Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 15: Year 2

 Psalms [120], 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, [127]
Judges 18:1-15; Acts 8:1-13; John 5:30-47

“Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves”

(Psalm 126: 6 and 7)

It seems that the way of life is that we must undergo some suffering before things get better.  But we work and suffer in hope, hope that God will watch us and ensure that those who sow, shall also reap.  Hope is about the harvest.

I practice music.  It is monotonous work.  But it is well worth it when I play “Praise to the Lord,” and it sounds right, and I celebrate in knowing that I played that. 

I workout daily.  Often when I wake I don’t really feel like working out.  It becomes boring and I play mind games about whether or not working out is really necessary or what I want to do. But I put such thoughts away. On the reward side, I am losing weight and feeling better and now better able to do things with less effort.

I make regular visits to the golf driving range.  I think my skill is truly lacking.  But when I manage to actually play with some of my friends, they, (and I), are amazed at how well I played.

With more serious suffering, it seems sometimes we must undergo some degree of patient suffering in order to accomplish happiness.  The same is true with raising children and wading through pandemics.  Parents must allow children to make a few mistakes, not dangerous ones, but enough to let them know that they are vulnerable.  Because of this pandemic parents are now asked to be more participatory in the education of their children. The education of children is among the greatest of rewards.

This pandemic virus is causing severe suffering in many segments of life.  It is causing suffering in jobs and therefore finances; in education (and the education of our children impacts the jobs of parents); in hospitalization and most tragically, the death of loved ones. We are all hoping to get through this COVID 19 virus of 2020.  And we will.  We might have a new normal on the other side of this. But we will evolve.  We plant the seed of hope.   “Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy.  Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves” (Psalm 126: 6 and 7).  Hope is about the harvest. Plant carefully.

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 15: Year 2

Psalm 106; Judges 17:1-13; Acts 7:44-8:1a; John 5:19-29

“Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”  (John 5:28 and 29)

We Christians believe that Jesus will be the judgment of God for all humanity as our Lord Jesus was God participating in human existence.  No matter what, there is a resurrection for each and every human being.  The outcome of our resurrection is determined by both what we believe and by how we conduct ourselves commensurate with that belief.  That is, that we believe in the love of God and live out that love in our relationships with our neighbors.

This resurrection belief  and accountability is made manifest in the last part of my personal creed which says.  “I Trust in the Creating Word through the Holy Spirit of the Incarnate Word, in whom we live and move and love and have our being, and to whom, we must give an account.”  The part that says “and to whom we must give an account” reflects the resurrection piece. 

My beloved in the Lord, we all will come before the judgment seat at the end of our days.  There is no getting around this fact.  Just as sure as death is to come for all people, so too is the resurrection to the afterlife.  I believe that on this side of creation some of us believe in Jesus as Lord.  On the resurrection side, all will more than just believe, we will all know that Jesus is Lord of both the living and the dead. 

But our Lord Jesus is also the Lord of love and mercy.  Where we mortals often want to hold a grudge against people who differ from us, our Lord Jesus just wants to love us, all of us. We do not belong to ourselves, we are the Lord’s.  How we live out our lives in relation to our fellow persons is crucial. If you take nothing away from this post but one thing, let it be this; Love God and one another no matter what.  This does not mean to let others walk all over you, it simply means for us to recognize and respect their humanity and to refrain from judgment. Struggle to find love. It’s who we are created to be.  Love, don’t judge. Your name will be called on the other side and you will find yourself before the throne.  “Lord, do not bring us to the time of trial.” ( Luke 11;4)

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

Track 2 Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 15: Year A

Isaiah 56:1,6-8;  Psalm 67; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-2

“She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.” (Matthew 15: 27 and 28)

Prior to this incident (and part of our Gospel Reading for today) Jesus had just explained about what defiles a person.  He said it is not what goes into a person (certain foods considered unclean) but rather it is what comes out of a person, sinful acts and words that defile a person.  I know for myself, when I have said of done something revengeful or retaliatory, I feel bad about it.  I am still a work in progress.  Pray for me please.

And then we have this Canaanite woman with words of requests for her daughter’s cure coming out of her mouth.  This is intercessory prayer. This is coming to our Lord Jesus of whom she did not know but needed anyway.  This is about Jesus himself learning truly who he is. (The Gospel of Matthew is only concerned with the people of Israel.) But here we are shown the world-wide intention of God’s Salvation.  God loves, and wants all people to be saved.

Today I am baptizing an infant into the household of God in our Christian tradition as our Lord Jesus instructed us to do.  The very nature of God is inclusiveness, all people; period.  I know that all people are not baptized.  But we, who follow our Lord Jesus, continue to insist on this soul saving practice of grace. There is no exclusion from the love of God.  Canaanite or Israelite, black or white, rich or poor, democrat or republican, boy or girl, bald or with curls, Jesus loves the little children of the world. All are precious in his sight.

This is again, another example where Jesus informs us about the faith that is in us; the faith in the mother that was the source of her daughter’s healing.  So it is with us today.  We must believe.

I will ask you in a few minutes, “Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support this person in her life in Christ?  And you will answer; “We will.”  The “we” indicates the Church.  As the Church, will we come together as the loving community of Jesus in prayer, so that this infant girl presented here today for baptism, is cleansed of all evil and malice of thought? You and I have a part in this action of the Holy Spirit.

You will be asked, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”  You will answer with “I will, with God’s help.”  We are saying that we will respect their dignity even if they don’t.  You need to know that God is doing God’s part. But God expects us to be co-creators in this event and in the life of this child.  God works through the saints.  We are the saints.  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 of Saturday of Proper 14: Year 2

 Psalms 107:33-43, 108:1-6(7-13), 33; Judges 16:1-14; Acts 7:30-43; John 5:1-18

“Do you want to be made well?”  …”At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.”  (John 5:6 and 9)

Often one of the ways we can tell that our priorities are out of order is that we find ourselves watching others and measuring their behavior against our list of what is right and wrong.  “Now that day was a Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”  But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’”  They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take it up and walk’?”  Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there.”  (John 5: 9 – 13)

Before we begin, let’s be clear, all the people in this passage are Jews.  By “the Jews,” The Evangelist simply means temple authorities.  These temple authorities either forgot, or never knew, that the Sabbath was created for people, and not the people for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)

Jesus asks the lame man if he even wanted to be made well. This is an important question and it is a universal one.  All too often we become comfortable in our weaknesses or disadvantages.  Some of  the freed Israelites came to a point when they wished they were back in Egypt as slaves rather than in the wilderness following Moses. Some people who suffer from addiction would prefer to be left alone rather than attend AA meetings.  Yes, the question of “Do you want to be made well?” is a universal one that we all must deal with.  Of course our lame man doesn’t give an immediate “Yes” to the question. Rather, he formulates excuses for why he can’t get to the healing waters.  Jesus proves to be superior to the healing waters by just saying “Take up your mat and walk.”  Our Lord Jesus is so awesome!

In his defense, the man who was made well, really didn’t know who Jesus was. But the temple authorities felt threatened. They wanted to know who it was that said to him, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’ Note that they were more concerned with the newly healed man carrying his mat than the fact that he was made well.  Now these temple authorities could not have done what Jesus did on any day of the week, yet they felt their position threatened. So their response is to hunt down our Lord Jesus who is doing good works in order that they might put him to death.  This is so sad.

At some level we all could be made better. We all should look beyond the carrying of the mat (petty) to the thankfulness of being made well.  Do you want to be made well?  Are you thankful for others being made well regardless of who they are? Don’t answer too quickly. Ponder this.

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 Proper14: Year 2

Psalm 102 and Psalm 107:1-32;  Judges 14:20-15:20;  Acts 7:17-29;  John 4:43-54

“Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.  As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive.  So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.”  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: 50 – 54)

Once again we see that Jesus does not have to be physically where the trouble or sickness is to fix the problem or heal the sick. All our Lord Jesus has to do is say the word, and it is done.

But let me also draw your attention to the fact that the man “believed” the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.  As I have said many times before, believing is everything.  As I have studied the language and culture of antiquity, I find that the word trust is the more definitive word for what we have as the word believe. The man with the dying son trusted in our Lord Jesus. And so do I.

Notice that the word faith is not a word that any English Christian translation of the Bible uses in the Gospel of John. Faith is a noun.  Faith is the word used in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).  John’s Gospel wants action.  Believing (or trusting) is a verb.  This again is why I crafted my own personal statement of faith.  Here it is (again):

“I Trust in the Creating Word through the Holy Spirit of the Incarnate Word, in whom we live and move and love and have our being, and to whom, we must give an account.”

How would you sum up your faith, or just your outlook about life?  Try to write a simple sentence that says what you believe, or trust in.  My own creed does not replace our Prayer Book Nicene Creed or Apostle’s Creed.  It is just a quick explanation of what I believe that can be said while standing on one foot, or on an elevator.  My faith statement has evolved as I have pondered over the years.  So might yours also, as you ponder anew what life means to you.

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 14: Year 2

 Psalm 105; Judges 14:1-19; Acts 6:15-7:16; John 4:27-42

“They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42)

Yes true, but they would not have even known that the Savior of the world was near if it had not been for this unnamed woman coming to them with this valuable information. Once again, the most valuable information a community could have is delivered by a woman. And in this case, perhaps not a woman the village is proud of, or has shown any degree of love and respect.

She comes to the well at noonday, the hottest part of the day. She avoids others and their judgmental attitudes.  Maybe she has not made the best of her life.  Then again, maybe she played the cards that she was dealt in life the best she could.  She has had several husbands, which does not escape Jesus, but yet he loves her, and offers her the full life of living waters. Our Lord Jesus can, and does, use anybody to bring messages of hope. Even if we give up on ourselves, Our Lord Jesus does not give up on us.

This is where we are today.  As a preacher, it has been my privilege and honor to inform people that God, in Christ Jesus, is near. And that God loves you no matter how many mistakes you have made or what others think of you.  Do not believe because I said so.  Believe this because you have heard for yourselves and have seen little glimmers of grace in your own life.  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 Wednesday of Proper 14: Year 2

Psalms 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30,  119:121-144; Judges 13:15-24; Acts 6:1-15; John 4:1-26

“And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables.  (Acts 6:2) And also, John: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  (John 4: 24)

Today’s readings presented me with hard choices.  On the one hand I am passionate about the self-righteous attitude of the apostles; on the other hand, I love the words of our Lord Jesus about who God is.  Also, there is Florence Nightingale who is remembered today. Let’s start with the Acts reading.

The apostles decided that, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables.” I beg to differ.  Servitude is the Word of God. After John and James were caught trying to get good positions in heaven, and the rest of the apostles became angry, Jesus explains the importance of servitude. He told them,  “It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave;  just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”  (Matthew 20:26 – 28) Therefore, in my humble opinion, the twelve were wrong, serving tables is following Christ, it is carrying out the word of God.

From the Gospel of John, Jesus explains to the woman at the well that God is not some old human man on a throne far away.  God is Spirit! God is Truth!  We must get rid of any notion that God is human, save God Incarnate, Jesus himself.  God can, and should, be worshiped everywhere, and always. “God is spirit, and those who worship [God] must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4: 24)

 “Florence Nightingale, whom we remember today, was born to a wealthy English family in Florence, Italy, on May 12, 1820. She was trained as a nurse in a hospital run by a Lutheran order of Deaconesses at Kaiserwerth (1851) and in 1853 became superintendent of a hospital for invalid women in London. In response to God’s call and animated by a spirit of service, in 1854 she volunteered for duty during the Crimean War and recruited 38 nurses to join her. With them she organized the first modern nursing service in the British field hospitals of Scutari and Balaclava.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for August 12)  Like most mystics, Florence had a very prayerful side. “An Anglican, she remained committed to a personal mystical religion, which sustained her through many years of poor health until her death in 1910. Until the end of her life, although her illness prevented her from leaving her home, she continued in frequent spiritual conversation with many prominent church leaders of the day, including the local parish priest, who regularly brought Communion to her. By the time of her death on August 13, 1910, her accomplishments and legacy were widely recognized, and she is honored throughout the world as the founder of the modern profession of nursing.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for August 12)

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 14: Year 2

Psalms  97, 99, [100],  94, [95];  Judges 13:1-15; Acts 5:27-42; John 3:22-36

“But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time.  Then he said to them, ‘Fellow-Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men.  For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared.  After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered.  So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail;  but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”  (Acts 5:34 – 39)

This is very wise counsel from the Pharisee Gamaliel. He uses their history to show that there have been people who have come before but did not prove lasting.  When these former leaders rose up to change things, people followed as long as the leader was alive.  But when he died, they scattered. 

Our Lord Jesus said the same thing about “striking the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.”  But Jesus left good and faithful shepherds in his place.  And as Jesus rose from the dead, more and more followers came to follow him. It is still hard for me to wrap my head around having the apostles flogged before releasing them but that is what happened.  I think the flogging them is because of the jealousy of the High Priests.  They were about human designs, not Godly ones.

So while the other want-to-be leaders lost people when they died, our Lord Jesus gained more and more, and, is still gaining followers today.  Yes, Gamaliel, Jesus is from God, and no one will be able to overthrow us.  With daily Christian practices where two or three come together, in person or virtually, we will always have someone who keeps the Christian fires going even if something happens to those who lead. We will prevail in this life, and certainly in the next.

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 14: Year 2

 Psalm89:  Judges 12:1-7; Acts 5:12-26; John 3:1-21

“Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by.  A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.” (Acts 5: 14 – 16)

This is a testament to the power of faith.  I am a Star Wars fan (fanatic).  In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker’s craft is submerged in a swamp.  Yoda, a Jedi Master, tries to have Luke raise it using the force.  Luke fails and replies, “You want the impossible.” Yoda then uses the Force and lifts the craft out of the muck.  Luke tells Yoda “I didn’t believe it could be done.”  Yoda replies, “That is why you fail.”  Star Wars is fictional art but beautifully crafted and contains certain truths in terms of our human story and the real power of belief. 

The people, both men and women, who carried their sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats in order that Peter’s shadow might pass over them, were beyond asking Peter to personally see them and heal them.  They believed in the presence and healing power of one who was handpicked by our Lord Jesus and who was with him after he was raised from the dead by God. If he has a shadow then he exists. They needed nothing else.  They “believed” that the evidence of his presence, his shadow, would heal their loved ones and cast out unclean spirits, and they were right.

Beloved of the Lord, all the medicine we will ever need is already in us.  Time after time when people were praising Jesus for their healing, Jesus would tell them, “Go, your faith has made you well. Our faith still makes us well.  And like the men and women who took their loved ones to Peter’s shadow, it was not the faith of sick ones that brought the healings, rather it was the faith of the believing family and friends that brought about the cure.  And this happened whether Peter even knew about it or not.  Faith still moves mountains.  All we need to do is believe and we too will be made well, or cause to be made well, those dear to 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

New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 14: Year A

Romans 10:5-15;  Matthew 14:22-33

“Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.  But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”   (Matthew 14: 28 – 30)

There are several places in the Gospel accounts when people take their eyes off Jesus, and when they do, they fall from faith or lose grace.  When Martha stares at Mary her sister sitting at Jesus’ feet, she complains about having to do all the work herself (Luke 10: 38 – 42).   In that same house from another perspective (and another Gospel), Judas complains about an expensive perfume used to anoint Jesus’ feet (John 12: 1 – 8). Again, Judas was not looking at Jesus himself but rather at Mary anointing the feet of Jesus, – a distraction.  Folks, we must maintain our focus on the Lord.

Distractions abound.  We must focus on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, everyday.  If not, we get lost. We lose faith. We fall from grace. We can remind ourselves of our daily focus on Jesus through scripture readings, gazing upon the cross, through prayer beads, through pictures, paintings and icons.  We can use our daily office as found in the Book of Common Prayer. There are so many ways to keep our Lord Jesus at the center of our being.  But the first thing we must do is “Want To!”  If we go to bed with a prayer on our lips, we wake with Christ on our minds.  Dreams work this way.

Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and sank into the water.  He then prayed, “Lord Save Me! And of course, our Lord did but reminded him, and us, of his/our lackluster faith.  We must stay focused.  Even when the winds hurl and toss the storms of our lives to and fro, we must still stay focused. Let us never take our eyes off the Prize.

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