onewhoponders

This is the Sixth Day of Christmas: 2020

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday, December 30, 2020: Year 1

AM Psalms 20 and 21:1 to 7; PM Psalms 23 and 27;

 1 Kings 17:17 to 24; Revelation 1:9 to 20; John 7:53 to 8:11;

“When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’”  (John 8:7 -9)

I always thought this adultery thing took two.  Where is the other party?  Perhaps this person was in the crowd, with a stone in his hand.  How sad. Jesus taught us to forgive one another.

If being forgiven is the greatest gift we can ever receive from someone, then it is also the greatest gift we can ever give to someone. Can’t find it in a store, it’s in your heart.

Forgive someone this Christmas and accept being forgiven. Merry Christmas: Day 6

Let us believe with patience, and have patience in believing. Merry Christmas: Day 5

We are never to hurt or harm children, only help them, teach them, save and love them. This is what Christmas is all about. Merry Christmas: Day 4

The testimony of John the apostle about our Lord Jesus is true; Believe.  Merry Christmas: Day 3

Let us not take our hate or ill will for another with us to our mortal death.  Merry Christmas: Day 2

Our being saved has as much to do with the birth of Jesus as it does his Resurrection from the dead.  Merry Christmas: Day 1

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

This is the Fifth Day of Christmas

Daily Office Readings for December 29 (Revised from the same date for 2019)

AM Psalm 18: ,Isaiah 12:1 to 6; Revelation 1:1 to 8; John 7:37 to 52;

On this 5^th Day of Christmas our Scripture brought to us Patience for The Holy Spirit.

“Now he [Jesus] said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:39 NRSV)

It often happens in the Gospel of John that the Evangelist speaks directly to the reader.  The Evangelist wants to inform, or shape, how we interpret what we read or in this case, fill in the details we might not realize.  In this case we are told of the absence of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps the absence was only in our earthly sphere.  For we know that our Triune God has always been, and will always be in all God’s holy manifestations. In John’s Gospel chapter 15:26 we read: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. Therefore, we have never really been without the Holy Spirit.

All this leads me to share with you the basis of my own belief.  I affirm and hold as sacred our Nicene and Apostles Creeds.  But I have crafted my own words that more accurately describe what is really going on in my faith.  And while Jesus, and Mary and Pontius Pilate are not mentioned by name, Jesus is at least implied to as the Incarnate Word and my statement of faith is Trinitarian. I also borrowed and modified Paul’s words.  But here it goes: I believe in God through the Holy Spirit of the Incarnate Word in whom we live, and move, and love, and have our being, and to whom we must give an account. So, I believe it is the Holy Spirit of Jesus that enables me to believe in God just as it is laid out in the Gospel of Matthew where it is written:  “ But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”   Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:15 – 17)  Therefore our ability to believe is a gift from God. We however must have patience so as to let God in and install the “belief” program, and then use it.

Let us believe with patience and have patience in believing. Merry Christmas: Day 5

We are never to hurt or harm children, only help them, teach them, save and love them. This is what Christmas is all about. Merry Christmas: Day 4

The testimony of John the apostle about our Lord Jesus is true; Believe.  Merry Christmas: Day 3

For, had Jesus not been born, he could not have died.  Merry Christmas: Day 2

We need to stop fighting and start loving because that’s who we are really made to be. Merry Christmas: Day 1

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

This is the Fourth Day of Christmas

Eucharistic Readings for Holy Innocence

Jeremiah 31:15 to 17;  Psalm 124;  Revelation 21:1 to 7;  Matthew 2:13 to 18;

“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:18 and Jeremiah 31:15)

This Matthew reading comes from the sadness of the atrocities of Herod in the slaughter of the innocent babies in and around Bethlehem in his effort to kill the new born King.

Reprinted from last year:

I know a Rachel who has no children and yet she is a perfect mother. She is kind and gentle, very smart and nurturing.  Children, when we are blessed with them, are a gift from God. And because they are precious in God’s sight, they should be precious in our sight as well.  After all, we are made in the Image of God.

We are never to hurt or harm children, only help them, teach them, save and love them. This is what Christmas is all about. Merry Christmas: Day 4

The testimony of John the apostle about our Lord Jesus is true; Believe.  Merry Christmas: Day 3

For, had Jesus not been born, he could not have died.  Merry Christmas: Day 2

We need to stop fighting and start loving because that’s who we are really made to be. Merry Christmas: Day 1

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

Daily Office Readings for the 1^st Sunday of Christmas: Year 1

AM Psalms 93 and 96; PM ;Psalm 34
Isaiah 62:6 to 7, 10-12; Hebrews 2: 10 to 18; Matthew 1:18 to 25

Today is St John’s Day

Eucharistic Readings for St John the Evangelist

Exodus 33:18-23; Psalm 92; 1John 1:1 – 9: John 21: 19b – 24;

“This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. (John 21:24)

John is one of at least five Apostles that the Gospel shows evidence of being handpicked by Jesus.  True, the Gospel says he had 12 but some were just joiners I guess.  John, James, Simon (Peter) and Andrew, and later Matthew (Levi; Matthew 9:9) were actually invited with the words, “follow me,” and they accepted.  There was also the rich young man but he declined. (Matthew 19:21)  His name could have been among the 12, He was invited but his many possessions had control of him.

John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1: 1 – 3). We have a beginning from One who has no beginning.

We must recognize the testimony of John as a divine message. All of his words, from the Gospel according to John, his pastoral letters, and the Divine Revelation from our Lord Jesus, are God’s doing, and it is for our benefit. Thank You Lord Jesus.

The testimony of John the apostle about our Lord Jesus is true; Believe.  Merry Christmas: Day 3

For, had Jesus not been born, he could not have died.  Merry Christmas: Day 2

We need to stop fighting and start loving because that’s who we are really made to be. Merry Christmas: Day 1

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John

 AM Psalm 28 and 30; 2^nd Chronicles 24:17 to 22; Acts 6:1 to 7;
PM Psalm 118; Wisdom 4:7 to 15; Acts 7:59 to 8:8

This is the Second Day of Christmas, and it is St Stephen’s Day

Eucharistic Readings for St. Stephens

Jeremiah 26:1-9,12-15  Psalm 31; Acts 6:8-7:2a,51c-60;  Matthew 23:34-39

“Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.” (Acts 7:60)

As a priest, and a servant of our Lord Jesus, I am not in total agreement with how our first deacons were formed.  As I understand it, deacons were formed in order to excuse priests from the responsibility of feeding those who were hungry, (Acts 6) which is what Jesus did at every opportunity he found. In fact he said to the apostles, “You feed them.”  (Matthew 14:16)  However, more than that, and in keeping with today’s focus, Deacon Stephen’s devotion to God through Jesus is most remarkable.

Stephen knows his faith history and relates it to those who falsely judge him.  He has every right to be angry about how they are treating him, however, he lets love prevail. Psalm 31:13 – 16 may hold comforting words for Stephen and for any who are held in contempt.  For it reads:

13: For I have heard the whispering of the crowd; fear is all around; they put their heads together against me; they plot to take my life.

14: But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. I have said, “You are my God.

15: My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.

16: Make your face to shine upon your servant, and in your loving-kindness save me.”   (Psalm 31:13 to16)

I believe Stephen was saved, not from mortal death, but from eternal death. And as he goes, he shares with us a very important lesson. Our being saved has as much to do with the birth of Jesus as it does for his Resurrection from the dead.

For, had Jesus not been born, he could not have died.  Merry Christmas: Day 2

We need to stop fighting and start loving because that’s who we are really made to be. Merry Christmas: Day 1

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Christmas Day, the 1^st Day of Christmas 2020: Year 1

AM Psalms 2 and 85; PM Psalms 110:1-5 and 132;
Zechariah 2:10 to 13; 1 John 4:7 to 16; John 3:31 to 36

“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.” (1^st John 4:9)

What and opportunity we have.  Through our Lord Jesus we can live a more loving life.  Through our Lord Jesus we can be more God-like. This is the annual day and season we have selected to remember the human birth of our Lord Jesus.  He was born in a low socio-economic situation, and we are told, in a stable because there was no room for the traveling couple in the inn itself. Even this makes me look at my own life and how I should act if someone struggling really needs a provision that I might take for granted.  It’s something to ponder about. How would living through the life of Jesus have me respond to the needs of those whose situation is more desperate than my own?

“In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1^st John 4:10)  God loved us before we loved God.  However, once we know about God, and how much God loves us, and how God cares for us, we can’t, (I can’t), help but love God back.  The person of our Lord Jesus, Almighty God in human form, gives me a Way of loving response whereby I, in my limited human ability, can love God back.

This day, and for the next eleven days, we remember God being born into humanity. God came among us to teach us about love.  “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” (1^st John 4:16)  And for this gift of love, I say, Thank You Lord Jesus.

We need to stop fighting and start loving because that’s who we are really made to be. Merry Christmas: Day 1

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do. John

Part 1 of 3

AM: Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the 4^th Week of Advent 2020: Christmas Eve: Year 1

Psalms 45 and 46;
Isaiah 29:13 to 24; Revelation 22: 12 to 17 and 21; Luke 1:39 to 56)

“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” (Luke 1: 46 and 47)

I ask you all to listen again to the Christmas song “Mary did you know.”  I like two lines in particular.  One that says, “The child that you delivered, will soon deliver you.” And “Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb? That sleeping child you’re holding is the great, I Am.” It’s powerful stuff.  Find it and listen to it again, please.

Part 2 of 3

PM: Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the 4^th Week of Advent 2020: Year 1

Christmas Eve: Psalm 89:1-2
Isaiah 59:15b to 21; Philemon 2:5 to11”

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” (Philemon 2: 5 to 7)

Our Lord Jesus has set the example for us. We should empty our selves also as he did.  Let us then be filled with the Holy Spirit of God, this Christmas and for evermore.

Part 3 of 3

Eucharistic Readings for Christmas Eve

Isaiah 9:2 to 7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11 to 14:  Luke 2:1 to 20:

The First Night Before Christmas

It was me and my buddies out watching our sheep,

The night was quiet, not one of them bleeped.

It was so quiet in fact, we were about to sleep,

When we noticed someone out by the sheep.

Then all at once it became very clear,

No ordinary person was visiting us here.

We were all afraid, but he said “Fear Not.”

And then there were more, and their numbers wouldn’t stop.

He said go to Bethlehem and see the Baby,

He is the Word of God, there is no maybe.

He said the baby’s in Bethlehem, lying in a manger,

He can save you all, from permanent danger.

Then they all left, praising God for this birth,

Just like they came, they were all gone from the earth.

Then I and my friends said, “let’s go if we’re able,”

To Bethlehem there, and straight to the stable.

And there we were on a cold winter’s night,

We saw Mary, Joseph and Baby, what a sight!

We told them everything, right from the start,

But Mary just smiled, kept our words in her heart.

So we left there then in the thick of the night,

Asking you to thank God with all of your might.

Luke 2: 8 – 20

The Reverend John Thomas Frazier 2006

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the 4^th Week of Advent 2020: Year 1

AM Psalm 72; PM Psalms111 and 113:
Isaiah 28:9 to 22; Revelation 21:9 to 21; Luke 1:26 to 38

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; those who act accordingly have a good understanding; his praise endures for ever.” (Psalm 111:10)

In my studies lately I have tried to seek out the more contemplative words to ponder on.  This verse from Psalm 111 resonates with my desire to more fully seek out God.

I think the first word to translate here is the word “fear.”  Fear in this case means, “regard” or “respect.” for God.  While it doesn’t always mean love for God, it does mean acknowledging the existence of God.  In the story of Job, Job had grievances with God but never denied the existence of God or the absolute power of God.  He may not have loved God through his ordeal, but he never doubted that God is the final authority; like it or not.

So regard and respect for the existence of God goes a long way in helping us to understand creation, all that is, and all that ever will be. Trying to believe that creation “just happened,” get’s me nowhere.  Within creation, I ponder what it reveals about the Creator, and humanity’s role and purpose in it. What is our call within creation? 

A part of me believes that our loving God calls us to be stewards of this planet. It is an even balance for us; a give-and-take relationship.  The planet feeds us, gives us air to breath and cares for us, and then, we, in turn watch it and do our best to keep it in ecological equilibrium. If we do things right, perhaps no other creatures will go the way of prehistoric beasts. We were brought forth to prevent such loss from happening again.  Therefore, our existence (at least in part) is evidence of God’s love of God’s creation, and this fragile earth our island home, in particular.

Perhaps another purpose for humanity is to reflect on God with the gifts of art; God’s image of the Creator in the created. The beginning of our wisdom is made manifest in our God-given creativity.  We make crafts, pictures and music, and all such little creations can be used to praise the Creator.  In this way we give back to the Creator in our praise of God, and our praise (not fear) for God endures forever.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of the 4^th Week of Advent 2020: Year 1

AM Psalms 66 and 67; PM Psalms 116 and 117;
Isaiah 11:10 to 16; Revelation 20:11 to 21:8; Luke 1:5 to 25

“The angel replied, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.” (Luke 1: 19 and 20)

The angel Gabriel lost his patience with Zechariah because he doubted.  So he made Zechariah mute until an appointed time. I’m guessing that was okay with God since angels have the blessing and authority from God. It seems angels and saints from the court of heaven have some latitude as far as we mortals are concerned. We’d best be careful.

Being mute may not be such a bad thing. When I am silent, my mind opens.  I am then able to realize more about what is going on in the world and with me personally, than when I am running my mouth. This is why meditative prayer is so important. Many of the saints that I have studied, like St. John of the Cross and Evelyn Underhill for example, were muted with imprisonment or sickness (respectively), when they created their greatest works of writing. So how about you and me volunteering to be muted in order that we too might receive divine inspiration?

About angels; they never come or go.  They are revealed and then they are hidden. But they are always with us, even if not seen, and even while with us, they stand in the presence of God.  And having divine authority from on high, they watch us closely. Perhaps it is from them, angels like Gabriel, that we too receive our revelations from God. But let us not be forced into quietness.  Rather, let us make a few moments of quiet resolve a part of our natural daily rhythm. Zechariah was probably angry when muted. But let’s look at what Zechariah gleaned from his quiet time from the Gospel of Luke:

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”  (Luke 1: 68 to 79)        

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do. John              

Daily Office Readings for Monday of the 4^th Week of Advent 2020: Year 1

AM Psalms 61 and 62; PM Psalms 112 and 115:
Isaiah 11:1 to 9; Revelation 20:1 to 10; John 5:30 to 47

“God has spoken once, twice have I heard it, that power belongs to God.”  (Psalm 62: 11 or 13 depending on the translation)

There are two ways to interpret this verse.  First, it could mean that God has said it once but to two peoples, once in the Hebrew Testament, and once in the Christian Testament.  Therefore, if we are Christian, we hear God’s Word twice, once in each Testament.

The other way to understand this verse is that Power itself (that Power, all power) belongs to God, no matter who uses power, even if it is misused, it is God’s power.  So we move from the number of times we have heard it to what it is that is being heard. Has God told us in the Hebrew Testament that power belongs to God, and then again in the Christian Testament, that power belongs to God?

In today’s Gospel reading we see where Jesus tells them that Moses of the Hebrew Testament has already written about eternal life.  But they didn’t believe it and he said to them, “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?’ (John 5: 45 to 47) 

We, as Christians, have the Hebrew and Christian Testaments (Old and New).  This is God speaking to us through the two Books of the Bible.  Truly such power really does belong to God. Our Lord Jesus reminds us of the ancient words of God in our New Testament. God does not speak it twice, but rather, it reverberates through the Old Testament to the New Testament from the prophets to the saints. And so we hear it twice. We should be reading the whole Bible.

The truth is, it makes no difference how many times we hear God’s word if we are not going to change our ways.  Hearing it twice, or one hundred times, makes no difference if we are resistant to the message of love that God wants us to have.  We need to listen to, and respond to, the prophets and saints that carry God’s message, in both scriptures and in person. “God has spoken once, twice have I heard it, that power belongs to God.”

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying to, and through, the saints of God, and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do. John