Daily Devotions with the Dean
This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 88; Judges 9:1-21; Acts 4:13-31; John 2:1-12
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)
Abimelech. Abimelech’s story stretches over two days of reading in the Daily Office. It is a sad tale of just retribution. Abandoning the redeeming, covenant-making God of grace, Yahweh, to worship a false god of covenant, Baal-berith, Israel is, consequently, at the mercy of the iron law of retribution. Gideon had seventy sons. One of them, the son of a concubine, Abimelech, conspires with the leaders of his hometown Shechem to become Israel’s sole ruler. Following this, he murders all but one of his seventy half-brothers (who likely have a stronger claim to rule Israel). His half-brother Jotham hides and survives this massacre. Jotham tells a fable of faithless trees that select as their ruler a bramble that will rain down fire that will destroy both the faithless trees and the bramble itself.
The fable, which is actually a curse, plays itself out (in tomorrow’s reading) in ruthless precision. “This happened so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be avenged and their blood be laid on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers” (Judges 9:24). God sends an evil spirit which turns the lords of Shechem against Abimelech. This hostility results in the ruin of both Shechem and Abimelech. Abimelech burns the Shechemites’ stronghold by fire. As he is doing so, a woman throws down a mill stone crushing Abimelech’s head, recalling the fact that it had been on a certain stone that Abimelech had murdered his half-brothers (Judges 9:5, 53).
Scriptures observes, “Thus God repaid Abimelech for the crime he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers; and God also made all the wickedness of the people of Shechem fall back on their heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal” (Judges 9:56-57).
During Midday Eucharist this week, Father Peter Tepper reminded us of U2 singer Bono’s remark that there are only two religions in the world, one of grace, and one of karma. Bono says, “the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma. You see, at the centre of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you … And yet, along comes the idea called Grace to upend all that… Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed….”
Abimelech’s story is a perfect illustration of “what you put out com[ing] back to you.” It’s a picture of the whole age that Paul will much later describe as life “under the law.”
Wedding in Cana. With the coming of Christ, however, grace walks into the world. The wedding scene at Cana is one of the most beautiful demonstrations of the difference that God’s grace in Christ makes.
Despite the fact that his “hour” has not yet come, Jesus graciously assents to the “first sign” of his “glory.”
Water set aside in jars for purification turns to wine that will fill goblets of celebration. Because the Lamb of God has come to take away the sin of the world (as announced at Jesus’ baptism in the previous chapter of John), our baptism will not only purify, it will lead to the Eucharist of joy.
In John’s meta-narrative, Jesus’s blessing of this wedding in 1st century Galilee forecasts his invitation to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb at the end of time (Revelation 19).
The Lord of History shows himself as the ultimate host who has saved the best wine (his Son) for last (John 2:10).
The Acts of the Apostles and the triumph of grace. In today’s passage in Acts, we find the ultimate transformation of Bono’s “karma” into “grace.” Actually, let’s put it in more biblical terms: “The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). After Peter and John are released from prison, their friends gather and raise their voices in worship and thanksgiving—they praise God for transforming the violence done to Christ into grace for the healing of the nations. In a kind of mini-Pentecost, they are “filled with the Holy Spirit and [speak] the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
Citing Psalm 2, the community recalls the evil that had been brought against Christ, God’s Anointed: “Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel” taking the part of Psalm 2’s Gentiles raging, of peoples imagining vain things, of kings of the earth taking their stand, and of rulers gathering together “against the Lord and against his Messiah” (Acts 4:26-27, quoting Psalm 2:2).
While the psalm addressed the revolt of earthly powers with God’s wrathful and derisive laughter (Psalm 2:4-5—which would be the legitimate response of pure justice), the church sees something different, by virtue of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The violence that Herod, et al., have perpetrated against the Lord’s anointed turns out to have been, instead, a boomerang—this is God’s predestined means to bring liberation from sin, and freedom from death’s power. If there is laughing now, it’s God’s laugh of victory, as he “stretch[es] out [his] hand to heal,” and his people’s laugh of joy.
Grace has triumphed—may you walk in the knowledge and the confidence that His grace is for you!
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+
Noonday Prayer
Congregational Update from Dean Kidd
Cathedral Family,
This has been both a trying time and a gratifying time for us as a Cathedral family. Even though it has been “a time to refrain from embracing,” you all have looked out for one another and for your neighbors. And in the midst of the lockdown, you enthusiastically embraced worship in our new online format. With lockdown restrictions eased, in July our Cathedral was able to resume live worship on Sundays at our three regular worship times (8:00 a.m., 10:15 a.m., and 6:00 p.m.) while following the guidance of health officials. In addition, online worship which began during lockdown will continue for the foreseeable future. God has been faithful through all of this—and so have you!
It seemed like it might be timely to update you on three things: the status of our operating budget, the progress of our Cathedral Musician search, and our headway in Light Legacy Love projects.
First, you may be wondering how our operating budget has been affected by the coronavirus disruptions. I’m happy to tell you that thanks largely to the generosity of our parishioners, we are doing okay! We are exceedingly grateful that as of June 30, unpledged giving has exceeded expectations by 10%, while pledged giving has lagged by a modest 2.5% (though it’d be great to see that gap disappear). Back in April, the Cathedral obtained a PPP loan which helped us maintain payroll at normal levels through June. One of the most significant negative impacts, however, has been the substantial loss in the amount of income generated from our Washington Street parking lot lease—down from $21K per month to only $6K per month. Overall, as you can see from the chart below, we are “behind” by a small amount through June 2020. Please be mindful of the fact that we are heading into the slower midsummer to early fall giving season, so we will likely soon begin to feel the true impact of the coronavirus on our own corner of the economy.
Here are the numbers:
Second, I want to update you concerning the search for our next Cathedral Musician. Since March, a committee representing a wide spectrum of the Cathedral’s membership has been meeting weekly (by Zoom) in anticipation of making a recommendation to me. In May we surveyed the congregation, developed a job description, and created an announcement for the position. The job opening has been posted with the Association of Anglican Musicians and the American Guild of Organists, as well as circulated in more informal circles. We are accepting applications through the end of August. Thus far, we have received over 40 applications, many quite impressive. We plan to conduct interviews with promising candidates this fall. We also encouraged Michael Petrosh, our Acting Cathedral Musician, to apply as well.
I am mindful that Ben Lane didn’t “replace” Murray Somerville, Ben’s predecessor. At the time the “up-and-comer,” newly-hired Ben forged a new place for himself and a new musical identity for the Cathedral. I recognize that no one will “replace” Ben either, even as he or she succeeds him. I am looking, therefore, for a highly qualified candidate whose first love is Jesus, whose second love is music ministry, and whose gifts seem ideally suited to serve our Cathedral. The Lord has blessed us with a rich heritage of music, and our desire is to follow His lead for our future.
Finally, regarding the Light Legacy Love Capital Campaign, here are the projects that have been completed to date:
All stained glass window coverings have been replaced, and windows repaired
Cathedral roof repairs have been made and broken tiles replaced
Cathedral and Chapter House have been painted
HVAC engineering, consulting, and scope & design work have been completed
Design work has been completed for restrooms, kitchen, and education building renovation, and a new handicap ramp into the Great Hall
Contract has been signed for kneeler cushion replacement; work to begin within 2 months
Just as the shutdown began, we received 3 construction bids for the restroom, kitchen, education building, and ramp renovations. While it would be timely to have this work done during the current slow-down that prevents gatherings on campus, we are grateful for this time to evaluate the bids in hand and hopefully negotiate more favorable prices.
Status of other projects:
Pew and kneeler hardware repair will be done by a parishioner as an Eagle Scout project within 2-3 months
Cathedral floor tile repair is being evaluated for options
Organ maintenance and trumpet pipe installation is pending further funding and design work
HVAC replacement is being evaluated
As trying as this time has been, it has been gratifying to see how members of the Cathedral have cared for one another and for our community. I am deeply appreciative of the faithfulness in financial support so many of you have exercised in these stressful and uncertain days. As a congregation, you have adapted to our mixed platform of worship—partially in-person, and partially online. A number of you have carved out new niches of service in helping to make our adjustments—from serving on the tech team to helping with clean up. Your staff—clergy and lay alike—have made me so very grateful to be a part of a team of servant-leaders. Your Chapter has provided wise, discerning, and faithful behind-the-scene guidance throughout.
With all the sickness—both physical and social—all around us, it is gratifying to see the Lord grant such health and life to our Cathedral family. Thank you for your part.
If you have any questions, or if there are any ways that we can be of support to you, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Blessings, in Christ,
Reggie Kidd, Dean
Midday Eucharist
Daily Devotions with the Dean
This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 119:97-120; Judges 7:19–8:12; Acts 3:12-26; John 1:29-42
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)
For the Lord and for Gideon! Gideon wins—well, the Lord wins—a glorious victory over the Midianites. Gideon participates in a mopping up exercise. He proves to be sage and conciliatory with the Ephraimites, but petty and vengeful with the residents of Succoth.
Peter and the man lame from birth. In yesterday’s reading from Acts, Peter had healed “a man lame from birth” in the Temple precincts. What the man had hoped for was “alms” (Gk = eleēmosynē), but what he received was God’s saving “mercy” (Gk = eleēmosunē). Not “silver and gold,” but, as the prophet Isaiah had put it: “So he [the Lord] defended them with his own arm, and with his mercy (eleēmosunē) he upheld them” — Isaiah 59:16 LXX, my translation). The man got so much more than he had dared to ask for. Praise be.
In today’s reading from Acts, Peter explains to the crowd what has just happened.
…why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? — Acts 3:12. Can you imagine Peter shouting, in Gideon-like fashion: “I did this for Jesus … and for Peter!”? No, you can’t. In fact, I think Peter and the other apostles with him in heaven are embarrassed to this day that the church named this book the Acts of the Apostles. This book is the Acts of Jesus by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles—it’s the continuation, says its writer, of what Jesus “began” to do in Luke’s Gospel: “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach…” (Acts 1:1 RSV).
To make it clear that it is not the dazzling spirituality of the apostles that has accomplished this miracle, Peter lists Jesus’s qualifications to be the actual healer:
God’s Servant (3:13, 26)
The Holy and Righteous One (3:14)
The Author of Life (3:15)
The Messiah (3:18, 20)
The Lord (3:19)
The Prophet (3:22)
The response called for is twofold. The first part of that response is repentance: turning from the wrong path of rejection of Jesus as Messiah, so that his cross can work its sin-forgiving and life-giving power in their lives: “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19-20).
The second part of the response is faith: “And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you” (Acts 3:16). In brief compass, Peter notes three remarkable features of faith:
It is faith in Jesus.
It is faith that comes from Jesus.
In this case, it is faith that has come with healing power.
Jesus and Andrew. “What are you looking for?” — John 1:38. One of the Bible’s most beautiful—if maybe its simplest—pictures of faith is the account of Andrew’s coming to Jesus, in today’s reading from John. When Jesus senses that Andrew and a friend are following him, he turns, and asks point-blank: “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38).
What a profound question. What a probing question. Jesus wants to know our agenda, what aspirations we’re projecting onto him. Surely John the Baptist’s teaching about Jesus being “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” had prompted a myriad of questions for Andrew. So, Jesus puts the question to the seeker, and the seeker has to decide whether it’s a “what” or a “who” that he is after.
Instead of pulling out a list of questions, Andrew simply asks in return, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” In other words, “I don’t know the answers to all my questions. But I realize I need to know the One who has those answers. Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be.”
Time and again, I sense Jesus putting the same question to me: “Just what is it you are looking for in me?”, all the while waiting for me to set aside my “next topic for discussion,” and to be satisfied simply to be where he is.
I love this story—I love (and am challenged by) imagining Jesus asking: “What are you looking for?”
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+
Midday Eucharist
Daily Devotions with the Dean
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.
“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. As someone 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+
Noonday Prayer
Daily Devotions with the Dean
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)
Judges. Leading up to today’s Old Testament passage we learn that because of their 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.”
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 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, especially in these days of social distancing. 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 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 hell, and back, for us.
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+