Friday, November 22, 2019 | Reflections
Judas Maccabeus and his followers have driven the Seleucid occupiers out of Jerusalem and are surveying the damage. One of the holiest parts of the temple, the altar of sacrifice, has been thoroughly defiled. They decide to tear the altar down completely and rebuild...
Thursday, November 21, 2019 | Reflections
Our verse from Matthew makes me think of words from the ordination liturgy in the 1928 edition of The Book of Common Prayer: “And if it shall happen that the…Church, or any Member thereof, do take any hurt or hindrance by reason of your negligence, ye know the...
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 | Reflections
Above the south transept doors in a much-beloved house of worship is a massive stained-glass window that depicts this very scene from our lesson in Revelation. For thirteen years, I offered Evening Prayer in that space most nights, and during much of the year the...
Tuesday, November 19, 2019 | Reflections
Perhaps you have seen the image on social media: It depicts a person carrying a large placard that contains a long list of sinful categories—and the warning that those who find any of their actions on the list can expect to spend an eternity in a very hot hell.Many of...
Monday, November 18, 2019 | Reflections
Judas Maccabaeus succeeds his father Mattathias and wracks up a string of impressive military victories against the Seleucids. Still, when he proposes attacking an army that outnumbers his own, his lieutenants demur. Judas reminds them that they are God’s vessels, and...
Sunday, November 17, 2019 | Reflections
Before offering these words of hope about endurance, Jesus warns his listeners of a time when there will be “wars and insurrections” and all manner of natural disasters. This really gets the conversation going, and Jesus takes the opportunity to explain that things...
Saturday, November 16, 2019 | Reflections
The story told in Maccabees casts Mattathias and his son Judas Maccabeus as heroes. They are commanded by Antiochus IV Epiphanes to abandon the covenant between God and the children of Israel. Mattathias refuses and begins an armed revolt.We don’t take everything the...
Friday, November 15, 2019 | Reflections
Antiochus IV Epiphanes is a ruthless tyrant, but his desire to create one people out of a diverse group who share the same real estate is not an inherently evil idea. Indeed, as we will pray on the last Sunday of Pentecost, our hope is that all of humankind will be...
Thursday, November 14, 2019 | Reflections
If we had a title card like the ones in the movies, today’s would read: “Three Hundred Years or So Later.” The Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, is eager to “de-Judaize” Judea and Jerusalem. Some of the Jews are willing to accommodate or even collaborate with...
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 | Reflections
The remnant of the children of Israel are hearing the Law of Moses read as if for the first time, and they weep—first because it offers them a spiritual identity—and then in repentance, they suddenly become aware that they have not been keeping the law while in...
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 | Reflections
By using symbolism in a very sophisticated way, John the Revelator discloses a catastrophic future for a fallen state in terms of economic ruin. No fewer than three times in nine verses we read of merchants bemoaning the fall of Babylon the Great (Rome, in John’s...
Monday, November 11, 2019 | Reflections
Today, we overhear a tense three-way conversation between Jesus, his disciples, and a group of Pharisees about the Law of Moses. Jesus’ point is that people should not be so…well…legalistic about the Law. Quibbling over fine points should not overshadow the purpose...
Sunday, November 10, 2019 | Reflections
Paul has been arrested on trumped-up charges, sent to Caesarea in protective custody, and is now on trial before Felix, the Roman governor. He’s trying to frame his argument in a way calculated to exploit the disagreement between his accusers on whether there will be...
Saturday, November 9, 2019 | Reflections
The exiles returning from Babylonian enslavement, under Ezra’s leadership, struggle to maintain their identity as a people and a nation. This involves some attitudes and practices—like avoiding intermarriage with their Gentile neighbors—that we might find off-putting...
Friday, November 8, 2019 | Reflections
The lesser and unspecified details from this story in the life of Jesus invite all sorts of questions. What does Jesus hear that causes him to take a solo boat ride? Is it the news that Herod considers him a resurrected John the Baptist, or is it the news that...
