Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 10: Year 2

 Psalm 38; PM Psalm 119:25-48; Joshua 3:1-13; Rom. 11:25-36; Matt. 25:31-46

“All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.” (Matthew 25: 32 – 33)

 This sheep – goat metaphor gives the goats a bad look.  It is particularly unfair as it makes it seem as if the simple appearance of the animal being a sheep or a goat is all the justification necessary. It is perhaps easy for God to look upon the human heart and make the distinction however.  God in Christ Jesus can see clearly who we are, and much of who we are seems to be determined by how we have acted or responded to the needs of others.  Let those who have ears hear.

The bottom line here is that there is a judgment day.  There is a resurrection for the goats and the sheep among us where there will be accountability and apparently some kind of separation.  The good news is that unlike real goats and sheep, we have a choice.  We can live the lives of the sheep by stretching out our hearts in such a way that we feel the pain and neglect of those who are hungry, those who are sick, and those who are incarcerated.

I think the real difference between the sheep and the goats is the concern, (or lack or concern), we might have for our neighbor.  This is about compassion versus self serving. Some acts of being self serving can even be seen as hostile to those who are in need, whom we choose to ignore.   Can we not all help one another at least to just be okay?  Our Lord Jesus wants us to be his sheep.  We can choose to be sheep in so far as it means being kind to others.  Not ba a a a ad, huh?

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 Proper 10: Year 2

Psalm 26, 28; Psalm 36, 39; Joshua 2:15 – 24; Romans 11:13 – 24; Matthew 25: 14 – 30

“Do not vaunt yourselves over the branches. If you do vaunt yourselves, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you.  You will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe.  For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you.  Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity towards those who have fallen, but God’s kindness towards you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”  (Romans 11: 18 – 22)

I can remember telling a priest who was, and is, a dear friend of mine, that I identify myself by the Church to which I belong.  I told him, and still maintain, that I don’t care about being black, or male, or straight, or American.  I am Anglican!  It has been a long process but one that redefined me for who I truly am in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s metaphor of the root, the trunk or a tree and its branches, natural and grafted, really clarify for me my own “grafted” status.  I was not really brought up in any particular religious faith tradition. I did attend a Catholic school which formed a deep spirituality in me.  Little did I know in the mid 1950’s that the Episcopal Church would pick up where St Vincent left off and graft me into its organic system.  Paul is so correct when he says; “it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you.”

Perhaps some of us are who we were brought up to be, not me.  I am who God, through those who God put in my path, is making me to be.  I have been grafted into the Episcopal Church.  And I am so thankful.  So I don’t identify as black or male or straight or American (unless any of these are mandatory for some kind of registration, of which, I have no choice).  It is good for me to not place importance on such surface identities, and I am comfortable in my own skin no matter it’s color.

It is also good to know that I should be eternally grateful for being grafted, by the grace of God, into a faith that was also grafted into the historic Israelite tradition which had its birth in Abraham. I, we, then, are a thankful people, or we should be.  God is always making all things new. Halleluiah.

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 Proper 10: Year 2

Psalm 25; Psalm 9, 15; Joshua 2:1-14; Rom. 11:1-12;  Matt. 25:1-13

“But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, ‘True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from.  And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them.’  She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof.”  (Joshua 2: 4 – 6)

Is it ever ok to lie?  As I ponder our ancient writings, I have to say, yes!  And it is not just in this case.  In chapter 27 of Genesis, Jacob, (who later became Israel), was blessed based on a lie!  Jacob, participating with his mother Rebecca, fooled Isaac with a lie into believing that Jacob was Esau, who was technically the first born son. Therefore all of Israel is based on a lie. But this was a lie that God sanctioned.  

It seems that God reads the human heart.  If the heart is good and loving, God will pardon a multitude of sins.  Rahab, from our Joshua reading, was desperate to save her family but at the same time, she heard of the stories about God Almighty and she believed in the love of God and so she said to Joshua’s spies, “Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” (Joshua 2: 12 – 13)  And of course, the men agreed.

I have also heard stories about not giving up Jews hiding in the homes of Germans during the Hitler regime when Nazis were demanding that they be turned over to them.  Yes, lies told for the safety of people are sanctioned by God.

It needs to be remembered here that Rahab is thought to have been a prostitute while, Jacob will continue in God’s promise to be the father of many nations, that is, Israel. Both told lies that were pardoned.  But also let us remember that God shows no partiality.  We are all God’s children.  If we are acting in a loving way for those we love, even an occasional miss-leading lie will be sanctioned by our Loving God. God is not insistent on absolutes knowing that we have flaws, but at the same time, God knows that we can be loving, and neither should we be insistent on absolutes.  From time to time we all fall short, and sometimes, God uses our weakness for divine purposes.

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

New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 10: Year A

Romans 8:1-11  Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

“As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”  (Matthew 13: 23)

So, we are to be the “Treated” good soil.  Let me explain.  First, it took me a while just to understand that we are to be good soil (dirt).  You and I are not a part of the hundred, sixty or thirty yield of produce.  No, we are what brings forth the produce.  Took me a while to realize that our Lord Jesus was talking about us being the catalyst of what is desired, the prizes of heaven.

Now, let’s get to what I call the “treated” part.   As one who occasionally gardens, I know that there are certain additives we can add to beginning plants once they have sprouted.  Such pesticides or weed killers that specifically seek out the undesirable bugs and plantlife like weeds so that all the nutrient of the soil goes to the harvest we are looking for.  In antiquity there was no such science available.  However, in people terms today, we can call it “Baptism.” 

Our fresh, rich, soul, soil that has been protected over the years by the careful replacement of rich soils, even from foreign lands, and ingested with carefully saved compost from ancient gardens and meals, gives forth new growth.  But these new sprouts need rain.  And they need the sprinkling of special weeding agents that will protect them. Baptism then takes what has come into the world and strengthens it for the work of producing a hundred, or sixty or thirty yields.  This does not mean however, that we won’t get caught up in the distractions of the world and lose sight of why we are here.  We must continue to germinate. We must continue to help others to take root.

Just as some plant eating bugs will find a way to maneuver around a pesticide, so too will evil try to steer some away from their baptismal covenant.  Our Church community is the composter of maintaining rich soil.  Church community is what is necessary to do the work of producing the harvest that God is looking for.  Somebody say Amen.

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 Proper 9:Year 2

Psalm 20, 21:1-7(8-14); Psalm 110:1-5(6-7), 116, 117; Deut. 34:1-12; Rom. 10:14-21; Matt. 24:32-51

 ^“But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”  But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.”  (Romans 10:14 – 17)

Paul really narrows it down as he moves through the logic of reason to drive home the point of “hearing the word.”  This Word is something we believers are supposed to articulate to the world in order that more people might believe.  Paul repeats the word of the Prophet Isaiah as the former Prophet declares, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”  (Isaiah 52:7)  We have a Cursillo song that goes “Our God Reigns.”  And you know, God really does indeed.

Today I believe we have those beautiful feet that cary the Good News (Gospel). 

Today we remember Benedict of Nursia Abbot of Monte Casino, c. 540

“Benedict is generally accounted the father of western monasticism. He was born about 480, at Nursia in central Italy, and was educated at Rome. The style of life he found there disgusted him. Rome at this time was overrun by various barbarian tribes; the period was one of considerable political instability, a breakdown of western society, and the beginnings of barbarian kingdoms. Benedict’s disapproval of the manners and morals of Rome led him to a vocation of monastic seclusion. He withdrew to a hillside cave above Lake Subiaco, about forty miles west of Rome, where there was already at least one other monk. Gradually, a community grew up around Benedict. Sometime between 525 and 530, he moved south with some of his disciples to Monte Cassino, midway between Rome and Naples, where he established another community, and, about 540, composed his monastic Rule. He does not appear to have been ordained or to have contemplated the founding of an “order.” He died sometime between 540 and 550 and was buried in the same grave as his sister, Scholastica.” (from Great Cloud of Witnesses for July 11)

Is there a theological connection between Paul’s lesson of hearing the Word and Benedict’s lesson of adhearng to a rule of life? I think so. Benedict’s monastic order required a vow. At profession, the new monk takes vows of stability, amendment of life, and obedience.  So, we have from Paul the responsibility of carrying out the Word, and from Benedict an amendment of life and obedience.  Is it possible to do both? Absolutely.  You have beautiful feet.  Get moving 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

Daily Office Readings for Friday of proper 9: Year 2

Psalm 16, 17; Deut. 31:7-13,24-32:4; Rom 10:1-13; Matt. 24:15-31                         

“Brothers and sisters,my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”  (Romans 10: 1 – 4)

Let me just cut to the chase right now.  This is about letting go and letting God.  Paul, in this Letter to the Church in Rome, speaks from firsthand experience.  He knows about zeal and being ignorant of the righteousness of God.  Remember, he was on the road to Damascus when he had his encounter with our Lord Jesus who redirected his zeal and informed his ignorance.

Today many of us still put God in our own small box where we personally decide what God wants.  We have falsely declared that God created some people inferior to others.  We have falsely declared that God does not like gay people.  We have falsely declared that God intends for men to rule over women.  The small box that some of us have put God in, favors the box holder and prevents the box holder from seeing the real God. Such folk “have not submitted to God’s righteousness.”

Jesus was, and is, all about doing what he sees the Father doing. As he says in the Gospel of John, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”  (John 5:30)  All of the real leaders of faith put themselves out of the way so that God could do the real work of healing and reconciling.  From Moses leading the Israelites, to John the Baptist baptizing and announcing the coming of the Messiah, they let go and let God.  It was not that these men were trying to be famous.  But rather, it was their getting out of the way, so that God could do the Holy work that was needed.

With what apostolic success is God trying to accomplish through you?  Can you, like Moses, and John the Baptist, and Paul, get out of the way and let your zeal to do what God wants, be used for the righteousness of God? Can you let go and let 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 Thursday of Proper 9: Year 2

Psalm 18:1-20; Psalm 18:21-50; Rom. 9:19-33; Matt. 24:1-14

“When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”” (Matthew 24:3)

I am leery of the question “When,” especially when it pertains to amendment of life.  As a professional procrastinator, if I get the slightest hint that I have even a day before a big event I will try to wait until the evening before.  I should be ashamed. I’m trying to change. I’m a work in progress.

Our Lord Jesus gives his listeners long cautions about all the people and situations that will try to lead them (and us) away from righteous and faithful living. Twice our Lord Jesus uses the words “led astray” and he warns about steadfast attention to right living and inclusive loving and not being led astray.  And he ends with, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)

This “enduring to the end,” is particularly important during our time away from regular worship.  This time of keeping a social distance and not meeting inside for “normal” worship, can become a sad new norm if we are not mindful of the need for our coming together in Christ Jesus.  It is like the beautiful temple coming apart one stone at a time.  We can’t let that happen.  As Episcopalians we have several worship tools to keep us going like the Daily Office, the Forward Day by Day, and even this blog.  But these are just little ways to keep us steadfast as a worship community.  We need to be studying now, and not waiting for “when” the time comes that we can get back together.

Today’s message is not about waiting to begin.  Today’s message is about NOW!  It is about staying the course no matter what.  It is about everyday right living.  Yes, we might slip occasionally, but when we do, there is no time to lose sulking.  We must instantly proceed doing the right thing for the right reasons again. This means individual Christian study, daily, everyday.

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 Proper 9: Year 2

Psalm 119:1-24; Psalm 12, 13, 14; Deut. 1:1-18; Rom. 9:1-18; Matt. 23:27-39

“Because the needy are oppressed, and the poor cry out in misery,”  I will rise up,” says the Lord, “and give them the help they long for.” (Psalm 12: 5)

It seems that most of our readings for today talk about the cruelty of human kind. Perhaps even the Psalms do as well.  But this verse of Psalm 12, verse 5 caused me to stand back and try to take a look at us from God’s point of view.  God sees the oppressed, the poor, and the disenfranchised.

How do you think God does the heavenly work of restoration?  My beloved of the Lord, God helps the oppressed and the poor who cry out in misery through us who believe in God.  God works through us, for us. 

God works through people who sometimes don’t even know that they believe in God.  I have met them.  They have good hearts and are full of loving kindness.  These people give children from broken homes hope.  They are friends to those who are alienated from so called “normal” people.  Yet, they are open to the movement of God and provide apostolic success for God by providing “them the help they longed for.”

In part, because of some bad preaching and dogmatic church doctrine, many have been turned away from what God wants them to do – to make a positive and loving difference in the world.  The same sadness is revealed in the readings we have for today. Moses tells the Israelites to brace themselves for what lies ahead in the reading from Deuteronomy; Paul reminds his listeners about their ancestry and that the blessings they have comes from the mercy of God; and our Lord Jesus continually rebukes with the words, “woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.”

Few are doing the loving will of God. Beyond all this, our Church History is filled with wars and murders as it proclaims a loving leader who even forgave the man who nailed him to the cross; hypocrites.  What happened?  Where is God in all this?  God is watching the poor and oppressed, and God is watching you and me.  Are we going to rise up with God and give them the help they long for?

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 Proper 9: Year 2

Psalm 5, 6; Psalm 10, 11; Num. 35:1-3,9-15,30-34; Rom. 8:31-39; Matt. 23:13-26

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8: 30 – 39)

This is such a powerful statement from Paul.  And, while some of Paul’s rhetoric comes from his own somewhat vague personal understanding, there are moments like First Corinthians 13: 1 – 13, and this one for today, that I believe come straight from God as made manifest in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s break it down.  First of all, Paul is “convinced.”  This means that his mind has been set, it is a revelation from God.  This kind of revelation is from God and not only to Paul but to us today as well.  And for all of us, once we know, we can’t “un-know.” We too are convinced.

Second, the love that God has for us overcomes all obstacles outside of ourselves.  I say outside of ourselves because it will be our deliberate refusal to listen and learn from our Lord Jesus that hinders us from following the life path, and eternal path, God has placed before each person.

I read once from a Russian priest (can’t remember his name) that as we transition from this life to the next, as we all will, we begin our ascent to the divine.  As we approach the purity of heaven whatever is amiss in us begins to diminish us. Whatever hate, or jealousy, or any unloving way we have about us will hinder us from our approach to God.  God will not stop us. According to the priest, the toxic baggage we attempt to bring with us will reduce us and may completely eliminate us. So it is nothing outside of ourselves that will hinder us from the love of God.  But any continued sinfulness within us will.

It is therefore of the utmost importance then, that we work on ridding ourselves of all such maliciousness now, so that we will travel light and unimpeded as we approach the throne.  Nothing outside of ourselves will impede our journey to God.  And nothing will separate (whatever is left of) us from the love 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 Monday of Proper 9: Year 2

Psalm 1, 2, 3; Psalm 4, 7;  Num. 32:1-6,16-27;  Rom. 8:26-30; Matt. 23:1-12

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.  And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ^”  (Romans 8: 26 – 27)

I think Paul really gets it right here.  We do have a weakness when it comes to prayer.  We do not know how to pray as we ought. These are the times we just need to sit quietly and ponder about God.  The Spirit of God dwells within each believer.  And that is really it, we don’t have to know what we are doing, all we have to do is believe.  The Holy Spirit of God walks on the path of our faith, our believing, right into our hearts, and responds to God from whom it came in the first place.

 We do not belong to ourselves.  We belong to God. We do however have the privilege of knowing one another, and if we obey our Lord Jesus, love one another also. 

Verbal language is a wonderful thing.  But it is not the end-all.  There are feelings and emotions and expressions, as Paul says, “too deep for words.”  I am a member of a Spiritual Companion Group where silence is the norm of our time together.  I can’t say enough about how valuable the movement of the Spirit is as the Spirit moves and weaves through our group meetings. 

The Spirit of God mingles within our hearts and actually moves our personality needle to more and more love.  And, as Paul says, God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for us.   Truly folks, all we have to do is back off and let God be God. We are on a journey but we are not driving. We are passengers.  All we have to do is enjoy the ride and love one another.

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