onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the 3^rd Week of Easter: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 38; Evening, Psalm 119:25 to 48;

Exodus 19:16 to 25;  Colossians 1:15 to 23;  Matthew 3:13 to 17:

 “O Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God.” Psalm 38

The whole of Psalm 38 is but doom and gloom. But near the end the speaker makes his request to God; to not be forsaken, and to be near him. The Psalmist speaks of enemies and his own body loosing its strength. He speaks of his enemies tormenting him. But even in the midst of all this, he hopes in the Lord. He says, “for in you, O Lord, have I fixed my hope; you will answer me, O Lord my God.” 

It is amazing how God will soothe us in times of stress when we call on God.  Often, God acts by changing our attitudes about how we interpret our experiences. The same horror can happen to two different people but one seems to adjust with the help of the Lord while the other may drift into a state of irreversible anguish and distress.  In life, or even in death, we must never, never, never give up on God helping us. We count on God, in this life and in the next.

Today we remember Monica, mother of Augustine of Hippo.

I have read where It was Monica’s main goal in life to get her son Augustine baptized. It seems that after he finally consented, she got sick and shortly thereafter, died. Her date in May is always in the expectation of Mother’s Day. When I can, I like remembering her in my sermons on Mother’s day. What more could a Christian mother want for her child, male or female?

We get a good lesson from Monica from what I found on the web:

“After his baptism, Augustine and a younger brother Navigius and Monnica planned to return to Africa together, but in Ostia, the port city of Rome, Monnica fell ill and said, “You will bury your mother here. All I ask of you is that, wherever you may be, you should remember me at the altar of the Lord. Do not fret because I am buried far from our home in Africa. Nothing is far from God, and I have no fear that he will not know where to find me, when he comes to raise me to life at the end of the world.” ( Monnica (satucket.com) )

Just as the Psalmist who faces overwhelming agony and suffering; and as Monica never gives up on her son being Christian, so too we must not give up on God’s presence in Ukraine. I believe God has a plan for the people of Ukraine.  And that plan includes all of us outside of Ukraine, including the people of Russia and the United States. God acts in amazing ways.

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 the 3^rd Week of Easter: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 26 and 28; Evening, Psalms 36 and 39;  

Exodus 19:1 to 16; Colossians 1:1 to 14; Matthew 3:7 to 12:

“Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”  (Matthew 3:9)

Abraham is a very significant Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims.  But what is significant about Abraham is not his genetic code, his biology, his DNA.  No, what is important about Abraham is his faith. He believed in God, and for his faith, “it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.” (James 2:23)

The significance of Abraham is not something genetic that is passed on to the next generation, not even to Isaac or Jacob.  They, like Abraham had to meet God for themselves and be tested by life. So none of us, not Jew, not Christian, not Muslim, can claim a direct biological heritage from Abraham as for as God is concerned. And, even if someone did show close DNA to a people supposed to be of Abrahamic lineage, it matters not.  It is not the biology that matters; it is the faith of Abraham that matters.  So, like John the Baptist says, “God can raise children to Abraham from the stones of the earth.”

It makes no difference who we are, we can choose to be children to Abraham, not by investigating our ancestry, but only by believing. To be raised as children to Abraham we must choose to believe and hold God more dear to us than our own children as did Abraham himself. As I have said before, I now say again, “Trust” especially in God, is a better translation of the word used for “believe.” Trust God more than family, more than government, more than so called authority figures, more than human professions like many doctors and lawyers and even some clergy. The only exception I will make to this are doctors and lawyers and clergy who pray.  Faith means everything.

Because our faith and trust in God means more than biology, we, you and I, as people of faith are connected to the people of Ukraine more than we know. The Ukrainian people are our faith brothers and sisters through the faith lineage of Abraham. We, Episcopalians, have a prayer that best sums it up.  Let us pray: “O God, whose wonderful deeds of old shine forth even to our own day, you once delivered by the power of your mighty arm your chosen people from slavery under Pharaoh, to be a sign for us of the salvation of all nations by the water of Baptism: Grant that all the peoples of the earth may be numbered among the offspring of Abraham, and rejoice in the inheritance of Israel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (BCP 289)

Let us be still and listen to what the Holy Spirit of God is saying to us, and:

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 the 3^rd Week of Easter: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 25; Evening, Psalm 9 and 15; 

Exodus 18:13-27;  1^st Peter 5:1 to 14;  Matthew (1:1-17),3:1-6:

“Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; remember me according to your love
and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.” (Psalm 25: 6)

This is an interesting proposition.  The Psalmist is asking God to not see the sins of the Psalmist but rather to be judged by the love of God and the goodness of God.

I share this sentiment with the Psalmist.  I am a sinner.  I have erred and strayed from God’s ways on occasions.  I am in real need of a loving and merciful God.  I need a God whose mercy outweighs my wrongs. I need a God whose love makes me a better person, in spite of myself. 

And then, living into God’s love, I will do my best to be a new and much better person.  Like many, I am a work in progress.  But also like many, I depend on God’s help and love to work in me, making me who God wants me to be understanding that God will gift me with what my community needs.  And in the end, how do we want to be remembered?  We want to be remembered according to God’s love and for the sake of God’s goodness.

I love these mornings when I come to this laptop and ponder the spiritual presence of God first thing in the morning.  I know that each day brings a challenge and some enlightenment. I just pray that I let God do the work in me and that I just settle down and watch what happens, yes, even if for a moment it’s unpleasant.  “Remember me according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”

I pray that God also remembers and intervenes in Ukraine. They are in a desperate situation.  Ukraine also prays, “Remember not the sins of our youth and our transgressions; remember us according to your love and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”

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 the 3^rd Sunday of Easter: Year C

Acts 9:1-6, (7-20); Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11 to 14; John 21:1 to 19:

 ^“A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” “He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” (NRSV John 21:16-17)

 Volvió a preguntarle: —Simón, hijo de Juan, ¿me amas? Pedro le contestó:—Sí, Señor, tú sabes que te quiero.  Jesús le dijo: —Cuida de mis ovejas.  Por tercera vez le preguntó: —Simón, hijo de Juan, ¿me quieres? Pedro, triste porque le había preguntado por tercera vez si lo quería, le contestó: —Señor, tú lo sabes todo: tú sabes que te quiero. Jesús le dijo: —Cuida de mis ovejas. (Spanish NT: John 21:16-17)

Σίμων  Ἰωάννου, ἀγαπᾷς με; λέγει αὐτῷ· Ναί, κύριε, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε. λέγει αὐτῷ· Ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου.  λέγει αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον· Σίμων Ἰωάννου, φιλεῖς με; ἐλυπήθη ὁ Πέτρος ὅτι εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον· Φιλεῖς με; καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Κύριε, πάντα σὺ οἶδας, σὺ γινώσκεις ὅτι φιλῶ σε. λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Βόσκε τὰ πρόβατά μου. (Greek NT:John 21:16-17)

As can be seen from the above, there is significant difference between the English wording; and the Spanish and Greek wording.  In English the word “love” is used by Jesus and Peter all three times.  But in Spanish Jesus uses the word “amas”(love) the first and second time and Peter uses “quieres”(want).  On the third time Jesus uses the word “quieres.” So likewise in the Greek NT, Jesus asks with the word ἀγαπᾷς (sacrificial love), the first two times while Peter answers with  “φιλεῖς” (like), but Jesus asks the third time, meeting Peter where he is, with the word “φιλεῖς.” Let us also remember that Jesus spoke Aramaic, His words were later translated into Greek.

This shows how much can be lost in English. There are levels of affection that are not always properly expressed in English. (Eros – Philos – Agape: different Greek expressions of love) This is so important given that Jesus is the “Word’ of God in human form.

Like Peter, we too are not able to meet Jesus where Jesus meets us. So Jesus changes the language to make it easier for us. This is why Peter was hurt, not so much because it was the third time, but rather, because of the realization that he is not able to return the level of love that Jesus has for him. Neither are we.  Jesus more than just wants or likes us. Jesus loves us, sacrificially and unconditionally.

Tied in with this language is the instruction to care for the sheep. We have sheep in Ukraine who need caring for. Let us love the Lord, and love the scattered sheep of Ukraine and care for them, trying as hard as we can to meet our Lord Jesus where He is.

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 the 2^nd Week of Easter: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 20 and 21; Evening, Psalms 110:1-5(6-7) and Psalms 116 and 117

 Exodus 17:1 to 16; 1^st Peter 4:7 to 19; John 16:16 to 33:

“When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.”  (John 16: 21)

Perhaps labor pain is the one pain that Jesus did not actually experience but it doesn’t take away from the point he is making, and that is that we go through some discomfort that brings about more than just relief, it brings newness of life and great pleasure. 

The book of Ecclesiastes seems to me to have as its running theme that “all is vanity.”  This suggests to me that perhaps our whole life is but the off-and-on-again labor of love until we finally come into new life as a heavenly being.

The stresses of this life can be emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual.  At this writing, we are witnessing the horrors and devastation of Ukraine by the Russian army, which also impacts the other stresses we suffer, even way over here in the U.S.; it impacts our emotional, psychological and our spiritual health.

As a dedicated believer and a person of prayer, my default, or go-to, position is the spiritual.  Armed with the understanding that I will not live forever, it is through my spiritual self that I believe is eternal.  So, as St. Peter says in our readings for today:

“The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”  (1 Peter 4: 7 – 11)

And I believe that this is who we are called to be. We, as Christians, are baptized into servanthood. To not serve using our God-given gifts is like having continuous labor pains without bringing forth the promised new life ever. We serve across the street and across the globe.

 I pray that our emotional, psychological and our spiritual labor pains turn to joy when Ukraine rises from their tomb as did our Lord Jesus on their Easter Day of victory and Independence.

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 Reading for Friday of the 2^nd Week of Easter: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 16 and 17; Evening, Psalms 134 and 135;

Exodus 16:23 to 36; 1^st Peter 3:13 to 4:6; John 16:1 to 15:

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7)

I used to wonder why people in the Superman comic book series, especially Lois Lane, didn’t realize that if she never saw Clark Kent and Superman at the same time, they might be the same person! It is amazing what a suit and a pair of glasses will do. 

Jesus says “if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” It sounds like a phone booth transformation to me.   So, they are one and the same perhaps. I just feel like Jesus is God’s way of really knowing what it is like to be one of us.  In Christ Jesus, God experiences our joy, pain, sorrow, abuse, tyranny, foods, relationships, work, play and on and on. There is no existence or experience in human life that God has not experienced personally in the person of Jesus except for maybe giving birth. Therefore, God knows all, and every kind of our delights and our troubles.  As the old hymn goes, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, Nobody knows but Jesus.”

Our Advocate, sent by our Lord Jesus, can best be summed up in the words of the Preacher to the Hebrews as he writes, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin;” (Hebrews 4:15). I think it is very important to believe in, and hope for, eternal life. Without the expected accountability to come and life everlasting, where is the governance of our conduct now, in this life? We need to learn this message now and improve ourselves daily.

As we have sent U.S. dignitaries to Ukraine who have gone there and returned, so too we should send them advocates with the assurance that we are with them to the end. They need to feel like the world has not abandoned them.  Ukraine has no choice but to stand firm. I think, so do we, along with them, right by their side, advocating for justice and peace.

 “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 the 2^nd Week of Easter: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 18:1 to 20; Evening, Psalm 18: 21 to 50;

Exodus 16:10-22; 1^st Peter 2:11 to 25; John 15:12 to 27:

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15: 12)

I really like this “John” rendition of the love commandment better than the one in the Synoptic Gospels where it is said, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”  The presupposition is that you love yourself. I have met people who do not love themselves. How then can they be expected to love others? 

I am not trying to promote narcissism here but a great many people need to know that they are loved by God and to suggest that God can’t act in them is not saying they are not good enough, but that God, in all God’s unlimited ability, is not able to act in them. Balderdash! God can, and will, use any person to do God’s will.  We are definitely commanded to love ourselves as part of the commandment to love. But just in case we don’t get it, St. John records our Lord Jesus as saying love “one another” (which includes yourself), as I have loved you. Jesus says, “As I have loved you.”  And remember, Jesus loved you all the way to the cross. Every human being is so worthy, and so loved.  Thank you Lord Jesus.

Every human being includes the people of Ukraine.  Here is a people trying to have their own place in the world in order that they might contribute back to the world. They are suffering an unprovoked attack on their sovereignty. Words from Psalm 18 fit the situation of Ukraine,  “I will call upon the Lord, and so shall I be saved from my enemies:” (Psalm 18:3). It is through our witnessing eyes that God helps them. Therefore, let us do the Lord’s work. It is in this way that we show that we have love for one another.

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 the 2^nd Week of Easter: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:1-24; Evening,  Psalms 12, 13 and 14; 

Exodus 15:22 to16:10;  1^st Peter 2:1 to 10;  John 15:1 to11: 

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2: 9)

When Peter says we are a chosen race he is not talking about Jews or Whites or Blacks or Asians or Hispanics or Europeans.  All are included in the faith. But specifically he is talking about God believing humans. He is talking about those of us who have said that we believe and are in fact God’s people no matter how we are packaged.  And we will proclaim God’s mighty acts, of old, and what we witness God doing now.

How has God acted in your life?  What good has happened in your life that is not easily explained outside of God’s mighty acts?  God is all around us and God knows that when we, who believe, see something mysteriously happen, we know God is doing this work and it tickles us.  When it happens we pause and say, “Thank you God,” and we chuckle to ourselves.  It is in such ways that God calls us out of darkness into God’s marvelous light.

The Bible does not really end with the Revelation to John, at least not for the record of humanity’s relationship with God.  We, you and I, are the continuation of the Living Bible. God still lives and will always live. And we are invited to join in the heavenly kingdom beyond the pages of scripture. Scripture will remain here for God’s own chosen race of faith to continue to read and heed.  There comes a time however when we leap from our earthly relationship to that all spiritual relationship into the full identity as a child of God in our Lord Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. My beloved of the Lord, please do all in your power to live fully into a life of faith.

I continue to call on all believers to help, aid and assist our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. I also don’t want us to forget our Russian brothers and sisters who do not agree with what their government is doing in Ukraine. Our race of faith is one of genuine God loving faith. It makes us different from non-believers, not different based on ethnicity or nationality, but because we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,in order that we may proclaim the mighty acts of him (Jesus), who called us out of darkness into God’s marvelous light.

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 the Second Week of Easter: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 5 and 6; Evening, Psalm 10 and 11; 

Exodus 15:1 to 21;  1^st Pet. 1:13 to 25;  John 14:18 to 31;

“Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.” (1^st Peter 1: 21)

I think Peter in his first letter here is correct about what our Lord Jesus was, and is, doing.  It is through our Lord Jesus that we Christians have come to trust in God.  Often we Christians only focus on Jesus and not on where He is still pointing us to, that is, to the Creator of all creation. It is in the early hours that I ponder these things. “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.” (Psalm 5:3)

God is Creator, Sustainer and Sanctifier.  God is everywhere all the time.  Peter tells us that through God raising Jesus from the dead, and then placed in our midst, our faith and hope should be set on God, the All Mighty, invincible, God only wise.  We all should be looking to God for answers to all our problems.  God cares for us and wants us to come to God for spiritual survival.

This God of spiritual survival is very present in Ukraine. Oh for sure, some Ukrainians have died. But even those who have died are with God now in paradise.

I truly admire President Zelenskyy and his upbeat encouragement.  He is working for all Ukrainians, regardless of where they live in Ukraine. He is struggling to help those who are on the Russian border as well as those who have been slaughtered around the capital and in the western part of Ukraine. He is asking for help and we should give it to him. And we should continue to keep him and his people in our daily, and particularly, our morning prayers.

Regardless of how we build and use a path to God, there is only One Source of love and life. Some individuals, institutions and even countries don’t get it. Love and life come from the same Source, and it is to this Source that Jesus was directing us so that our faith and hope are set on this Source of love and life. The Spirit of the Source was surely speaking through Saint Peter. Thank you Saint Peter.

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 the 2^nd Week of Easter: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 1, 2, 3; Evening, Psalms 4 and 7;   

Exodus 14:21-31; 1 Pet. 1:1-12; John 14:1-17:

“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2 – 3)

There are few things that can compare with a well thought-out plan. One of the lessons I am still learning is to have a place for things before I get them. It is really upsetting to order and have delivered a new gym apparatus and no where to put it in an already crowded garage.   I’ve gotten to the point that when I am asked to move something for someone, I ask where do you want me to move it to?  If there is something already occupying that space, then the question becomes, where does that item then go? and on and on.

For our eternal home, this work has already been done by our Lord Jesus. Jesus says he has gone to prepare a place for us. This preparing that Jesus speaks of may even be “create” a space for us. The good news is that there is a space, a dwelling for us. You have heard that there should be a place for everything, and everything in its place, right?  We are co-creating a space in our eternal home right now as we go about believing in and following Jesus.

In what I call my “man-cave” upstairs are many photos, plaques, and memorabilia I have collected over the years. It’s not much, it’s just me. Jesus is decorating a room for me with the good works I have done, and hopefully, will do as I await his call to my eternal home. How about you my friend?  What personal souvenirs or memorabilia is our Lord Jesus preparing your space with? The good news is, if you are reading this you still have time to forward some good works, or fruits of the spirit, forward to our Lord Jesus as he prepares your space. For as he says, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” Let me be clear, this is not “works righteousness,” but rather, “living the dream.”

Our continued support of Ukraine is but a piece of the décor that our Lord will use to ornate our dwelling place with. The good we do now goes with us as a keepsake in the next life. While there may not be a lot we can do, praying for Ukraine is the first step. We just need to ask God to help them and then be prepared for what the Spirit might say to us as a copartner in the help process.

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