of Pesaro, Co-Founders of the Confraternity of the Annunciation
• George Frederick Root, Poet and Composer

6 (TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST)

7 (Colbert S. Cartwright, U.S. Disciples of Christ Minister, Liturgist, and Witness for Civil Rights)

• Guglielmo Massaia, Italian Cardinal, Missionary, and Capuchin Friar
• John Scrimger, Canadian Presbyterian Minister, Ecumenist, and Liturgist
• Maxim Sandovich, Russian Orthodox Priest and Martyr, 1914
• Victricius of Rouen, Roman Conscientious Objector and Roman Catholic Bishop

8 (Mary MacKillop, Founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart)

• Altman, Roman Catholic Bishop of Passau
• Bonifacia Rodriguez Castro, Co-Founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Saint Joseph
• Dominic, Founder of the Order of Preachers
• Raymond E. Brown, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Biblical Scholar

9 (Edith Stein, Roman Catholic Nun and Philosopher)

• Florence Spearing Randolph, First Female Ordained Minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
• Herman of Alaska, Russian Orthodox Monk and Missionary to the Aleut
• John Dryden, English Puritan then Anglican then Roman Catholic Poet, Playwright, and Translator
• Mary Sumner, Founder of the Mothers’ Union

10 (William Walsham How, Anglican Bishop of Wakefield and Hymn Writer; and his sister, Frances Jane Douglas(s), Hymn Writer)

• Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Founder of the Madonna House Apostolate
• Cyriaca, Roman Catholic Martyr at Rome, 249; and Sixtus II, His Companions, and Laurence of Rome, Roman Catholic Martyrs at Rome, 258
• Edward Grzymala and Franciszek Drzewiecki, Polish Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1942
• John Athelstan Laurie Riley, Anglican Ecumenist, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator

11 (Gregory Thaumaturgus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Neocaesarea; and Alexander of Comana “the Charcoal Burner,” Roman Catholic Martyr, 252, and Bishop of Comana, Pontus)

• Equitius of Valeria, Benedictine Abbot and Founder of Monasteries
• Matthias Loy, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Educator, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator; and Conrad Hermann Louis Schuette, German-American Lutheran Minister, Educator, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Maurice Tornay, Swiss Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary to Tibet, and Martyr, 1949
• Stephen Rowsham, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1587

12 (Thaddeus Stevens, U.S. Abolitionist, Congressman, and Witness for Civil Rights)

• Charles Inglis, Anglican Bishop of Nova Scotia
• Jane Frances de Chantal, Co-Founder of the Congregation of the Visitation
• Józef Stepniak and Józef Straszewski, Polish Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1942
• Karl Leisner, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945

13 (Jeremy Taylor, Anglican Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore)

• Elizabeth Payson Prentiss, U.S. Presbyterian Hymn Writer
• Irene of Hungary, Hungarian Princess and Byzantine Empress
• Octavia Hill, English Social Reformer

14 (William Croft, Anglican Organist and Composer)

• G. Bromley Oxnam, U.S. Methodist Bishop
• John Bajus, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Hymn Translator
• John Henry Hopkins, Jr., Episcopal Priest and Hymnodist; and his nephew, John Henry Hopkins, III, Episcopal Priest and Musician

• Maximilian Kolbe, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1941; and Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Episcopal Seminarian and Martyr, 1965
• Sarah Flower Adams, English Unitarian Hymn Writer; and her sister, Eliza Flower, English Unitarian Composer

15 (MARY OF NAZARETH, MOTHER OF GOD)

16 (John Diefenbaker and Lester Pearson, Prime Ministers of Canada; and Tommy Douglas, Federal Leader of the New Democratic Party)

• Alipius, Roman Catholic Bishop of Tagaste, and Friend of Saint Augustine of Hippo
• John Courtney Murray, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian
• John Jones of Talysarn, Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Minister and Hymn Tune Composer
• Matthias Claudius, German Lutheran Writer

17 (Samuel Johnson, Congregationalist Minister, Anglican Priest, President of King’s College, “Father of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut,” and “Father of American Library Classification;” Timothy Cutler, Congregationalist Minister, Anglican Priest, and Rector of Yale College; Daniel Browne, Educator, Congregationalist Minister, and Anglican Priest; and James Wetmore, Congregationalist Minister and Anglican Priest)

• Baptisms of Manteo and Virginia Dare, 1587
• Eusebius of Rome, Bishop of Rome, and Martyr, 310
• George Croly, Anglican Priest, Poet, Historian, Novelist, Dramatist, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• William James Early Bennett, Anglican Priest

18 (Artemisia Bowden, African-American Educator and Civil Rights Activist)

• Erdmann Neumeister, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Francis John McConnell, U.S. Methodist Bishop and Social Reformer
• Jonathan Friedrich Bahnmaier, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Petter Dass, Norwegian Lutheran Minister, Poet, and Hymn Writer

19 (Sixtus III, Bishop of Rome)

• Blaise Pascal, French Roman Catholic Scientist, Mathematician, and Theologian
• Geert Groote, Founder of the Brethren of the Common Life
• Ignaz Franz, German Roman Catholic Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor
• Magnus and Agricola of Avignon, Roman Catholic Bishops of Avignon
• William Hammond, English Moravian Hymn Writer

20 (ZACCHAEUS, PENITENT TAX COLLECTOR AND ROMAN COLLABORATOR)

21 (Bruno Zembol, Polish Roman Catholic Friar and Martyr, 1942)

• Camerius, Cisellus, and Luxorius of Sardinia, Martyrs, 303
• Martyrs of Edessa, Circa 304
• Maximilian of Antioch, Martyr, Circa 353; and Bonosus and Maximianus the Soldier, Martyrs, 362
• Victoire Rasoamanarivo, Malagasy Roman Catholic Laywoman

22 (Jack Layton, Canadian Activist and Federal Leader of the New Democratic Party)

• John David Chambers, Anglican Hymn Writer and Translator
• Hryhorii Khomyshyn, Symeon Lukach, and Ivan Slezyuk, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishops and Martyrs, 1947, 1964, and 1973
• John Kemble and John Wall, English Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1679
• Thomas Percy, Richard Kirkman, and William Lacey, English Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1572 and 1582

23 (Martin de Porres and Juan Macias, Humanitarians and Dominican Lay Brothers; Rose of Lima, Humanitarian and Dominican Sister; and Turibius of Mogrovejo, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lima)

• Franciszek Dachtera, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1944
• Theodore O. Wedel, Episcopal Priest and Biblical Scholar; and his wife, Cynthia Clark Wedel, U.S. Psychologist and Episcopal Ecumenist
• Thomas Augustine Judge, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest; Founder of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity, and the Missionary Cenacle Apostolate

24 (BARTHOLOMEW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR)

25 (Michael Faraday, English Scientist)

• Andrea Bordino, Italian Roman Catholic Lay Brother
• María del Tránsito de Jesús Sacramentado, Founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Tertiary Missionaries of Argentina
• Maria Troncatti, Italian Roman Catholic Nun
• William John Copeland, Anglican Priest and Hymn Translator

26 (John Paul I, Bishop of Rome)

• Frederick William Herzberger, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Humanitarian, and Hymn Translator
• Levkadia Harasymiv, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Nun, and Martyr, 1952
• Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Maria Corsini Beltrame Quattrocchi, Italian Roman Catholic Humanitarians
• Teresa of Jesus, Jornet y Ibars, Catalan Roman Catholic Nun and Co-Founder of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Elderly

27 (Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle, Episcopal Priests and Educators of the Deaf)

• Amadeus of Clermont, French Roman Catholic Monk; and his son, Amadeus of Lausanne, French-Swiss Roman Catholic Abbot and Bishop
• Dominic Barberi, Roman Catholic Apostle to England
• Henriette Luise von Hayn, German Moravian Hymn Writer

28 (Ambrose of Milan, Roman Catholic Bishop; Monica of Hippo, Mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo; and Augustine of Hippo, Roman Catholic Bishop of Hippo Regius)

• Denis Wortman, U.S. Dutch Reformed Minister and Hymn Writer
• George Thomas Coster, English Congregationalist Minister, Hymn Writer, and Humanitarian
• Laura S. Coperhaver, U.S. Lutheran Hymn Writer and Missionary Leader
• Moses the Black, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Martyr

29 (BEHEADING OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST)

30 (Jeanne Jugan, Founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor)

• Carlton C. Buck, U.S. Disciples of Christ Minister, Musician, and Hymn Writer
• Edmond L. Budry, Swiss Reformed Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Gerald Kennedy, U.S. Methodist Bishop and Hymn Writer
• John Leary, U.S. Roman Catholic Social Activist and Advocate for the Poor and Marginalized
• Karl Otto Eberhardt, German Moravian Organist, Music Educator, and Composer

31 (NICODEMUS, DISCIPLE OF JESUS)

 

Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.

Above: The Madonna in Sorrow, by Sassoferrato, 1600s

Image in the Public Domain

“Holy Mary, Mother of God….”

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The Assigned Readings for This Feast:

Isaiah 61:10-11

Psalm 34 or Psalm 34:1-9

Galatians 4:4-7

Luke 1:46-55

The Collect:

O God, you have taken to yourself Blessed Mary, mother of your incarnate Son: Grant that we, who have been redeemed by his blood, may share with her the glory of your eternal kingdom; through 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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One day in the middle 1990s, when I was late in my undergraduate college career, I sat in a mall food court in Brunswick, Georgia, with my parents and one my mother’s coworkers, a woman of the Protestant Pentecostal/Charismatic persuasion.  I had just purchased a two-CD set of settings of the Stabat Mater (a Roman Catholic devotional text about Jesus’ mother at the foot of the cross) composed in the 1600s and 1700s.  My mother’s coworker made a remark about the death of the Holy Mother of Our Lord, and I responded by affirming St. Mary’s assumption.  At that moment I realized how far I had moved from my Protestant upbringing and how glad I was to have done so.  I knew also that I did not live in the same theological universe as did many Protestants.

The Western Christian Church calendar contains multiple feasts of the Mother of God; this is the generic one on the Episcopal calendar.  (This is, however, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on the Roman Catholic calendar.)  All such events are really feasts of Jesus, for St. Mary does not matter except within the context our Lord and Savior.  Jesus honored his mother; may we do likewise.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 13, 2010

THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR C

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From the Stabat Mater text:

Love’s sweet fountain, Mother tender,

haste this hard heart, soft to render,

make me sharer in Thy pain.

Fire me now with zeal so glowing,

love so rich to Jesus flowing,

that I favor may obtain.

Holy Mother, I implore Thee,

Crucify this heart before Thee-

Guilty it is verily!