Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Friday of the 1^st Week of Epiphany 2021: Year 1

AM Psalms 16 and 17; PM Psalm 22;
Isaiah 42:1 to 17; Ephesians3:1 to 13; Mark 2:13 to 22 

“Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power.”  (Ephesians 3:7)

For some reason the words, “Of this gospel I have become a servant,” has caused me to ponder.  I ponder that the word Gospel literally means, “Good News.”  So Paul has become a servant of the Good News.

Normally to receive Good News on the television, by people who bring us the news, I have to watch it to the very end, and if I am lucky, the anchor will share something, something charming or wonderful, Good News. Such anchors are servants of whatever news that they are given to report.  Paul, on the other hand, has volunteered to be a servant of only the Good News of God in Christ Jesus.

So how would you or I go about being the servant of the Good News?  Such servanthood requires us to bring positivity to people who may not see anything to be happy about.  And we must remember, we are not necessarily the servant of the people to whom we are bringing the Gospel to, but the Gospel itself.  We then are servants of the Gospel – the Good News.

This means we must be servants of an idea, a faith, a hope.  We are called to be servants of the idea of love and forgiveness.  We are servants of the idea of our Lord Jesus bringing us into eternal life. It is this Gospel which we escort to people as our master, There is the ideal and the real.  But you and I can align the real with the ideal in our Gospel of love and hope, and faith, and Good News. It’s hard work.  Some people don’t want to be happy.  But we are not servants to them; we are servants to the Gospel.  We take the Gospel to them.  God then takes it from there.  Paul says, this is “the gift of God’s grace that was given to [us] by the working of his power.”

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 1^st Week of Epiphany: Year 1

AM Psalm 18:1 to 20; PM Psalm 18:21 to 50;
Isaiah 41:17 to 29; Ephesians 2:11 to 22; Mark 2:1 to 12:

“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.”  (Ephesians 2:14)

At this writing our nation is going through a tumultuous time.  All fifty State capitals are threatened with violence during the inauguration of soon to be President Joe Biden on January 20^th.  The divisiveness is more than just democrat against republican. It seems it is about race, and who is loyal to the outgoing President Donald Trump and who is not.  We could sure use some Jesus right now.

It seems we have a dividing wall that separates us from our neighbor, our brothers and sisters. There is hostility between us.  My prayer is that we calm down and listen to what our hearts are saying to us.  Paul says that Jesus is our peace.  He says that, “in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall.”  Somehow, I still fill like the wall is there.  Perhaps not everybody has heard about what Jesus has done, and is doing. We are one group now.  There is no separation anymore.  Whatever the issues are, we should be able to come to some kind of consensus, and perhaps, enlightenment.  

In Christ Jesus we must realize we are all one in Christ. We should not want to win at the expense of others. Is there a way we can be satisfied with enough while at the same time, those who have a different opinion, may also be satisfied with enough?  We all make up the body of Christ Jesus.  And the body of our Lord Jesus does not have cancer or Covid. We will live!

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 1^st Week of Epiphany: Year1

AM Psalm 119:1 to 24; PM Psalms 12, 13 and 14; 
Isaiah 41:1 to 16; Ephesians 2:1 to 10; 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.” (Mark 1:35)

There are so many deeds that Jesus can do that you and I cannot.  Except for medical doctors, most of us cannot heal others.  It seems also to be very hard for some of us to forgive (or love) some people.  Some of us have been blessed with the gift of teaching but not with the authority that our Lord Jesus wielded, Thank you Lord Jesus. Few of us, if any of us, can cast out demons. But here is what we can do; we can all find a place to pray.

Jesus’ getting up and going off to a place to pray is definitely something we can all do, and, I think, we all should do. Copying Jesus’ habit of praying, or even Sabbath praying, may even lead to more Jesus-like abilities. Praying doesn’t have to be beautifully articulated words of perfection.

I recall the story of the little shepherd boy who prayed as he watched the sheep. In his little prayers he prayed whatever came to his mind.  As I recall, he prayed thus: “Dear Jesus, If you were cold I would give you my coat. If you were hungry I would share my food with you, if you were real hungry you could have all my food.”  As the old story goes, a priest was passing by and heard the boy praying. The priest interrupted the boy and schooled him on the “proper” way to pray. After the priest’s lecture the little shepherd boy felt so bad, he quit praying all together.  Missing the boy’s regular prayers, God sent an angel to see what happened. The boy explained how he was told that he wasn’t doing it right and the angel asked, “Who told you that.”  I don’t know how the angel handled the priest but the angel assured the boy that God loved, and missed, his prayers and wanted him to continue.  The boy did.

This is a nice little story from a long time ago.  The point is, like our Lord Jesus and the little shepherd boy, prayer is not done from training, but rather, prayer is our being trained by doing.

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 1^st Week of Epiphany: Year 1

AM Psalm 18:1 to 20; PM Psalm 18:21 to 50;
Isaiah 41:17 to 29; Ephesians 2:11 to 22; Mark 2:1to 12; 

“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.” (Ephesians 2:17 to 19)

I ponder these words of Paul as he writes to the Church in Ephesus.  He is also writing to us today.  To have a spirit of wisdom and revelation from God is the most blessed gift any human could ever receive.  With the “eyes or our hearts enlightened,” we will see our course in life more clearly. I know that this is true for me.

I am on a journey now to go back to school and focus on young childhood education. This new course in my life came to me as it was revealed through both close friends, and even store counter clerks.  This is the way God drops hints of revelation.

How do you see a new course in your life?  It could be shifting in direction for you.  Are you listening to what different people bring to you?  Are you looking with the eyes of your heart?  Are you listening with the ears of your heart? God is still giving us the spirit of wisdom and revelation as we come to know God, so that, with the eyes of our hearts enlightened, we may know what is the hope, to which God is calling us.

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 1^st Week of Epiphany: Year 1

AM Psalms 1, 2 and  3; PM Psalms 4 and 7;   
Isaiah 40:12 to 23; Ephesians 1:1 to 14; Mark 1:1 to 13 

“All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”  (Isaiah 40:17)

Nations themselves, are a human construct built upon an earth given to creation to support life.  That we have carved it up into sections of ownership for the purposes of caring for some at the expense of others is something we are going to have to deal with when we stand before the Great Throne,

Before the nations, God created the heavens and the stars and the planets. God called all life into being which means God called into being the heavens, the stars and the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth our island home. And God called it into being from nothing. God reached into nothingness and brought about our existence.  Our putting up governments and regulating resources means nothing to God until we reject others in the process of our self-serving and greedy aspirations. Such actions tend to get God’s negative attention – and believe me, we don’t want that.

However, when we, as nations or as individuals, come together to care for creatures, human and animals and the planet, we receive God’s favor. While nations, “are as nothing before him,” loving works are everlasting before God. Let us take care of one another, even those we don’t always agree with. Emptiness and nothingness are trying to reclaim us. Let us use love and caring in order to continue into eternity with our loving Creator.

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 the Week after the First Sunday of Epiphany: Year 1

AM Psalms 146 and 147; PM Psalms  111, 112, and 113:
Isaiah 40:1 to 11; Hebrews 1:1 to 12; John 1:1 to 7, 19 to 20 and 29 to 34

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. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:1 to 5)

This Gospel according to John begins as does Genesis.  Genesis speaks of luminous light; John speaks of moral light. Even a blind person can see and understand morality, that is, what is the right and loving thing to do, and so can you.

Part 2 of 2

Eucharistic Readings for this First Sunday after the Epiphany; Year B

Genesis 1:1 to 5;  Psalm 29;  Acts 19:1 to 7;  Mark 1:4 to 11;

“God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” (Genesis 1:5)

This is our opening of the Book of Genesis. It speaks of Sunday as the First Day of the week in which the week to come is brought into light. I notice that from the beginning we start with seeing the light of morning through the preceding evening night.  The week leads to a Sabbath Day, a day of rest and peace, a gift from God – a gift that our Lord Jesus recognized also.  This is our Lord Jesus who is the moral light of the world. His Light is, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

Be it Genesis or John, God wins, every time. We have choices. We can choose to be temporal, or we can accept God’s invitation to eternal life through the same eternal Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Thank You Lord Jesus.

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

Daily Office Readings for January 9: Epiphany: Year 1

AM Psalms 121, 122 and 123; PM Psalms 131 and 132:
Isaiah 63:1 to 5; Revelation 2:18 to 29; John 5:1 to 15

“When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ (John 5:6)

When we have been lying in our crippled or depressed, or emotionally damaged state for many years, the question of, “If we want to be made well?” is a good question.  However, being made well might mean not having others give us special attention anymore. It could mean no more mood altering narcotics. It could mean we have to go to work again. Wanting to be made well is truly something to ponder.

Perhaps the crippled man in our John Gospel considered all this and used excuses like “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me,” (John 5:7).  Poor thing.  So Jesus becomes the “living waters, “Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.” (John 5:8 and 9)

His excuses were gone.  With our Lord Jesus, our excuses are gone.  Let us not become complacent or lazy, or dependant while validating our perceived wretched state with shallow excuses. Our Lord Jesus is, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Get up, take up your mat and walk as best you can.

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 January 8, Epiphany: Year 1

AM Psalms 117 and 118; PM Psalms 112 and 113:
Isaiah 59:15 to 21; Revelation 2:8 to 17; John 4:46 to 54

“According to their deeds, so will he repay; wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render requital.” (Isaiah 59: 18)

The word requital means to repay in kind or to pay back somebody for what they have done, good or bad. But vengeance belongs to God.

I have heard in my military days that fore-warned is fore-armed. This leads to what I call “consequential” behavior.  That is, doing or not doing, deeds based on what the payback will be.

To this requital proposition I will remember the phrase from a Christmas song, “so, be good for goodness sake.”  We just need to treat people the way we want to be treated.  And, do not treat anybody in ways we do not want to be treated.  So, let me share with you the tale of “teaching the Torah while standing on one foot.”

So here is what I have borrowed from the Web at ON ONE FOOT – Valley Beth Shalom (vbs.org)

“First, he came to the sage, Shammai and he makes his request, “Teach me the Torah, Rabbi, as I stand upon one foot.” The Talmud teaches that Shammai picked up a builders rule, a piece of a two by four, and smacks him along side of the head, and the man left him. Then he came to Hillel and made the request, “Teach me the Torah as I stand on one foot.” So Hillel taught him: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah, all the rest is commentary. Zil u’gemar, now, go and learn it.”

I think this is the Gospel lesson as well. Following these lessons will keep us out of any requital issues that might come our way as divine repayment for any troubles we might have caused others. Go and learn it.

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 January 7, Epiphany: Year 1

AM Psalm 103; PM Psalms 114 and 115: 
Isaiah 52:3 to 6; Revelation 2:1 to 7; John 2:1 to 11:

“Now therefore, what am I doing here, says the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Their rulers howl, says the Lord, and continually, all day long, my name is despised.”  (Isaiah 5: 5)

Last night was awful in our nation’s capital.  There was rioting and people died . Our leader howled and continually God’s name was despised.

We pledge that we, these United States of America, are one nation “under God.”  But there was nothing godly about how people behaved in the insurrection that took place on the Day of Epiphany in our Nation’s Capital. The moral light of our Lord was all but extinguished.  But God wins, every time. We, these United States of America, will prevail.

We can’t just give lip service to our belief in, and obedience to, God.  We must live our faith with real discipline and respect for our national values.  We must maintain integrity and with prayer and patience, do the hard work of working through consensus. This is who we are. This is DRIPP.  It is Discipline, Respect, Integrity, Prayer and Patience. The DRIPP concept works for the individual as well as our country.  This is what the prophet Isaiah pondered.  It is what the saints who have gone before us have said. It is what we must heed.

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

Eucharistic Readings for Epiphany: All Years

Isaiah 60:1 to 6;  Psalm 72:1 to 7 and 10 to 14; Ephesians 3:1 to 12;  Matthew 2:1 to 12:

“In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” (Matthew 2: 1 and 2)

We are all born into some kind of human culture.  Most cultures are primarily predominated by something we have come to recognize as “race.” Too often too many of us develop a shameful pride with regard to whatever race we claim to be.  This is sad. Race is a human construct, not a Godly one.

The Wise Men (or Magi) were primarily astronomers who gazed up at the stars.  They noticed any irregularities occurring in the heavens and maybe even conferred amongst themselves the meaning of any strange happenings.  How they knew a star, or a particular shining light, was the signal of a  Jewish infant-king, we will perhaps never know.  What we do know is that these men (most probably men, we don’t know how many and we shouldn’t let the three gifts limit the number of men), sought out this king regardless of whatever his ethnicity or race might be. Perhaps this is what made them “wise.”

They saw a divine light that must have been distinguished from regular stars and planets. It was so precise that it could specifically indicate the place where the child was living.  No star up in the heavens, no matter how bright could stop, and then be low enough to the earth to point to a specific dwelling place. This divine light pointed to the Moral Light of the world.

During this season of Epiphany let us not worry about who we are ethnically, but rather, seek out our Lord Jesus wherever, and whoever he might be.  We are still called to follow that light, that moral light, that leads us to that moral high-ground where we treat each other, all others with dignity and respect regardless of their socio-economic status, national origin, language, sexual orientation, gender, religion, lack of religion, or race.  The other only needs to be human and therefore made in God’s Image.

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