Author: John Thomas Frazier

Liturgical Readings for the Second Sunday in Lent: Year C

 Genesis 15:1 to12 and17 to 18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17 to 4:1; Luke 13:31 to 35:

“Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” (Luke 13:31)

With the assistance of Fred B. Craddock writing for Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching; Luke; Craddock also shows that not all Pharisees should be grouped into a Hate-Jesus group. Craddock writes, “In fact, according  to Luke, Paul himself acknowledged near the close of his ministry, not “I was a Pharisee” but, “I am,, a Pharisee” (Acts 23:6).  (Craddock; Interpretation 1990; Luke; p. 173) Craddock goes on to say that some of the members of the early church were indeed Pharisees.

This is the idea I quickly came to as I read the opening of this passage. These Pharisee were not trying to trick Jesus.  They were trying to warn him.  Herod Antipas of Galilee had already beheaded John the Baptist and there was talk that Jesus was a reconstituted John.  Herod now wanted to be done with this once and for all.  But Jesus knew that in spite of Herod’s yearning, prophets are killed in Jerusalem and nowhere else.   Jesus even taunts him sending the message that he will be in his territory for three more days and then on to Jerusalem. So there, Herod.

This lesson about the Pharisees is like the one about “The Jew” as written especially in the Gospel of John where the term is used as if to say that all Jews were instrumental in the death of Jesus.  The term “The Jews” is pointing to the Temple authorities only.  And, perhaps not even all of them.  This leads to the focus of this pondering.  We need to own the deep level of understanding God has given us to look deep into people and the groups to which they belong.

Today we tend to be as divisive as we can be. Sometimes this happens only for the sake of being against the other group or team. We do this most effectively with labels. We label the others progressive, conservative, liberal, literal, fundamentalist, democrat, and republican, Baptist, Episcopalian, Catholic, Muslim and back to Jew again. To these labeling platforms we now carelessly add “the Russians.”  Most of Russian citizenry are misinformed about what is going on in Ukraine. I saw one young woman on the news tell of a conversation she had with her mother in Russia. She tried to inform her mother of the atrocities done by the Russian military but her mother would not believe her. She was amazed that her mother would not believe her own daughter.  It is not the Russian people in general who are responsible for the slaughter going on in Ukraine, but the Russian authorities. And like the Jewish Temple authorities, we should not lump all Russians into one group. Pray for Ukraine.

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

I want to go back to 7 March and remember Perpetua. I strongly suggest that you read all of Hebrews 10: 32 – 39.  It was so fitting for Perpetua and also for us today as we profess our own  faith, whatever it might be; and as we witness the horror that Ukraine is going through.

Readings for Perpetua, March 7:

Psalm 124;  Hebrews 10:32 to 39; Matthew 24:9 to 14: 

“But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.”   (Hebrews 10:32-32)

We remember Perpetua, who with Felicity her former slave but later her sister in Christ and others, who were slaughtered in an arena in Carthage, North Africa, on 7 March 202. There are many details in her story but there are three pieces that I want to share with you in this pondering.

First, she was the 22 year old mother of an infant and hoping to be baptized soon. She already assumed the title Christian which is why she was on the death row of her day.  Even with her old grey haired father coming to her in her prison and on his knees begging her to just say she was not a Christian, she would not deny being a follower of Jesus.  How many of us would do that?

Second, in the account of her torture and death she handed off her journal to a person who continued to record her ordeal.  This is how we have it today.  It is thought by many that this person was Tertullian, Christian Theologian and writer.  My fascination here is that Perpetua had the forethought to ensure her story was told even when she knew she would not be able to tell it. How many of us today would do that?

Third and last, as Perpetua and Felicity were being slaughtered, and after Perpetua had already been injured and thrown by what she called a wild cow and having her clothing ripped away, she quickly gather herself together and then attended to Felicity, comforting her and telling her to maintain her dignity “even if we are attacked by that wild cow or whatever it is.”  I can imagine the look on Felicity’s face realizing that Perpetua is forgetting that they had already been attacked.  Further, Perpetua’s attention to decency and comfort to Felicity quieted the jeering crowd.  They wanted to see her screaming and running for their lives. What they saw was a woman who stared down her oncoming slaughter.  I can imagine her thoughts being that she might be killed but she will not be entertaining. Finally, when they were ordered to be killed by the sword, a bumbling young soldier could only kill Perpetua with her own hand guiding him. How many of us could do that?  This 22 year old young mother is one of my most favorite heroes.  She chose Jesus over family; she told her Christian story and passed it on to be told for future generations; and she respected the dignity of all human beings including her own.  How many of us can do that?

Her story reminds me of President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who maintains the dignity of the Ukrainian people and letting world news organizations finish telling the Ukraine story. God bless President Zelenskyy who does not shrink back, and for all Ukrainian people. I continue to pray for God to intervene. Can you do that? Will you do that?

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

Daily Office Readings for Friday after the First Sunday of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 95 [for the Invitatory] 40, 54; Evening, Psalm 51;

Genesis 40:1 to 23; 1^st Corinthians 3:16 to 23; Mark 2:13 to 22:

“Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”  (Mark 2:18)

I can still remember my parents asking me if my friends went and jumped off a cliff, would I do it too?  Peer pressure and new fads and even old traditions sometimes should be called into question.  Because “it has always been done that way” doesn’t mean it should always be done that way. Everybody does something a certain way and it becomes expected that all must do it the same way.  This moves into the food we eat, the clothes we ware, and all other social trends we are peered into. There is something to be said for “dare to be different.”  This is especially true if one has set down and really thought about habits and practices.  In our Episcopal Church, Holy Communion used to be a once or twice a month practice before the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. After that, and ever since, every Sunday is considered the Feast Day of our Lord.  Wasn’t it always?  In this Gospel reading, Levi (Matthew) is invited to “follow” Jesus.  He did.  He quit what he had always done to do the Lord’s work.  When opportunity knocks…

Enough cannot be said about pondering over decisions before acting.  Let us again review Pascal Blaise who said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  I would say then, that after pondering over a practice (or anything), all activities around the practice may also have to change as well.  My ponderings and daily exercise program requires me to rise early in the morning.  Therefore I have had to adjust my sleep habits in order to accommodate this schedule.  In this same Gospel reading for today our Lord Jesus says, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”  (Mark 2:22)  My new wine of blogging and working out would not work in the old wineskin of going to bed at 10 or 11 pm.

Ukraine had always been a part of Soviet Russia. Since the fall the Soviet era, Russia has tried to maintain control of Ukraine because it had always been that way. But now Ukraine is dancing with her new bride groom, Freedom. We, who also enjoy freedom, should keep Ukraine in our prayers.

“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 is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Thursday after the First Sunday of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 50; Evening, Psalms 19 and 46;

Genesis 39:1 to 23; 1^st Corinthians 2:14 to 3:15; Mark 2:1 to 12:

“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”? (Mark 2: 9)

Even today, in most cases, medical science is not able to restore nerve tissue that would enable a paralyzed person to walk again when that nerve has been severed. So forgiving others, while not impossible, is the easier of the two.

Forgiveness can be taught in the family but often a household will tend to see the incident the same way as their offending member reports it, thus making forgiveness hard to come by. Forgiveness can be hard to come by internationally also. Sometimes cruelty can paralyze even nations who are crippled by their own ideas of what they think is “rightfully” theirs as in the Russia, Ukraine war.

Maybe forgiveness begins in the church with corporate pardon. The classic example of this is the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and the milk truck driver attacking their school house. On 2 October 2006, 10 Amish girls were shot in their school house by Charles Carl Roberts IV who took hostages and shot eight out of ten girls (aged 6–13), killing five, before committing suicide in the schoolhouse.

Five died and five survived – and their families immediately bestowed their forgiveness.” (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/02/amish-shooting)  Also, On the day of the shooting, a grandfather of one of the murdered Amish girls was heard warning some young relatives not to hate the killer, saying, “We must not think evil of this man.” Another Amish father noted, “He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he’s standing before a just God.”  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Nickel_Mines_School_shooting)  The point is, this Amish community is a Church that really practices what it means to forgive for healing.

We should practice forgiveness individually, nationally  and internationally.  Perhaps it starts in our spiritual families. The continual reading, studying, discussing and, above all, praying and practicing, forgiveness, will help all of us to at least look at the healing power of forgiveness. I pray that Russian leaders find it in their hearts to turn from their ways of cruelty and ask for forgiveness.

Maybe forgiveness of self and others is the first step to nerve regeneration. Maybe, just maybe, our Lord Jesus had it right all along, “Your sins are forgiven, stand up and take your mat and walk”?  I would love to see Russian troops take up their mats and return home. Please, Lord Jesus.

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

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday after the First Week of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:49 to 72; Evening, Psalm 49;  

Genesis  37:25 to 36; 1st Corinthians 2:1 to 13; Mark 1:29 to 45:

“In the morning, while it was still very dark, he [Jesus] got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.”  (Mark 1:35)

Whether you believe our Lord Jesus is God Incarnate or the Son of God apart from God, you must take note of Jesus’ life of prayer.  The praying referred to in the passage above is tucked between healings.  On one side, before he prayed, “he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” (Mark 1: 34)  On the other side, after he prayed, he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1: 39)  This work of healing and casting out demons was fortified by prayer. Prayer works people.

In these acts of prayer our Lord Jesus is teaching us the power of prayer as well as the importance of prayer. The Mystic, Evelyn Underhill, writes “We pray first because we believe something; perhaps at that stage a very crude or vague something.  And with the deepening of prayer, its patient cultivation, there comes – perhaps slowly, perhaps suddenly – the enrichment and enlargement of belief, as we enter into a first-hand communion with the Reality who is the object of our faith.” (Lent with Evelyn Underhill p.17; taken from The School of Charity)

You and I are products of God’s prayer.  God began creation by praying. “Let there be,” as witnessed in the opening of Genesis. With such words all creation was called into being.  The same “Word” that called all creation into being took on human form and dwelt among us. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” (John 1:1 to 3) 

Everything about us comes from prayer, God’s prayer. We are prayer.  Therefore we surely ought to be praying.  God still prays.  In fact, we never initiate prayer to God.  Given that God prays first, when we pray, we are always responding to God. This is true even when we think we are asking for something for the first time.  God is always ahead of us knowing our need before we ask.

As I truly believe this, I also believe God is the God of love and peace. I want us then to respond to God’s desire for human peace asking for an immediate end to the evil happening in Ukraine. This might require all believers to find a deserted place, even within our own homes, and there, pray for peace in Ukraine. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of the First Week of Lent: Year2

 Morning, Psalm 45; Evening, Psalm 47 and 48;
Genesis 37:12-24; 1^st Corinthians 1:20 to 31; Mark 1:14 to 28:

“They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” (Genesis 37:19 and 20)

I think an apology is in order here.  The devastating situation in Ukraine dominates the lens through which I read the Daily Office. Ukraine too, dreams of freedom, real freedom as we did when we first formed.

Today we have the brothers of Joseph wanting to kill him, their youngest brother.  To me it is like big brother Russian government wanting to kill Ukraine.  Of course, this Bible story will lead to Joseph being their salvation. Maybe the same will happen with Ukraine and Russia. Only God knows.

I have listened to President Zelenskyy ask for help, and not get it. I am ashamed of the way we are acting, or rather, our inaction. We rest in our fear of what “could” happen, Ukraine doesn’t have that luxury, they are in it with no choice at all.  I personally don’t think we have a choice either.  It will be Egypt that will save Joseph who will then save his brothers.  Who is Ukraine’s Egypt today? Fear should not be a deterrent . Again, apologies.

How is your Lent going?  I am in great misery due to world events.  I pray for God’s intervention through those of us who believe and care for those who are weaker than we are. Perhaps God is trying to work God’s purposes out through us, if we would only listen and respond, fear, notwithstanding.

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

Daily Office Readings for Monday after the First Sunday of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 41 and  52; Evening,  Psalm 44;

Genesis 37:1 to 11; 1^st Corinthians 1:1 to 19; Mark 1:1 to 13:

“Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locust and wild honey.” (Mark 1:6)

Now the locust pods of which John ate were a pod-bearing tree of the family that includes the honey locust, swamp locust, and carob. Family: Leguminosae.  For many years I thought John was eating grass hoppers.  I used to love telling John the Baptist stories to children and hearing them say “yuk” at the thought of eating wild grass hoppers.  It wasn’t till I visited Israel that I learned that the locust pod with honey was what John was actually eating.  John was an outsider, and a vegetarian it seems.  He dressed rough even by the standards of his day.  What’s important about John the Baptist is that he emptied himself in order to create space for what God wanted. A cup or a glass or a bowl is no good to us if it’s full.  Only an empty vessel is good for holding the food or drink we need.

There were so many people of human power in John’s day that were full of themselves. And God knows who is receptive to the Word of God. Listen to the opening of chapter 3 of Luke again: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”  (Luke 3: 1 – 2)

Notice that while so many were full of themselves with their human titles, John was away from all that, living in the wilderness, free to go and announce the coming of our Lord Jesus.  The wilderness was not so far removed that the word of God could not reach him.  The same is true today.  Each, and every one of us should have some “alone” time.  Remember the quote from Blaise Pascal,   “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  John sat quietly off to himself eating his sweet cereal and pondering about the Good News he was about to bring to the world, to us.  We must look past how his life ended in human terms.

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has emptied himself in order to be fully present for his people. He is living in a wilderness hell. I am convinced that he is listening to God’s call on his life as he continually calls for an end to Russian military aggression against his people. While Zelenskyy is Jewish, so was John the Baptist.  Both listened to a higher calling and we should too.

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

Eucharistic Readings for the 1^st Sunday of Lent: Year C:

Deuteronomy 26:1to 11; Psalm 91:1 to 2 and 9 to 16; Romans 10:8 to13;  Luke 4:1-13:

 “It is written, It is written, It is said. ” (Luke 4)

As very young men my brother and I would often travel with our dad on long road trips driving an 18 wheeler. We moved household goods for United Van Lines.  On one occasion we took with us another young person whom I will call Boston.  Boston was under 18 years of age at the time.

We found ourselves booked on a trip that took us through western Canada.  We could not take Boston because he was under age with no ID and we would not be able to get him back into the U.S. All this took place well before today’s visa requirements.  So we bought him a bus ticket from Sweetgrass, Montana to Seattle, Washington.  My dad’s words to him was, “no matter what, he was to stay at the bus station in Seattle, no matter what.”  We knew when he should be there and we would be there the same time.  At least, that was the plan.

Boston was tempted by neighborhood gangs, and by a pretty lady to leave the bus station and go with them.  He would not. He had my dad’s words still running through his head, “Don’t Leave the Bus Station.”  Finally, The police came to investigate him because he just hung around and didn’t seem to leave.  We were late getting into Seattle due to forest fires in western Canada.  As we were descending down a down-town street, on our left we saw two policemen talking to Boston.  My dad yelled out of the window, “He’s mine, I’m going to park and I’ll be right back.”

When we walked back to the bus station and claimed Boston I noticed that Boston had been crying.  He then shared with me the events that took place, He said a group of young men came by and told him that he would have to leave because this was their turf.  He was afraid but had to remain at the bus station like dad said.  Next a young woman who worked there got off work an offered him her place to relax and that she would bring him back when we got there. But he stuck to my dad’s instruction to stay at the station.

He said what really broke him was the policemen approaching and asking him for identification. He had none and the day had been long waiting for us to show up.  It was during the questioning of the police that they heard my dad’s voice say, “He’s mine, I’m going to park and I’ll be right back.”

Jesus anchored himself to the words of scripture which helped him overcome evil temptation.  Three times he was tempted. Three times he remembered words from scripture and teachings that kept him from straying from safety.  Boston was tempted three times to leave the bus station. But he was anchored to my dad’s words.  All of us need words that assist us in doing what is right.  Such words may come from a hymn, or a poem, or a Psalm, or a Bible passage, or the quote from a parent or pastor.  The main thing is, that we ought to have an anchor to keep us secure during the storms and threats of life.  And when you find yourself tempted, speak boldly about your conviction to stay the course.

I will again commend the Ukrainian people in their steadfast commitment to defend their homeland.  I also commend the Russian citizens who protest against their government leaders who are bent on war and the destruction of Ukraine. Each of us ought to have a code of honor and of faith in which we live by. Such a code, or anchor, enables us to resist evil, even if it is from our own leaders, as we continue to honor God.

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

Daily Office Readings for the Saturday after Ash Wednesday: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 30 and 32; Evening,  Psalms 42 and 43;

Ezekiel 39:21 to 29; Philippians 4:10 to 20; John 17:20 to 26:

“Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; who must be fitted with bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you.” (Psalm 32:10)

I remember once having Morning Prayer with two other seminarians while in seminary and reading this Psalm.  We laughed as all three of us thought of people that we too would have to be fitted with bit and bridle, or else we would not stay near them.  But it was because we did indeed have understanding, and that we were loving, and so we stayed near them even when it was uncomfortable.

The metaphor of bit and bridle may in fact be a good way of looking at how God holds us close to God’s will.  We often don’t have understanding.  Often we don’t know the will of God and when God reveals just a little of it to us, we run.  We become like Jonah trying to avoid Nineveh.

I think the point of the Psalmist is that not having understanding keeps us in fear. We don’t realize the power of God’s forgiveness. We need to stay near the rough un-comfortableness of God and be patient until understanding finally comes.

There was a time in my life when I did not want one of my daughters to be pregnant.  But she was.  I could feel a prayer welling up in my gut to ask God to not let her be pregnant because she was still a senior in high school.  But she was. She gave birth to her first born.  Alex.  Alex is a gift from God to us.  I love my granddaughter so much.  So joy that God gave me is what I needed rather than what I asked for.  I am so glad God fitted me with bit and bridle, or else I would not have stayed near God.  I had no understanding.

Is there any lack of understanding in your life that causes you to want to move away from God? God will fit you with that bit and bridle and hold you close unless you turn and run to your own pain and peril, spiritually bruised from opposing the bit and bridle . We as seminarians learned that while this verse sounds funny, holding on to what God wants for us is as serious as it gets. Every human being has a story, or two, or more, of challenge. We need to tell these stories as did the prophets of the Bible. Our stories help others know that God holds us close – bit and bridle close. 

From Psalm 30 we have the words, “Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning,” (Psalm 30:6).  I seriously pray that joy comes for the people of Ukraine. I think all of us who did nothing will have this on our conscience for the rest of our lives. We too will need joy in the morning. How will God give us joy? Will bit and bridle be enough to hold us close?

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

Daily Office Readings for Friday after Ash Wednesday: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 95 and 31; Evening,  Psalm 35;
Ezekiel 18:1 to 4 and 25 to 32; Philippians 4:1 to 9; John 17:9 to 19:

“Fight those who fight me, O Lord; attack those who are attacking me.” (Psalm 35:1)

This is so out of character for me. I normally shun what I consider the hostile Psalms. But with the horror going on in Ukraine I can’t help but want God to intervene.  So, this Psalm fits with the way I am feeling.

 “Let those who seek after my life be shamed and humbled; let those who plot my ruin fall back and be dismayed,” (Psalm 35:4). Again, I am aware of the many Russian people who are opposed to what their government is doing. Many such Russians must remain quiet for fear of persecution themselves.  So, the words, “Let those who seek after my life be shamed and humbled” does not apply to all Russian people, but rather to those responsible for the violence taking place in Ukraine. 

There are many countries who are helping and praying for Ukraine. This Psalm speaks to them also. “Let those who favor my cause sing out with joy and be glad; let them say always, “Great is the Lord, who desires the prosperity of his servant.”” (Psalm 35:27)

I am convinced that God created good. And sin or evil can only happen if there is first good. If evil has nothing to tarnish, it can’t exist. God created us and the universe and made us good, but then, gave us the ability to choose between good and evil. I don’t know why some people have to molest others only because they can. It is so sad. Perhaps we should ponder about this during our approaching  Sabbath time. How is your Lenten time going?

“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 is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John