Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 15: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 120, 121, 122, and 123; Evening, Psalms 124, 125, 126 and 127;
2^nd Samuel 18:9 to 18; Acts 23:12 to 24; Mark 11:27 to 12:12:

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others:” (Mark 12:9).

Reading Marks version of this vineyard parable is somewhat confusing.  Let us review Matthew’s version of the same parable.  In Matthew we read Jesus saying, “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons:” (Matthew 21:40 and 41).  We can clearly see in Matthew’s version of this parable that it is the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders who are saying that God will destroy those who killed the son of the owner of the vineyard.  Why does our justice, in too many cases, have to have others suffer? I fully support incarceration of those deemed too dangerous to allow to go free. But I am totally against abusing people in some kind of retribution.

I ponder much from this lesson. First, why is it that too many of us want to bring violent judgment on those we find guilty? This is especially troubling when we remember that all of us have some guilt even if only a little.  If we live long enough perhaps we will grow up and never sin again. So not only do we want to wreak havoc on those we find guilty, we want to justify it by saying “[God] will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others:” Could we not just say, “God will come and give the vineyard to others?

But even after hearing the parable and passing judgment on the people of the parable, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders now want to harm Jesus for telling the parable against them.  Do we ever learn? If we hear something, perhaps a story wherein we can see ourselves in the story in an unflattering way, perhaps this then is the opportunity to repent and change.  This is what pondering does for me. It opens me up to seeing myself in the parables and other stories, not only of the Bible, but in any story.  I want to be the good guy, but it takes work; it takes pondering about love; love even for those who are undoubtedly guilty, just as I have been. We should take retaliation and revenge off the table of how to respond to unpleasant acts done by others and ourselves.

We need to replace retaliation and revenge with love, compassion and mercy, even as we acknowledge that some of us must be restrained for the safety of our communities.  It is the loving care of our vineyard that produces the fruit that the owner wants when he returns.

Let us live to love, serve and teach, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying through the saints and to us, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 15: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 106:1 to 18; Evening,  Psalm 106:19 to 48;
2^nd  Samuel 17:24 to 18:8; Acts 22:30 to 23:11; Mark 11:12 to 26:

“When Paul noticed that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he called out in the council, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead.’ When he said this, a dissension began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge all three.)” (Acts 23: 6 to 8)

Perhaps our Risen Lord Jesus selected Saul/Paul because he was born and raised a Pharisee. The Pharisee believed in the resurrection, in angels, and in the Holy Spirit.

The scribes of the Pharisees then asked a very important question; we read, “Then a great clamor arose, and certain scribes of the Pharisees’ group stood up and contended, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” (Acts 23:9).  This is what we all should be asking ourselves today if and when, we hear someone witnessing an experience beyond what scripture reveals, and beyond our limited understanding of what God wants of us and what God is doing in our very midst.

Even the asking of the question by the scribes is some evidence that the Holy Spirit of God is at work in the human situation. But the stubbornness of some will not make room for the Spirit to work. The dissension became violent and the soldiers had to intervene. Even the intervention of the tribunes might have been a way in which God was acting.

I found that when I went to The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in 2018, there was dissension among the various Christian Churches about how to divide up the times each would have for worship in this sacred Church building. They gave authority to a Muslim family to manage which Church would worship and when. So for just over 500 years now descendants of a Muslim family still manages which Christian Church worships at what time.  An outside family acts as God’s regulatory hand amidst the dissension.

I pray today for God to use some of us in Afghanistan today as that country falls into chaos due to the U.S. withdrawal.  This is happening right now as I am writing this blog.  I pray to God for protection for the women and all who might fall prey to the violence of the Taliban. Love and compassion must prevail. I also pray for the people of Haiti as they are faced with natural disaster. Love and compassion sometimes must come from outside to do God’s work of love.

Let us live to love, serve and teach, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying through the saints and to us, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Part 1 of 2

Daily Office Readings for Sunday of Proper 15: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 118; Evening,  Psalm 145;
2^nd  Samuel 17:1 to 23; Galatians 3:6 to 14; John 5:30 to 47:

“You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life:” (John 5:39 and 40).

Jesus tells them that the scriptures have the code about who Jesus is.  There are many hints in the Hebrew Testament about the One to come.  I particularly like Jeremiah 34: 31 to 34.  “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”  I like this one, but there are other references to the coming of the Lord.

Part 2 of 2

New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 15: Year B

Ephesians 5:15 to 20 and John 6:51 to 58:

“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them:” (John 6:56).

Perhaps our Lord Jesus is talking over their heads as he uses metaphorical language that turns them off. He is not suggesting cannibalism. But he is telling them that if they have his teachings in them, they will have eternal life. The teachings were the lessons leading up to His Great Remembrance wherein he fully explains what it means to eat his body and drink his blood. As John does not have a proper Lord’s Supper, let us borrow from 1^st Corinthians as does our Episcopal Church: Paul says, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1^st Corinthians 11: 23 to 25). This is really what our Lord Jesus was preparing them for. The Lord’s supper is a love meal in remembrance of Him.

Let us live to love, serve and teach, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying through the saints and to us, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 14: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 107:33 to 43 and 108:1 to 6; Evening,  Psalm 33;
2^nd Samuel 16:1 to 23; Acts 22:17 to 29; Mark 11:1 to 11:

“The tribune answered, ‘It cost me a large sum of money to get my citizenship.’ Paul said, ‘But I was born a citizen:” (Acts 22:28)

You and I are citizens of heaven and the price of our citizenship was paid by our Lord Jesus. Jesus tells us that we too must be born again into this citizenship from above by water and the Spirit: (John 3:3 to 7). Personally, I now understand the “born again,” as born into love and service to others. In no way are we, as citizens of heaven, to mistreat others or use others in demeaning ways.

I don’t understand “examining” with a whip as it seems to be the normal way of interrogation in our Acts reading for today.  It’s like beating a person until they say what you want them to say.  It’s wrong. I seem to recall that Pilot did the same thing to our Lord Jesus even though he was going to have him crucified. Why?  If we truly become the other, we would feel what they feel and therefore not be mean and cruel to them.

You and I should be examining ourselves daily by the plumb line of Christ with which we measure our thoughts and actions on a daily basis. It is only when we see the straight and moral correctness of our Lord Jesus, and how we are not so straight when compared to him, that we correct ourselves and strive to be better. While we understand that we will never be our Lord Jesus, we should be devoted to a life of trying to be the best Jesus we can be. I’m not there yet but I haven’t given up on me.

I will strive everyday to not yield to, returning evil for evil, name calling, one-upping, racial, religious, political, or national prejudice, and other sinful practices that seem to be the norm for this world of separation and indifference. I will strive to not behave in these ways because I realize that it is not who I am as a citizen of heaven.

Jesus’ citizenship took precedence over ours for our benefit.  But we are no less citizens of heaven now because he has paid the price that God the Creator has accepted. Our citizenship is through our Lord Jesus. Therefore, we are no longer citizens of this world, but rather citizens of that heavenly country where there is life eternal, and from whence, no traveler returns.  Thank you Lord Jesus.

Let us live to love, serve and teach, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying through the saints of God and to us, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 14: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 102; Evening, Psalm 107:1-32;
2^nd  Samuel 15:19 to 37; Acts 21:37 to 22:16; Mark 10:46 to 52:

“So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.” (Mark 10: 50)

At some point when teaching a young child to ride a bicycle, we must take off the training wheels, those added security wheels that reminds them of the days of the tricycle. What then is to be done with the old training wheels? 

When I taught my granddaughter to ride a bicycle, after many hours of walking and or running alongside her, holding her up, we stopped for a rest; at least for me. After a few minutes, she said to me, Grandpa, let me ride it by myself.  To which I said, go ahead but be careful.”

She rode and rode up and down our driveway again and again, without me, without training wheels. She just needed me to get out of the way. She just needed to be released from both me, and the training wheels.

Bartimaeus needed to be released from his cloak. If one is blind it is so important to either hold on to personal things or put a lot of attention in where thins are laid in order that the item can be found again when needed. So throwing off his cloak and springing up to meet Jesus demonstrates his strong faith in what Jesus will do for him. He let go of his safety in order to gain sight.

We too must let go of whatever hinders our path to the healing of our Lord Jesus. And yes, there will be some folks trying to prevent us from being with Jesus alone.  They have become our cloak or our training wheels. They too must be removed in order to fully absorb the life changing love of our Lord Jesus.

Today we also remember Jeremy Taylor, Bishop and Theologian (13 August 1667).

Jeremy Taylor is one of many Church saints that I read and re-read for spiritual health. He lived and served in adverse conditions due to England’s civil war and being in forced retirement.

“As Vice-chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin, he took a leading part in reviving the intellectual life of the Church of Ireland. He remained to the end a man of prayer and a pastor.”  (Great Cloud of witnesses for August 13)

“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. 

Let us live to love, serve and teach, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying through the saints of God and to us, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 14: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 105:1 to 22; Evening, Psalm 105:23 to 45;
2^nd  Samuel 15:1 to 18; Acts 21:27 to 36; Mark 10:32 to 45:

“So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10: 42 to 45)

Our Lord Jesus has just explained how he is to go up to Jerusalem and be humiliated and killed. Yet he is doing this willingly for the sake of the world.  Even after hearing his testimony, James and John ask for glory in the next life. Jesus further explains that he serves people and wants us to do the same. James and John were looking for glory.

 In some kind of reverse psychology our Lord Jesus pushes them to seek glory in their humility.  But I think the greater point is to not seek glory at all. But rather, just be comfortable in serving others. I believe service to others is the Christian calling.  Such service includes teaching about decency, compassion, and courtesy as they exist in the society in which they live as well as about the love that God has for us.  This is not glory seeking, but rather, being of service to others for their own benefit, and being comfortable doing it.

This way of living and leading is very different from the way of the world.  The world leads with intimidation, threats, and negative consequences for people who do not please those over them. Our Lord Jesus says of them, and of our system today, “those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them.”  This kind of employee abuse has been made manifest in having people work “off the clock,” sexual intimidation or abuse, working in hazardous environments, and so forth. It seems the higher up the chain we go, the more corrupt it becomes. There is too often a severe lack of love in our chains of command. Our Lord Jesus teaches us that love should be a thread within every fabric of our societal cloth.

Today, we also remember Florence Nightingale, Nurse and Social Reformer, 1910. “Until the end of her life, although her illness prevented her from leaving her home, she continued in frequent spiritual conversation with many prominent church leaders of the day, including the local parish priest, who regularly brought Communion to her. By the time of her death on August 13, 1910, her accomplishments and legacy were widely recognized, and she is honored throughout the world as the founder of the modern profession of nursing.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for August 12)      

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 14: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 101 and 109; Evening,  Psalm 119:121 to 144;
2^nd  Samuel 14:21 to 33; Acts 21:15 to 26; Mark 10:17 to 31:

“Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)

There are several points to ponder in this exchange between our Lord Jesus and this unnamed potential apostle. 

First, the article “the.” is not in the Greek version of this reading. This is at least an English interpretation of how to understand this writing.  Pondering further will ask us to look at what the message might be if the “the” was not there.  We would read, “and give money to the poor.”  The implication is that perhaps some money might be retained for himself, or as community money for the followers of our Lord Jesus who were at the mercy of whoever could help them, very often it was women who had money.

Another point to ponder is that this individual was given the invitation to “follow me,” by our Lord Jesus.  Had he accepted this invitation we would have his name.  This is how we have Levi’s name, (Also known as Matthew). Levi was collecting the tax when he was asked to by Jesus to follow Him and he dropped everything and followed our Lord Jesus; (Mark 2:13 and 14). This rich man could have done the same thing. He didn’t have possessions, possessions had him; beware!

There are some revealing words in the request of the man with wealth.  He wanted to know what he had to do to “inherit” eternal life. Perhaps this is how he acquired his earthly wealth and wanted the same for eternal life.  Also, our Lord Jesus goes through relational questions about how he responds to the needs of his neighbors; that is ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”  Jesus goes through the last six of the Ten Commandments, the Commandments dealing with how we respond to one another.  To which the man says he has done since his youth.  It seems he had a check list of how to gain eternal life. He was working on the premise of works righteousness.  But we can’t earn our way into heaven.  We love our way into heaven.

Perhaps the most important words in this passage are “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”  And our Lord Jesus is asking the same thing of us.  If we love our neighbors we won’t have to worry about a checklist of what to do and what not to do. Our Lord Jesus says we only have really two Commandments, to love God with all that we are, and to love our neighbors as He loves us. Love for God and neighbor is the whole message of the Bible. Let us hear it and apply it. 

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 14: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 97 and 99; Evening, Psalm 94;
2^nd  Samuel 14:1 to 20; Acts 21:1 to 14; Mark 10:1 to 16:

“Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’ Since he would not be persuaded, we remained silent except to say, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’” (Acts 21:13 and 14)

I don’t know if we can call Paul’s words here, acts of courage.  For Paul has had visions and voices from our Lord Jesus and therefore had more than just belief.  Paul had certain knowledge. Once we know, we can’t un-know. Once we know what our Lord Jesus is doing, it is no longer a matter of faith, belief or courage, it is a matter of knowing and of obedience to the will of God.

We have pivotal names in the Bible that hinges our faith together.  We have Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Ruth, David, Mary and Joseph and of course our Lord Jesus. Then we have Peter, James, John and Paul. All of these names represent turning points in our journey from faith to knowledge. But the most instrumental and important Name is the Name of our Lord Jesus.

The people of faith cry and try to persuade Paul, a person of certain knowledge, not to go to Jerusalem in order to save his earthly body.  But Paul has seen the will of God. And nothing will stand in his way. It is like those who comforted him said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

I ponder about how my life would change if our Lord Jesus took me aside and was present to me as he was with Paul while he was on his way to Damascus; or as Jesus was to Peter, James and john on the mountain at the Transfiguration; or even as God was with Moses as bush, fire and voice – in a Trinitarian Presence wherein Moses no longer had to rely on faith or belief, for after the burning bush experience, he knew, and he knew God’s will, at least for him.

Should we fear the Day of the Lord?  It is a trick question.  On the one hand, when God visits us all guess work and doubt is gone forever.  On the other, what possible pain awaits us as it did for Paul and the apostles and even the predicament Moses found himself in with the king of Egypt?

The good news is that no matter the outcome, we will KNOW that we will arrive in glory!  So, should we pray for God to make God’s self known to us?  I’m scared. How about you?  Sometimes just believing is a safe way out. All we have to do is live, love and trust in God. Amen; Halleluiah.

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 14: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 89:1 to 18; Evening,  Psalm 89:19 to 52;
2^nd Samuel 13:23 to 39; Acts 20:17 to 38; Mark 9:42 to 50:

“Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.” (Acts 20: 28)

Paul is giving a farewell speech to those that he does not expect to see again.  I am not a big fan of Paul but I do recognize that from time to time, from letter to letter, a divine message slips through that God managed to get to us through Paul.

I do believe that if a Church is open and receptive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will lead that Church in godly ways. Just as we must examine all the Paul says, so too we must be attentive to what parish and church leaders say. Maybe all that they say and do is godly, maybe not. The people in the pews are not relieved of their God-given sense of reason. God’s messages are always messages of love and inclusion. It does not matter what label we put on a Christian Church, be it Baptist, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran or Episcopalian, or any denominational name we use.

Through the cup of Christ, at Holy Communion, the Christian Church is joined to Christ as adopted children of God.  For me, this is an adoption into servanthood to, and for, all people be they Christian or not; and also servants and stewards of this fragile earth our island home.

These calls to servanthood, and to stewardship, are the overseeing guidance that I sense from the Leadership of the Holy Spirit of God. Perhaps not all are called to be servants and stewards.  Following our Lord Jesus is not easy, at least, not at first.  Servanthood requires one to deny one’s self as a way to discern what a neighbor needs. Stewardship of the planet requires us to monitor our own use of resources and the potential damage we might cause to the environment through waste, negligence or excess. As environmental “overseers” empowered by the Holy Spirit, we the Church, have the individual and collective responsibility to care for our home. This earth is where our part of creation lives and moves and has its being.  

This earth, our neighbors, and our time here on earth together, are all gifts from God who loves us dearly. The cup of Christ, the very blood of the Son of God, is given to us in the Church making us all related in kindred love regardless of language, nationality, how we look, or where we live on this planet. We are all God’s possession and God loves us and wants the best for us now and forever!

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Part 1 of 2

Daily Office Readings for Sunday of Proper 14: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 66 and 67; evening,  Psalms 19 and 46;
2nd Samuel 13:1 to 22; Romans 15:1 to 13; John 3:22 to 36:

“Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.  For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.” (John 3:34 and 35)

I think to study and ponder about our Lord Jesus is to look through Jesus and catch a glimpse of God.  We need the recorded words of Jesus and the witness of his signs and wonders.  I do believe that with our Gospel accounts we should bring our God-given sense of reason to bear as well. We do need to look at the times that Jesus walked with us, and we need to examine the various language translations that have been handed down to us. But even with all of this, we can still see that God is true, and that God makes our Lord Jesus a two-way path of vision whereby, as we can see God, God can also see, and be us. And through our Lord Jesus, this two-way divine path, God gives us the Spirit of God without measure. Thank You Lord Jesus.

Part 2 of 2

New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 14: Year B

Ephesians 4:25 to 5:2 and John 6:35 and 41 to 51:

“It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” (John 6:45)

Our Lord Jesus says that the people who come to him are in fact sent to him by the Creator.  I think this is true for me. I remember taking chemistry and Philosophy in my undergraduate studies.  I was attending college classes at night after work.  So while it was not a normal, full class load, it was a challenge to compare the two.  On the one hand I had an elemental chart which showed all the known elements of which the simplest seemed to me to be hydrogen. How old was hydrogen?  In philosophy, there is thought, how old was thought.  Then the big question was like the chicken or the egg – which came first, the atom or the thought?  Did atoms, in some way assemble together to form thought? Or was the atom itself the product of Thought? (notice the capital “T”).  So you can see that my early ponderings brought me to a stronger belief in God.  And from God I was brought to our Lord Jesus, not necessarily to the Bible or even Church, but to the Incarnation. The Bible and the Church came later.  From the Incarnation came love. And from love, I have not moved.

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John