Tuesday • 9/12/2023 •
Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week After Pentecost (Proper 18) 

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 45; 1 Kings 16:23–34; Philippians 1:12–30; Mark 16:1–8 

For further thoughts on Mark 16:1–8, see the DDD for 4/13/2020, Monday of Easter Week, Year 2: https://tinyurl.com/ddwhntnf 

This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 13 (“A Song of Praise,” BCP, p. 90); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 18 (“A Song to the Lamb,” Revelation 4:11; 5:9–10, 13, BCP, p. 93)  

Welcome to Daily Office Devotions, where every Monday through Friday we draw insights from that day’s Scripture readings, as given in the Book of Common Prayer. I’m Reggie Kidd, and I’m grateful to be with you. This Tuesday in the Season After Pentecost our readings come from Proper 18 of Year 1 in the Daily Office Lectionary.  

Mark’s challenging ending. Whether by the providence of a longer ending having been been lost (as some theorize) or by Mark’s own design, the best ending of Mark’s gospel is Mark 16:1–8. It’s an odd ending, because it records the witnesses to the empty tomb leaving it in fear: “They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:8).  

Either way, we readers know exactly what those first witnesses knew: a) Jesus is God’s Son (Mark 1:1, etc.); b) he has given his life as a ransom for our sin (Mark 10:45); c) we have been told he has risen from the dead and has told us to “meet him in Galilee” (Mark 16:6–7); and d) he has told us our life is now to consist of both suffering for and testifying to God’s kingdom (Mark 13:10,19,24).  

The question the empty grave poses for Mark’s original readers (and for us) is whether we will answer its call to meet the Risen Christ in our own Galilee. Even if we are “seized” by the same “terror and amazement” that struck the first witnesses to the empty tomb, we, just as they, can expect Jesus to offer us our share in his cross and in the venture of taking his message to the world.  

Paul on living and dying. Imprisoned in Rome for testifying to Jesus, Paul provides a profound perspective on sharing Christ’s cross while taking his message to the world. Paul’s attitude is wondrous. He knows that his presence in a Roman prison has become a great conversation starter all over the city. Some Christians, out of love for him, share the good news of Christ eagerly. Other Christians, out of spite for him, do the same thing—but hoping to make his situation worse. Paul only cares that people are hearing about Christ, whether it improves his prospects of liberation from jail, or not. One of his more memorable or axiomatic statements is this: “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 NASB).   

Here’s the gist of Paul’s saying: “I’m OK in either case, no matter how this turns out. If my Christian friends are successful in making Christ more attractive in Caesar’s courts, and if that leads to my release, then I will have more opportunity to live for Christ and tell others about him. If my (Christian!) enemies successfully irritate people by talking about Christ so much that it leads to my martyrdom, that’s all the better. It’s gain for me, because it means I enter the nearer presence of the Lord. It’s a win-win for me.”  

I can only hope for half this confidence, half this equilibrium for myself, but I am so grateful these words are here in Scripture to stimulate, stir up, and inspire. We have been given the privilege of knowing the Lord and suffering for him: “For to you  it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to  suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29). We stand in a long line of those who have counted themselves blessed with this dual honor: to know Christ and to suffer for and with him (see Philippians 3:10).  

1 Kings on appearance and reality. What a contrast with King Omri, and the line that he establishes in Israel. In terms of secular history and to all outward appearances, Omri’s brief twelve-year reign is successful. His rise ends a half century of civil war in the northern kingdom. He establishes a stunningly beautiful new capital, he makes alliances with surrounding kingdoms that bring regional stability, and he establishes a royal line that oversees prosperity and relative peace. But it is corrupt to the core, at least by biblical standards. Jezebel, the wife he secures for his son and successor Ahab, is a zealous and evangelizing devotee of Baal and Asherah. She will lead Israel further into idolatry. And the Bible’s verdict on Ahab’s twenty-two-year reign is that he “did evil in the sight of the  Lord  more than all who were before him” (1 Kings 16:30). This verdict comes, despite Ahab’s reign being, according to archaeological evidence, the most prosperous and powerful years of Israel’s existence as a kingdom separate from Judah.  

Scripture’s perspective is utterly amazing and radically challenging: Omri and Ahab, who thrive on their thrones, Scripture deems failures, while Paul, who writes from prison, Scripture considers a success. Indeed, if the tomb is empty because Christ is risen, as Mark knows it is, then everything is upside down: by dying we live, to bring news of true life to those whose existence is but a walking death.  

Be blessed this day,  

Reggie Kidd+