onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the 5^th Week in Lent: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 131, and 132; Evening, Psalm 140 and 142;
Jeremiah 26:1 to 16; Romans 11:1 to 12; John 10:19 to 42

“Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.  My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.  What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (John 10: 25 to 30)

There are several profound statements made by our Lord Jesus here.  The first is that “I have told you, and you do not believe.”  We have it recorded that Jesus said it. We have the evidence of Jesus’ words that testify to who Jesus is. We, you and I, cannot hear his actual voice today. But we can read the actual words that he said, and believe.  Moreover, in believing, we follow. We follow so as to have eternal life.  If we believe and follow in the way of trusting love, it cannot be taken away from us.  It is an eternal existence made by our Lord Jesus, who with the Creator, is One!

While we cannot hear the actual voice of Jesus, we can hear His Holy Spirit speaking to us in our studies and in our prayers.  My beloved of the Lord, this life is not the end.  Jesus gives us eternal life. A full life that comes to us after this one. We should rejoice and be glad in it.  Jesus says he and the Father are One!  I don’t know what that does to the idea of the Trinity but we for sure have Creation and Salvation in One. And yes, we also have the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus come down to us to lead us into all righteousness. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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

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 5^th Week in Lent: Year 1

 Morning, Psalm 119:145 to 176; Evening, Psalms 128, 129 and 130;
Jeremiah 25:30 to 38; Romans 10:14 to 21; John 10:1 to 18

“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)

Our Lord Jesus uses the “I Am” identifier about himself twice in our passage for today.  He says he is the Gate, and that he is the Good Shepherd.  This is the Identifier God used at the burning bush with Moses. God told Moses to go and tell the Israelites that “I Am” sent him (Exodus 3:14). And just as Moses gathered all the tribes of Israel to be one following of God, so too, our Lord Jesus is going to call other faith traditions and denominations to be one flock. 

I think what is key here is for each of us to belong to some flock. We all need to be a part of a faith community. When Jesus began his ministry on the shores of Capernaum he didn’t say, “go and do your own thing.” No, he said, “Follow Me.” 

Over the years in the development or, “devolvement,” of the Christian Church we now have many denominations.   No denomination gets everything right.  I personally believe the Episcopal Church is the best way for me to worship God through our Lord Jesus. Perhaps the Episcopal Church is not the best way to worship for others. But that does not make other faith traditions or denominations worse or less holy; just another flock that will be joined with Jesus to make up the one flock.

The point is, we all need to belong to some flock somewhere. Jesus meets us where we are and in the faith community we are in.  It seems that God sends us, buses not cabs. God in Christ Jesus collects groups of people, not individuals. We need to belong to the household of God and await God’s call. This gathering of others reminds me of our Lord Jesus after the resurrection when he called out to his followers who were fishing. “When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.  Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught,” (John 21:9 and 10).  This is another message of gathering not only of different people, but also those who only recently came to believe.

The main point is that we all need to find a spiritual community to be with. And I would suggest attending many and different kinds of services. Your spiritual comfort will be revealed to you through the Holy Spirit. It may or may not be the pastor or the preaching.  It may be the feel of the parishioners. It may be any number of environmental or spiritual affects acting upon your soul. But remember, when you find it, stick with it. Our Lord Jesus will join all faithful groups together into one holy family. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

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

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 5^th Week in Lent: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 121, 122 and 123; Evening, Psalms 124, 125 and 126;
Jeremiah 25:8 to 17; Romans 10:1 to13; John 9:18 to 41

“The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.” (John 9: 30)

As you can see, I want to continue with our John Gospel readings. This Gospel story of the man born blind fascinates me.  He stands up to the Pharisees knowing that he could be thrown out of the synagogue. His parents had the same fear. The difference is, he has never experienced the sights of the synagogue.  You can’t miss what you have never had.

This once blind man mocks the Pharisees by asking them if they too want to become disciples of Jesus. He is eventually thrown out of the synagogue. Jesus finds him and explains to him who Jesus is, the one who is speaking to him in the moment. At this point in his life, he has never seen nor heard more clearly in his life. The same is true for us when we first come to believe.

This truly is Amazing Grace. We too were blind but now we see. We were lost but now we are found. No one is beyond the reach of our Lord Jesus. It is especially sad when the people responsible for giving others hope, the clergy, be they Pharisee, Rabbi, Imam, priests or any kind of faith leader, refuses to see what is happening right in front of their eyes. We need to realize that God will act through whom God will act.  We can’t pick for God, God picks for God and God picks for us.

There are still know-it-all religious leaders who resist the wondrous works of God. Think about this man, Jesus didn’t “restore” his sight.  Our Lord Jesus gave him sight for the first time! Many of us today are in need of a first-time sight when it comes to having unconditional love for our neighbors, all of our neighbors. 

As I write this our nation is grieving over the loss of life in horrific murders in Nashville, Tennessee, my home town. There is much concern about why this happens.  We should be heartbroken about any persons murdered, anywhere.  I consider myself a Christian, American cowboy, who walks the Anglican Episcopal, path.  I only realized this about myself when my Lord Jesus opened my eyes about myself some forty years ago.  And yes, for me, this is an astonishing thing! Work with our Lord Jesus as did this man born blind. Jesus will open your eyes to the life that best suits you. You will then have real vision for the first time.  Thank You Lord Jesus.

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

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 5^th Week in Lent: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 31; Evening,  Psalm 35;
Jeremiah 24:1 to 10; Romans 9:19 to 33; John 9:1 to 17

“Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”  (John 9:3)

This man born blind is like people who have never really known our Lord Jesus. And like the man who was born blind, obeyed Jesus and washed as he was told, received his sight for the first time, he is like so many who are brought to real sight today.

While many, even today, are kept in darkness and without clear vision of the righteous moral path, it is not necessarily the fault of misguided society or un-churched parents, or even bad preaching. It is the individual lack of personal pondering about life and one’s place in the world. Again, let us hear the words of Blaise Pascal, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  I call this silent sitting, pondering. It is my Jesus time.

Jesus and his group came upon this man born blind who has no idea about color, or light, or the faces of people, or even the vast spectrum of the beauty of nature. His whole world has changed when given sight.  So too our world changes when we are brought to loving light for the first time. But like the man born blind in our reading for today, we too must do as our Lord Jesus asks; we must wash in the waters of Baptism and do all other such commandments as Jesus asks of us.

We are co-creators with our Lord. And what, or rather who, is being created, is ourselves. And no matter where we are, we are still a work in progress. We must always be willing to listen, learn, love and live out our covenant with our Lord Jesus. It starts here in this life, and continues throughout all eternity.  Thank You Lord Jesus.

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

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 5^th, Sunday in Lent: Year A

Ezekiel 37:1-14;  Psalm 130;  Romans 8:6-11;  John 11:1-45;

 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11: 25 and 26)

To this question Martha answers, “yes Lord, I believe.”  But does she really?  After her sister Mary comes out and the same statements were said by her, to which, Jesus responds differently, Martha returns again. There is a crowd around him at the tomb.

“Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”  (John 11: 39 and 40)

Jesus calls Lazarus out of the darkness of death as Jesus will call all who believe. Amen.

There is a real and relevant point to be made here.  All of us do that which we think is necessary to stay alive. We take our meds, we have surgical procedures, we stay out of harm’s way as much as we think we can. But our Lord Jesus informs us that all we have to do is believe. And if we do, even if we die, we will live.  Thank You Lord Jesus. I believe.

So Jesus says to all Christians today; “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

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

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 4^th Week in Lent: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 107:33 to 43 and 108:1 to 6; Evening  Psalm 33;   
Jeremiah  23:9 to 15; Romans 9:1 to 18; John 6:60 to 71:

“Praise the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.”  (Psalm 33: 2 and 3)

In my piano class, we are a small group of senior, or should I say, more seasoned citizens who are reaching back to develop some skills that most of us did not know we had. We are taking these piano classes through our local Community College’s Continuing Education Program. It is wonderful. I think all of us enjoy Christian hymns so it’s no surprise that when we select our recital piece it is a Christian hymn.  For me, it was “O Holy Night.” It was done poorly last year so I am asking to do it again this year.

Many of the Psalms are attributed to David. And scripture informs us that David was fund of music and dancing. While some Christian denominations do not permit the use of instrumental music, I, along with my Church family, see instrumental music as another way to use our God given skills to praise our Creator. Our gifts of art come in many forms; Book making (including the Bible and other books like our Book of Common Prayer), Icons and paintings, Rosaries and Anglican Prayer Beads, the art of preparing traditional meals, the smell of incense and the art of music. We have God given gifts that touch every God given sense that we have, sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound. It is only fitting to reflect back on the Giver of these senses in praise and adoration. Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26 record our Lord Jesus singing the Psalm at the conclusion of their meal. Notice of this singing by our Lord Jesus is often overlooked by readers of the Gospel. But it was his custom to do this.

I am practicing piano, guitar, and a horn. On all of these instruments that I play, it is music that honors God. I don’t think I play that well but it gives me pleasure to know that what I hear comes from my own effort developed from practice and determination. I try to live fully into all of my senses in appreciation of the love of God.

So I live to love and praise the Lord with pondering and piano. Think about your own ability to live fully into loving God back.  Remember, God loved us first. God has given us the gifts with which we can show our appreciation back to God. Therefore, let us, “Sing to [God] a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.” 

Today we recall the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel informing Mary about her invitation to be the mother our Lord Jesus. “In the first chapter of Luke we read how the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Christ, and how Mary answered, “Here I am, the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be to me as you have said.” It is reasonable to suppose that Our Lord was conceived immediately after this. Accordingly, since we celebrate His birth on 25 December, we celebrate the Annunciation nine months earlier, on 25 March.” (From Great Cloud of Witnesses for March 25)  Note: we have only nine months till Christmas Day! What a Holy Night!

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

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 4^th Week in Lent: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 95 and 102; Evening,  Psalm 107:1-32 ;  
Jeremiah 23:1 to 8; Romans 8:28 to 39; John 6:52 to 59

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.” (Romans 8:29)

Just when I said Romans 8 was special, (yesterday), this happens today.  I don’t buy the idea of predestination.  I know Paul does, but I think it’s all Paul.  And of course Augustine of Hippo, John Calvin and even some Christian denominations have adopted this predestination theology. But not me, and I don’t think the Anglican Episcopal Church does either. Praise Jesus.

We have free will and an invitation to join our Lord Jesus in living the life of love and righteousness. But we are all free to accept it or reject it. I don’t believe all who do not accept Christianity are bad people.  But then, I have seen some pretty bad people who profess to be Christian. God will sort us out. Christianity is a path to God. Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Christian path within the God believers. We tend to be who we choose to be for ourselves. God is watching. Our Lord Jesus, through whom all things came into the world, will judge us by our hearts and deeds like the goats and sheep beginning at Matthew 25:31. Note that it was their loving deeds that saved them not their professed faith. While I believe that Christianity is a dedicated life of loving service, I don’t believe God has predestined us to be such. But I think God would like us all to choose to be such.

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

 “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 Readings for Thursday of the 4^th Week in Lent: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 69:1-23 and 31-38; Evening, Psalm 73;   
Jeremiah 22:13 to 23; Romans 8:12 to 27; John 6:41 to 51

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.  And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8: 26 and 27)

I think chapter 8 of Romans is special. In our reading for today Paul, with God’s guidance, relates to us how we should let go and let God.  Our Book of Common Prayer is full of beautiful prayers. I have committed many to memory. But nothing compares to the prayers stirring up in us by the Holy Spirit when we need them. I have prayed extemporaneously at sick beds and dying beds in my priesthood. I let go of the Book of Common Prayer and use the words given to me by God’s Holy Spirit. I must admit, I am always amazed.

God gives us the words and answers we need when we need them. As Paul says, “with sighs too deep for words.”  But Paul also says that God “searches the heart and knows what is the mind of the Spirit.” I think the mind of the Holy Spirit of God is like an expensive cologne, the fragrance is different in each of us according to our individual chemistry, but always good for the community in which we live.

Sometimes we just need to sit in silence and reflect and ponder about God and how God is acting in our everyday lives. Remember Blaise Pascal’s words, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  Prayer, real prayer, is not something we produce. We are prayed through by God. The good news is that we get to hear what God is saying in our own voice. We just need to trust in God, and let go and let God. 

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

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 4^th Week in Lent: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 101 and 109:1 to 4 and 20 to 30; Evening, Psalm 119:121 to 144;
Jeremiah 18:1 to 11; Romans 8:1 to 11; John 6:27 to 40

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)

Thank you Paul for these words to ponder. While I often find myself filtering out of Paul’s words, what is from God, and what is from Paul, it is sometimes hard to tell.  With this bit of insight however, I feel this is definitely from God, through Paul, and to us. It may even explain God’s co-existence with the man we call Jesus. That is, God, personified in Christ Jesus, knows how to implant God’s Spirit into the human soul.

God’s presence dwelling in us reconciles us back to God and is key to us being raised into the next, and, eternal life.  Along with God’s indwelling Spirit, we must also believe.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)

 So God is within each one of us. This Spirit of God raised our Lord Jesus as the first fruits of eternal life. You are next. God is already in you. Do you believe?  It takes both. God has done God’s part.  If you believe in the love of our Lord Jesus and the love of God that Jesus showed us, how is it made manifest in your words and deeds? Live what you believe.

Today we remember James De Koven, Priest and Teacher, 1879: De Koven was born in Middletown, Connecticut, on September 19, 1831, ordained by Bishop Kemper in 1855, and appointed professor of ecclesiastical history at Nashotah House. In addition, he administered a preparatory school and assisted at the Church of St. John Chrysostom in Delafield, Wisconsin; (From Great Cloud of Witnesses for March 22).

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

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 4^th Week in Lent: Year 1

 Morning, Psalms 97 and 99; Evening, Psalm 94;
Jeremiah 17:19 to 27; Romans 7:13 to 25; John 6:16 to 27

“And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.” (Jeremiah 17:22)

According to Rabbi Joshua Heschel, the Sabbath is a gift from God. It is an offering of time that we should observe and be thankful for. The “time” of Sabbath is more holy than any “place” on earth. I fully understand that we must stay vigilant during our Sabbath time while watching and caring for the sick, and being prepared in case of fire or human violence, or aggression from foreign countries. However, as much as possible, we should set aside the seventh day, Saturday, the Sabbath day, for rest (which does not necessarily mean worship).  God knows that we need a day of pure rest so that we can “come to ourselves.”  Medical people, fire fighters, police and the military should also work in such a way as to be afforded at least every other Sabbath day off when and if possible.

There are important and valuable lessons handed down to us in the Hebrew Testament. As Christians we should not ignore them. The Sabbath Law still applies to us as Christians today. Let us prepare early in the week in anticipation for a Holy Sabbath. Is there a way we can look forward to loving the Sabbath? The isolation we have experienced during the pandemic as surely shown us that we can in fact stay home and be at rest.  Perhaps we can keep the idea of some quiet time, post pandemic.

I take this time to write about this because the God of Israel is the Christian God also. Jeremiah was told by God to give this message at the People’s Gate, “and in all the gates of Jerusalem, and say to them: Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. Thus says the Lord: For the sake of your lives, take care that you do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.” (Jeremiah 17:19 to 22)  So, where it says; “and in all the gates,” I am thinking that over time, and metaphorically speaking, one of those gates is our Christian Gate. We only have one God who is the same then as God is now and will be forever.

We don’t have time to decide what is Jewish and what is Jesus. Jesus himself kept the Sabbath. Therefore, so should we who profess to follow Him.  In fact, we should live and learn to love the Sabbath as God’s gift to all people no matter our socio-economic status or branch of worship.

Today, those of us in the Anglican Communion remember Thomas Cranmer; Archbishop of Canterbury and Martyr, 1556. “Thomas Cranmer was born at Aslockton in Nottinghamshire, England, on July 2, 1489. At fourteen, he entered Jesus College, Cambridge, where by 1514 he had obtained his BA and MA degrees and a Fellowship. In 1526, he became a Doctor of Divinity, a lecturer in his college, and examiner in the University. During his years at Cambridge, he diligently studied the Bible and the new doctrines emanating from the continental Reformation. During the reign of Edward VI, Cranmer had a free hand in reforming the worship, doctrine, and practice of the Church. Thomas Cranmer was principally responsible for the first Book of Common Prayer of 1549, and for the second Book, in 1552. But at Edward’s death he unfortunately subscribed to the dying King’s will that the succession should go to Lady Jane Grey. For this, and also for his reforming work, he was arrested, deprived of his office and authority, and condemned by Queen Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII by Catherine, and a staunch Roman Catholic. He was burned at the stake on March 21, 1556.”  (From Great Cloud of Witnesses for March 21)

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

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