onewhoponders

Part 1 of 2

Daily Office Readings for Trinity Sunday: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 146 and 147; Evening, Psalms 111, 112 and 113;
Ecclesiasticus 43:1 to 12 and optionally (27 to 33); Ephesians 4:1 to 16; John 1:1 to 18“

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it:” (John 1:1 to 5)

For many years, even before seeking ordination, these words of the prologue to the Gospel of John have guided my faith as a Christian. It is in this “light that shines in the darkness,” that we listen to Nicodemus in our Eucharistic lesson from John.  Our Lord Jesus is about what His self-same Creating and Sustaining God is doing for our salvation. And I am thankful.

Part 2 of 2

Eucharistic Readings for Trinity Sunday: Year B

Isaiah 6:1 to 8;  Psalm 29 ; Romans 8:12 to 17;   John 3:1 to17:

“There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God:” (John 3:1 and 2). 

Then that is enough Nicodemus. If you “know” that our Lord Jesus has come from God because no one can do these signs apart from God, then just listen and obey.  Get out of the darkness Nicodemus, and bring me with you.

Jesus further explains, “No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life:” (John 3: 13 to 15).  This “lifting up” that Jesus speaks of has been explained by many commentaries as the lifting up on the cross. But I ponder that it is his being lifted up in His Ascension, in His being re-seated on the judgment seat, the seat from whence he came before time began. 

So how much does God love us? “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life: (John 3:16).  This is perhaps the most repeated verse by Christians, and at the same time, not appreciated.  Few realize that Jesus is still speaking to Nicodemus (and us) in the darkness of our unbelief.  Nicodemus will be a convert to the faith of the Jesus Way and be there at his burial.  Jesus continues, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him:” (John 3:17).  First and foremost, God is all about love, love for us. We are called by Love, in order that we might also love. For this Trinity Sunday I don’t know how much of a Trinitarian I am. I can’t get past Jesus saying that God is Spirit (John 4:24), and Jesus Himself, Incarnate and left us in order to send us the Holy Spirit of God in Himself. It’s confusing, but I don’t try to understand. I just believe and trust, and try to love all people. Real Christianity is certainly not for the faint of heart.  Blessed be the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier: Amen.

 Let us live to love, more than just love 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 3: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 30 and  32; Evening, Psalms 42 and  43;
Deuteronomy  5:22 to 33; 2^nd Corinthians 4:13 to 5:10; Luke 16:19 to 31:

 “Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God;” (2^nd Corinthians 4: 15).

This is so true, we need the Lord’s grace in order to show more and more people that they only have their being through God in Christ Jesus.  In this way, hopefully, more and more people will be thankful for that forgiving and merciful grace.

I often ponder about life after death.  I know that I didn’t have to be.  But I am. I do exist. I have come to realize that I have an invitation to live on past this mortal state of being.  From my understanding as a Christian, what I believe and trust in, has a great deal to do with being received and kept forever into a resurrection life. 

In our Luke reading for today we have the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  They both die and enter into an unequal after-life divided by a “great chasm.” This Gospel lesson as well as other text of the Bible lead me to believe that all people will rise beyond this life, at least, initially.  Personally, I don’t believe a loving God will keep us in some kind of eternal torment. I think that if we are inconsistent with the love of God at our individual awakening we just cease to exist. I don’t want that. I want to enjoy living and loving for all eternity on the comfort side of the great chasm.

Paul refers to our present life as a life living in a tent, a tent that will wear out eventually. He says, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2^nd Corinthians 5:1)

My personal and informal creed is a belief statement I wrote for myself. It is an elevator statement that can be quickly delivered about what I believe. Here it is, “I Trust in the Creating Word 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.” 

I don’t know what it is like to not exist and I don’t want to know. I am thankful that I have life and I want it for all people “so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”

Let us live to love, more than just love 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 3: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 31; Evening,  Psalm 35;
Deuteronomy 5:1 to 22; 2nd Corinthians 4:1 to 12; Luke 16:10 to 18

“Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work, you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5: 12 to 15)

The book “The Sabbath” by Abraham Joshua Heschel is one of the books that has permanently changed my life.  This book has made me realize that we did not create the Sabbath, God did and has given it to us as a gift. Rabbi Heschel has also made me realize that things and places are not as important as time.  Time is something we all share. Time then, and most especially, the Sabbath is a time that we should stop and ponder our relationship with God. “It is a day of praise, not a day of petitions:”  (page 30 of The Sabbath).

I again share the YouTube video about the Sabbath which features quotes from Rabbi Heschel.  What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube 

We Christians must remember that we are Judeo-Christians. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus, was a Jewish Rabbi, which means Teacher.  Jesus has taught us, but have we learned anything?  I believe as Christians that we should worship on Sunday.  But as recipients of God’s Holy Sabbath, we should individually calm ourselves on the Sabbath (Saturday), and be thankful for what God is still doing in our midst.  I am aware that not all of us can do this at the same time.  First responders, doctors and health care providers, police, the military, fire fighters and others must work through the Holy Sabbath.  But time should be made whereby they too can praise God in thanksgiving for what God continues to do for us.  God is love and has created us in love, to love.

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

Let us live to love, more than just love 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 3: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 37:1 to 18; Evening, Psalm 37:19 to 42;
Deuteronomy 4:32 to 40; 2^nd Corinthians 3:1 to 18; Luke 16:1 to 9:

“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” (Luke 16: 9)

I’ll be honest, this Luke reading is not one I wanted to tackle, I would much rather take the cowardly way out and go to an easier reading. But I decided to take it on anyway.

After prayer I have pondered or reasoned that this lesson is about putting people before profit. There some business practices that sometimes have to be relaxed in order to help those in real need.  It is perhaps better to just let a customer have some bread and milk than refuse them because of their lack of money. Business practices teach that not only should we receive the value of a product, but we are due the “markup” as well in order to cover “overhead and put away some money for future investments and personal savings.

This Luke writing teaches that when we betray business practices in order to help the poor we put away something for ourselves more valuable than money. We store up for ourselves treasures in heaven.

Today we remember Bertha and Ethelbert, Queen and King of Kent, 616.

Yesterday I shared with you a little bit about Augustine of Canterbury, First Archbishop of Canterbury.  Bertha and Ethelbert are connected to this history in that Ethelbert actually met Augustine and assisted him in his desire developing the Church for the English. As I have said, this is a part of my own spiritual history. But more than that, I believe this is God’s hand at work in the continuation of the Gospel, in England, and later, to the Colonies and America.  It is God, not the devil, in the details.  Ethelbert put the faith and call of Augustine above any monarchial protocols he had in place, putting the spiritual faith of his people before his kingly policies. While not a Christian at his initial meeting with Augustine, he was baptized on the Day of Pentecost of the following year. Bertha and Ethelbert made the love of their people their first priority.

Let us live to love, more than just love 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 3: Year 1

 Morning, Psalm 38; Evening, Psalm 119:25 to 48;
Deuteronomy 4:25-31; 2^nd Corinthians 1:23 to 2:17; Luke 15:1-2,11-32;

“But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!”  (Luke 15:17)

These words from the wayward son express deep insight for all of us. It is only when we come to ourselves that we can fully appreciate how blessed we are.

 For me, coming to myself often means slowing down.  I believe we all have a set speed in which we should live, move and have our being.  It may not be the same pace as everybody else, and that’s fine. I can remember that back in my military service days when I worked on diesel powered generators with analog meters.  When I got the voltage output correct, I also had to adjust the frequency to 400 hertz.  The frequency had to match the aircraft to which it would provide electric power.  We are like this equipment in many ways. We must discover our God given frequency and then maintain our own proper pace in life. This is coming to, or just being who, we are intended to be.

It is only when we “come to ourselves” that we might see ourselves as we really ought to be, in our family, in our Church, and in community and in our quiet times.  And like the prodigal son, we too need to do the self-talk about how we will repent, and go back to God who God has made us to be.  This is how we come to ourselves. For some of us, it may be for the first time.

Today we remember Augustine First Archbishop of Canterbury, 605.

Pope Gregory the Great decided in 596 to send a mission to the pagan Anglo-Saxons. He selected, from his own monastery on the Coelian hill in Rome, a group of monks, led by their prior, Augustine. They arrived in Kent in 597, carrying a silver cross and an image of Jesus Christ painted on a board, which thus became, so far as we know, “Canterbury’s first icon.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for May 26)

As an Anglican, Augustine of Canterbury is important to me because it shows God’s hand at work in the establishment and development of the Anglican Church. Coached by Pope Gregory, Augustine was to be inclusive in terms of the make-up of the Church. One of the Pope’s most famous counsels to the first Archbishop of Canterbury has to do with diversity in the young English Church. Gregory writes, “If you have found customs, whether in the Roman, Gallican, or any other Churches that may be more acceptable to God, I wish you to make a careful selection of them, and teach the Church of the English, which is still young in the faith, whatever you can profitably learn from the various Churches. For things should not be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good things.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for May 26)

Let us live to love, more than just love 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 3: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 26 and 28; Evening, Psalms 36 and 39;
Deuteronomy 4:15 to 24; 2^nd  Corinthians 1:12 to 22; Luke 15:1 to10;

“Rejoice with me” (Luke 15: 6 and 9)

“Rejoice with me” are the words articulated when we find ourselves restored back to where we were before we lost what we had.  It is said when the shepherd found the lost sheep, and again when the woman found the lost coin.  It is meant by me (if not actually said) when I find my keys, or glasses, or sermon notes.  We were whole, and all of a sudden, we lost something!  Then we were lost. We can’t hide it.  People who know us can tell.  They can see our confusion and worry.  We have to find what we are missing.

While these two lost stories of Luke 15 leads to the lost son, it explains a lot about us. We don’t celebrate how wonderful it is to not have lost anything, to be glad about what we have before anything is lost. We can’t count our blessings that haven’t happened yet but we should be very thankful and glad about what we have before it is lost, if it gets lost.

As I alluded to earlier, I lose stuff all the time. I try to have a place for everything, and everything in its place. But inevitably something will get misplaced. I can’t hide my frantic search for something missing. Secretly, there is something energizing about the search for the missing – about waiting for something lost to return to where it belongs.  I even get involved in the search for things that others have lost. When the item is found, it’s rejoicing time! 

Maybe the hardest thing to find is our lost faith.  If we have it and it is lost it shows.  We were whole, and all of a sudden, we lost something important!  Then we were lost. We can’t hide it.  People who know us can tell.  They can see our confusion and our worry.  We have to find our missing faith. We should be happy to help anyone find their lost faith. After all, it is not really lost, rather, it is misplaced, maybe somewhere in your mind. We will find it and put it back where it belongs, in your heart. Stop thinking and start loving.  And then we will rejoice!

Let us live to love, more than just love 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 3: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 25; Evening, Psalms 9 and 15;
Deuteronomy 4:9 to 14; 2^nd  Corinthians 1:1 to 11; Luke 14:25 to 35:

“You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain while the mountain was blazing up to the very heavens, shrouded in dark clouds. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.”  (Deuteronomy 4:11 and 12).

It is arrogance on our part to reduce God to human form, except in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is Holy Spirit, God just is. God made us to be. We live at God’s pleasure.

I treasure Moses’ experiences with God.  I like the burning bush experience.  On the mountain of God, God was a flame of fire that restrained itself from destroying the bush.  God was ever-living bush, a plant product of earth. And, God was voice, a voice that called Moses by name, “Moses, Moses,” (Exodus 3).

We still stand at the foot of the mountain. Our spiritual mountains are still ablaze with the holiness of God. God is a flame of light and warmth in the darkness and coldness of our lives, and God is the spiritual smoke we need in the light of day to lead us through troubled waters. We need and very much depend on the Voice with no form who formed us and loves us.

In my contemplative moments I am moved to light a little candle. A little flame, “This little light of mine,” is representative of the light of God in my life.  I pray and ponder in the presence of this little light and listen for the still small but powerful voice of God. Some days are clearer than others.  But God does lead me and guide me. And I am thankful.

I have found that I am moving too fast in my day to day doings.  I need to slow down.  I sometimes speak too quickly, and too fast. I don’t know why.  I just need to slow down.  This is the kind of message I am receiving from my little light during these days.  I will heed this insight. 

I very much recommend to you as you read these words, to develop your own contemplative practice where the God with a Voice but no form will join you for your own benefit, and the benefit of the community in which you live.  Our God with a Voice and no form is a God of love. And we, you and I, are on a journey with God, from the “Horeb” of our lives, with instructions for how to live our lives in a place promised to us by God – a place where we will thrive, a place where we will tell our children, and their children, about the great and loving deeds of God. This place may be more about your spiritual self than a physical location; more about dimension than destination.  What is the Voice of God saying to you for right now?  Be still and listen; ponder.

Let us live to love, more than just love 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 Pentecost: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 118; Evening, Psalm 145;
Isaiah 11:1 to 9; 1 Corinthians 2:1 to 13; John 14:21 to 29;

“Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (John 14:23)

Jesus is telling Judas (not Iscariot), that those of us who love God, and God in Christ Jesus, that they will come to us and make their home in us. Wow!, that makes us part of the Trinity.

Part 2 of 2

Eucharistic Readings for Day of Pentecost: Year B

Ezekiel 37:1 to 14  Psalm 104:25 to 35, 37; Acts 2:1 to 21; John 15:26 to 27; 16:4b to 15

“Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each:” (Acts 2:5 and 6).

This sounds like the reverse of the separation of the languages, (Babel), that took place in Genesis 11:1 to 9. This Bible story also shows the language-effect to be a communal act.  If we are not to communicate with one another, we don’t need a language.

Our Book of Common Prayer recognizes the communal nature of the Holy Spirit in the words it has us to say in our apostle’s Creed on pages 96 and 120. We say: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”  The Holy Spirit of God moves in community regardless of language, ethnicity, nationality, so-called race, orientation, or any other human construct. The Holy Spirit is about God among us, leading us until the day we are taken to God.

The observance of Pentecost or Whitsunday is an important day within the Church. It is God coming to humanity in God’s own Holy Spirit. Let me close with an optional collect from page 227 of our Book of Common Prayer.

O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Let us live to love, more than just love 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 the 7^th Week of Easter: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 107:33 to 108:6; Ezekiel 43:1 to 12; Hebrews  9:1 to 14; Luke 11:14 to 23;

Eve of Pentecost: Psalm 33; Exodus 19:3 to 8 and 16 to 20; 1^st Peter 2:4 to 10; 

“Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites:” (Exodus 19: 5 and 6).

These are some of the words we read for the Eve of Pentecost, which tomorrow is Pentecost, the Day we remember as the Day the Holy Spirit descended upon us to be with us and guide us.

The Holy Spirit can be heard as the Voice of God speaking in our hearts and minds. This Voice is heard by our souls. Our souls are in dialogue with God.  Then our souls try to lead us, if we will listen and heed its guidance.

The whole world, and all the people that walk the earth, belong to God, but few believe, or follow the connection that our souls make with God. For those of us that do, we are a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.  The path to becoming a part this kingdom and holy nation, is believing. Believing in God and what God wants of us changes the way we live our lives.

We are commanded to love God and then to love our neighbor.  It has to be in that order. If not, we tend to put God on the back burner. But it is only through God that we have our very existence; the One in whom we live and move and have our being.  If we didn’t exist we couldn’t love at all. But please know this: God is God even if we never existed.  So let’s be thankful, trusting and loving: thankful to be here, trusting that God wants what’s best for us and loving back to God and all who God has made, including yourself.

My own personal creed is: “I Trust in the Creating Word 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.”  What do you believe?  Write a short statement about what you truly believe. It may evolve over time. Don’t be afraid to capture your faith in your own words. You don’t have to share it. But it’s a start in your own spiritual development. Do you believe in God? What path to God are you on?  Go ahead, write something down. Then, revisit it from time to time and examine how you have moved, or not.  Ever how real you think you are, the Creator is the ultimate reality. “Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples;” (Exodus 19:5).  We now have the Holy Spirit of God through Christ Jesus.

Let us live to love, more than just love 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 the 7^th Week of Easter: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 102; Evening, Psalm 107:1 to 32; 
Ezekiel 34:17 to 31; Hebrews 8:1 to 13; Luke 10:38 to 42:

“This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  And they shall not teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord”, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” (Hebrews 8:10 and 11)

This quoting of Jeremiah 31: 31 to 34 by the writer to the Hebrews is affirmation for me as it has been one of my favorite quotes of the Bible.  It basically says that after the presence of our Lord Jesus in the midst of humanity we all “know the Lord.”  We may pretend like we don’t but Jesus has made an indelible mark on the human soul, and it’s there forever. We just need to listen to our souls.

I am having a hard time with the writer to the Hebrews where he says, “In speaking of ‘a new covenant’, he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear:” (Hebrews 8:13).  What does the writer mean by “disappear”?  I like, and hold on to, these ancient words of the Hebrew, (Old), Testament. There are very valuable lessons within these precious writings.  I think even the writer using the Jeremiah text indicates that he does too.

The main point to ponder here is that God has planted in EVERY human heart and mind an awareness of God. We don’t, (and can’t), figure God out.  The awareness of the presence of God is God’s free gift of grace to human kind. Personally, I don’t think human beings are the only creatures in God’s creation that has an awareness of God. Some creatures are among the “infants” within creation and are very aware of God’s presence.

We humans however, must try to prove everything so that we will believe. According to Anselm, (Archbishop of Canterbury, 1109); that’s not the way to live into our faith. Anselm says about his own belief, “He writes, “I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order that I may understand. For this, too, I believe, that unless I first believe, I shall not understand.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for April 21)  We truly do have to “Let go and let God.”  

Let us take some time this Sabbath time and ponder the presence of God in our lives.  All of us have God in our lives. We just have to quiet ourselves and listen.  Thank You Lord Jesus.

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

Let us live to love, more than just love 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