onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper14: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 102; Evening, Psalm 107:1-32; 

Judges 14:20-15:20;  Acts 7:17-29;  John 4:43-54

“Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.  As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive.  So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.”  The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household.  Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.” (John 4: 50 – 54)

Once again we see that Jesus does not have to be physically where the trouble or sickness is to fix the problem or heal the sick. All our Lord Jesus has to do is say the word, and it is done.

But let me also draw your attention to the fact that the man “believed” the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.  As I have said many times before, believing is everything.  As I have studied the language and culture of antiquity, I find that the word trust is the more definitive word for what we have as the word believe. The man with the dying son “trusted” in our Lord Jesus. And so do I.

Notice that the word faith is not a word that any English Christian translation of the Bible uses in the Gospel according to John. Faith is a noun.  Faith is the word used in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).  John’s Gospel wants action.  Believing (or trusting) is a verb.  This again is why I crafted my own personal statement of faith.  Here it is (again):

“I Trust in the Creating Word through the Holy Spirit of the Incarnate Word, in whom we live and move and love and have our being, and to whom, we all must give an account.”

How would you sum up your faith, or just your outlook about life?  Try to write a simple sentence that says what you believe, or trust in.  My own creed does not replace our Prayer Book Nicene Creed, or Apostle’s Creed.  It is just a quick explanation of what I believe that can be said while standing on one foot, or in an elevator.  My faith statement has evolved as I have pondered over the years.  So might yours also, as you ponder anew what Christian life means to you.

Yesterday at my Cursillo Reunion group (4^th Day),  I asked the question; “Give me one word that states what being a Christian means to you. I got “love” from one, and “diversity” from another.  My word is, “Servanthood.” We should all ask those we meet, “What can I do for you?”

Today we remember Florence Nightingale:

 “Florence Nightingale, whom we remember today, was born to a wealthy English family in Florence, Italy, on May 12, 1820. She was trained as a nurse in a hospital run by a Lutheran order of Deaconesses at Kaiserwerth (1851) and in 1853 became superintendent of a hospital for invalid women in London. In response to God’s call and animated by a spirit of service, in 1854 she volunteered for duty during the Crimean War and recruited 38 nurses to join her. With them she organized the first modern nursing service in the British field hospitals of Scutari and Balaclava.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for August 12)

 Like most mystics, Florence had a very prayerful side. In truth, she was an Anglican, and, as “An Anglican, she remained committed to a personal mystical religion, which sustained her through many years of poor health until her death in 1910. Until the end of her life, although her illness prevented her from leaving her home, she continued in frequent spiritual conversation with many prominent church leaders of the day, including the local parish priest, who regularly brought Communion to her. By the time of her death on August 13, 1910, her accomplishments and legacy were widely recognized, and she is honored throughout the world as the founder of the modern profession of nursing.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for August 12)

Florence Nightingale served the sick and distressed as our Lord Jesus would have us all to do.

Please keep Ukraine in your prayers. Let us serve Ukraine as best we can.

“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 is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 14: Year 2

Morning, Psalm105;1- 22: Evening, Psalm 105:23- 45

Judges 14:1-19; Acts 6:15-7:16; John 4:27-42

“They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42)

Yes true, but they would not have even known that the Savior of the world was near if it had not been for the unnamed woman coming to them with this valuable information. Once again, the most valuable information a community could have is delivered by a woman. And in this case, perhaps not a woman the village is proud of, or has been shown any degree of love and respect.

She comes to the well alone at noonday, the hottest part of the day. She avoids others and their judgmental attitudes.  Maybe she has not made the best of her life.  Then again, maybe she played the cards that she was dealt in life the best she could.  She has had several husbands, which does not escape Jesus, but yet he loves her, and offers her the full life of living waters. Our Lord Jesus can, and does, use anybody to bring messages of hope. Even if we give up on ourselves, our Lord Jesus does not give up on us.

This is where we are today.  As a preacher, it has been my privilege and honor to inform people that God, in Christ Jesus, is near. And that God loves you no matter how many mistakes you have made or what others think of you.  Do not believe this only because I said so.  Believe this because you have heard it for yourselves throughout your lives, and have experienced little glimmers of grace in your own life.  Thank You Lord Jesus. God is good, all the time.

Folks, we must keep Ukraine in our thoughts and prayers.  If we beg God enough for help in Ukraine, God will give in to our requests. It’s the way God’s nature is. God can’t help but help.

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 14: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30, Evening, Psalm 119:121-144;

Judges 13:15-24; Acts 6:1-15; John 4:1-26

I chose two readings for today to ponder about:

“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.  (Acts 6:2)

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

Today’s readings presented me with hard choices.  On the one hand I am disappointed about the self-righteous attitude of the apostles; on the other hand, I love the words of our Lord Jesus about who God is, the nature of God. 

I think the apostles wrongly decided that, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables.” I beg to differ.  Servitude is the Word of God. After John and James were caught trying to get good positions in heaven, and the rest of the apostles became angry, Jesus explains the importance of servitude. He told them,  “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; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many,” (Matthew 20:26 – 28). Therefore, in my humble opinion, the apostles were wrong. Serving tables is following Christ, it is carrying out the word of God.

From the Gospel of John, Jesus explains to the woman at the well that God is not some old human looking man on a throne far away.  God is Spirit! God is Truth!  We must get rid of any notion that God is humanlike, save God Incarnate, Jesus himself.  God can, and should, be worshiped everywhere, and always. But my beloved of the Lord, don’t forget that, “God is spirit, and those who worship [God] must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4: 24)

As we worship God in Spirit and Truth let us not forget Ukraine. Ukraine is a nation of various faiths. But they too worship God in Spirit and Truth.  Let us keep them in our prayers.

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 14: Year 2

Morning, Psalms  97 and 99; Evening, Psalm 94; 

Judges 13:1-15; Acts 5:27-42; John 3:22-36

“But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time.  Then he said to them, ‘Fellow-Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men.  For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared.  After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered.  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 5:34 – 39)

This is very wise counsel from the Pharisee Gamaliel. He uses their history to show that there have been people who have come before but did not prove lasting.  When these former leaders rose up to change things, people followed as long as the leader was alive.  But when he died, they scattered. 

Our Lord Jesus said the same thing about “striking the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.”  But Jesus left good and faithful shepherds in his place.  And as Jesus rose from the dead, more and more followers came to follow him. It is still hard for me to wrap my head around having the apostles flogged before releasing them but that is what happened.  I think the flogging them is because of the jealousy of the High Priests.  They were about human designs, not Godly ones.

So while the other “want-to-be leaders” lost people when they died, our Lord Jesus gained more and more followers, and, is still gaining followers today.  Yes, Gamaliel, Jesus is from God, and no one will be able to overthrow us.  With daily Christian practices of prayer and where two or three come together, in person or virtually, we will always have someone who keeps the Christian fires going even if something happens to those who lead. We will prevail in this life, and certainly in the next.

Let us pray for the victory of Ukraine in this present life. May they have good and faithful shepherds even with the loss of a few.

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 14: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 89: 1 – 18: Evening, Psalm 89: 19 – 52;

Judges 12:1-7; Acts 5:12-26; John 3:1-21

“Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by.  A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.” (Acts 5: 14 – 16)

This is a testament to the power of faith.  I am a Star Wars fan (fanatic).  In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker’s spacecraft is submerged in a swamp.  Yoda, the Jedi Master, tries to have Luke raise it using the Force.  Luke fails and replies, “You want the impossible.” Yoda then uses the Force and lifts the craft out of the muck.  Luke tells Yoda “I didn’t believe it could be done.”  Yoda replies, “That is why you failed.”  Star Wars is fictional art but beautifully crafted and contains certain truths in terms of our human story and the real power of belief. 

The people, both men and women, who carried their sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats in order that Peter’s shadow might pass over them were beyond asking Peter personally to see them and heal them.  They believed in the presence and healing power of one who was handpicked by our Lord Jesus and who was with him after he was raised from the dead by God. If he has a shadow then he exists. They needed nothing else.  They “believed” that the evidence of his presence, his shadow, would heal their loved ones and cast out unclean spirits, and they were vindicated.

Beloved of the Lord, all the medicine we will ever need is already in us.  Time after time when people were praising Jesus for their healing, Jesus would tell them, “Go, your faith has made you well.” Our faith still makes us well.  And like the men and women who took their loved ones to Peter’s shadow, it was not the faith of sick ones that brought the healings, rather, it was the faith of the believing family and friends that brought them near to Peter that brought about the cure.  And this happened whether Peter even knew about it or not.  Faith still moves mountains.  All we need to do is believe and we too will be made well, or caused to be made well, by those dear to us. If we don’t believe, we have failed already.

Let us believe in the life liberty and safety of Ukraine, our believing and our prayers will make it so.

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 14, 2022

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 and Luke 12:32-40

“You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Luke 12:40)

Ok, here is the challenge.  When is it that we expect the coming of the Lord?  Being ready is not about preparing for the big day.  It is living everyday as if this day, is the day.

If Jesus comes to you today and ask you when was the last time you prayed what would your answer be?  Would it be “this morning?”  Would it be “last night?”  Would it be last Sunday in Church?”  Would it be the last Sunday that you attended a Sunday Service?”  And could it be, “Lord, I don’t know?”  No, what we really don’t know is when Jesus will come, and if He will ask such a question.

Bishop’s visits are announced.  We know the day and there is a certain amount of preparation to take place for that event.  But what if Bishop’s visits were unannounced?  “Oh My God. Look y’all, the Bishop is in the parking lot and coming to our Church today!  What are we going to do?”  In my days as Rector here I would have told you exactly what we were going to do.  We are going to have Church and the Bishop is going to lead and celebrate and I don’t have to worry about whether or not my sermon works or not because he is now going to preach.  Halleluiah!

This day and age we can read about events on social media almost as soon as it happens because phones are active in the pews.  But active phones in the pews won’t relate to you the presence of Jesus should Jesus decide to be at our Church on any given Sunday; you know, just to check things out, see whose regular and not just coming when they think he will be here.

Of course I can hear it now, “Man, if I knew Jesus was going to be at our parish I would have been there.”  Or, “Wow, if I knew Jesus was going to just pop up and ask me the last time I prayed, I would have been praying when he appeared.” Jesus knows that’s what we would say. But that’s not what Jesus is looking for.  Jesus is not looking for you getting ready; Jesus is looking for you being ready. Jesus is not looking for how you want to live your life; Jesus is looking for how you are living your life.

Today’s message is not about tomorrow. It is about now. It is about looking for Jesus now. It is about expecting Jesus in our life now.  The last thing you want to be texted to you from the pews if you are not in Church is, “Jesus came to our Church today and is promising all of us who are here today that we will be with him in paradise.  Sorry you weren’t here.  Love you, bye.” Let’s go the Church because it’s Sunday and that’s what we Christians do every Sunday. Halleluiah!

The people of Ukraine are suffering. Let us keep them in our prayers.

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Today is the Day of the Transfiguration: Eucharistic Readings for the Transfiguration

Exodus 34:29-35;  Psalm 99:   2 Peter 1:13-21;  Luke 9:28-36

“Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.” (Luke 9:28)

As mentioned last Thursday, it was Peter, John and James who Jesus selected to be in his inner circle when serious holiness was to take place.  Twelve might be too big a number, especially given that one (Judas) betrayed him.  I know it makes a twelve-tribes kind of sense, but perhaps that’s just us trying to balance things in light of the Hebrew testament. In any case, it seems to be that where two or three of us are joined together in His Name, Jesus is with us. That’s still serious holiness for us today. Even as Jesus took two or three with him, we then met by two others.  It was always a manageable number.

Can you name two or three people with whom you feel especially close to Christ?  Please understand that they may not be relatives or work colleagues or even Church members. But at some level you feel especially safe in their presence.

And maybe you’ve never tried to pray with them, but perhaps you should. The mountain you climb is a spiritual one.  You ascend to an upper level where you behold our Lord Jesus in his God-like presence – a holy presence. 

When this happens, you too, along with those close to you, will want to hold on to this holy state of grace. You will want to mark it with some sort of landmark as Peter wanted to do so that you may find your way back to it.

It is one thing to experience it alone. However, when you share it with one or two others it validates your sanity, you are not crazy. It really happened! God in Christ Jesus is real!

Ponder about this during your Sabbath time today, and while you are at it, please pray for the safety of Ukraine.

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 13: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 88: Evening, Psalms  91 and 92;  

Judges 9:1-16,19-21; Acts 4:13-31; John 2:2-12

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2: 5)

I confess, I am a Mary fan.  I even get the words for my blog from her lips.  Twice in the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, she says that she “ponders” in her heart, according to the Gospel of Luke. When the angel Gabriel informs her that God wants her to be the God-bearer of God Incarnate, she “Pondered” what kind of greeting this might be. Luke 1: 29.   And when the shepherds told her about what the angels told them regarding the baby she just gave birth to, she “treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19 NRSV)

Mary was a thinking person, a pondering person. Perhaps it was this pondering quality that impressed God and why God chose her to be the Mother of our Lord Jesus. Mary gave birth to her Lord who in turn gave her eternal salvation, and also to us today who believe.

We will learn as we read the Gospels that Jesus can multiply fishes and loaves.  Therefore, Mary never ran out of food during the thirty or so years that she shared a house with her Son.  All she had to do was ask, and it was done.  We can see then that when the wedding hosts ran out of wine, it was natural for Mary to let Jesus know about the situation with full expectation that he would respond.  This too is true for us today.  We must ask with full expectation that our Lord Jesus will respond, but the response requires our obedience.

While Jesus sort of rebuffs her requests, she has already turned away from him and looking intently into the eyes of the “servants”, into our eyes, and she says to us, “Do whatever he tells you.”  For me, this is the most powerful, albeit shortest, sermon in the Bible.  All we need to do is make our needs known and then do whatever he tells us.  From Mary, I learn that as Christians, we ponder, we pray and we obey.

“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 is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 13: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 145; Evening, Psalms 85 and 86; 

Judges 8:22-35; Acts 4:1-12; John 1:43-51

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

I would surely like to know what Nathanael was experiencing under the fig tree such that it made him realize that Jesus was truly the Son of God! We don’t get to know what was going on with Nathanael. I wonder if he was praying, or having a nervous breakdown, or some mystical experience wherein God gave him some kind of revelation. Nathanael follows Jesus as a result of his friend Philip coming to get him. 

Jesus calls 7 of the Apostles:  Simon and Andrew  (Matthew 4:18 – 20),   John and James – (Matthew 4: 21 – 22) Matthew himself (AKA Levi)  (Matthew 9:9), Philip (John 1:43),  Nathaniel, from above (John 1: 50 – 51). Then there is one who Jesus called but who rejected Jesus’ call: the Rich young man: (Mark 10:21 -22).  However, of all whom he called, Simon Peter, John and James seem to be the chosen three who went with him in the deepest sense of his ministry: the healing of Jairus’ daughter, the Transfiguration (which I will say more about on Saturday of this blog): and these three were also present at his passion prayer on the night he was arrested in which these three could not stay awake, (Matthew 26:36 -46).

For some of us, Jesus comes to get us. For many of us, a friend brings us to Jesus. But the lesson here is that our Lord Jesus already knows, “the trouble we’ve seen.”  Jesus meets us under our own vine and fig tree, for He truly is “Rabbi, or Teacher, the Son of God!”  Ponder about this.

Please keep Ukraine in your prayers.

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 13: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 119:97-120; Evening, Psalms  81, and 82;

Judges 7:19-8:12; Acts 3:12-26; John 1:29-42

“And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.  I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.”  And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”  (John 1: 32 – 34)

We have to go to the Gospel of Matthew to witness the baptism of Jesus by John.  There was some back-and-forth about who should baptize who. But in the end, John baptized Jesus.  (Matthew 3: 13 – 17)

I love the Spirituality of the Gospel according John.  Perhaps the Spirit has descended on others before but it was temporary. However, on this man, Jesus, the Spirit remained.  John the Baptist is not about building his own reputation, he is about letting the world know that the Savior of the world has come near.  John speaks the truth as best he knows it.  He gives great detail explaining that the One who sent him to baptize with water, is the same One who informed him about how to identify the Messiah, the Anointed One, Jesus. He was told that the Spirit would descend on Him, and remain on Him.

We will learn that Jesus and John are cousins but apparently they did not know each other. Well, at least John did not know Jesus except for what God revealed to him.  It is quite possible however that Jesus knew in fact who John was.  We have no record of Jesus actually baptizing anyone.  Yet He baptizes with the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps his invitation to follow him, is indeed, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In the Service of Holy Baptism, the candidate is asked, “do you desire to be baptized?”  Those too young to answer for themselves are presented, and answered for, by their parents and/or sponsors individually.  New Christians are baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  After which, they are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own FOREVER: The Spirit descends on us and remains, forever (BCP 303 – 308). Our baptism contains a covenant that regulates or Christian life. As the Baptized, we are servants of Jesus, the Jesus we see in all persons, baptized or not.  We are servants of the next person we face, in our homes, or on the street.  Regardless of who baptized us, we are baptized into the household of God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Baptism is responsibility, Baptism is enough, and Baptism is Salvation. What does your Baptism mean to you?

Please pray daily for Ukraine. I believe in prayer. Our prayers are indeed working.

As we listen to what the Spirit is saying to us, let us live to love, to serve, and to teach, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John