Daily Devotions with the Dean

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)

Habakkuk. …in wrath may you remember mercy. — Habakkuk 3:2. In this beautiful third chapter, in a prayer that the prophet Habakkuk sings to Yahweh, he gathers up all his emotion at Israel’s desolation. As though writing a psalm, he includes musical instructions at the beginning and end. In fact, this chapter begins with the identical superscription, “according to Shigionath,” that appears also at the beginning of Psalm 7. The term “Selah” occurs at the end of verses three, nine, and thirteen of Habakkuk 3; as in the psalms, it probably (though not certainly) means “instrumental interlude.” And although the Daily Office does not include verse 19, this final verse of the entire book of Habakkuk also includes a musical instruction: “To the leader: with stringed instruments.” 

The point? What better time to sing than when you are in your deepest funk? And Habakkuk’s song illustrates the amazing transformation that can come when you do.

Throughout his song, Habakkuk appeals to Yahweh as the Divine Warrior he had shown himself to be when he rescued Israel from Egypt. Rehearsing that profound and pivotal moment in his people’s history inspires Habakkuk to do three things:

First, Habakkuk asks Yahweh, “in wrath may you remember mercy.” If we sense God’s burning anger in what we see going on around us, we can know that in the end his ire serves his kind, good, and merciful purposes. 

Second, Habakkuk confesses that he is willing to “wait quietly for the day of calamity to come upon the people who attack us” (Habakkuk 3:16). Because ours is the God who says, “Vengeance is mine,” we can hit “pause” when the temptation arises to strike back at attackers. 

Third, in the meantime, Habakkuk finds the capacity for praise: “…yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18). 

Whether your musical heart language is hymns and anthems; or contemporary praise and worship songs; I hope you’ll take some time to inventory the songs that bring to mind God’s great acts in rescuing you, that give you hope for the future, and that move you to love him more and more. I don’t know what works for you, but lines like these come readily to mind for me: Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father; there is no shadow of turning with thee… and, O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free…

James. Casual readers of the New Testament have the impression that James is a shallow behaviorist, merely exhorting, “Don’t just talk the talk. Walk the walk!” But some of the Bible’s most penetrating words about the depths of human psychology come from James. In chapter three, he meditates poignantly, even poetically, on the profound inner conflict we all experience over the power of the tongue. 

In the first place, James acknowledges that there is a world of evil within each of us: “a world of iniquity … set on fire by hell” (James 3:6). Know what? It’s best just to admit that. “Hi, I’m Reggie. My heart is a world of iniquity, set on fire by hell.” 

In the second place, the first outlet for that world of iniquity is my speech. I don’t know about you, but over the course of my life, there have been too many hurtful words I wish I could take back. 

In the third place, however, if my speech can be controlled, there’s hope for the rest of me as well! That’s why your mother and mine taught us to “Count to ten!” before speaking when provoked.  That’s why James wrote earlier in his letter, “Quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” The negative “Such a small spark, such a large fire” (James 3:5) can become a positive: “Such a small compliment, inspiring such great endeavors!” I’m sure that all of us bear scars from hurtful words hurled at us, often years and years ago: “You are so ugly!” “What a klutz!” “Are you really that stupid?” I’m also sure that most of us have found energy, direction, and motivation from words of praise. I know a person who became a famous scholar in their field just because when they were very young, they accidentally heard a grown up tell their parents: “Your kid has no idea how smart they are!” For years now, that person has been living up to those words of praise. 

For James, we don’t have to live with the contradiction of praising God and tearing down people: “With [the tongue] we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God” (James 3:9). That’s why he writes what he writes. Like his Elder Brother, James would have us find the blessedness of an internal integrity and coherence—“purity of heart” and singleness of eye (Matthew 5:8; 6:22-23). We can see others through the lens of God’s good intentions for them. And our lives, beginning with our words, can be springs of fresh and life-giving water. Who might need a word of encouragement and praise from you today?

Be blessed this day,

Reggie Kidd+

Daily Devotions with the Dean

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 89; Habakkuk 2:1-4,9-20; James 2:14-26; Luke 16:19-31

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)

Different aspects of faith come into view in today’s readings. Here’s food for the soul!

Habakkuk on living by faith. … but the righteous live by their faith. — Habakkuk 2:4. The prophet Habakkuk rises up sometime after the Babylonians have conquered Judah, burned Jerusalem, and razed and plundered the temple. Babylon has been God’s instrument of judgment against God’s sinful people. Nonetheless, in yesterday’s reading, Habakkuk has bitterly complained to God about Babylon’s own arrogance, violence, and idolatry: “Why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?” (Habakkuk 1:13).  

In today’s reading, Habakkuk proclaims hope. Yahweh has not abandoned his people. He has not set aside his covenant love for them. Through Israel, ultimately “… the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). And though the earthly temple lies in ruins for now, God’s heavenly—and true—temple still stands, inviolate: “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20). Habakkuk imagines Yahweh turning the tables on Babylon who forced upon Judah the cup of judgment: “The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and shame will come upon your glory!” (Habakkuk 2:16). 

When Habakkuk says the “righteous live by their faith,” he means that if God’s people will stay true, even in the face of discouragement, dismay, and delay, they will find that life will come to them. As we discover in the New Testament, life has come in Jesus Christ, Messiah and King. It is marvelous to consider the larger backdrop in Habakkuk when Paul appeals to this verse about “the righteous living by faith,” in his letter to the Romans. Romans 1:16 sweeps up rich depths of Habakkuk’s meaning. 

• In the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ, Israel’s true Son, the promise is being fulfilled that the earth will overflow with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. 

• Precisely where people are “present[ing their] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [their] spiritual worship,” the Lord of heaven and earth is indeed in his holy temple—and all the earth should bow in awed silence (Romans 12:1-2). 

• And, altogether in agreement with the Revelation of John’s verdict on Babylon, “the great whore,” who is forced to drink the cup of the wrath of God, Paul asserts that “the God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). Fittingly, Paul concludes: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” 

James on faith and works. Apparent discrepancies—and they are merely apparent discrepancies—between Paul’s approach and James’s should not mask the profound synchronicity between them. Leaving a full discussion of this rich passage for another time, let me make a two-faceted observation. 

In response to legalists (those who teach that right living establishes a relationship with God), Paul stresses lex credendi lex vivendi, “the way you believe determines how you live.” Paul says “faith apart from (God’s taking account of) works” justifies (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16). He would absolutely agree with James that works are part of the package of the Christian life: he tells the Galatians that what matters is “faith working through love,” and he tells the Corinthians that what matters is “keeping the commandments of God” (Galatians 5:6; 1 Corinthians 7:19). Moreover, Paul would have been able himself to write James’s: “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17).  But when Paul has to stand up to people who proudly think they can “climb a stairway to heaven,” he insists: only faith will get you there!  

In response to antinomians (those who maintain that in the Christian life, obedience is “an elective course,” not “a required course”), James stresses lex vivendi lex credendi, “the way you live reveals what it is you actually believe.” James says, “a person is justified by works and not by a faith that is alone” (a more accurate translation of the Greek in James 2:24). James would entirely agree that faith in “our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” is necessary, and that life in Christ is a gift from God himself (James 1:18; 2:1). But when James has to stand up to people who slothfully and cynically manipulate statements of theological orthodoxy (“God is one!” “Jesus is Lord!”) to justify mistreatment of the poor (see James 2:1-7,14-15), he insists: your only justification for calling yourself God’s child is that you show it in your life! 

Paul and James may need to emphasize different aspects of the faith/works equation, given the pastoral needs of their people, but they both agree: faith and works are inseparable—distinguishable, to be sure, but inseparable nonetheless.

The rich man and Lazarus. Lessons from James and Habakkuk are nicely personified in this powerful parable. Plain and simple, if a person claims to know the God of the Bible but lives a life of exorbitant luxury and ease while disease and poverty are camped out in front of their house—well, that person refutes, rebuts, and betrays the faith. By contrast, if a person holds fast to faith in the God of deliverance while suffering running sores, scorn, and neglect—well, that person makes the most elegant, eloquent, and compelling statement of faith possible. Let those who have an ear to hear, let them hear. 

Be blessed this day,

Reggie Kidd+

Daily Devotions with the Dean

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 88; Joel 2:28–3:8; James 1:16-27; Luke 16:1-9

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)

Joel provides the chief Old Testament text for Pentecost (see Acts 2:17-21). Today’s Joel passage is also a text vindicating God’s people in their sufferings, and promising retribution against those who have sold them “to the Greeks”: who “have divided my land, and cast lots for my people, and traded boys for prostitutes, and sold girls for wine, and drunk it down” (Joel 3:2,3,6). In some respects, our Savior wins for us forgiveness; in other respects, vindication. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, poured out in our hearts, to remind us that Christ is both our Substitute and our Champion. 

James highlights the invariable goodness of God. The “Father of lights” provides every good gift (it’s not a bad idea to begin each day with an inventory of thanksgiving, by the way!), including rebirth by the Word of God into a whole new personal identity. According to James, we are part of the vanguard (“a kind of first fruits”) of a new humanity (James 1:18). Then James offers a meditation on dimensions of that “first fruits” life: 

• the freedom of offering a measured response (“quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” — James 1:19).

• the “perfect liberty” that is found in reading God’s word the right way—liberty, first, in seeing myself for who I really am (James 1:23-25). This is one of those many places in James where, with “eyes to see and ears to hear,” one discovers a magnificent invitation to cross-reference Paul: “…with unveiled faces, [we see] the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, [and] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Characteristically, James puts this transformation in terms of being a “doer” of the word, and not merely a self-deceiving “hearer.” To which Paul—and the church historical—adds a hearty “Amen!” 

• the right to the claim of being genuinely “religious” (please note, in passing, that the Bible has no patience with the idea that you can somehow be a “Christian” without being “religious”—that’s a meditation, perhaps, for another day). The “religious” life consists of “caring for orphans and widows in their distress, and keeping oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:26-27). Exactly what James’s Elder Brother had said in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the merciful” … and … “Blessed are the pure in heart” (Matthew 5:7-8). 

So much goodness to ponder in James. Don’t read it in a hurry!!!

Luke. And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly… — Luke 16:8. If there were a contest for Most Challenging Parable of Jesus, the hands down winner would be today’s Parable of the Shrewd Steward. I offer a couple of keys to interpreting it. First, unlike other parables that invite us to compare figures in the story with God or Jesus (e.g., in the Parable of the Sower, the Sower is Jesus), this parable doesn’t work that way. This parable is not saying God will let you finagle your way into heaven through shifty financial maneuvers. Expect from this parable a more limited, indirect, and non-allegorical point. 

Second, take in the story itself. 

The business manager of a rich man’s vast agricultural holdings has been fired for “squandering” assets. Told to leave a final accounting on his way out, the crafty manager devises an ingenious plan. He goes to two tenants and allows them to reduce, on the strength of their signatures (not his — he’s been fired!), to reduce their indebtedness by significant amounts. Both these debtors are working large and productive tracts of land—large enough and productive enough that these renters might themselves be in need of a business manager. That could be good for a recently fired manager, especially one who can’t dig and doesn’t want to beg. That’s potentially pretty smart. Not only that, in the shame-culture of the Near East, the rich man is not likely to renounce the generosity the manager has made it look like he (the rich man) has extended to his clients. I like the way commentator John T. Carroll puts it in the New Interpreter’s Bible One Volume Commentary: 

The rich man, his hands tied by the manager’s generosity—he would not dare reinstate the forgiven debts, thus forfeiting honor in the community—can only commend his cunning manager. Ironically, the manager wins his master’s praise by doing what got him fired, squandering the rich man’s property. 

The poignancy of this parable is the statement: “And his master commended the dishonest (adikia) manager because he had acted shrewdly (phronimōs). Within the limited scope of this parable, we are given a case in which a person who to this point had known only how to use money wastefully learns how to use it “shrewdly.” That last word is worth a closer look—“shrewdly” is not the best translation. The Greek word phronimōs is an adverb, and it is normally translated “prudently.” One of the principal virtues in the contemporary world of the New Testament is “prudence,” meaning: rightly relating to reality. 

Rightly relating to reality implies, first, an understanding of reality. For believers, the “children of light,” reality looks a bit different than it does for “the children of this age.” Christians understand that there is a spiritual dimension to life that provides a larger context for events and actions. Jesus reminds his hearers of the long-range destination “eternal homes.”

Utilizing the resources under his control, the dishonest steward acted with an eye to his future. With our own resources, we are encouraged to do the same. The day may well come when we arrive on “the other side,” to discover that an investment in the well-being of someone here on earth pays an unexpected dividend: we are known and welcomed in heaven by the very recipients of our support!

Luke is all about a theology of wealth—of its right use. Just as James is concerned that right “religion” involves the use of wealth to care for widows and orphans, the Jesus of Luke’s gospel puts a premium on the same thing. In fact, it’s not accidental that Luke follows this parable with the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (which will be included in this coming Monday’s readings). Stay tuned. 

Meanwhile, the question for each of us is: as part of a new humanity, how might I use my resources for the bigger picture? How can I contribute to a declaration that Christ lives, he reigns, and it all belongs to him anyway?

Be blessed this day,

Reggie Kidd+

Daily Devotions with the Dean

This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 119:97-120; Joel 2:12-19; Revelation 19:11-21; Luke 15:1-10

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)

Today is Veterans Day in the United States. This holiday in remembrance of military veterans began as Armistice Day. When armistice was declared on November 11, 1919, the world was wracked not only by mutually suicidal warfare among European powers, but it was in the throes of the H1N1 virus flu (the Spanish flu) that, between 1918 and 1920, infected 500 million people (a third of the world’s population), and killed perhaps 100 million. 

If you are a military veteran, God bless you for your service. 

Now, as on the original Armistice Day, we look for equilibrium in a world in which the human family seems unhinged. We search for sanity in a seemingly crazed & malevolent universe.  

In a freefall world, equilibrium. Hold me up, and I shall be safe, * and my delight shall be ever in your statutes. — Psalm 119:117. Though this note may seem like an inconsequential sidebar, I am grateful that every Wednesday, the Daily Office offers a portion of Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the whole Bible, a chapter dedicated to praise of the God who, in the words of Christian apologist Francis Schaeffer, “is there, and he is not silent.” It is of no small importance daily to soak oneself in God’s statutes and ordinances; promises and proverbs; and prayers and praises. In a freefall universe, doing so can bring equipoise, grace, and even “delight.”  

It’s never too late to repent. Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing — Joel 2:12-13a. Unlike other prophets, Joel does not rehearse specific charges against God’s people for the ways they have violated their relationship with Yahweh. Still, he urges them to recognize their sin, and to return to Yahweh “with all your heart.” I’ve known too many people who have said: “I’ve been so bad, I know it’s too late for me.” It is never too late … no matter how late … no matter how bad. 

Joel points us to the God who is the very definition of grace and mercy, of reticence in punishment and abundance of steadfast love (Joel 2:13). Joel’s “who knows whether he will not turn and relent” is one of the most wonderful understatements in all of Scripture—if you will “turn,” the Lord of grace and mercy will indeed “turn” as well! As the Prayer of Humble Access so elegantly puts it: “But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy.” That’s a line worth returning to again and again.   

There really is a new sheriff in town. …he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’. — Revelation 19:15-16. 

Hovering above what’s happening on the historical plane, according to the Bible’s view of things, are sinister supernatural forces. The Bible foresees a day when there is, in the words of theologian Herman Ridderbos, “an explosion of evil.” Revelation anticipates that day when an unholy trinity emerges—the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet—to rally unrepentant humanity against the Lord’s anointed and his people. The last half of Revelation 19 prophesies the demise of the beast and the false prophet at the hand of the Faithful and True Rider, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:11,20). Revelation 20 (which the Daily Office will cover at this same time next year!) prophesies the dispatching of the dragon (20:7-10). 

So jealous is the Heavenly Groom for the Bride who is presented to him in the first half of this chapter—and “Jealousy” is his name!—that he discloses “the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” for her honor, her purity, her safety, her beauty. We dare not emotionally neuter God. We dare not consign an imagined weak or mild Jesus to the gentle slopes of Galilee. We must follow Warrior Jesus to the Temple where he takes up the whip for its sanctity. We need to understand that while one reason he mounts the cross is to suffer for the sins of the world, another reason he is “lifted up” on that cross is to completely conquer evil, and to be enthroned as King of kings. On the cross, Jesus is simultaneously “Suffering Servant” and “Christus Victor.” 

You can make heaven smile. Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’ — Luke 15:8. As lost and disoriented as you may feel in this moment of your life, you can be confident that the Shepherd of your soul is not in the business of just letting his sheep wander off without his coming after them. You may feel that your life has fallen through the cracks like a forgotten penny, and that you’ve long been given up as lost. Not so. He counts his coins diligently, and is determined not to lose a single one—and that includes you! Contemplate the joy when what is lost has been found! 

Be blessed this day,

Reggie Kidd+