onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of the 7^th Week of Easter: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 97 and 99;  Evening, Psalm 94,
Ezekiel 7:10 to 15 and 23 to 27; Hebrews 6:13 to 20; Luke 10:1 to 17:

“After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”  But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”  (Luke 10:1 to 11)

I bit off a huge portion of this Bible text from the Gospel according to Luke. But it’s important. It is about message and it is about mission.

In one of my Education for Ministry (EfM), classes one of our participants reminded us of a Church in Fayetteville that started about 15 years ago in a barn.  They were very small. Over the years they did the Lord’s work of feeding the hungry of Fayetteville and other such charitable acts outside of their barn. They were sent. They didn’t necessarily try to get people into their Church; they got their people out of the Church and into the streets fulfilling the needs of the people and bringing the Good News of the Salvation of Christ.  Now they appear on the evening news from time to time as they have helped with Covid vaccinations, testing, and other needs of the community. Now they have satellite Churches in several locations around Fayetteville.  Now, like the seventy in our reading for today, they are filled with joy because they are doing wonderful things in the Name of the Lord. The lesson that I am learning from their experience is that the Lord’s work is done where the need is, rather than where we are gathered.  Yes, we should come together to worship. It is good and right so to do. But the fruit of our gathering should be made manifest in the help and enhancement of the lives of our neighbors.  And we should not do it in order to grow, but rather, grow as a result of doing it.  Life is hard everywhere today. We have racial tensions mounting, a pandemic, and now, it seems, a labor shortage. It really does feel like we are sent out like lambs into the midst of wolves. But a Church among us has set the example. We would be wise to follow.                            

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, 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 7^th Week of Easter: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 89:1 to 18; Evening,  Psalm 89:19 to 52; 
Ezekiel  4:1 to 17; Hebrews 6:1 to 12; Luke 9:51 to 62:

“Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

I think the point that our Lord Jesus is making is that once we have set our minds, our sights, on where we are going, we need to stay focused on it if such a focus improves us.

I joined the United States Marines at the end of May, 1972.  Basic Training (Boot Camp), was a big step for me. It was my first ever flight on an airplane. It was the first time away from home without my Dad with whom I had always been with as we worked for United Van Lines, as movers.

It is an old story that still happens today. I arrive on a bus with other recruits on Parris Island, South Carolina somewhere around midnight. We were “greeted,” if that’s what you want to call it, by a man wearing a Smoky-the-Bear hat and he appeared to be very angry – angry at us.  I thought at the time he was mad because we were there and made him have to work.

This new chapter in my life required me to stay focused on whatever was about to happen next.  I had no time to think about, “those at my home,” back in Nashville, Tennessee.  I needed to be attentive to what was happening next. I did not want to fail. After much training, with many successes, some failures, and many accomplishments, I graduated Honor Man for my platoon on August 28, 1972. I stayed focused and as a result, was much improved.

I made it!  But it required me to not look back and second guess my decision to join the Marines in the first place. I retired after 30 years. The same is true about my decision to follow Jesus, even to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. There is no looking back.  It must be face-forward always. With hand to plough and no looking back, we are able the make the straight rows of improvement.

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

Eucharistic Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter: Year A

Acts 1:6-14;  Psalm 68:1-10 and 33-36;  1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11;  John 17:1-11

“And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” (John 17:11 NRSV)

Perhaps the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), is not the best translation of this prayer between our Lord Jesus and his inmost self, God Almighty.  I always compare other translations as I prepare the words I intend to share with you.  The New International Version, (NIV) reads, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”

The difference between these two readings is, in the NRSV, Jesus indicates he has already left the world.  In the NIV, Jesus talks about a very near future departure. I am always skeptical about an ancient language that has been translated many, many times. What I glean from this passage, in any language, is that our Lord Jesus is standing in both dimensions, both heaven and earth at the time of His prayer.

Jesus further says that we are in Him and He is in us, and together, we are in the Creator. Wow!

As believers we should act and behave as we understand, and truly believe, that we are in our Lord and our Lord is in us. Right now we have one foot on earth and the other in life eternal in paradise. It is our Christian responsibility to assist in God’s will being done here on earth as it is in Heaven.

Our Lord Jesus modeled God’s desire of how we are to live together on earth.  We are to care for one another, regardless of our differences.  We are to do all we can to heal one another. We are to do all we can to see to it that no one goes hungry.  These are the examples our Lord Jesus left us. In short, we are to love one another as Jesus loves us. And, he loved us to death.

The naysayers are plentiful. Many will not be willing to follow our example of living the life of love.  It is not our job to soften their hearts.  That belongs to the Holy Spirit of God, who will also bring divine judgment on all who have been shown but refuse to heed.

This Christian life we are trying to live is not easy, at first.  But as we practice being compassionate it gets easier and easier.  Being compassionate does not mean inviting people to hurt us, or take advantage of us.  But it does mean not returning evil for evil. Jesus would not do this and neither should we. We are dual citizens right now of both earth and heaven.  But the day is coming when we will remain in this world no longer. Halleluiah.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, 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 the 6^th Week of Easter: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 87 and  90; Evening,  Psalm 136;
Ezekiel 3:4 to 17; Hebrews 5:7 to 14; Luke 9:37 to 50:

“John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.” (Luke 9:49 and 50)

I understand these words from Jesus as a lesson in ecumenicalism, specifically, dialogue and action between different Christian denominations resulting in good works for a community.

What makes Christians Christian is the belief in, and use of, the Name of Jesus to bring about good. John, in our Luke reading for today, is upset that a Jesus believer is someone whom he does not know. But he is making good use of the Name of Jesus. Jesus tells him to let him be.  Ironically, the Gospel of this same person of John, in the Gospel according to John, records Jesus saying, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd:” (John 10:16).

I think different gatherings of today’s Christian Church focuses on different agenda. Some are concerned with the forgiveness of sins; some on equality of life; some are about the afterlife; some are about our historic church; some are about who Jesus is and what he wants of us. some are about inclusivity and love for all. None of the Christian Churches, that I can see, have a perfect program. Perhaps the ecumenical approach is best. But in no way am I saying the “Non-Denominational Church is the perfect answer, or for that matter, my own faith choice, the Episcopal Church.  While we all are confused by trying to follow the Jesus path, we all have stumbling blocks.

I pray that as we all mature spiritually, that we evolve in a way that looks like “devolving.” That is, we begin to look and act more and more alike.  It seems to me that we got where we are today by “splintering” over divisive issues.  We must learn to have dialogue rather than debate; consensus rather than election where voting makes winners and losers.  For the most part, we all have something good to do in the Name of our Lord Jesus. And we are all called by him into one fold, under One Shepherd.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, 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 the 6^th Week of Easter: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 85 and 86; Evening,  Psalms 91 and  92;
Ezekiel 1:28 to 3:3; Hebrews 4:14 to 5:6; Luke 9:28 to 36:

“Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him” (Luke 9:35)

Jesus went up to pray, a separate place to pray, and took only Peter, James and John , from all who were following him.  We are informed that Jesus, Peter, James and John we then joined by Moses and Elijah from their own place in eternal life. And while there seems to be a separate conversation happening with Jesus, Moses and Elijah, all this brightness happens within the light of prayer, which is why Jesus went to this location in the first place. Let us not omit that there is a presence beyond the six figures atop the mountain. The very voice of God speaks to Peter, James and John saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen.”

This is the second time the voice of God proclaims our Lord Jesus as the pride of God. The voice of God says it the first time when Jesus comes up out of the water after being baptized by John in the river Jordan.  There is a little bit of a difference this time however. In this Transfiguration reading, the words, “Listen to him,” has been added.

We must understand that, “Listen to him,” means to heed his commands and to do what he tells us. There is a barrier broken on this mountain top experience. Our Lord Jesus has taken them to another dimension of time and space. This moved Peter so much that he recalls the experience in his own written letters in our Bible where he says, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.  For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”  We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.” (2^nd Peter 1: 16 to 18)

My beloved in the Lord, we can only pray, as we read these words, asking God to bend these dimensions once again within us, so that we too might receive deeper understanding about the realities of the kingdom of God.  We too must find a quiet place to be alone with our Lord Jesus and witness His radiance.  Let us ponder this in our Sabbath time tomorrow.

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

Eucharistic Readings for Ascension Day: All Years

Acts 1:1 to 11; Psalm 47; or Psalm 93;  Ephesians 1:15 to 23;   Luke 24:44 to 53:

“Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,” (Luke 24: 45) 

The Bible, and in particular, the Gospel accounts, should be studied within prayer and faithful, unassuming believers.  I have learned from my time facilitating Women’s Bible Study, Sunday Christian Formation, Confirmation Classes, Group Spiritual Direction, Education for Ministry, the Brotherhood of St Andrew and Virginia Theological Seminary, that real learning is accomplished when we open with prayer, be honest about what we don’t know, and be willing to surrender to what the Spirit is saying to God’s people and the Churches. This is how our minds are opened still today.

I have learned very little, if anything, from reading in solitude for knowledge only, save perhaps some meditational pondering of our Daily Office.  I have gained some spiritual insight from listening to others preach. Thank You Jesus.  But for the most part, it is when I am in the company of believers that my “mind is opened to more fully understand the scriptures.”  

From the Acts of the Apostles we read, “When he [Jesus], had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven;” (Acts 1: 9 to 11).  With this, I am reminded; Christ was born, Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ has ascended, and Christ will come again.

It is believed by most theologians the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles were written by the same person, Luke the Physician.  Both works have our Lord Jesus ascending up into heaven.  Happy Ascension Day.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, 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 Wednesday of the 6^th Week of Easter: Year 1:

Morning,  Psalm 119:97 to 120;

Baruch 3:24 to 37; James 5:13 to 18; Luke 12:22 to 31:

Eve of Ascension:

Psalm 68; 2nd Kings 2:1-15; Rev. 5:1-14; Baruch 3:24 to 37:

“He is our God, the God of our salvation; God is the Lord, by whom we escape death.” (Psalm 68:20)

As we prepare to remember and celebrate the Ascension of our Lord Jesus into Heaven tomorrow, we reflect today on God’s Presence with us in the person of the Resurrected Jesus.

The Resurrection itself, Easter, is the significant Christian event.  Our Lord Jesus came back to life after being put to death.  In his Resurrection many came to believe in him, this includes members of his family who formerly were not numbered among his disciples, his brother James to mention one.

The Resurrected Jesus visited with the apostles behind locked doors, and on paths to different towns, and even on the shore as they were fishing. Scripture informs us that there were many more times that he was present with different people that were not written in the scriptures. His Resurrected presence lasted for forty days, a little longer than a month. This living defeat of death sealed the faith of Christianity forever and eternity.

But the time came when our Lord Jesus would let us know that he will depart back to his eternal glory where he is preparing a place for all who both believe, and live out that belief, in the way they live their lives.  For more than a month Jesus has shown us that there is life after death. You and I will not be able to return to this world as he did but we will be among the family of the faithful who continue to walk in the love of God, and of one another, forever. We will do this because we have an awesome God. “He is our God, the God of our salvation; God is the Lord, by whom we escape death.” (Psalm 68:20)

Today we remember Thurgood Marshall; Lawyer and Jurist.

 Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving from October 1967 until October 1991. Marshall was the Court’s 96th justice and its first African-American justice.

Marshall was a devoted Episcopalian and an active member of St. Philip’s Church in Harlem, serving on the Vestry, as Senior Warden and as Deputy to the 1964 General Convention, before moving to Washington.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, 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 6^th Week of Easter: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 78:1 to 39; Evening, Psalm 78:40 to 72;
Deuteronomy 8:11 to 20; James 1:16 to 27; Luke 11:1 to 13:

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world,” (James 1:27).

It seems that in any pure and undefiled religion there is the humanitarian requirement to care for others, especially those who are stressed such as orphans and widows. Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all have the requirement to care for the needy. And, all can be pure religions.

We who call ourselves Christians have our Lord Jesus as the divine example of pure religion. Jesus was very attentive to the needs of the sick, the demon possessed, the blind, and all who were stressed in His world and ours. And, our Lord Jesus responds to the needs of the people in ways that improve their lives. And he still does today.

Now, let us not ignore the words, “to keep oneself unstained by the world.”  I don’t think this applies to the planet when James says “the world.” I think he means the people of the world. I have been round the planet six times while serving in the Marines. I have met good and bad people from all walks of life.  With many people that I have met, I could not speak their language and was unfamiliar with their traditions and customs. But through it all, there were good people trying to be as hospitable as they could; and, there were those, for whatever reason, only wanted to take advantage of me and others, and to be self-serving, hostile and unfriendly. I don’t know why.

I think if we attach our words from James for today with the words from the prophet Micah where he says, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  (Micah 6:8). This coupled with the words from James, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world,” (James 1:27).  These words will guide any of us, of any religious stripe, to be the best persons we can be no matter where on the planet we live, or language we speak, or faith we profess. These words help us to stay unstained by the unfriendly and inhospitable people of the world. God made us all with the unlimited capacity to love one another. We just have to choose to do so.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, 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 6^th Week of Easter: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 80; Evening, Psalm 77:
Deuteronomy 8:1 to 10; James 1:1 to 15; Luke 9:18 to 27:

“He, [Jesus], said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.” (Luke 9: 20)

If I have said this once, I have said it at least fifty times, we say who Jesus is by the way we follow in is steps and mannerisms. We can give voice all day to who we think Jesus is. In fact, wars among Christians have been waged because of differences about who people understood our Lord Jesus to be.  Valuable resources went into military might, while people, especially mothers and orphans, of the warring countries were starving for the basic necessities of life. 

Some were saying that Jesus comes from the Father and is different from the Father, God Almighty.  The opposing view, is, that that our Lord Jesus is one and the same as God, being God Incarnate. So we Christians fought to the death about who Jesus is, forgetting that Jesus himself would not lift a finger in violence. Like the apostles of His day, we often still don’t get it.

If we really want to say who Jesus is, we will do so in the way we conduct ourselves. Our Anglican, Episcopal Church says that our Lord Jesus is One with God and therefore God Incarnate.  Jesus says quite clearly of himself that “The Father and I are One;” (John 10: 30). Peter says that Jesus is the Messiah “of” God, not “from” God. But we should not fight about it. Nor should we insist that everyone who comes to our Communion rail believes the exact same thing.  Many good Christian works are done by professed Christians who don’t believe the way we do. And, that’s fine.

The question of “Who do you say that Jesus is?, is an important one in terms of how you live your life the way you do. This is a question of religious faith. It is a question of how your religion responds to the real needs of the world. For those of us on the Jesus path, it should not be heated arguments about the origins or essence of Jesus, but rather, what does he command us to do? He commands us to love one another as he loves us, all of us. About our religion, let us remember the words of James that will be coming to us tomorrow: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world,” (James 1:27).  More on this tomorrow.

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

Eucharistic Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter: Year A

Acts 17:22-31    Psalm 66:7-18  1 Peter 3:13-22 John 14:15-21

“This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” (John 14:17)

Later in the Gospel according to John, Pontius Pilot asked Jesus, “What is Truth.”  Rowan Williams (Last Arch Bishop of Canterbury), remarked that this was the most profound question in the whole of the New Testament. This former Arch Bishop of Canterbury, a very learned and respected theologian, lifts this question up from the lips of a Roman governor as the most profound question of the New Testament.  The truth is so powerful and yet our Lord Jesus proclaims that the truth is part of who he is. He says of himself, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

Jesus promised us the Spirit of Truth. But Jesus also says that sometimes we are not able to hear the truth, that the truth is more than we can bear.  This reminds me of Jack Nicholson in the movie, “A Few Good Men” where he protests, “You can’t handle the truth.”  The Church too has had difficulty handling the truth.

Early in the history of the Church we supported the idea that the earth was flat. A little later, the Church refused to believe that the earth was not the center of the universe and that the earth revolved around the sun.  The Church accepted the notion that the sun was the little light that rose in the East and sat in the West as God had appointed it. People, early astronomers, who taught differently from the Church, were condemned by the Church as heretics. It was hard for the Church to believe the truth that we were not the center of the universe. But science helped the Church see the truth.

Another painful truth is that even priests of our beloved Church owned slaves before it was outlawed to do so. It seems constitutional law had to bring the morality of truth to our Church. What truths are we faced with now that we are not ready for, or “can’t handle?” 

We know our Lord Jesus because he abides with us.  And we know him because he is in us. Jesus also says that he has more to tell us but we aren’t ready yet.  This is 2023.  Perhaps we ought to be getting ready for a major shift in human existence. We need to prepare ourselves for, not only a new normal, but also to receive more truth.

Today is Mother’s Day! As God planned to come among us as one of us, God did this through human motherhood. There is nothing more truthful than motherhood. Mom goes to the hospital and gives birth to us. Motherhood is truth and a true gift from God which God also participated in by coming to us as our Lord Jesus.

Jesus says it is the Spirit of Truth that we will receive and that we know him because he abides in us. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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