Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Week 1 of Advent Year 2

AM Psalm 5, 6; PM Psalm 10, 11  Amos 3:1-11; 2 Pet. 1:12-21; Matt. 21:12-22

“First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”  (2 Peter 1: 20 – 21)

This is one of the readings that I have read at our Education for Ministry (EfM) graduations.  We have a Holy Eucharist with our graduation.  We want the Holy Spirit to be present with us.  After four years of study, graduating students stand before the gathered community, some of whom are also graduates of EfM, and express what EfM has meant for them.  It is always a moving experience.

A big component of EfM are the Theological Reflections.  This is a time of deep pondering of what the Holy Spirit is really saying to us.  The message of the Holy Spirit can be in accordance with the words of scripture, or the words of scripture can be a catalyst for where the Spirit wants us to be. It is prophetic.  And “no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 

The Bible should be read within prayer.  One’s reading of the Bible should be in the context of believing God has made all things good and loves us more than we can imagine.  In this way we will see, even words of war and wrath, in a merciful way.  The prayer we pray will help us to see where God is in the readings. We should not pry into the Bible but rather pray into the Bible. If a person doesn’t pray into the Bible he or she shouldn’t even bother reading the Bible.  The prophetic message comes through the words in the Bible riding on the faith of the reader.

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 week 1 of Advent

AM Psalm 1, 2, 3; PM Psalm 4, 7  Amos 2:6-16; 2 Pet. 1:1-11; Matt. 21:1-11

“His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us byhis own glory and goodness.”  (2Peter 3)

St. Peter proclaims that God has given us all that we need for life and godliness.  The life part we share with all living creatures.  We all breathe and consume and grow.  What makes humanity different is that we also have all that we need to live our God-given lives in a godly way.

Perhaps the first thing that we should recognize about God is that God is Creator.  Notice the big “C.”  We humans then, created in the Image of God and being godly are naturally creators.  Notice the little “c.”

God is Creator in all ways.  Most of us are creators in specific ways.  Some of us are creators in just a few ways or maybe only one way, but it is the godly part of us and we should not deny it.

Also part of the godly part is the implanted love of God that is in us but too often denied.  This love part was modeled for us by God in the person of our Lord Jesus. And we have it “through the knowledge of him who called us byhis own glory and goodness.”

When I read these words attributed to Peter I realize that God in our Lord Jesus Christ was still at work in the one who denied Him three times.  When we deny our gifts we too deny God who created us and gifted us.  Our life’s search should be to discover our hidden talents.  All of us have a godly part within us. If we have life (check your pulse) then we have love and at least one godly gift.

Let me say that it is through love that your godly gift is discovered.  Don’t resist the urge to just let go and let God.  Experiment through love the many and manifold ways that you might express happiness.  The rest of us are waiting to see what God has given you.  We are waiting in this Advent time of expectation to see something new born in 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+

Eucharistic Readings for the 1^st Sunday of Advent Year A

Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:36-44

“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father….. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”  (Matthew 24: 36 and 44)

According to Douglas Hare writing for Interpretation; a Bible Commentary; on the Gospel of Matthew. “God is postponing the last judgment so that many more might have a chance to hear and accept the Gospel. This is a time for worldwide evangelism.”

To hear and accept the Gospel is reminiscent of the “come and believe” message that we heard on Thanksgiving Day.  It is the bread of coming and the drink of believing.  Very often in scripture the same coded message is reconfigured or repackaged with the same lesson. We get this message in church, or we should.

Perhaps the best message we can give to others is to, “Try church again.”  Bring a friend to Church. Be that friend who brings someone to church and when you do, stay with them through the opening readings.  Stay with them through the liturgy of the Table (Communion). Stay with them at coffee hour.  And then invite them back.  This is the time for worldwide evangelism!

But wait, there’s more!  Now is the time to let people know that they should not be complacent in their good intentions.  We need to recognize that there is a God and that God is good (All the time). God wants all humanity to be saved.  God is not a scarce resource.  Heaven has the capacity to house all the people of the world and then some. Red, Yellow, Black or White, we are precious in His sight.  But people need to know it. And you need to tell them. Or, bring them to church and I’ll tell them.

If God is postponing the last judgment as Hare suggests, we have this narrow door to walk through. Each of us should play our part in leading others through the narrow door.  We must stay vigilant however to keep our eye on the door.   Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day our Lord is coming.

Now is our chance to challenge our Lord Jesus!  Since we don’t know when our Lord Jesus is coming we have to be ready all the time.  That means living our lives in constant reverence.  Our Lord Jesus says he is coming at an unexpected hour. The way to counter that is to make every hour “expected.”  So we must expect him all the time, every hour.  In this way we show him that we can be persistent. We can overcome his low expectation of us by expecting the unexpected. And then we can say, “I was expecting 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+

Eucharistic Readings for St. Andrew

Deuteronomy 30:11-14  Psalm 19 or 19:1-6 Romans 10:8b-18   Matthew 4:18-22 [John 1:40 – 42]

“One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed” (John 1:40 – 42)

So I cheated by adding a passage from the Gospel of John.  Matthew only mentions Andrew as one of the twelve.  I wanted more information on Andrew to be shown.  Gospel versions don’t compete with each other, they are all correct, just seen from different perspectives.  We need them all and with prayer, we might, with God’s help, come to some deeper understanding.

As a member of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, I am proud to say that we are a gathering of men trying to bring men to Christ as did our namesake, Andrew. We are committed to Prayer, Study and Service.  I hope as we bring men to Christ their lives are changed for the better and for the Gospel of Christ. I now yield to James Kiefer:

“Most references to Andrew in the New Testament simply include him on a list of the Twelve Apostles, or group him with his brother, Simon Peter. But he appears acting as an individual three times in the Gospel of John. When a number of Greeks (perhaps simply Greek-speaking Jews) wish to speak with Jesus, they approach Philip, who tells Andrew, and the two of them tell Jesus (Jn 12:20-22). (It may be relevant here that both “Philip” and “Andrew” are Greek names.) Before Jesus feeds the Five Thousand, it is Andrew who says, “Here is a lad with five barley loaves and two fish.” (Jn 6:8f) And the first two disciples whom John reports as attaching themselves to Jesus (Jn 1:35-42) are Andrew and another disciple (whom John does not name, but who is commonly supposed to be John himself — John never mentions himself by name, a widespread literary convention). Having met Jesus, Andrew then finds his brother Simon and brings him to Jesus. Thus, on each occasion when he is mentioned as an individual, it is because he is instrumental in bringing others to meet the Saviour. In the Episcopal Church, the Fellowship of Saint Andrew is devoted to encouraging personal evangelism, and the bringing of one’s friends and colleagues to a knowledge of the Gospel of Christ.” (JamesKiefer@http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Andrew.htm)

We are trying to make a positive Christian difference in the world.  Every Saturday we Brothers Andrew say this prayer, “Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”  (BCP p. 237)

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 29 Year 1

AM Psalm 140, 142; PM Psalm 141, 143:1-11(12)  Isa. 24:14-23; 1 Pet. 3:13-4:6; Matt. 20:17-28

“Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3: 15)

Peter says to figure out what your heart is set on and hope for the best.   Hope for good to be done and that all people are given what they need to be the best that they can be. 

I have said that as we age and mature our values shift or change.  How about hope?  Can or should what we hope for, shift or change?  I think so.  I think our hopes are directly linked to our values. 

Some people have no hope.  Often they are down trodden and want you to be the same.  Resist this kind of negative influence.  Be strong. Hope well. Give people hope.  I am reminded of a lady who came to see me during a meeting.  I went to her to explain that now is not a good time but that after my meeting I would attend to her.  The woman, who needed financial assistance, was tired and apparently had a sense of urgency.  To cut to the chase, she asked if this church had ever “hoped” anyone before.  I didn’t’ know what she meant at first. But then I realized that she was using an improper form of the word “help” and wanted to know if our church had ever helped anyone before.  I told her yes but asked her to sit in the sanctuary until my meeting was over.  When the meeting was over, she was gone.  Wished I could have helped her.  But she helped me.  Using her language I believe we are called to give people hope.  I know hope is not a verb but we should hope people.  And good hope will do.  Over time it will evolve along God’s will. But first people must have hope.  We Christians are supposed to hope them.

We must understand that God has provided all creation with all that we need. Since we believe that God’s will, will be done, our hope is personal. We hope that we can witness God’s will being done during our earthly lifetime. So this then is our defense, that we give hope to others as they live into the path that God has set them on.

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 Thanksgiving Day Year C

Deuteronomy 26:1-11  Psalm 100  Philippians 4:4-9   John 6:25-35

 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  (John 6:35)

Well this is very strange!  The reading from the Gospel of John for James Otis Sargent Huntington, which was for Monday (that I used yesterday) is the same one for today, Thanksgiving Day, Year C

It is interesting that the two components of Christian transformation are to come to Jesus and then believe in Jesus.  Jesus uses the terms of hunger and thirst to explain this concept.   This draws me back to my days at St Vincent de Paul Catholic School.  The sisters insisted that we children first eat all of our food before we drink our milk.  First we satisfied the hunger, and then we quenched our thirst.  I don’t know if they were making this particular connection, but now, as I write this, I can make the connection.

Just as eating a meal requires simple discipline to be deeply appreciated, so too does giving thanks. When we get into the church habit, it becomes a liturgical habit. The Holy meal that we are going to participate in this afternoon is the one our Lord Jesus handed down to us on a Thursday over 2000 years ago.

We Americans then keep a Thursday tradition alive by giving thanks around a feast. I don’t know if those first pilgrims had in mind that Thursday was the day that we should do this in remembrance of our Lord’s celebration or not. I don’t know if they were making this particular connection, but now, as I write this, I can make the connection.

The way to make Thanksgiving more liturgical is the respect and reverence we give to it.  Write a thank you note, make a phone call, send a thank you gift (the stores would like that one). Put some holy work into giving thanks. This simple discipline will be deeply appreciated by you and those to whom thanks is given.  Such giving comes from our Lord Jesus who is the bread of life and will never leave us hungry after having served with him or thirsty after we have come to believe in him.

Let us pray. “Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP p. 246)

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+

Readings for James Otis Sargent Huntington Priest and Monk

Psalm 34:1–8 Galatians 6:14-18 John 6:34-38

 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  (John 6:35)

It is interesting that the two components of Christian transformation are to come to Jesus and then believe in Jesus.  Jesus uses the terms of hunger and thirst to explain this concept.   This draws me back to my days at St Vincent de Paul Catholic School.  The sisters insisted that we children first eat all of our food before we drink our milk.  First we satisfied the hunger, and then we quenched our thirst.  I don’t know if they were making this particular connection, but this day, as I write this, I can make the connection.

Today I will remember James Otis Sargent Huntington whose day was actually the 25^th of November.  “James Otis Sargent Huntington was born in Boston in 1854. After graduation from Harvard, he studied theology at St. Andrew’s Divinity School in Syracuse, New York, and was ordained deacon and priest by his father, the first Bishop of Central New York. In 1880 and 1881, he ministered in a working-class congregation at Calvary Mission, Syracuse.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 25)

“While attending a retreat at St. Clement’s Church, Philadelphia, Huntington received a call to the religious life. He considered joining the Society of St. John the Evangelist, which had by that time established a province in the United States, but he resolved to found an indigenous American community.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 25)  It seems Huntington wanted his own brand of bread so to speak.  His hunger and thirst was for a domestic kind.  When we introduce our Lord Jesus to people we must then step back as see how our Lord Jesus works in them.  We should not make the people that we tell about our Lord Jesus, how they should respond. We should just watch our Lord Jesus work in them, and be amazed.

“Huntington and two other priests began their common life at Holy Cross Mission on New York’s Lower East Side, ministering with the Sisters of St. John Baptist among poor immigrants. The taxing daily regimen of Eucharist, prayer, and long hours of pastoral work soon forced one priest to leave for reason of health. The other dropped out for lack of a vocation. Huntington went on alone; and on November 25, 1884, his life vow was received by Bishop Potter of New York.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 25) For reasons of poor health I understand, but, “lack of vocation?” I don’t. Perhaps he drank his milk before he finished his meal.                                                     

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 29 Year 1

AM Psalm [120], 121, 122, 123; PM Psalm 124, 125, 126, [127] Nahum 1:1-13; 1 Pet. 1:13-25; Matt. 19:13-22

“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)

Through our Lord Jesus we have come to trust in God. I have heard that trust in God is the better translation of the word for believe. “In God we trust.” is what we print on our American currency. While some don’t like this statement to be there I like it as a reminder that we are one nation under God.  Of course, there are Americans who don’t like those words in our Pledge of Allegiance either. However, to trust means that you place yourself, your future,  in God’s care no matter what.  To trust indicates a confidence, and conviction that weighs more than simple belief.  It builds our faith and assures our hope.

This means our faith and hope are set on God.  Our Lord Jesus taught about God.  As God sees us through the eyes of our Lord Jesus, so too, should we look for God through the eyes of our Lord Jesus. I do not know the outcome of all that will occur in my life.  None of us really do.  We hope for the best and without God out there for us it is an empty hope.  Hope has to be anchored on something.  Mine is anchored on the trust that God really is all about good outcomes. 

We must realize however that some good outcomes are deferred to our life after death. Such is the case with a good friend of mine who passed away yesterday. Last year he and his wife suffered the loss of their home due to a fire.  And now our Lord Jesus has called him home.  Now for Bert, no more fires, no more death. His faith and hope has come to fruition as he has trusted in God.  Live in glory everlasting Bert.

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 29 Year 1

AM Psalm 106:1-18; PM Psalm 106:19-48  Joel 3:1-2,9-17; 1 Pet. 1:1-12; Matt. 19:1-12

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1: 3 – 5)

The apostle Peter has surely grown from the fisherman he used to be.  I think it started in the period we call the Confession of Peter which we remember on January 18.  We get this from the Gospel of Matthew where Peter responds to our Lord Jesus’ question of who do you say that I am, “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’  And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16: 16 -17) 

This was transformative for Peter.  And later, as evidenced by the reading we have today, we see that this fisherman now shares the revelations concerning divine grace to all of us about what the Spirit of God can, and does do. Even before we get into the content of his letter we see an enlightenment that has enabled him to speak beyond his own working class history. Listen again to his opening address:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1: 3 – 5)

The closing of his opening address also gives hints of the revelation of the Holy Spirit where he says, “It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look! (1 Peter 1:12)

Perhaps now more people who read my blog will be able to understand why I close each page the way I do.

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 Last Sunday of Pentecost Proper 29: Christ the King Sunday Year C

Jeremiah 23:1-6   Psalm 46  Colossians 1:11-20  Luke 23:33-43

 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”  (Luke 23:38)

Wait, what? How did this come to be?  It started roughly a thousand years before the birth of Our Lord Jesus. This was during the time Israel wanted a king for themselves even though God had told them not to be like the other nations.

Here is how it started: “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him [Samuel], “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.  Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” (1 Samuel 8:4 – 9)

From this we arrive at the end of the kings of Israel in John’s Gospel:

“Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He [Pontius Pilate] said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”  They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.”  (John 19: 14 – 15) How sad and hurtful this statement must have been for God to hear.

Our Lord Jesus was crucified between two criminals. “One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah?  Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39)  I am aware that this writing in Luke guides us into seeing this first crucified criminal as a harasser of our Lord Jesus.  But we don’t know this until we hear the second criminal rebuke him.  In defense of the first speaker, I remind us that he is the first to say, “save yourself, and us.”  It is the “and us” part that stands out for me. None of the other mockers bothered to ask Our Lord Jesus to save them as well, not the Israelites and especially not the soldiers.  Jesus is the One who forgives even those who harm him, not knowing what they are doing.  We fit in that category.  So Jesus tells not only that man on the cross but us too, that, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23: 43)

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+