Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 27: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 23 and 27; Evening, Psalms 85 and 86;
Joel 2:21to27; James 1:1to15; Luke 15:1to2 and 11to32.

“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” (James 1:5)

These are powerful words of truth from James.  We are all lacking wisdom at some level.  We must realize this and then ask God for more wisdom. But let us have this basic and primary understanding, God will know the reason for our wanting more understanding.  And such desires should be in order that we might love God more and more; and love our neighbor more and more.  Desire for knowledge to only benefit ourselves and to our personal advantage among our neighbors, is frowned on by God.

Let us remember Solomon who asked God for wisdom, for understanding, not so much for himself, but so that he could be a better leader for God’s people. Solomon prayed to God, “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” (1^st Kings 3:9).  Solomon, living a thousand years before James, also knew that God is the source of understanding of all that is good. And God liked the reasons for which Solomon was asking for understanding.  It is written, “It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind” (1Kings 3: 10 to 12).

My primary method of prayer is meditation.  It is in meditation that I ponder things.  I do this by sitting quietly in a room alone.  I follow the guidance of Blaise Pascal who said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” It is in such a way that I follow Solomon’s example and the advice of James.  I invite you who are reading this blog to do the same.  Just find some time to sit quietly and be open to God, God who so much wants to be with you and talk to you.  James says, “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.”

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:

O Creating and Loving God, you brought forth the human being with memory, reason, and skill; help us we pray, in our reasoning such that we may follow the breadcrumbs that lead to your will and pleasure, and which will also bring us eternal joy through your love for us. In your Name we pray, Amen.

Daily Office readings for Wednesday of Proper 27: Year 2

Morning,  Psalm 119:97-120; Evening,  Psalms  81and  82:
Joel 2:12to19; Revelation 19:11to21; Luke 15:1to10

“Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain-offering and a drink-offering for the Lord, your God?” (Joel 2: 12 to 14)

The real good news about God is that God is merciful, God will forgive us. Too often we will not forgive one another, but God will forgive each of us. God will forgive you.

This forgiveness comes from God’s deep, abiding and steadfast love for us.  It is a sacrificial love as expressed in our Lord Jesus going to the cross.  And nothing can separate us from that divine love. Paul said, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38 and 39).

It has occurred to me then, that such a love makes it easier to forgive someone when offended. Forgiveness for children and family might come a little easier than forgiveness for friends, and certainly easier than for strangers and folks who are different from us.  And there’s the rub.  God, especially in Christ Jesus, is family. While not really denying his earthly mother and family he declares also that those who do the will of God are his family (Matthew 12:50). He also blurs the line between family and neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan where a stranger, a Samaritan, cares for a wounded man left for dead by robbers (Luke 10:29 to 37).  And finally, as he was crucified, our Lord Jesus ask God our creator to forgive the act we were committing (Luke 23:34).

It is impossible to forgive if we don’t first love. We are asked by God to first love God and then to love one another. There is a direct connection between love and forgiveness.  If you don’t want to forgive, you never wanted to love in the first place.  To not love is ungodly. To change we must “return to the Lord, our God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.” I don’t know about you, but I could use some of that grain-offering and a drink-offering “from” the Lord, our God.

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, (and I find the Lord’s prayer most appropriate for this ponder):

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, forever and ever. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 27:Year 2

Morning, Psalm 78:1to39; Evening, Psalm 78:40 to72;
Joel 1:15-2:2(3-11); Revelation 19:1-10; Luke 14:25-35

“To you, O Lord, I cry. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flames have burned all the trees of the field. Even the wild animals cry to you because the watercourses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.” (Joel 1:19 and 20)

At the time that I am reading this Daily office I empathize with my brothers and sisters on both coasts.  Terrible fires have driven people out of their homes and many have lost everything. It is a very sad situation.

People in California and New York have had to deal with finding shelter for people who were temporarily housed in close proximity with one another and yet, be thankful that their lives are spared.  I ask your prayers for, and responses to, those who are still in desperate need.

Crying to the Lord is prayer, and prayer works. I believe “God’s ears hears tears.”  God hears our prayers, and God will respond. And God responds in surprising ways.  However, we must remember that God comes to us, through us. And, as revealed in the Joel reading, we must keep our non-human friends in thought, prayer, and response as well. You may be God’s response to a squirrel or rabbit or even a wolf.  I believe we humans were brought into being to care for, and maintain this fragile earth, our island home.

Today we remember Charles Simeon; Teacher, and Promoter of Missionary work (12 November 1836). His information can be found at: Charles Simeon

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:                                                                                        

O Almighty God, through whom all life came into being, please let your life-giving had extinguish the fires that harm life and turn our tears into waters of life, for the sake of all life. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 27: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 80; Evening, Psalm 77, [79];
Joel 1:1to13; Revelation  18:15to24; Luke 14:12to24

“Hear this, O elders, give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.” (Joel 1: 1 to 4)

In the Joel reading we hear of four different kinds of locusts.  There are cutting locusts, swarming locusts, hopping locusts and destroying locusts.  Therefore, no matter what kind of defense they plan, there comes a different kind of attack. It sounds similar to our Covid pandemic a few years ago.

But Thanks be to God, we are never without hope.  We have had to endure many social limitations and when I read “Grain-offering and drink-offering are withheld from the house of your God”  (Joel 1:13), I remember that we, in the Church, had to omit the chalice part of our Holy Communion. We did however get the bread or grain-offering.

The ever restructuring locusts were not too different from our Corona Virus.  Some catch it, and some re-catch it.  In Joel we read, “For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and innumerable; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness” (Joel 1:6).  However, we believers must remember that no virus or any “bug,” is more powerful than our God.  And as the hymn goes, “Our God Reigns.”

And while the virus made us separate, I believe it is coming together again in the right way that we were able to substantially reduce the effects of Covid.  Perhaps, just perhaps, these words came from the Spirit of God down through the saints of God.  I think the worst effect of Covid was the breaking of the habit of going to Church. We still have not re-gained our pre-Covid numbers. We are only a remnant of what we used to be. But wait! The remnant is the build-back folks that God used to re-establish believers. If we hang in there, believing, we might be okay after all.

Today we remember Martin of Tours; Bishop and Theologian (11 November 397).  How fitting as Martin was also a soldier as we remember all who have served in our armed forces. His information can be found at: Martin of Tours.

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 God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad; [those who have served and those who are currently serving]. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP 823)

Eucharistic Gospel Reading for Sunday of Proper 27: Year B

Mark 12:38-44

“Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12: 43 and 44)

I think the phrase “she put in more,” has to do with the ratio, or what part of what one has, that was given. Those who contributed out of their abundance surely put in more than what the poor woman did.

Giving to our house of worship is a matter of concern for our continued fellowship together. The widow, being a widow, has lost her husband. She really needs to stay connected, if just for the sake of her children. You and I need to stay connected to one another in Christ Jesus for the sake of our fellowship together. And that can’t be replicated anywhere else except in our own weekly meeting place.

Before our taxed based welfare system, the Church was the primary provider of the needs of the poor.  And of course, our welfare system is structured to be responsible for how money is given. And because close scrutiny of how the money is allocated, rules are made, hopefully to ensure the real people in need are the ones who receive, based on their needs and our biases.  

Maybe the widow’s story is the basis of our helping today. But this widow based helping leads us to not help a nuclear family where dad is still in the home. The underpaid are still in poverty and need help. Perhaps there is a need for the Church to re-visit our helping and consider all family situations as we plan to do the Lord’s work. Let us again remember the words of William Temple, former Archbishop of Canterbury who said, “The Church exists primarily for the sake of those who are still outside it.” We shouldn’t broad-stroke the needy base on how we think a family should be together or whether or not they sit in our pews. We base our helping on our love, and their need.

So, like the poor widow, we give a part, or maybe most, of what we have in the hope of maintaining a continued connection with one another in our unique Christian faith where indeed, all are loved and all are welcomed. We want our family here to be a part of Christ’s family in the loving care of God Almighty. But God Almighty loves all families whether they proclaim Jesus or not. Ours is not to judge, but to love, and to respond in that love in whatever way we can.

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: A Collect for Sundays (BCP p. 98)

O God, you make us glad with the weekly remembrance of the glorious resurrection of your Son our Lord: Give us this day such blessing through our worship of you, that the week to come may be spent in your favor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 26: Year 2

Morning,  Psalms 75 and 76; Evening,  Psalms 23 and 27;
Ecclesiasticus 51:1to12; Revelation 18:1to14; Luke 14:1to11

“On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely. Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?’  But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away.  Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a Sabbath day?’  And they could not reply to this.” (Luke 14: 1 to 6)

Jesus asks a question about how closely they follow their own laws.  This is God in Christ Jesus who sees “in secret” and knows all that we do.  But what he is trying to show them is that the Sabbath is a gift from God to them for their own health of body, mind and spirit. The Sabbath is not some tool of wrath for God, by which God might condemn us just for the sake of enforcing a law.

Besides all this, who prepared the meal they were partaking of on the Sabbath?  No faith should have laws whereby only certain humans are to abide by.  This includes my own tradition.  Maybe one day we will let all persons desiring to partake of Holy Communion do so.  We are not there yet unfortunately.  I am not so sure that baptism was a requirement with our Lord Jesus to receive the Bread and Wine (Body and Blood), but it is for us today.

No religious tradition is perfect. Sometimes it takes people from other traditions to show us our shortcomings.  “Is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath, or not?”  Is it lawful for the un-baptized to receive Communion or not? We all must follow our own paths.  I am on the Episcopal path of the Jesus movement as our former Presiding Bishop said. And, I am thankful.  But I also see paths for improvement. I think Jesus is saying that not all laws should be absolute save loving God and loving our neighbors. These two laws of love are absolute laws under which all other lower laws must yield. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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: (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.

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 26: Year 2

Morning,  Psalm 69: Evening,  Psalm 73;
Ecclesiasticus 50:1,11to24; Revelation 17:1to18; Luke 13:31to35

“At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox for me, “Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.  Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.”  Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Luke 13: 31 to 34)

I was blessed to be able to go on a Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land in February of 2018.  I am thankful to God for this opportunity.  Before going I prayed to God to let me be open to accept and receive whatever God saw fit to bless me with.  And God answered me with truth.  My pilgrimage  began in Northern Israel (Galilee), and then ended in the city of Jerusalem in the south.

The two landscapes are totally different.  Galilee, to the north, has fertile fields and little hills, and is the span of land that our Lord Jesus conducted his three year ministry of teaching, preaching and healing. I was impressed with Capernaum, Nazareth, Cana, and Mount Tabor. Also, I was impressed with Lake Galilee, of which, I use my picture from a boat in Lake Galilee looking back at the shoreline of Galilee as the heading of my daily blog. The picture shows all the places Jesus walked to do His ministry more than 2000 years ago.

We ended our trip down in Jerusalem.  To get there we went down to Jericho and then the long ride by bus up to the top of a mountain of sand some 2,474 feet above sea level.  It must have been a real task to get water up there 2000 years ago. Much praise and worshipful attention has been centered on Jerusalem.  Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim a religious heritage to the place. I went to, and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Given all of its splendor, I was not that impressed.  Then I remembered that I prayed to God to show me what God wanted me to see.

I also recalled that our Lord Jesus, of his own free will and accord, chose the land of Galilee to bring the good news of kingdom of heaven.  And when he was raised from the dead, he told his followers to again meet him in Galilee from which he gave the Great Commission (Matthew 28). If I was again blessed to go to Israel, I would only go to Galilee and again take in as much as I can. If you ask God for something in serious prayer, please understand, God’s response to you is not guided by what humanity values. Ponder, pray and perceive.

 “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:

O Almighty God, Creator and Sustainer of all life, You have shown us with your presence in our Lord Jesus that our mission, and your divine purpose for us, is the most important call on our lives and the lives of our communities. Help us to be willing, and then keep us ever-willing, as we strive to teach, heal, and feed those in need of your gifts, to the glory of your Name; Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 26: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 71; Evening, Psalm 74;
Ecclesiasticus 44:1to15; Revelation 16:12 to21; Luke 13:18 to 30

“Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” (Luke 13: 23 and 24)

I guess the answer to the question of “someone” is, yes, only a few will be saved.  There is a wide door that many will walk through, but that door does not mean it is the entry into paradise.

Each one of us has the personal responsibility to do what we think is right to do, no matter how unpopular it might be. I have a poster that shows an old man walking alone down a road.  Under it the caption reads, “It is better to walk alone than in a crowd going the wrong way.”

The wide door can surely accommodate the large crowd. But through the wide door it may lead the large crowd over the side of a steep cliff, and down into the abyss to their own demise. We all must make our own decisions about where we are going.  Even following the crowd is a decision; it is a decision to let others decide for us.  We can’t follow the crowd and then later, when trouble comes, allege innocents saying “I thought they knew what they were doing.”

Two biblical crowd decisions that I can recall show where the wrong decisions were made. One is  when the crowd persuaded Aaron to make a golden calf for the Israelites to worship while in the wilderness; and the other is when the crowd around the jailed Jesus insisted that he be crucified. Crowds are made up of individuals who have handed over their independent conscience to mob rule. Don’t do that.  Be who God made you to be, and do what God asks you to do in your prayers.

God’s Way is often a little more difficult and sometimes the unpopular path to travel. Too many of us look for the short cut, the easy way, the wide door.  Our Lord Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” Being able is a matter of personal determination and life discipline. Each one of us must make our own decisions about each next step in our lives.  And if you find that you are joined by other disciplined and determined persons who also chose your same path, great! But first strive to find your own path to our Lord Jesus. Roll your heart sleeves up, it’s hard work, it’s the narrow door.

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:

Most Glorious Lord God, You gave each of us the ability to decide for ourselves the path we take, and have placed us in communities where others also have the same such abilities. Help us, Dear God, through our daily discipline of prayer and pondering to seek the narrow door that leads to your will for all humanity, and the discipline to defer easy, wide doors, that lead to self-serving ways. In Your Name we pray; Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 26: Year 2

Morning,  Psalm 72; Evening, Psalm 119:73to96:
Ecclesiasticus 43:23-33; Revelation 16:1to11; Luke 13:10to17

“When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.” (Luke 13:13)

The leader of the synagogue gets upset because Jesus heals on the Sabbath day.  The leader himself probably could not heal the woman on any day of the week.  And, he forgets that the Sabbath was made for us, not us for the Sabbath.

Jesus does more than just heal this woman; he causes her to praise God.  I wonder how many people who regularly attended the synagogue came away with a renewed sense of being thankful to God and praising God. How many of us come away from our places of worship with a renewed sense of giving thanks to God and praising God?

Here is the truth; we shouldn’t wait for the Sabbath or our Day of worship to turn people to God. And, turning people to God doesn’t have to take place in a house of worship. We can turn people to God at work, at home, at school, at the bus stop or even in a tavern. The opportunity to show people the love of God comes everyday and everywhere.

Every day brings us an opportunity to do something good. We may not be able to heal infirmities but we can share with the sick the power and love of God.  We can give them hope in their distress.  Every day brings us an opportunity to teach people to praise God; anywhere, anytime. Let us do more to turn people to God.

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:

O God Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of all life, lead those of us who have experienced your healing, blessing and revelation, to at least tell our stories to those who say they don’t know you. Let us touch the hearts of non-believers in order that they may stand up straight and began praising God also. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 26: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 61and 62; Evening,  Psalm 68:

Ecclesiasticus 43:1to 22; Revelation 14:14to15:8; Luke 13:1to9

“It is the moon that marks the changing seasons, governing the times, their everlasting sign.  From the moon comes the sign for festal days, a light that wanes when it completes its course. The new moon, as its name suggests, renews itself; how marvelous it is in this change, a beacon to the hosts on high, shining in the vault of the heavens!” (Ecclesiasticus 43: 6 to 8)

As an Education for Ministry (EfM) mentor, I have learned to make use of metaphor to explain life situations and our call as Christians.  This is a fine opportunity to do it now with the words from the writer of Ecclesiasticus.

The moon waxes and wanes.  It grows, from our earthly perspective, and then shrinks again. When the moon is directly between earth and the sun it is invisible.  We call this the New Moon. It is almost like it is born again.  It starts out small again and then fills in as the days advance.

We too, as we grow in Christ we reflect the light of the “Son.”  We also have a continual need to find a quiet place for solace and contemplation.  We have no light of our own.  We reflect the Light of our Lord Jesus.  As the Church we signal the changing seasons.  Advent is approaching, then comes Christmas.  Christmas is followed by the light of Epiphany which leads us into Lent. Then the Great Day and season of Easter!  Then we’re back to Pentecost or Ordinary time.  The Church as the moon has a huge responsibility.  We must signal the changing of the seasons, the times, the festal days, the everlasting sign.  And we do this by renewing ourselves regularly. It’s important to remember to do self care.  Those outside of us count on us. This earth needs the moon to keep it in balance.

Today we remember William Temple; Archbishop of Canterbury (6 November 1944), and his bio can be found at: William Temple.  My favorite Temple quote is: “The Church exists primarily for the sake of those who are still outside it. It is a mistake to suppose that God is only, or even chiefly, concerned with religion.”

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:

O Almighty God, You created us male and female in order that we may grow humanity in faith and love. And like the moon in its newness, it is not seen, just as an infant in the womb is not seen. But then it grows and becomes seen, “ how marvelous it is in this change.” Please keep us ever mindful we pray, that we too wax to our fullness, and then wane back to you, in Your Grand design for all mankind. Amen.