Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Friday aftetr the 3^rd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 105:1-22 Psalm 105:23-45 Exod. 2 4:1-18 Col 2:8-23 Matt. 4:12-17

He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulon and Naphtali.”  (Matthew 4:13)

I still remember looking from a boat to the coast of Israel, in particular, Capernaum.  This is the first place our Lord Jesus went of his own free will and accord.  Everywhere else, he was taken by his parents; to Bethlehem to be born; to Nazareth to be raised, to Jerusalem to be circumcised, back to Nazareth, to Jerusalem again at age 12 and even to a wedding in Cana by invitation and always back to Nazareth.  But now, he left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake. I took a picture of Capernaum and Galilee of Israel and was so impressed with it that I made it the representation or icon of my blog page.

It is around Capernaum that our Lord Jesus walked along the shore and said to John and James; and to Andrew and Simon Peter; “follow me.”  Capernaum then was his preaching and teaching area.  I have discovered that Capernaum is only mentioned in the Bible in the Gospels. Therefore, Capernaum is Christ centric.

Our Lord Jesus bloomed where he planted himself.  We too, in our very transitional world, move around a lot. I think now however we are beginning to see that we can pretty much live wherever we want to because we can reach out, or bring the world to our laptops wherever we are.  This stay at home; work from home Coronavirus is showing us this new way of life.  We too can bloom from right where we are.  Our home town can, and should, become our “preaching and teaching area” for the Church.

Many preachers, including myself have been preaching to the world via “YouTube” during this stay-at-home pandemic.   For me, there is also this blog page.  Raeford, North Carolina is not Capernaum, Israel.  But it is where I am planted.  Where did you begin your life?  Where are you now?  What are you telling others about Jesus of Capernaum?

None of us knows where our Jerusalem is.  None of us knows where our lives will end here somewhere on earth. We must always do the best we can wherever we are at this time in our life and let tomorrow take care of itself.  Wherever you are right now, it is your Capernaum! It is your preaching and teaching area for the Church.

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

Today we remember St. Philip and St. James. Their Eucharistic Readings are: Psalm 119:33-40; Isaiah 30:18-21;  2 Corinthians 4:1-6;  John 14:6-14

Daily Office Readings for Thursday after the 3^rd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 37:1-18 Psalm 37:19-42 Exod. 20:1-21 Col. 1:24-2:7 Matt. 4:1-11

(Psalm 37: 3 – 7)  I really like these verses.  Let’s look at them individually.

 3 “Put your trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on its riches.”

As I have mentioned before, “Trust” is a better word than believe.  We must trust in God and know that God is Good, all the time.  Also, God has given us this good earth with all that we need to sustain ourselves.  This is why we should always ask for blessings over anything we are about to eat that it may nourish our bodies and that our bodies my do God’s will.

4 “Take delight in the Lord, and he shall give you your heart’s desire.”

What our heart desires often changes as we mature.  Fancy cars and clothes no longer interest me.  Now I desire truth and love and good friends and a faithful worship community. 

5 “Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass.”

So, again, the word trust comes into play.  But let us not trust in any specific thing.  But rather, let us trust in God in general to make things the way God wants them to be, in God’s own way. 

6 “He will make your righteousness as clear as the light and your just dealing as the noonday.”

What is good and right will hold up in the light. Our call is to let go and let God.

7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”

So I’m wanting things done, and done now!  I have a hard time “waiting” for the Lord to do whatever it is the Lord is going to do. So I use this morning time to ponder about what God is doing while I am waiting. What should we do while we wait?  I pray for answers that I can’t imagine.  I only hope and trust that my evolving spiritual maturity is commensurate with what God is doing, and that with God’s help, it will be.  I ponder anew what the Almighty can do.

Today we remember “Sarah Josepha Buell was born in New Hampshire in 1788 to Captain Gordon Buell and Martha Buell, both of whom were advocates for equal education for both sexes. In 1813, she married David Hale, a promising lawyer who shared her intellectual interests. In 1822, David died four days before the birth of their fifth child…. In 1830, she published a book of verses for children aimed at the Sunday school market; it included the now-famous “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” originally called “Mary’s Lamb.” (from Great Cloud of Witnesses for April 30)

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

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday after the 3^rd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 38 Psalm 119:25-48 Exod. 19:16-25 Col. 1:15-23 Matt. 3:13-17

“Take from me the way of lying; let me find grace through your law.” (Psalm 119: 29)

I have learned from a dear friend that leaving out the whole truth is the same as lying. It is the misleading understanding about a situation that you leave with people that you are responsible for.

It sounds very tough and independent to say that you don’t care about what people think of you. And, in some cases, depending on who the person is, it may be okay. There are biblical cases in which God sanctions a lie (Rebecca lying about the identity of Jacob to Isaac; and Rahab lying about the spies of Joshua).

Also there are the cases of lying to save the life of people such as lying to protect human life as in the Underground Railroad and the Holocaust cruelty and murders.  However, in many cases, knowingly allowing a falsehood to exist, only to enhance one’s own image, is the same as straight out lying. It seems especially heinous when done only to protect or promote the status of the liar.  Perhaps the need to remember the lie, and to keep on lying, is worse than the original lie. Mark Twain said, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” Thanks Mark, I love it.

Today we remember Catherine of Siena, Reformer and Spiritual Teacher (April 29, 1380).  She worked tirelessly to bring the Church back from France to Rome. (The Avignon Papacy, sometimes called the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy, began when Philip the Fair, King of France, captured Rome and the Pope in 1303).

“Catherine is known (1) as a mystic, a contemplative who devoted herself to prayer, (2) as a humanitarian, a nurse who undertook to alleviate the suffering of the poor and the sick; (3) as an activist, a re-newer of Church and society, who took a strong stand on the issues affecting society in her day, and who never hesitated (in the old Quaker phrase) “to speak truth to power”; (4) as an adviser and counselor, with a wide range of interests, who always made time for troubled and uncertain persons who told her their problems — large and trivial, religious and secular.”  ( by James Kiefer at http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Catherine_Siena.htm )

I like the “to speak truth to power” part.  It fits with my message for today.

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

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday after the 3^rd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 26, 28; Psalm 36, 39; Exod. 19:1-16;  Col. 1:1-14; Matt. 3:7-12

“Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”  (Matthew 3:9)

Abraham is a very significant Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims.  But what is significant about Abraham is not his genetic code, his biology, nor his DNA.  No, what was important about Abraham was his faith. He believed in God and for his faith, “it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.” (James 2:23)

The significance of Abraham is not something genetic that is passed on the next generation, not even to Isaac or Jacob.  They, like Abraham, had to meet God for themselves and be tested by fire. So none of us, not Jew, not Christian, not Muslim can claim a direct heritage from Abraham as for as God is concerned. And, even if someone did show close DNA to a people supposed to be of Abrahamic lineage, it matters not.  It is not the biology that matters; it is the faith of Abraham.  So, like John says, God can raise children to Abraham from the stones of the earth.

It makes no difference who we are, we can choose to be children to Abraham, not by investigating our ancestry, but only by believing. To be raised as children to Abraham we must choose to believe and hold God more dear than our own children as did Abraham. As I have said before, I now say again, “Trust” especially in God, is a better translation of the word used for believe. Trust God more than family, more that government, more than so called authority figures, more than human professions like doctors and lawyers. The only exception I will make to this are doctors and professionals who pray.  Faith means everything.

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

Daily Office Readings for Monday after the 3^rd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

Psalm 25 Psalm 9, 15  Exod. 18:13-27  1 Pet. 5:1-14  Matt. (1:1-17),3:1-6

“Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; remember me according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.” (Psalm 25: 6)

This is an interesting proposition.  The Psalmist is asking God to not see the sins of the Psalmist but rather to be judged by the love of God and the goodness of God.

I share this sentiment with the Psalmist.  I am a sinner.  I have erred and strayed from God’s ways on occasions.  I am in real need of a loving and merciful God.  I need a God whose mercy outweighs my wrongs. I need a God whose love makes me a better person, in spite of myself. 

And then, living into God’s love, I will do my best to be a new and much better person.  Like many, I am a work in progress.  But also like many, I depend on God’s help and love to work in me, making me who God wants me to be understanding that God will gift me with what my community needs.  And in the end, how do we want to be remembered?  We want to be remembered according to God’s love and for the sake of God’s goodness.

I love these mornings when I come to this laptop and ponder the spiritual presence of God first thing in the morning.  I know that each day brings a challenge and some enlightenment. I just pray that I let God do the work in me and that I just settle down and watch what happens, yes, even if for a moment it’s unpleasant.  “Remember [us] according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”

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 Third Sunday of Easter: Year A

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daily Office Readings for Saturday after the 2^nd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daily Office Readings for Friday after the 2^nd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

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

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

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

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

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

So you see boys and girls, God is so smart, so fair, so understanding, and so empathetic. God knows us and what we are going through.  We ought to live our lives fully understanding that God is with us and will advocate on our behalf in this life; but more importantly, God will advocate for us in the kingdom of heaven yet to come. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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

Daily Office Readings for Thursday after the 2^nd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday after the 2^nd Sunday of Easter: Year 2

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

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

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

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

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

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