onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 8: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 106:1-18; Evening,  Psalm 106:19-48;

Numbers 22:1-21; Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 21:12-22

“In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And the fig tree withered at once.” (Matthew 21:18 – 19)

A fig tree born of creation, yet refuses to provide food for the One through whom it has its being.  We might argue that it was not the “proper” time for the tree to produce fruit; therefore, it is not the tree’s fault.  But we don’t know the hidden relationship that the Creator had with this tree.

I have read where as Jesus was on his way back to the Temple, which was also in full leaf insofar as its population was concerned, but produced no fruit in terms of spiritually feeding the people who came to it for spiritual nourishment.  The Temple was there for the pleasure of the Temple authorities only. There was a similarity between the fruitless tree and the fruitless temple.

How about you and me and our Church?  What is the spiritual fruit of our labors or the labors of our worship houses?  Are we found visiting the sick, or assisting those with no transportation to the store or medical appointments?  These are especially challenging questions.  But we must not use our difficult times as an excuse, or free pass, to not help our neighbors, less we too become the fruitless tree. Our parishes should feed our faith as we meet with regular attendance so that God is not disappointed when looking for the fruits of our faith.

Today we remember Saints Peter and Paul, and their information may be found at: St. Peter and St. Paul.

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:

Energize us O Lord God to love and participate in the fruitful well-being of our community in ways that bring people closer to you. Rejuvenate our heart’s desire to bring people together again for your love’s sake; Amen. 

The Gospel Eucharistic Reading for Sunday of Proper 8: Year A

Matthew 10:40-42

“Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple– truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”” (Matthew 10: 40 – 42)

If we go forth in the Name of our Lord Jesus, we present Jesus to all we encounter, if we get out of the way.  We are the gift wrapped package of Jesus.  Jesus then, is the package that contains God, like the Trojan Horse of the Greeks who secretly entered Troy.  So within each baptized Christian is hidden our Lord Jesus, and within Jesus is God Almighty. Delivering God to anyone is wonderful but especially to those who may not know God, is the most important thing any of us can do. And we don’t do it alone.  We let go and let God; we let God work through us.

Now, after this opening statement, comes the “reward” language, which I don’t particularly care for.  The prophet’s reward, the righteous person’s reward, and even the compassionate person’s reward, seems to encourage us to do good in order to receive the appropriate (and expected) reward.  Let’s just be like Mary, and be God-bearers.  Mary partnered with, and co-created with God not for herself but for the salvation of the world.  Let her words resonate within ourselves, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1: 38)

Maybe if we really work at being Jesus presenters, it in itself, will be reward enough. It is like the Christmas song that asks us to be good for goodness sake. When we enjoy good, we enjoy God, because God is Good; All the time.

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 8 The Sunday closest to June 29 (BCP p.230)

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; 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 7: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-6(7-13); Evening, Psalm 33;

Numbers 20:14 to 29; Romans 6:1 to 11; Matthew 21:1 to 11:

“But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6: 8 – 11)

I have always believed, even before going to seminary, that the most serious service a clergy person could facilitate, second only to baptism, is the funeral or, burial service.  Death is the ultimate transition of life. Not all will submit to baptism, but all of us will submit to death.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ walked among us to be the Gateway into eternal life with God. I believe also that every human being will be raised to judgment before our Creator.  How we have behaved during our dash-time (that time between birth and death) is important so far as it reflects what is in our hearts, it is the actual content of our hearts that makes the difference. God looks upon the heart.  Do you have love in your heart?  Jesus instructs us to love others as he loves us.

We don’t have to worry about our conduct if we vow to always behave from the “love of other” perspective.  It would make no difference whether we were police, medical, military, clergy or corrections officer; doing our vocations from loving others as Christ loves us is pleasing to God and eases our transition through ultimate judgment.  Love for the other then makes us dead to sin. Sin is that which separates us from the will of God. This is why Paul says that we all must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Today we remember Cornelius Hill, Priest and Chief Among the Oneida, 1907, and his information may be found at: Cornelius Hill

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: (BCP p.504)

Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith where you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your tender mercies’ sake. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 7: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 102; Evening, Psalm 107:1-32;

Numbers 20:1 to 13; Romans 5:12 to 21; Matthew 20:29 to 34:

 “They said to him, ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.’ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him;” (Matthew 20: 33 and 34).

In this Matthew Gospel account two blind men “regain’ their sight.  Which means they once saw clearly but later lost their vision.  Somehow they lost sight of what was going on, and where they were going; and now they wanted Jesus to put them back where they could see again.

The sight that our Lord Jesus restores is not so much our visual sight as it seems on the surface.  It is the seeing of our heart that really guides us on the good path. Our Lord Jesus looked through the eyes of his own Godly heart and he was “moved with compassion” and restored their sight.

Are we willing to ask for, and receive, this restored understanding?  These blind men refused to be hushed by the surrounding crowd but instead demanded to be helped by God Incarnate.  If we have lost our moral vision, and our hope, some will try to keep us this way often for their own self serving purposes. We must dare to break out and seek the presence of Jesus in order to be put back on track.  He is already moved with compassion for us, we just need to insist on seeing him in order that we might see the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Today we remember Isabel Florence Hapgood, Ecumenist, Translator and Journalist, 1928, and her information may be found at: Isabel Florence Hapgood.

“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:                                                                      

Most merciful Jesus, as you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, enable us we pray, to see again the path of life which leads to all truth and goodness. Light our way to walk honorably and lovingly with our neighbors and see Yourself in those we encounter. In Your most holy Name we pray; Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 7: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 105:1 to 22; Evening,  Psalm 105:23 to 45;

Numbers 17:1 to 11; Romans 5:1 to 11; Matthew 20:17 to 28:

“It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20: 26 – 28)

Jesus has just heard the plea of John, and  his brother James along with their mother, to share seats of glory in the kingdom of Jesus.  It appears that she asks Jesus to let her sons be on his right and left side in his kingdom.  To this Jesus explains, it is not his to give.  The other apostles find out and are angered by their request.  Jesus calls them all together and explains the difference between this world and heaven.  On earth we have a lordship of tyranny where we rule by threats, money concerns and punitive measures.  In heaven, it is a kingdom of servanthood. The whole idea of king and servant is turned upside down.

I’m guessing the problem I have with the language of Jesus, as it is translated and spoken in Matthew, is the part about “whoever wishes to be “great” among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be “first” among you must be your slave.”  These words still show the continued goal of seeking the self-serving glory of being great, or, of being first.  Can we not live to serve and be happy with serving without looking forward to sitting on the right or left hand of our Lord and Savior in some kind of shared glory?  Once we learn to be happy by serving others, we can be happy anywhere, even anywhere here on earth, in this life.  Let’s just be okay helping others to be okay: Ok?

Today we remember James Weldon Johnson, Poet, 1938, and his information may be found at: James Weldon Johnson

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 Most Holy Counselor Lord Jesus, as you have set the example of real joy that can only be obtained through patience and kindness while practicing servanthood to others, stay with us in our sad failures and humble successes as we continually strive to follow your lead in our daily lives; Amen.

Daily office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 7: Year 2

Morning,  Psalms 101 and 109: ; Evening, Psalm 119:121 to 144;
Numbers 16:36 to 50; Romans 4:13 to 25; Matthew 20:1 to 16:

“And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” (Matthew 20:11 and 12)

In this parable of Jesus, He explains that those who come to the Table late in their lives are just as entitled as those who were there from the beginning. The first had gone through much religious turmoil but they persevered. The late comers came to the table late in life but were just as needy as those who came early. God, in Christ Jesus, looks upon the human heart and accepts those of us who are penitent and genuine in our belief as made manifest by our behavior, whenever we transform.

There is another lesson I glean from this passage. The land owner recognizes that each unemployed man represents a family that is going without what it needs because of the husband or father not having work.  Rather than just give them unearned money, the land owner has found a way to give dignity to heads of households. The early workers, it seems, did not want the late workers to have what was needed for their families. The lesson for me is, that if I have enough for me and mine, I should not begrudge anyone else who also has what they also need, even if they did not put in as much as I did.  No one was promised more than the daily wage.  The daily wage paid rent and put food on the table. The landowner found a way to care for families without simply “giving” them money. We should be the same today.

Today we remember John the Baptist, Prophet, Preacher and Martyr (June 24,) and his information may be found at: Nativity of John the Baptist.

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 God be present in my heart as I consider others. Let me not be envious or jealous of others because of what they have, or I don’t have. Rather, dear God, move me to help those who don’t have what they need in any way that helps them; either personally, or participating in actions that will seek to take care of those in need. In your most holy Name I pray: Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 7: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 97, 99; Evening, Psalm 94;

Numbers 16:20 to 35; Romans 4:1 to 12; Matthew 19:23 to 30:

“Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”  (Matthew 19:27)

Peter is someone in the Gospel that I really identify with even if I’m not always proud of it. I sometimes shoot from the hip without thinking.  I am sometimes afraid and, in the way I behave, deny even knowing Christ.  I have family and yet have decided to follow Jesus. However, I have moved beyond asking “what’s in it for me.” Peter explains to Jesus how he and others have followed him and now wants to know about the payoff.

I am in a place now where I want to do good for goodness sake.  It’s like the Santa Clause song, “he knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you are wake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake.”  Being good for goodness sake is a kindness that is not looking down the reward road.  Being good for goodness sake is basking in the goodness as you perform it. It’s Wonderful.

Our Lord Jesus is very much aware of our human need for good outcomes.  So he assures Peter, and us, that we will receive the good reward. He says, everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19: 29)

So let us not be so concerned about a future reward.  Let’s just be kind and do what is good and right so that we can say (humbly but with a little bit of pride) I did that!

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:

Most Holy Jesus, make manifest in us the desire to be like You, and others who strive to be kind and patient. Make us joyful in being this way such that we always want to do good works and never bring harm or trouble on others. Help us to be this way to the glory of Your Name; Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Monday of  Proper 7: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 89:1 to 18; Evening, Psalm 89:19 to 52;

Numbers 16:1 to 19; Romans 3:21 to 31; Matthew 19:13 to 22:

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” (Matthew 19: 21 – 22)

I like to bracket the words [the money] in verse 21 of chapter 19 of Matthew.  My Greek translation does not have those words. It reads, “ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος εἶναι, ὕπαγε πώλησόν σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς, καὶ δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοι.”  Roughly translated it says, “to him Jesus said, if perfect you wish to be, go sell your stuff and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me.” 

Translation is a tricky business.  There is a difference between “give the money to the poor.” And simply “give to the poor.” Our Lord Jesus and his unemployed followers could certainly use some of the money.  We are told that certain women who had money helped with the necessities of the group, (Luke 8:1 – 3). We could miss the practical necessity here by too loose a translation.

In this story we see not a man with possessions; but rather, a man who was possessed by his possessions.  We might have had his name had he let go of his possessions. He could have been one of the apostles!  He was invited to follow Jesus with the familiar words, “then come, follow me.”

Based on a real understanding of this Bible reading it becomes clear that money is not bad, but it can distract and rule us if we are not careful.  We should give to the poor but we must care for ourselves as well. If we don’t first care for ourselves, we may not be able to help anyone else. It takes a strong swimmer to save a drowning man.

I have a few life sayings which I have developed for myself. One of them is, “Live long in moderation.”  I find that I can easily care for my own needs and live a long healthy life if I maintain moderation.  Maintaining moderation for me means not overdoing anything in any category, be it financial, dietary, even time spent pondering.  Caring for self, for me, includes eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, daily exercise and proper hygiene. And then, along with this, I strive to follow the teachings of Jesus.

Today we remember Alban, First Martyr of Britain (June 22, 304), and his information may be found at: Alban

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.

Eucharistic Gospel Reading for Sunday of Proper 7: Year A

Matthew 10:24-39:

“Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master.”  (Matthew 10: 24 – 25)

Today is Father’s Day. To the disciple and teacher; and to the slave and master; I would add the child and the father. Jesus said, “It is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master.”  And I would add, it is enough for the child to be like the father; the good father. It is enough for the child to grow up and become provider and protector.

Throughout the Gospel of John Jesus proclaims “that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Good fatherhood comes from the godliness of parenting, not the ruthlessness of parenting. I have talked with many teachers who tell me there is a significant, and positive difference, between children who have a father in the home and those who don’t.

Let me tell you about three fathers: Jesse, Joseph and Tom. Jesse was the proud father of eight sons.  He proudly presented seven of them for anointing by Samuel but held back his youngest, David. Yet, David changed the world and was the apple of God’s eye. (1 Samuel 16)

Then there is Joseph. Of all the men of the world, God almighty chose the carpenter Joseph to be His earthly father as he joined us, to be one of us.  Joseph was a good and moral man who would not even use the corrupt rules of his day to put Mary aside, being that she was already pregnant. Being a father is more than making a pregnancy or even being the biological father. It is about being a loving provider and protector.

Tom was an over-the- road truck driver.  At the age of thirty-nine he married a woman eleven years his junior who already had a daughter. Tom was a loving man, and while he had disagreements with my mother, he was always gentle with her, and with us, his children.  I did not realize the importance of his loving gentleness until much later in life, when I became part of a domestic violence rehabilitation team at Marine Corps New River Air Station, Family Advocacy Program.  Real fathers make all the difference. While assisting in this rehabilitation program I saw the sad effect of having no fathers, or bad fathers.

Some governments or religious orders have rules in place that manipulate the family in order to free the father of parental responsibility, or make the mother and children wards of the state. The mothers of these children struggle to make ends meet and have no father role model for the children. This is sad in light of the fact that teachers can show the benefit of having a good father in the home. It is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master and the child like the good father.

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 7 The Sunday closest to June 22 (BCP p. 230)

O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.