onewhoponders

New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 8: Year A

Romans 6:12-23 and  Matthew 10:40 to 42:

“Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple– truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”” (Matthew 10: 40 to  42)

This first sentence of Jesus reminds me of a reverse Trojan Horse, on steroids.  I say reverse, because while the original Trojan Horse brought inside destruction to those who received it, we, carrying Jesus inside us, should bring grace and joy to all who receive us.

If we go forth in the Name of our Lord Jesus, we present Jesus to all whom we encounter, if we get out of the way.  We are the gift-wrapped package of Jesus.  Jesus then, is the package that contains God, like the Trojan Horse of the Greeks who secretly entered Troy.  So within each baptized Christian is hidden our Lord Jesus, and within Jesus is God Almighty. Delivering God to anyone is wonderful but especially to those who may not know God. It is the most important thing any of us can do. And we don’t do it alone.  We let go and let God; we let God work through Jesus and through us.

Now, after this opening statement, comes the “reward” language, which I don’t particularly care for.  The prophet’s reward, the righteous person’s reward, and even the compassionate person’s reward, seems to encourage us to do good in order to receive the appropriate (and expected) reward.  Let’s just be like Mary, and be God-bearers.  Mary partnered with, and co-created with God not for herself but for the salvation of the world.  Let her words resonate within ourselves, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1: 38)

All the prophets who came before our Lord Jesus preached about the love God has for his people. Jesus came and walked among us as a final testament to this prophecy. We must remember that our Lord Jesus pointed to God, not himself. Jesus teaches us to pray with the opening words, “Our Father.” This makes us sisters and brothers of Jesus and in the sharing of his body and blood, he dwells in us and we in him.  This means God is in us through our brother Jesus.  It is in this way that we are changed from whoever we think we are through our respective human families, to that divine and eternal family whose dwelling is in that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  This then is the almighty God we live by and bring to others that do not have this secret knowledge that we have. Whoever welcomes you welcomes Jesus, and whoever welcomes Jesus welcomes God.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 7: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 107:33-43 and 108:1-6; Evening, Psalm 33;
1^st Samuel 9:15 to10:1; Acts 7:30 to 43; Luke 22:39 to 51

“He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’ Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ [[ Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.]]  When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial:” (Luke 22: 39 to 46).

Before I ponder about these Luke verses, I just want you to know that the bracketed verses above (43 and 44) are not found in some ancient manuscripts.  It doesn’t mean that angels weren’t there; it just means that some Luke accounts didn’t have it.

Having said that, my emphasis for these words is focused on Jesus’ regular round of prayer.  Jesus often found a quiet place to be alone and pray. We should copy this Jesus trait.  This was a Thursday evening.  Jesus has just celebrated what we call the Lord’s Supper, also known as our Holy Eucharist.  He is about to be arrested, beaten and then crucified.

If this situation was put before me, the option of running away would still be on the table. Perhaps prayer would still be there as well, but it would probably be prayer for a speedy escape.  But our Lord Jesus had you in mind.  He wanted you to be cleansed of all human sin.  The sin of jealousy, and of hatred, and of prejudice, as it was shown in Judas Iscariot and the Temple authorities, and the Romans. All human sin was packaged together and saddled on Jesus as he is taken to the cross.

His response on our behalf is prayer. He prays for the strength necessary to endure because he loves us, He literally loves us to death, even death on the Cross.  Maybe I wouldn’t run after all. After all, dying to my mortal self is not the end of my life; Thanks be to our Lord Jesus.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 7: Year 1

 Morning, Psalm 102; Evening, Psalm 107:1 to 32;
1^st  Samuel 9:1 to 14; Acts 7:17 to 29; Luke 22:31 to 38:

“He said to them, ‘But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one.  For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, “And he was counted among the lawless”; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.’ They said, ‘Lord, look, here are two swords.’ He replied, ‘It is enough: (Luke 22: 36 to 38).

I have studied the Amish.  What I admire about the Amish is that they really walk their faith. Their faith however, includes pacifism. They are among the most pacifist people on the face of the earth.  Because of this they were completely decimated in Europe because of their refusal to defend themselves. They found safety in the “armed” American Colonies, Pennsylvania in particular.

The Hebrew Testament is replete with examples of God assisting the fighting efforts to fulfill God’s plan for the Israelites, and, by extension, all humanity. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David and others fought to accomplish God’s will for us today.  Now, in our Gospel reading for today, we have our Lord Jesus saying “sell what you can and buy a sword because the day is going to come that you will need it.”

The sword was the personal protection of that day. The sword was not a hunting tool which could be said of the spear or bow and arrow.  It was not used to prepare food as is a knife. No, the sword was specifically made for use as a weapon against human oppression. Today’s sword is a pistol. 

As a thirty year United States Marine, now retired but still true to what it means to be a Marine, I support the right to have and use guns as personal protection.  Some may ask how I balance being a gun owner with being a priest.  I think our Lord Jesus, speaking to the future Christian priests of the New Testament, answers that question.  “He replied, [regarding having two swords], ‘It is enough.”  Some interpreters and commentaries will try to read something else into Jesus’ words.  I say, Jesus said it, and it is, what it is. 

Let us learn from the European lesson in the history of the Amish, as well as God’s guidance with Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David and others. And let us hear what our Lord Jesus says about protecting our continued way of Christian life after His sacrifice. This is something we each must ponder with God’s help in our Sabbath time.  Thank You Lord Jesus.

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

 “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

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 Reading for Thursday of Proper 7: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 105:1 to 22; Evening, Psalm 105:23 to 45;
1^st  Samuel 8:1 to 22; Acts 6:15 to 7:16; Luke 22:24 to 30”

“And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them: (1^st Samuel 8:7 to 9)

We have the most of the Pentateuch, the Torah, (Exodus through Deuteronomy) where God explains, through Moses, how the Israelites are not to be like the people they are going to encounter when they cross the Jordan into the Promised Land.  Yet, they tell Samuel that they want to be like the other nations. How quickly we forget, and how sadly we want to be like everybody else.

Biblically speaking, every time the crowd came to a decision, it was not a heavenly one; from the making of a golden calf while Moses was on the mountain in the Book of Exodus,  to the incited crowd yelling “Crucify Him” to Pontius Pilate regarding Jesus as stated in the Gospel. Too often we fail to listen to the loving voice of God speaking in our hearts and in our souls.

A great many people moving on a hasty decision does not make it the moral action we should take in most cases. We, individually, need to think for ourselves. I, again present the words of Blaise Pascal who informs us that, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  I find such sitting in a quiet room alone and pondering about a concern, or life and our relationship with the Creator, is gracefully gratifying. Regardless of your political affiliation, or any “majority or minority” influence, we all have a personal responsibility to think, and ponder for ourselves. God created us in God’s loving and thinking Image.

Let us not want to be like others just to be like others. The crowd itself can become a false god. Our beauty is in our diversity of looks, cultures, languages, traditions, religious beliefs and ethnicity. We were never made to be all one way, except the Way of the Love of God, for God, and for one another.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 Proper 7: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 101 and 109; Evening,  Psalm 119:121 to144;
1 Samuel 7:2-17; Acts 6:1-15; Luke 22:14-23:

“And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word:” (Acts 6: 2 to 4)

Every time this reading comes up in our Daily Office Lectionary I can’t help but refute it. It is not the understanding I have of who Jesus is, or what he would have us do. In the Gospel accounts we have Jesus ordering the apostles to feed the people; “But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat:” (Matthew 14:16).

Too often today we priests sometimes see ourselves as too important to fulfill the most basic of needs.  There are many things that our Lord Jesus did that we, (clergy, doctors, or any vocation), simply cannot do. We can’t cure all diseases, or bring people back to life.  But most of us can feed those who are hungry or teach those who want to know what we know.  We can buy a hungry person something to eat. We can teach adults to read. We can drive someone to a medical appointment or other place they need to be. We can teach young children to sing songs of hope.  We, none of us, who follow our Lord Jesus, should think of ourselves as above providing the basic needs of people. 

We still need to find time to pray and hear the words of God and meditate on the Holy Spirit of God. But such contemplation should not stop us from the basic and important duty of taking care of those who lack the basic needs of life, or just needs a faith companion.  Our love must be shown in how we care for others. We should not send them away or put this labor of love on someone else.  Our Lord Jesus is still saying to us, “You give them something to eat.”

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 Proper 7: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 97 and 99; Evening, Psalm 94;
1^st  Samuel 6:1to 16; Acts 5:27 to 42; Luke 21:37 to 22:13:

“So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!” (Acts 5: 38 and 39)

A Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel gave the council two examples of how uprisings settled themselves when they are not from God.  However, he asks them, and us, to be patient with this Jesus movement. He says if it is from human origin it will be made evident. But if it is from God, we have no choice but to obey.  Smart words I think.

In all my undertakings I ask if it is of God, or, where do I see God in it?  If I can’t see God in it anywhere, it is time to move on to something else.  Also, I must remember that God is love.  So, I must ask if there is love in the undertaking that I am pursuing. If no love, no God, then I go no further.  I have always said that I can’t see where God is at this present moment in my life, only where God has been in my life. What I am saying now is not counter to what I have always said. 

While God is illusive, and can’t always be seen, God’s presence as love is readily revealed if we look for it. And if there are conflicts between the call of God and what the unloving among us are saying, then we must remember what Peter and the apostles said, “We must obey God rather than any human authority:” (Acts 5:29).  We can tell if God is in it, if love is in it.

God has no plan B for us.  The seed of Jesus is growing more and more every day. In the end we will learn to truly love one another. In so doing, we will make heaven manifest right here on earth where God’s will, will be done.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 Proper 7: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 89:1 to 18; Evening, Psalm 89:19 to 52;
1^st Samuel 5:1 to 12; Acts 5:12 to 26; Luke 21:29 to 36:

“Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man:” (Luke 21:36).

Jesus has just told his followers about the certainty of the end of the age and to expect the unexpected. How does one do this? How does anyone prepare themselves to expect the unexpected?

I have met people who seem to be calm no matter what happens.  At first these calm people seem cognitively slow or even autistic. More observation will reveal that they are very much aware of their environment and all that is taking place; they just aren’t rattled by the supposedly unexpected happenings that take place.  I want to be like that.

I do believe the older I get, the more I am able to remain calm. Also, the more I get into meditation, the more I seem to be able to calm myself and remain calm when stuff happens.  This is being alert and also praying that we have the strength, the resolve, to avoid panicking and reacting without thought. I not only want to keep myself calm, I want to be a calming presence to those who might not be able to handle the unexpected.  I pray that our Lord Jesus uses me as a calming presence in my family, my neighborhood, my parish, and in all places where I may be with others.

I just need to keep telling myself that God is God and all things will be in accord with God’s will. Therefore, I shall not be afraid but rest in God’s doings. I also pray to God to use me Lord as you see fit for the benefit of all, and quiet my soul when anxiety attempts to come upon me. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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

Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 7: Year A

Jeremiah 20:7 to 13;  Psalm 69: 8 to 20; Romans 6:1 to 11; Matthew 10:24 to39:

“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

There was a time that I did not understand this phrase.  I initially thought it meant, fear those humans who can cause us to be destined for hell. You know, the ones that make us loose our religion.  But I have later come to realize that no human can really do this.  Humans can, and sadly, do kill our bodies.  But only the One who gave us our souls can take it back. There is a resurrection, and it is God alone who decides where our souls go, or not go.

Just as every Sunday, for Christians, it is about the Resurrection. So too, most, if not all Sunday sermons should reflect the Resurrection, it’s about the Gospel. However, we learn from our Romans reading for today, “The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

We have learned through these past readings, especially for Sundays, that human constructs like race, political affiliations, nationality, language and even our marriages, are not passed on in the resurrected life, that is, in what we call heaven. Let us not be sad about this, but rather, let us establish eternal connections amongst our souls that will prevail for all eternity, if God permits.

I often tell certain people, family and close personal loves in my life, that I want to re-connect with them on the other side of this life. I want to know them for all eternity. How much we believe in the Resurrection shapes how we live our lives now, in this temporal life.

We just lost five people in an imploded submersible. This is very sad, but God did not lose them. Therefore; “Do not fear anybody or anything that kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, let us have love and respect for the Lord our God with great expectation for what’s next.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 6: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 87 and 90; Evening,  Psalm 136;
1^st Samuel 4:1 to 11; Acts 4:32 to 5:11; Luke 21:20 to 28:

“The span of our life is seventy years, perhaps in strength even eighty; yet the sum of them is but labor and sorrow, for they pass away quickly and we are gone:” (Psalm 90: 10).

I am well into my 70’s now. While I have been walking around on this earth for what seems like a long time to me, it is nothing to God who knows no time. I tell people that as we live, we are living in our “dash.”  The dash is that time that begins at our birth and ends with our death.  What’s important in our dash time is not what we can do for ourselves. What is important is how close we can attach ourselves to the eternal God.

What is most important during our dash time is our ability to be open to God’s loving-kindness every day, and sharing it.  The Psalmist says, “Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning; so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life:” (Psalm 90:14).  We all have challenging days but perhaps with God’s help we can have better days, most days. 

Some of our daily rejoicing is dependent on us.  I don’t think of the sum of our lives necessarily as to only labor and sorrow, that pass away quickly and we are gone.  We must apply an effort in our rejoicing. If we take one step in love and happiness, God takes two.  When we use our hearts and hands in the service of God, and in the service of those among us who are distressed, we will have a loving and memorable dash time, and it will be noticed by God. The Psalmist concludes, “May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork:” (Psalm 90:17).

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 6: Year 1

 Morning, Psalm 88; Evening,  Psalms 91 and 92;
1^st  Samuel 3:1-21; Acts 2:37-47; Luke 21:5-19

“But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ He said, ‘Here I am.’ Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.’ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, ‘It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him:” (1^st Samuel 3: 16 to 18).

This is what I meant when I said on Monday, the 19^th of June, that “Such negligence will come back to bite him later.”  Eli had sons who did not follow in Eli’s ways.  In fact they blasphemed God and Eli did not correct them.  We must remember Father Abraham who would slaughter his son Isaac, who was without sin, only to obey what he perceived to be the will of God. Eli was still learning what it means to be a father when he took custody of Samuel. He may have been a better father to Samuel that he was to his biological sons.

As we remember Father’s Day past I pray that fathers everywhere will ponder their parental responsibilities and at least coach their young ones into their faith tradition. I believe that while we are not to go out and demand anyone to follow our Christian path, all people, and fathers in particular, should have a guiding light that leads them on a moral path. As we fathers walk our paths, we should invite, or even insist, that those for whom we are responsible for, accompany us as we traverse life’s expedition.

Eli, and later, even Samuel himself, will fail in their responsibility to guide their young ones in their faith paths.  I hold up Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, as the model of fatherhood.  We don’t have any words from Joseph. What we have is his silent obedience to the will of God.  We have the example of his unconditional love for his non-biological son and his son’s mother.  Love conquers all. But indeed, sometimes that love has to be tough love.

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

 “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

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