onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 29: Year 2

AM Psalm 106:1to18; PM Psalm 106:19to48:
Zechariah 10:1to12; Galatians 6:1to10; Luke 18:15to30

“My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” (Galatians 6:1)

Each and every one of us are in need of forgiveness.  And God, in God’s all knowing wisdom, has given each of us the Spirit to restore a neighbor who, having been found in transgression, the power to restore a brother or sister, back into the fold.

I need it, you, reading this message, also need it. None of us are beyond needing restoration.  God made us this way on purpose. This is why our Lord Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Sometimes those who sin against us do not ask for forgiveness.  This can be for one of two reasons. First, maybe they are in a bad place and were intentional about what they have done to you. Second, perhaps they didn’t realize that they have actually sinned against you.  I’ve experienced both.  In these situations I like to use the word “pardon.”  I can pardon a person without them even knowing it. When I pardon someone I can move on with my life and not sit and simmer about an insult or injury. 

While I am not opposed to informing someone that they have offended me, (in case they didn’t know it), I do not believe in asking someone for an apology.  I feel that once they are made aware that I felt hurt by something that they have said or done, (or not done), it’s up to their conscience as to what follows. Sadly, I have even seen whole countries insist on an apology from another country for some sad misdeed perpetrated on it.  I think, be it a country or a person, once the sin or any kind of violence has been made known, the apology should be forth coming and in all sincerity.

Once a transgression has been detected, you and I have been given the Spirit that will restore us all to a spirit of love and gentleness with one another.  All we have to do is use it and be thankful.

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 Proper 29: Year 2

AM Psalm 118; PM Psalm 145:
Zechariah 9:9to16; 1 Peter 3:13to 22; Matthew 21:1to13:

“Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  (Matthew 21:5)

I could not help but to use this verse given that today is Christ the King Sunday.  Jesus borrows these words from Zechariah 9:9, which is also part of our reading for today. Matthew has Jesus bring these words back to our memory in true Matthew form as the evangelist wants to show that our Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law, the Prophets and the scriptures.  Indeed, my beloved of the Lord, our King, is coming.

Part 2 of 2

New Testament Readings for Christ the King Sunday: Year A

Ephesians 1:15-23;  Matthew 25:31-46:

“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34)

Again, the “king” language is used.  So, I use it too.  We, Americans fought a war to rid ourselves of being under a king.  Therefore, we probably have negative feelings about being under a king, even today.  But I would call our attention to the kind of kingdom God is calling us to.

 It is a kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world. It is a kingdom of rest and peace.  It is a kingdom of “no more tears.”  Right now we live in a world of both sheep and goats; of wheat and chaff. But at the Resurrection, there will be a great separation.  Those who have self-identified as sheep by a life of self-denial, (not just for the sake of self-denial, but), in order to serve others, will be placed on the right side of God Almighty, which is where our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ resides.  It will be a wonderful place with a never ending table of nourishment and comfort. Let those who have ears listen, learn; love and live.

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 Proper 28: Year 2

AM Psalm 107:33to43 and 108; PM Psalm 33;
Malachi 3:13to4:6; James 5:13to20; Luke 18:9to14

 “But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13)

I had to mail something to Raleigh yesterday that was very important to me. So I went to a local post office to make sure if was correct.  Raleigh being the capital of North Carolina and all, I wanted to make sure my U.S. mail was properly sent by a method of tracking.

So I approached the postal clerks with all humility.  And when I heard the next customer called to the next available clerk, I went to the clerk in that same humility.  I actually said, “I need mercy and patience to help me properly mail this package.” The clerk smiled and told me what I needed to do, and after I misprinted the “to” and “from” spaces, she just smiled again and helped me straighten it out.  I could not have moved on in any sense of accomplishment had it not been for the wonderful and compassionate postal worker.

I know that many people approach sales reps and clerks with arrogance and a sense of superiority. They like saying who they are and what they have accomplished, sort of like the Pharisee in our Luke reading for today; but not me.  I knew that if I was going to get anywhere close to what I wanted, it was going to be at the mercy of the postal clerk whom I stood in front of.

So too it is with eternal salvation.  We must ask God to be merciful to us, a sinner. And pray God saves us so that we may return to our homes justified. Justification, in my postal experience, was made manifest in going back to my home with routing numbers and a tracking code on the web.

Arrogance and self promotion has no place in God’s Kingdom.  We must follow the tax collector’s lead in doing the will of 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 Friday of Proper 28: Year 2

AM Psalm 102; PM Psalm 107:1to32;
Malachi  3:1to12; James 5:7to12; Luke 18:1to8

“Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” (James 5: 12)

This advice sounds good but rarely do I see it practiced. This is especially true when I witness someone on television being asked a simple “yes or no” question.  I find that after they are done responding I still can’t figure out whether their response was yes, or no.

James is repeating the same advice given in Matthew where Matthew says, “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one”  (Matthew 5:37). I think the real challenge is deciding where we are inside ourselves.  And we should remember that whether we are a “yes” or a “no,” we are only yes, or no, temporarily. We may change the next minute or the next year.  And even this yes to no; or no to yes, shift, doesn’t mean that we are wishy-washy, but rather, as we are more informed, our perspective changes.

I have great admiration for people who can respond with a yes or a no and then explain the why’s. Sometimes they explain only when asked.  Sometime they immediately fill in the why’s so as to explain their position.  But at least they are clear about where they stand at the moment. I think we first have to deal with where we are about any subject deep within ourselves.  And, it’s okay to be unsure. And it’s okay to say, I don’t know. 

To practice the yes or no quick response we might want to start with ourselves.  We can start out by simply asking ourselves easy questions like, “shall I get out of bed now? or, “do I want cereal for breakfast?” Then we can graduate to the more difficult questions like “do I support capital punishment or abortion?”  We might change over time. And that’s alright.  But let us take a stand about where we are right now as for as yes, or no, is concerned, and do it without fear of feeling weak.    

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 Proper 28: Year 2

AM Psalm 105:1to22; PM Psalm 105:23to45;
Malachi  2:1to16; James 4:13to5:6; Luke 17:20to37

Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.’ Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” (James 4:13 to 16)

None of us know what tomorrow will bring.  The best we can do is to live the best life we can for this day. By the best life I mean, to the benefit of our community, not to the enhancement of one’s self.  We should never say to ourselves that “I will go and do this or that,” without praying that such an act will be done only if it is the Lord’s will.  Remember the prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”

Writing this blog has changed my life and the prospect of being a traveler.  I now don’t ever want to be in a place that doesn’t have a good Wi-Fi connection.  I need to be able to get my next day’s blog out, if it is the Lord’s will to do so. So I am content to stay here in Raeford, North Carolina, studying the Word, learning more and more about the World Wide Church that I love, and writing the Good News to all who will read it.

How about you?  What is it that the Lord has blessed you to do?  I have read somewhere that where your passion, and your community’s needs meet, is where God wants you to be, and what God wants you to do.  Your passion, if it is a noble vocation, is your ministry.  Pursue it.  We are truly only here for a little while.  But while we are here, we have the Lord’s work to do.

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 Proper 28: Year 2

AM Psalms 101 and 109; PM Psalm 119:121to144;
Malachi 1:1,6 to14; James 3:13to4:12; Luke 17:11to19

“For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” (James 3: 16 and 17)

Envy, or in its most sinister form, jealousy, always brings about bad relations among people.  If we are different in any outward way, it is only magnified in a negative way by envy or jealousy.  It will occur among people of the same ethnicity as well.  But when there are differences of any kind, the differences take on, as James says, disorder and wickedness of every kind.

But James assures us that in the end, or as we like to say today, “at the end of the day,” It will all be better if we prayerfully regain our moral composure. But this only happens if we learn from wisdom.  He teaches us that wisdom is pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 

Although James confronts Paul in the faith versus works arena, he sounds like Paul’s 1^st Corinthians letter when he defines wisdom as Paul defines love: that is, pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield and so forth.  Paul says of love that “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.   Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” (1^st Corinthians 13: 4 to 8)

Maybe there is a strong correlation between love and wisdom.  Perhaps the path to wisdom is love, or the other way, the path to love is wisdom.  What do you think?

Today we remember Hilda, Abbess of Whitby, 680

“Hilda’s career falls into two equal parts,” says the Venerable Bede, “for she spent thirty-three years nobly in secular habit, while she dedicated an equal number of years still more nobly to the Lord, in the monastic life.” Hilda, born in 614, was the grandniece of King Edwin. She was instructed by Paulinus (one of the companions of Augustine of Canterbury) in the doctrines of Christianity in preparation for her baptism at the age of thirteen.” Hilda was sought out by kings and other public men for advice and counsel. Those living under her rule devoted so much time to the study of Scripture and to works of righteousness that many were found qualified for ordination.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 18)

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 Proper 28: Year 2

AM Psalms 97, 99, [100]; PM Psalm 94, [95];
Habakkuk 3:1to18; James 3:1to12; Luke 17:1to10

“¹Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies.” (James 3:1 to 3)

James’ words suggest that we, at some level, practice what we are taught. Teachers then are probably the most important service providers in any community.  Over the years I have taught many classes and counseled many people with various concerns.  I pray that my words to them are what I also practice, but more than that, helps them to live better, more faithful lives. 

James is not original in using the metaphor of a bridle as an example of holding the attention of those we are trying to teach. This example appears in the Psalms. “Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you (Psalm 32: 9);  or in Psalm 39 “Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you” (Psalm 39:9).

Our very first teachers are our parents.  Even teachers depend on parents to have taught the children the local language and behaviors.  On the very first day in school the child must understand simple instruction such as “sit here,” or “come here,” or “what is your name?”  From there the teacher takes hold of the bit and bridle, the reins if you will, and guides us into more productive citizenry.  

Another very important person in the teaching, and in particular the behavior of a community, is the pastor.  The pastor teacher is a special gift given to some in each community by God as a guide to righteous living.  “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11).  The pastor teacher gift is a combined vocation implanted in some of us for the purpose of comforting and guiding the people of God in righteous living.  And as James says, such people will be judged with greater strictness.

All parents are pastor teachers.  Parents are called by God to comfort and guide their children in ways that promote harmony in the family, in their church, in their community, and in the world. Perhaps bit and bridle is better than leaving them idle.

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 Proper 28: Year 2

AM Psalm 89:1to18; PM Psalm 89:19to52:
Habakkuk. 2:1to4,and 9-20; James 2:14to26; Luke 16:19to31

“He called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames,”  (Luke 16: 24).

There are so many stories to tell or talk about from the readings we have for today.  I will stick with this one from Luke.

It is written that what we have in us on earth, we will take to heaven with us.  Where we wind up in the afterlife is determined by the toxins found in us.   We should be careful. What we take with us could prevent us from entry into that side of the great chasm where Father Abraham resides.  The rich man in this parable never respected the dignity of Lazarus. This attitude of arrogance has become a toxin that stuck with him even in the afterlife.  We know this because even in the afterlife he does not address Lazarus himself or apologize for neglecting him in their previous life.  But rather, he addresses Father Abraham to “send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue.”  Earthly arrogance and disrespect does not work in the realm of God.

Greed, jealousy, hate, lust, gluttony and all other such self-serving desires inside us can separate us from the Love of God, even though Paul says differently regarding external environs that happen to us in the thirteenth chapter of  his letter to the Romans.  God will still love us but we won’t be able to be with God due to internal properties that we should have ridded ourselves of before we passed on to the afterlife. Paul speaks of environmental and external events that fall on us that he says can’t separate us from the love of God  (Romans 8: 35 to 39).  But we must hold this good news next to the words of our Lord Jesus who cautions us that “whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven.”  This is said twice in the Gospel of Matthew; chapter 16, verse 19; and chapter 18, verse 18.  This is surely a lesson the rich man could have used.  Continuing in the parable, the rich man tries to negotiate a path for his brothers so that they will not meet his fate.  Father Abraham reminds him that if his brothers just follow the lessons of the prophets they will be alright.  But the rich man insists that if Lazarus returns to them from the dead his brothers would believe.  But Father Abraham told him that if they wouldn’t follow the teachings of the prophets they wouldn’t believe even if Lazarus returned from the dead.  This of course is an allusion to Jesus himself rising from the dead and some of us still not believing.

You and I have our Lord Jesus and all of these lessons to assist us in correcting our lives before we enter the afterlife.  We have the same prophets in addition to the saints who have gone before 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

Part 1 of 2

Daily Office Readings for Sunday of Proper 28: Year 2

AM Psalms 66 and 67; PM Psalms 19 and 46;
Habakkuk 1:1 to 2:1; Philippians 3:13 to 4:1; Matthews 23:13 to 24

“Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13 and 14)

I agree with Paul with one slight consideration.  We might forget about what lies behind only insofar as we have learned its lesson.  I know you’ve heard it said, “if we forget the past, we’ll make the same bad decisions all over again.”  We must learn and grow.  Then, and only then, will we strain forward to what lies ahead, towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Part 2 of 2

New Testament Readings for Sunday of Proper 28: Year A

1 Thessalonians 5:1to11 and  Matthew 25:14to30

“But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” (Matthew 25:18)

Imagine you were witnessing others being given more gifts and more responsibility and therefore, more trust than yourself.  It might have been different if you had not witnessed the gifts, responsibility and trust given to others, but alas, you did witness it.

There are a couple of ways to respond to such an experience.  One way is to not go along with such a disregard of your abilities, (albeit abilities you don’t really have). Jealousy of how others are perceived to be respected more will often make us resentful and revengeful.   Also, it will show that your overseer actually overestimated your loyalty, your faith, in his assessment of what you are capable of.

Another way is to be thankful that you have such a low bar to get over. Do what you can to the best of your abilities.  But know this, God knows more about what you are capable of than you do. What you observe may not be the whole story.  The others that were given more may have been you in previous years.  Always be thankful and do the best you can with what you are given.

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 Proper 27: Year 2

AM Psalms 87and 90; PM Psalm 136;
Joel 3:9to17; James 2:1to13; Luke 16:10to17:

“So he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15)

So why does it have to be this way?  Why is it that what is prized by God cannot also be prized by human beings as well?  And we know what that is right?  It is “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God,” (Micah 6:8), and, “to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1: 27). We have the Bible as a rule and guide for our behavior fully knowing that it contains all things necessary for our salvation.

All we have to do is read the Bible, learn and heed its lessons.  Perhaps I am being a little naïve. We first have to believe.  We have to believe what our parents have handed down to us.  I, myself, did not come from a “Churched” family.  And the Bible was not read as a part of our family life.  My father was an over-the-road truck driver.  He was away for much of my up-bringing. My mother was a business woman who operated restaurants for as long as I can remember.  They enrolled me in Catholic School in Nashville, Tennessee.  Both parents seemed interested in me having a belief in God, and in our Lord Jesus in particular, notwithstanding their lack of church attendance or Bible teachings.

Now, I have both the Church, (not Roman Catholic but Episcopalian), and the Holy Bible. Because I later joined the Church and attended regular services, I followed the guidance of my last priest and discerned a call to the priesthood.  So, I also have a seminary education.  I am blessed.

None of us are blessed for our own personal benefit.  When we are blessed, we are blessed to pass it on.  I sincerely pray that I have a loving heart.  Only God knows.  But where I am failing I pray God straightens me out.  God knows every human heart. But regardless of where your heart is, God can make it better.  You cannot, but God can. For God, all things are possible.  But you have to ask for a righteous heart in prayer.  Pray with me:

“Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.”  (BCP 355)

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