Author: John Thomas Frazier

Today is the 10^th Day of Christmas:

Readings for Friday, January 3: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 68; Evening, Psalm 72;

Genesis 28:10 to 22; Hebrews 11: 13 to 22; John 10: 7 to 17:

“And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16)

Jesus speaks of more than one flock or community who also hear his voice and obey his commands. All of us are blessed with the inclusive love of God Who provides us with a path to eternal grace.

I have gone to events in a large coliseum where there are several ticket gates. It is a magical moment when I finally make it to my programmed seat and see, a few rows across, an old friend. We both wanted to be at the same event but entered from different gates. We both followed our desire to be at the event. The desire in each of us was a yearning gift that we followed separately.

You too are gifted with an invitation to follow our Lord Jesus. Merry Christmas: Day 10

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done” (Genesis 2:1 and 2). So, for this evening and tomorrow day my friends, Shabbat Shalom. 

What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray:

Most holy and Glorious Lord God, teach us to understand that while we come together in different flocks under Your divine guidance, we must remember that all faithful flocks are steered to Your green pastures of rest where all our souls are restored. Amen.

This is the ninth day of Christmas

Daily Office Readings for January 2^nd, the 9^th Day of Christmas

Morning, Psalm 34; Evening, Psalm 33;
Genesis 12:1 to 7; Hebrews. 11:1 to 12; John 6:35 to 42 and 48-51

“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12: 1)

Yes, God works in mysterious ways.  Abram does not know where God is leading him, and if we follow God, neither do we. I am now planted in Hoke County, North Carolina.  It is over the mountains from Nashville, Tennessee, far to the east of where I was born and raised. God blessed Abram for faithfully following God. I believe this same God blesses all who do the same regardless of where God leads you.

I believe God desires to be active and teaching in all human communities. But God doesn’t just “appear” as a mighty spirit in the middle of human activity. That would shock us to death. No, God comes to people, in people, in us, in you.  When we obey God’s call we do as Abram did, we follow God’s lead to where ever God wants us. On arrival it may not be nice. But then, that’s why we were called in the first place. It’s not about us, it’s about God being present to the new community through us.

As a Christmas gift you are blessed, and you are called by God to be a blessing to all whom you come in contact with.  Merry Christmas: Day 9

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray:

O Almighty God, whose Presence is everywhere and whose eyes sees all and whose ears hears tears, use us we pray as You did Abram to go and be where we are needed and doing that which is pleasing in Your sight. Amen.

Today is the Eighth Day of Christmas: Holy Name Day

Eucharistic Readings for Holy Name Day            

Exodus 34:1-8; Romans 1: 1 to 7; Luke 2: 15 to 21

“After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke 2: 21)

I am very familiar with Luke 2: 1 to 20, in fact, I have written a poem about it. (See my Christmas Eve blog of 9 days ago)  Verse 21 for today adds a whole new element.  This goes back to the Angel Gabriel’s visit with Mary 9 months ago and that she is to Name him Jesus.  This was said and done before she conceived.  The naming is from heaven, the circumcision is from tradition.

It is the same way with you and me today.  Our names are given to God in baptism and we are brought into this world because we are needed.  We might not get the name that God wanted us to have but God will, at some point, call us each by the name prepared for us before the foundation of the world, and we will know it when we hear it, male and female alike.

If we are not given honorable names at birth, it becomes our responsibility to make our names honorable. You do this by living good and godly lives such that your offspring, or the offspring of your friends will want to name their babies after you. Jesus’ Name has come to mean love, healing, feeding, forgiving, and most of all, Resurrection.

Be you male or female, you were made as a gift to your community before you were born and so named at your own Christening. Merry Christmas: Day 8

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray:

Almighty and  ever-loving God, as we are called by our names Christened on us at baptism, we pray you lead us and guide us in order that we will think, say, and do that that is pleasing in your sight. Pull us back on track Dear God when we stray, and help us to live into our own names given to us in Christ Jesus as He too was foreordained to be Jesus. Amen.

Today is the Seventh day of Christmas

Daily Office Morning Prayer Readings for December 31: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 46 and 48:              
Isaiah 26:1 to 9; 2^nd  Corinthians 5:16 to 6:2; John 8:12-19:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  (Psalm 46:1)

We are always in need of refuge and strength.  We need a very present help in our time of trouble.  Today we suffer from a triple medical sickness around this country, the flu, something called RSV, and various variants of Covid.  There is also present among us in this country a tribal, gang-like mentality of no tolerance for anyone different than ourselves.  And lastly, there are global threats with other world powers.  None of this makes sense for a Merry Christmas.

This is a time we really need God. God was born among us in order to reconcile us back to God.  God was born among us to teach us how to live in loving relationship with each other. In the Gospel accounts Jesus often went off to a quiet and deserted place to be alone and pray. This Psalm 46 also has the words, “Be still and know that I Am God!”  In the midst of our anxiety more relevant words cannot be found.

God was born among us to teach us how to depend on God (individually and together) for help always, but most especially, in this time of our national and global human need. Merry Christmas: Day 7

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: For the Future of the Human Race (BCP p. 828)

O God our heavenly Father, you have blessed us and given us dominion over all the earth: Increase our reverence before the mystery of life; and give us new insight into your purposes for the human race, and new wisdom and determination in making provision for its future in accordance with your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today is the Sixth Day of Christmas

Daily Office Readings for Monday, the 6^th Day of Christmas: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 20 and 21:1 to 7; Evening, Psalms 23 and 27;

Isaiah 25:1-9;; Revelation 1:9 to 20; John 7:53 to 8:11;

“When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’”  (John 8:7 -9)

I always thought this adultery thing took two people.  Where is the other person?  Perhaps this person was in the crowd, with a stone in his hand.  How sad.

Jesus taught us to forgive one another. If we have offended someone and they have made us aware of it, the opportunity is before us to apologize, to say, “I am sorry,” and really mean it.

On the other hand, if someone has hurt or offended us, we should make them aware of our hurt. If the offender apologizes, good; if not, I like to use the word “pardon” so that I can move on with my life and not sit sulking about it. So I pardon the offender, perhaps even without them knowing it, and move on.

If being forgiven is the greatest gift we can ever receive from someone, then it is also the greatest gift we can ever give to someone. Can’t find it in a store, it’s in your heart.

Forgive someone this Christmas and accept being forgiven. Merry Christmas: Day 6

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray as we were taught to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

This is the Fifth Day of Christmas

Eucharistic Gospel Reading for the First Sunday after Christmas Day

John 1:1-18

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12)

That’s what I want to be, “Child of God.”  I believe all of humanity are children of God already.  I just don’t think I fully understand the power of believing.

 I believe, not just in God, but also in God’s heavenly realm where saints dwell in light everlasting. Such a place includes Nicholas, Bishop of Myra.  Therefore, I believe in Santa Claus and that Santa Claus still lives in light everlasting. Such a place also includes Saints John (both the Baptist and the Evangelist), Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saints Mary, (mother of Jesus), and Mary Magdalene, (servant of our Lord), and many other prophets and saints who have gone before.

Receiving and believing in God walking among us in human form is the Christian path that teaches us to love God and to love all of our brothers and sisters. We are a blended family. We don’t all look alike, we don’t speak the same language and we don’t all live in the same place on this earth, our island home. But, we are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, God Incarnate.

While serving in the Marines I circumnavigated the earth six times. Later, as a priest, I was blessed to travel to Israel and see the land that Jesus himself walked, taught, fed and healed.  I have personally seen Mohammed Ali, Martin Luther King Jr. and Ronald Reagan, and a great multitude of people whose name no one knows, save God. Even in our diversity, we are all the same; the good and the bad.

There is a story about a dying father who sees his two sons before he passes. He tells the first son, “I’ll see you later.”  He tells the second, “Bye my son.” We are all the same, the good and the bad. But as children of God we have the opportunity to be good and to see our brothers and sisters later. We must first believe and then act accordingly.

Believers of the Word are servants of our Lord. The power of faith or belief is a Christmas gift from the Word of God that has always been with God and is God. Thank You Lord Jesus. Merry Christmas: Day 5.

A Let us pray:  First Sunday after Christmas Day (BCP p. 213)

Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

This is the Fourth Day of Christmas

Eucharistic Readings for Holy Innocence

Jeremiah 31:15-17;  Psalm 124;  Revelation 21:1-7;  Matthew 2:13-18.

“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:18 and Jeremiah 31:15)

This Matthew reading comes from the sadness of the atrocities of Herod in the slaughter of the innocent babies in and around Bethlehem in his effort to kill the new born King. The quote is a repeat of the Prophet Jeremiah who spoke of Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin who lived by the way, but Rachel herself died (Genesis 35:17 to 19). This requires deeper pondering.

I know of a Rachel today who has no children, and yet, she is a perfect mother. She is kind and gentle, very smart and nurturing.  Children, when we are blessed with them, are a gift from God. And because they are precious in God’s sight, they should be precious in our sight as well.  After all, we are made in the Image of God.  This is why I often ask us to pray for our schools. Our schools hold and build our future. Pray for teachers also.

We are never to hurt or harm children, only help them, teach them, save and love them. This is what Christmas is all about. Merry Christmas: Day 4

 Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for our schools, and as we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray: (The Collect for Saturdays BCP p. 99)

Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today is the Third Day of Christmas and it is St John’s Day

Eucharist Readings for St John the Evangelist

Exodus 33:18-23; Psalm 92; 1John 1:1 – 9: John 21: 19b – 24;

“This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.” (John 21:24)

John is one of at least five Apostles that the Gospel shows evidence of being handpicked by Jesus.  True, the Gospel says he had 12 but some were just joiners I guess.  John, James, Simon (Peter) and Andrew, and later Matthew (Levi; Matthew 9:9) were actually invited with the words, “follow me,” and they accepted.  There was also the rich young man but he declined. (Matthew 19:21)  His name could have been among the 12, He was invited but his many possessions had control of him.

John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1: 1 – 3). We have a beginning from One who has no beginning.

We must recognize the testimony of John as a divine message. All of his words, from the Gospel according to John, his pastoral letters, and the Divine Revelation from our Lord Jesus, are God’s doing, and it is for our benefit. Thank You Lord Jesus.

The testimony of John the apostle about our Lord Jesus is true; Believe.  Merry Christmas: Day 3

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done” (Genesis 2:1 and 2). So, for this evening and tomorrow day my friends, Shabbat Shalom. 

What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia; Israel and Palestine, and our schools. And, as we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray:

Almighty and Ever-living God, You brought all life into being and blessed humanity with the gift of faith, the ability to believe. Increase our faith dear God that we may not only believe but also follow the Way of the Incarnate Lord Jesus by loving You and our neighbors, this Christmas season, and beyond, Amen.

This is the Second Day of Christmas, and it is St Stephen’s Day

Eucharistic Readings for St. Stephens

Jeremiah 26:1-9,12-15  Psalm 31; Acts 6:8-7:2a,51c-60;  Matthew 23:34-39

“Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.” (Acts 7:60)

As a priest, and a servant of our Lord Jesus, I am not in total agreement with how our first deacons were formed.  As I understand it, deacons were formed in order to excuse the apostles from the responsibility of feeding those who were hungry, (Acts 6:2 to 4). But this is what Jesus himself did at every opportunity he found. In fact he said to the apostles, “You feed them.”  (Matthew 14:16).  However, more than that, and in keeping with today’s focus, Deacon Stephens’ devotion to God through Jesus, is most remarkable.

Stephen knows his faith history and relates it to those who falsely judge him.  He has every right to be angry about how they are treating him, however, he lets love prevail. Psalm 31:13 – 16 may hold comforting words for Stephen and for any who are held in contempt.  For it reads:

13: For I have heard the whispering of the crowd; fear is all around; they put their heads together against me; they plot to take my life.

14: But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. I have said, “You are my God.

15: My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.

16: Make your face to shine upon your servant, and in your loving-kindness save me.”   (Psalm 31:13 -16)

I believe Stephen was saved, not from mortal death, but from eternal death. And as he goes, he shares with us a very important lesson. Our being saved has as much to do with the birth of Jesus as it does for his Resurrection from the dead.

For, had Jesus not been born, he could not have died.  Merry Christmas: Day 2.

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray:                                                                                

O God, as we remember Saint Stephens on this second Day of Christmas and how he lived his life dedicated to the glory of Christ and love of God, teach us today to forgive those who sin against us as he did, and to re-dedicate our devotion to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Christmas Day, the 1^st Day of Christmas: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 2 and 85; Evening, Psalms 110:1-5 and 132;
Zechariah 2:10 to 13; 1 John 4:7 to 16; John 3:31 to 36

“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.” (1^st John 4:9)

What an opportunity we have.  Through our Lord Jesus we can live a more loving life.  Through our Lord Jesus we can be more God-like. This is the annual day and season we have selected to remember the human birth of our Lord Jesus.  He was born in a low socio-economic situation, and we are told, in a stable because there was no room for the traveling couple in the inn itself. Even this makes me look at my own life and how I should act if someone struggling really needs a provision that I might take for granted.  It’s something to ponder about. How would living through the life of Jesus have me respond to the needs of those whose situation is more desperate than my own?

“In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1^st John 4:10)  God loved us before we loved God.  However, once we know about God, and how much God loves us, and how God cares for us, we can’t, (I can’t), help but try to love God back.  The person of our Lord Jesus, in human form, gives me a Way of loving response whereby I, in my limited human ability, can love God back.

This day, and for the next eleven days, we remember God being born into humanity. God came among us to teach us about love.  “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” (1^st John 4:16)  And for this gift of love, I say, Thank You Lord Jesus.

We need to stop fighting and start loving because that’s who we are really made to be. Merry Christmas: Day 1

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Let us pray:

O Great Holy Spirit of the Ever-living and Ever-loving God, You have established a relationship with humanity through coming to us as one of us, born of a woman and mentored by a man. Keep us all ever mindful of this sacred relationship in order that we may grow more and more into your likeness. Amen.