onewhoponders

Eucharistic Readings for Thanksgiving Day Year C

Deuteronomy 26:1-11  Psalm 100  Philippians 4:4-9   John 6:25-35

 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  (John 6:35)

Well this is very strange!  The reading from the Gospel of John for James Otis Sargent Huntington, which was for Monday (that I used yesterday) is the same one for today, Thanksgiving Day, Year C

It is interesting that the two components of Christian transformation are to come to Jesus and then believe in Jesus.  Jesus uses the terms of hunger and thirst to explain this concept.   This draws me back to my days at St Vincent de Paul Catholic School.  The sisters insisted that we children first eat all of our food before we drink our milk.  First we satisfied the hunger, and then we quenched our thirst.  I don’t know if they were making this particular connection, but now, as I write this, I can make the connection.

Just as eating a meal requires simple discipline to be deeply appreciated, so too does giving thanks. When we get into the church habit, it becomes a liturgical habit. The Holy meal that we are going to participate in this afternoon is the one our Lord Jesus handed down to us on a Thursday over 2000 years ago.

We Americans then keep a Thursday tradition alive by giving thanks around a feast. I don’t know if those first pilgrims had in mind that Thursday was the day that we should do this in remembrance of our Lord’s celebration or not. I don’t know if they were making this particular connection, but now, as I write this, I can make the connection.

The way to make Thanksgiving more liturgical is the respect and reverence we give to it.  Write a thank you note, make a phone call, send a thank you gift (the stores would like that one). Put some holy work into giving thanks. This simple discipline will be deeply appreciated by you and those to whom thanks is given.  Such giving comes from our Lord Jesus who is the bread of life and will never leave us hungry after having served with him or thirsty after we have come to believe in him.

Let us pray. “Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP p. 246)

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+

Readings for James Otis Sargent Huntington Priest and Monk

Psalm 34:1–8 Galatians 6:14-18 John 6:34-38

 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  (John 6:35)

It is interesting that the two components of Christian transformation are to come to Jesus and then believe in Jesus.  Jesus uses the terms of hunger and thirst to explain this concept.   This draws me back to my days at St Vincent de Paul Catholic School.  The sisters insisted that we children first eat all of our food before we drink our milk.  First we satisfied the hunger, and then we quenched our thirst.  I don’t know if they were making this particular connection, but this day, as I write this, I can make the connection.

Today I will remember James Otis Sargent Huntington whose day was actually the 25^th of November.  “James Otis Sargent Huntington was born in Boston in 1854. After graduation from Harvard, he studied theology at St. Andrew’s Divinity School in Syracuse, New York, and was ordained deacon and priest by his father, the first Bishop of Central New York. In 1880 and 1881, he ministered in a working-class congregation at Calvary Mission, Syracuse.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 25)

“While attending a retreat at St. Clement’s Church, Philadelphia, Huntington received a call to the religious life. He considered joining the Society of St. John the Evangelist, which had by that time established a province in the United States, but he resolved to found an indigenous American community.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 25)  It seems Huntington wanted his own brand of bread so to speak.  His hunger and thirst was for a domestic kind.  When we introduce our Lord Jesus to people we must then step back as see how our Lord Jesus works in them.  We should not make the people that we tell about our Lord Jesus, how they should respond. We should just watch our Lord Jesus work in them, and be amazed.

“Huntington and two other priests began their common life at Holy Cross Mission on New York’s Lower East Side, ministering with the Sisters of St. John Baptist among poor immigrants. The taxing daily regimen of Eucharist, prayer, and long hours of pastoral work soon forced one priest to leave for reason of health. The other dropped out for lack of a vocation. Huntington went on alone; and on November 25, 1884, his life vow was received by Bishop Potter of New York.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 25) For reasons of poor health I understand, but, “lack of vocation?” I don’t. Perhaps he drank his milk before he finished his meal.                                                     

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 29 Year 1

AM Psalm [120], 121, 122, 123; PM Psalm 124, 125, 126, [127] Nahum 1:1-13; 1 Pet. 1:13-25; Matt. 19:13-22

“Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.”  (1 Peter 1:21)

Through our Lord Jesus we have come to trust in God. I have heard that trust in God is the better translation of the word for believe. “In God we trust.” is what we print on our American currency. While some don’t like this statement to be there I like it as a reminder that we are one nation under God.  Of course, there are Americans who don’t like those words in our Pledge of Allegiance either. However, to trust means that you place yourself, your future,  in God’s care no matter what.  To trust indicates a confidence, and conviction that weighs more than simple belief.  It builds our faith and assures our hope.

This means our faith and hope are set on God.  Our Lord Jesus taught about God.  As God sees us through the eyes of our Lord Jesus, so too, should we look for God through the eyes of our Lord Jesus. I do not know the outcome of all that will occur in my life.  None of us really do.  We hope for the best and without God out there for us it is an empty hope.  Hope has to be anchored on something.  Mine is anchored on the trust that God really is all about good outcomes. 

We must realize however that some good outcomes are deferred to our life after death. Such is the case with a good friend of mine who passed away yesterday. Last year he and his wife suffered the loss of their home due to a fire.  And now our Lord Jesus has called him home.  Now for Bert, no more fires, no more death. His faith and hope has come to fruition as he has trusted in God.  Live in glory everlasting Bert.

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 29 Year 1

AM Psalm 106:1-18; PM Psalm 106:19-48  Joel 3:1-2,9-17; 1 Pet. 1:1-12; Matt. 19:1-12

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1: 3 – 5)

The apostle Peter has surely grown from the fisherman he used to be.  I think it started in the period we call the Confession of Peter which we remember on January 18.  We get this from the Gospel of Matthew where Peter responds to our Lord Jesus’ question of who do you say that I am, “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’  And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16: 16 -17) 

This was transformative for Peter.  And later, as evidenced by the reading we have today, we see that this fisherman now shares the revelations concerning divine grace to all of us about what the Spirit of God can, and does do. Even before we get into the content of his letter we see an enlightenment that has enabled him to speak beyond his own working class history. Listen again to his opening address:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1: 3 – 5)

The closing of his opening address also gives hints of the revelation of the Holy Spirit where he says, “It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look! (1 Peter 1:12)

Perhaps now more people who read my blog will be able to understand why I close each page the way I 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+

Eucharistic Readings for Last Sunday of Pentecost Proper 29: Christ the King Sunday Year C

Jeremiah 23:1-6   Psalm 46  Colossians 1:11-20  Luke 23:33-43

 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”  (Luke 23:38)

Wait, what? How did this come to be?  It started roughly a thousand years before the birth of Our Lord Jesus. This was during the time Israel wanted a king for themselves even though God had told them not to be like the other nations.

Here is how it started: “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him [Samuel], “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.  Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” (1 Samuel 8:4 – 9)

From this we arrive at the end of the kings of Israel in John’s Gospel:

“Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He [Pontius Pilate] said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”  They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.”  (John 19: 14 – 15) How sad and hurtful this statement must have been for God to hear.

Our Lord Jesus was crucified between two criminals. “One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah?  Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39)  I am aware that this writing in Luke guides us into seeing this first crucified criminal as a harasser of our Lord Jesus.  But we don’t know this until we hear the second criminal rebuke him.  In defense of the first speaker, I remind us that he is the first to say, “save yourself, and us.”  It is the “and us” part that stands out for me. None of the other mockers bothered to ask Our Lord Jesus to save them as well, not the Israelites and especially not the soldiers.  Jesus is the One who forgives even those who harm him, not knowing what they are doing.  We fit in that category.  So Jesus tells not only that man on the cross but us too, that, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23: 43)

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+

Readings for Clement Bishop of Rome November 23 c. 100

Psalm 78:3-7 1 Chronicles 23:28-32  2 Timothy 2:1-7  Luke 6:37-45

“He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher.”  (Luke 6: 39 – 40)

Today we remember Clement Bishop of Rome.  According to early traditions, Clement was a disciple of the Apostles and the third Bishop of Rome. He is generally regarded as the author of a letter written about the year 96 from the Church in Rome to the Church in Corinth, and known as “First Clement” in the collection of early documents called “The Apostolic Fathers.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 23)

I notice that the word “disciple” is used.  This means he was direct student of those who followed our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I look at the date of his letter, 96 AD.  This date is comparable to the times the Gospels were being put down in the Greek language.  Clement was the Bishop of a church still in hiding.  Yet he was insistent about the order and structure of the Church.

The letter Clement wrote was a testament to the order of the Church. “The occasion of the letter was the action of a younger group at Corinth, who had deposed the elder clergy because of dissatisfaction with their ministrations. The unity of the Church was being jeopardized by a dispute over its ministry. Clement’s letter sets forth a hierarchical view of Church authority. It insists that God requires due order in all things, that the deposed clergy must be reinstated, and that the legitimate superiors must be obeyed.”   (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 23)

Anarchy is the term used to describe lawlessness. There must be order in all things.  And ways to call to action for adjustment when the order seems to be out of order with the Will of God. Clement writes: “The apostles received the Gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus the Christ was sent from God. Thus Christ is from God and the apostles from Christ. In both instances, the orderly procedure depends on God’s will. So thereafter, when the apostles had been given their instructions, and all their doubts had been set at rest by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, they went forth in the confidence of the Holy Spirit to preach the Good News of the coming of God’s kingdom.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 23)  

I am proud to be a part of this apostolic succession that has been handed down for over 2000 years.  And while we don’t want to do anything rash like those did in Corinth, we do want to make sure our Bishops are consecrated by the will of God as I believe they are.  Thank You Jesus.

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+

Readings for Clive Staples (C. S.) Lewis: Apologist and Spiritual Writer  (22 November 1963)

Psalm 139:1-9 1 Peter 1:3-9  John 16:7-15

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)

Today we remember C. S. Lewis.  CS Lewis did in fact receive new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Lewis was transformed similarly like that of Saul to Paul as he traveled to Damascus.  The below is taken from Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 22.

Lewis writes, “Really, a young Atheist cannot guard his faith too carefully,” he later wrote of his conversion to theism in Surprised by Joy. “Dangers lie in wait for him on every side . . . Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about ‘man’s search for God.’ To me, as I then was, they might as well have talked about the mouse’s search for the cat. You must picture me all alone in that room at Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” Two years later, his conversion was completed: “I know very well when, but hardly how, the final step was taken. I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out, I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo, I did.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 22)

Even though CS Lewis spent time in his study alone, his work challenged God’s attempt for his attention.  However, sitting in a car left him open to God in Christ Jesus to make Himself known to him.  Lewis had to be still to know that God is God as Psalm 46 says. Or to quote Blaise Pascal: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

I believe such stillness is prayer, the sincerest form of prayer.  Prayer is our responding to God, not us initiating a call to God.  God always seeks us first.  If a person with the intellect of CS Lewis is brought to the realization of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, why can’t everybody else? We just have to be still and know that God is 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 Thursday of Proper 28 Year 1

AM Psalm 105:1-22; PM Psalm 105:23-45 1 Macc. 4:1-25; Rev. 21:22-22:5; Matt. 18:1- 9

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ (Matthew 18:1)

Ok, I give up.  I have heard that there is no such thing as a dumb question.  But I take exception to this one. Wouldn’t it be enough just to be in heaven, even if on the lowest echelon?

Why are we always concerned about who is the greatest in any category?  I can remember that Mohammed Ali once declared that he was “The Greatest (Boxer) of all Times.”  His was a self-declaration. And maybe his observations of his own accomplishments, that he had already achieved, are different from a goal oriented aspiration sought after. If one just happens to be, then, so be it. Perhaps he didn’t strive for it, it just happened.

The truth is we don’t have to be the greatest, just being good at something, is good enough. This is especially true for being good at just being good. This is why I like the Christmas song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” as it goes, “so be good for goodness sake.”  I like these words because it has a high moral quality that frees itself from any overt religious attachment.  We are to be good for the sole purpose of just being good; not the greatest, but good.

Jesus shows that true greatness is embedded in trust and vulnerability as he demonstrates this with a child; “and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)  While Jesus will use the “greatest” language in the next verse, in this verse he is just talking about getting in the kingdom of heaven, not being the greatest there, but being present there.  Personally, I would be happy just to get in. Thank You Jesus.

Trust and vulnerability are scary propositions for most of us. Perhaps it might be a good idea to start even a short list of people you know that you feel you can both trust and be vulnerable with. As I type this reflection certain people come to mind.  How about you? How many people can you be like a trusting child with?

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 1

AM Psalm 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; PM Psalm 119:121-144
1 Macc. 3:42-60; Rev. 21:9-21; Matt. 17:22-27

“However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.’” (Matthew 17:27)

Peter is questioned in Capernaum about the Temple tax for the Temple in Jerusalem of Judea. After having visited the Holy Land and seen firsthand the geographical layout of Israel, I can see why the Temple has to tax the people to the north in Galilee.  Jerusalem has no real natural resources.  It is a big dry mountain whereas the area around Galilee to the north is very fertile.  Money then is used to buy products, especially food products that probably originated in Galilee in the first place.

Jesus has the fisherman Peter to go and catch a fish from Lake Galilee which was his livelihood in the first place and have that fish pay for the human requirement.  Jesus also had Paul depend on his former skill as a tentmaker to pay for his material needs. (Acts 18:3)  Should we look then to our community skills as a fall-back way to take care of ourselves while carrying out the message of the Gospel?

While in seminary I told my spiritual advisor that I wanted to be a working priest, that is, a priest with a secular job while also leading a parish.  He said that if he was looking for a priest for his church he would not even consider me.  It idea was that they would want a priest whose total focus was on the people of the parish and nothing else. As I look back, I wish I had stuck to my inclination.  Many Christian traditions have ministers who also hold down work outside their congregations.  Why not us too?

I will from this point on be an Episcopal priest.  I will not always be a rector (in charge of a parish). So, in the end, having a community vocation was not such a bad idea. All of us should have a way that we provide some useful service in our communities. We can, and should, be living examples of the love of Jesus as we work alongside others.  Maybe I need to go find my fish.

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 1

AM Psalm 97, 99, [100]; PM Psalm 94, [95] 1 Macc. 3:25-41; Rev. 21:1-8; Matt. 17:14-21

Psalm 100 Jubilate Deo
1 Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.

2 Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

4 For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

Psalm 100 is very short, only four verses.  But it says everything. 

We should be joyful. But this only happens if we acknowledge God first and then our brothers and sisters after God.  If we start out considering other people before we see them through God’s eyes we sink into jealousy and other evils.  Go to everyone through God. You will be much happier.

God brought every human being into being.  It truly is more important to remember whose we are rather than who we are.

Being thankful is the least we can do or be.  All of us should have an attitude of gratitude as far as God is concerned.  Where there is a mix of sadness in our lives, there are sad people in the mix.

And lastly, here is where we (you and I), are created in God’s Image. We have both mercy and faith within us. Ironically, we also need mercy and faith from each other.  This too is the God part.  We have faith and we give mercy.  And we receive mercy and we grow and maintain our faith. I will tell you that I know people who aren’t sure of their faith but are some to the most merciful people on the planet. This mercy that they show others, especially those who are different, really demonstrates their unrealized faith. They just need to trust and hang in there.

Psalm 100 is short but contains all things necessary for salvation.

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+