Author: John Thomas Frazier

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

New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 9: Year A 

Romans 7:15-25a;  Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  (Matthew 11: 28 – 30)

When our Lord Jesus invites us to come and take his yoke upon us, this is not an exchange of yokes, as I once thought.  No, this is an invitation to join him in his yoke.  And it’s more than that; it’s an invitation to connect with Jesus through someone we know in Christ.

This is an invitation to come and be a Trinitarian partner. I am learning to play guitar.  I am blessed to be led in my guitar instruction by a fellow Christian – a fellow Christian who may not follow Christ in the exact same way that I do, but then, we are all evolving theologically.

We mostly play Christian music for Cursillo songs but we are comfortable knowing that our Lord Jesus binds us together in a common brotherhood.  The weight of trying to play my guitar on my own is more than I can bear.  But Jesus assist me through my albeit younger teacher. 

The Bible is replete with examples of pairs of people through whom God (or Jesus) works through for our communal good.  Some examples are; Moses and Aaron; Ruth and Naomi; Elijah and Elisha; Simon Peter and Andrew; John and James; and Paul and several others.  My point is, that in our biblical tradition, we are called to seek out our Lord Jesus through another believer and share the burden of doing the work put before us.

Most of the tasks before us are far more serious than learning to play the guitar, but I needed to show an example.  We need to partner with one another in fighting the isms of today.  Today we have racism, sexism, and just plain egoism.  I begin to think all isms are bad but cannot be overcome without teaming up with a fellow believer wherein we are yoked with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The work before us is plentiful but we laborers are few.    Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  Who do you know in Christ that you could work with for our communal good?  Let’s be fitted in the yoke of Christ and get to work.

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 4^th of July

“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11: 16)

I decided to use our National Anthem verses for this Fourth of July blog.  What I take from our Hebrew reading is God’s will for this planet to have, as President Reagan once said, a “City shining on a hill.” In the years to come, Winthrop’s “city upon a hill” sermon would become “the shining city on a hill” of President Reagan: a celebration of individual freedom, material prosperity, and American power—above all, a call for Americans to renew their optimism and believe in themselves again.”  “Beginning in the 1970s, Ronald Reagan placed that line, from that sermon, at the center of his political career. Tracing the story of America from John Winthrop forward, Reagan built a powerful articulation of American exceptionalism—the idea, as he explained, “that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage.” (https://www.neh.gov/article/how-america-became-city-upon-hill)

So let us sing: “O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, o’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?  And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.  O say does that star spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

I never realized that 2 questions were asked in the first verse of our national anthem.  The answer to both however is “Yes.”   Did you know there is a second verse, and in my humble opinion, a more powerful verse?  It too asks a question, but it makes a declaration also.  Here it is;

O thus be it ever, when free men shall stand between their loved homes and the war’s desolation! Blessed with victory and peace, may the heaven rescued land praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation?  Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, and this be our motto, “In God is our trust.”  And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” (Francis Scott Key: Hymn 720 of The 1982 Hymnal )

I am a black man, but standing proudly I say, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, One Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

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

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 8: Year 2

Psalm 140, 142; Psalm 141, 143:1-11(12); Num. 24:1-13; Rom. 8:12-17; Matt. 22:15-22

“Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’”  (Matthew 22:21)

In trying to trick our Lord Jesus, the disciples of the Pharisees, along with the Herodians actually learn something about the real use of money and the reality of what belongs to God.

The real use of money is to purchase the necessities we need for living healthy lives.  Also money can be used for fun and comfort. However, as money is a nonperishable trade commodity that the whole community needs to make use of, it should never be hoarded to the deprivation of others.

The emperor can be seen as the government and money back to the emperor is the same as paying taxes.  The government, or the emperor, are the printers of the money (hopefully) as a means of enabling citizens the ability to get their needs and maintain their common good which includes paying wages for those who work for the government or the emperor.  Money is too often misused.

Our souls and hearts on the other hand, belong to the One who gave it to us, Almighty God.  While money is a human construct, our being is the design and creation of God. Loans of money can, and should, be paid in full.  What we owe God can never be paid.  But then, who we are, and how we are made, never really stops being the property of God.  And given the fact that we cannot pay God back for our being, we must inevitably return  “to God the things that are God’s.”

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 8: Year 2

Psalm 134

1 Behold now, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, *
you that stand by night in the house of the Lord.

2 Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord; *
the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.

Psalm 134 is one of the two shortest Psalms in the Bible.  The other is Psalm 117.  Both are uplifting.  Psalm 117 is all about Praising the Lord and 134 is about blessing the Lord and being blessed by the Lord, and we truly are.

These are not perhaps the most remembered Psalms but they indeed are short enough to be easily memorized.  Psalm 117 is two verses and Psalm 134 is also 2 but may be three depending on the Bible you use or the Book of Common Prayer.

My point is, they are so short there is no time for wretchedness or hate for an enemy.  In two or three verses there is only enough time for praising God and being blessed by God.

Many people have committed Psalm 23 (6 verses) to memory and maybe even Psalm 121 ( 8 verses and a personal favorite of mine).  I also like Psalm 8 (9 verses).  All of these three are around six to nine verses.  Psalms 117 and 134 are 2 verses  each and they will work as prayers. Let’s You and I pray them now, ok?

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all you nations; laud him, all you peoples.

For his loving-kindness toward us is great, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.   Hallelujah!

Psalm 134

Behold now, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
you that stand by night in the house of the Lord.

Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord;
the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.

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 8: Year 2

Psalm 119:145-176; Psalm 128, 129, 130;  Num. 22:41-23:12; Rom. 7:13-25; Matt. 21:33-46

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.” (Matthew 21: 3)

This starts a beautiful parable the quickly goes south.  It goes into evil people (the tenants) who beat up and kill the prophets and the Son of the owner of the vineyard. The preferential Christian understanding for many Christians is that God has sent His Son into the world, the vineyard, and he was crucified, and the vineyard was given to Christians. Not all Christians adhere to this idea.

But before all that, I want to focus on our human duty to care for this earth, this vineyard, regardless of a particular religion.  The Great Creator has caused to come into being this perfect life support system for all living creation.  And, call it what you will, creation or evolution, humanity came into being last.  I think we are the flagship of God’s work.  This earth is perfect for our wellbeing.  But there is more to it than that.

We have a responsibility to help maintain this precious life-support system we depend on. We have made telescopes and cameras and we have placed them in space such that we can look back and see this fragile earth, our island home, as God would see it. I truly believe that God enjoys looking at this earth and sees that it is (or was) very good. This earth is a unique blue ball giving life to countless forms of life.  This blue ball is the vineyard, and we humans are the tenants, given the responsibility to maintain it until the owner, either sends someone for a report, or returns personally.  So, how are we 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