onewhoponders

Part 1 of 2

Daily Office Readings for Sunday of Proper 23: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 146, and 147; Evening, Psalms 111, 112, and 113;
Jeremiah 36:1 to 10; Acts 14:8 to 18; Luke 7:36 to 50:

“And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:50)

Luke 7:36 to 50 is a powerful lesson. I ask all of you to read it.  It is too long to put in this blog page, especially on Sunday when I normally try to reflect on the Daily Office and the Eucharistic readings. The Luke lesson is about forgiveness and the love of our Lord Jesus. It is about faith in our Lord Jesus. And the message that Jesus says to all is that, “our faith will save us.” Thank You God in Jesus our Savior. Amen.

Part 2 of 2

New Testament Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 23: Year B

Hebrews 4:12 to 16 and Mark 10:17 to 31:

“And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)

I like Mark’s translation of this passage. It says, “give to the poor.” Not, give it or the money to the poor as in Matthew 19:21, and Luke 18:22.  Mark is closest to the New Testament Greek as it does not use the article “the.”  It makes a big difference.  To give the money to the poor implies all the money. To give to the poor leaves room to keep some for the journey of the mission of Jesus. Jesus depended on the contributions of donors to assist him and his followers as they carried out the Good News.  However there is one thing of note.

In all the Gospel accounts, Jesus invites the young rich man to “follow me.”  We could have had his name had he followed.  Then we would not be hung up on twelve.  In any case, we discover that it was not that he had many possessions; but rather, many possessions had him.

I pray that what we own, does not own us.

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 22: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 137:1-6, and Psalm 144; Evening, Psalm 104;
Jeremiah 35:1 to 19; 1^st Corinthians 12:27 to 13:3; Matthew 9:35 to 10:4:

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.” (1^st Corinthians 12:27 and 28)

Paul is not only talking to the Church in Corinth. He is talking to all who profess to be Christian.  He says “We” are the body of Christ as the Christian Church. He goes on to say that some,  not all, are appointed bishops, or prophets or pastors and teachers.  We all bring to the Church certain God-given and needed gifts.

Some of us in the Church are doctors and teachers as well as trash collectors and grocery store clerks and all walks of community life. All are needed in order that a community might be sustained.

Some of us in the Church are pastors and teachers.  This is a huge responsibility. It is the call of pastors and teachers to fortify the people in the pews to take the love of the Gospel out into the community.  In our Matthew Gospel reading for today, Jesus is doing just that.  He is sending out the twelve.

I was told long ago, that Church service begins at the dismissal. It is when the people in the pews are dismissed at the end of the service that they began the faithful work of carrying the Gospel of Christ out into the community, in deed and word, but I pray, mostly in deed.  I think it was St Francis of Assisi who said in so many words, “go and preach the Gospel and when necessary, use words.” I like that.  We should walk it before we talk it.

In our 1^st Corinthians reading for today we also hear Paul speak of leadership and language. I believe God will from time to time call any one of us to leadership. It does not matter about their physical appearance. They could be heavy of thin, or any shade of skin. They could be male, female, heterosexual, homosexual or non-sexual. God will call who God will call and then gift them with what is needed to help communities in need.  I am reminded of another Church saying I heard long ago.  God doesn’t call the qualified, God qualifies the called. Yes, this even includes giving them the words needed to get God’s point across and for righteous teaching with love.

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 22: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 140 and 142; Evening, Psalms 141 and 143:1to11;
2^nd Kings 23:36 to 24:17; 1^st Corinthians 12:12 to 26; Matthew 9:27 to 34:

“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you.’ And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, ‘See that no one knows of this:” (Matthew 927 to 30)

Can you imagine being blind?  Can you imagine being blind and trying to follow someone?  And can you imagine the blind leading the blind?  Nevertheless, they did and were rewarded for their tenacity. But pay close attention to what happened. 

Jesus asked them if they “believed” he (Jesus), was able to do this?  They said yes. They had faith in Jesus.  Jesus then touched their eyes and restored their sight while saying that in accordance with their faith, their sight is restored. 

Here again our Lord Jesus works with what we have inside of us for our own benefit. With little or no faith, we cannot be healed or cured, unless of course the faith in the Lord, and the desire for our health comes from someone who loves us and pleads with Jesus on our behalf.  Our Lord Jesus will take what is good in us and drive out of us what is bad. Jesus connects what we believe with what we need. Thank You Lord Jesus.

 I too am still stumbling along following my Lord Jesus and continually asking for more and more sight.  Join me, won’t you?   Thank You Lord Jesus. Thank you for love; thank you for rest; and thank you for more sight into what our lives are all about. I pray that our faith in your ability will increase in us, in order that you may touch us in ways that improve our ability to see the love of God, and help us to love our brothers and sisters, and all creation. 

“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 Proper 22: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 131, 132, and133; Evening, Psalms 134 and 135;
2^nd Kings 23:4 to 25; 1^st Corinthians 12:1 to 11; Matthew 9:18 to 26:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good;” (1^st Corinthians 12:4 to 7).

I do believe we are all given much needed gifts when we are conceived. They are given to us by the Spirit of God the Creator. These gifts lay dormant until brought to life by our faith and the Holy Spirit. It truly is magic.  Our faith provides the path for the Holy Spirit to find our God given gifts.

We, of various communities, have a variety of needs.  Therefore, God has ensured that each of us has those gifted qualities needed in the community we are in, or the community to which we are called to be in.  God runs a balancing act within humanity for the good of humanity.

The needed formulas are planted in us before birth. As we are brought up in love and faith, we are brought to “full” life through the Holy Spirit.  As Paul says, it is the same Spirit that activates all of us to be what God has planted in us for the benefit of those whom we share life with, our community.  This is why it is so tragic when we lose anyone to untimely death. When a person dies, needed gifts are gone unused.  This is very sad. This is also why we should treasure every person in our community. We need them.  We need you.

Each one of us should spend time pondering about what our Godly gifts are and what our contribution is, to our community, or any community we might be called to.  This is called discernment.  We will, after discernment, discover what we are gifted for, and what our passion is, and what we are called to do. When we discover our gifted passion and perceive what our community’s needs are, we are well on our way. Where, and when, our passion, and a community’s need resolve for each other, God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

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 22: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 119:145 to 176; Evening, Psalms 128, 129 and 130;
2^nd Kings 22:14 to 23:3; 1 Corinthians 11:23 to 34; Matthew 9:9 to 17:

In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me:” (1^st Corinthians 11:25).

My blog post of two days ago, (Monday, 4 October), was all about the importance of the Cup of Christ.  I mentioned the references from our Book of Common Prayer.  However the actual words for the consecration of bread and wine come from our 1^st Corinthians reading for today. I now revisit my point about the wine and how we, as Christians, are to receive it in the Name of Christ.

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, Paul ensures that we understand the importance of the cup, not only in the Church assembled, but also whenever, and wherever, we partake of it. Paul says this is what was handed on to him from the apostles, apostles who walked with our Lord Jesus. So this is not so much about Paul himself, but rather Peter, John and James and others. It is what our Lord Jesus asked us to do as the way of remembering him.

It seems however, we are a death centered people who prefer the cross as the way we want to remember our Lord Jesus.  We also chose the fish, I guess because of the fisherman he told to follow him and that he would make them catchers of people. But our Lord himself asked to be remembered by the cup, and, individually, as often, as we drink it, in remembrance of him.

I know this is difficult for those of us who have problems with alcohol (and it was real wine). I personally believe our self-care should come first.  However, I think wine during the time of Jesus was a regular dinner affair. I am not promoting the drinking of wine. I am simply bringing to our attention what I have pondered regarding what our Lord Jesus asked of us.

With the frequency of meals, not only Communion at Church gatherings, but meals in our homes and refreshments at other social events, our Lord Jesus has worked in a way for us to raise his Name regularly. Who knows what impact such a witness might have in promoting the following of Jesus, and the catching of people?  Again, I think a, “Thank You Lord Jesus,” will do nicely.

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 22: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 120, 121, 122 and 123; Evening,  Psalms 124, 125, 126 and127;
2^nd Kings 22:1 to 13; 1^st Corinthians 11:2 and17-22; Matthew  9:1 to 8:

“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left: (2^nd Kings 22:1 and 2).

Josiah had every reason and privilege to become a spoiled rotten brat, taking over the kingdom as a child, and yet he didn’t.

I especially like that when he was in the eighteenth year of his reign he let the Lord lead him into transparency with the people. He was open and forthright with the treasure of the kingdom. He trusted the blue collar of his day. He let them be in charge of what they were doing. He told them what to do without telling them how to do it. Concerning the money for the repair of the House of the Lord he said, “let it be given into the hand of the workers who have the oversight of the house of the Lord;” he said, “let them give it to the workers who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house, that is, to the carpenters, to the builders, to the masons; and let them use it to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the house. But no account shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly:” (2^nd Kings 22:5 to 7). This was total honesty and trust in the workers.

Josiah walked straight up the middle. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left. I have visited hospitals to check on parishioners where different colored lines were drawn on the ceiling, or on the floor. This was valuable. After my initial contact with the receptionist, he or she would tell me which color to follow in order to reach the ward and patient I was visiting. Perhaps God left such a line for Josiah to follow, and he drifted neither to the right, or to the left, but stayed on course.

His obedience to God led him to the Book of the Law. Josiah, after hearing the words read to him, stopped everything in order to get back on track, or, should I say, the right color path God laid out for him to follow.  How about you?  Every now and then, we need to stop, look up, look down, and look all around. I call this my looks of 180, (straight up and straight down); and my view of 360, (turning in a circle observing where I’ve been and what is to my right and left). From this action I proceed on, making sure that I am following the path God has laid out for me. I am John, son of Evelyn, I hope to do what is right in the sight of the Lord. What is your name? What is, or was, your mother’s name?  Do you hope to do what is right in the sight of the 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

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 22: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 106:1 to 18; Evening, Psalm 106:19 to 48:
2^nd Kings 21:1 to 18; 1 Corinthians 10:14 to11:1; Matthew 8:28 to 34:

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?” (1^st Corinthians 10:16)

The words of the Consecration of the cup of wine at the Altar are very specific. The blessing ends with, “When ever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”  This is said in the Book of Common Prayer for Eucharistic Prayer A, page 363; Prayer B, 368; Prayer C, 371; and Prayer D, 374.  Given this information, I make it a point to remember our Lord Jesus each and every time I pour any glass of red wine for myself or others.  Call me a fanatic if you will, it is what our Lord Jesus said for His followers to do, in remembrance of Him.

During Covid, our practice has been to have a designated recipient to receive the chalice of wine on behalf of the congregation.  Our Bishop has just given us permission for all of us to once again receive the wine for every individual desiring to do so with certain precautions. But then, it has from its inception, been a blessed taste.

This is symbolically putting the blood of our Lord Jesus into ourselves. If we think about it, we become brothers and sisters of God Incarnate. Wow!  With this weekly sip, shouldn’t we proceed from Church inoculated against evil thoughts and impatiently desiring to do good works? I think so.

We just have to put our faith in Christ Jesus. We must believe in the cup covenant that Jesus left with us. Jesus said the cup, but we chose the cross as a way to remember Him. The cross was a Roman death tool. The Cup is a forever life tool. This is not so hard to understand, and here is the thing, we don’t have to be in Church. For the bread we do have to be in Church  as it is the taking, blessing, breaking and giving of the bread; and it is the sharing of the cup also. But with the cup is added the words, “When ever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”  For me, “whenever” also means “wherever.” 

We could be at home or out for an evening social. But when we hold a glass of wine, and we are Christian, we are asked by our Lord Jesus to, at that moment, to remember Him.  I remember the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel who said “it is the moment that adds significance to things (or experiences), not things that add significance to moments,” from his book, The Sabbath.   Therefore, the moment we are about to sip the first taste of wine, (the thing), we should remember our Lord Jesus, (the significant moment). I think a, “Thank You Lord Jesus,” will do nicely.

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 Proper 22: Year B

Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12  and Mark 10:2-16

“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

How do we know what (or who), God has joined together?  Marriage is such a touchy issue in the Church.  In the early Hebrew Testament men just took women to be their wives and didn’t necessarily stop at one. We have many stories where certain men had two wives for example Elkanah, “He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children:” (1^st Samuel 1:1 and 2).  He was the father of Samuel the Prophet.  There are others also to include Moses himself. These persons did not divorce, but rather added to their marriage. It seems that with the New, or Christian Testament, the influence of the Greeks and Romans persuaded the Christian Jews and the Church to adhere to the one man and one woman marriage. Remember, I’m just pondering here.

There are more questions around marriage and divorce that must be resolved by our God given reason rather than the ambiguous and often contradictory writings of scripture. Remember, the sixteenth century priest Richard Hooker who said that we have the three legged stool of scripture, tradition and reason. In our Anglican and Episcopal Church, the three legs are equal in support of our faith. However reason, with prayer, must be applied when necessary.

 There are also questions of same sex marriages, there are questions of whether the Church should be doing what was considered a civil matter until about 800 years ago when the Church became aware of its possible control of the institution of marriage. Also, should Roman Catholic Priests be allowed to marry?  

Divorce then brings the subject back to being a civil matter again. Should couples stay in a toxic and unloving, often abusive marriage?  I think not but as far as I know, no Church has an “un-marriage” ceremony.

So, who is God joining together? Does sexuality, or race, or the Church, or Ordination limit who God joins together?

 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 21: Year 1

 Morning, Psalm 107:33 to 43 and Psalm 108; Evening, Psalm 33;
2^nd Kings 19:21 to 36; 1^st Corinthians 10:1 to 13; Matthew 8:18 to 27:

“And they went and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.  They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”  (Matthew 8: 25 to 27).

I’d like to say that we are still saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’  And the only way we can be saved is through our Lord Jesus Christ. Drowning seems to be a fear of the ancient Hebrew peoples.  We have the story of Noah and the Flood; we have the story of Moses and the parting of to sea; and many other water related near-death experiences that plague their minds.  So we are saved through the waters of baptism.  Jesus brings us back to our fears and then brings us through them to eternal life.

Jesus seems to infer that fear and faith occupy the same space in our hearts and minds. He asks, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’  I know that Abraham was afraid during his lifetime but he never stopped believing in God. Therefore, at some level, fear accompanies our faith. It’s not either/or, it’s both/and. We just have to decide which one we are going to let lead us.

Jesus, when asked, comes to us and reduces the cause of our fears, the storm itself.  Later, in this Gospel of Matthew, Peter will individually struggle with faith and fear while trying to walk on the water. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, Jesus told them not to be afraid and that it was he, himself.   ^“And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”  Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14: 29 to 31)

It is ironic that the very thing we need to sustain life, we fear. That that cleanses us, can drown us. Faith and fear, which road will we take?   The same is true of our Lord Jesus with one big exception; there is nothing at all to fear about our 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 Proper 21: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 102; Evening, Psalm 107:1 to 32;
2^nd Kings 19:1 to 20; 1^st  Corinthians 9:16 to 27; Matthew 8:1 to 17:

“When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.  I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour;” (Matthew 8:10 to 13).

It seems that our Lord Jesus was the first to bring the Good News to the Gentiles. Jesus is amazed at the faith of the centurion.  The centurion compares the power of Jesus who can order diseases and evil spirits to depart, to his own human power to order soldiers around.  He does this through his faith in Jesus.

In this Gospel reading Jesus heals a leper, the servant of the centurion, Peter’s mother-in-law and a host of others brought to him later that same day.  It makes no difference to Jesus whether the people are Jews or Gentiles, or men or women.  Our Lord Jesus only needs someone in the mix to have faith. It could be the person in need or someone petitioning on behalf of a person in need. Our Lord Jesus uses our faith to heal us and those we love, and later, to save us and, hopefully to turn around those we love so that they too might be saved and meet Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in all eternity.

As we approach the Sabbath tonight, ponder about the strength of your faith.  Do you put your whole trust in the healing power of Christ Jesus? Do you do this for yourself as well as for the healing of those you love?  Our Lord Jesus is still looking for our faith in order to heal us and save us.  Rest, this evening and tomorrow, in the sure and certain knowledge that God in Christ Jesus loves you regardless of your ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, nationality, or language, or even your faith tradition. God just loves us no matter what. Jesus explains that our connection and response to God is through our faith in God’s call on our lives.  I believe this call was made manifest in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.  Acknowledge God this Sabbath.

“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