onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 7: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 105:1 to 22; Evening,  Psalm 105:23 to 45;

Numbers 17:1 to 11; Romans 5:1 to 11; Matthew 20:17 to 28:

“It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 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)

Jesus has just heard the plea of John, and James (his brother) along with their mother, to share seats of glory in the kingdom of Jesus.  It appears that she asks Jesus to let her sons be on his right and left side in his kingdom.  To this Jesus explains, it is not his to give.  The other apostles find out and are angered by their request.  Jesus calls them all together and explains the difference between this world and heaven.  On earth we have a lordship of tyranny where we rule by threats, money concerns and punitive measures.  In heaven, it is a kingdom of servanthood. The whole idea of king and servant is turned upside down.

I’m guessing the problem I have with the language of Jesus, as it is translated and spoken in Matthew, is the part about “whoever wishes to be “great” among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be “first” among you must be your slave.”  These words still show the continued goal of seeking the self-serving glory of being great, or, of being first.  Can we not live to serve and be happy with serving without looking forward to sitting on the right or left hand of our Lord and Savior in some kind of shared glory?  Once we learn to be happy by serving others, we can be happy anywhere, even anywhere here on earth, in this life.  Let’s just be okay helping others to be okay. Ok?

Keep praying for Ukraine, that she also will be OK, Ok?

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 7: Year 2

Morning,  Psalms 101 and 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; Evening, Psalm 119:121 to 144;
Numbers 16:36 to 50; Romans 4:13 to 25; Matthew 20:1 to 16:

“And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” (Matthew 20:11 and 12)

This parable of Jesus explains that those who come to the  Table late in their lives are just as entitled as those who were there from the beginning. The first had gone through much religious turmoil but they persevered. The late comers came to the table late in life but were just as needy as those who came early. God, in Christ Jesus, looks upon the human heart and accepts those of us who are penitent and genuine in our belief as made manifest by our behavior, whenever we transform.

There is another lesson I glean from this passage. The land owner recognizes that each unemployed man represents a family that is going without what it needs because of the husband and or father not having work.  Rather than just give them unearned money, the land owner has found a way to give dignity to heads of households. The early comers, it seems, did not want the late comers to have what was needed for their families. The lesson for me is, that if I have enough for me and mine, I should not begrudge anyone else who also has what they also need, even if they did not put in as much as I did.  No one was promised more than the daily wage.  The daily wage paid rent and put food on the table. The land owner found a way to care for families without simply “giving” them money.

I pray we have such a Landowner today who could help Ukraine and Russia solve their problem.  Is it jealousy? Is it greed? I think Ukraine is a late comer to freedom and democracy who just wants, and needs, a daily wage. Let us welcome them, and help them if we can.

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 7: Year 2

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

Numbers 16:20 to 35; Romans 4:1 to 12; Matthew 19:23 to 30:

“Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”  (Matthew 19:27)

Peter is someone in the Gospel that I really identify with even if not always proud of. I sometimes shoot from the hip without thinking.  I am sometimes afraid and deny even knowing Christ.  I have family and yet have decided to follow Jesus.   However, I have moved beyond asking “what’s in it for me.” Peter explains to Jesus how he and others have followed him and now wants to know about the payoff.

I am in a place now where I want to do good for goodness sake.  It’s like the Santa Clause song, “he knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you are wake, he knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake.”  Being good for goodness sake is a kindness that is not looking down the reward road.  Being good for goodness sake is basking in the goodness as you perform it. It’s Wonderful.

Our Lord Jesus is very much aware of our human need for good outcomes.  So he assures Peter, and us, that we will receive the good reward. He says, everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19: 29)

So let us not be so concerned about a future reward.  Let’s just be kind and do what is good and right so that we can say (humbly but with a little bit of pride) I did that!

Let us continue to pray and do whatever good we can for 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 Monday of  Proper 7: Year 2

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

Numbers 16:1 to 19; Romans 3:21 to 31; Matthew 19:13 to 22:

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.” (Matthew 19: 21 – 22)

I like to bracket the words [the money] in verse 21 of chapter 19 of Matthew.  My Greek translation does not have those words. It reads, “ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Εἰ θέλεις τέλειος εἶναι, ὕπαγε πώλησόν σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς, καὶ δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοι.”  Roughly translated it says, “to him Jesus said, if perfect you wish to be, go sell your stuff and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me.” 

Translation is a tricky business.  There is a difference between “give to the poor,” and “give the money to the poor.”  Our Lord Jesus and his unemployed followers could certainly use some of the money.  We are told that certain women who had money helped with the necessities of the group, (Luke 8:1 – 3). We could miss the practical necessity here by too loose a translation.

In this story we see not a man with possessions; but rather, a man who was possessed by his possessions.  We might have had his name had he let go of his possessions. He could have been one of the apostles!  He was invited to follow Jesus with the familiar words, “then come, follow me.”

Based on a real understanding of this Bible reading it becomes clear that money is not bad but it can distract and rule us if we are not careful.  We should give to the poor but we must care for ourselves as well. If we don’t first care for ourselves, we may not be able to help anyone else. It takes a strong swimmer to save a drowning man.

I have 12 life sayings which I have developed for myself. Number 3 is, “Live long in moderation.  The other is number13 which is “Care for self.”  I find that I can easily care for my own needs and live a long healthy life if I maintain moderation.  Maintaining moderation for me means not overdoing anything in any category, be it financial, dietary, even time spent pondering.  Caring for self, for me, includes eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, daily exercise and proper hygiene. And then, after all this, I strive to follow Jesus.

Please keep Ukraine in your prayers. They are trying their own necessary self-care, defending themselves from aggression. We can’t let down our dedication to their cause. Also let us pray that Russia turns and follows our Lord Jesus more closely.

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

Eucharistic Readings for Sunday, Proper 7: Year C

1^st Kings 19:1 to 15; Psalm 42 and 43; Galatians 3:23 to 29; Luke 8:26 to 39:

“And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the abyss.” Luke:8:31.”

Before evil shows itself, good thrives. The man in our Luke Gospel for today, who may even be a father, seems to be a good man who was overcome by multiple demons.  It seems our Lord Jesus has dealt with these legion demon spirits in this man before. It also seems that Jesus has compassion even for the demons. All Jesus has to do is order them to go into the abyss and they must do it. The demons know who Jesus is but we often have problems understanding who He is.

I’ve said this before but it’s worth pondering again.  The demons ask for permission to enter the pigs near Lake Galilee. Jesus allows them to do it.  So the demons enter the pigs, the pigs go into the lake.  The pigs drown, but not necessarily the spirit demons.  Poor pigs.  Of course being Jewish, perhaps even the Jewish Jesus would not care about swine. Or maybe Jesus did not think the demons would drive the pits into the water. Perhaps further pondering here. The demons, which have survived multiple times of being cast out of the man who haunts the tombs,  and apparently aware of the abyss, now only have to survive drowning pigs. Once in the water, they can move into the fish in the lake.  It seems they only need an animal host to exist.  These same fish are then caught by the very men Jesus has recruited to carry out the Gospel. Weird huh?

The healed man asks to tag alone with Jesus but he was denied. Jesus tells him to go to his home and tell the people what God has done for him.  He goes and says what Jesus has done for him.  I hope they understood that Jesus is God Incarnate. The man was rejected by Jesus and the town. I wonder if he had children, and would they now get to know who he really is?

Today is Father’s Day.  Let men everywhere, regardless of whether they have biological children or not, emulate Joseph -the earthly father of Jesus, who knew he was not the biological father, yet modeled a good way of fatherhood. Goodness makes itself present first, then evil comes a lurking.  As a man, any man, we have a responsibility from God to be good, and continue to be, good. A child, any child, will see your good example in life, and your piety, and learn from you, both boys and girls.

Today also happens to be Juneteenth, the remembrance of the emancipation of slaves in the United States in 1863 but finally fulfilled in 1865. I would remind us that it was fulfilled due to Army General Gordon Granger letting God work through him for the purpose of liberating enslaved people.  He could have ignored their situation but he didn’t.  He listened to the guiding Spirit of God.

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 Saturday of Proper 6: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 87 and 90; Evening, Psalm 136;

Numbers 13:31 to 14:25; Romans 3:9 to 20; Matthew 19:1 to 12:

“Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another.” (Psalm 90:1)

God is our timeless Parent.  We have a beginning and an end, at least in this earthly life.  God is circularly infinite: no beginning, no end.

The Psalmist says, “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).  As I have now passed the seventy four mark and moving towards eighty, this Psalmist has my full attention.  I don’t consider my life only labor and sorrow while at the same time I acknowledge there are some things I could have done better.

Over my years of life I have become more and more aware of living in the “Dash.”  I have conducted many funerals as an Episcopal Priest.  Normally the inclusive dates of the deceased are inscribed by; month, day and year, born; then the dash; and then closes out the life with the ending; month, day and year. So it’s what we do with our hearts, minds, hands and mouths (or don’t do) in the dash time, that makes all the difference.

The Psalmist continues, “So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom,” (Psalm 90:12). The hands (as well as the tongue) follow the heart.  We Pray at our Sunday Morning worship, “Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of  your Holy Spirit.” We only have so many days on this earth. Numbering our days may indeed help us to be more lovingly responsive to the needs of others as we await the coming of the other end of our dash.

“May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork,” (Psalm 90:12).  I really like Psalm 90, it grounds me.

Keep Ukraine in your prayers. On a personal note, I was given a very nice, handmade Ukrainian Flag lapel pin last night.  I wear a vest always and so the flag pin is on my vest, over my heart as a testament of my support of Ukraine. I would sure like to see more support displayed as I travel throughout my days.

God is our timeless Parent.  We have a beginning and an end, at least in this earthly life.  God is circularly infinite: no beginning, no end. Through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we have an invitation to join God in eternity.  How shall we RSVP to this divine invitation?

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 6: Year 2

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

Numbers 13:1 to 3 and 21 to 30; Romans 2:25 to 3:8; Matthew 18:21 to 35:

“For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical.  Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal.” (Romans 2)

I want to thank Paul for this important clarification.  He says “circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal.” This is so important to understand.  Since it is spiritual and not literal, this kind of circumcision is inclusive of women also.  Further, the spirituality of it opens the idea of being inclusive of all humanity, regardless of skin tones, hair texture, language, nationality, gender or sexual orientation.  Thank You Lord Jesus and thank you Paul.

While Paul was addressing what it means to be a Jew, he was really deconstructing the argument about the difference between being a Jew and being a Gentile, to whom he was sent. His whole point is, that that makes us a holy people, is what is on the inside of us, not how we are packaged. It is that that is inside each of us that is both holy and eternal through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul still favored using the term Jew to mean God’s chosen and could not come up with a more inclusive identifier. I do believe that through the Body and Blood of our Savior we are made one with Him and therefore, with God. I have no problem being called a Jew through Jesus. At some point in our spiritual journey we must take on new identities. We must become new creatures in Christ Jesus. I believe this was God’s plan from the creation of all things.

I like most of the thinking and preaching of St. Paul. I think he does get off base from time to time with his own biases. But basically he wants us to be faithful followers of the Way.

Please remember to keep the Ukrainian people in your prayers. No matter how bleak it may seem, prayer can turn things around. Through our prayers God finds a way for divine intervention. God loves all people and always has since God brought us into existence.

 “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 6:Year 2

Morning, Psalm34; Evening,  Psalms 85 and 86;

Numbers 12:1 to 16; Romans 2:12 to 24; Matthew 18:10 to 20:

“Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the entrance of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: When there are prophets among you, I the Lord make myself known to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams. Not so with my servant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak face to face— clearly, not in riddles; and he beholds the form of the Lord.” (Numbers 12: 5 – 8)

Moses’ brother and sister are called to the carpet for their jealousy of God’s relationship with Moses. It does not turn out good for them, especially for Miriam.  What I want to bring out in this passage is the almost hidden way of God as is made manifest throughout our Old and New Testaments; and this is still God’s way of communicating with us, that is, through us; in visions and dreams.

In Genesis God appears to Jacob in a dream as Jacob sees the vision of a ladder extending to heaven; (Genesis 28: 10 – 17).  Also, in the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph was about to separate himself from Mary when an angel appeared to him “in a dream” and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins;” (Matthew 1:20 – 21). There are other such biblical cases as well. This is God’s Way.

I think it is important to be attentive to our dreams as well as what might seem like random messages that come to us from persons, known and unknown.  Prayer and the desire for the presence of God is very close to meditation , pondering and dreaming.  I dream, ponder and pray for a free and safe Ukraine. And I ask you to do the same.

God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  God is unchanging but causes all good changes. Occasionally God still gives the prophetic message to some of us,  for the benefit of all of us.  We never know who gets the message. It could be anybody, not necessarily a seminary graduate or an ordained person. This is why we must always listen to anyone who comes to us with a message. Therefore:

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 6: Year 2

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

Numbers 11:24 to 33 (34-35); Romans 1:28 to 2:11; Matthew 18:1 to 9:

“For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.” (Romans 2: 6 – 11)

To this New Testament reading I have some critiques and some “Amen’s.”  I believe that God will take into account what we do and what we say over what we just think about doing or saying.  We might think many things that are not noble or divine.  But as we use the discipline not to speak or act on them, we are pardoned.  Thank You Lord Jesus for helping us overcome the demons in our minds. 

Twice Paul says “the Jew first and also the Greek.”  And yet follows up with “for God shows no partiality.”  This seems partial to me however on the part of Paul.  Full disclosure, I don’t care if I am second, as long as I get there.  As I have studied various cultures I have learned that some cultures use different ways to separate themselves from everybody else.  The Japanese have two different alphabets. One is used for original native Japanese society; Hiragana; and they have an alphabet used for words foreign to Japanese speaking; Katakana. The Amish also say that all persons outside the Amish community are called “the English,” regardless of where they live or originate from. So I understand Paul and his “Jew first” attitude.  I also fully understand that with God there really is no partiality.

I think what I really like here is the fact that we are held more accountable for what we do and say rather than what we think, or what our ethnicity is.  Our minds are free and sometimes wild, but left to be regulated by our sense of the moral plumb line. Giving in to the temptations of saying or doing wickedness is ungodly. Self seeking and self-serving is ungodly. By patiently doing good works and seeking glory and honor for God, we will have immortality, and God will give us eternal life. Thank You Lord Jesus.

As a spiritual person, I love exploring the spiritual realm. Today we remember Evelyn Underhill.

My journaling, from which this blog comes, is all about my contemplative self.  I actively sit in quiet inviting God to enter my mind and move me in ways pleasing to God.  Evelyn Underhill is one of my major heroes. Here is some insight from her sharing:

“Evelyn Underhill’s most valuable contribution to spiritual literature must surely be her conviction that the mystical life is not only open to a saintly few, but to anyone who cares to nurture it and weave it into everyday experience, and also (at the time, a startling idea) that modern psychological theories and discoveries, far from hindering or negating spirituality, can actually enhance and transform it.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for June 15)

So we don’t have to be monks, or priests, to enter into the mystic life.  It is available to all of us who dare to be still and know that God is God. God says through the Psalmist, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)                                      

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 6: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 78:1 to 39; Evening, Psalm 78:40 to 72;

Numbers 11:1 to 23; Romans 1:16 to 25; Matthew 17:22 to 27:

“And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wailed in the hearing of the Lord, saying, ‘If only we had meat to eat! Surely it was better for us in Egypt.’ Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat not only one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you—because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” (Numbers 11:18 – 20)

All of the prescribed readings for today are very good.  But the presence of God in the manna in our Numbers reading was particularly interesting to me.  They are told that they “rejected the Lord who is among you.”

This manna was the food of faith and freedom.  They were living in the wilderness without taskmasters. All they had to do was breathe and eat the simple meal that was provided for them.

It doesn’t take us long to become bored and complain does it?  Meat is nice but bread is our staple.  I see the communal nature of what’s going on with the manna, the Emanuel of it, the God with us in it.  Today in our Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina, we are back to full Holy Communion. Never have I been so glad to receive it as now.  Covid was a real lesson about the importance of Holy Communion.  While I keep up with our Daily Office as shared in this my daily blog, there is no way to receive the manna, the bread and wine via streaming electronics. We must be together for that.

Unlike the wondering Israelites Ukraine has never considered going back to being under Russian control. Their only complaint is that Russia, like old Pharaoh, did not want to leave them alone.

Holy Communion may be the only way Russia and Ukraine can really come together. War will not work. Secular negotiations don’t seem to work either. Given that both nations have a Christian faith component within them, perhaps coming together around a table of peace will go a long way towards truth and reconciliation, and peace. I ask in prayer that our Lord Jesus do this work and that the Holy Spirit of God lead and guide both sides to come to the Table together.  Our initial response might be that such a request is impossible. But let us be reminded that nothing is impossible for God.

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