onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 13: Year 1

 Morning, Psalm 78:1 to 39; Evening,  Psalm 78:40 to 72;
2^nd  Samuel 7:18 to 29; Acts 18:12 to 28; Mark 8:22 to 33

“Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures.  He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John:” (Acts 18: 24 and 25).

My initial thought about Apollos’ baptism of John is that that is the only baptism that Jesus himself knew. Now John the Baptist did talk of a baptism by fire and the Holy Spirit by Jesus, but there is no record of any baptism by Jesus himself, although he did set the example for all who choose to follow him by being baptized.

It was the 17^th Century Anglican Priest, Richard Hooker, who said as Anglicans we have Scripture, Tradition, and Reason as our three-legged stool.  And, unlike other Christian traditions of faith, we acknowledge that if any one of the three legs were missing, the stool would topple. Not only that, each leg must be the same length or there is unbalance.

Baptism breaches the line between Scripture and Church Tradition.  It is Scripture that has been interpreted by the Church in many different ways depending on one’s particular Christian faith tradition. While everyone in the Bible were consenting adults, at least the individuals we read about, there are occasions where like with Lydia’s “household” being baptized, we don’t know the makeup of such households.  There are other cases where households were moved to being baptized due to miraculous signs by the apostles.  It is the Acts of the Apostles that really begins our Christian Church no matter what stripe we are.  Baptism is the making of the Christian.

We must acknowledge however, that Apollos, in our Acts reading for today, “was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures.”  And, he was baptized.  So as far as he was concerned, he had done everything right.

The Acts story continues, “[Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately:” (Acts 18: 27). This still happens today. People move around from Church to Church as they grow in the faith.  Apollos listened to Priscilla and Aquila and their teaching made sense to him. He already had the gifts, they just needed to be focused. Later, he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers.  Grace then is the love component poured on us by God in Baptism (water poured on, or immersed in).

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 13: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 80; Evening, Psalm 77;
2^nd  Samuel 7:1 to 17; Acts 18:1 to 11; Mark 8:11 to 21

“I commune with my heart in the night; I ponder and search my mind. (Psalm 77: 6)

As most all of my readers know, my ponderings are a reflection derived from the Daily Office readings of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church. My ponderings are theological and meant to share for the theological enhancement of all who may read what I share.

Rarely do I attempt to connect a theme with all the readings for a given day.  But today is an exception.  For some reason I think I see something of the nature of God. I’m just pondering.

I am moved by the number of repeats in our different readings for today.  Let me give you some examples. In our first Psalm recommended for the morning, Psalm 80, we read, “Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved:” (Psalm 80: 3 times this is said).  We do need the light of God’s countenance.  And it is only with it that we will be saved. 

In Psalm 77 recommended for the evening I catch the repeated “pondering” that goes on. We read, “I think of God, I am restless, I ponder, and my spirit faints. (Psalm 77:3).  And again, “I commune with my heart in the night; I ponder and search my mind. (Psalm 77: 6).  And once more, “I will meditate on all your acts and ponder your mighty deeds:” (Psalm 77:12).

Our God seems to be and outdoorsy kind of God.  God is with us in tents in 2^nd Samuel and with tent makers in the Acts of the Apostles

In our 2^nd Samuel reading, God doesn’t seem to want a house but then says later that God does want one, but it will be built by an ancestor of David.  This is thought to be Solomon.  But what if, I ponder, the house is not one built with hands, but a house of faith, eternal in the heavens.  Eternal in the heavens, now that’s very outdoorsy. 

Paul is outdoors during most of his preaching and teaching. It is revealed that he never loses his vocation of tent making. I like that.  I have always felt the those of us who teach and preach for God should also carry their own weight in community occupations like everybody else.  Ironic that while Paul’s preaching and teaching is mostly outdoors, his vocation is one of covering people with tents. It’s okay, he’s got us covered in more ways than one.

God in Christ Jesus is with us in boats in our Gospel for today.  But if we care to notice, much of our Lord Jesus’ activity is in, or around, boats. Jesus reveals the outdoorsy nature of God.

I ponder that maybe being outside might often bring us closer to God as we are saved by the light of God’s countenance, in a tent or in a boat; but mostly, in our minds.

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Part 1 of 2

Daily Office Readings for Sunday of Proper 13: Year 1

Psalms 93 and 96; Evening,  Psalm 34;
2^nd  Samuel 6:12 to 23; Romans 14:7 to 12; John 1:43 to 51:

“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me:” (John 1:43).

Everybody is finding somebody.  Jesus finds Philip, and then Philip finds Nathanael. Nathanael wonders about the goodness of Jesus because he is from Nazareth. But Jesus is sure of the goodness of Nathanael who is an “Israelite in whom there is not deceit.” Are you sure about our Lord Jesus?  Can our Lord Jesus be sure about you?   

Part 2 of 2

New Testament Readings for Sunday of Proper 13: Year B

Ephesians 4:1 to 16 and John 6:24 to 35:

“Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves:” (John 6: 26)

Jesus has just informed them that they witnessed a sign of who he is in the increased amount of food, both fish and bread.  After which, he walked on the water but granted, all of them did not see that. Yet, as they locate him the next day, they demand a sign from him and they use God feeding their ancestors the manna.  So they said to Jesus, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?” (John 6:30)

I wonder if we too are standing in the middle of miracles and yet can’t see them.  Our Lord Jesus taught the people, healed the people, and fed the people.  Are we sometimes so fixated on one kind of miracle that we can’t see other signs that our Lord Jesus is doing right in front of us? 

The people were all about food miracles even remembering the manna of Moses.  Perhaps they should have been more focused on what they believed. Jesus tells them and us, the work that pleases God is the work of believing. It is not body sweat, but rather, soul sweat. Believing is work. It is the work of the heart. What you believe shapes everything you do. So, can we control what we believe?  We say we believe in God, we believe in Jesus, and we believe in the Holy Spirit. But does that translate into loving our neighbor as our Savior loves us, and asks us to do?

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 12: Year 1

Morning,  Psalms 75 and 76; Evening, Psalms 23 and 27;
2^nd  Samuel 5:22 to 6:11; Acts 17:16 to 34; Mark 8:1 to 10:

“The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things:” (Acts 17: 24 and 25)

These words above seem to refute our 2^nd Samuel reading where the Presence of God was dwelling in a work of art made by human hands. The 2^nd Samuel reading says, “David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim. (2^nd Samuel:” 6:2)

As a Christian I believe that God truly did dwell among us but not in any work of art that we made. No, The Great Creator was pleased to dwell in the person of our Lord Jesus. And since then the continuing words of Paul ring true:“For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we too are his offspring.” (Acts 17:28)

I recall roughly the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel in his book The Sabbath.  He basically said,  “it is not places or things that are holy, but rather we have holy times:” (not a word for word quote but the meaning is exact). Rabbi Heschel was talking about the importance of the Sabbath (today). But within his words we learn that while we have precious jewelry and crafts, and beautiful stained glass windows, and Icons, and even our Bibles and Prayer Books, the Presence of God does not reside in them.  All of these are the works of human hands by which we humans may direct our prayers and worship to God. We do not pray to them, we pray through them.  The time we spend with such objects is more holy than the objects themselves.

I spend time daily with scripture, Christian music, and faith groups.  In these times I pray and try to connect to God in prayer.  God is Good, all the time. While I am aware that I am still a work in progress, it is progress. I am gaining more insight as I slowly move along.  Faith in the One in whom we live and move and have our being is life saving and sustaining. My message to everyone of to find something that puts you in a spiritual mood, and then find a place that is soothing and comfortable for you, and at the junction of thing and place and within the time you have made there, God will visit you through your efforts.

Love is the most powerful force in the universe. And Guess what? God is love.  If given the time, the love of God will transform you. It is written somewhere in scripture that the Altar is more holy that the things put on it to be blessed.  Our Time is our personal Altar. What will you put on it to be blessed?

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Friday of Proper 12: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 69; Evening, Psalm 73;
2^nd  Samuel 5:1to 12; Acts 17:1 to 15; Mark 7:24 to 37

“But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone:” (Mark 7: 28 to 30)

This is probably one of the greatest examples of humility in the Bible.  The Gentile (Syrophoenician) woman and mother will go to whomever she can to rid her daughter of a demon.

The lesson for us is to not boast about our ethnicity, race, culture or ancestry.  I continue to preach that it is not, what you are, that means anything, but rather, who you are, that means everything.  The only blood relationship that mattered to the Syrophoenician woman is the direct offspring of her daughter. Will her daughter appreciate her mother’s courage and devoted love for her when she is old enough to realize what her mother did to save her?  Who knows?

I agree with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” It is the content of one’s character that determines who a person really is.

Our Lord Jesus felt the faith, love and humility of the Syrophoenician mother.  Our Lord Jesus still feels the faith love and humility of each of us no matter our race, country of origin, language, or ancestry.  We, all of us are people, brought forth in the spiritual image of the Creator.

We were brought forth by love, to love. All barriers set up by humankind such as race, language, nationality, and sexual orientation depreciation, have their origin in the desire to disrupt our God-given gift of love for one another. We are most especially gifted to love those who differ from us in looks and desires.  Too often, what a person looks like and, or, what they want in life, makes us judge them harshly.  This ought not to be.  Let us look upon our brothers and sisters as they express their joy in their vocations, their hobbies, their love of family, or their love of their significant other.  We should not want anybody to be sad or miserable. When our neighbor is joyful, we can share in their joy.  Sharing in the healthy joy of others shows the content of our character.

For this evening and tomorrow day my friends; Shabbat Shalom.

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 12: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 71; Evening, Psalm 74;
2^nd  Samuel 4:1 to 12; Acts 16:25 to 40; Mark 7:1 to 23:

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them:” (Acts 16: 25).

Before I get to the holy habits of Paul and Silas and their systematic worship of prayer and song, let me remind us about the habits of David. He regularly killed those whom he felt wronged him.  He had habits of “getting even.”  I find this most ungodly. David killed, or had people killed who thought they were doing what he wanted them to do.  I understand that it was a time of no communications technology and  commander’s intent was not always known.  Perhaps more effort could have been made to ensure his troops understood that he did not want everybody killed, but rather brought before him.  Don’t get me wrong. I honor the contributions of David, especially the Psalms he wrote. But every biblical hero we have, had flaws, except our Lord Jesus.

Paul and Silas, while haven been bound and whipped with rods, they sang songs to God and they prayed when they could. I hope two things for myself. First, I hope I have the steadfast dedication to love, worship an honor God, even if only half as much as Paul and Silas did. Second, I really hope and pray that I am never tested like they were.

Saul (later Paul), with the direction of the Risen Lord, was transformed from one who, like David of old, was moved from supporting having people killed to one who desired all to have hope for eternal life. As Paul and Silas sang and prayed, the prisoners around them listened and witnessed their inner strength. Hope was spread throughout the dark and dirty chamber of confinement. The men were transformed so much so that when the earthquake occurred and everyone’s chains were unfastened, they didn’t flee, as I think I would be inclined to do.  But no, they were drawn to the light that Paul and Silas were illuminating. The prisoners as well as the jailer realized and experienced a power greater than the limitations of human life with its mortal hurts and pains.  The jailer himself went from wanting to kill himself to having his whole household baptized.

Witnessing the power of our Lord Jesus is transformative. David was a man of writing Psalms and harp playing.  Paul too wrote letters, prayed and sang hymns, even as he had to remember Steven being stoned earlier when he assisted in such an act of sin; (Acts 8:1).  David and Paul, like ourselves, can be transformed. We too can experience conversion. It seems that the prescription for such healing has something to do with praying and singing hymns. It may take us a while, but it works. And when we sing and pray, it not only changes us, it improves the lives of those around us.

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of  Proper 12: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 72; Evening, Psalm 119:73 to 96;
2^nd  Samuel 3:22 to 39; Acts 16:16 to 24; Mark 6:47 to 56

“Today I am powerless, even though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too violent for me. The Lord pay back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness:” (2^nd Samuel 3:39)

David is sad that Abner, whom he sent away in peace, has been killed out of revenge.  David articulates his limitations. He is the King of Israel, he doesn’t have to acknowledge his weakness, but he does. 

David has shown that he can be a man of violence when necessary. But he maintains that he is not an intentionally an evil man. I will reserve judgment about that. After all, he will, in the future, have one of his subordinate leaders killed in order that he might have his wife, but that’s later. Right now, he says something I want to ponder; and that is, “These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too violent for me.”

I see or hear of mean and evil people on the news almost every day that are too violent for me.  And while I often reject Psalms, or parts of Psalms which contain words of vindictiveness, I do ponder about David’s words asking God to “Pay back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness;”  I guess it stands to reason that the author of the Psalms would utter these words of payback, or revenge.

The problem I have with revenge is that it produces what I call “consequential behavior.”  Consequential behavior is the behavior we do, or not do, based on what the community will do to us if discovered.  I would much rather people have a change of heart and behave in such a way as they themselves would want to be treated.  The old eye for an eye does not work.  It operates from a hate brought about because of the love we had for the one injured, mistreated or killed. However, I will agree with David that God can deal with people according to their deeds, that is, according with their wickedness.  I will admit that I believe some people are unfortunately bent on being bad.

I believe the preferred way to deal with all people is to appeal to their goodness. The goodness of some people is deeper inside them than others. It can be hard, but rewarding work to dig out the goodness in them.  True sorrow and the accompanying repentance is worth the effort required of counseling.  The search for the elusive goodness in some people may be too difficult for the novice counselor or family member. However, prayer to God from the love you have for them, also works.

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 12: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 61 and 62; Evening, Psalm 68;
2^nd  Samuel 3:6 to 21; Acts 16:6 to 15; Mark 6:30 to 46:

“On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there:” (Acts 16:13).

Paul was in Philippi but apparently there was no synagogue. So Paul went outside the gate by the river.  I ponder about whether or not this was the normal custom that an Israelite, or Christian, or any traveling worshiper looking for his or her faith community might do if there was no designated place for prayer.

I feel like there is something nice about being outside in nature that provides a closeness to God. I especially connect with the Holy at the beach or in the mountains.  But I have also felt a closeness to God in open plains as well.  God is everywhere.  Buildings built especially for the purpose of drawing us into the spiritual sense sometimes fail.  We perhaps maybe just need to get outside more often and save buildings for rainy days.  Our Lord Jesus performed most of his healing and teaching outside.  Every part of this earth is sacred and holds a spiritual conduit to God.

Lydia is a person to ponder. While she obviously has a spacious home, large enough to house Paul and his companions, (more on that next), she herself was outside for worship. She was a business woman and a prominent member of her community. But it seems that going down by the water to pray is as ancient a human calling as is keeping a fire going.  It sometimes can’t be explained it just is.

Lastly, there is something else in this verse that I want to explore, or ponder about. When we read words like “When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us:” (Acts 16: 15) 

 I ponder about who the, “us,” are that the writer is talking about?  We believe that the writer was Luke who wrote the Gospel account named after him as well as these “Acts of the Apostles.”  Perhaps Luke is a hidden tag-a-long on Paul’s journeys.  He records everything but does not mention himself. For me, this is another lesson in the humility of invisibility. I am learning that I don’t need to be the center of things and certainly should not bring attention to myself for some kind of human credit. The only credit we should care about is how God sees the love in our hearts.

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper12: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 56 and 57, ; Evening, Psalms 64 and 65;
2^nd  Samuel 2:1 to 11; Acts 15:36 to 16:5; Mark 6:14 to 29:

The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and set out, the believers commending him to the grace of the Lord:” (Acts 15: 39 and 49).

Splitting in the Christian Church is as old as the Church is.  There is a little evidence of this at the Resurrection of our Lord when Thomas was not with the eleven and had to be told that they had seen the Risen Jesus. If we look closely we can see a little divisiveness in many places.

As our Church grew it split more and more. I have traced the thread that leads to the Episcopal Church of the United States.  The Church starts at the foot of the Cross. From there it moves to Rome. But for some who doubted the first leadership, that path never made it to Rome but rather went to Egypt, Asia, and other places. 

From the Church in Rome came the Western and Eastern Churches. From the Western Church came the Roman Catholic Church and from this Church came the Church of England. From the Church of England came the Episcopal Church of the United States of America.

Even our Episcopal Church has had a split as those of us who opposed the leadership of women; and also could not accept the full embrace of our brothers and sisters whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual, and felt that they could no longer worship with us.

Many of our splits are not well thought out.  While is sounds old fashioned to say “What would Jesus do?” there is truth in it.  Any step away that encourages us not to love another is not Christ-like. Women had leadership positions with Jesus and we have no language from Jesus regarding homosexual rejection.  I feel like, sadly, we look for reasons (any reason), to separate from the main body of Christ. 

My hope and prayer is that at some level, no matter how small, we began the process of coming back together. It may take another thousand years or more. But I would like to see a Christian body reject the notion of splitting because something didn’t go their way. I would like to see something like a Lutheran, Methodist, and/or Episcopal merger. Wow! This would reverse what Paul and Barnabas did 2000 years ago.  If we could let our love of Jesus hold us together regardless of our selfish desires for the path of the Church, we would indeed be more Christ-like.

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Part 1 of 2

Daily office Readings for Sunday of Proper 12: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 24 and 29; Evening, Psalm 8 and 84;
2^nd  Samuel 1:17 to 27; Romans 12:9 to 21; Matthew 25:31 to 46:

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me;” (Matthew 25: 40)

In Matthew, this is the separation of the sheep from the goats. It is a metaphor.  In this metaphor goats represent those of us who do not see ourselves as the family of Jesus. Sheep however, are identified as members of the family of Jesus.  This metaphor suggests that the real identification is one of a caring heart rather than an indifferent one. The good news is that we can be transformed from goat to sheep without harsh surgery or DNA injections.   We just have to have a change of heart. This we can do if we really want to.

Part 2 of 2

Eucharistic New Testament Readings for Sunday of Proper 12: Year B

Ephesians 3:14 to 21  and  John 6:1 to 21:

“When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself:” (John 6: 15)

Jesus will testify that he came to serve and not to be served.  He also does not want to continue the failed idea of having a king even though he was also fully God. The king paradigm had to be destroyed. It was wrong when they asked for Saul to be king, and it’s wrong today.  Jesus will have no part of it. Also, monarchies suggest that child heirs will be as good a ruler as were their parents. But history has shown different.  The best leaders are elected from the midst of the people, and for a limited time.  

God is our king. Also, God in Christ Jesus is our king. The Kingdom of God is not one of physical might but rather, of love, compassion and mercy. Love, compassion and mercy will transfer us to eternal life because they are the essence of eternal life.  Mighty physical power is temporal. It will decompose and return to the nothingness from whence it came.  But love, compassion and mercy are forever and without end.

Let us live to love, rather than just live to live, listening to what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John