Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday Proper 5: Year 2

Psalm 72; Psalm 119:73-96; Eccles. 9:11-18; Gal. 5:1-15; Matt. 16:1-12

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.” (Galatians 5:6)

 We have already seen in Chapter 3 of Galatians that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”  Paul continues now challenging their sacred religious traditions of circumcision. Faith working through love means everything.  What we do to our bodies has little to do with our heavenly value.  We can get our bodies tattooed, pierced, tucked and “Botoxed” and while it may impress certain human interests, it has no value in the next life. And I also feel such practices don’t devalue our bodies either.

What counts in the next life, and what will get us to the next life, is belief in God and love for our fellow human beings.  Our little body art practices here mean nothing. When we live by a code of faith in the love of God and truly believe that God is overseeing what we are doing, and that God is good, all the time, we will live a life of love for all people.  And the truth is, we will love them even if they ink themselves, pierce themselves, tuck themselves and/or “Botox” themselves. In God’s love we will overlook their (and our) little makeovers and love them for who God made them to be with God’s indelible Word stamped forever on their hearts; even if they are unawares.

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 5: Year 2

Psalm 61, 62; Psalm 68:1-20 (21-23) 24-36; Eccles. 8:14-9:10; Gal. 4:21-31; Matt. 15:29-39 

“Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” (Matthew 15: 33)

Because of this COVID 19 virus we, the Church, have come full circle back to feeding the multitude camped on the Church grounds. Our Bishop instructs us (the priest of East Carolina) to Consecrate “Both Kinds” but to give only the bread.  I have compassion on the people who have missed Holy Communion for so long but at the same time remembering we could have no gathered church at all. At least the readings, message, prayers and wafer are better than not having church and it is full communion with Christ.

Who’s to say what would happen should the people continue without any communion at all for much longer.  Might they spiritually faint on the way?  I have witnessed firsthand how glad parishioners are to be in gathered community, even in the heat of the day.  Social media does not come close to satisfying the spiritual hunger people have as they struggle to keep Christ in their lives.  When I dismiss them I can see the satisfaction on their faces as they walk to the cars.  All I can say is, Thank you Lord Jesus for letting me be a part of Your ministry.

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 5: Year 2

Psalm 56, 57, [58]; Psalm 64, 65; Eccles. 7:1-14; Gal. 4:12-20; Matt. 15:21-28

“But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.”  (Matthew 15:25)

This is the unbreakable hold we have on God in Christ Jesus; He can’t refuse the word “help.” Help from God may not be packaged the way we expect it however. God is really good at surprises.

It is because of the woman’s faith that Jesus heals her daughter. I believe there are two components at work here.  The first is the love she has for her daughter.  I believe for the mother, and for us, that the power of our love for someone close to us, fuels our faith and humbles us.  Too often our faith doesn’t have a focus.  This Canaanite mother however, even though not a Jewish Israelite, brings her desperation to our Lord Jesus.  She is grateful for whatever help she can get from him, explaining that even the dogs get the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Her love for her daughter and her acquired faith in the man known as Jesus humbles her and she asks him for help.  And, He does.

This is a transitional move by God to include the Jewish nation and all people beyond the Jews. It becomes clear that it is not genetics that makes one belong to the kingdom.  It is faith. Have you heard about the healer whose name is Jesus?  Do you love someone in trouble? Does this love and faith humble you? All you need to do is pray, “Lord, help me.”

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 Trinity Sunday 2020: Year A

Genesis 1:1-2:4a Psalm 8 2 Corinthians 13:11-13  Matthew 28:16-20

“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Our Lord Jesus is handed down through the generations, parent to child, to child to child.  He has been handed down master to apprentice and leader to follower for more than 2000 years. Being a follower of our Lord Jesus re-identifies us.  It has re-identified me.  I now hold being a Christian my most important understanding of who I am. It is not being a so-called African American, or even an American or even a man. No, for me it is first and foremost about being what I will always be, A Christian. Jesus being with me to the end of the age is Emanuel.

This Emanuel is God with us. Our Lord Jesus says “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Jesus has made a commitment to us.  He is of the Father and sends to us the Holy Spirit and never leaves us orphaned. We must respond by keeping this Trinitarian life alive in thought, word and deed. We must all sing the hymn: “I bind onto myself today the strong name of the Trinity, by vocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three.”  (Hymn 370 of the 1982 Hymnal)

We don’t have to understand the Trinity, just understand that it exists.  And it exists for our sake. Some of us live our lives historically.  We have to know how we got this way.  Such folk I call the Genesis people.  They want to know how we came to be.  They want to know how the races were divided.  They ask how police got started and then ask how police brutality started. They want to know the genesis of everything.  This is like the Creator story of who made the Clock, wound it and walked away; and will come back one day. Knowing the story may help us be ready for the return.

The Christian story is the story of the Son.  This is God Incarnate. This is the story of a beloved friend who will never, never, never leave our side, no matter what.   Jesus’ last words to us are that he will be with us, even to the end of the age. We have, in the same hymn, words that reflects this message: “Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me.” (Hymn 370 of the 1982 Hymnal) We are never without our Lord Jesus, never.

Finally, we have the Holy Spirit Who resides in our Church. This is the Holy Spirit of God Whom our Lord Jesus said He will send to the Church. Jesus has sent us the Holy Spirit who we remembered last Sunday, to our Church, to lead us and guide us in the way of truth and love.

We need all three.  We need to know, live and tell our faith stories. We need to see our Lord Jesus in the faithful faces of the friends we have as we worship together.  And we need to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us and abide in that holy leadership.  Happy Trinity Sunday!

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 4: Year 2

Psalm 55; Psalm 138, 139:1-17(18-23); Eccles. 5:8-20; Gal. 3:23-4:11; Matt. 15:1-20

“But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.  And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”  (Galatians 3: 25 – 29)

For me, having no longer a disciplinarian means that being baptized in Christ, I become my own disciplinarian.  It means that I should know well what it means to err on the side of love and compassion. Jesus is my plumb line. Jesus is the straight line, I am the crooked line struggling to be straight as I align myself with my Lord Jesus.

Paul gets rid of the human descriptors of ethnicity be it Jew or Greek.  Along with these we can add black and white.  We are no longer black or white.  It is so hard to get us to realize this – on both sides. We have the Biblical story of Paul’s letter to Philemon about Onesimus and accepting him as a brother and no longer a slave.  We also have the post Biblical account of Perpetua and her raising Felicitas from being her slave to being her sister in Christ.  This is what it means to be “no longer” slave.  It is important to note here that the slave has no vote in this freedom.  No, it has to come from the conscience of the one who considers himself free – free to do the right thing.

All of this equally goes for male and female freedoms as well.  God resides in both sexes.  And we need what God has given us in both sexes.  Male and female, we are both made in God’s Image. (Gen. 1:27)

From here we go back to Abraham, again, not genetically, but faithfully.  Paul says, and I believe, we Christians are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.  It must be remembered also that being Christian does not mean that we are better than non-Christians.  It is the non-Christian that we serve and support and love as well. Ours is a humble walk as was Abraham’s and as was the walk of our 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 Friday of Proper 4: Year 2

Psalm 40, 54; Psalm 51; Eccles. 5:1-7; Gal. 3:15-22; Matt. 14:22-36

“But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  (Matthew 14: 30)

In the midst of danger don’t take your eyes off the Savior.  This message is especially important now as we are facing so much racial unrest and tension due to the death of George Floyd, an African American, at the hands of a European American police officer. This is compounded in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic.

We have gotten to a sad place where we actually want to look at the news and social media only to cringe in fear.  Like Peter we move our eyes off of our Lord Jesus, who invites us out to walk with him in love, and we stare into the destructive winds of hate and evil rioting in the midst of the pandemic. And we too cry out, “Lord, save me!” And he does. The ones who call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.

When we take our focus off of our Lord Jesus we set ourselves up for fear and misunderstanding.  Jesus is all about love.  We are all invited to step out of the boat of fear and hatred. And as long as we maintain our focus on our Lord Jesus, we walk with Him.  But if we turn our attention to worldly fears and concerns we sink into the sludge of sadness and despair.  Therefore, in the midst of danger don’t take your eyes off the Savior.

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 4: Year 2

Psalm 50; Psalm [59, 60]; or 8, 84 Eccles. 3:16-4:3; Gal. 3:1-14; Mat. 14:13-21

“Just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’, so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham.” (Galatians 3:6 – 7)

Above all identifiers of who I am, I consider myself first and foremost a believing descendant of Abraham.  Biologically, Abraham (son of Terah of Ur: Genesis 11: 26 – 32) was from what we now call Iraq.  I claim no genetic relationship to him in that way. My faith-based believing relationship is more important to me than being African American or any other descriptor of human identification.   What I claim is a spiritual and believing relationship to Abraham in the Holy Spirit of God.  We underestimate the power of faith and in particular the power of believing.

Believing is everything to me.  This doesn’t mean that I never drift off course.  I do sadly.  But even in my waywardness I believe.  It’s funny how different Bible verses over the years take on more importance as one grows stronger in the faith.  I am going through some sadness now regarding the Coronavirus and the racial unrest in America.  So what stands out for me now is John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me.” These are comforting words.  Abraham too had stressful days but he always believed in God. Paul’s letter to the Galatians reminds us, the believing descendants of Abraham, of our important heritage.

Let us pray.   O God, whose wonderful deeds of old shine forth even to our own day, you once delivered by the power of your mighty arm your chosen people from slavery under Pharaoh, to be a sign for us of the salvation of all nations by the water of Baptism: Grant that all the peoples of the earth may be numbered among the offspring of Abraham, and rejoice in the inheritance of Israel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 289)

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 4: Year 2

Psalm 119:49-72; Psalm 49, [53] Eccles. 3:1-15; Matt. 14:1-12

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.  (Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 8)

[Ok, so before I get into my scriptural pondering for today I need to share my thoughts about the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. That death at the hands of police has caused major protest across America and with it much violence and vandalism.  That latter part, violence and vandalism, is very shameful. 

This is particularly hard for me because I don’t believe in race.  I think it is a human construct and a way to label people and limit resources based on what people look like.  An anthropologist told me long ago that if you even use the term “race” you are a racist.  So there is me, and then there is all the rest of the mostly racist world.  Some of us are dark, some are light. Some are course, some are fine.  All are God’s and all are needed. That we separate ourselves based on how we look is also very shameful. I have a Baptismal Covenant that requires me to respect the dignity of EVERY human being.  And I will strive to do just that until I am taken into that Spirit (non racial) world from which no one returns. And that’s all I have to say about that.]

Now to Ecclesiastes:

Personally I don’t believe there is ever a time to hate.   I could probably deal with the rest of the verses. Having said that, I believe I could engage in war for a just cause and yet, not hate the people I am fighting.

I am in the process of writing a short book about our stations in life.  I have developed an acronym for it.  It is SPERC (sounds like “SPERK”) It stands for Study, Practice, Exercise, Rest and Chores.  At no time during the day can I be found not existing in one of these states of being.

As I am doing this writing I am in study.  Study also includes prayer and all pondering.  Practice includes those activities that I do with my hands like playing music, practicing golf and other activities in which skill can be developed.  Exercise is about my daily physical exercises that I believe most people don’t do.  I find that by doing regular exercises I maintain my ability to fulfill other parts of my SPERC program.  Rest includes all peaceful states of being and most especially sleep.  And lastly there are Chores.  Chores are those activities necessary to maintain personal and environmental upkeep like cooking, driving, cleaning the house, cutting the grass and all other necessary activities for healthy living.

I am retired now from being the Rector of St Paul’s in the Pines Episcopal Church.  But I have plenty to keep me busy.  Writing (Study) is one of those states of my SPERC being.  There is never a moment in my day that I am not in one part or another of my SPERC self.  The writer of Ecclesiastes is correct; there is a time for every matter under heaven.

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 4: Year 2

Psalm 45; Psalm 47, 48; Eccles. 2:16-26; Gal. 1:18-2:10; Matt. 13:53-58

“And when James [the brother of Jesus (Gal 18:19)] and Cephas [Simon Peter] and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.  They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do,” (Galatians 2: 9 – 10)

In my studies I have found that language changes as money comes into the world.  In the earliest days people who owned farm land were instructed by God to leave some for the needy and not to go back and take up the last of everything.  They weren’t poor, just needy.

However, with money, we now have “the poor.” With money we have the haves and the have-nots. With the haves and have-nots, we have scarcity.   Scarcity ranges over time: it can be coins of currency in antiquity to toilet paper today.  But no matter what the need, we are instructed, as was Paul, to remember the poor.  And with that remembrance also comes our response. This is an issue of real faith.

James reminds us that response is so important.  He writes, “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.” (James 2:18)  So remembering the poor really is about responding to their need.  It is the one thing that the early followers of our Lord Jesus ask of us still today.  Are we, like Paul, actually eager to do so?

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 4: Year 2

Psalm 41, 52; Psalm 44; Eccles. 2:1-15; Gal. 1:1-17; Matt. 13:44-52

“Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  (Galatians 1:10)

Is there a difference between human approval and God’s approval? For the most part we have no problem discerning what people want of us.  It’s a little bit different with God. People will come right out and tell you what they want or at least give strong hints.  Perhaps God too often gives strong hints.  One of my observances is that if something happens to me three times, or the same words while reading are put in front of me three times, it’s a hint from God. It then is a whole other matter if after I get the hint that I will follow where it leads.  It’s much easier with people. If it’s self-serving on their part or immoral it’s an obvious no. God and God’s hints are always about the enhancement of the community.  My way of validating that the hint is from God is that it will cost me time, money and be inconvenient and uncomfortable.   I could add that it might cause me some degree of human disapproval.

I must admit, I am often a people pleaser. I need to work harder at knowing that I am a servant of Christ.  Even better for me is to adopt the self-description that Gregory the Great used “Servant of the servants of God.” The same criterion could be used, that is to assist people who are clearly doing things that enhance life for the less fortunate.  In such a way I would be pleasing to the serving  people who are already pleasing our Lord Jesus.  It will be a win – win.

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