onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Monday of the 4^th Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 56 and 57; Evening, Psalms 64 and 65;

Genesis 19:1 to 29; Hebrews 11:1 to 12; John 6:27 to 40:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  (Hebrews 11:6)

I don’t care much for the idea of reward seeking, but rather, just participating with God.

When we believe that there is a God, a loving God who has created, and is still creating, all life, we then have choices to make.  We can just sit back and enjoy the good works that God is doing, or through some antisocial twist of mind, work against the works of God.  Or, we can be a part of what God is doing by participating in the beauty and health and love of God’s works.

God wants to co-create and maintain creation with us.  And God will meet us if we take steps toward God. From our Hebrew reading we learn that there is a “response,” (rather than reward), to us as we seek God.  That response is more than we can ever ask or imagine.  Because we believe that God exists and that God is good, the sweat-equity we apply in our beliefs simultaneously invigorates us.  I think we should just do good for goodness sake. This then is not looking forward to some specific award, or reward, that once accomplished, tends to encourage us to stop and bask in our accomplishments.  No, I believe that as we approach the will of God, we are pleased more and more by each step that we take. 

I saw a cartoon in the paper once where the child in the Charlie Brown Peanuts series who plays the piano, was asked by the little girl, who I believe has a crush on him that,  “What if he practiced for twenty years and never became rich or famous?”  To which he replied, “The joy is in the playing.” And she responded, somewhat upset, “Really?”  This really captures how I feel about our approach to God.  The joy is in the approach. The joy is in the journey, the joy is in the participation, really.

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 4^th Sunday of Epiphany: Year C

Jeremiah 1:4 to 10; Psalm 71:1 to 6; 1^st Corinthians 13:1 to 13; Luke 4:21 to 30:

“When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.” (Luke 4: 28 to 30)

This is the second time in chapter 4 of Luke that our Lord Jesus is threatened with death by being thrown down from a high place.  Verses 9 through 12 of this chapter also have the devil trying to have him throw himself from the highest point of the temple. But Jesus refuses and moves on just as in this case with the people where he was raised.

You and I must also move on when threatened by evil, be it in our minds or in the minds of our peers. Sometimes in our lives all seems lost. It is in these times that we must not succumb to thoughts of defeat or hopelessness. I have found that just watching the minute hand on my grandfather clock and listening to the seconds tick by, telling me that yes, I have survived another second; another minute, and it shows me that this too will pass. There may come a time that it does not, but that is not my story to tell, I’m still here. 

Our Lord Jesus lets his truth defeat the devil and I am sure that as he walked past those wanting to do him harm, his truth and love also overpowered their hatefulness.  The same is true for us today. If we live in truth, speak the truth, and walk the truth in love, we too will avoid hateful intentions. However, even Jesus will be killed when both the devil and the hatred of people are combined to do him in. But God does not let that win. God brings him back. And God will bring us out of death as well. With truth and love leading us, God wins, every time.

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 3^rd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 55; Evening, Psalms 138, and139:1 to 17;

Genesis 18:1 to 16; Hebrews 10:26 to 39; John 6:16 to 27:

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain to it. Where can I go then from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”  (Psalm 139)

While I don’t agree with all of Psalm 139, at least not the “hate” parts, the all-knowing acceptance about who God is, I totally do agree with.   From my previous ponderings I have come to understand that God is “being”, is “existence”, is “thinking”, and therefore, is living “pondering,” This is the AM of the “I AM” of God.  It is not God was, or God will be.  No, this is “God Is.”  So there are two points to note here.  First, God is fulfilled in God is Love.  All creation, including you and me, are made manifest in love, God’s love.

Second, from the Psalmist, God is everywhere. Wow!  There is no place we can go that God is not there and this includes to the rest room (location), or in a coma (your state of being). And, no matter where you go or what your state of being is, God has always been there and will always be there.  God is in our history, in our present, and in our future.  God’s will is an option in our decisions and our emotions.  God does not always like our decisions or the outcomes of what we decide to do, but God, the God of love, is still very present.

We cannot attain to the level of God’s intellect.  We can try, and I think, should try, even though we cannot.  Being made aware of this does not mean we shouldn’t try.  I am a life-long learner and life-long lover. So I have modified the Sci-Fi  Vulcan greeting of “Live long and prosper.”  My version is: “Live long, learn and love.” You Star Trek fans out there will understand this. So for all of us, let’s live long, learn and love always and to the last of our mortal days. There is no escaping God. We can’t hide from God nor can we deny the good of God that is made manifest in our lives. And for that, thank you Lord Jesus.

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 the 3^rd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning; Psalm 40 and 54; Evening,  Psalm 51;
Genesis 17:15 to 27; Hebrews 10:11 to 25; John 6:1 to 15:

“When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’” (John: 6:14)

I find John’s language to be puzzling. The part about “Who is to come into the world,” is clearly a prophetical prophecy about an event that is yet to come. Jesus has just “taken” food, “blessed it in giving thanks to God for it, and divided it up among the people whom he had seated.  This is the four fold mark of take, bless, brake, and give, that is modeled in our Holy Eucharist. It is God’s Way of being with us and leading us.

While Andrew, in our John reading for today, argues that they do not have enough to feed all the people even a little taste, Jesus commands him, (and us), to just be patient, and have them to sit down.  I have noticed that in some Church communion services, the sacrament is indeed brought to “seated” parishioners who then partake of the food and drink. Maybe there is a lesson here for us who are stuck in our way of having people come to the rail. Maybe this is our form of “Altar Call.”

I don’t know the answer to all this but I do know that our Lord Jesus is still making His mark on us as He is the One who is still coming into our world. We would do well to be still, sit down and be patient, and remember, whatever we have, ever how little we might think it is, it will be enough and with some left over. We just need to develop the desire to be servants of the servants of Christ. Thank You Lord Jesus.

“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. 

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

What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the 3^rd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 50; Evening, Psalms 8 and 84;

Genesis 16:15 to 17:14; Hebrews 10:1 to 10; John 5:30 to 47:

“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram,but your name shall be Abraham;for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.” (Genesis 17: 4 to 5)

This is our spiritual heritage.  We, yes even we Christians, are spiritual descendents of Abraham. The importance of who we are is not what our biology or ethnicity is.  None of that transcends this earthly life.  Only our spiritual selves ascend to greater glory. 

Given this information how does that impact how we should live while still in our physical selves?  For me it means a life of trying to establish and maintain a connection with the spiritual world while still in this one. It means often thinking about relatives and loved ones who have gone on but are perhaps, in some way, still aware of us as they are in their heavenly new world. It is the spirit and faith of Abraham that God treasures. And we are descendants of that same spirit – we are truly kindred spirits to Abraham.  We have a prayer in our Book of Common Prayer in the Easter Vigil that really speaks to this.

“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)

We Christians are among the offspring of Abraham, and the inheritance of Israel through the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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 3^rd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:49 to 72; Evening,  Psalm 49;

Genesis 16:1 to 14; Hebrews 9:15 to 28; John 5:19 to 29:

“Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomsoever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5: 21 – 24)

This lesson from our Lord Jesus says that God has “delegated” all next life invitations to our Lord Jesus.  One way to receive such an invitation is to believe this and live accordingly.

As a priest I often officiate at funerals.  The biggest message that people want to hear is the one about our being raised from the dead.  Sometimes it’s hard to connect the life of the deceased to his or her life of faith.  We preachers preach faith, that doesn’t mean we know the faith of others.  Only God knows the faith of a person regardless of the faith path they live.

And God has left all decisions about eternal life to God Incarnate, our Lord Jesus. After closely studying the words from our John passage this morning I get the sense that believers already have eternal life.  Believers may not live what some of us consider the so called perfect “Christian” life but still believe that Jesus is Lord. Having faith is not necessarily about being in church all the time.  It is about one’s prayer life.  Prayer is not necessarily about audible words. It is about where your heart is.  It is about how much you cry.  Crying is praying. God’s ears hears tears.

For those among us who have not accepted our Lord Jesus, such people come under judgment.  I believe the language clearly says all people must pass again through our Lord Jesus (from Whom all creation came into being), to eternal life. Such non-believers come under judgment. The believer does not. I don’t believe a loving God lays waste a life lived in love for fellow human beings, but instead, leaves that judgment up to our Lord Jesus, who is also our loving God; God, Who loves all people.  Some do not believe this all-inclusive love of God because of bad teaching and preaching.  Some don’t believe because they have never heard about our Lord Jesus and His loving and inclusive way.  God in Christ Jesus will not let the lack of being informed separate us from eternal life.  This includes infants who never had a chance, and so-called atheists who are trying to figure things out for themselves. God is love. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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 Conversion of Saint Paul.                                                                                              

Galatians 1:11 to 24;  Psalm 67;  Acts 26:9 to 21;; Matthew 10:16 to 22

“And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.”  (Acts 26:10)

Today we remember the Conversion of St. Paul. In this Acts reading Paul laments his past hatred against people who followed in the Way. I have noticed that when we take our eyes off the Lord and look at each other we tend to be judgmental and condescending. Paul followed the teachings of his elders, even to the point of bullying those who believed differently.  If this is true of us today, then I think we must seek change, and the sooner, the better.

Saul to Paul was a conversion.  Conversion is not a condemnation to hell.  It is a period of growth.  We don’t need chief priests or even our clergy of today to demand how we should live and how we must view the world. We only need our prayers and conscience awareness. We need to put ourselves in a place where we will be able to explain to our children and our grandchildren exactly what we believe and why, and be proud of it. We need to hear what the Spirit of our loving God in Christ Jesus is saying to us.

Paul’s conversion was not completed on the road to Damascus, it only began there.  It took him three years before he went back to Jerusalem to be with Peter; (Galatians 1:18), to really come around to God’s Dream.  But he did, and we can too.  Conversion, that is, changing what we believe and how we feel about God’s relationship with us could take considerable time. But it’s worth it. In my own life I was brought up being taught that homosexuality was a perverted evil. During seminary I underwent a conversion process whereby I learned about the all embracing love of God and that while we are sexual creatures, we are also creatures who need one another for more than just sexual gratification. We need to bond with someone who loves us, and that we also love, and to be with one whom we can trust with our very lives if necessary. God does not make trash. Sexual orientation should not be discriminated against. While I never participated in the bullying of gays or lesbians, I certainly did not advocate for them or befriend them as I should have, and now do. This was a sad time in my life. But I have changed, I have gone through a conversion process with regard to this topic of human relationships. Praise Jesus!

Are there other areas of human relationships that you need to work on and hold in prayer?  Where are you with regard to homosexuality, with capital punishment, with abortion, with; (you fill in the blank).  If the subject causes you to be defensive, welcome to Saul’s world before he became Paul.  Who will you be, converted to be? Follow Jesus!

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 3rd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 41 and 52; Evening, Psalm 44

Genesis 14:(1-7)8-24; Hebrews 8:1 to13; John 4:43 to 54

“The official said to him, ‘Sir, come down before my little boy dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.” (John 4:49 – 50)

Intercessory prayer is so important.  In fact, prayer on behalf of others may be the most prayed prayers.  But like the official above, when we pray for someone, we must believe and go, go believing our Lord Jesus has done, or is doing, what is best.

I’m not so sure I like the follow up in this passage because the official who is the father, is trying to prove to himself that it was in fact Jesus who did the healing.  “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.”  (John 4: 51 – 53)

Prayer is not all fact based.  It is however, all love and hope filled.  We must hope and pray for people we love and for anyone whom we realize is in dire straits.  Prayer to our Lord Jesus works.  When we sincerely ask for help, or healing, or comfort for others, our Lord Jesus will hear our plea, and will respond.  Remember, “God’s ears hears tears.”  Never, never, never give up, and don’t try to make sense of, or seek proof of, the Lord’s work.  But rather, just be thankful for it. Thank You Lord Jesus.

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 of the 3^rd Week of Epiphany: Year C

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1^st Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21

“When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read:” (Luke 4:17).

Our Lord Jesus had a custom of attending the synagogue on the Sabbath. His Sabbath was intended by God to be a day of rest, and yet, the language of the Bible clearly says he, “stood up and unrolled” the reading that was handed to him. I have read where some devout rabbis won’t even turn on a light switch to see where they are going in order to do no “work” on the Sabbath. But they have no problem having a non-Jew do it. There are two issues here for me. One, as Jesus will also point out, some necessary work is okay to do even on the Sabbath. Second, there is a difference between work and worship. I still think that the gathering of people on the (Saturday or Sunday) Sabbath is an attempt by some clerics to enforce a no-work policy on that day which requires them to actually work.

Can we not learn while attending our Christian Sunday School worship, (work included), that we are to be left alone to just keep the Sabbath (Saturday) with rest and meditation?  And then as Christians, attend our Sunday services as it should also be our custom where we learn such things?  I say these things even as my own parish is closed today, Sunday, due to inclimate weather and hazardous road conditions. Jesus went to the synagogues to teach, even on the Sabbath, it was necessary work.  However I don’t think clergy, Christian or otherwise, need to micromanage our private time in prayer with God. Whenever we can, families and loved ones should have some Sabbath time together with Holy readings and prayers. While I fully realize that we all can’t always meet this way on a Saturday because some of us are first responders, medical care providers, police persons, and such. But we should come together on a true Sabbath whenever we can. The Holy Spirit of God wants to be with us on such a day. And then, on Sunday, take what we have gleaned from the Spirit to Church. We all could use some unsupervised time together in thoughts, dialogue and prayer.

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 Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 30 and 32; Evening, Psalm 42 and 43;
Genesis 12:9 to 13:1; Hebrews 7:18 to 28; John 4:27 to 42:

“They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world; (John 4:42).

This is the last of the experience with the unnamed woman at the well for a while. Was it necessary for the people, (I’ll bet mostly men), to tell the woman that it was not because of her that they believe? Because, it truly was her doing.

She has just done the work of John the Baptist and every Christian denomination we have today; she has brought people to Christ.

You and I can still meet Christ at the well today. And such an encounter can make us also forget our bucket and why we were there in the first place. Private time with Jesus is overwhelming. It will make you go to those, even those with whom you have issues with, and proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah!  And here is the thing folks, once you know, you can’t un-know. Once the Spirit of God enlightens you, you too will be reminded of everything you have ever done as well as the good in you that lies ahead. Maybe someone you tend to avoid will bring you word of Jesus being present and you would rather ignore them.  However, I would suggest that you remember such a person and re-member them back into the fold, for they got out of God’s way and let God work through them for your faith’s sake.

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