onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Thursday, of Proper 22 Year 1

AM Psalm 131, 132, [133]; PM Psalm 134, 135 2 Kings 23:4-25; 1 Cor. 12:1-11; Matt. 9:18-26

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”  (1 Corinthians 12:7)

As sure as there is a living and loving God, so too are these words of Paul true.  God made us dependent on each other. God works through the spirit world.  Imbedded in each of us is the gift of spirit that provides a need for the rest of us. The need or gift may seem unimportant to some but deemed important by God.  Gifts of art like music or literature are the communications of the Divine.  Gifts of craftsmanship serve as ways to create civilizations and make dwellings for our habitation. Even gifts of athleticism have their purpose in causing us to build up our physical bodies in sport and games for recreation and enjoyment.

We have the manifestation of the Spirit working in us but let us not forget that such manifestation is for our “common” good.  We should honor the gifts God has given to others as we also want others to honor our own God-given gifts.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through and to God’s people and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

Readings for Vida Dutton Scudder (December 15, 1861- October 9, 1954)

Psalm 25:1-14 Isaiah 11:1-10 John 6:37-51

“It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.”  (John 6:45)

“In 1911, Scudder founded the Episcopal Church Socialist League, and formally joined the Socialist party. Her support of striking textile workers in the Lawrence, Massachusetts strike in 1912 drew a great deal of criticism and threatened her teaching position. Though she initially supported World War I, she joined the Fellowship of Reconciliation in 1923, and by the 1930s she was a pacifist. Throughout her life Scudder’s primary relationships and support network were women; her closest companion was Florence Converse, who shared in her religious faith and political ideals. After retirement, Scudder authored sixteen books on religious and political subjects, combining her intense activism with and an equally vibrant spirituality. She was the first woman published in the Anglican Theological Review.” 

from the Episcopal Women’s History Project

I have preached about Vida Dutton Scudder for years on Wednesday evening healing services. While her day is tomorrow I will speak of her today as I will be out of town and not have the opportunity to preach tonight.  It is not necessary for me to agree with her on all issues to admire how she follows God where God leads her. She was articulate, determined, compassionate and responsive to needs where she saw them.   She allowed herself to be changed where, and when, change was necessary.  She sought out those whom she could trust and was a faithful and devoted friend.

Even when her position was viewed as controversial she maintained her path.  Jesus says, “It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.”  Scudder maintained her Episcopal path of faith throughout her life and participated in its development. She examples what it means to live one’s faith no matter what.  Thank You Jesus

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through and to God’s people and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 22 Year 1

AM Psalm [120], 121, 122, 123; PM Psalm 124, 125, 126, [127] 2 Kings 22:1-13; 1 Cor. 11:2,17-22; Matt. 9:1-8

“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1^st Corinthians 11: 23-24)

While all the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) report the Lord’s Supper, the actual words we use are found in this above passage in 1^st Corinthians.  The words are given within the context of an admonishment rather than as a narrative as with the Gospel.  This meal is serious.  It is the one way Jesus asks us to remember him.

This is why I switched from wearing a cross to wearing emblems of Holy Communion. The cross was the Roman death tool of that day. And yet, we have chosen to wear it as a remembrance of Jesus.  But Jesus himself asked us to remember him in the bread and wine, the Body and Blood given for our salvation.  Thank you Jesus.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through and to God’s people and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 22 Year 1

AM Psalm 106:1-18; PM Psalm 106:19-48 2 Kings 21:1-18; 1 Cor. 10:14-11:1; Matt. 8:28-34

“All things are lawful’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful’, but not all things build up.” (1^st Corinthians 10:23)

Even now in our own day we have many behaviors that have no legal consequence for doing them. Everything from the way we dress to how we interact with others or how we spend our money. From the perspective of the law of the community, many things are legal for us. But are all these freedoms fitting for a moral person?

Modesty is the word I like to use in most situations especially as it applies to my personal attributes. Modest in dress means wearing having one’s own sense of appropriate attire. I know that I am more conservative than most Americans.  I don’t even own a pair of short pants. I never leave home in a shirt that doesn’t have a collar. Often I wear a sport coat when out and about but not always.  While in Israel I wore my jacket on all our tours.  My fellow companions called me Mr. Debonair.  I did it so that I always had my wallet, phone and most important passport with me at all times. But I don’t think they realized that. There are some ways of dressing that I consider either vulgar of untidy.  I am not so much judging but rather discriminating about my own preferred way of dress.  I think it is vulgar but not illegal for one’s pants to drop so low that one’s underwear is revealed.  All things are lawful’, but not all things are beneficial.

 Modesty in food means eating only what is enough.  Now this is a real challenge for me.  I like to eat.  My biggest challenge is to go to an “all you can eat” restaurant and limit myself to only what is enough and not worry about how much I am losing in terms of my “money’s worth.”  At the end of the day eating really is about a healthy body.

Modesty in language means to refrain from using vulgar expressions or profanity. This is more than just the use of bad words.  Sarcasm is never a good thing I once quipped. It is most often condescending. Our feet speak best for us. Our feet will have us to be where we feel most comfortable.  And where we are says all that needs to be said about how we feel. If we don’t like where we are or who we are with, we move. For the most part, except for fraud, free speech is legal, even profanity.  All things are lawful’, but not all things build up.

I think Paul in his first letter to the Church in Corinth makes a valid point.  What I take away from his words is a personal sense of individual responsibility with regard to my own discipline. There are community laws but I/we should have a personal limit well within the community standard that shows our own sense of modesty in all things. What do you think?

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through and to God’s people and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 22 Year C Track 2

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 Psalm 37:1-10 2 Timothy 1:1-14  Luke 17:5-10

“The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”  (Luke 17: 6)

Is Jesus saying they had no faith or that the faith they have is sufficient?  I borrow heavily from Fred Craddock writing on Luke for Interpretation; a Bible Commentary.

“The Greek language has basically two types of “if” clauses; those which express a condition contrary to the fact (“if I were you”) and those which express a condition according to fact (“if Jesus is our Lord”). The conditional clause in verse 6 is of the second type; one could translate it “if you had faith (and you do).” Jesus’ response, then, is not a reprimand for an absence of faith but an affirmation of the faith they have and an invitation to live out the full possibilities of that faith.  Even the small faith they already have cancels out words such as “impossible” (a tree being uprooted) and “absurd” (planting a tree in the sea) and puts them in touch with the power of God. That Luke has “sycamine tree” (a kind of mulberry) instead of a “mountain” as in Matthew and Mark in no way alters the message: faith lays hold of God with whom nothing is impossible, and it is God who empowers the life of discipleship.” (Fred B. Craddock writing for Interpretation; A Bible Commentary: Luke: 1990 p. 200)

From this we learn that the disciples already have all the faith they need to do the work of ministry and to serve at all levels. And the work of ministry and serving is a lifelong and eternal state of being.

Again from Craddock, “There is no place or time, therefore, at which the disciple can say, “I have completed my service; now I want to be served.”  If this parable was prompted by the remark of the apostles at verse 5, then two things can be said,  First, the lesson is especially applicable to the leaders of the church who can easily forget that they are “servants of the servants of God.”  Because many people work out their relationship to God in the ways they relate to the minister, special treatment, both positive and negative, can contribute to that forgetfulness. Second, the request for increase of faith (verse 5) must not seduce the apostles or any leader to assume that with the increase comes elevation in position so that the period of serving ends.  Apostles and all leaders of the faithful come under the instructions for all disciples. In the field or in the house, a servant is a servant” (also Fred B. Craddock writing for Interpretation; A Bible Commentary: Luke: 1990 p. 200 and 201)

For me at least, this means that I should train myself to love serving to the point that it is my preferred state of being, in this life and in the next. I want to be the field hand and the house hand as well.  This earth is the field, heaven is the house. I am honored to serve in both. How about you?

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through and to God’s people and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

There was an error to today’s Ponder. Instead of Jonah I meant to say Job, and the subject sentence now reads. “Except for the Hebrew tale of Job which was created to show that bad things can happen to good people,  I can’t recall one Bible story where God helped someone for the help of that person alone.

Blessings, John+

Daily Office Readings of Saturday of Proper 21 Year 1

AM Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-6(7-13); PM Psalm 33 2 Kings 19:21-36; 1 Cor. 10:1-13; Matt:8:18-27

Psalm 107: 41 – 43

41 He lifted up the poor out of misery *
and multiplied their families like flocks of sheep.

42 The upright will see this and rejoice, *
but all wickedness will shut its mouth.

43 Whoever is wise will ponder these things, *
and consider well the mercies of the Lord.

I think verse 43 applies to the whole of Psalm 107.  But for me, and I hope for you who read this as well, the idea of pondering all of the words of our ancient writings brings us holy contemplation. In this particular case we are to ponder the mercies of the Lord.

When I reflect on my life up to this point I know for sure that there is a God and that God is good. I have been in situations, sometimes very dangerous situations that could have ended very badly, but didn’t.  I am thankful. But I don’t just let it go and say it was coincidence.

When I study and ponder the acts of God I see more and more that God intervenes in the lives of some people for the sake of more people. Except for the Hebrew tale of Job which was created to show that bad things can happen to good people,  I can’t recall one Bible story where God helped someone for the help of that person alone. The Capstone of worldwide salvation of course, is the coming and dying of Jesus Christ our Savior.

So when I ponder these things as the Psalmist instructs I begin to see that the mercies of God are not so much that I was personally brought out of bad situations, but that I am still here for the continued work God has for me to do.  Are you wise?  Ponder the mercies of God in your own history. If you are an instrument of God how has God used you for the spiritual benefit of others? You are here, and still here, for God’s purposes.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through and to God’s people and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

Readings for St. Francis of Assisi: Friar, 1226

Galatians 6:14-18 Psalm 121 Matthew 11:25-30

“My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.”  (Psalm 121:2)

Psalm 121 is the Psalm our Women’s Bible Study opens with every Tuesday afternoon.  The words are both very familiar to me and meaningful.  I have always looked to the hills and often pondered from where is my help to come.  And, there is some sense deep within my soul that informs me that “my help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” I think the same can be said of St Francis of Assisi.

Today we remember St. Francis of Assisi, “the son of a prosperous merchant of Assisi, was born in 1182. His early youth was spent in harmless revelry and fruitless attempts to win military glory.  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for October 4)  I often look for what I have in common with the saints that I share with you.  Like Francis, I too have a military past although I don’t think I was looking for glory. And, I stayed well past my youth.  God has a way of being in our path when the time is right regardless of our age.  And God comes to us in many and different ways.

Legend associates Francis with nature and the creatures of the earth.  Many people have statues of Francis in their gardens.  Perhaps we should have statues of Francis at our homeless shelters and hospitals as well as Francis was a devoted companion of the down trodden.

“Various encounters with beggars and lepers pricked the young man’s conscience, and he decided to embrace a life devoted to Lady Poverty. Despite his father’s intense opposition, Francis totally renounced all material values and devoted himself to serve the poor. In 1210, Pope Innocent III confirmed the simple Rule for the Order of Friars Minor, a name Francis chose to emphasize his desire to be numbered among the “least” of God’s servants.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for October 4)   Francis had many followers to fall away because of his insistence on intentional poverty.  It is so hard for us to not have stuff.   

“Of all the saints, Francis is the most popular and admired but probably the least imitated; few have attained to his total identification with the poverty and suffering of Christ.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for October 4)  Of the several saints I hold as heroes, Francis is not one of them.  I am very much aware of my reliance on some degree of materialism.  I don’t fault myself, but I do practice moderation. And in all this I remember that “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” 

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through and to God’s people and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

Readings for Thursday of Proper 21 Year 1

AM Psalm 105:1-22; PM Psalm 105:23-45 2 Kings 18:28-37; 1 Cor. 9:1-15; Matt. 7:22-29

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”  (Matthew 7:24)

The point here is that obeying Jesus is foundational to faith living. Many Christians like to worship and praise Jesus and that’s good. But even better is to do what Jesus says.  I can remember little “What Would Jesus Do” wrist bands.  Nice, but none of us can really do what Jesus did or is doing.  But we can love God and love our neighbor as ourselves; as Jesus commands us to do.

I have one of those Bibles that has everything that Jesus says in red ink.  It’s very useful for finding everything that Jesus said and then seeing what of what he says is actually telling us what to do. We can’t obey if we can’t find out what he tells us to do.

From the Gospels we are told to let our light shine; let our yes be yes and no be no; to love our enemies; give secretly to the needy; and the golden rule of “do to others what you would have them do to you.” And this is just from Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7.  There are many commands given to us by Jesus that we should be obeying. Perhaps I will list them all for publication one day.

My point is that while we should recognize and worship Jesus as our Savior and the Holy Son of God we must realize Jesus is no trinket to be polished with admiration and set aside.  Jesus utters words that must be followed.  In fact, among the very first words Jesus tells us in every Gospel is “Come,” or “Follow Me,” or a combination of both. Obeying Jesus is not for the faint of heart. It takes practice to not get angry or jealous or resentful or vindictive.  The good news is we don’t have to think about it, we are told to be this way by Jesus. So, we just obey and be happy in our spiritual house built on rock that nothing can destroy.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through and to God’s people and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

Readings for John Raleigh Mott  (January 31, 1955)

Isaiah 60:1-5  Psalm 71:17-24  Luke 7:11-17

“This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.” (Luke 7:17)

This verse from Luke expresses what John Raleigh Mott was all about, that is spreading the word about Jesus.  Interesting that the writer of Luke moves from Nain to “all Judea and surrounding country” when Nain is in Galilee to the north.  In any case, John Raleigh Mott’s day is tomorrow, the 3^rd of October but I am going to preach on him today so here you go. John Mott, a lay person did not let the lack of ordination prevent him from spreading the word about the Gospel.

“John Mott was born in Livingston Manor, New York, on May 25, 1865, and moved with family to Iowa in September of that same year. After graduating from Cornell University in 1888, Mott became student secretary of the International Committee of the YMCA and chairman of the executive committee of the Student Volunteer Movement.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for 3 October)

I just attended a Lutheran Brass Praise gathering yesterday.  It was wonderful.  The musicians were from Germany and absolutely loving people.  I mingle with Baptist, Presbyterians, Methodist, Roman Catholics and my own Episcopalians on almost a daily basis.  I am reminded that while we have all these different paths to heaven, there is only one Jesus. Mott dedicated his life to the propagation of ecumenical evangelization.

“ His [Mott’s] ecumenical work was rooted in the missionary slogan “The Evangelization of the World in this Generation.” Convinced of the need for better cooperation among Christian communions in the global mission field, he served as chairman of the committee that organized the International Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910, over which he also presided. Considered to be the broadest gathering of Christians up to that point, the Conference marked the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement.  Speaking before that Conference, Mott summed up his view of Christian missions: “It is a startling and solemnizing fact that even as late as the twentieth century, the Great Command of Jesus Christ to carry the Gospel to all mankind is still so largely unfulfilled . . . The church is confronted today, as in no preceding generation, with a literally worldwide opportunity to make Christ known.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for 3 October)

One does not have to be clergy to be honored in Christian community. In fact, I think a lay person who participates in the secular world but still follows his or her passion for spreading the Gospel should be given extra recognition. “The World Council of Churches, the founding of which was largely driven by Mott’s efforts, elected him its life-long Honorary President in 1948. Although Mott was a Methodist, the Episcopal Church recognized his work by making him an honorary canon of the National Cathedral. Mott died in 1955.”   (Great Cloud of Witnesses for 3 October)

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through and to God’s people and then ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+