Author: John Thomas Frazier

Daily Office Readings for Saturday following the 1^st Sunday of Advent: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 20 and 21:1 to 7; Evening,  Psalms 110:1 to 5 and Psalms 116 and 117;
Amos 5:18 to 27; Jude 17 to 25; Matthew 22:15 to 22:

“It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions. But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads toeternal life:” (Jude 19 to 21).

I believe every human being has the Spirit of God in them, but many do not rely on it.  I think this is what Jude means when he talks about worldly people devoid of the Spirit. He goes on the say that such worldly people cause division among us. And to this I add laziness and blaming others for all the bad that happens to us is easy and infectious and makes us feel that we are not responsible for the way we are, how we feel, or what we say and do.

Jude continues, “But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith.”  Having and relying on our faith is so important.  With our faith we strive to see our Lord Jesus in all people. The good knowledge we have is that we can, and should, look for our Lord Jesus even in people who do not profess Christianity as well as those who do. See if you can discover a Christ-like quality in a non Church-person or someone who is of a faith other than Christianity, or even no professed faith at all.  If you do see a loving Jesus quality in such a person you can always say (to yourself) “That’s awfully Jesus of you.”  Just don’t say it out loud.  Remember it is you who are looking for our Lord Jesus in the other, not them.  I’m thinking they have him and don’t know it. So let your faith be the search for our Lord Jesus in others regardless of what they may, or may not, believe.

Finally, Jude says to “pray in the Holy Spirit.”  Remember that when you pray you are responding to God who is already praying, you are not initiating the prayer.  God has already done that.  All any of us has to do is just relax and let the Holy Spirit pray through us.  “Oh what a relief it is.”

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 the First Sunday of Advent: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 16, and 17; Evening, Psalm 22;
Amos 5:1 to17; Jude 1 to 16; Matthew  22:1 to 14:

“All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, upon those who are noble among the people.” (Psalm 16:2)

We need to appreciate good people more.  It seems all the news goes to the negative folk in our communities; to the mass shooters, the crooked politicians, and today, the smash and grabbers.

We need to show appreciation for the godly that are in the land, those who are courteous in the store and in traffic. We need to take a moment to award those who, while they do not agree with the majority on an issue, will behave as if the opposing view was their own.

We need to give thanks for good parents, and for good fathers who raise children who may not be biologically theirs, and care for their mothers.  This is what Joseph, the human father of Jesus, did. And yet, we have no words from him, just faithful behavior.

There are plenty of people who are trying every day to do what is right in the world. Let’s reach out and compliment the goodness of people who go unnoticed. They bring harmony to our communities and are standing right beside us as we witness those who do wrong and get all kinds of attention. If we honored those among us who live godly lives, perhaps more people would be inclined to be the same, that is, the godly people God is making them to be.  Let’s do this, this weekend as we enter our Sabbath time together.

“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 First Sunday of Advent; Year 2

Morning, Psalm 18:1-20; Evening, Psalm 18:21-50;
Amos 4:6-13; 2^nd Peter 3:11-18; Matthew 21:33-46

“Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures;” (2^nd Peter 3: 14 to 16).

Not that we will ever achieve being without spot or blemish, we should still strive to be found at peace. I have found that being patient in all things is a key step in being at peace. The writer in this passage considers the patience of the Lord as salvation. I think so also.

I often thought Peter and Paul were Christian adversaries. But here we have Peter uplifting “our beloved Paul” and asking us to look deeper into his letters to find real divine meaning and wisdom as it had been given to Paul.  Further, he says, let us not twist Paul’s words to our own destruction as many do with all scripture.

I believe that it is with patience and the search for love in all things that we will find peace, that peace which surpasses all understanding.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palistine 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 First Sunday of Advent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:1-24; Evening,  Psalms 12, 13 and 14:
Amos 3:12-4:5; 2 Peter 3:1-10; Matthew 21:23-32

“For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.” (Matthew 21:32)

Perhaps the biggest hindrance to human spiritual growth is our refusal to change our minds. Like the chief priests and the elders of the Temple, we too, even after we see some less thought of people learning and living into righteousness, we stubbornly hold on to what we falsely believed to be true.  We hold on to false teachings because we see changing our minds as weakness. But I submit that it takes real strength to grab false teachings and push them aside.

We need to live a life of life-long-learning.  And, when we learn something new, follow the new path in our behavior and actions.

Today our Church remembers St. Nicholas of Myra; Santa Claus.  “Nicholas was a native of the western part of what is now Asiatic Turkey. He became Bishop of Myra in the fourth century, and there are many stories of his love for God and for his neighbor:” taken from St. Nicholas of Myra (satucket.com).  As Christians who believe in eternal life, Santa Claus still lives! Thank You Lord Jesus. This means we can be honest with our children and adults when we say “I believe in Santa Claus.” Santa Lives!

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 First Sunday of Advent: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 5 and  6; Evening,  Psalms 10 and 11;
Amos 3:1 to 11; 2^nd Peter 1:12-21; Matthew 21:12-22

“Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation.” (Psalm 5:1)

The words of this Psalm caught my attention because of the word “meditation.”  I have often considered meditation to be prayer. And, as I write these words early each morning I ponder even deeper about the Holy Presence of God in our human lives.

Before this Psalm drifts off into correcting bad people, it mentions other thoughts of mine. “Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I make my prayer to you;” (Psalm 5:2).  God’s ears hears tears. When we cry to God for help, God hears us. And the Psalmist uses the word prayer this time instead of meditation. This is my life early in the morning. “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you;” (Psalm 5:3).  None of us knows what the night will bring, I invite you to start the practice of some kind of morning thankfulness to God.

In Second Peter for today it is written; “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God;” (2^nd Peter 1:20 and 21). For me, this means our meditations or prayers are comingled with the Holy Spirit of God. Let us glean from God’s Blessings and pass them on to others.

Finally, we have from the Gospel according to Matthew a word on the power of faith,  “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive; (Matthew 21:22). So, let our meditation be always faith-based.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 first Sunday of Advent; Year 2

Morning, Psalms 1, 2 and 3; Evening,  Psalms 4 and 7;
Amos 2:6-16; 2^nd Peter 1:1-11; Matthew 21:1-11

“You have put gladness in my heart, more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; for only you, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:7 and 8)

Grain and wine and oil was, at one time, a method of payment for work done in the quarries. It was hard work cutting and shaping stone. I am sure such men had no problem falling to sleep after such a hard day at work. But they slept with what was more important, they had gladness in their hearts.

As a priest I have seen, and continue to see, too many sad hearts in my community. Such people probably have a hard time sleeping. And lack of sleep just adds to frustration and anxiety.

Most sleepless and anxious people are this way due to various forms of corruption in the world.  Perhaps they should borrow a page from 2^nd Peter’s writing for today;  “For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love;” (2^nd Peter 5 to 7). And maybe even some hard work thrown in might help one to sleep a little better.

For me, God’s gladness in my heart means more than anything. With God’s gladness, even in the worst of situations, we can endure many of the things that go wrong. Let us ask God for divine gladness, it will make us happy and will enable us to fall asleep at once.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 First Sunday in Advent: Year B

Mark 13:24-37

“And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.” (Mark 13: 37)

Initially Jesus was only talking to his disciples. But this statement opens up Jesus’ words to all people on this planet.

Even Jesus says that not even He knows the time and day of the coming of the Lord will happen. We have had many theologians to wrongfully calculate the day of the end of the world.  What’s wrong with us? If Jesus says not even He knows, we then, should just leave it alone.

What we can take away from this lesson is the stay focused part.  While the biblical words say keep awake, we can conclude that God knows we need sleep and rest. The real meaning here is to stay attentive.

Inattention to small matters can cause great suffering. A parent who does not normally take the baby to the sitter could forget the baby is in the back seat while on the way to work, which is the normal habit. The new duty of the baby-drop-off to the newly assigned parent, must stay focused on the baby, not the job.

We can only stay attentive to the coming of Christ if we establish and maintain a strict prayer life. As Episcopalians we are blessed with our Book of Common Prayer which contains many and various prayers and short prayer services for all types of occasions. Create some time this Advent to check the back seat of your soul and stay focused on what is most important.

As we approach Christmas, we must keep in mind the back seat of our souls. We must stay attentive to the Christ child who is coming. We can only receive this knowledge and wisdom through God the Creator. So, we sing:

O come, thou wisdom from on high, who orderest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go; Rejoice, Rejoice, Emanuel shall come to thee O Israel (1982 Hymnal # 56).

 Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 Proper 29: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 137:1- to 6, and Psalm 144; Evening,  Psalm 104:
Micah 7:11 to 20; 1^st Peter 4:7 to 19; Matthew 20:29 to 34:

“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (1^st Peter 4: 8)

Saint Peter makes me very happy with these words.  I am a sinner. But, I am also a lover of people.  It is good to know that love covers a multitude of sins: Thank You Jesus.

I believe our hearts are what lead us to do most of the things we do in life, whether it’s a passion for one of the art forms, or for particular people we want in our lives. I know that there are people who only act on logic and what makes sense as they see it. Perhaps they are the hardest to defend when sin occurs. 

I do also believe that most just laws seek to understand where the lawbreaker’s heart was when a tragic event happens. I know someone who hit a person with her car. The person ran out in front of traffic at night before the driver had time to stop. The hit person died.  While it was sad, it was not intentional. The driver had to have therapy before she was able to drive again.

If this event had been intentional, it would be sin, because the heart was not acting out of love. The courts also would hold the perpetrator accountable.  Acting outside the realm of love for reason of revenge or whatever caused the crime or sin does not hold with “covers a multitude of sins.” It takes doing everything we do to be from love that will see us through.

 Inevitably we will sin. We are not perfect. But when we reflect back over our sinful event, we don’t want to have to look too hard to see where our heart was. Love must be our foundational catalyst. It covers a multitude of sins.

In our Church this is the last day of Pentecost. Tomorrow begins our Church new year, Advent, Year 2 of the Daily Office and Year B for our Eucharistic Lectionary.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 Proper 29: Year 1

 Morning, Psalms 140 and 142; Evening,  Psalms 141 and 143:1-11;
 Isaiah,  24:14 to 23; 1^st Peter 3:13 to 4:6; Matthew 20:17 to 28:

“It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave:” (Matthew 20: 26 and 27).

I believe what our Lord Jesus is driving at is being comfortable with being the one who keeps everything going without being noticed. More to the point is, to not seek greatness at all.

A long time ago I worked on an assembly line with a machine that made thermoses. Whenever the machine broke down we called a tech to get it going again.  These techs were not seen until something went wrong.  Most were men and women who worked with the machine as I was then doing. They did not create the machine or design it.  They gained an understanding of how it worked and with a little mechanical training they were able to wait in a quiet place until a machine failed. They didn’t want to be president of the company; they just wanted to keep things moving, making thermoses. They stood by with their tool boxes and oil cans ready when needed.

I believe the deeper point that Jesus is really making is for us not to want to be Jesus, but rather, just keep good works happening to the best of our abilities.  We serve those who are doing the hard work of loving and helping neighbors without boasting about it.  We must learn to live lives of not being great but being ready when called upon.  And when called, we come with our Christian experience which is our tool box of Christian Education, and our oil cans of compassion, with which we help bring others back on line. It is in this way that we are co-sustainers with the Great Creator.

“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 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 Proper 29: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 131, 132; Evening, Psalm 134 and 135:
Zephaniah 3:1to13; 1 Peter 2:11 to 25; Matthew 20:1 to16

“I do not occupy myself with great matters, or with things that are too hard for me.” (Psalm 131)

The Psalmist really captures my attitude here regarding many worldly interests. Many Americans are now concerned about the sexual identity of others. Not me. I just see everybody as a child of God, and that is enough for me.

We are about to enter a new political season. Too many of us are told what to think about the candidates running for the various offices at every level. These are things too hard for me.  I just pray and vote my gut feeling regardless of party.

Over the years I have learned to simplify great matters into easy-to-process units that I can handle. In faith I have only two Commandments, to love God with all that I am, and to love you, all of you. I no longer occupy myself with great matters.

In finance, I keep my needs low, save a little, and give to charities, the Church and those in need. I no longer occupy myself with great matters.

The world occupies itself with great matters. But I focus on giving thanks to God, trying to love everybody, keeping my word, living plain and providing an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Yes, I have gone back to work.  It’s not that I am in need, it is that I am needed.

I still conduct theological studies, participate in health strategies, practice music, and study Freemasonry. These, I seem to be able to handle. “I do not occupy myself with great matters, or with things that are too hard for me.”  How about you?

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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