Today's Readings and Stuff -- Thursday, 31 October 2013

for anyone who has been lost in a cave for a couple months, today is celebrated (if you can call it that) as All Hallows Eve, shortened in common usage as Hallowe'en.  Generally the apostrophe is forgotten.  Depending on one's locale, it may be accompanied by kids (and, sometimes, those legally adult who don't act like it) dressed in ghoulish costumes such as zombies, sorcerers, witches, the dead, the undead, and all the stuff of nightmares.  Or as funny creatures of someone's sense of humor leads.  And generally it is accompanied by demands for sweets.  Vandalism of various sorts is not unknown.  I've known people long ago who were seriously into black magic and weird pagan cults who referred to this night as being the second most negative night of the year, second only to Walpurgisnacht for the spirits of evil to run loose.  Can't comment on that and don't really want to.  But it has always been for me a bit of wonder that normally Christian people go out tonight and act like heathens.  And encourage their kids to do so as well, sending the tradition on another generation.

Phone has been ringing constantly for the last few days, had two calls already this morning, from executive recruiters ("headhunters" in common parlance) wanting to talk about jobs in a variety of roles, some quite highly compensated (meaning twice what I'd been drawing in Alabama), including some nearly in walking distance from the home we just left.  (shakes head).  Others are nearer our new location.  One is about 50 miles off, but almost entirely on a freeway, so it wouldn't be too bad.  For that much money I could be tempted.

The morning's Old Testament reading continues in Jeremiah, chapters 29 and 30.  The disasters, the judgment of the Lord that Jeremiah, and Isaiah before him, had warned has come to pass.  The nation is captive, the leaders hauled off in chains, much death and slaughter and misery and pain.  All from obstinate refusal to obey the Lord.  All from those who persisted in doing what was right, or at least fashionable, in their own eyes.  To repeat, it can happen again.  The attitudes and general behavior of the nation were little different from what I see all around.
Yet note this as well.  Though disaster and judgement came, there was also the promise of another day.  The Lord is God of second chances.  I have reason to know, and am not alone in that.

Jeremiah 29

1	Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
2	(After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)
3	By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,
4	Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
5	Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
6	Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
7	And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
8	For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
9	For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
10	For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
11	For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12	Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13	And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14	And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
15	Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;
16	Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
17	Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
18	And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:
19	Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
20	Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:
21	Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;
22	And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
23	Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
24	Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,
25	Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
26	The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.
27	Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?
28	For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
29	And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
30	Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
31	Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:
32	Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.

Jeremiah 30

1	The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2	Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.
3	For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
4	And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
5	For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
6	Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
7	Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
8	For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
9	But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
10	Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
11	For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
12	For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.
13	There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.
14	All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.
15	Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.
16	Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.
17	For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
18	Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.
19	And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
20	Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.
21	And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD.
22	And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
23	Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.
24	The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he hath done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

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The New Testament reading is chapter 1 in the small letter to Titus.

Titus 1

1	Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
2	In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
3	But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
4	To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
5	For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
6	If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
7	For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
8	But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
9	Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
10	For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
11	Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
12	One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
13	This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
14	Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
15	Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
16	They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.