Author: John Thomas Frazier

Mark

“He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” (Mark 5:34)

This is the story of Jesus on his way to Jairus’ home to attend to Jairus’ daughter.  And while this story begins and ends with the little girl, on the way a sick woman gives Jesus an unexpected opportunity.

She has been bleeding for 12 years.  She has tried everything and every doctor for help to no avail. Now she puts her hopes and faith in Jesus.  She self talks and says that if she could just touch his clothes she would be made well. And she was.  When Jesus approaches her about what she did, she confesses. And Jesus says to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.

So once again, God in Christ is using the faith already in us to fix us. It is amazing that God puts this faith in us from the beginning and then waits patiently until we ask for help.  Then God reaches in and activates the medicine in us to fix us.  We keep the medicine fresh by regular prayer, study and worship.  Faith not used is faith lost. 

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

Part 2 of 2

Readings for St Thomas Aquinas Priest, Friar, and Theologian (28 JAN 1274)

Psalm 119:97-104 Wisdom 7:7-14 Matthew 13:47-52

Wisdom

“Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me;
I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.” (Wisdom 7”7)

In the thirteenth century, when Thomas Aquinas studied the works of  Aristotle, such study caused him grief within the church but he remained steadfast.

Aquinas framed a method of argument that still works today but it requires patience.  Aquinas insisted that we listen very closely to the other’s argument. Further, that we should listen close enough to repeat the other’s point of view using their supporting reasons.  He would teach that, until we can do this, we can’t fully refute the other’s evidence. We may even take up the other’s position.  Which I feel is an evolving process.  We shouldn’t argue just to win.  We should argue to get at the truth, and let that truth make us free.

I can remember also from Seminary that St Thomas Aquinas argued for the existence of God as the Prime Mover of all things in motion, that God is the changer of all things and yet is the Changeless One; and other such descriptors of Deity.  One professor told us that of the volumes of books by Aquinas, one little revelation of the Holy Spirit can give us far more insight into the Being of God.  So as the writer of Wisdom says, “Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.” (Wisdom 7”7)

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

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10:  Psalm 19: 1Corinthians 12:12-31a: Luke 4:14-21

1^st Corinthians

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” (1^st Cor. 12:12)

Paul demonstrates that our Church is multifaceted. While we are made up of diverse  peoples, Jews, Greeks, slaves, free, blacks, whites, males, females, old, young, gays, straights, rich and poor; all participating in Christ in non-tribal ways.  People of different cultures and languages are coming together within the Christian Church and bringing their unique perspectives with them.  Any move that promotes sameness among its members fosters the antithesis of the principles of Christianity. Be us by being different.

In addition to the wide invitation to all walks of humanity, we are also called to many functions within the Church. The shortest list of needs is the formally ordained, the deaconate, the priesthood and bishops. If we only had these three we wouldn’t have a church.  We need people who do the heavy lifting of Altar Guild, Choir, Music, Ushering, Cleaning, Stewardship, Money Handlers, Mission and Outreach, Cooks, Office Management, Building Repairers, Folks who can just move stuff, and the list goes on.  The needs of the Church are perhaps more divers than the limited channels of human diversity that feed into the Church.

With Jesus’ movement through Paul to have him include other cultures, the Christian Church is perhaps the first multi-ethnic organization to come together for the benefit of the whole community.  This is who we are and who we are called to be by God in Christ Jesus. We are called to be a collection of different people who come together to employ the various gifts given to us by God for the good of all people.  Let’s get with somebody different and do something good.

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

Part 2 of 2

Luke

 ^“When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom.”  (Luke 4:16)

And I guess we should say “back” to Nazareth, given that he was raised there.  I like to catch the little seemingly unimportant phrases like “as was his custom.”  That’s a big deal!  It’s a custom that Jesus modeled that too many professing Christians (followers of Jesus) fail to follow.

I love telling the story of when I was in Desert Shield/Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and went to our little church service every Sunday in the sand.  Some of my junior Marines asked me, “Gunny, why do you go to church?” Of which I answered, “Because it’s Sunday.”  That’s it – straight forward, simple.  Even now I don’t give long theological pontifications about The Resurrection and Church History.  I understand that when I accept Jesus and Sunday comes, I go to church as was Jesus’ custom.  Let’s follow Jesus to Church.

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

Part 1of 2

AM Psalm 30, 32; PM Psalm 42, 43
Isa. 46:1-13; Eph. 6:10-24; Mark 5:1-20

“You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead; *
you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.”  (Psalm 30:3)

We are going to read about the healing of the man with many demons in part 2.  But let us look at what we have here.  The Psalmist praises God for lifting him up from his apparent path to death. His life was given back to him. Life is not just watching time go by so that we can hurry up and get to the end of the stress we are experiencing.  If we want to see what life is we only have to watch a young child as she learns how to play with a new toy or as she taste a new food for the first time and see the excitement in her face.  That’s what life is, experimentation and exploring!

I think any number of us can sometimes consider our life trajectory as a spiral downward into the abyss. The mundane becomes the slow construction of our tomb.  There is no experimentation or exploring.  There is only routine boredom at best, routine aggravation at worst.

But when God brings you up to experience a new craft, or new studies and most especially when God puts in your path new people in your life, God is restoring your life, restoring it as you were trying so hard to be ever going down to the grave. Examine your life intently.  What new skills, new studies and new people has God placed in your life?  Do not live going down to the grave, live being restored by God.  It is not so much that God created us, but rather, that God is creating us.

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

Part 2 of 2

Ephesians

“But Jesus refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’  And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.”  (Ephesians 5: 21 – 20)

This an interesting experience.  The man was relieved of the evil spirits that possessed him.  He then asked Jesus if he could join the group.  Jesus said “no.” Perhaps there are several reasons for Jesus denying him the privilege of joining the group. Let’s look at a couple of them.

None of the men who followed Jesus were people who were healed of anything. Also, all of the apostles were Israelites.  Maybe a healed Gentile could be better used among the Gentiles proclaiming the mercy and goodness of God. Maybe this healed man would never turn away from Jesus if Jesus allowed him to follow.  This could be problematic if Jesus fully intends to be arrested without injury to those who followed him. No, Jesus needed those sheep who would flee when the Shepherd was struck.

The whole point of this lesson is that when we are thankful to God for what God has done and is doing for us, we don’t have to fit in.  We can go among those who thought they knew us and show them the change, the improvement God has made, and is making in us.

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

Part 1of 2

Acts 26:9-21 Psalm 67 Galatians 1:11-24 Matthew 10:16-22

“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matt. 10:22b)

Today we remember the Conversion of St. Paul.  Some Church friends and I went to see “Paul the Apostle.”  It was a really good movie. The best part for me was the ending, wherein we saw Paul’s reward.  I’m not going to go any further.  I would like for you to see it for yourself.  The movie reminds me that we live our Christian lives for the reward, that is, to be saved. I think too many of us forget that.

 I think we get so wrapped up in this life we begin to feel that this is it and that this is all there is.  We must remember that this life is not eternal.  For those of us that lead hard or painful lives, this is good news.  But even for us that don’t have it so bad there is still a better life to come if we persevere, if we endure to the end.  We must remember that it is not what people think about us, rather it is what God knows about us.  But thanks be to God, God is loving and merciful. A decision that cost us time and money here in this life, for the benefit of someone else, that they might be taken care of, is pleasing in Gods sight. Some of the blessings we have here are for us to pass on. It was never ours to keep. Like Abraham, we are to be blessed and bless.

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

Part 2 of 2

Acts of the Apostles

“After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.”   (Acts 26: 19 – 20) 

Today we remember the Conversion of St. Paul.  He was met by the resurrected Jesus on his way to Damascus. It was on that road that turned his life around, and ours too. Saul was serious about how people should believe in, and worship God.  And there were no deviations as far as he was concerned.  But then he encountered Jesus and was asked “Why?” 

 Once we know, we can’t UN-know.  Once we have been made to know and feel the loving nature of God by meeting Jesus, it is a life changing experience and we too like Paul will have been changed, and the change is forever. How has the Jesus experience changed you? Live the conversion!

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

Part 1of 2

AM Psalm 37:1-18; PM Psalm 37:19-42
Isa. 45:5-17; Eph. 5:15-33; Mark 4:21-34 )

“He said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand?” (Mark 4:21)

Jesus is explaining to his listeners that the purpose of light is to unveil the truth.  To have light and not make good use of it can lead to trouble. I often find myself having moving through a space when it’s dark.  I keep a little pocket flashlight in my coat packet for just such occasions.  It makes all the difference when I can use it to help me see objects that I might otherwise trip over.

Now there are all kinds of light but I think what Jesus is teaching us is the light of morality.  We move through a world fraught with decisions of good or bad consequences for ourselves and others. We want to do the right thing. The light of morality allows us to see all the dangers that could cause us emotional pain. Our lesson from the teaching of Jesus serves as a light to the nations.  It is a two part light.  We replace the bulb and the batteries with the instructions about loving God and loving our neighbors.  Without this light of morality we are walking blind without eyes to see or ears to hear and are bound to trip over relational dangers causing emotional injury and heartache. Have Light in your life and use it and be well.

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

Part 2 of 2

Mark:

“With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it” (Mark 4:33)

It is important to understand the part about “as they were able to hear it” Jesus used parables that made sense to them in order to make them understand what the kingdom of God was like, and what it was not like. 

What we need to know, is that God wants us to know, that the kingdom of God can and should be right here, right now. All we have to do is live like it is here now. That means loving each other and to quit worrying about the negatives that we have put in place.  The kingdom of God does not have human constructs like race, no such thing.  Are we able to hear this?  The kingdom of God does not have rules about who people should partner with as long as they are loving and respectful to one another.  Are we able to hear this?  We have created social constructs and placed them in the domain of the kingdom of God. Well, God is not able to hear this.

Jesus told parables about scattered seed and mustard seed. He told parables about new growth, about the unique ways in which it grows and he talked about how wide spread the growth will be.  This was the kind of talk the people could hear and understand.  The truth is that the body of Christ has already been planted and it has taken root.  We have been given beautiful seeds in a plain envelope without a picture of what the plant itself will look like.  Our job is to nurture the plants with the waters of Baptism and keep the weeds human agenda out, thus giving the seed every opportunity to grow into the full statue of Christ. In this way we will be able to hear and we will be well.

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

Part 1of 2

AM Psalm 38; PM Psalm 119:25-48
Isa. 44:24-45:7; Eph. 5:1-14; Mark 4:1-20

Mark

“And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secretof the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that “they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.” ’ (Mark 4:11 – 12)

This is a clue that in order to hear what the Spirit is saying to us through Biblical readings, that we must look deep beneath the surface of the literal text.  Truth is veiled in parable because truth requires the work necessary to get the reward.  Those who just scrape the surface attain nothing of real value and it could even be misleading or short circuited.  We can’t just grab and go. Sometimes we must soak in the soup for a while to collect all the rich flavors of what’s there.

So, before we go deeper we must believe that there is something hidden beneath the perceived obvious. We also must believe that the treasure is worth the work of going deeper.  I am currently in a cabinet making class led by a craftsman in his 80’s.  He has been making cabinets for more than 50 years.  This class moves slowly.  There are many small steps that require patience to learn them. Getting in a hurry will cause mistakes and a waste of wood and possibly personal injury.  The fruit of the study and patience is a well made and beautiful cabinet.  Living the Christian life is the same way. To us has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.  We only have to follow the Master Craftsman, Jesus, and we will perceive, understand, and turn and be forgiven.   Be well.

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

Part 2 of 2

Ephesians

 “Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving.” (Ephesians 5: 4)

It has been said that people that us vulgar and profane language do so because they are inarticulate or believe that such language impresses others or that such language is funny.  I find it a turnoff. 

I have many family and friends that regularly us vulgar expressions.  I am working on a few of them.  For some I think there is no hope short of God. For most, my nagging is working, but slowly.  They often cringe when they slip up in my presence and notice my disapproving facial expression.  But that’s a start.  So many of us communicate through social media.  And I know there is a way to de-friend or cut them out, but they are my friends and family and I love them.  I want to hear what they have to say but not how they say it. I am not impressed by profanity but rather put off by it and I certainly don’t think the profanity is funny.  In fact, sometimes I miss the point they are trying to make because of the language tools used.   My hope is that my continued presence in their lives, and my language example is something they want to keep and are willing follow me.  And for that, let there be thanksgiving. Be well.

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

Wednesday Extra

Wednesday Evening Healing Service

AM Psalm 37:1-18; PM Psalm 37:19-42
Isa. 45:5-17; Eph. 5:15-33; Mark 4:21-34

Florence Li Tim-Oi

FIRST WOMAN PRIEST IN THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION, 24 JANUARY 1944

Florence Li Tim-Oi was ordained a deacon and later ordained a priest so as to ensure the Holy Eucharist continued to have a presence in China.  She was ordained a priest by Bishop Ronald Hall of Hong Kong in 1944, primarily because of difficulties occasioned by the Japanese occupation of China. A storm of protest after the war by disapproving bishops forced her to refrain from exercising her role as a priest.

Florence said at one point that she is pleased to serve God at whatever level was told her. Bishop Hall stood his ground and said “she is a priest.” Tim.-Oi is my hero because of her selfless attitude. She was just happy doing God’s work.  However those of us who can see what’s going on with the narrow-mindedness of the Church have a responsibility to go in and work to correct this mindset. I am very pleased to have a picture of Florence Li Tim-Oi and Bishop Barbara Harris (First woman Bishop in the Episcopal Church) talking with one another outside of the Washington National Cathedral. I downloaded it, I did not take it.

Towards the end of her life, Florence Li Tim-Oi emigrated to Canada where she was able to resume her priestly duties. She died in 1992. Like so many she was are rare gift from God that we undervalued. I pray we are getting better. Be Well.

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

Part 1of 2

AM Psalm 26, 28; PM Psalm 36, 39
Isa. 44:9-20; Eph. 4:17-32; Mark 3:19b-35

Psalm 39

“My heart was hot within me;
while I pondered, the fire burst into flame;
I spoke out with my tongue”  (Psalm 39:4)

I have been in this place; a place of hurt.  My heart too has been hot within me and when it happens, my mouth shoots forth words that hurts the hearts of others. I don’t know how to fix this.  I don’t think it’s mine to fix.  Sometimes we break things that are beyond our ability to repair.  Wounded hearts are the purview God.  This is why we pray, “cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the power of your Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you….”  (Book of Common Prayer p. 355)

I am forced to remember that God is beyond all limitations.  Situations that wreck my mind, God solves effortlessly.  Meditation then on the Holy of holies is perhaps the only way to settle us down and realign our attitudes in order that we might be better enabled continue our earthly pilgrimage in a way that sustains us.  So when heavy hearts burn, and they will, we must quiet ourselves and be still with God asking for the relief that only God can give. Be well.

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

Part 2 of 2

Ephesians

“Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” (Ephesians 4:26)

We all get angry from time to time.  It’s a human condition – unavoidable.  How we handle anger is a mark of good character.  I have met people who I thought never got angry.  Now I have learned that such people have found ways to channel their anger in harmless ways. Some folks create for themselves (or find) various activities that take their minds off the troubling issue.  It only takes a little time to get past the “hot spot” and things begin to settle back down.

Sometimes reading won’t do it for me because my tricky mind always finds a way to get back to the hot spot.  I have found that doing something with my hands that require real attention usually does the trick.  And sometimes, my beloved in Christ, these hands of ours just have to come together in serious prayer.  Prayer works.  Be well.

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

Part 1 of 2

AM Psalm 25; PM Psalm 9, 15
Isa. 44:6-8,21-23; Eph. 4:1-16; Mark 3:7-19a

“And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message” (Mark 3: 14)

Jesus appointed people to assist in the work of caring out the message.  I think this is the work of every Christian.  To receive the message in Church and then carry that message out from the church into everyday life.  This message is carried out not only in word but also in our conduct.  As St Francis said, “Go out and preach the Gospel, and when necessary, use words.”  This means that the primary method of spreading the good news is by our compassion and kindness. There are so many now who don’t bother to go to church.  They have given up on Good News.  But they still need it.  That’s where we come in.  We hear the word and take it into ourselves.  Then we go out and do good works through the faith re-kindled in us through the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Table.  With the Presence of Christ in us we go out and meet people, some are family, some are friends, some are people we have never met before.  But we have the Risen Christ within us. 

I can remember when I took Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and was assigned a floor in a hospital.  I was nervous about entering a patient’s room.  I don’t know why, I just was.  Then, I remembered the words of our supervisor who said “Go to them and just be, Christ will do the work of relationship.”  And that is exactly what happened.   I never experienced one problem.

We are all appointed to do the work of taking Jesus out to people who need him.  Do not worry and do not be afraid.  God in faith and Christ will do the heavy lifting. Be well.

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

Part 2 of 2

Ephesians

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,”  (Ephesians 4:4)

We hear these words at the Baptismal Service on page 299 of the Book of Common Prayer. Often we are reading along with the celebrant and can’t really focus on the depth of the meaning behind the words.  When Paul says there is one body he means the Christian Church.  We collectively make up the body of Christ.  The one Spirit is the Spirit of the Incarnate Word, Christ Jesus.  The Spirit has called us individually to a hope that fills a communal need.  Paul will go on to give some examples but what is important to know is that God’s plan is dependent on the call planted in each of us.  We are hard wired to be social creatures; we need each other. God made us this way. One can’t be Christian in isolation. 

The other part of this is that God is hoping!  God hopes that we will answer the call for the sake of the creation that God so loves. God doesn’t make us do good works, but rather hopes we will.  Once, an elderly lady came into the church for help, financial help.  I was busy at the moment and asked her if she could give me a minute or two.  In her desperate need she wanted to know if we were the kind of church that would help her so in her own vernacular she asked “have you ever “hoped” anybody before.  It took me a minute to realize that she was using a past tense of “help” that I had never heard. When I went to her she had left but her word stayed with me “hoped.”

It occurred to me that this is what the church is supposed to do for people, especially the down-trodden, give them hope.  So I turned the word hope into a verb.  To hope someone is to give them hope.  God has hope and wants us to pass it on.  So let’s do that.  Let’s hope people wherever we can. It is our calling. Be Well.

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

Part 1 of 2

Eucharistic Readings

 Isaiah 62:1-5 Psalm 36:5-10 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 John 2:1-11

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5)

Mary has lived with her son our Lord for most of his earthly thirty years.  She has seen him replenish their food supply and maybe even change some of their water into wine.  She has probably seen him do more with nothing than is ever written in the Bible.

So it is quite natural for Mary to go to her son when there is a shortage of anything.  Notice that Mary does not respond to Jesus’ mumbling about whether or not his time has come.  She turns to the servants that will obey Jesus – she turns to us.  She looks through the pages of John’s Gospel directly into our eyes and says, “Do whatever he tells you.”

This is perhaps the first sermon ever about how we Christians should respond to Jesus. John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of Jesus and that Jesus would baptize us with fire and the Holy Spirit.  Later even Paul tells us about how Christ Jesus is our Salvation.  But Mary tells us we must do as Jesus tells us.  She puts into action everything that Jesus will say to us in commands and parables, from the golden rule (Do onto others as you would have them do onto you), to the Good Samaritan and to give to Cesar that that is Cesar’s and to God that that is God’s.  If we are really serious about following Jesus when Jesus says “follow me” then we first must listen to Mary who says to us “Do whatever he tells you.” Be Well.

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

Part 2 of 2

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Civil Rights Activist

Psalm 77:11-20 Genesis 37:17b-20 Ephesians 6:10-20 Luke 6:27-36

Luke

Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)

This weekend we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Civil Rights Activist.  From the Gospel we read about doing to or for others as we would want them to do to or for us.  In 1963 Dr King writes a letter to clergy who think that his civil disobedience is “unwise and untimely.”  The following words taken from his letter of 1963 captures the necessity of its authorship.  He writes:

“I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.” (Letter from a Birmingham Jail: April 16, 1963: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

To be an advocate for those with no voice is to do for others what you would want them to do for you.  There is still a great need for all of us to stand up for those who are not us.  We need men to stand up for equal pay for women, we need European Americans to stand up for African Americans. We need the healthy to stand up for sick. We need those of us who can, to stand up for those who can’t.  We are not competitors in some kind of game.  We are made to be people of compassion for those who struggle.  Dr. King saw this as Jesus’ command to love others as you love yourself and to do onto others as you would have them to do onto you. Would you not advocate for yourself if you could?  So too then, welcome the service of someone who advocates for you, and you advocate for someone out there who needs you.  Be Well.

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

Part 1

Daily Office Readings

AM Psalm 20, 21:1-7(8-14); PM Psalm 110:1-5(6-7), 116, 117
Isa. 43:1-13; Eph. 3:14-21; Mark 2:23-3:6  

Ephesians

 “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

How often have I heard the words, “Let go, and let God.”  But somehow I always think that God might not get it right.  So I go to work.  This is usually where things go from bad to worse.

Like many of us I forget that God is already at work in us.  I also forget that I am only who I am suppose to be when God is acting out in me.  So here is the thing, God can do far more than I can ask, or imagine!  I have a great imagination.  However, I must admit it’s flawed.  My imagination normally works out things to my favor, operating from my biases.

God is not about any of us for our own sake.  God calls individuals out for the welfare of the community.  God Called out Moses for the Israelites, God called out Jonah for the people of Nineveh; God called out all the prophets for the salvation of a displaced Israel.  And God in Christ Jesus called out the first apostles for the community of the Church. God is still calling us out in Christ Jesus to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine. Some ways you can tell it is God who is calling is; the call will be for the benefit of others, the call will be inconvenient, the will cost you something.  This is the way it was for Moses, for Jonah, for the prophets and for the apostles and the way it is for us today. 

 Listen for God’s call in your life. And when you hear God’s call don’t get in the way.  Allow God to use you for God’s purposes for the enhancement of the community.  Be Well.

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

Part 2

Richard Rolle (1290–1349)

Psalm 63:1-8
Romans 11:33–36
Matthew 5:43-48

Romans

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen. (Romans 11: 36)

Paul is expressing as best he can the overwhelming magnificence of God. Our thankfulness, and thoughts, and praise should always go to God.  Richard Rolle devoted himself to the study of how to get close to God. He described four stages that one had to go through to become closer to God.  He described it as an open door, heat, song, and sweetness.

In one of his best-known works, The Fire of Love,  Rolle provides an account of his mystical experiences, which he describes as being of three kinds: a physical warmth in his body, a sense of wonderful sweetness, and a heavenly music that accompanied him as he chanted the Psalms.

I think I really identify with Richard Rolle regarding his mystical three legged stool.  In my own walk in this life I move around in my daily routine into different ways of enjoying being human.

While Rolle has his physical warmth in his body I have fitness.  I maintain a serious commitment to daily exercise that includes, pushups, squats, pull ups sit-ups dips, leg lifts and yoga.  At 70 I truly believe that I don’t quick working out because I get old, I get old because I quit working out.

Rolle has “a sense of wonderful sweetness.”  For me, this would be my pondering.  I ponder about God’s call on our lives as humans and what expectations God has for us.  Sharing this journal is part of my pondering.  I am a Spiritual Companion for several people.  When I sit with my loved ones I always inquire about their prayer life.  I ask if they journal.  This too is my wonderful sweetness.

Rolle has a “heavenly music that accompanied him as he chanted Psalms.  I too enjoy music.  I have many favorite hymns that I am learning to play on the piano and guitar.  Hymns are prayer for me.  From : “Praise to the Lord” to  “Lead Me, Guide Me” my daily walk is to the melody of some hymn. 

Put a hymn in your heart, go for a walk, and ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  Let its message guide your life.  Be Well.

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