Daily Devotions with the Dean
This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 25; Job 12:1-6,13-25 (per BCP) or Job 12:1-25; Acts 11:19-30; John 8:21-32
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)
Crises like those we in the USA face at the moment — COVID-19 especially, but also gun violence, racial reckoning, no-holds-barred politics — these unmoor us, and “force us to pause and question assumptions so deeply ingrained that we didn’t know we had them,” says author Eric Weiner. In doing so, they provide the opportunity to gain new perspectives.
Those at ease have contempt for misfortune, but it is ready for those whose feet are unstable — Job 12:5. In the midst of his personal crisis, Job sees something we all should be aware of all the time: the wise and virtuous can suffer, while the foolish and wicked can prosper. Job is a “laughingstock” to friends who look upon his sufferings and wrongly blame him for them. Sarcastically, he mocks their pretense to wisdom: “when you die, wisdom will die with you” (Job 12:3b JB). His friends’ simplistic formula (good always triumphs) doesn’t match the complexities of the moment (up is down, and down is up).
The presence of the Book of Job in the canon of Scripture is a good thing. It reminds us not to be shocked when things don’t work the way they are supposed to. Right now, we can’t share common air. Right now, we don’t have answers as to why a law enforcement officer would shoot a Black man in the back. Right now, we are watching the earlier noble battles for equality fought by Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr., teeter on the precipice of unhinged self-expression and community-destruction.
He makes nations great, then destroys them; he enlarges nations, then leads them away. He strips understanding from the leaders of the earth, and makes them wander in a pathless waste (Job 12:23-24).
The presence of the Book of Job is good in another way: it makes us appreciate the distinctiveness of a redemption that comes at the hands of a Savior who steps into all of this “upside-downness,” taking it all into himself to turn it right side up.
In John’s Gospel the spiritual leaders (the Pharisees) are so confused about Jesus’s aims that they wonder if he isn’t suicidal: “Is the going to kill himself?” Like Job, he’s become a “laughingstock” at best, an object of derisive pity at worst. The supposed leaders cannot understand that the great “I AM” is walking among them (John 8:23), nor that this revelation will take place when he is “lifted up” (John 8:28). Lifted up on his Cross, the Son of Man will bring both healing from sin’s destructive power (John 3:14) and healing from humankind’s divisiveness (John 12:32). Who will be the laughingstock then?
When Jesus says, “the truth will make you free,” the truth to which he refers is twofold: first, his identity as the great I AM who has “become flesh and tabernacled among us” (John 1:14); and second, his mission to give his life to heal sinners and to reconcile the estranged.
This truth makes us free when we, his disciples, “abide in my word” (John 8:31 NASB). That is to say, the freedom Jesus promises comes not by mere passing familiarity with a verse here or there: a prooftext to support a precommitment, or a slogan to promote a cause. The freedom comes from daily, and moment-by-moment, immersion in his words, his thoughts, and his actions as they are conveyed to us here in John and in the other books of the Bible. And from immersive prayer in community with fellow travelers who follow him. That freedom comes when, like Job, we hear the chaotic noise around us, but unlike Job, we also hear the clear strong voice of the One that says: “I AM—I AM the Light of the World … the Resurrection and the Life … the Good Shepherd … the Door for the Sheep … the Bread from Heaven … the True Vine … the Way, the Truth, and the Life … believe in me.”
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+
Sunday Worship
Daily Devotions with the Dean
This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 16; Psalm 17; Job 9:1-15,32-35 (per BCP) or Job 9:1-35; Acts 10:34-48; John 7:37-52
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)
Life-giving water & unending light. To appreciate all that is going on in chapters 7-9 of John’s Gospel (the reading of these chapters will take us through next week), we need to understand two features of the Feast of Booths (also known as Feast of Tabernacles). In Exodus 23 and Leviticus 23, this seven-day long feast had been established to celebrate the end of the harvest season. By Jesus’s time, given the feast’s harvest theme, ceremonies in the Temple had taken on an end-times cast. The prophet Zechariah anticipated the day when God would bring unending light, and would cause “living water” to flow unendingly from the temple itself:
On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. … On that day there shall not be either cold or frost. And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the Lord), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter. And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one (Zechariah 13:1; 14:6-9, emphasis added).
And so, over the course of the week of the Feast of Tabernacles, pitchers of water from Jerusalem’s Gihon Springs would be poured onto the altar during the day, and menorahs would be lit at night —all of it in anticipation of the day when Yahweh would come in person and provide continuous light and ever-flowing, life-giving water.
It turns out that though the “hour had not yet come” for Jesus to give himself up and to be glorified, the hour had indeed come for him to reveal himself as the source of living water (John 7:37-39) and as the Light of the World (John 8:12; 9:3).
It is “on the last day of the festival, on the great day” that Jesus steps forward. This is the final day of the pouring of water on the altar. Imagine Jesus breaking into the scene to proclaim: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37b-38). John provides the explanation: “Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39).
Further, it is against this week-long festival’s celebration of God’s promise to usher in a season of continuous day that Jesus will proclaim himself to be the Light of the World in chapter 8, and then provide an illustrative sign through the healing of the man born blind in chapter 9.
Small wonder John’s Gospel signals early on that “in him was life, and the life was the light of humankind” (John 1:4). By his death and resurrection, Jesus will release a life-renewing fountain of cleansing and healing through the Spirit of God: “There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains” (Wm Cowper). Moreover, by his life and teaching, as well as his death and resurrection, Jesus will bring darkness to light and expose faux light for the darkness it is:
God sent the stars to give light to the worldThe star of my life is JesusIn Him there is no darkness at allThe night and the day are both alikeThe Lamb is the light of the city of GodShine in my heart, Lord Jesus (Kathleen Thomerson).
Jesus is Life—this is good to remember when death is everywhere, from toxic political discourse, to fear and distrust between races (which today’s reading about Peter in Cornelius’s house addresses), even to the air we breathe! Jesus, be our Life.
Jesus is Light—this is also good to remember when darkness is everywhere, from prevaricating pundits, to hurricanes in the night, even to a pandemic-caused upheaval in education, from kindergarten to college. Jesus, be our Light.
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+
Noonday Prayer
Daily Devotions with the Dean
This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 18:1-20; Job 8:1-10,20-22 (per BCP) or Job 8:1-22; Acts 10:17-33; John 7:14-36
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)
Some off the cuff musings today, inspired by the readings, in view of a (made up) conversation with a friend.
When things just aren’t working. Everything has been turned upside down for everybody. Nothing seems to be working the way it’s supposed to. A friend in ministry—call him Fred—and I were talking the other day. He’s done everything right. He’s gone to the right schools, paid his dues in his work, done his best as husband and father—but things have stalled out. Ministry’s become a dead end. Relationships are flat. He’s wondering what he’s done wrong: “Why has God ghosted me?”
According to Bildad the Shuhite, my friend has clearly done something wrong. Otherwise, things would be great. But all he has to do to get things back on track is to “seek God … if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore you to your right place.” Yeah, right. There are some generally true axioms in Bildad’s counsel, but they don’t fit Job’s situation—nor do they fit Fred’s.
Encouragement from Job. Job (and my friend Fred) are going to have to wait out a hard season and hold on to God as tenaciously as possible. Job can be an encouragement to Fred by virtue of his example of the kind of “patience” (see James 5:11) that won’t let go—but a patience that won’t let itself be “ghosted” either. Because it won’t be quiet. Maybe along the way, Fred, like Job, will learn some deeper things about God, who will eventually make his presence known.
Encouragement from Jesus. Knowing that he is in the hands of the Jesus of John 7 can be an encouragement to Fred, too. In today’s passage in John, the authority of Jesus is in question. By what right had he cleansed the Temple (John 2), healed on the Sabbath (John 5), and declared himself to be the people’s Passover meal (John 6)? Some of the people cannot understand the source of Jesus’s authority because he had not been taught by a particular rabbi, nor trained in a particular school of interpretation.
When challenged about his credentials, Jesus says that his authority comes from higher up: “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me.” Jesus has been taught by his Heavenly Father. Now, my friend Fred went to the best schools—those schools refined his ability to convey the message, but they didn’t supply it. And while he needed the church to authenticate his “calling,” his call really came from higher up. Having something to say is all about listening directly to the Father’s voice—which is found in his Word and in prayer. My friend could lean more on the Father’s daily instruction, and less on others’ validation.
Jesus’s understanding of his goal can be an encouragement to Fred as well. When people try to arrest Jesus, his response is (I paraphrase): “I know where I came from, and you should too. And I know where I’m going, and you can’t stop me.” And besides, his “hour” has not yet come. As long as Fred rests in Jesus’s hands, he can have that same confidence. No matter how foggy the road ahead looks, the Lord Jesus knows what’s out there, and he is directing the traffic. It may mean that Fred gives up leaning on his own five-year plans, and instead learns to trust Jesus to manage, or modify, them. Or to possibly lead him in a totally different direction altogether.
Encouragement from Peter. Peter’s readiness to respond to God’s unexpected leading can also be an encouragement to Fred. Who knows when “messengers” will come knocking? Who knows how God may use our pain and stumbling to bring healing and direction to others—at the right time and in the right place? Sometimes, as in Peter’s case, there are seasons when we’re unaware that we’re just getting ourselves ready for whatever’s next.
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+
Midday Eucharist
Daily Devotions with the Dean
This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 119:1-24; Job 6:1; 7:1-21; Acts 10:1-16; John 7:1-13
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)
In his confusion, Job begins to pray. In chapter 7, Job lifts up a prayer of bitter complaint—sour though it is, it is nonetheless a prayer. There’s no posturing here, no hiding the desperation of his heart behind safe religious bromides. Life itself feels like slavery under a cruel master (7:1-3). God treats us violently, moans Job, like we are some sort of threat to his sovereignty, wrestling us down like we were his enemies, the Sea (divinized by the ancient Canaanites as the god Yam) and the Dragon (the sea creature Tannin associated with Yam — 7:12). Days are swift interludes between nights that are filled with scary dreams and terrifying visions (7:6,13-15). Parodying the way Psalm 8 marvels at God’s bestowing dignity upon humans despite their seeming insignificance, Job bewails God’s making so big a deal of us that he presses down upon us with an unrelenting gaze: “What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, that you examine them every morning and test them every moment?” (7:17-19 NIV).
Appreciate the consternation of Job. “If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do?” — Job 7:20. Job knows that he’s a sinner (in the Hebrew text, there’s no “If” at the beginning of verse 20!). Yet he knows that his transgressions have been covered by sacrifice (1:13). He knows that what is happening is out of scale to anything for which he is culpable: “Why have you made me a target? Why have I become a burden to you?” (7:20). And so he whines: “Let me alone!” (Job 7:16). He complains loud, and he complains long. But he complains in the right direction—up.
God often does things in a puzzling way. We can gloss things over. We can stuff our reactions. We can pretend everything’s OK when they’re not. Or, we can cry out to him and ask: “What in the world is going on?”
Appreciate the consternation of Jesus’s brothers. John says they “don’t believe in him” (John 7:5). Actually, they do “believe in him”—after a certain fashion. They believe in him enough to know that he’s gained notoriety (he’s turned water to wine, and he’s already cleansed the temple, according to John—see John 2). If he were to show up in Jerusalem at a big festival, he would make a big splash. But they don’t “believe in him” in the sense that they don’t understand that he is the great I AM who has come in the flesh to lay down his life for them and for the world.
They urge him to use the upcoming Feast of Booths in Jerusalem to further his cause and build his following. They don’t get it. But Jesus says he’s going to pass on the opportunity. His hour has not yet come. Instead, he lets them go ahead, where various arguments are taking place about him. He doesn’t tell them that he plans to attend anyway (as we’ll see in tomorrow’s reading), nor that he will use the occasion to reveal more about who he is and why he has come. But he leaves his brothers, for now, to be exposed to people’s ambivalence about him.
Appreciate the consternation of Peter. Peter was raised to honor kosher laws (Acts 10:14). In Matthew he is challenged by Jesus himself to understand that “clean” and “unclean” are matters of the heart and not externals (“ it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles”—Matthew 15:11). After the resurrection, Peter has been commissioned to “make disciples of the nations” (Matthew 28). The implication of how that works out hasn’t yet dawned on him.
The big reveal begins with today’s story about the strange vision of an angel appearing to a hungry Peter. The angel lowers a big sheet to the ground with “all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air.” To Peter’s amazement the angel commands, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat” (Acts 10:13). Peter protests that he can’t violate kosher. The angel’s reply should have changed everything for Peter instantly: “What God has made clean, you must not profane.” (An aside: Poor Peter! A number of things in Peter’s life seem to require a repetition of threes: the cock crows three times when Peter denies knowing Jesus; after the resurrection Jesus asks Peter if he loves him—3 times!) So here we are possibly not surprised to observe that the whole conversation with Peter has to be repeated three times. And even then, it’s going to take the events of our next two days’ readings (the visit to Cornelius’s house) to change Peter’s mind.
Especially if you are living with consternation about what God is up to in your life and in the world, I pray that your first instinct, like Job’s, will be to pray honestly and boldly (if humbly) to God. I pray you will recognize that, as with Jesus’s brothers, the Lord works on his own timeline and to his own ends, not ours. And I pray that you will appreciate that as patient and persistent as the Lord was in revealing his ways to Peter, our Lord Christ can be just as patient and persistent with you.
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+
Midday Eucharist
Daily Devotions with the Dean
This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 5; Psalm 6; Job 6:1-4,8-15,21 (per BCP) or Job 6:1-30; Acts 9:32-43; John 6:60-71
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)
Job: desperate faith. One of the lessons of the Book of Job is that God may use evil to change a “good” person into someone breathtakingly “better.” In Job’s case, God uses suffering to transform a believer from blamelessness, uprightness, and integrity before God (which is exceptional enough), to awestruck wonder in the very presence, and at the actual voice, of God. We shall see that Job’s perspective changes forever with his new comprehension of the overwhelming power and majesty and holiness of God.
In today’s passage we are early in the process, and Job is afraid that if he continues to live, his sufferings will lead him to curse God as his wife had urged. However, he would rather die than blaspheme. And so, he would prefer that God simply strike him dead:
May it please God to crush me,
to give his hand free play and do away with me!
This thought, at least, would give me comfort
(a thrill of joy in unrelenting pain),
that I had not denied the Holy One’s decrees (Job 6:9-10 Jerusalem Bible).
The words sound rash—almost like the braying of the donkey to which Job likens himself in verse 5. But they carry a kind of faith that is hard to comprehend in a world where phrases like “Goddammit” get tossed around glibly, as though carrying no actual meaning. Job would rather lose his life than lose his faith. That’s something worth thinking about.
Jesus: confident faith. God’s power to use evil to redemptive ends is on display in the Good News that Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection brought life to those for whom he died. And Jesus has full confidence that any resistance to his ministry fits into his Father’s plan. “Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him” (John 6:64). This realization does not lead to self-doubt or faintheartedness, on the one hand; or to rigorous denunciation of the non-believers and the betrayer, on the other. Rather, it leads to the calm affirmation of the Father’s sovereignty: “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father” (John 6:65).
Jesus Christ himself extends honest love—truly spoken and boldly lived. He leaves the results to the Father. And when Jesus urges us, “Follow me,” perhaps part of what he means is that we confidently extend the same sort of honest, true, and bold love to those around us—to friend and to foe alike.
Wherever you are on faith’s continuum between an honest near-despair and a settled and supreme confidence, I pray that your Heavenly Father will guard and guide you as you continue this new week.
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+