Month: January 2020

Readings for Sam Shoemaker (1893-1963)

Psalm 130 Isaiah 51:17–52:1a 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Luke 4:40-44

“As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.” (Luke 4: 40 – 41)

Just as our Lord Jesus insisted on anonymity with regard to the source of His power, so too did Sam Shoemaker, whom we remember today.  As I have many who are very close to me making use of the twelve step program I feel Sam Shoemaker should be brought to our attention. All of the below was taken from on line at http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/sam_shoemaker.htm

Sam Shoemaker, DD, STD (1893-1963), was an Episcopal priest who was instrumental in the Oxford Group and founding principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. Dr. Samuel Moor Shoemaker was the rector of the Calvary Church in New York City, which was the United States headquarters of the Oxford Group. Bill Wilson attended Oxford Group meetings at the Calvary Church and Sam was instrumental in assisting Bill Wilson with the writing of the book Alcoholics Anonymous (nickname: The Big Book). Bill acknowledged this linkage when he wrote in the book, A.A. Comes of Age (page 39):

In 1917, Sam Shoemaker had been sent to China to start a branch of the YMCA and to teach at the Princeton-in-China Program. There, in 1918, feeling discouraged, he first met Frank Buchman who told him of the four absolutes, honesty, purity and unselfishness and love. Later, Shoemaker would speak of the meeting as a major influence for the start of his ministry, that being the time when he decided to let go of self and let God guide his life

Bill Wilson, in 1955, would later give credit to Sam Shoemaker whom he referred to as a co-founder of AA.  ” It was from Sam Shoemaker, that we absorbed most of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, steps that express the heart of AA’s way of life. Dr. Silkworth gave us the needed knowledge of our illness, but Sam Shoemaker had given us the concrete knowledge of what we could do about it, he passed on the spiritual keys by which we were liberated. The early AA got its ideas of self-examination, acknowledgement of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Group and directly from Sam Shoemaker, their former leader in America, and from nowhere else.”

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Daily Office Readings for Thursday in the Week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany: Year 2

Psalm 50; PM Psalm [59, 60] or 8, 84 Gen. 16:15-17:14; Heb. 10:1-10; John 5:30-47

“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram,but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.” (Genesis 17: 4 – 5)

This is our spiritual heritage.  We, yes even we Christians, are spiritual descendents of Abraham. The importance of who we are is not what our biology or ethnicity is.  None of that transcends this earthly life.  Only our spiritual selves ascend to greater glory. 

Given this information how does that impact how we should live while still in our physical selves?  For me it means a life of trying to establish and maintain a connection with the spiritual world while still in this one. It means often pondering about God and relatives and loved ones who have gone on but are perhaps, in some way, still aware of us as they are with God in that heavenly realm. It is the spirit and faith of Abraham that God treasures. And we are descendants of that same spirit – we are truly kindred spirits to Abraham.  We have a prayer in our Book of Common Prayer in the Easter Vigil that really speaks to this.

“Let us pray. 

O God, whose wonderful deeds of old shine forth even to our own day, you once delivered by the power of your mighty arm your chosen people from slavery under Pharaoh, to be a sign for us of the salvation of all nations by the water of Baptism: Grant that all the peoples of the earth may be numbered among the offspring of Abraham, and rejoice in the inheritance of Israel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (BCP 289)

We Christians are among the offspring of Abraham, and the inheritance of Israel through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You Lord Jesus.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday in the Week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany: Year 2

Psalm 119:49-72; PM Psalm 49, [53] Gen. 16:1-14; Heb. 9:15-28; John 5:19-29

“Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomsoever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5: 21 – 24)

This lesson from our Lord Jesus kind of says that God has “delegated” all next life invitations to our Lord Jesus.  One way to receive such an invitation past judgment is to believe this.

As a priest I often officiate at funerals.  The biggest message that people want to hear is the one about our being raised from the dead.  Sometimes it’s hard to connect the life of the deceased to his or her life of faith.  We preachers preach faith, that doesn’t mean we know the faith of others.  Only God knows the faith of a person regardless of the faith path they live.

And God has left all decisions about eternal life to God Incarnate, our Lord Jesus. After closely studying the words from our John passage this morning I get the sense that believers already have eternal life.  Believers may not live what some of us consider the so called perfect “Christian” life but still believe that Jesus is Lord. Having faith is not necessarily about being in church all the time.  It is about one’s prayer life.  Prayer is not necessarily about audible words. It is about where your heart is.  It is about how much you cry.  Crying is praying. God’s ears hears tears.

For those among us who have not accepted our Lord Jesus, such people come under judgment.  I believe the language clearly says all people must pass again through our Lord Jesus to eternal life. Such non-believers come under judgment. The believer does not. I don’t believe a loving God lays waste a life lived in love for fellow human beings but leaves that judgment up to our Lord Jesus, who is also our loving God. God loves all people.  Some do not believe because of bad teaching and preaching.  Some don’t believe because they have never heard about our Lord Jesus and His loving and inclusive way.  God in Christ Jesus will not let the lack of being informed separate us from eternal life.  This includes infants and so-called atheists. God is love. Thank You Lord Jesus.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Readings for St Thomas Aquinas: 28 January

Psalm 119:97-104   Wisdom 7:7-14  Matthew 13:47-52

“Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.”  (Wisdom of Solomon 7:7 – 8)               

Today we remember St Thomas Aquinas who, perhaps like Solomon, preferred understanding beyond anything else.

“Thomas asserted that reason and revelation are in basic harmony. “Grace” (revelation), he said, “is not the denial of nature” (reason), “but the perfection of it.” This synthesis Thomas accomplished in his greatest works, the Summa Theologica and the Summa Contra Gentiles, which even today continue to exercise profound influence on Christian thought and philosophy. He was considered a bold thinker, even a “radical,” and certain aspects of his thought were condemned by the ecclesiastical authorities. His canonization on July 18, 1323, vindicated him.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for January 28)

I glean from this that Grace is to mean revelation, and nature is to mean reason.  For me this means that we accept what God blesses us with, (Grace) and let it undergird what we can learn (reason).

“Thomas understood God’s disclosure of his Name, in Exodus 3:14, “I Am Who I Am,” to mean that God is Being, the Ultimate Reality from which everything else derives its being. The difference between God and the world is that God’s essence is to exist, whereas all other beings derive their being from him by the act of creation.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for January 28)

While in seminary and listening to a lecture on St Thomas Aquinas, I drew close to our professor after the lecture to hear what a few other students were going to ask.  I didn’t figure I was the brightest bulb in the cluster but I was at least smart enough to know that if I got close enough to hear what they were asking, that I might learn something.  I heard our professor say that although Thomas wrote volumes of books and was very smart, one little glimmer of Grace (Revelation) from God (I Am) will be more enlightening than all of Thomas Aquinas’ works.  I have not worried about how smart I am since then.  Thank You Lord Jesus

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Daily Office Readings for Monday in the Week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany: Year 2

Psalm 41, 52; Psalm 44 Gen. 14:(1-7)8-24; Heb. 8:1-13; John 4:43-54

“The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.” (John 4:49 – 50)

Intercessory prayer is so important.  In fact, prayer on behalf of others may be the most prayed prayers.  But like the official above, when we pray for someone, we must believe and go, go believing our Lord Jesus has done, or is doing, what is best.

I’m not so sure I like the follow up in this passage because the official father is trying to prove to himself that it was in fact Jesus that did the healing.  “As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.’ The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household.”  (John 4: 51 – 53)

Prayer is not fact based.  It is hope however.  We must hope and pray for people we love and for anyone whom we realize is in dire straits.  Prayer to our Lord Jesus works.  We sincerely ask for help or healing or comfort for others and our Lord Jesus will hear our plea, and will respond.  Remember, God’s ears hears tears.  Never, never, never give up, and don’t try to make sense of the Lord’s work but rather just be thankful for it. Thank You Lord Jesus.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Eucharistic Readings for the Third Sunday After the Epiphany: Year A

Isaiah 9:1-4  Psalm 27:1, 5-13  1 Corinthians 1:10-18  Matthew 4:12-23

“As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers” (Matthew 4:18)

Capernaum is the first place of choice for our Lord Jesus.  He was born in Bethlehem, Taken to Egypt, brought back to Bethlehem, Later taken to Nazareth, , and then taken to Jerusalem at least a couple of times to the Temple in Jerusalem, invited to a wedding in Cana, all according to accounts from the Gospel according to Luke and John.

To Capernaum, he goes of his own free will and accord.  And there he enlists two pairs of brothers. With Andrew and Peter, and John and James, our Lord Jesus lays the foundation of brotherly love.  Later when he sends them out 2X2, all will have experienced what it means to be brothers.  

I am a member of the Brotherhood of Saint Andrew.  This order was founded to bring men to, or back to, the Church.  We pray at each meeting: “Almighty God, you gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (BCP 185 & the Brotherhood pamphlet)

The Brotherhood of Saint Andrew is an organization devoted to Prayer, Study and Service.  We open with structure, conduct business and then do Bible Study.  It is great. We try hard to engage young men to come and be a brother among us because this is what Andrew did according to the Gospel of St John. (John 1:40 – 42)  While it may seem that this contradicts the Matthew enlisting above, it doesn’t have to.  The walk on the beach could have happened a day or two later.  This is both- and, not either- or.

My point is that Jesus started his plan of evangelism with blood brothers in order to make us all siblings with our Lord Jesus through the grafting of his body and blood into us all. I believe all Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Thank You Lord Jesus.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Eucharistic Readings for the Conversion of Saint Paul.                                                                                              

Psalm 67; Acts 26:9-21;Galatians 1:11-24; Acts 26:9-21;; Matthew 10:16-22

“And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.”  (Acts 26:10)

At this writing our country is going through a trying time of impeachment testimony for and against the President of the United States and the seriousness of where elected leader’s loyalty lies. Many have received what they understand is their authority from their chief priest.  The opposing side feels that the majority of the other side are misguided and that they only hold a code they believe is more sacred to the sanctity of the American constitution. It’s a mess.

Like Paul, perhaps each and every one of us must ask where we think we will be on such issues five or ten years down the road.  Do we just want our team to win? No matter the costs. That’s sad.

Saul to Paul was a conversion.  Conversion is not a condemnation to hell.  It is a growth moment.  We don’t need tribes, or chief priests or even priests like me to demand fake loyalties for personal interests.  We only need our prayers and conscience awareness. We need to put ourselves in a place where we will be able to explain to our grandchildren exactly what we were thinking in our decisions and why, and be proud of it. We need to hear the Spirit of our loving God in Christ Jesus.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Readings for Florence Li Tim-Oi for the January 24

Psalm 10:1-9 Galatians 3:23-28  Luke 10:1-9

“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

Paul spoke from the heart of God in his proclamation that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”  But this message seems to be difficult for us to receive.  Such is the case with regard to the full utilization of women to do the work God has given them to do.  Today we look at Florence Li Tim-Oi as reported in our “Great Cloud of Witnesses for January 24 (GCW)

“Named by her father “much beloved daughter,” Li Tim-Oi was born in Hong Kong in 1907. When she was baptized as a student, she chose the name of Florence in honor of Florence Nightingale. Florence studied at Union Theological College in Guangzhou (Canton). In 1938, upon graduation, she served in a lay capacity, first in Kowloon and then in nearby Macao.” In May 1941 Florence was ordained deaconess. Some months later, Hong Kong fell to Japanese invaders, and priests could not travel to Macao to celebrate the Eucharist. Despite this setback, Florence continued her ministry. Her work came to the attention of Bishop Ronald Hall of Hong Kong, who decided that “God’s work would reap better results if she had the proper title” of priest.  On January 25, 1944, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Bishop Hall ordained her priest, the first woman so ordained in the Anglican Communion. When World War II came to an end, Florence Li Tim-Oi’s ordination was the subject of much controversy. She made the personal decision not to exercise her priesthood until it was acknowledged by the wider Anglican Communion. Undeterred, she continued to minister with great faithfulness, and in 1947 was appointed rector of St. Barnabas Church in Hepu where, on Bishop Hall’s instructions, she was still to be called priest.” (GCW)

I’m going to stop here but there is much more to the Florence Li Tim-Oi story that you should read about.  What I want to shout about is the fact that the Right Reverend Ronald Hall heard God and saw beyond male and female.  He saw Christian communities who were going without Holy Communion.  They needed a priest.  Florence was educated and dedicated and present.  Bishop Hall did what was right in the sight of God if not humanity.   With God it seems it is always the “what” before the “who.”  Too often we want to raise up who was sent without acknowledging the vision of those who followed God’s dream.  We did the same thing in acknowledging Absalom Jones with way too little regard for Bishop White who ordained Jones, the first African American priest. Both Bishops Hall and White were English descendents. We tend not to acknowledge that important fact. But more important than that is their following what the Spirit of God was telling them. Li Tim-Oi went through more suffering before finally ending up in Canada.  Her story is a great story.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Daily Office Readings for Thursday in the Week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany: Year 2

Psalm 37:1-18; Psalm 37:19-42 Gen. 11:1-9; Heb. 6:13-20; John 4:1-15

“A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) (John 4:7 – 9)

Many of Jesus’ teaching actions as well as miracle stories take place with people outside of the Israeli people.  In this particular case the woman at the well is not only a Samaritan, she is also a woman who may not be liked in her own community. 

It seems Jesus had to be free of his cohorts in order to have this exchange.  They might have interfered.  We’ve seen where the apostles wanted to send hungry people home rather than feed them; keep children away from Jesus, stop a blind man that needed our Lord Jesus, and other such instances where the apostles tried to “protect” Jesus.  Jesus, nor we, need protection from people just because they are different from us.  That is, they are not the same sex, orientation, nationality, language, so called race, religious affiliation or political stripe. But like Jesus, we might have to get away from our regular crowd of influencers in order to be honest with others, and with ourselves.

When we hear a stranger ask him or herself how it is that we will be with them given that we are so different? We know then that we’ve made it.  Thank You Lord Jesus.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday in the Week of the Second Sunday after the Epiphany: Year 2

Psalm 38; Psalm 119:25-48 Gen. 9:18-29; Heb. 6:1-12; John 3:22-36

“They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him”” (John 3:26)

We should all learn from John.  John did the best job he could do with no illusions about keeping his position as a baptizing servant of God as a permanent position.  He told the people plainly that “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

I have held positions of some responsibility in my life. I find the greatest reward for such work are not ribbons or medals but to meet my replacement and wish him or her God speed. All life is temporary.  And within our temporary lives are temporary assignments. I don’t think it is healthy or prudent for the position holder or the people under his or her charge to hold such a relationship too long.

So we should take a page from John’s play book and announce in advance that the time is surely coming when leadership will evolve.  Stepping out of the limelight can be its own reward.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through the saints of God and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John