This blog provides a meditation on the Episcopal daily readings along with a headline from world news:

POPE’S CALL TO VIGILANCE REMINDS OF CLERICAL SEX ABUSE 

Titus 1:1-16

THE LETTER OF PAUL TO Titus

1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, 2in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began— 3in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Saviour, 4 To Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.

5 I left you behind in Crete for this reason, that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: 6someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. 7For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; 8but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 9He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.

10 There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision; 11they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what it is not right to teach. 12It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said,

‘Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons.’ 

13That testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may become sound in the faith, 14not paying attention to Jewish myths or to commandments of those who reject the truth. 15To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure. Their very minds and consciences are corrupted. 16They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

Scholars are mainly agreed that this is another pseudonymous letter by a follower of Paul, using his name and legend. What is this man like?

He likes Paul’s sharp authoritarianism towards opponents and is ready to use abusive language –“their minds and consciences are corrupted.” These are people who teach a kind of Judaic Christianity which the author, following Paul, thinks a departure from the gospel. But how does he know they are corrupt? His answer: they are Cretans, whose own prophet has admitted are corrupt. The author has heard but not understood the classical riddle, “Epimenides the Cretan says all Cretans are liars.” In a completely humourless way he accepts it as a description of Cretans, “That testimony is true,”  and so slanders a whole society. We should not abandon our critical faculties when reading scripture.

Even this writer however, from within a strong tradition, manages to say shrewd things about the character of a bishop or overseer; and reminds his readers that purity is not so much an intrinsic property of people or things as it is a result of their perception of them. He means that people of genuine purity will be able to deal with whatever life throws at them without becoming unclean; whereas impure people will contaminate whatever they touch. I’ve found this to be true. We should never assume the purity of all clergy.

John 1:29-34

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” 31I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ 32And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” 34And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

The “lamb of God” is a phrase only known in this Gospel and the Revelation. It is thought to be an amalgam of Isaiah’s “slaughtered lamb” (Is 53) and Passover Lambs killed so that their blood on the doorposts would make the angle of death “pass over” ( Exodus 12). Neither of these lambs “takes away” sin, however, so there may be an additional connection with the sacrificial scapegoat which removes sins from the camp of the people (Leviticus 16). As used in John’s Gospel and The Revelation it attributes to Jesus: suffering, death, non-violence, power to cleanse from sin, (blood of the Lamb) identity with God ( in the midst of the throne) the gift of salvation (he will lead to the springs of the water of Life) a warning of the loving justice of God (the wrath of the lamb). It is a mysteriously powerful image on which to meditate in this season of Lent. Christina Rossetti’s splendid poem can guide us:

Christina Rossetti: the deep thunder of its want and woe

1.None other Lamb, none other Name,
None other Hope in heav’n or earth or sea,
None other Hiding place from guilt and shame,
None beside thee!

2 My faith burns low, my hope burns low;
Only my heart’s desire cries out in me
By the deep thunder of its want and woe,
Cries out to thee.

3 Lord, thou art Life, though I be dead;
Love’s fire thou art, however cold I be:
Nor heav’n have I, nor place to lay my head,
Nor home, but thee.

An astonishing phrase that, “The deep thunder of its want and woe” but it will find an echo in many other hearts as well as mine.