onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 9:Year 2

Morning, Psalms 20 and 21:1-7; Evening, Psalm 110:1-5 and Psalms 116 and 117;

Deuteronomy,  34:1-12; Romans 10:14-21; Matthew 24:32-51

 ^“But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.”  (Romans 10:14 – 17)

Paul really narrows it down in his words to the Church in Rome as he moves through the logic of reason to drive home the point of “hearing the word.”  This Word is something we believers are supposed to articulate to the world in deed more than word, in order that more people might believe.  Paul repeats the word of the Prophet Isaiah as Isaiah the Prophet declares, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”  (Isaiah 52:7)  We have a Cursillo song that goes, “Our God Reigns.”  And God really does reign, indeed.

Today we remember Benedict, founder of Western Monasticism (July 11, 540) and his information may be found at: Benedict of Nursia

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray:                                                                      

O Lord God Almighty, who in the Word came to us to proclaim love and truth in word to our ears; be among us still as we repeat the word of love and truth to one another. Help us to live out your Word and speak your word of love to all whom we come in contact with everyday, Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Friday of proper 9: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 16 and 17; Evening, Psalm 22;

Deuteronomy 31:7-13 and 24 to 32:4; Romans 10:1 to13; Matthew 24:15-31:              

“Brothers and sisters,my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”  (Romans 10: 1 to 4)

Let me just cut to the chase right now.  This is about letting go and letting God.  Paul, in this Letter to the Church in Rome, speaks from firsthand experience.  He knows about zeal and being ignorant of the righteousness of God.  Remember, he was on the road to Damascus when he had his encounter with our Lord Jesus who redirected his zeal and informed his ignorance.

Today many of us still put God in our own small box where we personally decide what God wants.  We have falsely declared that God created some people inferior to others.  We have falsely declared that God does not like gay people.  We have falsely declared that God intends for men to rule over women.  The small box that some of us have put God in, favors the box holder and prevents the same box holder from seeing the real God. Such folk “have not submitted to God’s righteousness.”

Jesus was, and is, all about doing what he sees the Father doing. As he says in the Gospel of John, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me,” (John 5:30).  All of the real leaders of faith put themselves out of the way so that God can do the real work of healing and reconciling.  From Moses leading the Israelites, to John the Baptist baptizing and announcing the coming of the Messiah, they let go and let God.  It was their getting out of the way so that God could do the Holy Work that was needed that made them distinguished.

With what apostolic success is God trying to accomplish through you?  Can you, like Moses, and John the Baptist, and Paul, get out of the way and let your zeal fuel you to do what God wants, that is, to be used for the righteousness of God?

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done” (Genesis 2:1 and 2). So, for this evening and tomorrow day my friends, Shabbat Shalom. 

What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: For Guidance (BCP p. 832)

Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favor, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally, by thy mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 9: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:1-24; Evening, Psalms 12, 13 and 14;

Deuteronomy 1:1-18; Romans 9:1-18; Matthew 23:27-39:

“Because the needy are oppressed, and the poor cry out in misery,”  I will rise up,” says the Lord, “and give them the help they long for.” (Psalm 12: 5)

It seems that most of our readings for today talk about the cruelty of human kind. Perhaps even the Psalms do as well. But this verse of Psalm 12, verse 5 caused me to stand back and try to take a look at us from God’s point of view.  God sees the oppressed, the poor, and the disenfranchised.

How do you think God does the heavenly work of restoration?  My beloved of the Lord, God helps the oppressed and the poor who cry out in misery through us who believe in God.  God works through us, for us. I pray God works through us for the peace and benefit of Ukraine and other oppressed nations.

God works through people who sometimes don’t even realize that their own souls believe in God.  I have met them.  They have good hearts and are full of loving kindness. These people give children from broken homes hope and love. They are friends to those who are alienated from so called “normal” people.  Many agnostics are used by God without knowing it and provide success for God by providing “them the help they longed for.”  While God will sometimes work through people with little or no faith, God prefers to work through those of us with acknowledged faith.

Because of some bad preaching and some dogmatic church doctrine, many have been turned away from what God wants them to do – that is, to make a positive and loving difference in the world.  God’s plan was revealed in the readings we have for today. Leaders picked for Moses are told by Moses, “You must not be partial in judging: hear out the small and the great alike,” in the reading from Deuteronomy; Paul, in Romans, reminds his listeners about their ancestry and that the blessings they have comes from the mercy of God.  And our Lord Jesus continually rebukes religious leaders in our Matthew reading with the words, “woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.” 

Spiritual leaders must truly believe and walk the example of faith no matter what. Where is God today?  God is watching the poor and oppressed, and God is watching you and me.  Are we going to rise up with God and give the oppressed the help they long for?  I pray that we turn and really listen to the Holy Spirit and do the work of the Lord.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: For a Person in Trouble or Bereavement (BCP p. 831)

O merciful Father, who hast taught us in thy holy Word that thou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men: Look with pity upon the sorrows of thy servant for whom our prayers are offered. Remember them, O Lord, in mercy, nourish their souls with patience, comfort them with a sense of thy goodness, lift up thy countenance upon them, and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 9: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 5 and 6; Evening, Psalms 10 and 11;

Numbers 35:1-3,9-15 and 30-34; Romans 8:31-39; Matthew 23:13-26

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8: 38 and 39)

This is such a powerful statement from Paul.  And, while some of Paul’s rhetoric comes from his own somewhat vague personal understanding, there are moments like Corinthians 13: 1 – 13, and this one for today, that I believe come straight from God as made manifest in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s break it down.  First of all, Paul is “convinced.”  This means that his mind has been set, it is a revelation from God.  This kind of revelation is from God and not only to Paul but to us today as well.  And for all of us, once we know, we can’t “un-know.” We too are convinced.

Second, the love that God has for us overcomes all obstacles outside of ourselves.  I say outside of ourselves because it will be inside our deliberate and stubborn refusal to listen and learn from our Lord Jesus that hinders us from following our life path, and eternal path, that God has placed before each person.

I read once from a Russian priest that as we transition from this life to the next, as we all will, we begin our ascent to the divine.  As we approach the purity of heaven, whatever is amiss in us begins to diminish us. Whatever hate, or jealousy, or any unloving way we have about us will hinder us from our approach to God.  God will not stop us. According to the priest, the toxic baggage we attempt to bring with us will reduce us and may completely eliminate us. So it is nothing outside of ourselves that will hinder us from the love of God.  But any continued sinfulness within us will.

It is therefore of the utmost importance then, that we work on ridding ourselves of all such maliciousness now, so that we will be unimpeded as we approach the throne.  Nothing outside of ourselves will impede our journey to God.  For I too am convinced that nothing outside of us will separate us (whatever is left of us), from the love of God.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: A Prayer of Self-Dedication (BCP p. 832)

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated unto thee; and then use us, we pray thee, as thou wilt, and always to thy glory and the welfare of thy people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Eucharistic Gospel Reading for Sunday of Proper 9: Year A 

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  (Matthew 11: 28 – 30)

When our Lord Jesus invites us to come and take his yoke upon us, this is not an exchange of yokes, as I once thought.  No, this is an invitation to join him in his yoke.  And it’s more than that; it’s an invitation to connect with Jesus through someone we know in Christ Jesus.

This is an invitation to come and be a Trinitarian partner. I am still learning to play guitar and piano.  I am blessed to be led in my musical instruction by fellow Christians –  fellow Christians who may not follow Christ in the exact same way that I do, but then, we are all evolving theologically.

With my guitar I mostly play music for Cursillo songs but I am comfortable knowing that our Lord Jesus binds us together in a common brotherhood, a blessed yoke of learning. The same is true for piano. The weight of trying to learn to play these instruments on my own is more than I can do.  But Jesus assists me through my albeit younger teachers, to share this load in His Holy name. 

The Bible is replete with examples of pairs of people through whom God (or Jesus) works through for our communal good.  Some examples are; Moses and Aaron; Ruth and Naomi; Elijah and Elisha; Simon Peter and Andrew; John and James; and Paul and several others.  My point is, that in our biblical tradition, we are called to seek out our Lord Jesus through another believer and share the yoked burden of doing the work put before us. When we yoke ourselves together, Jesus himself is the yoke, and we who attach ourselves to another believer become a small trinity as we learn from our gentle Jesus who is humble in heart as we find rest for our souls. When we do this Jesus has an arm around each of us and becomes the yoke we are invited to take upon ourselves.

Most of the tasks before us are far more serious than playing music, but I needed to show an example of what we are able to do when yoked with Christ. Today we have racism, sexism, and just plain egoism. We need to partner with one another in fighting the “isms” of today.  I begin to think all isms are bad and cannot be overcome without teaming up with a fellow believer wherein we are yoked with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The work before us is plentiful but we laborers are few. Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Who do you know in Christ that you could work with for learning something new; or our communal good?  Let’s be fitted in the yoke of Christ, and get to work.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: Proper 9: The Sunday closest to July 6 (BCP p. 230)

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 8: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 137:1-6 and Psalm 144; Evening, Psalm 104;

Numbers 24:12-25; Romans 8:18-25; Matthew 22:23-40:

“Jesus answered them, ‘You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29)

It was in this Gospel according to Matthew that we have Jesus re-interpreting the Scriptures, particularly in chapter 5.  Now we have Jesus telling the Sadducees (and many of us), that they have interpreted the ancient writings incorrectly. And he informs them that they also don’t really know about the power of God. 

I look at the ancient biblical writings, mostly written by men, as recording their experiences with God as best they could in accordance with their very limited understanding of the planet and space and themselves.  They did not always get it correct as Jesus informs this group of theologians. As an Education for Ministry (EfM) mentor and Christian Education teacher, I always explain that with God’s help, and with prayer before and after, we conduct our studies looking for truth, not facts. So called facts are sometimes shown to be not true but the truth always is.

I believe God is truth, pure goodness and merciful love. I believe God loves this fragile earth our island home and has caused all life to be good (until it is corrupted). I also believe there is a different, and holy realm that we pass on to when we expire from this life. And, as Jesus says in our Matthew reading for today, we will then be like angels in heaven. (Matthew 22:30).

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Today we remember Independence Day, in the United States of America, July 4^th

Let us pray: (BCP p. 242)

Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 8: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 140 and 142; Evening, Psalms 141 and 143:1 -12);

 Numbers 24:1-13; Romans 8:12-17; Matthew 22:15-22:

“Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  (Matthew 22:21)

In trying to trick our Lord Jesus, the disciples of the Pharisees, along with the Herodians actually learn something about the real use of money and the reality of what belongs to God.

The real use of money is to purchase the necessities we need for living healthy lives.  Also, money can be used for fun and comfort. However, as money is a nonperishable trade commodity that the whole community needs to make use of, it should never be hoarded to the deprivation of others.

The emperor can be seen as the government, and money back to the emperor is the same as paying taxes. The emperor, or our government, are the printers of the money (hopefully) as a means of enabling citizens the ability to get their needs met and maintain their common good which includes paying wages for those who work for the emperor or our government.  Money is too often misused.

Our souls and hearts on the other hand, belong to the One who loaned it to us, Almighty God.  While money is a human construct, our being, is the design and creation of God. Loans of money can, and should, be paid in full.  What we owe God can never be paid.  But then, who we are, and how we are made, never really stops being the property of God.  And the fact that we cannot pay God back for our being, we must inevitably return  “to God the things that are God’s.”  This has always been true, even before time, since before the heavens and the earth were finished.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done” (Genesis 2:1 and 2). So, for this evening and tomorrow day my friends, Shabbat Shalom. 

What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: For the Right Use of God’s Gifts (BCP p. 827)

Almighty God, whose loving hand hath given us all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may honor thee with our substance, and, remembering the account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of thy bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.