Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 11: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 119:49 to 72; Evening, Psalm 49;
 1^st Samuel 25:23 to 44; Acts 14:19 to 28; Mark 4:35 to 41:

“He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4: 39 and 40)

As one who ponders, I ponder about what “rebuking” language our Lord Jesus might have used to still the wind and the sea. Did the writers of our Gospel put human, regional words in the divine mouth of God Incarnate so as to make it more palatable for us?  Remember that our Lord Jesus spoke in Aramaic.  This was translated into Greek as originally written in our New Testament, and then later the Greek into Latin, and the Latin into the tongues of various peoples across the known world.  How much was lost? How much was miss-translated? How much was added to make it more palatable?

Our Lord Jesus being fully God and fully human only has to wish it done, and it is done. Of all in creation, humanity is the only being that God attempts to reason with.  We are the only ones who God tries to appeal to, to reckon with. And for us, and for our sakes, our Lord Jesus does indeed use our words when speaking directly to us. I’m still curious about how God addresses creation outside of humanity.

God could have made us as subservient as the wind and the sea and all others in creation. But obedience then would not have been our choice so much as a God-given instinct. But we have autonomy and in our autonomy a little piece of God dwells in us.  God wants to see how that little piece of God in us makes us different from all else in creation, and hopefully, in a good and loving way.

That little piece of God in us is what we English speakers call faith. (I invite non English speakers to examine their own word for faith). Why then do we too often fear one another and other forms of existence in creation? We, all humanity, are connected through the divine Presence of God that dwells in us.  And nothing, within or outside of humanity, can separate us from the love of God. We are God’s own, in this world, and with faith, in the next world as well. This is why our frustrated Lord Jesus asks, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

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 11: Year 1

Morning,  Psalm 45; Evening,  Psalms 47 and 48;
 1^st Samuel 25:1 to 22; Acts 14:1 to 18; Mark 4:21 to 34:

“And when an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to maltreat them and to stone them, the apostles learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country; and there they continued proclaiming the good news:” (Acts 14:5 to 7).

Normally I am not one to be scared off when the going gets rough. But maybe, this is God’s way of getting the Word of God to more, and different places.  Sometimes we just have to move on. Perhaps it’s a way of “shaking the dust off your shoes as a testimony against them.”

There are several places in the Bible where God believing people have had to flee only to continue in the faith.   Moses, David, Elijah, Paul and others have had to relocate in order to perpetuate the word.

In more near modern times, The Amish of Europe were all but exterminated. But they fled to America and even then had to settle in Pennsylvania in order to continue in their faith. Sometimes we have to choose to run away in order to live and teach another day,

So it’s not a matter of being scared off.  It is more a matter of recognizing that the current people around you are not ready to receive the Good News. But God knows that there are people very near you who long for sustaining words. We just have to keep moving. We are not to give up, or give in.  We are to move on.

Such moving on is not always a physical location.  In our time of “E” relationships, moving on could just be a matter of deselecting one group and selecting another. In this blog I have reached people all over the globe who have selected me.  My words do not always fall on ears of welcome. But again, I’m not scared off, I just knock the dust off and keep sharing. Somewhere, someone is moved by the words that God is speaking through me.

I receive God’s words as words of love and inclusion. I also know when God holds me in silence because the words that come to me are not God’s but mine. It is perhaps more important today in our “E” community to discern what is from God and what is not, before one hits the send, or publish button. I strive to be one of the communicating saints of God and I invite all the selfless saints to be filled with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and join me in spreading the Word to all who are longing for it.  It is so much easier today to just move on if there is no love found in a few for what God is trying to do through you.

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 11: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 41 and 52; Evening, Psalm 44;
1^st Samuel 24:1 to 22; Acts 13:44 to 52; Mark 4:1 to 20:

“Again he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the lake on the land:” (Mark 4: 1)

These teachable moments in the Bible are staying with me a little longer. I am starting to look at stories that are acts of teaching that I really didn’t see it before.  David teaches Saul in our 1^st Samuel lesson today.

David says to Saul, “This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in the cave; and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, “I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed:” (1^st Samuel 24). David is showing Saul how important he, (Saul) is, because beside his faults, he was anointed by the Lord. The lesson here is to respect what the Lord has done even if you find it troubling in your life. There is also some responsibility for us who want to learn.

Saul reasons that David is the better person and a wise teacher. And he concedes, “When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, ‘Is that your voice, my son David?’ Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David, ‘You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. For who has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day:” (1^st Samuel 24:16 to 19). Of course the lesson here for all who are serious about their faith is not to return evil for evil. We are taught by a just God and we are better than that.

So my lens now is looking at my faith tradition, and scripture in particular, as it tries to teach us valuable lessons about how we are to live today.  These teachings are timeless. They apply to us today. Our Lord Jesus taught from a boat to people more starved for Godly guidance than for bread. We have people around us today who are also starved for Godly guidance. You are the teacher. The lesson that Jesus teaches the teacher is to place yourself in such a way so as to reach as many as possible.  And then teach with compassion.  The people listening are like sheep without a shepherd.  You, my beloved in the Lord, are their teaching shepherd. Love them, teach them.

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 11: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 63:1 to 8 and 98; Evening, Psalm 103;
1^st  Samuel 23:7 to 18; Romans 11:33 to 12:2; Matthew 25:14 to 30:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect:” (Romans 12:2).

Being transformed by the renewing of my mind is why I ponder. It seems the more I learn, the more I find the need to learn more.  I am so far from who I was raised to be. I am not blaming parents or schools or even friends. If anything, I actually give myself a little credit for seeking answers to life changing questions. In this way I continually renew my mind.

Part 2 of 2

New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 11: Year B

Ephesians 2:11 to 22 and Mark 6:30 to 34 and 53 to 56;

“The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught:” (Mark 6:31).

Reading these words and yet, not seeing totally what it says, happens to me often.  The apostles return, and in this Gospel, they boast about all they had done and taught.  They were traveling teachers.  I think teaching is more important than feeding, or even healing.  If a person is properly taught, they may never starve. If people are properly taught they may be able to avoid sickness, like Covid, or sexually transmitted diseases, or any other life threatening disease. Teaching is so important.

Aside from healing, this is what Jesus did, he taught people the meaning of life and he taught them about their relationship to God. In this Gospel it says, “As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things:” (Mark 6: 34).

Again, our Lord Jesus is teaching.  That is what we are called to do as well. We are not called to teach people “what” to think, but rather, “how” to think. Sadly, some of us just wait for others to tell us what to think.  In the same way, we are not called to teach people “who” to love, but rather, how to love all people. Thank You Lord Jesus for teaching us the Way.

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 Saturday of Proper 10: Year 1

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

1^st  Samuel 22:1 to 23; Acts 13:26 to 43; Mark 3:19b to 35:

“The king said to the guard who stood around him, ‘Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David; they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me.’ But the servants of the king would not raise their hand to attack the priests of the Lord” (1^st Samuel 22:17).

I was an active duty U. S. Marine for thirty years.  I must admit that while I was often told to do something that I did not want to do, I was never ordered to do something immoral or against my faith as I understood my faith.  I also belong to a fraternity which makes it very clear that before I swear to an obligation, that obligation will not conflict with my duty to God, my country, my neighbor or myself.  I can live with this understanding.

I have the utmost respect for the guards who refused to obey Saul and kill Ahimelech, priest of the Lord. At some point in each life we must listen to our conscience. Our conscience resides in our souls.  This is where God speaks to us. Any government or ruler who requires of us to go against our conscience, our soul, our God, must not be obeyed.  Who knows? There may be others around you who are on the fence about what to do, but witnessing your steadfastness about what is right to do, helps them to do the right thing also. When confused about what is right to do, try to err on the side of love, compassion and mercy.

Today we also remember the Right Reverend William White: Bishop of Pennsylvania and  the first Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. He died July 17, 1836.

The two acts of courage that I like to bring up about Bishop White is first, his resolve to follow the defeated British ships back to England where he requested to be Consecrated a Bishop. He with Samuel Provost of New York were in fact ordained bishops. This was allowed to happen because Parliament had change the wording of ordination in the last three years not requiring allegiance to the king. This didn’t happen for Samuel Seabury who had to go to Scotland to be ordained a Bishop.

The second act of courage has to do with ordaining Absalom Jones, an African American and former slave, to the Deaconate and then Priesthood in God’s one holy catholic and apostolic Church.  No one can ordain themselves to Bishop or priest.  I clearly see William White following the lead of God in both  traveling to an angry England as well as pushing aside racist attitudes and ordaining a black man to the priesthood.  And while the ordination of Absalom Jones was for the purpose of presiding over an Episcopal Church of color, the laying on of hands and liturgy is the same as for anyone. 

In the end it is the same. If we are going to err, let us err on the side of love, compassion and mercy.

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 Friday of Proper 10: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 31; Evening, Psalm 35;
1^st  Samuel 21:1 to 15, Acts 13:13 to 25; Mark 3:7 to19a

“When he had removed him [Saul], he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, “I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.” Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised;” (Acts 13:22 and 23).

In Acts, Paul sums up all that we have been reading, and continue to read in 1^st Samuel.  The Hebrew people demanded to be like the other nations even after God warned them not to be like them.  But God was patient with them and allowed Saul to be their king.  This worked until Saul became self-absorbed and God then moved the kingship to David, son of Jesse.

From the house of David God brought forth from Mary a Son, whose name was Jesus, the Savior of our souls from the temporal world.  It is this Jew named Jesus who I believe was God Incarnate then, and maintains His Spiritual presence for the continual enhancement of human life on earth now, and more importantly, for all eternity.

The Israelites were called to spread the word that there is only one God. We, humanity, are to love God with all our being and also to love our fellow human beings as God loves each one of us.  This was the message of God to all humanity that was to be carried out into the world by the descendants of Abraham.  This was the message of love and inclusion that was supposed to be passed on to us by the Israelites to all nations, but the effort failed, until God gave us our Lord Jesus.

It is by the teachings and love of our Lord Jesus that we still live and move and have our being. There is but one faith regardless of how it is understood.  There is an almighty God. God is good. God is love.  God desires peace to prevail among us. Let us not let the effort to get the word out about God’s desire for us to love one another fail again. God’s introduction, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus and the coming among us of the Holy Spirit is God’s final plan for us and our deliverance. We must not only receive this word, but pass it along as well.

For this evening and tomorrow day my friends; Shabbat Shalom.

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 Thursday of Proper 10, Year 1

 Morning, Psalm 37:1-18; Evening, Psalm 37:19-42;
1^st  Samuel 20:24 to 42; Acts 13:1 to 12; Mark 2:23 to 3:6:

“Then he [Jesus], said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath: (Mark 2:27).

Our Readings for today are very active with loads of stuff to ponder.  And while I an intrigued with the saga of David and Jonathan; and the name changes in the Acts of the Apostles, that is, Simon to Niger; Bar-Jesus to Elymas; and of course, Saul to Paul, I am comforted by our Lord Jesus’ words about the priority of humankind over the Sabbath in our Gospel Reading for today.  We were first. Then as a gift to us, God gave us the Sabbath as a day of rest and reconciliation.

Rest is important. We need to know when to be quiet.  David did. He could not be reconciled with Saul, so he followed the advice of Jonathan who loved him and he left only to return at a later time.  Jacob did this in Genesis when he could not be reconciled with his twin brother Esau.  Moses did this when he could not be reconciled with the Egyptians after the killing of an Egyptian. At some point we will find the wherewithal to return to what drove us off.  We will reconcile with what was thought to be irreconcilable.  This reconciliation includes the time interval God has given to us for being quiet.

I know a young man who is running away from troubles in his state of residence to live here in North Carolina.  The problem is that until he squares himself with the authorities in his home state, North Carolina will not assist him with a driver’s license, voter registration, or even substantial employment. The stories of reconciliation are the old stories of the Bible. The greatest reconciliation we can engage in is our reconciliation with God.  And God has given us the Sabbath as the divine opportunity to do just that.

Our Lord Jesus explains that because God wants to have a pathway whereby we can “come back,” to God, we have been given the Sabbath. It is a contemplative time, not so much for gathering and chatter, but rather for solitude and simplicity.  It is a time for finding a quiet place in order that we might focus on God and ourselves.  This is why it is perfectly okay to do good works on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not a restriction on our life but rather the freeing of it.

Our Sabbath begins tomorrow evening.  Our Lord Jesus never separated us from the traditional Sabbath, which he himself set aside and kept. Let us be at peace and be reconciled back to God.

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 10: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 38; Evening, Psalm 119:25 to 48;
1^st Samuel 20:1 to 23; Acts 12:18 to 25; Mark 2:13 to 22:

“As for the matter about which you and I have spoken, the Lord is witness between you and me for ever:” (1^st Samuel 20:23).

Obviously there was a strong relationship between Jonathan and David.  The nature of their relationship can be argued. What I want to focus on is how we latch on to people outside of our biological family and make strong, life commitments with them.

These strong lifelong commitments happen in many ways. There is marriage, there is career choice, there are fraternities and sororities, there are healing clinics such as AA and others where strangers establish bonds of trust that could never happen in some family relationships.  

There are also our Church relationships.  Church relationships happen when we decide that we want the Lord to be witness to the bond we make with another. Such a covenant needs to be equally important to both parties. It doesn’t work if one of the two is an atheist or of a different faith tradition.  Oh, they can be friends, even business partners, but they will not be bound in an unconditional, agape love as were Jonathan and David. Again, Jonathan tells David, “As for the matter about which you and I have spoken, the Lord is witness between you and me forever.”

Perhaps the best biblical examples of two people committing themselves to each other can be found in the words of Ruth to Naomi, and Tobias to Sarah in the Apocrypha of the Bible.

Ruth says to Naomi her mother-in-law, in whom she saw God working, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1: 16 and 17) 

In the Apocrypha of the Bible we find the only actual marriage vows in scripture, Tobias prays with Sarah; “Blessed are you, O God of our ancestors, and blessed is your name in all generations forever. Let the heavens and the whole creation bless you forever. You made Adam, and for him you made his wife Eve as a helper and support. From the two of them the human race has sprung. You said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.’I now am taking this kinswoman of mine, not because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that she and I may find mercy and that we may grow old together.” And they both said, “Amen, Amen.” Then they went to sleep;” (Tobit 8: 5 to 9) 

And to this I too say, Amen, Amen.                                                                          

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 10: Year 1

 Morning, Psalms 26 and 28; Evening,  Psalms 36 and 39;
1^st Samuel 19:1 to 18; Acts 12:1 to 17; Mark 2:1 to 12:

“And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.”  (Mark 2:4)

I am amazed at what we can actually do through love and faith.  The friends of the paralytic man were determined to get their paralyzed friend to our Lord Jesus.  The crowd would not stop them. Jesus was amazed at their faith.  He was so amazed that he used their faith to wash away the paralytic’s crippling psychological hold on him.  He forgave the man of his sins.

When questioned about whether or not Jesus has the power to forgive sins, our Lord Jesus explains that while there are some visible things we humans can do, like bringing a friend to Jesus against all odds. There are some invisible things we simply cannot do, or, can we?

 Jesus goes on to explain that while we can see the physical things that he can do, we ought to know that there are some invisible things he can do as well. We need to know that our Lord Jesus is very God of very God; Jesus is Lord over the seen, and the unseen. Given that the walking, talking, teaching, healing and forgiving Jesus was in fact God Incarnate, then of course Jesus can do all these signs and wonders – seen and unseen.

But here is the thing, we, you and I, can do many more signs and wonders than we are doing now.  There are some medical marvels that we still can’t do.  For example, people who suffer from some spinal injuries must still live the rest of their lives as paralyzed. Some midlife blindness is permanent.  Some psychological disorders are also irreversible.  While our Lord Jesus could bring about changes to these physical impairments, he also did what we all can do if we allow ourselves; he forgave sins.

To say, as the scribes did that, “Only God can forgive sins,” is a copout. With compassion, we too can relieve truly penitent people of their pain, such as this man in our Mark reading today.  It’s understandable if we don’t want to forgive someone who denies their wrongdoing, or tries to minimize it. But for someone who has given up on life because they are so hurt by what they have done, surely we should find some mercy within our hearts to forgive them.  No, we do not have to be God to forgive. Forgiveness is a part of us that makes us created in God’s Image. I pray that one day our God-given medical skills will enable us to cure disabilities. But God has advanced our capacity to forgive a fallen brother or sister who is truly remorseful. We just need to use it now. 

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 Proper10: Year 1                                 

Morning, Psalm 25; Evening, Psalms 9 and 15;
1^st  Samuel 18:5 to 16 and 27 to 30; Acts 11:19 to 30; Mark 1:29 to 45:

“In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you:” (Mark 1:35 to 37).

Jesus has just healed the mother in law of Simon Peter.  This is evidence that at least he, Simon, was married.  That’s the only way one gets a “mother-in-law.”  I ponder how many of the other followers were married. What does it mean to be in a committed relationship and then commit one’s self to following our Lord Jesus? Which commitment should come first? Ponder, ponder.

Simon tells Jesus, “Everyone is searching for you.”  Oh Simon, if only that were true.  Maybe people are looking for our Healer and Redeemer but do not know his name.  In our Acts reading for today we learn that the disciples, and therefore students of Jesus, who is the Christ or Anointed One, were first named “Christians” in Antioch. The name stuck.  I think it is important to remember that as Christians, we too are disciples, or students of our Lord Jesus. Are we learning what our Teacher is teaching us?  I think it is important to remember one very important lesson from our Lord Jesus. And that is, that our Lord Jesus goes to be alone to pray.  Private prayers are healing prayers. We don’t need words. All we need is to be open to God and whatever God has for us.

If we really need words to get us into a receptive state of being perhaps Psalm 25, selected for today, will help.  “Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long:” (Psalm 25: 3 and 4).  These are just two verses from Psalm 25. But I think praying the whole Psalm will assist in getting us into a good and private place wherein, like our Lord Jesus, we can connect with the God of our salvation.

When we practice praying privately it becomes easier to pray publicly.  Although it has been my experience that most people want to hear words.  Even when a speaker asks for, “a moment of silence,” in memory of the loss of a person, count the seconds. Rarely is it 60 seconds.  People don’t like silence. To make it real, I have gone to using a singing bowl with a mallet and watching my watch.  I really don’t care if I go over the minute.  After all, I am praying too.  We shouldn’t focus on the time, unless we are cheated out of it. Jesus got up and went to a “quiet” place to pray and Simon and the noise followed him. Let us have some holy silence at least once a day.

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