SHARING CHRIST ACROSS FAITHS AND CULTURES.

Above:  St. Guido Maria Conforti

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT GUIDO MARIA CONFORTI (MARCH 30, 1865-NOVEMBER 5, 1931)

Founder of the Xavierian Missionaries

St. Guido Maria Conforti comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.

Conforti, born in Casalora di Ravadese, Parma, Italy, on March 30, 1865, came from a large and devout Roman Catholic family.  Rinaldo Conforti and Antonia Adorni Conforti had ten children; our saint was the eighth.  Conforti, as a Catholic elementary school boy, visited the parish church nearly every day, to converse with the crucified Jesus.  Our saint perceived his vocation, which entailed leaving the farm, against his father’s wishes.

Conforti matriculated at the seminary in Parma in November 1876.  Reading the works of St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) inspired our saint to want to serve as a missionary.  Our saint applied unsuccessfully to join the Society of Jesus and the Society of Saint Francis de Sales.  The rector of the seminary was Blessed Andrea Carlo Ferrari (1850-1921), Conforti’s mentor.  Ferrari went on to serve as the Bishop of Guastilla (1890-1891), the Bishop of Como (1891-1894), and the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan (1894-1921).  Conforti, the Vice-Rector of the seminary under Ferrari, joined the ranks of priests on September 22, 1888, at Fontanellato.  He also taught at the seminary and, starting on March 7, 1896, served as the Vicar-General of the Diocese of Parma.

Conforti founded the Xavierian Missionaries on December 3, 1895.  Pope Leo XIII granted his approval in 1898.  The first Xavierian Missionaries arrived in China the following year.  Our saint served as the Archbishop of Ravenna from June 11, 1902, to November 1904.  After resigning from that post due to ill health, he became the Bishop Coadjutor of Parma and the Titular Archbishop of Stauropolis (1904-1907) then the Bishop of Parma (1907-1931).  He tended to his episcopal duties faithfully and traveled to China in 1928.  Our saint also influenced Maximum Illud (1919), Pope Benedict XV’s signal Apostolic Letter on foreign missions.

Conforti died in Parma on November 5, 1931.  He was 66 years old.

Holy Mother Church has formally recognized this saint.  Pope John Paul II declared Conforti a Venerable in 1992 the beatified him in 1996.  Pope Benedict XVI canonized our saint in 2011.

The Xavierian Missionaries continue their good work.  The website of the Xavierian Missionaries U.S.A. proclaims:

That ethos is consistent with the approach Conforti and Pope Benedict XV shared.  The Holy Father properly objected to mixing nationalism and Western ethnocentrism into missionary work, especially outside of the Western world.  He encouraged raising up local, indigenous people into leadership because the perception that Christianity and the Church were foreign and alien worked against successful evangelism.  The approach of Conforti and Pope Benedict XV was revolutionary at the time.  However, as time passed, it became mainstream.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 24, 2021 COMMON ERA

GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE

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

THE FEAST OF SAINT FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN, CAPUCHIN FRIAR AND MARTYR, 1622

THE FEAST OF JOHANN WALTER, “FIRST CANTOR OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH”

THE FEAST OF SAINT MELLITUS, BISHOP OF LONDON, AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

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Almighty God, we praise you for the men and women you have sent

to call the Church to its tasks and renew its life

[such as your servant Saint Guido Maria Conforti].

Raise up in our own day teachers and prophets inspired by your Spirit,

whose voices will give strength to your Church and proclaim the reality of your kingdom;

through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 46

1 Corinthians 3:11-23

Mark 10:35-45

–Adapted from the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 37

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Above:  Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED BERNHARD LICHTENBERG (DECEMBER 3, 1875-NOVEMBER 5, 1943)

German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1943

Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg died because he prayed for Jews and opposed Nazism.

Lichtenberg, born in Ohlau, Germany, on December 3, 1875, became a priest.  He studied theology at Breslau and Innsbruck before joining the ranks of priests in 1899.  Our saint, in Berlin 1913f, was active in the Center Party from 1913 to 1920, served in regional assemblies, and was an army chaplain during World War I.  After the war he joined the Peace Association of German Catholics and, in 1929, the Inter-Denominational Working Group for Peace.  Lichtenberg, the Rector of St. Hedwig Cathedral since 1932, prayed publicly for Jews (targets of the Third Reich), protested the Kristallnacht (1938), and quoted the Golden Rule as justification for opposing Nazism.  He, convicted in 1942 of having abused his pulpit, never completed his two-year sentence.  Our saint’s health was failing by late 1943, when he rejected an offer of freedom in exchange for not preaching until after the war.  Instead, our saint asked to accompany Jews and Christians to the concentration camp at Dachau, so he could minister to them.  He died en route on November 5, 1943.

Lichtenberg has received posthumous recognition for his martyrdom.  Pope John Paul II declared him a Venerable in 1994 then beatified him two years later.  Furthermore, Lichtenberg has been a Righteous Among the Nations since 2004.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 24, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE ORDINATION OF FLORENCE LI-TIM-OI, FIRST FEMALE PRIEST IN THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANGELA MERICI, FOUNDER OF THE COMPANY OF SAINT URSULA

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF PODLASIE, 1874

THE FEAST OF SAINT SURANUS OF SORA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND MARTYR

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Gracious God, in every age you have sent men and women

who have given their lives in witness to your love and truth.

Inspire us with the memory of Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg,

whose faithfulness led to the way of the cross,

and give us courage to bear full witness with our lives

to your Son’s victory over sin and death,

for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 20:40-42

Psalm 5

Revelation 6:9-11

Mark 8:34-38

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 59

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Above:  Blessed Hryhorii Lakota 

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED HRYHORII LAKOTA (JANUARY 31, 1883-NOVEMBER 12, 1950)

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Bishop and Martyr, 1950

Also known as Blessed Gregory Lakota

Alternative feast day = November 12

Alternative feast day (as one of the Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe) = June 27

Blessed Hryhorii Lakota died for his faith.  Lakota, born in Holodivka, Lviv District, Ukraine, the Russian Empire, on January 31, 1883, studied theology in Lviv.  He, ordained to the priesthood in Przemsyl (now in Poland) in 1908, earned his Doctor of Theology degree in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, three years later.  In 1913 Lakota began service at the Ukrainian seminary in Przemsyl–first as a professor, later as the Rector.  On May 16, 1926, our saint became the Auxiliary Bishop of Przemysl.  Agents of the NKVD arrested Lakota on June 9, 1946.  He, sentenced to ten years, died a prisoner in Vorkuta, Russia, U.S.S.R., on November 12, 1950.  Our saint was 67 years old.

Pope John Paul II declared Lakota a Venerable then beatified him in 2001.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 24, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE ORDINATION OF FLORENCE LI-TIM-OI, FIRST FEMALE PRIEST IN THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANGELA MERICI, FOUNDER OF THE COMPANY OF SAINT URSULA

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF PODLASIE, 1874

THE FEAST OF SAINT SURANUS OF SORA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND MARTYR

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Gracious God, in every age you have sent men and women

who have given their lives in witness to your love and truth.

Inspire us with the memory of Blessed Hryhorii Lakota,

whose faithfulness led to the way of the cross,

and give us courage to bear full witness with our lives

to your Son’s victory over sin and death,

for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 20:40-42

Psalm 5

Revelation 6:9-11

Mark 8:34-38

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 59

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Topaz

Image Source = Didier Descouens

1 (ALL SAINTS)

2 (ALL SOULS/COMMEMORATION OF ALL FAITHFUL DEPARTED)

3 (Richard Hooker, Anglican Priest and Theologian)

• Daniel Payne, African Methodist Episcopal Bishop
• John Worthington, British Moravian Minister and Composer; John Antes, U.S. Moravian Instrument Maker, Composer, and Missionary; Benjamin Henry LaTrobe, Sr., British Moravian Bishop and Hymn Writer; Christian Ignatius LaTrobe, British Moravian Composer; Peter LaTrobe, British Moravian Bishop and Composer; Johann Christopher Pyrlaeus, Moravian Missionary and Musician; and Augustus Gottlieb Spangenberg, Moravian Bishop and Hymn Writer
• Pierre-François Néron, French Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr in Vietnam, 1860

4 (Ludolph Ernst Schlicht, Moravian Minister, Musician, and Hymn Writer; John Gambold, Sr., British Moravian Bishop, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns; and John Gambold, Jr., Moravian Composer)

• Augustus Montague Toplady, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Léon Bloy, French Roman Catholic Novelist and Social Critic; his godson, Jacques Maritain, French Roman Catholic Philosopher; and his wife, Raïssa Maritain, French Roman Catholic Contemplative
• Theodore Weld, U.S. Congregationalist then Quaker Abolitionist and Educator; his wife, Angelina Grimké, U.S. Presbyterian then Quaker Abolitionist, Educator, and Feminist; her sister, Sarah Grimké, U.S. Episcopalian then Quaker Abolitionist and Feminist; her nephew, Francis Grimké, African-American Presbyterian Minister and Civil Rights Activist; and his wife, Charlotte Grimké, African-American Abolitionist and Educator

5 (Bernard Lichtenberg, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1943)

• Guido Maria Conforti, Founder of the Xavierian Missionaries
• Hryhorii Lakota, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1950

6 (Christian Gregor, Father of Moravian Church Music)

• Arthur Tappan and Lewis Tappan, U.S. Congregationalist Businessmen and Abolitionists; colleagues and financial backers of Samuel Eli Cornish and Theodore S. Wright, African-American Ministers and Abolitionists
• Giovanni Gabrieli and Hans Leo Hassler, Composers and Organists; and Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schutz, Composers and Musicians
• Halford E. Luccock, U.S. Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar
• Magdeleine of Jesus, Founder of the Little Sisters of Jesus

7 (Willibrord, Apostle to the Frisians; and Boniface of Mainz, Apostle to the Germans)

• Benedict Joseph Flaget, Roman Catholic Bishop of Bardstown then of Louisville, Kentucky
• Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, and Civil Rights Activist
• Eugene Carson Blake, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Ecumenist, and Moral Critic
• John Cawood, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• John Christian Frederick Heyer, Lutheran Missionary in the United States and India; Bartholomeaus Ziegenbalg, Jr., Lutheran Minister to the Tamils; and Ludwig Nommensen, Lutheran Missionary to Sumatra and Apostle to the Batak

8 (John Duns Scotus, Scottish Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian)

• Elizabeth of the Trinity, French Roman Catholic Nun, Mystic, and Religious Writer
• Johann von Staupitz, Martin Luther’s Spiritual Mentor
• John Caspar Mattes, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Liturgist
• Pambo of Nitria, Ammonius of Skete, Palladius of Galatia, Macarius of Egypt, Macarius of Alexandria, and Pishoy, Desert Fathers; Evagrius of Pontus, Monk and Scholar; Melania the Elder, Desert Mother; Rufinus of Aquileia, Monk and Theologian; Didymus the Blind, Biblical Scholar; John II, Bishop of Jerusalem; Melania the Younger, Desert Mother; and her husband, Pinian, Monk

9 (Martin Chemnitz, German Lutheran Theologian, and the “Second Martin”)

• Andreas Peter Berggreen, Danish Lutheran Musicologist, Organist, Music Educator, and Composer
• Elijah P. Lovejoy, U.S. Journalist, Abolitionist, Presbyterian Minister, and Martyr, 1837; his brother, Owen Lovejoy, U.S. Abolitionist, Lawmaker, and Congregationalist Minister; and William Wells Brown, African-American Abolitionist, Novelist, Historian, and Physician
• Johann(es) Matthaus Meyfart, German Lutheran Educator and Devotional Writer
• Margery Kempe, English Roman Catholic Mystic and Pilgrim
• William Croswell, Episcopal Priest and Hymn Writer

10 (Leo I “the Great,” Bishop of Rome)

• Lott Cary, African-American Baptist Minister and Missionary to Liberia; and Melville B. Cox, U.S. Methodist Minister and Missionary to Liberia
• Odette Prévost, French Roman Catholic Nun, and Martyr in Algeria, 1995

11 (Anne Steele, First Important English Female Hymn Writer)

• Alijca Maria Jadwiga Kotowska, Polish Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr, 1939
• Edwin Hatch, Anglican Priest, Scholar, and Hymn Writer
• Martha Coffin Pelham Wright; her sister, Lucretia Coffin Mott; her husband, James Mott; his sister, Abigail Lydia Mott Moore; and her husband, Lindley Murray Moore; U.S. Quaker Abolitionists and Feminists
• Peter Taylor Forsyth, Scottish Congregationalist Minister and Theologian

12 (Josaphat Kuntsevych, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Polotsk, and Martyr, 1623)

• John Tavener, English Presbyterian then Orthodox Composer
• Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican Roman Catholic Nun, Composer, Writer, Philosopher, Feminist, and Alleged Heretic
• Ray Palmer, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• William Arthur Dunkerley, British Novelist, Poet, and Hymn Writer

13 (Henry Martyn Dexter, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Historian)

• Abbo of Fleury, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Brice of Tours, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Frances Xavier Cabrini, Founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart
• William Romanis, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

14 (Samuel Seabury, Episcopal Bishop of Connecticut, and Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church)

• Maria Luiza Merkert, Co-Founder of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth
• Nicholas Tavelic and His Companions, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1391
• Peter Wolle, U.S. Moravian Bishop, Organist, and Composer; Theodore Francis Wolle, U.S. Moravian Organist and Composer; and John Frederick “J. Fred” Wolle, U.S. Moravian Organist, Composer, and Choir Director

15 (John Amos Comenius, Father of Modern Education)

• Gustaf Aulén and his protégé and colleague, Anders Nygren, Swedish Lutheran Bishops and Theologians
• Jane Montgomery Campbell, Anglican Hymn Translator and Music Educator
• Johann Gottlob Klemm, Instrument Maker; David Tannenberg, Sr., German-American Moravian Organ Builder; Johann Philip Bachmann, German-American Moravian Instrument Maker; Joseph Ferdinand Bulitschek, Bohemian-American Organ Builder; and Tobias Friedrich, German Moravian Composer and Musician
• Johannes Kepler, German Lutheran Astronomer and Mathematician
• Joseph Pignatelli, Restorer of the Jesuits

16 (Margaret of Scotland, Queen, Humanitarian, and Ecclesiastical Reformer)

• Giuseppe Moscati, Italian Roman Catholic Physician
• Ignacio Ellacuria and His Companions, Martyrs in El Salvador, November 15, 1989
• Jesuit Martyrs of Paraguay, 1628

17 (Henriette DeLille, Founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family)

• Hugh of Lincoln, Roman Catholic Bishop and Abbot

18 (Hilda of Whitby, Roman Catholic Abbess)

• Arthur Tozer Russell, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Isabel Alice Hartley Crawford, Baptist Missionary to the Kiowa Nation
• Jane Eliza(beth) Leeson, English Hymn Writer

19 (Elizabeth of Hungary, Princess of Hungary, and Humanitarian)

• Alice Nevin, U.S. German Reformed Liturgist and Composer of Hymn Texts
• Arthur Henry Mann, Anglican Organist, Choir Director, Hymnodist, and Hymn Tune Composer
• Johann Christian Till, U.S. Moravian Organist, Composer, and Piano Builder; and his son, Jacob Christian Till, U.S. Moravian Piano Builder
• Johann Hermann Schein, German Lutheran Composer
• Samuel John Stone, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

20 (F. Bland Tucker, Episcopal Priest and Hymnodist; “The Dean of American Hymn Writers”)

• Henry Francis Lyte, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Priscilla Lydia Sellon, a Restorer of Religious Life in The Church of England
• Richard Watson Gilder, U.S. Poet, Journalist, and Social Reformer
• Theodore Claudius Pease, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer

21 (Thomas Tallis and his student and colleague, William Byrd, English Composers and Organists; and John Merbecke, English Composer, Organist, and Theologian)

• Guy Ignatius Chabrat, Roman Catholic Bishop Coadjutor of Bardstown then of Louisville, Kentucky; and his cousin, Peter Joseph Lavialle, Roman Catholic Bishop of Louisville, Kentucky
• Henry Purcell and his brother, Daniel Purcell, English Composers
• Maria Franciszka Siedliska, Founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth

22 (Robert Seagrave, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer)

• Anna Kolesárová, Slovak Roman Catholic Martyr, 1944
• Ditlef Georgson Ristad, Norwegian-American Lutheran Minister, Hymn Translator, Liturgist, and Educator

23 (Clement I, Bishop of Rome)

• Caspar Friedrich Nachtenhofer, German Lutheran Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Columban, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Missionary
• Enrichetta Alfieri, Italian Roman Catholic Nun and “Angel of San Vittore”
• 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

24 (Andrew Dung-Lac and Peter Thi, Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs in Vietnam, 1839)

• Lucy Menzies, Scottish Presbyterian then Anglican Scholar and Mystic
• Theophane Venard, Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary, and Martyr in Vietnam, 1861
• Vincent Liem, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr in Vietnam, 1773

25 (William Hiley Bathurst, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer)

• Isaac Watts, English Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• James Otis Sargent Huntington, Founder of the Order of the Holy Cross
• John LaFarge, Jr., U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Renewer of Society
• Petrus Nigidius, German Lutheran Educator and Composer; and Georg Nigidius, German Lutheran Composer and Hymn Writer

26 (Siricius, Bishop of Rome)

• H. Baxter Liebler, Episcopal Priest and Missionary to the Navajo Nation
• John Berchmans, Roman Catholic Seminarian
• Sojourner Truth, U.S. Abolitionist, Mystic, and Feminist
• Theodore P. Ferris, Episcopal Priest and Author

27 (James Intercisus, Roman Catholic Martyr)

• William Cooke and Benjamin Webb, Anglican Priests and Translators of Hymns

28 (Stephen the Younger, Defender of Icons)

• Albert George Butzer, Sr., U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Educator
• Kamehameha IV and Emma Rooke, King and Queen of Hawai’i
• James Mills Thoburn, Isabella Thoburn, and Clara Swain, U.S. Methodist Missionaries to India
• Joseph Hofer and Michael Hofer, U.S. Hutterite Conscientious Objectors and Martyrs, 1918

29 (Day of Intercession and Thanksgiving for the Missionary Work of the Church)

• Frederick Cook Atkinson, Anglican Church Organist and Composer
• Jennette Threlfall, English Hymn Writer

30 (ANDREW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR)

Floating

• Thanksgiving Day

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

Above:  The Children of Israel Crossing the River Jordan, by Gustave Dore

Image in the Public Domain

God, Who Exalts

The Sunday Closest to November 2

The Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost

NOVEMBER 5, 2023

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FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #1

Joshua 3:7-17 (New Revised Standard Version):

The LORD said to Joshua,

This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, `When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’

Joshua then said to the Israelites,

Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God.

Joshua said,

By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.

When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

and his mercy endures for ever.

2  Let all those whom the LORD has redeemed proclaim

that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.

3  He gathered them out of the lands;

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

4  Some wandered in desert wastes;

they found no way to a city where they might dwell.

5  They were hungry and thirsty;

their spirits languised within them.

6  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

7  He put their feet on a straight path

to go to a city where they might dwell.

33  The LORD changed rivers into deserts,

and water-springs into thirsty-ground,

34  A fruitful land into salt flats,

because of the wickedness of those who dwell there.

35  He changed deserts into pools of water

and dry land into water springs.

36  He settled the hungry there,

and they founded a city to dwell in.

37  They sowed fields, and planted vineyards,

and brought in a fruitful harvest.

FIRST READING AND PSALM:  OPTION #2

Micah 3:5-12 (New Revised Standard Version):

Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat but declare war against those who put nothing in their mouths.

Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,

and darkness to you, without revelation.

The sun shall go down upon the prophets,

and the day shall be black over them;

the seers shall be disgraced,

and the diviners put to shame;

they shall all cover their lips,

for there is no answer from God.

But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob

and chiefs of the house of Israel,

who abhor justice

and pervert all equity,

who build Zion with blood

and Jerusalem with wrong!

Its rulers give judgment for a bribe,

its priests teach for a price,

its prophets give oracles for money;

yet they lean upon the LORD and say,

“Surely the LORD is with us!

No harm shall come upon us.”

Therefore because of you

Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

Psalm 43 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Give judgment for me, O God,

and defend my cause against an ungodly people;

deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.

2 For you are the God of my strength;

why have you put me from you?

and why do I go so heavily while the enemy oppresses me?

3 Sent out your light and your truth, that they may lead me,

and bring me to your holy hill

and to your dwelling;

4 That I may go to the altar of God,

to the God of my joy and gladness;

and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God.

5 Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?

and why are you so disquieted within me?

6 Put your trust in God;

for I will yet give thanks to him,

who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

SECOND READING

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 (New Revised Standard Version):

You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.

GOSPEL READING

Matthew 23:1-12 (New Revised Standard Version):

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father– the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

The Collect:

Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ 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:

Matthew 23:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/week-of-proper-15-saturday-year-1/

1 Thessalonians 2:

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/week-of-proper-16-wednesday-year-1/

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Often we humans exalt ourselves or at least attempt to do so.  Frequently this comes at the expense of others.  Thus it is common to find gross income inequality and corresponding injustices rife in societies.  Often the wealthy can get away with almost anything because they can hire certain attorneys while prosecutors pressure innocent poor people into plea deals, prison time, and criminal records unjustly.  Those with great talents and the corresponding work ethic might not be able to make the most of those because they cannot afford to attend certain schools, even with the possibility of scholarships.  Much of this is the luck of the draw:  Where and when was one born?

It is all terribly unfair.

The Israelites were supposed to build a just society when they entered Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, son of Nun.  Yet, generation after generation, they failed.  Free from tyranny in Egypt, they followed their countrymen who imposed it on them.  God gives us freedom, but not so that we should abuse it, waste it, or surrender it.  We are free to love one another, care for each other in difficult times, and treat each other as people who bear the image of God.

God exalts us for these purposes, but we exalt ourselves for our advantage.  No wonder those exalt themselves will be humbled, and the humble exalted.

KRT

Published originally at SUNDRY THOUGHTS OF KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on May 13, 2011