Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daly Office Readings for Friday, Proper 7 Year 1

AM Psalm 102; PM Psalm 107:1-32 1 Samuel 9:1-14; Acts 7:17-29; Luke 22:31-38

“Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31 – 32)

Jesus prayed for Simon Peter and others (I think us too) that our faith may not fail.  Faith is the most important element of our lives. It is what connects us to the Holy of holies. Jesus knows this and acts on our behalf.  Evil wants us; therefore we must stay vigilant in order to overcome it.

Jesus uses language that suggests that we will drift away as did Peter.  But in his words he says “when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  Therefore Jesus knows that we will fall short.  But he also knows that we can repent and recover.  This is very good news. Jesus’ faith in us is so strong.  We need to have faith in ourselves as well, and faith in the faith of Jesus.  I am reminded of the verse of “Come thou fount of every blessing” where it says “prone to wonder Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.  Here’s my heart Lord, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”  I think maybe we should yoke with prayer partners as a way to guard against slipping away, against leaving the God we love. If we do drift, a prayer partner would be a good way back into the fold.   

Jesus reminds us that we have a responsibility to strengthen others when we come to ourselves. Hopefully we will also learn to be patient with them if and when they fall from their faith walk.  Hopefully we too will pray for our lost loved ones who have drifted away, that they will come back to the faith of our Jesus.  It is amazing what prayer, compassion and listening will accomplish.

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do. John+

Daly Office Readings for Thursday, Proper 7 Year 1

AM Psalm 105:1-22; PM Psalm 105:23-45 1 Samuel 8:1-22; Acts 6:15-7:16; Luke 22:24-30

“And Stephen replied: ‘Brothersand fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.” Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.” (Acts 7: 2 – 4)

Poor Stephen, he recounts, before being stoned to death, God’s wonderful and gracious deeds in the history of human life.  Stephen is on a spiritual high.  He remembers Abraham and his trials in his faith. He remembers that for his faith Abraham was about to kill his son Isaac. Stephen is trying desperately to show the people how Jesus and the Way of Jesus is a continuation of what God is doing that began with God’s promise to Abraham.  But they didn’t listen.

However, in that story of Abraham, perhaps because Isaac felt the faith (and fear) of his father Abraham in God, he too became a man of strong faith like his father.  Abraham’s faith almost cost Isaac his life.  It sounds harsh but it made an indelible mark on the soul of Isaac, something that does not always happen with our children today.

From 1 Samuel:

“And [the Elders] said to him, ‘you are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” “(1 Samuel 8:5)

Samuel undergoes the same situation that brought forth his own anointing by God after Eli lost control of his sons and the spiritual leadership of the people.  We have a responsibility to mentor our young ones teaching them about God and for us Christians, about God in Christ Jesus.  We are not responsible for how much they learn, they must assume some responsibility.  But we must both live a life of faith, and teach that faith to those who come after us.  One without the other is hypocritical, that is, to teach it but not practice it.

We must be strong persons of faith to raise strong persons of faith. I so wish my own children witnessed me praying more.  They saw how I watched football games, how I went to work, how I spent time with mom, how I went to play golf and even how I was serious about going to church.  But they did not see me serious about having an appointed time of personal prayer. 

 Stephen reminds us that God calls the child from the parent at God’s pleasure. Hopefully most of us as parents will grow old. For Eli, who we don’t know much about, except that his sons did not take his devotion to God seriously.  For Samuel, we watch him from conception, but still had sons that fell from his teaching. If we are good parents and our kids do not follow our lead, shame on them.  If we are bad parents and I our kids are likewise (or not), shame on us. If we are good parents and our kids are likewise, all glory be to God. Therefore in this last case, it will be said of us, “we have grown old and our children have followed in our ways.” 

Thanks be to God. John+

Daly Office Readings for Wednesday, Proper 7 Year 1

AM Psalm 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; PM Psalm 119:121-144 1 Samuel 7:2-17; Acts 6:1-15; Luke 22:14-23

“And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables.^”  Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” (Acts 6:2 – 4)

I have never agreed with or even cared for this kind of thinking.  Every saint I have ever studied showed their faith by serving and taking care of the less fortunate.  This passage brings about the birth of deacons.  Fine.  As an Episcopal priest I was ordained a deacon first.  I was never “un-ordained” out of the deaconate.  Therefore within my priesthood, I am still a deacon, one who serves tables.

The letter from James encourages us to show our faith in the works that we do.  Further, he says that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)  In many ways I think that considering one’s self too important to serve at tables is the very Hellenistic attitude that criticized them in the first place.

Over and over we are told to bear fruit.  Fruit does not come from just devoting ourselves to prayer and preaching.  We must have some sweat equity in the game. Preach fine, but walk the talk, we must walk the preaching.  I quote St Francis of Assisi as he said “go and preach the Gospel, and when necessary, use words.”  This implies that action, that is, works, that is, waiting tables if necessary, is the fruit of such “prayer and serving the word.” 

Sharing responsibility is common in the Bible.  Moses’ gifts were shared for the benefit of the Israelites. “The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.”  (Numbers 11:16 – 17)

So this sharing of responsibility is an honored tradition.  As I write these words I am well aware that I, and some of my parishioners, will meet a week from today to wait at tables at our local chapter of “Operation In As Much” to distribute breakfast to the hungry and homeless of our community. Yeah, I’m a priest, but I’m still a deacon and most important, I am still a servant of Christ Jesus, Baptized to serve.

Thank You Jesus.  John+

Daly Office Readings for Tuesday, Proper 7 Year 1

AM Psalm 97, 99, [100]; PM Psalm 94, [95]1 Samuel 6:1-16; Acts 5:27-42; Luke 21:37-22:13

“Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.” (Psalm 95:1)

Ahaaa, the Venite , these are verses 1 through 7 of Psalm [95] as found on page 82 of the Book of Common Prayer.  It is Morning Prayer.  I like to sing this Psalm in the morning as part of Morning Prayer.  The other music I like in the morning is “Lead me, Guide me.”  As found in Lift Every Voice and Sing.  The Venite is timeless. It always urges us to “come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms” which this Psalm does.

Perhaps my favorite Psalm is 121.  And that’s only because of our Women’s Bible Study.  The ladies and I say this Psalm every Tuesday afternoon. (We will do it today in fact)  But the Venite is personal for me as well.  I imagine all the Anglican religious of the English speaking world praying this Psalm in universal unison every morning.  “Come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.”  It is powerful!  There are many great and wonderful Psalms and a few that I can’t warm up to. I tend to like the joyful and praising Psalms.  Many people like the 23^rd Psalm.  I think we all should peruse through the Psalms and try to hold onto one or two.  My “relationship” with the first seven verses of Psalm 95 has to do with saying it every day in seminary and in my own morning prayers since.  It is now a part of me.  For those of you who may be curious, the melody I sing to is S-35 for Daily Morning Prayer II, in the 1982 Hymnal. I love singing the Venite.

Today we remember James Weldon Johnson Poet, 1938 for June 25

“James Weldon Johnson was born on June 17, 1871, in Jacksonville, Florida. His parents stimulated his academic interests, and he was encouraged to study literature and music. Johnson enrolled at Atlanta University with the expressed intention that the education he received there would be used to further the interests of African Americans. He never reneged on that commitment. In the summer after his freshman year, Johnson taught the children of former slaves. Of that experience he wrote, “In all of my experience there has been no period so brief that has meant so much in my education for life as the three months I spent in the backwoods of Georgia.” After graduation, he became the principal of the largest high school in Jacksonville, during which time he was paid half of what his white counterparts were paid, even though the school excelled under his leadership.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for June 25)

I am familiar with James Weldon Johnson’s work through my reciting his “Creation Story” from his book of poetry, God’s Trombones (1927). These are seven biblical stories rendered into verse, and was influenced by his impressions of the rural South. We used his Creation Story for Easter Vigil.  It is quite a literal interpretation of scripture but it is a lot of fun. The language is old-timey with a Southern, African American, slant.  As Johnson was a very educated man I am guessing he wanted to use language that would bring in all those on the fringes. I believe he did just that. 

“In 1906, Johnson was invited to work for the diplomatic corps and became U.S. Consul to Venezuela and later Nicaragua.  During his Nicaraguan tenure, Johnson was a voice of reason and reconciliation in a time of civil unrest and turmoil. His ability to bring together people of differing viewpoints toward a common vision served Johnson well in the 1920’s, when he became an organizer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for June 25)

Thank you Jesus for the saints in our lives.  John+

Daly Office Readings for Monday, Proper 7 Year 1

AM Psalm 89:1-18; PM Psalm 89:19-52 1 Samuel 5:1-12; Acts 5:12-26; Luke 21:29-36

Acts:

 “Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by.” (Acts 5:14 &15)

There are two points here that I want to bring out.  First, the writer (we think Luke) feels it is important that we see that the great numbers of people are of both men and women.  It seems this Jesus movement is inclusive and recognizes the humanity of both sexes.  This is different and progressive.  These people that were added were not classed as male or female. They were all known only as believers.  This is the one real question for each of us today; do I believe?  Am I a believer?

Second, the faith of the people works to heal the sick.  They “believed” that Peter’s shadow would heal and so it did.  The power of faith cannot be overstated. What we believe makes a difference.

Faith does not make a flat world round but it will move within the human sphere and bring about improvement, in the physical and mental and in the eternal spiritual self.  If we believe God will improve the health or comfort of a loved one it will happen. However, such healing or comfort happens in ways according to God’s plan, in this world or in the next. We pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”  Again, this is the one real question for each of us today; do I believe?  Am I a believer?  And if I find that I am, I should assemble with other like-minded believers and become part of the great numbers.

John The Baptist:

This is the day we remember John the Baptist.  He is considered the last of the Hebrew Testament prophets by Christians.  He proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ.  His readings are: AM Psalm 82, 98; Malachi 3:1-5; John 3:22-30 PM Psalm 80; Malachi 4:1-6; Matthew 11:2-19. 

In one of the above readings John the Baptist’s words are spoken with regard to how he responded to claims that he (John) was the messiah.  To such claims “John answered, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.  “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.”  He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled.   He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3: 27 – 30)

John accepted his appointed vocation as herald of the coming of Jesus. We, today’s Christians, are assigned as heralds of the return of Jesus.  How are we doing?  Are we proclaiming that Jesus will increase and we will decrease?  No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

Eucharistic Readings for Sunday, June 23 Proper 7 Year C

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a Psalm 42 and 43 Galatians 3:23-29 Luke 8:26-39

“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: 28 – 29)

I, like most Christians (knowing it or not), am a Judeo Christian.  As I study scripture I have favored a heritage that identifies more with Abraham than Moses or David. Abraham begins the origin of the Hebrew people. (Genesis 11)

While Paul plays down ethnic identity saying that we are no longer Jew or Greek, he also says we are all One Spirit in Christ Jesus. Spiritually, I walk with Abraham, the re-located mid-eastern man and his family that will become the father of the Israelites after his grandson Jacob is given that name. 

Jesus, in his human form, was an Israelite. And through Baptism and the grafting of his body and blood in Holy Communion Christians are brought into the spiritual legacy of the redeemed and saved Israelite people. So yes, we are no longer Jew or Greek, black or white, male or female, gay or straight, republican or democrat, legal or illegal citizens. Human ethnicity is surface identification but does not tell the whole story.  While it is said that blood is thicker than water, (I believe this is an attempt to hold biological families together, even when there is great discord), I say that our spiritual selves are often more binding and stronger than our blood connections.

We have Abraham, a faithful father as a heritage of heaven and Christ Jesus as the divine model of human morality and worker or our faith that has been placed in us by God to lead us and guide us.  Jesus often says our faith has saved us.  This “saved” does not simply mean cured of some illness but rather it means eternal salvation.  This is our inheritance, thanks be to God. 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.” (Book of Common Prayer page 289)

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to and through God’s people.  John+

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 6 Year 1

AM Psalm 87, 90; PM Psalm 136 1 Samuel 4:1b-11; Acts 4:32-5:11; Luke 21:20-28

“When the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” (1Semuel 4:3)

The Hebrew people of that day believed that God only cared about them.  This was their God-in-a-box.  Some of us still have a God-in-a-box.  God-in-a-box is too small.  This is a God that we think we decide who God likes or loves and who “our” God does not like or love.  We manipulate our God to act in ways pleasing to us.  This box can come in various shapes and sizes.  It can be our Bible or Prayer Book, it can be the cross we wear, it can be an icon, statue or some work of art, or it can be a box large enough for us to fit in like our church.  None of these can contain God.  And our God is also the God of the other.  This all powerful God cannot be manipulated. It is we who must conform to the righteousness of God. To do this we must accept the fact that God is the God of all the earth and everybody on earth.  And, God loves everybody the same, them and us.  In praying to God, we must also pray for the other.  This is what Jesus tried so hard to tell us.

Thank you Jesus.

June 22 Alban, First Martyr of Britain c. 304

“Alban is the earliest Christian in Britain who is known by name, and, according to tradition, the first British martyr. He was a soldier in the Roman army, stationed at Verulamium, a city about twenty miles northeast of London, now called St. Alban’s. He gave shelter to a Christian priest who was fleeing from persecution and was converted by him. When officers came to Alban’s house, he dressed himself in the garments of the priest and gave himself up. Alban was tortured and martyred in place of the priest, on the hilltop where the Cathedral of St. Alban’s now stands. The traditional date of his martyrdom is 303 or 304, but recent studies suggest that the year was actually 209, during the persecution under the Emperor Septimius Severus.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for June 22)

Christianity is not for the faint of heart.  Like Alban, there are many Christians who have paved the way of our faith with their lives.  We stand on their shoulders.  We must remember their names and their deeds.  We should tell them to our children and to their children.  One of the readings for Alban comes from 1^st John and it reads, “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.”  (1^st John 3:16)

In my faith journey I have found that when I love just one person that I am willing to die for, it becomes not so difficult to add another person, and then another, and another, and so on.  I am not yet where I can say that I will die for anybody, but I do believe that I am on that trajectory.

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do. John+

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 6 Year 1

AM Psalm 88; PM Psalm 91, 92 1 Samuel 3:1-21; Acts 2:37-47; Luke 21:5-19

“But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.” (Luke 21:18 – 19)

How can this be?  Jesus is telling them, and us, “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.”  And then he says, “But not a hair of your head will perish.”  This sounds contradictory to me.

We all know our biological decay will play its hand.  We are made to wear out.  So whether our end comes by the hand or actions or other people (relatives or not) it inevitably comes. Jesus’ purpose is to inform us that we have an invitation to continue our book.  Perhaps a better way to look at our earthly life is that of a preface or introduction to a book. After this life, the book itself goes on to eternity.  We get to write our own preface/introduction.

In this passage from Luke, Jesus talks about sad endings to our mortal lives.  But implicit in this prophetic message is the idea that should this happen, we are not to lose heart.  And more than this, good people also have their earthly lives ended in accidents, in terminal illness, and in natural disasters like earth quakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes.  But we have the opportunity to go beyond these earthly endings.  But how?

There is a clue in the second breath of Jesus’ sentence, “By your endurance you will gain your souls.”  It seems Jesus is talking about something we call the after-life, the resurrection. This is the life after our mortal death.  We however, must hold on to the belief that this day will come.  All through the Christian Testament we are told of the importance of believing and the benefits of  all who believe.  So this begs the question; Will we come into the resurrection whether we believe or not?  I don’t know.  God knows.  If we do, remember that the life we are living right now is our preface or introduction to the main book and has already been written, we wrote it.  You are writing it now.

I believe two things.  I believe that there are books in heaven that have no preface or introduction, yet they thrive; they are called infant and child angels.  I also believe that there are empty books in heaven; books with prefaces and introductions but were not permitted to continue in heaven, they are called evildoers.

We want to live lives that will continue through all eternity.  Remember, by your endurance you will gain your souls.

Thank You Jesus.  John+

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 6 Year 1

AM Psalm [83] or 34; PM Psalm 85, 86 1 Samuel 2:27-36; Acts 2:22-36; Luke 20:41-21:4

“He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.” (Luke 21:2)

The story of the poor widow putting in her last two coins is layered beyond its simplicity.  First, while she is down to her last, she gives it all anyway. She has no husband or visible means of support. She puts her trust and faith in God. She probably does not know that in fact, God in Christ Jesus is witnessing her at that very moment.  It is in this same way that this same Christ Jesus is witnessing our acts of kindness and charity, even though we too are unaware that he is watching and calling the heavenly host’s attention to our good deeds. The things we do when we think no one is watching is what gets God’s attention.

Second, she contributed to a leadership that did not really nurture the spiritual welfare of the people placed in its charge. Jesus has just finished talking about how scandalous the scribes were.  I have known many situations in various groups where when people lost confidence in the leadership or management they would not contribute to it.  They withheld their money, especially if they were poor in the first place. But this poor widow looked beyond the scribes to a greater power.  Her faith was in God, not the scribes. The temple was the only recourse she was aware of.  I’m thinking then, it’s not so much which charitable organization you give to but that it is in God’s Name that you give.  We have a treasurer who will not allow any contributions go in to deposit unless it is blessed.  She is so adamant about this that often tellers or the parish administrator will hunt me down to bless the money before it goes to the bank.

Third, she refused to be unseen. By being present with her little money she makes herself seen in the midst of the people giving what she had in the presence of on-lookers.  Just because she has no husband she will not be shunned and relegated to the back corners of her society. She makes them see her. She makes them realize that she is their responsibility as a member of their people.  It is the responsibility of any family or organized social structure to care for its members, secular or religious. She makes them see her and in some respect holds them accountable.  She is their sister and she should not be alone, or for that matter, down to just two copper coins in the first place.  Do something people!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  John+

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 6 Year 1

AM Psalm 119:97-120; PM Psalm 81, 82 1 Samuel 2:12-26; Acts 2:1-21; Luke 20:27-40

“Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord” (1Samuel 2:12)

This reading comes up on Father’s Day week.  Eli, and all dads have a responsibility to teach children the right way to live and to honor God.  All we can do is try to teach.  We can’t make them learn. However we must realize that teaching is done all of our waking hours. There are some things we do intentionally to teach.  But young ones are watching us all the time.  So unintentional behaviors like bad language, abuse of spouse or others, laziness, substance abuse and other bad behaviors are also learned.  They watch us and they learn from us, the good and bad. 

As we dads participate in the teaching process, we are not the only ones.  Children have the other parent, other adults, peers, relatives, teachers, neighbors, ministers and so forth.  The minds of young children are soaking up everything.  As dads we have a specific responsibility to watch the other influences that sometimes contradict the good moral lessons we try to instill. 

Perhaps Eli did not pay close enough attention to the influences around his sons.  In any case God was not pleased with him and Eli was forced to witness God moving the prophetic leadership to one other than one of his sons, to Samuel.  We will find out later that even Samuel’s sons didn’t learn well and this brings about the first king of the Israel, Saul. 

So how can fatherhood best be lived out?  As a father I have learned that establishing and trying to maintain my so-called authority is the wrong approach.  Raising children is not really about me.  It is about harmony and cooperation. It is about being willing to distance one’s self, if necessary, in order to ensure harmony and cooperation. I found that being a big brother- life-coach would be the more accurate description of fatherhood.

Eli’s sons being scoundrels was not pleasing to God.  It seems God held Eli at least in some way accountable for their base and irreligious character. (1Samuel 2: 11-17)  God told Eli, “The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you—both of them shall die on the same day.” (1Samuel 2: 34)  So I ponder, if Eli knew what would eventually happen would he have done anything different in their upbringing.

Being the big brother life coach promoting harmony and cooperation must include real corrective measures for wayward deeds.  True affection must first be established so that the father child relationship is very important to the child. When this happens the child does not want to disappoint the father (or mother).  I like the emperor penguin as the symbol for fatherhood. This flightless, father bird takes sole responsibility for receiving the egg and raising the chick until mother returns.  You see, each of us is a whole parent.  Our child raising responsibilities are co-dependent not independent. Done any other way, and we raise scoundrels.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.  John+