Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of the Third Week of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 87 and 90; Evening, Psalm 136;

Genesis 47:27 to 48:7; 1^st Corinthians 10:1 to 13; Mark 7:1 to 23:

“Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.” (Mark 7:1 and 2)

In the Gospel we are always on notice that when the Pharisees approach our Lord Jesus, the encounter  is normally confrontational. This meeting at the beginning of Chapter 7 of Mark is no different.  However, as we live today in the lessons of the Covid 19 virus the message over and over again is to wash our hands and wash them often. 

Our Lord Jesus will speak of the ill intent of the Pharisee’s attempt to discredit him.  He will also let us all know that if we are not careful there is an unholy kind of dirt that may be in us, in our hearts, and it will do much damage if it comes out in our words and actions against our neighbors.  He says, in effect, that it is not what goes into a person that defiles them but rather, what is crafted in them and then comes out of them in an evil and sinful way that defiles them.

I have a book of Russian Theologians, honorable priests, bishops and monks out of whom comes all goodness. All of the ones in my book were well before the present regime in Russia. What comes out of the present regime, and the clergy who support it, is what pollutes the great Russian religious history. As they continue to wage war with Ukraine the Russian leadership needs to return to their rich Russian religious heritage and live peacefully with their neighbors, and so should we all, personally and nationally. But first, we must seek help from outside ourselves.

Let us Pray:

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP 355)

Today we remember Gregory of Nyssa (9 March 395). See Gregory of Nyssa (satucket.com) for more details.

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

Daily Office Readings for Friday of the 3^rd Week in Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 88; Evening, Psalms 91 and 92;
Genesis 47:1 to 6; 1^st Corinthians9:16 to 27; Mark 6:47 to 56:

“ It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High” (Psalm 92:1)

Psalm 92 is a Psalm of praise and thanksgiving. Reading it is a good way to start one’s day and indeed, one’s weekend. Giving sincere thanks requires some reflection. We must consider how blessed we are. Even in bad times, reflection will reveal how things could have been worse. And, if we are surviving difficult times, perhaps God has in store for us better times ahead.

This Psalm goes on to say that there are many ways to express thanks to God.  We give thanks and praise to God “On the psaltery, and on the lyre, and to the melody of the harp.”( Psalm 92:3). As one learning to play various musical instruments, I particularly like this verse.

Instruments or not, we all can, and should, give praise and thanks to our Creator. We didn’t have to be at all. But here we are. Perhaps life is not good for all. This is when those of us who are doing well should look around and find ways to make life better for those who are not so well off.

Let us Pray:

We give You thanks dear God for all You are blessing us with, the little we are aware of, and the great abundance hidden from us until revealed later. You always treat us better than we deserve and are merciful towards us when we are sinful and neglect Your ways. You love us and bless us in spite of our shortfalls. For all this, and for all the good You give us that we can’t see, we give you thanks. From before the foundations of creation, You are God. Amen.

“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

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the Third Week of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 42 and 43; Evening,  Psalms 85 and 86;

Genesis 46:1 to 7 and 28 to 34; 1^st Corinthians 9:1 to 15; Mark 6:30 to 46:

“You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37)

The crowd has been following our Lord Jesus until late in the day.  They were tired and now hungry.  The disciples warned Jesus to send them home so that they could feed themselves.  Jesus said no, “You give them something to eat.”

True Christians take responsibility for what needs to be done. Our Lord Jesus has them to take stock of what they have, five loaves and two fish. Admittedly not enough without God getting involved but Jesus takes it, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it. This is the same four-fold table action at Holy Communion. The Priest or Bishop takes the presented sacraments, blesses them, breaks the bread and pours the wine, and then distributes the Lord’s body and blood to the waiting people.

The lesson here is not to be concerned about what we don’t have, but to take stock of what we do have; and then to bless it to God, divide it up, and distribute it as we are able. With God, all things are possible. This action should be repeated at family meals as well.  Breakfast or supper should be first prepared, prayed over in thanksgiving to God, portioned out, and given to family members, all according to their needs from the eldest to the youngest with love.

Perhaps the most important lesson our Lord Jesus is teaching is that we should not push our problems aside. Hungry and tired people needing sustenance is probably as serious as it gets. We have hungry people all around us today. And even if someone gives them a meal, it is rarely “blessed by the giver.”  So, when we provide the hungry with a meal, bless it for them.  I believe blessed food makes the body healthier. The hungry are not the problem of somebody else, Our Lord Jesus says to us; “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37)

Let us Pray:

Dear Lord God Almighty, as you have blessed us, so like Abraham, let us also be a blessing. Remind us dear God, to not only bless what we are about to share, but to also bless those who are unaware of the power of blessing. Help us daily dear God to be mindful of what we have no matter how little it is and that all things come from you, and to you we give back through giving to others. In Christ Name we pray: Amen.

Today our Church remembers Perpetua and Felicity; Martyrs at Carthage (7 March 202). You can find them at: http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Perpetua.htm.

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

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:97 to 120; Evening,  Psalms 81and 82;  

Genesis 45:16 to 28; 1^st  Corinthians 8:1 to 13; Mark 6:13 to 29: 

“But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling-block to the weak.” (1^st Corinthians 8:9)

Paul here is talking about not eating food dedicated to idols. But we can all look deeper into our own lives as thinking Christians. Reason is one of the three legs of the three-legged stool that Richard Hooker used as a metaphor for us to think about in terms of our Church; Scripture, Tradition and Reason.  They all carry the same and equal guidance in our Church tradition as taught in our Anglican/Episcopal faith. We have the Holy Scriptures, our Church liturgy and leadership, and we each have our God-given sense of morality and right behavior given to us by God in Christ Jesus.

Personally, I like to have a beer every now and then.  But I will not stop at a store and purchase beer while wearing clericals (clergy shirt with tab or collar).  North Carolina, being part of the Southern “Bible belt” where beliefs are pretty fundamental, right or wrong, I don’t want people who think ill of me, or of my Church.  If the people in my community saw me purchasing beer, dressed as clergy they might think me to be a hypocrite.

Are there any practices or enjoyments that you have that could become a stumbling-block to the weak? The field of misleading activities are wide ranging; the movies we enjoy, the books we read, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the company we keep, and on and on. I think we will be okay in our individual ways if we use moderation and discretion, but we must use caution with regard to what we reveal about ourselves, in person, and especially on social media platforms. “But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling-block to the weak.” (1^st Corinthians 8:9)

Let us pray:                                        

All mighty God, who set us an example of how to conduct ourselves in Jesus Christ, help us to live in community with moderation and discipline. Keep us ever mindful that we are always teaching in our everyday activities even when we think no one is watching. Lead us and guide us O Lord to do those things that are pleasing in your sight. Amen.

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

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 78:1 to 39; Evening,  78:40 to 72;

Genesis 45:1 to 15; 1^st Corinthians 7:32 to 40; Mark 6:1 to 13:

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.” (Mark 6:3)

Just because we know someone and their family, and our opinion of them is not very favorable to us, does not mean that God is not making good use of them for a better life in the community in which that person lives. But in this case, we’re talking about God Incarnate. His community thought they knew everything about Jesus solely because they knew his earth family and had already decided that he was not Godly.  They were so wrong.  Besides that, God is able to use anybody to do God’s work, which includes you.

When we judge someone as unusable by God, we are not judging them, we are judging and limiting the power of God.  God can use any human, (and in some cases our pets or even animals in nature, or a burning bush) to affect our path or direction in life.  Every one of us must be open, and remain open, to God’s desire to use us for the good of the community in which we live, or quite possibly, for a distant community we have yet to be a member of.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord God of all Goodness and love, assist us in our desire to be instruments of your plan to bring peace and harmony among all people, those we know, and especially those who have yet to know you. Help us to show those who think they know us how you have improved our lives for the better and that that same improvement is here for them as well. We ask this in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who told us to ask in His Name. Amen.

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

Daily Office Readings for Monday of the Third Week of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 80; Evening, Psalm 77;

Genesis 44:18 to 34; 1^st Corinthians 7:25 to 31; Mark 5:21 to 43:

“Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.” (Mark 5: 25)

Jesus was on his way to heal a child when this hemorrhaging woman acted from her faith and touched Jesus and was healed. So our Lord Jesus, while on his way to do a good work, did an additional good work.  In the Cursillo movement we call this an “unexpected opportunity.”

Opportunities to do unexpected good works abound.  Our Lord Jesus models for us that there will be people in need all around us.  We may not know them but they need us.  They come to us from their faith, trusting in God to work through us for what they need. These are unexpected opportunities. Had not our Lord Jesus been going to do a good work already, the woman in need may not have ever crossed his path.  The same is true for us today.  As we go about our business to do good, God will put people in our path who need us. From that point on, God is watching us, to see how we might respond. Remember, it is their faith in God working through you that works in, and for them.

Let us pray:

Come Holy Spirit of the Ever-loving God of all Creation, keep our eyes open to those around us who may be in desperate need. And then use we pray, to make good use of any unexpected opportunities that may arise to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.

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

Gospel Reading for the Third Sunday in Lent: Year B

John 2:13-22

“Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here!” (John 2: 15 and16)

Some people, and even pastors, have tried to use these verses from John to show a violent side of Jesus. But they are wrong. Just as a net is used for fishing, and a rod and staff are used for guiding sheep, so too, a whip is used to move live stock of many varieties from one place to another. One might even say this was the “cowboy” Jesus.

What we should be paying closer attention to is the reference Jesus made about his body being the Temple. And that he would raise it again when destroyed. But then, even the writer of the Gospel according to John saw fit to put these connecting words before us so as to inform us about our own souls and bodies.

Sometimes we have things in us that we are not able to rid ourselves of. In fact, we, like those in our Gospel passage, we have become used to them and have accepted their presence in us where they should not be.

Lent is a time of cleansing. Our Lord Jesus is still trying to be in our inner temple, leading us, guiding us, and loving us. But we must pay attention to the housekeeping of our souls. We must pay attention to distractions and actions that clutter the resting place for Jesus within us.  We do this through prayer, for ourselves, and for others.

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.

Let us pray:

My Lord Jesus, who fashioned a whip to drive away those things that corrupted your temple, I ask you, do you still have that cleansing whip?  We pray you dear Lord Jesus, drive away those things that defile your temple place in our souls. Drive away racial prejudice, love of money above people, political anger, and all distractions that block our love of you, you who now dwell in that temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Amen.

Eucharistic Readings or the Second Saturday in Lent: Year B

Micah 7:14–15,18–20: Psalm 103:1–4(5–8)9–12: :Luke 15:11–32

“But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! (Luke 15:17)

In the beginning of this parable all was good and glorious for both sons.  Both sons had all that was needed, and then some.  As we explore this parable let us see if we can connect it with our lives today and then apply its lessons to our walk in our Christian ministry.

The younger son foresees that he will never be the one in charge and so he figures he can do better on his own. Therefore he requests of his father to give him what is his and he will be off to do his own thing. So there is separation and brokenness.

As he encounters the world with its various lures and temptations he loses everything. He is forced to take work that is incompatible with the way in which he was raised and taught in his tradition.  “But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!

In recognizing the gap between where he should be and where he is, his judgment is certain, and he crafts his words of repentance. He says to himself, I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”  (Luke 15: 18)

And even as he is walking back to deliver his well-prepared words of repentance, his father rushes out to greet him, not even paying attention to the words the son is saying but ordering the household servants to restore him back to his original self. This happens even as the elder brother begins his own broken separation with the desire to make things “better” for himself.

This cycle of wholeness and brokenness, the recognition of it, and the reorientation and restoration, connects with us today as we too, too often, try to leave the God of love.

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.

Let us pray:

All mighty and ever-loving God, who is ever vigilant in waiting for our return, come to us as we come to ourselves, that in our path to you, we may be restored into your heavenly kingdom where with our Savior Jesus Christ, you live and reign in love everlasting. Amen

Daily Office Readings for Friday of the Second Week of Lent: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 95 and 69: Evening, Psalm 73;

 Genesis 43:1 to 15; 1^st Corinthians 7:1 to 9; Mark 4:35 to 41:

“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and raise a loud shout to him with psalms. (Psalm 95:2)

Psalm 95 is the Venite. It is often sung or said in the opening of Morning Prayer. However, it is the Eve of one day that allows us the time to prepare for the Morn of next. So in our eve this evening, we prepare to receive tomorrow, Saturday,  as a gift from God.

Friday evening is particularly special for me. As the labors of a worship service are work for those who organize and conduct it, I think it is good that we Christians worship on Sundays, the first day of the week.  Abraham Joshua Heschel says in his book, “Sabbath,” the Sabbath is a gift from God and we should appreciate it and honor it.  So I don’t think, as a matter of regular practice, even the work of worship should be done on the Sabbath morning. The Sabbath should be of day of comfort and meditation and perhaps some individual or small group reflective study or pondering.

There are exceptions to this. First responders, the military, hospital and prison staff, must make allowances for the Sabbath. But even they should be afforded at least every other Sabbath to enjoy this gift from God.  Jesus reminds us that the Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)

Let us as families and friends come before the Lord with thanksgiving on the Sabbath and then also prepare to come before the Lord on Saturday Eve for Sunday Morn in corporate community worship and raise a loud shout to God with Psalms.

God created all that is, and in the Gospel according to John, nothing came into being that didn’t come through him. You and I were literally prayed into being. And therefore all of us are people who came into being as a response to God’s prayer.

“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

Morning, Psalm  71; Evening,  Psalm 74;
Genesis 42:29 to 38; 1^st Corinthians 6:12 to 20; Mark 4:21 to 34:

“He did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.” (Mark 4: 34)

This morning I am driving to Stoneville, North Carolina for Education for Ministry (EfM) training. The focus of this training will be to go deeper into what we call Theological Reflection (TR). Jesus spoke to the people in parables but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

We mentors of EfM are also disciples of Christ, not to be confused with the denomination of the same name, and are gathering at a Roman Catholic retreat center as Episcopalians to have everything explained to us in a closed community (private). It is wonderful to be with like-minded servants of our Lord while finding and developing more meaningful ways to mentor people of faith into knowing the love of Christ.

The TR of EfM assists us in examining our troubling situations and moves us to resolve problems in ways that helps us apply our lives in more Christ-like ways. When life brings unexpected and troubling events into our lives it becomes necessary to come together in community where we can prayerfully and intimately resolve them. I believe TR is something all people of faith should seek as it has us to go deeper into our individual feelings.  It is inside our own hearts and minds that we meet Jesus in private. 

To find out more about EfM see  https://theology.sewanee.edu/education-for-ministry//

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