Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Friday of the 2^nd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 31; Evening, Psalm 35;
Genesis 11:27 to 12:8; Hebrews 7:1 to 17; John 4:16 to 26:

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth;” (John 4: 24).

Jesus continues to converse with the Samaritan woman at the well.  She suspects he is a prophet because he knows about her failed married life.  She tries to understand his ways by suggesting the Samaritans should also worship in Jerusalem as do the Jews. Jesus informs her that “the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem:” (John 4 21).  Jesus dispels any notion of any people having a claim on God. We are all God’s own.  We should  pray where we are, and we should pray when we feel it is what we need to do. No place or time is outside of the presence of God.

More than that, our Lord Jesus informs her, and us, that God is Spirit; (John 4:24).  God is beyond anything humanly identifiable, except for loving us.  He also goes on to say to her, according to the Aramaic reporters of His words, “I AM he, the one who is speaking to you.” The human form of Jesus is the only humanity that the Holy Spirit of God used to be with us since creation began, and the Holy Spirit of God remains with us to this very day, everywhere and all the time.  

“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.

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 Second Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 37:1 to 18; Evening, Psalm 37:19 to 42;

Genesis 11:1 to 9; Hebrews 6:13 to 20; John 4:1 to 15:

“A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)” (John 4:7 – 9)

Many of Jesus’ teachings, as well as his miracle stories, take place with people outside of the Israelite people.  In this particular case the woman at the well is not only a Samaritan, she is also a woman who may not be liked in her own community. She has had many husbands; she goes out at noon, in the heat of the day alone, when no one else is at the well. All of this speaks of her isolation. She is estranged from her own community, but not from Jesus.

It seems Jesus had to be free of his cohorts in order to have this exchange.  They might have interfered.  We’ve seen where the apostles wanted to send hungry people home rather than feed them; keep children away from Jesus, stop a blind man that needed our Lord Jesus and other such instances where the apostles tried to “protect” Jesus.  Jesus, nor we, need protection from people just because they are different from us.  That is, when they are not the same sex, orientation, nationality, language, so called race, religious affiliation or political stripe. But like Jesus, we might have to get away from our regular crowd of influencers in order to be honest with those who differ from us, and with ourselves.

When we hear a stranger ask us how it is that we will be with them given that we are so different, we will know then that we’ve made it.  Thank You Lord Jesus.

Today our Church remembers the Confession of St. Peter. When Jesus asked his followers who they said he is; “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven; (Matthew 16:16 and 17). Jesus is the rejected stone by humans that is the true Cornerstone of our lives. God’s revelation still guides us into all truth today.

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

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the 2^nd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 38; Evening, Psalm 119:25 to 48;

Genesis 9:18 to 29; Hebrews 6:1 to 12; John 3:22 to 36:

“They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him”” (John 3:26)

We should all learn from John.  John the Baptist did the best job he could with no illusions about keeping his position as a baptizing servant of God as a permanent position.  He told the people plainly that “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

I have held positions of some responsibility in my life. I find the greatest reward for such work are not ribbons or medals but to meet my replacement and wish him or her God speed. All life is temporary.  And within our temporary lives are even more temporary assignments or callings. I don’t think it is healthy or prudent for the position holder, or the people under his or her charge, to hold such a relationship too long. At some point we have to move on.

So we should take a page from John’s play-book and announce in advance that the time is surely coming when leadership will evolve.  Stepping out and away from the limelight can be its own reward. It also gives us time to discern what the Spirit is calling us to next if it be God’s will.

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

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of the 2^nd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 26 and 28; Evening, Psalms 36 and 39;

Genesis 9:1 to 17; Hebrews 5:7 to14; John 3:16 to 21:

“As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.”  (Genesis 9: 9 – 10)

I have learned that some of the other faith traditions also have a flood story. That this Bible story is historically accurate is not so much my concern.  But the lesson here is that we (humans) are the caretakers of the earth and all of its diverse creatures, and this is what I believe God wants us to know.

This message of caretaker is one that shows up frequently in the Bible as well as in my blog. While we are not God, we have a lot of power in terms of regulating our habitats and protecting the various species of life, both plant and animal. 

Our spirituality should go beyond how we relate to each other.  It must be seen by God how we relate to this beautiful planet.  This goes beyond the negligent damage we cause with pollution and reckless harvesting of resources.  We need to clean up our act, but more than that, we need to monitor present and future habitats and the eco-systems around the planet to ensure that all life is in balance in order to promote a safe and healthy planet for all life.

Here is the truth that goes beyond the flood story: God is establishing a covenant with us and our descendants after us, and with every living creature that is with us, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with us.  God wants humanity, in particular, to be more responsible in caring for this planet. We can’t live without this gift of earth, but it can live without us. Perhaps someday we might develop a missile that will thwart an earth bound meteor. This may be part of our divine purpose. But until then we must look at our everyday practices and do what we can to protect the creation we have now.  

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

Daily Office Readings for Monday of the 2^nd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 25; Evening, Psalms 9 and 15; 

Genesis 8:6 to 22; Hebrews 4:14 to 5:6; John 2:23  to 3:15:

“He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” (John 3:2)

This is the way we all approach our Lord Jesus, in the darkness of ignorance.  Nicodemus was somewhat condescending in his talk with Jesus knowing that a person cannot re-enter the womb to be born again.  Jesus was explaining a rebirth using metaphor.  This only further explains the dark cloud of ignorance in which Nicodemus found himself.

One does not know how much they don’t know.  I am thankful for a seminary education. It is not that this religious education made me smart.  Rather, it informed me of just how much I had no clue about.  I think knowing how much you don’t know is the beginning of being smart. This is a good time to recall a quote from Kallistos Ware: “It is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery.  God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder.” (Kallistos Ware)

If Nicodemus believed that our Lord Jesus was a teacher who has come from God because no one can do what our Lord Jesus does apart from the presence of God, then, I say, behave that way Nicodemus!  Instead of challenging Jesus, follow him.  And that goes for us too.

Today the United States remembers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advocate for civil rights for all people.

Dr King was passionate about his call for justice for all people.  It is reported that he once said that “If a man can’t find something he is willing to die for, he is not fit to live.”  Indeed he did die while raising the awareness of underpaid sanitation workers in Memphis.  Fairness was something he believed in and was willing to die for, and indeed he did die for it.

How about us?  What are we willing to die for?  So often the “what” is changed to “who.”  Many of us will proclaim who we are willing to die for, a significant other, a child, a parent or a friend.   But what about an idea; – a concept of freedom, equality and justice for all people?  As Episcopalians we proclaim in our Baptismal Covenant that we “Will strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being;” (BCP 305).  I think Dr King (not an Episcopalian), lived into what we profess. He did more than just lip service to an old, regularly recited covenant. He was fit to live because of his determination for freedom, liberty and justice for all people as valid reasons to die for. And that should go for us as well.

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

The Hebrew and Gospel Readings for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany: Year B

First Samuel 3:1 to 20; and, John 1:43 to 51

“Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:48 and 49)

What happened under that fig tree before Philip came to Nathanael?  What was Nathanael going through? What was he caught up in? Was he planning some kind of sin? Was he planning to take his life?  Unlike our First Samuel reading for today where we got to hear what went on between God and the child Samuel, and then Samuel told Eli; We don’t know what Nathanael was going through under the fig tree. The secret and sacred times with God still happen today. It has been said that these are the thin spaces. Let me share two more recent ones with you; one in which we do not know what happened and one in which we do.

C. S. Lewis is remembered as a Christian writer and spiritualist. However he was not always this way.  He was a non believer of God, an agnostic. He later believed in God but had reservations regarding Jesus. And then he writes; “In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” Two years later, his conversion was completed: “I know very well when, but hardly how, the final step was taken. I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out, I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo, I did.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 22)  What happen in that vehicle? We don’t know.

This weekend we remember Dr Martin Luther King Jr. King lived in constant danger: his home was dynamited, he was almost fatally stabbed, and he was harassed by death threats. He was even jailed 30 times; but through it all he was sustained by his deep faith. In 1957, he received, late at night, a vicious telephone threat. Alone in his kitchen he wept and prayed. He relates that he heard the Lord speaking to him and saying, “Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness, stand up for justice,” and promising never to leave him alone—“No, never alone.” King refers to his vision as his “Mountain-top Experience.” After preaching at Washington Cathedral on March 31, 1968, King went to Memphis in support of sanitation workers in their struggle for better wages. There, he proclaimed that he had been “to the mountain-top” and had seen “the Promised Land,” and that he knew that one day he and his people would be “free at last.” On the following day, April 4, he was cut down by an assassin’s bullet. (Great Cloud of Witnesses for April 4) We know of his experience because he spoke and wrote of it.

What has happened in your life that sealed you to God in Christ Jesus?  Tell somebody about it. Write about it. We need to hear it.

As we continue in this time of service in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. let us understand that our Lord Jesus, still to this very day, visits us in our thin places. When this happens we are changed forever.

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

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of the 1^st Week of Epiphany: year 2

Morning,  Psalms 20 and 21:1-7; Evening, Psalms 110:1-5, 116 and 117;
Genesis 6:9 to 22; Hebrews 4:1 to 13; John 2:13 to 22;

“So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God;’ (Hebrews 4:9).

Today, Saturday, is our God-assigned, Sabbath Rest Day, a gift from God. We should attend to it in a contemplative manner.

When I served in the Marines in Saudi Arabia, during the liberation of Kuwait, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, those of us who were regular, Church-going Christians counted the weeks there by our Sundays. Two Sunday traditions took place where we were. First, the Navy chaplain came to our maintenance compound to conduct a Church Service (work).  I remember that I led the Lord’s Prayer when invited to do so, and helping those who wanted to participate but didn’t know the words (work). Second, our mess hall (dining facility), prepared pancakes for breakfast!  This was a big deal, and also work.  During this non-liturgical breaking of the “pancake” bread, we got to see others with whom we came over with but do not work with on a daily basis. We celebrated each week as time passed until we boarded planes for home.  For us Christians, worship is work regardless of how it is expressed.  The Sabbath, however, as God intended it, is Rest.

I have matured theologically since that time, or at least I think I have. Now, after careful study of scripture, I believe the God-given day for all of us is Saturday, the seventh day of the week.  I still worship on Sundays but I think there is a difference between worship and rest. In my maturation I realize that there is always a need for emergency personnel to be ready to act. The military, the police, hospital staff and all first responders must be ready to respond to serious needs. And perhaps every other Sabbath should be given them. Jesus never removed God’s gift of the Sabbath.  This Rest we enter is not ours alone. It is God’s Rest. And we are invited to be at rest with God as often as we can. That day is Today!

I will close this blog page for today with the closing words of our Hebrews writer for today for you to ponder: “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day. So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.   ”(Hebrews 4: 8 to11). We should celebrate each Sabbath until we are taken to our eternal Sabbath home.

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

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Sunday Week 1 of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 16, and 17; Evening,  Psalm 22;

Genesis 6:1 to 8; Hebrews 3:12 to 19; John 2:1 to 12:

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.”  (Genesis 6:5)

Full disclosure, I am not a Bible literalist. But I do believe that within most of our Bible stories, and within some of the fake facts, are real truths. One such truth is that left unschooled by good parents, preachers and school teachers of love, our moral compasses will point south; that is, to immorality. We must be vigilant about being good and teaching what is good, Nephilim notwithstanding.

This is a repeated Biblical lesson for us today. From our Hebrews reading for today we get the same instruction: “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12 and 13)

While the preacher to the Hebrews reminds us of Moses and our Genesis reading shows signs of hope with the coming of Noah, the Mother of our Lord Jesus preaches the perfect, albeit brief, sermon. She tells us, the servants of the Lord, to “do whatever he tells you,” (John 2:5). Our Lord Jesus is God’s final act of salvation, even beyond Noah and Moses. I believe God still loves creation and wants to save it, and us with it.

“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.

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 1^st Week after the Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 18:1 to 20; Evening, Psalm 18:21 to 50;

Genesis 4:17 to 26; Hebrews 3:1 to 11; John 1:43 to 51:

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today,  if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test,  though they had seen my works”  (Hebrews 3:7 – 9)

Today if you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.  I think it takes a minute to discern where the inside voice is coming from.  We can call it conscience, or in my case, pondering, or whatever.  The point from the Hebrews reading is that we need to at least acknowledge the voice and heed it.

I have found that listening deeply requires me to check my emotions.  I have to ask myself, how am I feeling?  Am I disturbed about something?  Am I nervous about something?  I must also ask myself if I am overjoyed about anything.  All of these moods or emotions could alter what the Spirit is saying to me.  Such clearing of the mind requires contemplation, meditation and often just sitting quietly alone.  I recall the words of Blaise Pascal: who said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  I modified his words to read, “All of humanity’s problems stem from each person’s refusal to sit quietly in a room alone.

Aside from the gender references I want to acknowledge that it is not so much the inability to sit alone, but our flat out refusal to do so.  I think this is the hardness of heart that the Hebrew writer warns against.  Sometimes we can be so stubborn as to not allow ourselves to be open to pondering about what is right and loving to do. You should try it.  Sometimes we just need to shut everything off and be still. And yes, know that God is God.(Psalm 46:10)  A hardened heart is a blockage to the voice of the Holy Spirit. We all, from time to time, need to step away from the fear of change and the conviction that we are right, and be open to what the Spirit is saying to us.

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

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the 1^st Sunday Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:1 to 24; Evening,  Psalms 12, 13 and 14;
Genesis 4:1 to 16; Hebrews 2:11 to 18; John 1: 35-42:

“Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” (Hebrews 2: 17 and 18)

This explanation from the letter to the Hebrews reinforces my belief that God gets to understand the human condition through His Incarnate self in the life and death of our Lord Jesus.

When God walks among us and suffers with us, God develops mercy for us. It is through, and because of, our Lord Jesus that we are redeemed of our sins and saved in eternal life.

Jesus says, “Here am I and the children whom God has given me,” (Hebrews 2:13). We are given to our Lord Jesus through our faith, that is, in believing in the Presence of Christ in our everyday lives.  Our belief in our Lord Jesus makes us, through Holy Communion, be of the same flesh and blood, and therefore, brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus. “Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things,” (Hebrews 2:14).

Thanks to our Lord Jesus all we have to do is believe in order to belong to the family of God.  Other faith traditions have different kinds of faith connections with God. For us, we have Christ crucified. This is why “he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” 

Every day we should live our lives in thanksgiving for God being one of us in order to experience what we are going through. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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