onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the 2^nd Week of Advent: Year 1

AM Psalm 37:1 to 18; PM Psalm 37:19 to 42;
Isaiah 7:1 to 9; 2 Thessalonians 2:1to 2; Luke 22:11 to 13

“If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7:9)

This is the second half of verse 9 of chapter 7.  But it says everything.  We were created in the  prayers of God to be a people of faith.  God embedded in us the faith connection that informs us about the existence of the Creator. God also gives us the free will to not realize it or live by it.

We may get fairly far in life only counting on our money, physical strength, family connections, political position, or some other human idolatrous anomaly. But all of these can be lost in life.  Some would argue that we could also lose our faith; perhaps, and if so, it is the saddest of all.

 Losing one’s faith will almost certainly cause the loss of at least one of the human attributes; money, health, family or social position. And if faith is lost, where are we when we are called to judgment? And my beloved of the Lord, each and every one of us will be called to judgment.

Belief, moreover, trust and faith in a Power greater than ourselves, who loves us, is the deal breaker in human existence.  We need that faith to keep us going when we find ourselves against the wall and there seems to be no way out.  Our heart screams, “Where are you Lord?” I feel sad for the person who has no faith and yet is in a desperate situation.

We have wonderful examples of Biblical figures who walked by faith.  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Ruth, Esther and Mordecai, and John the Baptist and the apostles of our Lord Jesus, all walked by faith and not by sight, or money, or power, or any human icon of importance. So I like what Isaiah says, “If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.”  Let us listen to this prophet and use our God-given faith, and then walk the rest of this life in faith, in 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

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the 2^nd Week of Advent: Year 1

AM Psalm 38; PM Psalm 119:25 to 48;
Isaiah 6:1 to 13; 2^nd  Thessalonians 1:1 to 12; John 7:53 to 8:11

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.”  (John 8:3 and 4)

She was not caught alone, she, (and someone else with her), was caught in adultery.  It might have even been one of the men standing in the crowd of scribes and Pharisees with a stone in his hand.  But then our Lord Jesus says to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8: 3 and 4)  They all, one by one, had to deal with their own shortfalls, and walk away. None of us today are without sin.

Twice during this scene Jesus stoops to the ground and writes something. I wish we had what he wrote, if he was writing.  Maybe with his hand touching the ground, his Spirit moved through the ground and touched the conscience of the scribes and Pharisees and elders who were accusing the woman. Therefore, maybe he didn’t even write at all. I ponder these kinds of things. Something shook the men into knowing that they were not innocent of various sins.

Look at what’s going on here.  Jesus reaches down to touch the ground, to write or whatever. The accusing men reach down to pick up a stone. What do we reach down for when something or someone we don’t like comes before us?  Maybe such a time is the time to take notes, with pen and paper, or just a mental note about what is going on in our hearts and minds, and about our own spotty history. We too are still “works in progress.”  Even with our flaws, in Christ Jesus, we are the saints of God. Saints pardon and forgive. Reach down, but be careful about what you pick up.

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 2^nd  Week of Advent 2020: Year 1

AM Psalms 26 and 28; PM Psalms 36 and 39;
Isaiah 5:13 to 17 and 24 to 25; 1^st  Thessalonians 5:12 to 28; Luke 21:29 to 38

“And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good;” (1^St Thessalonians, 5: 14 to 21)

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians he gives them, and us, lessons in how to relate with each other. His instruction requires us to at least notice others; are they idlers, are they faint-hearted, are they weak?  We can’t live in community in a vacuum.  The implied answer to Cain’s question of “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is, yes. (Genesis 4:9)

It is hard to be patient and to rejoice always.  We have sad times.  We can however pray without ceasing.  Such prayer is not formal, spoken prayers, but rather, thoughts of appealing to God for help.  This can, and often should be done, quietly. It is being thankful and saying “Thank You Jesus” when you realize things could have been worse.

Regular reading of scripture certainly helps us in our relationship with others.  As you know, I read our Daily Office daily.  I don’t really get a lot from all of the readings.  But even acknowledging what I don’t like helps.  There is much wisdom in the Bible.  But I advise you to say a little prayer before you read asking the Holy Spirit to assist you with understanding, and then one of thanks at the conclusion. Perhaps a Bible Study group would help.  The prophets still speak to us through these ancient words.

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 Second Week of Advent: Year 1

AM Psalm 25; PM Psalms 9 and 15;
Isaiah 5:8 to 12 and 18 to 23; 1 Thessalonians  5:1 to 11; Luke 21:20 to 28

“All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” (Psalm 25:9)

Our Presiding Bishop, the Most Reverend Michael Curry, has said of our Church that we are the Episcopal path of the Jesus movement.  I like it!  There are several Christian paths to God.  And just as there are several Christian paths, Christianity is only one of several faith traditions that the people of the world cling to for reconciliation to God.  Judaism and Islam are a couple of other well established faith paths.

Of these three, Judaism is the oldest, and in fact, Christianity has its roots in Judaism. The Psalmist says, “All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”  Keeping covenant is something we have failed to do over and over again.  The Bible records over and over again how the People of Israel fail to keep covenant with God and then go into repentance and God saves us again.  It makes no difference if covenant is made up of two laws (Love God and love your neighbor), or, if covenant is 613 laws from the Hebrew Testament. We repeatedly fail and must call on God for salvation. Failure requires love and faith.

Love is expressed in all of the three mentioned religious traditions.  There is love of deity and love of fellow human being.  There should be no room for jealousy or hatred within our faith path or of another faith tradition.  We are all God’s children.  And God loves us all the same.  All humanity is favored.  There is no one group within humanity favored over another.

Faith is the other necessary component of a religion.  We must understand that there is a Master of Creation, the Creator and Maintainer.  There is a Presence larger and far more important than ourselves.  It is in this Presence that we place our trust. This trust is for the benefit of life in creation: a creation held together by the love of the Creating Maintainer.

Love and faith make up the Christian covenant (and perhaps others faith covenants) that our Lord Jesus left for us Christians.  We are to love the Lord our God with all that we are.  We are also to trust in the lord in all situations, no matter what.  And the second is like onto it, we are to love our neighbor as our self, (which includes loving ourselves).  Our faith is a path that the Holy One uses to enter our heart.  From our heart, the Holy One spreads love. “All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

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 2

Daily Office Readings for Sunday of the Second Week of Advent: Year 1

AM Psalms 148, 149, and150; PM Psalms 114 and 115;
Isaiah  5:1 to 7; 2^nd  Peter 3:11 to 18; Luke 7:28 to 35

“So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.” (2^nd Peter 15 and 16)

Rather Christian of Peter to hold up Paul as “beloved brother,” given that the two did not get along very well. But Peter and Paul did agree that Jesus is Lord of all, and so should we also agree.

Part 2 of 2

Isaiah 40:1-11  Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13  2 Peter 3:8-15a  Mark 1:1-8

“John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Mark 1: 4 and 5)

In February of 2018 I was baptized in the River Jordan.  We were all Christian clergy.  I can remember that when it came to be my turn to be among the baptizing ministers, there were more clergy in my line than the others and so my line was the longest line of clergy.  When I inquired why, the response was, that these clergy folk wanted to be able to say that they were baptized in the River Jordan by “John.” 

While I truly believe in one baptism for the remission of sins, This ceremonial baptism in Israel was something I couldn’t pass up.  I enjoyed walking the Holy Land.  But more important was re-living the life that our Lord Jesus experienced.  The God in man who had no sin, was baptized for the remission of sins, our sins. We are so blessed because of Him.  He has planted in us the seed of redemption and will soon come again to harvest his vineyard.

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 Saturday of the First Week of Advent: Year 1

AM Psalms 20 and 21:1-7; PM Psalms 110:1-5, 116, and 117;
Isaiah 4:2 to 6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to 18; Luke 21:5 to 19

“For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.” (1^st Thessalonians 4: 14)

I’m guessing it is our Lord Jesus whom God will bring us to the realm of God.  Jesus, after all, is God’s way of being with us – Emanuel.  It was, and is, a holy time.

For Education for Ministry (EfM) we are reading “Sabbath” by Abraham Joshua Heschel.  The opening words makes us aware that time, and the holy events that take place within time, is more sacred and important than things or places. 

Paul writes from a perspective of immediacy. He believes the Lord’s return will occur within a matter of days. Over time, with the return of the Lord not happening, we who are still waiting, become complacent.  However, we must remember that God does not care about time.  God is outside of time.  We can’t comprehend this concept. Therefore, we must rely on our faith.

We must endure in our faith regardless of the hour, or day, or month, or year.  If we don’t leave our children anything else, we must leave them with the message that the Creator of the universe will return and judgment will take place.  Also our children must be taught that death will not be an escape from judgment.  All will rise.  It will be like when a judge enters a court room, “All Rise.”

Perhaps complacency should be the most dreaded of attitudes.  I battle complacency by having a habit of regular prayer and study; by meditation and communal worship. I am trying very hard to not be caught off guard or surprised when, not if, the Day of the Lord comes.  I encourage all people of faith to also not be surprised when it happens, and not only that, even if we die before the Lord comes in a cosmic way, we need to pass on to those who come after us that such a day will come. It really makes no difference where you are on this planet or in space. Things and places are not as important as preparedness.  The event itself is the most important thing. We must remain vigilant.

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 First Week of Advent 2020: Year 1

AM Psalms 16 and 17; PM Psalm 22;
Isaiah 3:8 to 15; 1^st Thessalonians 4:1 to 12; Luke 20:41 to 21:4

“Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved,  to do so more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly towards outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (1^st Thessalonians 4: 9 to 12)

Finally, after Paul is done with ranting about what he perceives as sexual misconduct, he gets to what I believe God really wants us to understand; and that is, that we should contribute to the community in which we live with the work of our hands.

Church is the living example of the benefit of our working with our hands.  The church needs people who are both able and willing to, setup the Altar, play music, cut the grass, fix the broken furniture or structural repairs to the building, prepare food and by all means, make coffee.  Yes, we need workers who perform ministries of working with their hands.  During this pandemic we are asking our ushers to also wipe down the pews with antiseptic cleansers.

From the church, there is always the need for people who must leave home and perform duties that can’t be done at home.  Builders, drivers, store clerks and so forth, must go out into the community and work with their hands in order to hold our community, and outsiders together.  Paul was a tent maker.  He is recorded as plying his trade with a fellow tent maker in order to not be a burden to his host.  (Acts 18: 1 to 3)

Many of us consider ourselves fortunate to be able to work from home.  This type of work normally consists of computer skills that primarily get business done around informational types of work.  Computer work cannot get the ditch dug, or drive supplies to the needed area, or build a house, or prepare a much needed vaccine.  No, we must go out and behave properly towards our community and outsiders and work with our hands as God has directed us through the words of Paul.  What is developed in the heart (good or bad), is made manifest through the works of the hands rather than the words that spill from the mouth.  This is heart to hands folks, and as Larry the Cable Guy would say, Let’s getter done!

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 Thursday of Week One of Advent 2020: Year 1

AM Psalm 18:1-20; PM Psalm 18:21-50;
Isaiah 2:12 to 22; 1^st  Thessalonians 3:1 to 13; Luke 20:27 to 40

“Indeed they cannot die any more, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.” (Luke 20:36)

Jesus explains to the Sadducees that marriage is a human construct, not a heavenly one.  I would add that except for Tobit 8: 4 to 8 which is only found in the Apocrypha (if your Bible has one), you will not find marriage vows at all even though there are several places where men took women for wives, in many cases, several women as wives. 

Jesus assures the Sadducees (and us), that there is certainly a resurrection.  We will all be raised before the Host of heaven, the good and the not so good.  Then judgment comes!  A military leader once told me that forewarned is forearmed. I get it.  This means straighten out now before it’s too late.

Jesus uses scripture to show the reality of eternal life as he talks about the exchange between God and Moses at the burning bush. “And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”   (Luke 20:37 and 38)  And this will be us as well; we will be alive in God.  This is not something to try to explain but rather, to prepare for.

Folks, there will be a resurrection for each one of us, and also, for each one of us, there will be judgment. I will again share my personal creed and invite you to create your own statement of belief regardless of your faith tradition. Put it in writing and then revisit it from time to time and see if you are living by it.  Here is my personal creed or statement of belief: (I use “trust” instead of “believe” as I have learned that trust is closer to the original meaning).

“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.”  You may use my creed as your own if it is true for you as well.

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 First Week of Advent: Year 1

AM Psalm 119:1-24; PM Psalms 12, 13 and 14;
Isaiah 2:1 to 11; 1 Thessalonians 2:13 to 20; Luke 20:19 to 26:

“For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again—but Satan blocked our way.  For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?  Yes, you are our glory and joy!”  (1^st Thessalonians 2:18 to 20)

Full disclosure, I don’t always agree with Paul. But there are times like his conviction that nothing separates us from the love of God as articulated in Romans 8: 38 and 39; and his definition of love in his First Letter to the Corinthians (1^st Corinthians 13:1 to 13) that I am fully on board with. And now this, about seeing the coming of our Lord Jesus in the face of believers.

There is a hymn that goes, “Have you seen Jesus my Lord, he’s here in plain view. Take a look, open your eyes, he’ll show life to you.”  The implication, of course, is that we can see our Lord Jesus in the face of one another.

The further implication is that you and I are Jesus to others.  We give others a chance to see Jesus today by the way we live among others.  We do this by not returning evil for evil.  We do this by not adding fuel to the fires of hate or jealousy.  We do this by reaching out and hugging the “untouchables.”

When someone turns the other cheek when assaulted by racial or gender insults rather than engaging in a back and forth volley of hateful words they are showing their Jesus within them. Unfortunately, this kind of response is considered cowardly today rather than godly. It’s okay to be disappointed with bad behavior and not retaliate in kind.  We must remember that we are being watched by others.  Let us model for them a peaceful way of avoiding ugly behavior.  In doing so, we too may become their glory and joy. They too may also become disgusted with bad behavior.

All believers have the opportunity to bring our Lord Jesus into full view today.  Maybe the way Jesus responds to insults is not popular today, but responding in loving ways is eternal because love never dies.  The way we prepare ourselves for life eternal is to practice being Jesus now, in this life. You should try this Jesus suit on, I think it fits you.

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 Week One of Advent: Year 1

AM Psalms 5 and 6; PM Psalms 10 and 11;
Isaiah 1:21 to 31; 1 Thessalonians 2:1 to 12; Luke 20:9 to 18

“For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.” (Thessalonians 2: 3 and 4)

We come not from trickery or intentions of self-promotion.  We are doing the Lord’s work. We are going to be straight up and honest with ourselves and with you.  We are the Lords. You are the Lords. We need to work harder in finding ways to come to consensus on all concerns. As I understand consensus it is the chipping away at a proposition until its properties are at least something all can temporarily live with.  It’s not perfect yet, but tolerable.  Unlike voting where there must be winners and losers.

As Christians, what we are doing in spreading the love of the Gospel, is not about human goals, but rather, about God and about what God wants; what God wants from us and for us. God has made this earth as our only life-support system. God wants us to live together in harmony and maintain this planet for the benefit of all its inhabitants.  We are to be Adam and Eve in the Garden; and Noah and family on the Ark; and Jonah for Nineveh where God reminded Jonah, “And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:11) This may be the only book in the Bible where God has the last word, and that word is “animals.”

Paul’s message of the Gospel could very well be, “Do good onto others in the Name of the Lord, even to the neglect of self.”  Do not take credit for what God is doing through you.  We are working God’s purposes out for our community, not for our personal desires.  And that’s a good thing. God’s purpose for us is love and peace and harmony among all the people of the world, for the benefit of the world and all creatures, great and small.  And remember this, all said and done; it is the Lord’s work we are doing, and God wins, with or without our individual participation.  Let’s be willing and loving participants in God’s plan. God in Christ Jesus is coming to check on us!

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