Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Friday of the 2^nd Week of Lent: Year 1

Morning Psalms 95 and 69; Evening Psalm 73;
Jeremiah 5:1 to 9; Romans 2:25 to 3:18; John 5:30 to 47

“Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.” (Romans 2:29)

I’m going to run the risk of offending some of you today.  I truly hope that I do not. Some Christians do not like Jews. Such attitudes make me sad. They claim to love the Jew named Jesus, who kept all the Jewish traditions, but at the same time, the same Christians refuse to give his tradition an honest look.

I see Judaism as a faith not a race. I don’t believe in race. Sorry, it’s just me. The Jewish people were the displaced Israelites who escaped bondage under the Pharaoh of Egypt.  They were probably mixed with Egyptian blood as well, after all, Joseph, son of Jacob (Israel), married the daughter of an Egyptian and had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.  They became Tribes of Israel even though they were half Egyptian.  My whole point is that we are what we practice, not who we claim as biological ancestors, but rather, who we claim as our spiritual ancestors.  Abraham himself came from the place that is now known as Iraq.  So what is being a Jew inwardly as Paul tells us?

Being a Jew at heart for me really means practicing the faith and worship of one God, the Creator of all that is, and lover of life, all life.  Further, I see Christianity as a path within Judaism, not a totally different way of honoring God. I am a U.S. Marine (retired) but I don’t get upset when people reference my conection with the U.S. Navy. Marines come under the Department of the Navy.  We Christians try to follow Jesus the Jew in all that he commands us.

There is one caution about the word Jew I feel I must remind us. When we read “the Jews” in the Gospel, especially, the Gospel according to John, let us be advised that that the evangelist is really talking about the Temple authorities, not the regular Jewish people. Too many Christians have taken the wrong use of this word to sanction anti-Semitism.

Mad at me yet?  I hope not. If we aspire to be a people of love we can’t harbor any hatred or malice towards those who differ from us. We must strive to love all people. Thank You Jesus.

For this evening and tomorrow day my friends; Shabbat Shalom

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 of the 2^nd Week of Lent: Year 1

Morning Psalm  71; Evening Psalm 74;
Jeremiah 4:9 to 10 and 19 to 28; Romans 2:12 to 24; John 5:19 to 29

“When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves.  They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all.” (Romans 2:14 to 16)

This just goes to show that all humanity, Jew or Gentile (the Non-Jew Nations), all have a sense of what is right and what is wrong. And according to later writings in Jeremiah which says, “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says 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.  No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33 and 34)

God, in Christ Jesus, has written this on the human heart, whether we know it or not. I think we do know it however.  We don’t need a list of written laws for right and wrong to obey, or enforce. We already have an innate sense of the right thing to do or say. It has been given to us by God. It is called our conscience. We all have it or we perhaps suffer from some kind of anti-social psychosis which may have been known as demonic possession in the day of Jesus.

We truly should let our conscience be our guide. I think too that we all have secret thoughts. These secret thoughts will be judged by our Lord Jesus at our judgment day.  Personally, I think we will be judged on whether or not we carried out our dark thoughts, or subdued them as demons trying to possess us. It is possible to subdue our passions but it might take being a part of a society greater than one’s self: a church family or a benevolent fraternity or sorority bent on doing good; perhaps a combination of both church and fraternity or sorority or other benevolent associations.

But as our reading from Romans points out, all of us have some God-given sense of what is good and right so to do.  Let us remember the caution from St Paul, “Conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse [us] on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all.”

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 of the 2^nd Week of Lent: Year 1

Morning Psalm 72; Evening Psalm 119:73 to 96;
Jeremiah 3:6 to 18; Romans 1:28 to 2:11; John 5:1 to18

“Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

At one point in my life I was training to be a machine shop operator.  After our school training was completed places of employment were found for us. I was hired at a printing machine company. My supervisor’s name was Clyde Hampton, (I don’t know if he is still with us), and he was very patient and kind with me at a time when I had low moral values.  I had a poor work ethic even though my dad had raised me to work for what I needed.  I was in my late teens, rebellious and thought I could outsmart Mr. Hampton. It was later in life that I realized how patient and kind Mr. Hampton was with me. He never threatened me with firing me even after I had been repeatedly late for work. His kindness and patients I remembered later in life and was truly sorry for not being a better worker for him. Lent is a time of spiritual maturation.

I think if my machine shop supervisor tried to use intimidation on me it would have resulted in an adversarial employee relationship, one which would not have favored me and I would have been fired. As it turned out, albeit much later, I repented of my callous ways and begin to take work responsibilities more seriously. I matured both morally and spiritually.

God brings us in with kindness and patience. Wrath may be in store for some, but we have choices. Let us not behave only to avoid wrath, rather, let us be brought to our knees in tearful sorrow and the need to amend our lives. Sadly, we can learn a lot about ourselves through experiences we can’t go back and change. However, we can learn from them and make a real change in the way we go about our lives moving forward. I have learned this from my dad, from Clyde Hampton and from the stories of our saints 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

Daily office Readings for Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent: Year 1

Mornings Psalm 61 and 62; Evening Psalm 68;
Jeremiah 2:1 to 13; Romans 1:16 to 25; John 4:43 to 54

“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. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.” (John 4: 53 and 54)

Jesus has just complained about the people not believing unless they saw signs and wonders. In fact, he had just said it to this royal official and father of a dying child. I find it strange that the word faith is not mentioned in the Gospel of John in any English translation, at least not one that I have seen. My thought is that faith was too mild a word and a noun. The tellers of the Gospel of John wanted an action word, a verb. Faith is something you have, or don’t have. Believing is something you do, or do not do. What you believe is made manifest in your action or inaction; or is should be.  

I know that for me, I try hard to live into what I believe, which is based on my faith and I also have hope, a lot of hope.  Today we do not get to talk to a human Jesus. We do however, get to talk to a Risen Jesus. It’s the same Jesus. The signs and wonders still happen today.

The father in today’s reading verified his so-called belief by inquiring about the time the healing happened. When he got scientific proof, he felt more comfortable in his belief. Perhaps this is the way it should be. Maybe we first believe and then let science back it up. 

Sometimes however, science disputes what the ancient writings have said, to wit: the earth is not flat nor is it the center of a universe that revolves over it. But then I remember, the father in this story didn’t base his belief on the ancient writings but rather on the very word of our Lord Jesus. I pray too that I first believe and then let science substantiate my faith, hope, trust, love and belief. Thank You Lord Jesus. Where are you in this story?  Do you believe no matter what?

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 of the Second Week of Lent: Year 1

Morning Psalms 56 and 57; Evening Psalms 64 and 65;
Jeremiah 1:11 to 19; Romans 1:1 to 15; John 4:27 to 42

“The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”  (John 4:36 to 38)

I must have read this passage containing the story about the woman at the well at least a hundred times, and yet, I am getting a whole new message now. 

I study the saints of God. Many of them are my spiritual heroes. They were the sowers of my faith. They labored in the spiritual fields. I read their works and benefited from their labors. I am so thankful.

Jesus talks about eating the instructions of God as his food.  He lives to obey God. It seems Jesus and the saints eat to live; I, on the other hand, too often, live only to eat my next meal. I can, and will, do better.

I like thinking that I have entered into the labor of those holy people I have read about, and there are many. They planted, I harvested. I entered with them in their labor, in the work God has assigned “us” and this pleases me. I look through “A Great Cloud of Witnesses: A Calendar of Commemorations; by Church Publishing;” everyday.  It is a starting point that I use to go deeper with other sources.

Whose spiritual shoulders have you stood on?  Do you alter your life on the words of Evelyn Underhill, or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Bede, or Richard Hooker, or Anselm as do I? If so, you have joined with them in their labor. You are one with them in Christ Jesus. What an honored place to be. Listen to their testimony, their words, their life. Hear what these saints are telling you. They have planted, they have sown, you are now reaping. But if you listen to them and amend your life with their help you are with them as one in Christ Jesus. What a wonderful place to be.

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

Part 1 of 2

Daily Office Readings for Sunday of the Second Week of Lent: Year 1

Morning Psalms 24 and 29; Evening Psalms  8, and 84;
Jeremiah 1:1to10; 1 Corinthians 3:11 to 23; Mark 3:31to 4:9

“See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10)

Jeremiah’s call from God is to continue in God’s plan to bring all nations, all people to God. Jeremiah is called even before he is born. I think many of us today are also called before we are born but fail to hear God’s call. We say we are only a child, or that we can’t, and cannot possibly do such important work. But God says to you, “Do not say you can’t anymore.”

Part 2 of 2

Eucharistic Readings for the Second Week of Lent: Year B

Genesis 17:1 to 7 and 15 to16; Psalm 22:22 to 30; Romans 4:13 to 25; Mark 8:31 to 38

“I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” (Genesis 17:7)

So it seems that God has always had a plan to bring the whole world to God’s self. God starts with Abraham, making an everlasting covenant. Paul continues along this line in our Romans reading for today: “For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” (Romans 4:13)

We too often want a “made for movie,” way of life with personal benefit for ourselves. Peter even wanted a better outcome for Jesus. “But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!  For you are setting your mind, not on divine things, but on human things.”  (Mark 8:33)

When Jesus turns away from Peter, he turns away from the Symbolic Church, just announced. He then calls for the attention of all his students (disciples). He tells us that we, the church, must not circumvent the divine plan of God. God’s Will, will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. This has been established from the time of Abraham. It is still God’s plan today. We too must work through our troubles with steadfast resolve. God is with us and will never abandon us. Praise 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 Saturday of the First Week of Lent: Year 1

Morning Psalm; 55; Evening Psalms; 138 and 139:1 to17;  
Deuteronomy 11:18 to 28; Hebrews 5:1 to 10; John 4:1 to 26 

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  (John 4:24)

For me, this verse is the most profound in all Scripture, and that is, that God is Spirit, not male or female. God is not only beyond any human identifier, God is beyond anything we can begin to understand. Anselm, (Archbishop of Canterbury 1109), rightly proclaimed, “God is that than which nothing greater can be thought.” Anselm is so correct. I think we are so proud of God’s creation of us, that we began to think God was looking in a mirror in creating us. I don’t think so.

I believe the Spirit of God was patient enough to see how the God-Spirit host would evolve and then, in the fullness of time, God would come among us regardless of what we look like, or how many variations we are. It’s weird I know. And while none of us can capture the concept of God, as Anselm informs us, that also means none of us can be refuted. First and foremost, “God is Spirit, and those who worship [God] must worship in spirit and truth,” to the very best of our ability.

Today we also remember George Herbert, Priest 1633.

“Herbert, served faithfully as a parish priest, diligently visiting his parishioners and bringing them the sacraments when they were ill, and food and clothing when they were in want. He read Morning and Evening Prayer daily in the church, encouraging the congregation to join him when possible, and ringing the church bell before each service so that those who could not come might hear it and pause in their work to join their prayers with his. It is said even those tilling the soil would stop and attend o prayer.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for February 27)

George Herbert is one of my Anglican heroes. I follow his pattern of Morning and Evening Prayer in our Book of Common Prayer, albeit at home. I do encourage others to do so as well.  I want people to know that I am praying for them and for their loved ones on a daily basis. Thomas Bray, Anselm, George Herbert and a few others are my spiritual guides and are the saints to whom I give ear for good spiritual counsel regularly. Who do you read regularly, beyond the Bible, for guidance and support?  Such people are the saints of God.

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 Friday of the First Week of Lent: Year 1

Morning Psalms 95, 40, and 54; Evening Psalm 51; 
Deuteronomy 10:12 to 22; Hebrews 4:11 to 16; John 3:22 to 36 

“Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.” (Hebrews 4:12 and 13)

I can remember being counseled, while still a seminarian, about using language like “being naked before God’s scrutinizing gaze.”  I was told that such language might be very uncomfortable to some parishioners. Now I say, “Let the shoe fit.” 

The writer to the Hebrews is trying hard to let the reader know that God breaks us down to the intentions of our hearts.  What we end up saying or doing is one thing. What we intend to say or do makes all the difference.  God will get at what is in our hearts. And God, through God’s experience in the person of Christ Jesus, has fully experienced what it means to be one of us. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

My beloved of the Lord, we are not able to fix our own hearts. God has made us dependent on God alone. So we can, and should, pray. When, not if, we feel we are spiraling down a negative or hateful path, we must stop and petition God to change us. I guess the big decision is, do we want to let go of deceitfulness and hate? If we find ourselves thinking or saying, “I wish I was different,” this then is the time to pray, “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of [my] heart by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that [I] may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP 355; modified to first person)

This evening we enter into God’s Holy Rest. This is an ideal time to ponder about a Lenten change in our spiritual life. What kind of person do you wish you were? You can be taken from you are, to where you want to be, through God’s Holy Spirit.

My friends, for this evening, and all day tomorrow; Shabbat Shalom.

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 of the First Week of Lent: Year 1

Morning: Psalm 50; Evening: Psalms [59 and  60] or 19 and 46:  
Deuteronomy 9:23 to 10:5; Hebrews 4:1to 10; John 3:16 to 21:

“So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his.” (Hebrews 4: 9 and 10)

Today is Thursday, but the gift of God’s Sabbath begins tomorrow evening. This has not changed, and even our Lord Jesus observed it.  Worshiping on Sunday is fine and appropriate for Christians, but I don’t feel we are excused from resting from Friday evening to Saturday evening. Rest is not worship, it is rest.

Sometimes I think the human need to micro-manage one another required us to meet together in order to ensure no one was “working.’  However, the  worship team, (clergy and laity) are technically working. No, I feel we need to have time to ourselves, un-monitored, unsupervised, self regulated, and trusted to truly rest and ponder about God.

I am still working on this shift in my spiritual life.  I’m getting there.  I must remember that our Lord Jesus said on many occasions that it is okay to do the necessary things even on the Sabbath: things like comforting the sick, putting out fires, standing guard against bad people and so forth. We go against the idea of Sabbath rest when we spend time with household chores, organizing get-togethers, and running errands; even participating in public worship.  None of these are God’s idea of Rest. “For those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his.” 

The Sabbath should be a time of meditation and perhaps small informal gatherings of family or very close spiritual friends for prayer, light food and drink, and the sharing of blessings. It is not a time of detailed preparation.  It is a time of contemplative reflection, a time to do nothing. Every Sabbath is a gift of time from God. Let us not refuse, or reject such a loving present. I will again attach a You Tube video that I think will help Christians understand the meaning of the Sabbath. (What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube. This sharing is in no way an attempt to undermine our Christian traditions. But I don’t believe we are excused from obeying God’s instruction to observe the Sabbath Day, the seventh day, which is still understood to be Saturday.

Today we also remember Emily Malbone Morgan Prophetic Witness, 1937; ] and John Roberts (priest 1949).

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 of the First Week of Lent: Year 1

Morning Psalm 119:49 to 72; Evening Psalm 49;
Deuteronomy  9:13 to 21; Hebrews 3:12 to 19; John 2:23 to 3:15 

“So I took hold of the two tablets and flung them from my two hands, smashing them before your eyes.” (Deuteronomy 9:17)

Moses has again interceded for the wayward Israelites.  God planned to destroy them and then began again with Moses as their ancient Patriarch instead of Abraham.  But Moses declined and asked God to let him go to the people to bring them back to God.  However upon finding them creating an idol, a false God, Moses broke the stone tablets, symbolizing the Israelites braking covenant with God. Moses remained steadfast in his resolve to bring the Israelites back to God, not just to the promised land, but also their hearts to the ways of God. I think God really liked Moses advocating for the Israelites.

God knows what is in the heart of every person, just as our Lord Jesus does.  This is brought out in our Gospel reading for today.  “But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.” (John 2: 24 and 25)  Remember,  Jesus already knew what was in Nathanael when Philip brought him to Jesus. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” (John 1:47).  Jesus also already knew what was in the heart of Judas, his betrayer.  We can fool each other, but we can’t fool God in Christ Jesus, ever.

We get lost and we break covenant and we seek after things we make with our own hand so much so that they somehow become idols, the focus of too much of our attention.  We must remember that God in Christ Jesus knows whereof we are made and what’s on our hearts and minds.  We should always pray for our Lord Jesus to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts in order that we might become a more faithfully focused people.

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