Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 3: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 37:1 to 18; Evening, Psalm 37:19 to 42;
Proverbs 21:30  to 22:6; 1^st Timothy 4:1 to 16; Matthew 13:24 to 30:

“Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1^st Timothy 4:7 and 8)

Paul’s words to Timothy are encouraging, especially for clergy, or any good teacher for that matter.  I like physical training as well as spiritual practice. I realize the my physical self will eventually close down. But I also believe that my spiritual self will continue on.

In this passage we have for today, Paul also says, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers;” (1^st Timothy 4:16). This is living the example. We must pay close attention to ourselves and develop good habits and practices remembering that someone is always watching us. We are teaching even when we don’t know it. We are more than the food we eat, we are the habits we keep.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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:

Dear God, you are always watching us and guiding us. Help us, we pray, to be better people by monitoring our behavior and habits. Guide us dear God in ways of godliness that is valuable in every way, holding promise for both this present life and the life to come. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 3: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 38; Evening,  Psalm 119:25-48:
Proverbs 17:1 to 20; 1^st Tim. 3:1 to 16; Matthew 12:43to 50:

“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50)

I consider biological family to be like culture; we are born into it without choice. However, as we live, grow, love and learn, we can modify, add to , adapt and transform both family and culture.

As I have served in the military for 30 years I have become a part of the U.S. military culture and many of my retired friends are family to me. So too, the members of the Episcopal Church are family to me. This new found family of mine also includes my brothers in freemasonry. We are family because we are God-fearing men who live to do the will of God. This in no way means that I reject my biological family. It simply means that the family and culture of my choosing is as dear to me as those I was born into without choice.

As I write these words my biological brother is here visiting with me. My time with him is wonderful and I am thankful to God for him. We can have it both ways. We can have our birth families and we can also have our “grown-into” families as well. Thank You Lord Jesus.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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:

Dear Brother Lord Jesus, we give you thanks for connecting us to our eternal Father and true Parent. We pray that you bring to all of us as we live, grow, love and learn, a clearer understanding of what real family means, that is, those who do the will of the Parent. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 3, Year 2:

Morning, Psalms 26 and 28; Evening, Psalms 36 and 39:
Proverbs 15:16 to 33; 1^st Timothy 1:18 to 2:8; Matthew 12:33 to 42:

“The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure.” (Matthew 12:35)

This Matthew reading for today has two interesting observations.  First, it seems to be more about things we have said rather than the deeds we have done. I would like to think that actions speaks louder than words. But in either, we will be held accountable. Which leads to the second observation, those who have gone before us are the ones who might condemn us.

In his response to the scribes Jesus speaks of the people of Nineveh listening to Jonah; and then Candice, or “The queen of the South,” listening to the words of Solomon. In each case Jesus says that those who repented or learned from listening to goodness or prophetic wisdom, will not only be saved, but will sit in judgment on us (this generation).

I imagine walking around in my after life and seeing people from the Bible coming together to sit in judgment on me. There would be Abraham and his sons, there would be Elijah, there would be the apostles; and of course Jesus himself sitting as Judge. What would this panel have to say about how well I listened, and then behaved?

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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:                                                                         

Dear Lord Jesus, help us to listen with the ears of our hearts in order that we may say and do those things that are pleasing in your sight. In your most holy Name we pray. Amen.

Daily Office Reading for Monday of Proper 3; Year 2

Morning, Psalm 25; Evening, Psalm 9 and 15;
Proverbs 10:1 to12; 1^st Timothy; 1:1-17; Matthew 12:22 to 32:

“Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths.”( From Psalm 25)

Much, if not most of what I have learned about God has come from the Bible; that is, words. And even now I reflect on words from a Psalm. But these words asks God to show and to teach. Showing and teaching is not necessarily writing. It is being in me to lead and to guide me.

For the Bible, the saying is true, “You can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”  There is so much good in the words of the Bible, but, there are words of death and destruction and even some evil spirits said to be from God. I don’t accept this. While I do believe that the Bible contains all that is necessary for our salvation, I don’t believe that everything in it is necessary for salvation.

The Bible has been written in many old and now dead languages. Through translations and some misunderstandings, we read, and pray, and ponder, and glean what we can that is good and righteous.

But nothing is better than for God to show us God’s ways and to teach us God’s paths in God’s own way of doing so, which I believe is still being done through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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:                                                            

Dear Lord God, you are the essence of all that is pure and good. We cannot come to you now or in our afterlife without your teaching and guidance. Teach us and guide us therefore Lord God to learn from your presence with us, with or without words, regardless of language, to learn your ways and to be guided along your paths for our sakes through our Lord Jesus Christ: Amen.

Gospel Reading for Trinity Sunday: Year B

John 3: 1 to 17

“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” (John 3:5)

While most Christians will gravitate towards John 3:16, I have examined John 3:5 more closely. We have our own Trinitarian existence in being flesh, and water, and spirit. But as our Lord Jesus points out, it is water and spirit that enables us to enter the kingdom of God.

I have heard somewhere in my old school science classes that our bodies are made up mostly of water. And then with baptism we become immersed with water and the Spirit. It is astonishing to me that knowing this, still, many Christian people will work and hustle their entire adult lives in support of their bodies, which will eventually wear out.

Today is Trinity Sunday. While we are focused on the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer, I invite us to also look at our own makeup. We are flesh, water and spirit brought into existence by the same Trinity. The spirit we have is the very Spirit embedded in us from God almighty. This spirit is our passport into the kingdom of heaven. If we are to do anything worthwhile, it should be study, prayer and pondering that will enhance our spirit that will be with us in all eternity.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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

 (Taken from page 228 of the Book of Common Prayer)  Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 2: Year 2:

Morning, Psalms 20 and 21:1-7(8-14); Evening, Psalm 110:1-5(6-7), 116, 117;
Proverbs 8:22-36; 3^rd John 1 ton15; Matthew 12:15 to 21:

 “I believed, even when I said, “I have been brought very low.”  (Psalm 116: 9) or, I kept my faith, even when I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted’; (Psalm 116: 10).

This idea of maintaining faith, especially in hard times, seems to take a page out of Job’s playbook. It is easy to be thankful in good times. It’s a whole different thing when things aren’t going well. Sometimes I think of these times as times of testing. That may not be the best way to look at my troubles.  But I make myself remember that at the last, I want to be with God for all eternity. The troubles I face here will go away, one way or another. And I comfort myself in believing that there are no troubles in the company of God. Halleluiah!

Today we Episcopalians remember Bede, the Venerable: priest, monk and scholar (735). His information can be found at: Bede the Venerable (satucket.com)

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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 life sustaining Lord God, help us to remember that all of our problems are within the realm of your control. Please keep us mindful that our ultimate joy is to be with you for all eternity, you who gives life eternal to all who seek you. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 2; Year 2

Morning, Psalms 16 and, 17; Evening, Psalm 22
Proverbs 8:1 to 21; 2^nd John 1 to 13; Matthew 12:1 to 14:

“He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out?”  (Matthew 12:11).

While Jesus follows the rules for honoring the Sabbath, he cautions us to remember that the Sabbath was instituted by God as a gift to us, and not us to the Sabbath. The Sabbath was then, and is now, the seventh day of the week, Saturday,(tomorrow).

Yes, we Christians worship on the First day of the week, and that’s fine. But the Lord of the Sabbath never moved it from the seventh to the first day of the week. The Sabbath is for rest and reflection, within reason.  Worship, on the other hand, requires work. Let us ponder how we might respect our Sabbath time beginning this evening.

As Jesus points out, there are times in which some of us must be steadfast in our vocations and responsibilities because of personal or community needs. Medical personal, the police, prison staff, the military and first responders are examples of such needs. But when able, such persons should get back into honoring the Sabbath. It is a gift from God.

“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, Russia, Israel, Palestine and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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:

We give thanks to you dear Lord God for gifting us with time for rest and reflection. Help us we pray to observe our Sabbath time in order to contemplate your presence in our lives every day of the week. And as we are able, to return to honoring the Sabbath as life permits, as you are the Lord of the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 2: Year 2:

Morning, Psalm 18:1-20; Evening, Psalm 18:21-50;
Proverbs 7:1 to 27; 1^st John 5:13 to 21; Matthew 11:25 to 30:

“ I called upon the Lord in my distress and cried out to my God for help.  He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling; my cry of anguish came to his ears;” (Psalm 18: 6 and 7).

“God’s ears hears tears,” is my mantra about prayer. God is all about the human face. Just as I believe God “evolved” us mechanically so that only when our mouth is closed, do our ears open; so too does God get a signal when we cry. Crying is praying for all people, while not all praying is crying: both connect with God, but more especially crying because is a distress and God wants to know about it.

Only yesterday at our Bible Study did we read 2^nd Samuel, Chapter 22, which is pretty much Psalm 18. Funny how today from our Daily Office, Psalm 18 is the selected reading. And in it are the words. “He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling; my cry of anguish came to his ears;” I tell you God’s ears hears tears. In this way, all people pray, even the so-called card-carrying atheist, if they cry, they pray. God is, and God loves, all people.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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:

Dear Holy and attentive Lord God, you love us so much that you connected us to you through our fears and tears. Make us, we pray, even without tears, more and more aware of your presence in our daily lives such that we will make ourselves vulnerable to your reaching out to us as we welcome your intervention in the situations of our lives. This we ask in your most sacred and holy Name. Amen.

Daily Office Reading for Wednesday of Proper 2: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:1 to 24; Evening,  Psalm 12, 13 and 14;
Proverbs 6:1 to 19; 1^st John 5:1 to 12; Matthew 11:16 to 24:

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds;” (Matthew 11:18 and 19).

Our Lord Jesus defends the deeds of John and himself by vindicating the deeds, not their personal way of life. I think the key, and repeated phrase here is “they say.”  Many a false tale about someone often begins with, “they say.” Too often the “they say” is derogatory or hurtful and intended to cast a negative cloud over a person, or group of people. Who are “they” anyway?

We say who we are more about ourselves by what we do than by what we say, even about ourselves. The old saying, “action speaks louder than words’ I think is very true. Sometimes however we need help and motivation to do the right thing. Believing in God and asking God to assist us in doing and saying that that is loving, is the best way get the divine assistance needed to do what is right and pleasing to God. The food and drink we abstain from does not make us demon possessed. Likewise, being in fellowship with those that some say are hopeless does not make us hopeless as well.  We must be kind, try to love all people, and when we find it difficult, ask for help from God and never mind what “they say.”

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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:

Dear Lord Jesus, who consoles us through the ever-present Holy Spirit of God, help us to not be troubled by the misguided words of negative minded people, but rather, help us instead to always be mindful of our actions, our deeds, that the things we do are loving and pleasing in your sight, Amen.

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 2, Year 2

Morning, Psalm 5 and 6; Evening, Psalm 10 and 11;
Proverbs 4:1 to27; 1^st John 4:7 to 21; Matthew 11:7 to 15:

“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.” (1^st John 4:12)

This 1^St John lesson is all about the love of God.  Our Lord Jesus modeled for us a life of unconditional love, an “Agape” love.  Most of us, including me, are not there yet, although some of us might be there. Bless them. The writer says that “if we love one another, God lives in us.” Wow!

To be the representation of God is perhaps more than anyone can imagine. The very presence of God Almighty being in us is powerful. And according to 1^st John, loving others is the invitation to God to “come on in.” I know it is difficult to love some people, people who are different than ourselves, or have different religions, or no religion at all. We are not asked to make them us, we are only asked to love them, love them anyway.  Join me in at least trying, okay?

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools including St. Augustine in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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 Blessed Holy Spirit, Creator and lover of all souls, please continue with us and teach us as we live out our human lives in order that we might learn to love all humanity and be vessels of your presence in our time whereby your will, will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.