Psalm 38, 119:25–48 • Isaiah 6:1–13 • John 7:53–8:11
They brought the woman accused of adultery before Jesus not really to put her on trial but to put Jesus on trial. They did not know to whom they were presenting her. Isaiah knew. For in the year that King Uzziah died, he saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and his train filled the temple.
They had brought this woman before the Lord incarnate, Jesus Christ. And only angels could see his train fill the temple. Heaven and earth are full of his glory. “Woe is me, for I am lost.”
Then flies the seraph at the Lord’s command: “Behold, this burning coal has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away.”
“Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, Lord.”
“Neither do I condemn you. Go; and sin no more.”
O God of Israel, whose train fills the temple, cleanse our hearts and free us from the accuser, that we may sin no more and deliver your message; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Rev. Nathan Jennings, PhD
Milton Richardson Associate Professor of Liturgics and Anglican Studies and Director of Community Worship
Seminary of the Southwest
The Rev. Nathan Jennings, a native of Austin, returned to his hometown when he joined the faculty of Seminary of the Southwest in 2005. Jennings is also the Director of Community Worship and has served as the Chair of the Anglican Studies Program at Seminary of the Southwest since 2008. Jennings is interested in liturgical theology, Christian Platonism, Ancient Near-Eastern studies, asceticism, hermeneutics and the way these disciplines intersect and inform one another. His first book, Theology as Ascetic Act: Disciplining Christian Discourse, published in 2010, represents a light revision of his doctoral dissertation and argues that Christian teaching and reflection are embodied acts analogous to, and part of, Christian asceticism. His second book, Liturgy and Theology, Economy and Reality, Wipf and Stock 2017, argues for a Christian metaphysical realism, presenting liturgy as a cosmic gift economy whereby God renders cosmos out of chaos. He is currently working on a book that will provide a an outline of sound liturgical decision-making. In teaching, Jennings reflects on liturgy theologically as that which enables participation in God and God’s work in the world. In addition to the required liturgy and Anglican studies courses, Jennings offers elective seminars in Liturgical Theology, Hermeneutics, and occasional seminars on Anglican Divines.
The Advent Meditations and Prayers are a gift to our seminary community and are made possible through gifts to our Annual Fund. Seminary of the Southwest appreciates the support of its friends, alumni, and the communities around the world that its graduates serve for the glory of God. This support ensures that Southwest, as an institution made of individuals dedicated to service to God and their fellow members of the body of Christ, can continue doing its part to build the body of Christ.
