He is There Now, Just as Much as in the Past - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Tuesday • 8/6/2024 •

Tuesday of Proper 13

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 78:1-39; Judges 7:1-18; Acts 3:1-11; John 1:19-28
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)

One of the “historical” Psalms, today’s Psalm, 78, reviews Israel’s history, emphasizing that Israel continually forgot Yahweh’s achievements. God’s people became oblivious to his saving hand time and again: “They had forgotten his achievements, the marvels he had shown them” (Psalm 78:11 Jerusalem Bible). Yahweh is aware. In today’s passage from Judges, Yahweh makes it clear that the glory for a victory in battle over Israel’s enemies, the Midianites, is to belong to him alone.

The troops with you are too many … Israel would only take the credit away from me. — Judges 7:2. To press home the point that the Lord himself is the only ruler and protector his people need, the Lord trims Gideon’s army from over 30,000 to a meager 300. These are Israelites who have been living and hiding in the mountains from the Midianites. These are not—the 300 included—some sort of highly trained elite fighting force. After Gideon sends home the 22,000 who admit that they are “fearful and trembling,” God instructs Gideon to have the remaining 10,000 drink water from the spring where they are camped. While they drink, nine thousand, seven hundred men remain on the alert, kneeling down and “putting their hands to their mouths.” Three-hundred are less cautious, “lap[ping] the water with their tongues, as a dog laps.” The Lord tells Gideon to send the larger group home, leaving a small force of 300 men.  With the 300, the Lord says, I will deliver you. 

Whenever we feel under-resourced, it’s good to be reminded, “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few” (1 Samuel 14:6). 

… and afterwards your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp. — Judges 7:11. The Lord knows Gideon well, and his graciousness is on abundant display when he anticipates Gideon’s fear: the Midianites are so numerous they fill the valley “like locusts.” Yahweh calls for a nighttime attack. However, in advance, he provides a sign, unasked for, that Gideon and his forces will be successful. Gideon and his servant make a secret foray into the Midianite camps and hear a man recounting a fearful dream of a Midianite tent being rolled over by an Israelite loaf of bread. The man’s comrade declares the dream is a portent of an Israelite victory. 

Image: Hult, Adolf, 1869-1943; Augustana synod. [from old catalog], No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

“For the Lord and for Gideon!” — Judges 7:18. Confident, Gideon arms his company with horns and torches hidden in pitchers. Perhaps a bit … overconfident? arrogant?... Gideon tells them that during the attack they are to shout that they are fighting, not just for the Lord, but for Gideon. To this point, Gideon has been timid, but humble. Assurance of victory, however, has affected Gideon profoundly. The moment he displays courage, he also betrays pride. 

One reason we have historical Psalms, like the 78th, is to remind Israel (and also our forgetful selves) of God’s power to save. They are there to keep us mindful of his redeeming love: “…so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation…” (Psalm 78:7-8 NRSV). We have in the Psalms, Israel’s songs, the stories of the failure of his people to appreciate him, thank him, and praise him for delivering them multiple times from enemies, famine, death, and destruction. We ourselves are not unlike the Israelites, which is why we have our own reminders through our worship, tradition, and rituals. Someone (I wish I could remember who!) once said, “Good rituals…condition all of us to take the proper attitude toward different aspects of our lives.” 

My prayer for you today is that God reminds you of his saving hand in your own personal past: healings, deliverances, answers to prayers—whatever it may be that reminds you he is there and that he cares about YOU as much now as he has in the past.

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

About Trusting God - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Monday • 8/5/2024 •

Monday of Proper 13

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 80; Judges 6:25-40; Acts 2:37-47; John 1:1-18
This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 9 (“The First Song of Isaiah,” Isaiah 12:2-6, BCP, p. 86); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 19 (“The Song of the Redeemed,” Revelation 15:3-4, BCP, p. 94)

Today we draw lessons from Judges on trusting God and from Acts on caring for one another. In addition, we’ll take a quick look at the themes and perspectives that lie before us as we begin reading John’s amazing account of Jesus’s life. 

Judges. Leading up to today’s Old Testament passage we learn that because of disobedience, Israel was being oppressed by the Midianites. Nevertheless, Yahweh mercifully determines to rescue them through his appointed “valiant warrior,” Gideon. He sends an angel to break this news to Gideon.

It’s instructive at this point to consider how different people in the Bible respond to angels sent from God, and what it reveals about character. When the angel tells Gideon he will rescue Israel from the Midianites, he asks, “How can I do this?” When an angel approaches Mary and tells her she will bear a child, she asks, “How can this be?” Gideon requests proof, “Give me a sign that it is you.” Mary’s response is, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.”

Image: Maerten van Heemskerck , CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Thus, we are not surprised, in today’s passage, that, when he obeys a command from God to destroy the Israel’s sacred Baal worship altar, cowardly Gideon does this furtively, under cover of night. When his deed is discovered anyway, it is Gideon’s father who must defend him from the townspeople, who want to put him to death. We see that God’s “valiant warrior” has much to learn about trusting God. In fact, following this incident, Gideon again asks for proof that he is to lead Israel against the Midianites. He asks for a sign, involving placing a fleece on the ground and having it remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew. When God provides the sign he asks for, Gideon changes up the terms and asks for the same sign, but with the results reversed. God again confirms the truth of his word to Gideon (we can imagine God doing this with a kind of celestial, but somewhat patient, eye-roll). 

Acts: Today’s Acts reading follows Peter’s eloquent proclamation of Jesus as the One foretold in Scripture, most specifically recounting his resurrection in Psalm 16. Peter declares that David knew when he composed the Psalm, that he was writing, not about himself, but of a promised descendant who would be enthroned forever (Psalm 132). Peter concludes that his listeners can be certain that “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (v. 36).

Peter’s listeners, believing, ask how they might properly respond (Acts 2:37). They are told to repent and be baptized, and we see the beginnings of Christian worship and community taking shape. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” There developed a communal life—believers meeting together daily, worshipping, praying, and generous sharing with those in need.

John. We begin the study of the book of John with an eye to John’s purpose in writing, themes he discloses, and his declaration that he is an authentic and trustworthy eyewitness to the events he describes. 

John makes his purpose clear at the outset of his gospel, and he will reiterate his purpose at its conclusion. Thus, today’s reading in John 1 begins with the first words of the book of Genesis, “In the beginning….” John wants us to know that Jesus is God: “the Word was with God and the word was God.” Not only that, but John tells us that Jesus was present, and participated in, the creation of the world (v.2-3). Jesus became a human being, and John attests to having personally seen him, and to having seen him in his transfigured state “we saw his glory” (v.14). John further wants us to believe: “that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

The Gospel of John has themes to watch for as we study this book. One of the main themes is the concept of light and dark, which we observe even in these first poetic verses: 

in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.                                                     

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 

Keep an eye out for “light and dark,” “day and night,” as we read further.

John also wants us to understand that the miracles Jesus performed were much more than amazing incidents. John calls them “signs,” that is, they signal something greater than the events themselves. They point to Jesus’s identity and mission, and to his control over the created world, from healing the lame to raising dead people to life. (Who is able to do this but God?)

John directs us to observe that there exists a preordained time for the accomplishment of God’s plans. “An hour is coming,” Jesus says at various times (John 4, 5, 16). Further, there will be occasions when John tells us that Jesus’s “hour had not yet come,” and later, that “his hour had come.” 

And of course, look for the wonderful “I am” sayings contained in this beautifully written book: 

• “I am the bread of life … the bread which came down from heaven” — 6:35,41,48

• “I am the light of the world” — 8:12; 9:5

• “I am the door of the sheep” — 10:7

• “I am the good shepherd” — 10:11,14

• “I am the resurrection and the life” — 11:25

• “I am the way, the truth, and the life” — 14:6

• “I am the true vine” — 15:1,5

In these early verses in chapter 1, the eyewitness John states: “and the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory…” John will conclude his book with this attestation:  “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” That John is not only an eyewitness, but likely a member of a Jesus’s closest circle—Peter, James, and John—gives his gospel a unique and pricelessly “up close and personal” perspective. 

In sum. When we read of Gideon’s lack of trust in God, and when we note God’s kind patience with him, we can, with confidence, ask God for his own patience with us. The early church in Acts developed an identity and a communal life that may be difficult for us to imitate in exactly the same way. However, I pray we may be able to find ways to express a similar glad and greathearted love and care for one another despite the distance and any difficulties.  Finally, in these opening verses of John’s gospel I pray you may find assurance of God’s gracious love through Jesus Christ. John shows us Jesus, bringing light and life to the world, come to make the Father known to us, willing to go to hell, and back, for us.

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

A Song for Deliverance - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Friday • 8/2/2024 •

Friday of Proper 12

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 69; Judges 5:1-18; Acts 2:1-21; Matthew 28:1-10
This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 10 (“The Second Song of Isaiah,” Isaiah 55:6-11; BCP, p. 86); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 18 (“A Song to the Lamb,” Revelation 4:11; 5:9-10, 13, BCP, p. 93)

Psalm 69 & a song for deliverance from drowning waters. With raw honesty in Psalm 69, David confesses his sinfulness, while asking that the Lord’s honor nonetheless not be besmirched at the hands of those who are endangering his life. Despite his own faults, he protests the injustice of the accusations of his enemies, and he laments the shame of his abandonment by friends and family. In doing all this, he anticipates specific features of Christ’s experience 1,000 years later: zeal for his Father’s house (Psalm 69:9; John 2:15), the bearing of insult on God’s behalf (Psalm 69:9; Romans 15:3), and being offered sour wine for his thirst (Psalm 69:21; Matthew 27:34, 48). 

In all of this, David thinks of himself being threatened by drowning waters:

1 Save me, O God, *for the waters have risen up to my neck.2 I am sinking in deep mire, *and there is no firm ground for my feet.3 I have come into deep waters, *and the torrent washes over me.

16 Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; *let me be rescued from those who hate meand out of the deep waters.17 Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,neither let the deep swallow me up; *do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.

It’s hard to imagine a better setup to Jesus’s dramatic question, in anticipation of the Cross: “Are you able to … be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38). 

Judges 5 & a song of celebration for rescuing waters. Deborah’s song in Judges 5 recalls the way God enabled Israel’s victory over the Canaanite chariots (per yesterday’s narrative in Joshua 4) by a tremendous storm: 

…the heavens poured,the clouds indeed poured water. …

The torrent Kishon swept them away,    the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon (Judges 5:4 ,21).

It would appear that one of the reasons that the Canaanites’ mighty chariots of iron were so easily defeated by Deborah and Barak’s infantry was that Yahweh sent a mighty storm that so swelled the banks of the Kishon that the chariots had to be abandoned. As it had at the Red Sea, water proved to be a means by which the Lord brought deliverance to his people. 

Thus, Deborah’s song anticipates the other half of Jesus’s baptism on the Cross: his rising to life and victory. In the waters of the River Jordan, Jesus had identified with his people’s sins, so that in his rising from those waters he could receive power from on high to minister life and healing to them. That’s why the Holy Spirit descends upon him like a dove. That’s why he immediately journeys into the wilderness for his victorious contest with Satan. 

Image: pcstratman, OT0704.Deborah, Bible drawings by Otto Semler and others, many based on the engravings by Carolsfeld, all in the public domain.

Baptism portrays both dying and rising. The deluge drowns evil and empowers life. The (metaphorical) waters of (literal) death that swept over Jesus were simultaneously waters that washed away the power of evil and Satan and sin and death. Drowning waters prove simultaneously to be delivering waters, for Jesus rises to restore life. Just so, Jesus’s baptism of death destroys sin, and his rising from death confers life. 

Matthew 28 and Jesus’s resurrection as baptism unto life. Here is the far side of “the baptism with which I am to be baptized”—Jesus rises unto life and strength and authority and healing presence.  With the triumphant angel at the tomb, and Matthew’s brief resurrection account, the stage is set for Jesus’s final instructions to his disciples.  Jesus announces that “all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to me,” and he commissions his followers to bring good news to all the nations of the earth. And he promises to be with them “to the end of the age.” 

Acts 2 & the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, the church receives its own version of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus: indeed, the Holy Spirit as Jesus’s very presence and power. Just as Jesus received the Spirit from heaven for his ministry at his baptism, so now the church receives the Spirit from heaven for her ministry at Pentecost: that “their sons and daughters may prophesy” (Acts 2:17). Now, by virtue of Jesus’s real and authoritative presence in the Holy Spirit, the nations (represented in the gathering of people from Parthia to Rome, and parts in between, in Jerusalem at Pentecost) may be discipled and baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:20). 

Prayers at Baptism (Book of Common Prayer, pp. 305-306):

Deliver us, O Lord, from the way of sin and death. Lord, hear our prayer. 

Open our hearts to your grace and truth. Lord, hear our prayer.

Fill us with your holy and life-giving Spirit. Lord, hear our prayer.

Keep us in the faith and communion of your holy Church. Lord, hear our prayer. 

Teach us to love others in the power of the Spirit. Lord, hear our prayer. 

Send us into the world in witness to your love. Lord, hear our prayer. 

Bring us to the fullness of your peace and glory. Lord, hear our prayer. … Amen.

Be blessed this day,

Reggie Kidd+

God Will Bring His Redemptive Purposes to Fruition - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Thursday • 08/01/2024 •

Thursday of Proper 12

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 71; Judges 4:4-23; Acts 1:15-26; Matthew 27:55-66
This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 8 (“The Song of Moses,” Exodus 15, BCP, p. 85); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 19 (“The Song of the Redeemed,” Revelation 15:3-4, BCP, p. 94)

Taken together, today’s readings illustrate God’s unyielding intention to accomplish his purposes despite all opposition, and through the most surprising of means.

Notes from Judges. Judges highlights the heroism of two women who act, undeterred by timid leadership within Israel or by military oppression from outside Israel. 

Once again, doing “what was evil in the sight of the Lord” has led to Israel’s subjugation, this time under the despotic rule of King Jabin of Canaan. And once again, Israel “cried out to the Lord for help” (Judges 4:1-3). This time help comes from a remarkable woman, Deborah. She is a prophetess who receives revelation from Yahweh, a judge who arbitrates disputes, and an unexpected leader who calls Israel to arms. 

Israel’s general, Barak, pushes back against Deborah’s initial instructions (from the Lord!) for battle against the Canaanites. He refuses to go unless she does. Deborah understands Barak wants her to put her life on the line to prove the truth of her message from Yahweh. She agrees to lead the Israelite forces and informs him, somewhat derisively, that the glory of the coming victory will go to a woman, not to him. As Yahweh promised, the Israelites successfully rout the Canaanites, thanks to Deborah’s brilliant leadership and tactics. 

Image: Léon Cogniet , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Canaanites’ greatest strength is their iron chariots. Deborah lures them close enough to the banks of the River Kishon that the chariots provide no advantage in the fight. The Canaanites are pursued back to their base and all except their leader, Sisera, perish under the sword of the Israelites. Sisera has fled in a different direction, to the home of a family who is on friendly terms with Jabin, the king of Canaan. 

The surprise in the narrative is that the woman who ultimately steals Barak’s glory and seals this victory is not Deborah, but someone else. When Sisera arrives at her home, the woman Jael pretends to offer aid and comfort to him. When she has lulled him to sleep, she drives a tent peg through his head. After this resounding defeat and the death of Sisera, the Israelites were able to destroy the rule of Jabin, king of Canaan. 

Notes from Matthew. In our Matthew reading of the death and burial of Jesus, three women—each with her own story of Jesus’s ministration to her, and each with her own role in supporting his ministry—bear witness to Jesus’s death on Golgotha. Mary Magdalene had been delivered of seven demons (Luke 8:2). The other Mary is his mother (and also of his brothers James and Joseph). And there is the unnamed mother of the sons of Zebedee, recently rebuked for ambitiously pushing for the advancement of her sons (Matthew 20:20-28), but clearly unfazed in her devotion to Jesus. 

And there’s also Joseph of Arimathea, an (up until now, at least) secret disciple of Jesus who happened to belong to the very Sanhedrin that had turned Jesus over to the Romans (see also John 19:38). We are not told what Joseph may have said or done during those proceedings, only that he “had not consented to their purpose and deed, but he was looking for the kingdom of God” (Luke 23:51). Now Joseph offers what he can: a resting place for Jesus’s body. (We know Jesus won’t need it for very long.)

Opposing God’s cause before, during, and after the crucifixion are the chief priests and Pharisees who persuade Pilate to let them have a guard of soldiers to make sure that Jesus’s body stays in the tomb. Refusing to believe Jesus is actually God, they foolishly believe Jesus’s disciples will conspire to steal the body and deceive the people into thinking there has been a resurrection.

Notes from Acts. The book of Acts provides a most revealing perspective on the way God uses evil intentions, noting that Judas’s betrayal fulfilled Scripture, and that his suicide could not thwart God’s plan for a full number of twelve in “position of overseer” (Acts 1:20; see Psalm 109:7). Even before experiencing the life-giving and wisdom-conferring bestowal of the Holy Spirit, the apostles know to seek the Lord’s guidance, expecting that he will work his plan, and that it will be undeterred by any kind of human resistance. 

Whether it is the military might of King Jabin and Sisera, the impiety of the Sanhedrin, the cowardice of Pilate, or the treachery of Judas, a sovereign God resolutely works his unstoppable plan. In his own time and in his own way, the True and Living God puts down godlessness and frustrates foolishness. In his own time and in his own way, the Lord of heaven and earth manifests his power and goodness, and he brings his redemptive purposes to fruition. 

I pray that no matter what goes on around you, you hold on to this promise: “‘I know the plans that I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT).  

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

A Most Unlikely Hero - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Wednesday • 7/31/2024 •

Wednesday of Proper 12

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 72; Judges 3:12-30; Acts 1:1-14; Matthew 27:45-54
This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 11 (“The Third Song of Isaiah,” Isaiah 60:1-3,11a,14c,18-19, BCP, p. 87); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 16 (“The Song of Zechariah,” Luke 1:68-79, BCP, p. 92)

The book of Judges chronicles an entire phase of Israel’s history that is marked by a certain kind of accommodation that the Lord makes to the persistence of Israel’s sin. In yesterday’s reading we saw the framework of this era. Israel has refused to carry out God’s ban against idols in the land—and so Yahweh says, “I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died” (Judges 2:21). 

Israel remains, for now, a federation of tribes that is often subject to political domination and spiritual pollution. What we will see in the book of Judges is a “testing”: Israel’s pattern of idolatry and rebellion, leading to pillaging and subjugation by enemies, after which Israel would cry for deliverance. This would lead Yahweh to raise up a judge to “deliver them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge” (Judges 2:18). Israel’s history becomes a cycle of rebellion, domination, repentance, relief. Wash, rinse, repeat. 

Image: Image: Bridgeman Images UK

Today we read about Ehud the Left-Handed. Under (the morbidly obese) King Eglon, Moab had invaded Israel from the southeast of Israel and established domination in the area surrounding Jericho (“the city of palms” — Judges 3:13). For eighteen years, Moab has required from the Israelites the payment of a tribute, the price of being under subjection. (Interestingly, this term comes from the word “tribe”; and we also get the word “contribute” from this.) 

After an outcry for relief from the Israelites, Yahweh raises up a man to free them from Moabite domination. An unlikely hero, the Israelite Ehud, from the tribe of Benjamin, is responsible for delivering the tribute to the king. Ironically, and key to this story, he is left-handed: the name Benjamin means “son of the right hand.” And in Hebrew culture, a left-handed man gets no respect: the Hebrew phrase describing left-handedness is a scornful “man restricted in his right hand.” Planning to assassinate the Moabite king, Ehud fashions for himself a two-edged dagger, ideal for stabbing and easily concealed. His left-handedness provides the advantage he needs. It allows him to hide his dagger on the side of his body where a weapon would not be expected or detected. 

After he delivers the tribute, Ehud shares that Yahweh has a private message for King Eglon. Courtiers are excused from the king’s chamber, the doors are locked, and Ehud stabs him with his homemade dagger. King Eglon is so obese that when Ehud stabs him, the fat closes completely over the weapon, hilt and all, and the king’s “bowels discharged.” Ehud has time to escape because the king’s attendants are reluctant to enter the chamber, thinking the king might be having intestinal issues. There follows the account of Israel’s military victory under Ehud, and the eighty years of peace he is able to establish. 

God’s “left-handedness.” With today’s account of Christ’s death in Matthew, I can’t help but reflect on the contrast between the way Christ’s being pierced on the cross ushered a new and different kind of deliverance—not a mere eighty years, but an eternity, of rest. Nor can I help but reflect on the comparison between Ehud’s left-handedness and the scorned “left-handedness” of God’s plan to conquer sin and death through a most unlikely hero: “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him … a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:2-3). A hero who conquers through the most unlikely of means: the nakedness, the humiliation, the scandal of a Roman cross: “’Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani’? that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Psalm 22:1 and Matthew 27:46). And this question gets answered in the most unlikely of ways: First, Christ’s own “you have done it,” and second, the anticipation of Christ’s own resurrection, confirmed in the rising of “many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep” (Matthew 27:52). 

“You will receive power…” There is an end to the cycle of rebellion, domination, repentance, and relief.  At last, a new “wash, rinse, repeat” emerges in the book of Acts (the reading of which we begin today). “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). There will be power from on high, proclamation, repentance & faith, baptism, discipleship. And there will be a new type of relationship, deep and intimate, between God and each one of his children—those of us who know and love our Savior, Jesus Christ. Stay tuned. 

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

More Than Conquerors - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Tuesday • 7/30/2024 •

Tuesday of Proper 12

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalms 61 & 62; Judges 2:1-5, 11-23; Romans 16:17-27; Matthew 27:32-44
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)

Paul closes his magisterial letter to the Romans with four flourishes:

Living in the tension. … keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned … — Romans 16:17. From Romans 14 & 15 we find that Paul is willing to allow dissent within the community over some things — in fact, his refusal to provide definitive answers on them indicates that he thinks “love” is truer than pedantic precision. However, when it comes to denial of the foundational, core truths of Christianity (“the teaching that you have learned”), Paul brooks no compromise. He presupposes the Romans’ basic grasp of these truths (“your obedience is known to all” — see also v. 26). It’s worth an in-one-seating read through Romans with this question in mind: what’s negotiable for Paul? what’s not? how does that affect my living and thinking? 

Image: Caravaggio , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Blessing One: More than conquerors, revisited. The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. — Romans 16:20. Paul offers an intriguing blessing that recalls God’s promise in the Garden of Eden that Eve’s seed would bruise Satan’s head. The final fulfillment of that promise will be even stronger, the crushing of Satan himself under the feet of the redeemed. It is profitable to meditate on the ways that Paul thinks about our situation as a “new creation” in Christ:

• We are beneficiaries of the Last Adam’s obedience (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15)

• We, like Eve, are susceptible to deception (2 Corinthians 11:3), and must be on our guard against the one who disguises himself as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14)

• Despite the danger around us (and within us?), God will make us ultimately victorious (remember 5:17; 8:37-39) — Jesus will return, and we will judge even angels (1 Corinthians 6:3)

Keeping good company. Timothy, my co-worker, greets you… — Romans 16:21. Paul was no maverick outlier, aloofly pontificating from on high. Writing from Corinth, he shares how he surrounds himself with proteges like Timothy whom he is training for ministry, and with confidants like his amanuensis/secretary Tertius whom he trusts to capture and convey his thoughts accurately in this letter. Paul’s ministry includes people like Phoebe, as well, whose patronage he had enjoyed while in the environs of Corinth (of which Cenchrea was a suburb) and whose service as deacon has won for her his trust to carry the letter to the Romans and to help in its implement by the Roman Christians (Romans 16:1-2). And, of course, Paul expresses his gratitude for his host in Corinth, Erastus, who also happens to be the city treasurer (Romans 16:23). 

In an earlier letter, Paul warned the Corinthians that “Bad company ruins good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33). His own life proves the converse—the power of the gospel is amplified in the koinonia—the sense of “partnership” or “friendship”—it creates (see, incidentally, Galatians 2:9; Philippians 1:5). I pray that each of us knows those relationships where there is mutual building up, support, and friendship in Christ. 

Blessing Two: Now to God who is able to strengthen you… — Romans 16:25. Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise to find that Paul’s last wish for us in this letter is that we know God’s strength. Paul has just reminded us that God will finally vanquish all that is evil. In the meantime, we live here as forerunners and heralds of that victory. We are armed chiefly with the knowledge that the gospel is the culmination of God’s work from before time. And we understand that this message holds promise for life, through “the obedience of faith,” for each of us and for all of us. I pray that you will find God granting, in his mighty Son, all the strength and courage that you need for this day. 

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

Our Tears - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Monday • 7/29/2024 •

Monday of Proper 12

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalms 56, 57, & 58; Joshua 24:16-33; Romans 16:1-16; Matthew 27:24-31 

This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 9 (“The First Song of Isaiah,” Isaiah 12:2-6, BCP, p. 86); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 19 (“The Song of the Redeemed,” Revelation 15:3-4, BCP, p. 94)

Sometimes in the Daily Office a single verse stops you in your tracks. Today, a single thought from Psalm 58 invites reflection: that of God bottling my tears:  

You have noted my lamentation;[you have] put my tears into your bottle; *are they not recorded in your book? — Psalm 56:8

On the run from the current King Saul, the future King David seeks refuge in a surprising place: “David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath,” of Philistia (1 Kings 21:10). David had to be pretty desperate to decide that, of all places, the safest place for him to seek refuge would be the home of Goliath. Gath had been the home of the Philistine champion Goliath, whom David had killed, bringing humiliating defeat to Philistia. Perhaps the fact that David now carries Goliath’s sword (see 1 Samuel 21:8-9) makes David think Gath’s king will honor him and provide him sanctuary. It turns out to have been as bad an idea as one might expect. “The officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. ‘Isn’t this David, the king of the land?’ they asked. ‘Isn’t he the one the people honor with dances, singing, Saul has killed his 1,000s, and David his 10,000s’?” (1 Samuel 21:10-11). 

David, according to 1 Samuel 21:12-13, realizes his peril and plays a humiliating role: “he pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard.” The psalm’s superscription—Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath—gives us the physical setting of the psalm. David writes while under custody, as King Achish weighs his fate. The “lamentation” (an alternative translation of the Hebrew is “wanderings”) and the “tears” receive their setting as well: fear, anxiety, failure, disappointment, rejection. Ultimately, David is banished from Gath: “Finally, King Achish said to his men, ‘Must you bring me a madman? We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?” (1 Samuel 21:14-15). 

David is the remarkable figure he is because of the way he processes his “stuff” with such honesty, and comes out with such faith in the end. Who can’t relate at some level to David’s tears? Who isn’t in need of such faith?

…you have put my tears in a bottle… — Psalm 56:8. Despite his situation, despite being hounded, attacked, and betrayed; despite his own fears and heartbrokenness in his circumstances; David holds fast to the truth that he is not alone in his distress. Yahweh has such care for him that David envisions each of his tears being acknowledged, treasured, and preserved by his Heavenly Father, his Counselor, Friend, and Advocate. The God who sees every sparrow that falls has numbered every hair on our heads; and he knows each and every tear we have shed (and will shed). He cares very much about the sorrow or fear or suffering we have endured, or are enduring, or will endure. He will give it meaning. He will make everything right one day.

An aside: Brilliant poet that he is, David uses a wordplay to communicate the tightness of the emotional connection between Yahweh and himself. It is David’s tears over his nōḏ (“lamentation” or “wanderings”) that God puts into his own nōʾḏ (“bottle” or “skin”). David can’t help but create something beautiful and elegant out of a situation that is anything but beautiful and elegant. Think of David as the original singer of “the blues.” 

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God whose word I praise… — Psalm 56:4; and this is repeated and expanded in verses 10-11: This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid. What rescues David from getting lost in despair is his trust in God who makes and keeps promises. What sustains David is the trustworthiness of the God who speaks order in the midst of chaos, peace in the midst of strife, hope in the midst of despair.  I pray we hear that voice in the midst of the chaos, strife, and despair all around us. 

This I know: that God is on my side. — Psalm 56:9. And I pray that you and I can hold on to this thought, as David did in his day. May we cling to this thought even more firmly with the apostle Paul, who having seen its truth confirmed and transcended in the dying, rising, and ascending of Jesus, amplified it for us: “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?”

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

God's Good Grace - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Friday • 7/26/2024 •

Friday of Proper 11

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalms 40 & 54; Joshua 9:22–10:15; Romans 15:14-24; Matthew 27:1-10

This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 10 (“The Second Song of Isaiah,” Isaiah 55:6-11; BCP, p. 86); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 18 (“A Song to the Lamb,” Revelation 4:11; 5:9-10, 13, BCP, p. 93)

Judas’s bad end. It is sober enough to think of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal in its own right. Despising the high privilege of being a part of Jesus’s circle of twelve, and thinking little of being appointed treasurer of the band that is heralding the coming of God’s kingdom, Judas commits one of the most treacherous acts in all of recorded history. 

Perhaps even sadder is the way he handles his self-discovery. The NRSV’s translation at Matthew 27:3 is not exactly inaccurate, but it is a bit misleading: “… he repented.” The Greek term is metamelesthai, and it means literally “to experience a change in what matters.” In this context, the REB’s translation more accurately conveys its nuance: “he was overcome with remorse.” What’s sad is that Judas’s remorse—his “change in what matters”—doesn’t drive him to God. His remorse leads to two dramatic, but empty, gestures: casting away the blood money, and the self-canceling act of suicide. Genuine repentance, rather than mere remorse, might have led to the simplest of prayers: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” But that’s all in the land of what-might-have-been. 

Paul’s reflection on God’s good grace. Today’s reading of Judas’s bad end juxtaposes with Paul’s meditation on his life’s work: “the grace that was given me” (Romans 15:15). 

… a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles … — Romans 15:16. The word that Paul uses to describe himself here—leitourgos (“people” + “worker”)—is someone who carries out a “service to people,” a leitourgia. Our word liturgy comes from this Greek term. The kind of service depends on the venue—from religious or liturgical service (see Exodus 31:10; 38:21 LXX; Ezra 7:24) to private service ( see 2 Kings 4:43; 6:15). In the Greco-Roman world, the word was used for someone who was called upon to perform any sort of public service—from underwriting the paving of a road to overseeing civic games. Paul regarded himself as an unworthy recipient of grace. But because of that grace, he would serve not himself, but other people. Lord, give us grace to do likewise. 

… in the priestly service of the gospel of God… — Romans 15:16. This is the only—really, the only!—time that any Christian in the New Testament is referred to as doing something “priestly.” (Lest there be any confusion, Episcopalians derive their word “priest” from the Greek word presbuteros, which is usually translated “presbyter” or “elder”—see, for instance, Acts 14:23; 1 Timothy 5:18; Titus 1:5). And Paul’s priestly service is not performing what we would think of as “liturgical” acts—it’s not overseeing the sacraments, or giving assurance of the absolution of sin, or offering a blessing. Well, except that Paul is offering the Gentiles to God—those who have accepted the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, who has ushered them into the blessing of becoming children of Abraham by faith, part of “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:15). This is a wonderful note of the way that God can use any person in “priestly service,” through praying for and sharing the good news with those who do not yet know the Lord. 

… I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news… — Romans 15:20. This is one of Paul’s most daring statements, ever. The word translated “I make it my ambition” is philotimeisthai, and it means “love of honor” or simply “ambition.” According to classical social-historian, Ramsay MacMullen, philotimia (“love of honor”)  was the social capital of the pagan world; the term is not used to translate any words in the Old Testament canon. Nonetheless, Paul says here, in effect, “I make it a point of honor to proclaim the good news where nobody else has.” Not all of us have such a pioneering spirit. Not all of us are given that same call. But each of us can rightly consider our own distinct call, the particular place we are to serve Christ and his Kingdom. And each of us can “make it my ambition” to be true to that call. 

I pray that the grace given will enable each one of us, like Paul, to “love the honor” of offering our own “priestly service,” in the spaces where the Lord has called us. 

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

That We Might Have Hope - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Thursday • 7/25/2024 •

Thursday of Proper 11

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 50; Joshua 9:3-21; Romans 15:1-13; Matthew 26:69-75

This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 8 (“The Song of Moses,” Exodus 15, BCP, p. 85); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 19 (“The Song of the Redeemed,” Revelation 15:3-4, BCP, p. 94)

The passage about the Gibeonites’ trickery is intriguing when read against the backdrop of today’s Romans reading about welcoming one another. Indeed, Paul says that “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). 

…so that by steadfastness… There is a dogged determination—a will to survive—about the Gibeonites that is admirable. The Gibeonites’ fear of Yahweh drives them toward him rather than away from him. So, unlike the six kings who unite to attack Yahweh’s people (Joshua 9:1), the Gibeonites conspire to unite with the Israelites and to come under their God’s protection. Stories have circulated among the Gibeonites for a generation about the Israelites’ miraculous deliverance from Egypt and their irresistible march toward Canaan. The Gibeonites are prepared—here’s the steadfastness—when the time comes. They have a plan. They are ready to produce dry and moldy bread, and not-so-gently worn garments and sandals—all trappings to pull off the illusion that they have come from beyond the borders of the territory subject to Yahweh’s ban (Deuteronomy 20:10-18). 

Image: Pixabay

…and by the encouragement of the scriptures… Joshua and the rest of Israel’s leaders fail to consult Yahweh the way they should. Their rashly mediated covenant with the Gibeonites puts them in a position in which they have to disobey God’s command to annihilate inhabitants of the land (Numbers 30:2 versus Deuteronomy 7:1-5; 20:16-18). Nonetheless, Yahweh withholds his wrath and ultimately gives his own blessing to the covenant by fighting for the Gibeonites (tomorrow’s reading). It’s encouraging to know that the Lord works for our good and the good of others even through our failures. 

There’s even encouragement in noting the wisdom of assigning the Gibeonites to serve “for the altar of the Lord in the place that he should choose” (Joshua 9:27). Rather than potentially becoming tempters to idolatry (one of the principal reasons for putting the resident nations under the ban—see Deuteronomy 20:18), the Gibeonites are conscripted to support the worship of Yahweh, “to continue to this day” (Joshua 9:27). 

…we might have hope. The Gibeonites’ shrewdness is an implicit faith, and it obliquely points us to Israel’s mission to bring God’s light to the nations. Their machinations and Israel’s covenant-that-never-should-have-been become an ironic, but redemptive, foretaste of the uniting of Jew and Gentile in the good news of Jesus Christ (servant of the circumcision and bringer of mercy to the Gentiles—Romans 15:8-9) that Paul celebrates. Paul produces a sequence of Scriptures that forecast what has now happened in Christ: Jews and Gentiles are united “with one voice” to offer praise to God through his anointed Messiah-King, Jesus. The God of hope will win through in the end. 

That’s why Paul can close this remarkable paragraph with these words of blessing: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). I pray that is abundantly true for you. 

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

Walking in Love - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Wednesday • 7/24/2024 •

Wednesday of Proper 11

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 119:49-72; Joshua 8:30-35; Romans 14:13-23; Matthew 26:57-68

This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 11 (“The Third Song of Isaiah,” Isaiah 60:1-3,11a,14c,18-19, BCP, p. 87); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 16 (“The Song of Zechariah,” Luke 1:68-79, BCP, p. 92)

But Jesus was silent. — Matthew 26:63. In John’s gospel, Jesus is straightforward about his identity: “Before Abraham was I AM” (and expounded in seven “I AM” sayings). In the Synoptic gospels, Jesus’s approach is more oblique: he leaves it to others to figure out his identity and the nature of his mission—until he decides to clarify. Pressed by the high priest, Jesus finally acknowledges his identity as the “Son of Man” figure that Daniel had prophesied. The unfolding events would eventuate in his “coming” into his authority at the right hand of Power. In a word, “Yes,” Jesus is saying, “I am the Son of God” (Matthew 26:64).  At that point, the Jerusalem leadership finally “got it” (but not in a good way).

With today’s reciting of the blessings and curses at Mounts Gerizim and Ebal in Joshua 8, renewing the covenant between God and his people, we are reminded of the most significant choice any human being on planet Earth has: what am I going to do with God’s claim on me? Do I track with the Bible’s account of creation, fall, and redemption—is the cosmic and global story contained in the Scriptures my own as well? If so, how do I find my way to live faithfully, truthfully, and consistently with that story? 

Image: "Bacon!" by Didriks is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Throughout Paul’s letter to the Romans, he has developed and delivered that very roadmap. He has shown the way Jesus—his divine person and his redemptive work—is the crown, the telos—of an elaborate and profound story line. Adam was “type of one who was to come” (Romans 5:12-21). Abraham was “father of all of us” who believe (Romans 4:16). The Passover prefigured the setting forth of an atoning sacrifice, and Moses’s leadership prefigured a Spirit-led journey from slavery to freedom (Romans 3:21-25; chapters 6-8). David gave us a preview of a royal Son who rises from weakness to power, and who sings God’s glory among the nations (Romans 1:3-4; 15:9). 

I once recall a professor declaring, “If your metanarrative is stable enough, you can allow wiggle room around the periphery.” At the beginning of Romans 12, Paul looks back on this grand story, this metanarrative, and then commends a lifestyle of worship that is congruent with that story. “I appeal to you, in view of the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1). Thus, with Paul’s help, we have God-honoring guidance for responding to situations where there is disagreement. Part of that living sacrifice is extending to one another grace in disputable matters—not because they don’t matter, but because the whole is more important than the periphery.  

In today’s reading, Paul is discussing a situation where some believers feel free to eat meat offered to idols, while others feel it is sinful to do so. Paul’s instruction is that it is wrong to flaunt one’s freedom in that matter, or to lead others to do something they think is wrong. “Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of o

ne for whom Christ died.” 

There are any number of modern-day equivalents we can use to illustrate the kind of situation Paul addresses, but an example about pork might offer some insight. Some Christians believe that the Old Testament prohibitions against eating pork still apply today. Others believe those prohibitions no longer apply. If a child from a “non-pork” family was a guest in your home, it would be wrong for you to knowingly serve him, or persuade him to eat, bacon for breakfast. Before God, according to your own conscience, eating pork is not a sin, but to your brother in Christ, it is sin.  “Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat.” Leading someone, adult or child, to violate their own conscience does not make for peace or mutual upbuilding. Flaunting one’s freedom is not “walking in love.” 

In today’s paragraph, Paul sketches important priorities concerning Christian liberty:

• Those of us who think of ourselves as having, before God, freedom regarding some debatable, but peripheral matters, have the responsibility for reining ourselves in for the sake of brothers and sisters who would be led to violate their consciences by our examples (Romans 14:15, 23). 

• Negatively put: I may not “destroy” my brother or sister with my liberty (Romans 14:20). Positively put: my job is to “pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:19). 

• We can, with integrity, deny ourselves some liberties, without denying our identity in Christ. In fact, this is one way we take on a Christ-shaped identity (looking ahead to tomorrow’s reading): “For Christ did not please himself” (Romans 15:3).  

• Forcing our practices on others is not what the kingdom of God is about. The kingdom is about “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” 

• If the central storyline of Jesus Christ’s work of redemption for sinners is intact, then it’s actually OK to allow each other some breathing room. We don’t need, nor can we demand, that there be complete agreement between us on lesser points of teaching, worship, and practice. “The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve.”

I pray that today you know, in all things, righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

Be blessed this day, 

Reggie Kidd+

Christ's Church, Built With Love, Not Swords - Daily Devotions with the Dean

Tuesday • 7/23/2024 •

Tuesday of Proper 11

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 45; Joshua 8:1-22; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 26:47-56

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)

Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. — Matthew 26:52. When Jesus tells Peter (named in John 18:10-11) to put his sword away, a pivot in the ages takes place. As today’s reading of Joshua’s conquest of Ai perfectly exemplifies, God’s conquest had come via the sword in the past. But a kingdom established by the sword is a short end game—the sword does not confer life. Jericho, to this day, exists as an archaeological dig, a tell. And the city that had once stood at Ai—well, not even its name has survived. The name “Ai” means “waste,” and the Israelites imposed that name after the destruction. Despite the heights to which Israel rose after the conquest of Canaan, it was inevitable that it would fall: The confederacy of tribes under the Judges was too frail. Saul was corrupt of heart. David’s hands were covered in blood. Solomon’s son provoked division. The Northern Kingdom was swept away by the Assyrians, and the Southern Kingdom was exiled by the Babylonians. The Persian release ushered in a series of vassalages, the latest being the one under Rome in Jesus’s day. God’s eternal Kingdom ultimately would not come by the sword, by conquest, or by power politics. That was never the way God intended to restore his fallen world.

Image: Adaptation, Pixabay

And while Jesus, even in the Garden of Gethsemane, acknowledges that it would be possible to save the moment through force, the result would be to replace one regime of force with another. A church built by the sword would need to be enforced by the sword—and in the end, would fall by the sword. But because Jesus went the route of suffering, his church did not perish. Her foundation is different, and so is her destiny: “Not by might and not by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). The church that forgets that lesson, becoming just another player in the world of power-politics and secular influence—whether accommodating to the right or to the left—is in peril. 

Romans 14: Kingdom logic in relationships. Jesus gives himself over to death, thereby conquering death, to win life, and taking up an invincible reign, where the logic is (looking ahead to tomorrow’s epistle reading): “[T]he kingdom of God is … righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). Throughout Romans 14, Paul applies that logic to relationships. The proof of Christian truth, it turns out, lies in the way we treat one another. That’s why Romans, with all its dazzlingly profound theology about how we are justified and sanctified in Christ, leads to what can seem like an odd crescendo in this appeal: “If a person’s faith is not strong enough, welcome him all the same without starting an argument” (Romans 14:1 Jerusalem Bible). 

Progressive (“strong”) consciences in Rome’s house churches want to explore Christian liberty. Conservative (“weak”) consciences want to preserve traditional principles of holiness. Progressive believers look upon traditionalists condescendingly; traditionalists look upon progressives judgmentally. Paul refuses to resolve their issues in one direction or the other. The church Jesus is building is the church for all, both “strong” and “weak.” More critically, all believers need to understand that the Lord Jesus is lord of the conscience—He, and he alone, can and will, judge. 

People must recognize that even if other believers are wrong about something. Consider the apostle’s astonishing words: “It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand” (Romans 14: 4). The Christian, whether young or old in the faith, is guided, encouraged, or indicted by the Holy Spirit who dwells within. This day, may we all examine our own consciences, listening for that voice to speak into us words of indictment, encouragement, or guidance, as we wait for the perfect unity of Christ’s body—his precious church—built with love, not swords—on earth as it is in heaven.

Be blessed this day,

Reggie Kidd+