Author: John Thomas Frazier

Eucharistic Readings for the Third Sunday of Easter: Year A

Acts 2:14a,36-41  Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17    1 Peter 1:17-23  Luke 24:13-35

“They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

Back in my Marine Corps days and on one of my deployments to Italy, I had an Aircraft Maintenance Officer would often come by and say, “Top” (That was what I was called) “Walk with me, talk with me.”  This was his way of having time to share each other’s thoughts about how maintenance things were going in our aircraft squadron. I remember these occasions as “catch up” times.

In more recent years and as a priest, I once had a young woman who asked if she could do spiritual guidance with me, and if so, could we walk around outside as we did it. I agreed but first wanted to have the traditional office conference and then try the walk with me talk with me session.  As it turned out she moved away and we never got to do the walk with me talk with me, This was my loss.

In our Lord Jesus’ walk in this story to Emmaus, Cleopas and his companion couldn’t seem to recognize Jesus until he served them dinner, later at their home. There, after Jesus had left, they confided between themselves that the opening of the Scriptures caused a burning in their hearts. It truly was an Ah, ha moment for them. Our Lord Jesus took both the Scriptures and the Bread and blessed them, and opened them and gave them.  Are you having a moment?

You and I are Monday morning quarterbacks here given that we know the story well. But too many of us still don’t get it. Jesus’ story didn’t just begin with his birth.  It began long ago in the mighty acts of God in human history. We human beings are beings of our stories. We need to tell them, and we need to listen to the stories of others. Walking guidance may very well be the best spiritual guidance there is. Walking is just an example of doing something that eases the smooth transition of conversation.  We could just as easily converse as we did food preparation, yard work or a board game. Walking is a good example because it is casual and allows for deep attention to be given to content.  Who knows, maybe one day I will have a chance to do some walking spiritual guidance with the young lady who moved away or even someone else.  I would like to try it in a spiritual context.  It worked well in Navel Aviation with me and my boss.

Walk with me, talk with me.  The link below will get you to my homily on this Gospel reading.

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 after the 2^nd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 20, 21:1-7(8-14) Psalm 110:1-5(6-7), 116, 117 Exod. 17:1-16; 1 Pet. 4:7-19; John 16:16-33

“When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.”  (John 16: 21)

Perhaps labor pain is the one pain that Jesus did not actually experience but it doesn’t take away from the point he is making, and that is that we go through some discomfort that brings about more than just relief, it brings newness of life and great pleasure. 

The book of Ecclesiastes seems to me to have as its running theme that “all is vanity.”  This suggests to me that perhaps our whole life is but the off-and-on-again labor of love until we finally come into life as a heavenly being.

The stresses of this life can be emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual.  At this writing, we are going through a physical crisis with this Coronavirus, which also impacts the other stresses, the emotional, psychological and even the spiritual.

As a dedicated believer and person of prayer, my default, or go-to, position is the spiritual.  Armed with the understanding that I will not live forever (with or without Covid 19), it is the spiritual self I understand that is eternal.  So, as St. Peter says in our readings for today:

“The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”  (1 Peter 4: 7 – 11)

Today (April 25) we also remember the Apostle Mark (John Mark) who most scholars believe told the first Gospel.  For this reason I recommend that all Christians should read it periodically.  It is a short read and cold probably be read in two or three settings.  Some people have completely memorized this Gospel and perform it at various Christian venues from time to time.

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 after the 2^nd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 16, 17; Psalm 134, 135 Exod. 16:23-36; 1 Pet. 3:13-4:6; John 16:1-15

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7)

I used to wonder why people in the comic book, especially Lois Lane, didn’t realize that if she never saw Clark Kent and Superman at the same time, they might be the same person! It is amazing what a suit and a pair of glasses will do. 

Jesus says “if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”  So, they are one and the same perhaps. I just feel like this is God’s way of really knowing what it is like to be one of us.  In Christ Jesus, God experiences our joy, pain, sorrow, abuse, tyranny, foods, relationships, work, play and on and on. There is no existence or experience in human life that God has not experienced personally. Therefore, God knows all, and every kind of our delights and our troubles.  As the old hymn goes, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, Nobody knows but Jesus.”

Our Advocate, sent by our Lord Jesus, can best be summed up in the words of the Preacher to the Hebrews as he writes, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) I think it is just as important to believe in eternal life as it is to believe in God.  Without the expected accountability to come and life everlasting, where is the instruction of our conduct now, in this life? We need to be learning now and improve ourselves daily.

So you see boys and girls, God is so smart, so fair, so understanding, and so empathetic. God knows us and what we are going through.  We ought to live our lives fully understanding that God is with us and will advocate on our behalf in this life; but more importantly, God will advocate for us in the kingdom of heaven yet to come. 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 Thursday after the 2^nd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 18:1- 50; Exod. 16:10-22; 1 Pet. 2:11-25; John 15:12-27

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15: 12)

I really like this “John” rendition of the love commandment better than the one in the Synoptic Gospels where it is said, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”  The presupposition is that you love yourself. I have met people who do not love themselves. How then can they be expected to love others? 

I am not trying to promote narcissism here but a great many people need to know that they are loved by God and to suggest that God can’t act in them is not saying they are not good enough, but that God, in all God’s unlimited ability, God is not able to act in them. Balderdash! God can, and will use any person to do God’s will.  We are definitely commanded to love ourselves as part of the commandment to love. But just in case we don’t get it, St. John records our Lord Jesus as saying love “one another” (which includes yourself) as I have loved you. And remember, Jesus loved you all the way to the cross. Every human being is so worthy, and so loved.  Thank you Lord Jesus.

Today we remember Toyohiko Kagawa. Toyohiko Kagawa: Prophetic Witness in Japan: 1960

Toyohiko Kagawa, born on July 10, 1888, in Kobe, Japan, was a Japanese evangelist, advocate of social change, and pacifist. He prayed that he would live like Jesus lived, and love like Jesus loved.

He lived for much of the 1910 – 1924 period of his life in a six-foot-square windowless shed in Kobe’s slums.  During this time Kagawa took in two other men in this small accommodation.  One was a very sick man who many would not welcome for fear of a contagion.  The other was a convicted felon whom most others still feared.  Kagawa had very little for them to eat.  Kagawa made a pact with them that they all would each drink a glass of water before sharing their single serving bowl of rice.  This is how they existed for much of their initial time together.  The point is, Kagawa did not turn the men away because he had too little, or from fear of what might happen to him.  This is the Jesus movement. I wish I could be more like Toyohiko Kagawa, whose prayer was that he be more like Jesus. 

Although some knew him best as a social reformer and pacifist, Kagawa saw himself first of all an evangelist. “Christ alone can make all things new,” he said, “The spirit of Christ must be the soul of all real social reconstruction.” Kagawa died on April 23, 1960 in Tokyo. (Taken from the Great Cloud of Witnesses for April 23)

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 after the 2^nd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 119:1-24;  Psalm 12, 13, 14  Exod. 15:22-16:10;  1 Pet. 2:1-10  John 15:1-11 

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2: 9)

When Peter says we are a chosen race he is not talking about Jews or Whites or Blacks or Asians or Hispanics.  All are included. But specifically he is talking about believing humans. He is talking about those of us who have said that we believe and are in fact God’s people no matter how we are packaged.  And we will proclaim God’s mighty acts of old, and of now.

How has God acted in your life?  What good has happened in your life that is not easily explained outside of God’s mighty acts?  God is all around us and God knows that when we, who believe, see something mysteriously happen, we know God is doing this work and it tickles us.  When it happens we pause and say, “Thank you God,” and we chuckle to ourselves.  It is in such ways that God calls us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The Bible does not really end with the Revelation to John, at least not for the record of humanity’s relationship with God.  We, you and I, are the continuation of the Living Bible. God still lives and will always live. And we are invited to join in the heavenly kingdom beyond the pages of scripture. Scripture will remain here for God’s own chosen race to continue to read and heed.  There comes a time however when we leap from our earthly relationship to that all spiritual relationship into the full identity as a child of God in our Lord Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. My beloved of the Lord, please do all in your power to live fully into a life of faith.

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 after the Second Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 5, 6  Psalm 10, 11   Exod. 15:1-21  1 Pet. 1:13-25  John 14:18-31

“Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.” (1 Peter 1: 21)

I think Peter in his first letter is correct.  It is through our Lord Jesus in whom we have come to trust in God.  Often we Christians only focus on Jesus and not on where Jesus was pointing us, that is, to the Creator of all creation. It is in the early hours that I ponder these things. “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.” (Psalm 5:3)

God is Creator, Sustainer and Maintainer.  God is everywhere and is always, and is forever.  Peter tells us that through God raising Jesus from the dead in our midst our faith and hope should be set on God, the All Mighty, invincible, God only wise.  We all should be looking to God for answers to all our problems.  God cares for us and wants us to come to God for safety and survival.

Also, today we remember Anselm, (April 21, 1109) monk, archbishop and theologian.

Anselm was born in Italy about 1033, and in 1060 he entered the monastery of Bec in Normandy to study under Stephen Lanfranc, whom he succeeded in office, first as prior of Bec, and later as Archbishop of Canterbury until his death on April 21, 1109

There is much to say about Anselm but for me, two of his most significant contributions are his explanation about who God is; he says that God is, “That than which nothing greater can be thought.”  This says that no matter how great we think God is, God is greater.

The other significant piece for me is his understanding of his own faith.  “Undergirding Anselm’s theology is a profound piety. His spirituality is best summarized in the phrase, “faith seeking understanding.” He writes, “I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order that I may understand. For this, too, I believe, that unless I first believe, I shall not understand.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for April 21)

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 after the Second Sunday of Easter: Year A

Psalm 1, 2, 3;  Psalm 4, 7   Exod. 14:21-31; 1 Pet. 1:1-12; John 14:(1-7)8-17

“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2 – 3)

There are few things that can compare with a well thought-out plan. One of the lessons I am still learning is to have a place for things before I get them. It is really upsetting to order and have delivered a new gym apparatus and no where to put it in an already crowded garage.   I’ve gotten to the point that when I am asked to move something for someone, I ask where do you want me to move it to?  If there is something already occupying that space, then the question becomes, where does that item then go? and on and on.

For our eternal home, this work has already been done by our Lord Jesus. Jesus says he has gone to prepare a place for us. This preparing that Jesus speaks of may even be “create” a space for us. The good news is that there is a space, a dwelling for us. You have heard that there should be a place for everything, and everything in its place, right?  We are co-creating a space in our eternal home right now as we go about believing in and following Jesus.

In what I call my “man-cave” upstairs are many photos, plaques, and memorabilia I have collected over the years. It’s not much, it’s just me. Jesus is decorating a room for me with the good works I have done, and hopefully will do, as I await his call to my eternal home. How about you my friend?  What personal souvenirs or memorabilia is our Lord Jesus preparing your space with? The good news is, if you are reading this you still have time to forward some good works or fruit of the spirit forward to our Lord Jesus as he prepares your space. For as he says, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” Let me be clear, this is not “works righteousness,” but rather, “living the dream.”

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 the Second Sunday of Easter: Year A

Acts 2:14a,22-32  Psalm 16  1 Peter 1:3-9  John 20:19-31 

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”  (John 20: 29)

Perhaps we have not “seen” Jesus, at least, not in human form as a Palestinian Jew.  But we see him in the acts of people who believe in him.

In scripture we see Jesus come to people huddled up in a room as did the apostles. They had their own quarantine so to speak. They were behind a locked door but that did not stop Jesus.

Jesus seems to really get upset about people who have first heard and then did not believe. Jesus was upset with the disciples who heard Mary Magdalene declare “He has risen,” but they didn’t believe.  Jesus reprimanded the two on the road to Emmaus.  You see, “In the beginning was the Word! not the sight.  I think Jesus is trying to make the point that we should believe the Jesus stories we are told, at least believe until we find out different. 

But we can see the presence of Jesus through the acts of believers today. I saw Jesus in a Doctor at Chapel Hill about ten years ago, who asked if she could pray with us for one of our teenage high school boys who was run over by a school bus. She asked to pray with us before she performed surgery on him.  I was so moved by her asking.  It is good to witness doctors of faith and the presence of Jesus.

We can see our Lord Jesus in Doctors and nurses and store clerks and truck drivers cooped up in their various environments today in our “stay at home” Covid 19 requirement. They keep wearing themselves out for the healing and care of people stricken by this Coronavirus making sure we get the provisions and care and the products and medicines we need.  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Even more blessed are those who have come to see our Lord Jesus in the loving acts of his people. I bid you all, to go and be blessed and be a blessing to others. Tell your own Jesus stories so that others may first hear and then see our Lord Jesus in our own day.

This link will take you to a short homily on this Gospel for today: https://youtu.be/HP88dIB1R6A

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

Eucahristic Readings for Saturday of Easter Week 2020: All Years

Acts 4:13-21  Psalm 118:14-18 or Psalm 118:19-24  Mark 16:9-15,20

“But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4: 19 – 20)

This is something we don’t think enough about, that is, what is right in God’s eyes.  No matter where we are or who we are with, God is always present, and looking and listening. I will confess that I still find myself in situations where I am saying things about one person to someone else that I wouldn’t say if the subject person was present.  I forget that God is standing right beside me. I’m getting better, but not quite there yet.

Sometimes it is hard to hear what God is saying.  Many people try to find similar life situations or problems in the Bible in order to discern what God said then and apply it to now.  This does not often work and maybe not what God is saying to us now.  Each time, each situation and each people have their own, and often very different responses, from God.

Peter and John learned from our Lord Jesus that prayer brings about the voice of God. And just as they were partnered in their standing before the rulers and elders and scribes as formerly uneducated men being only fishermen, they consoled with God and fed off each other for even wiser counsel with God in the mix.

Each one of us, clergy or not, needs another person, of whom we respect their caring and nurture, that we can voice our concerns with.  And then we must be willing to heed their counsel given to us. This is not to take away our own “alone” time. But sometimes God needs to use the voice of a trusted friend to say a word or two that will enhance our discernment and decision making. God is good, all the time. God wants what is good for us. Often our church traditions and/or public laws conflict with the good that God wants for us.  We must listen to the Holy Spirit of God speaking through others and understand what is right in God’s eyes. It varies from situation to situation.

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 Friday of Easter Week: All Years

“When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” (John 21:9 – 10)

The just caught fish in this case is an example of the bringing together of new people to Christianity and those who have long been members. They did this around food wherein our Lord Jesus again took the fish, blessed it and divided it up and then gave it to them to eat. Our Lord Jesus seems to be a person who enjoys good friends with good food.  Notice too that there is also the requirement for those joining to bring something where he says, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” We are all participants and partakers in the feast with Jesus.

This was a fish breakfast! I wonder if it is on purpose that this reading is scheduled on a Friday. When I was in seminary a few of us from our dorm would go to Eastern Market in D.C. on Saturday mornings for a fish and grits breakfast.  It was great. Meals are truly the meeting place for people to reduce differences and become spiritual family.  I had an old 1978 Mercury Marquis in those days. It was huge.  Five of us would climb into that car and head for Eastern Market.  There was always excitement about going there and just being together.  We talked and joked all the way there.  This was kind of like the excitement Peter had when he was told that it was the Lord that was talking to them from the shore.

Maybe, just maybe this “stay at home” policy of the Coronavirus is making us re-discover our home prepared meals again. And perhaps on occasion, we will bring someone among us whom we trust to be honest about where they’ve been and the condition they are in. I have been so blessed. Shared meals are the best meals. I so love my friends in the faith and the faith of my friends.

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