onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 24 Year 1

AM Psalm 38; PM Psalm 119:25-48 Lam. 2:8-15; 1 Cor. 15:51-58; Matt. 12:1-14

“I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.”  (Matthew 12:6)

In this section of the Gospel of Matthew Jesus redefines what it means to respect the Sabbath and even the moderate reverence we should hold regarding brick and mortar houses of worship.

The real Holy of Holies is the mercy and love we have for one another.  Our love and mercy for each other is more important than sacred bread, sacred buildings or sacred days.  We can bake more bread and bless it.  We can build more buildings and bless them.  We can wait and another day of Sabbath will come.  But if we don’t bless one another with love and mercy we may never overcome the barrier that denies us eternal life.  For as we give love and mercy so too we receive love and mercy.  Unlike buildings, bread and special days, love and mercy are eternal. Love and mercy will not crumble over time as will bread and buildings.  And as for days, love and mercy has days that will never end.  

Jesus reminds them (and us), “But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”  (Mathew 12: 7 – 8)  So we all must understand that what we are capable of (love and mercy), is far greater and more important than anything else we can have, or do, or make for ourselves.

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

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of Proper 24 Year 1

AM Psalm 26, 28; PM Psalm 36, 39 Lam. 1:1-5(6-9)10-12; 1 Cor. 15:41-50; Matt. 11:25-30

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11: 29)

I used to interpret “taking Jesus’ yoke” as me wearing it by myself.  I thought this until I looked into the word yoke.  Yoke, at least in one understanding, is an instrument used to tether two work animals together to do the agricultural work of tilling the soil. Yokes are used to harness two draft animals together in order to pull heavy loads.

So now when I hear Jesus inviting me to take his yoke upon me I hear an invitation to join him in doing the work of ministry.  Further, it is by being yoked with Jesus that I learn from him.  I now realize that when Jesus sent out his apostles to heal and cast out demons, he sent then out yoked.

This idea of being yoked carries with it the idea of learning from Jesus through being yoked with another believer.  If we partner with someone whom we respect for their steadfast belief in God in Christ Jesus we learn from them, and they from us.  When we partner together with someone we often switch places with them as mentor and protégé; as master and apprentice; as teacher and disciple. In this sharing we both benefit from Jesus working through us. But we must remember how Jesus teaches.  He says he is “gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  With Jesus’ method of teaching, our yoked learning is win – win. Find Jesus in someone today and yoke with them for the work of ministry.

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

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 24 Year 1

AM Psalm 25; PM Psalm 9, 15 Jer. 44:1-14; 1 Cor. 15:30-41; Matt. 11:16-24

“Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.”  (1 Corinthians 15:39)

Paul basically separates the animal groups such as Mammals, birds, fish and so forth.  He was probably ahead of his time.  I like his view that all human beings are of one flesh.

I have felt this way for a long time, since my anthropology class in undergraduate school. Our instructor explained that in his view there is no such thing as race. Further, race he said, is a human construct by which we show difference among humans and where there is difference there are those who may be considered “better” or “worse” than others.

His view, and perhaps Paul’s view, is that since any man or woman among us may have children together, we are one species.  God came among us born of Mary as one of us in this human species.  Paul will go on to talk about the planting of this body (in death) in order that we will be transformed into a spiritual body but even then we will be of one spiritual type. Paul says, “It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.” (1 Corinthians 15:44).

I believe all humanity needs to have a greater appreciation of who we are and our place in the universe.  We have the potential to be the balance of universal peace in all of God’s creation.  But it must start with us here on this planet our island home. Then no matter what we may encounter beyond our sphere of existence, be they bird, fish, insect or reptile, we will infect them not with disease or pollutants, but with love and peace.  However, all charity starts at home.

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

Eucharistic Readings for Sunday of Proper 24 Year C

Jeremiah 31:27-34 Psalm 119:97-104  2 Timothy 3:14-4:5  Luke 18:1-8

“And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?  I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”” (Luke 18: 7 – 8)

This parable is so much like the parable about the man who received guests but with nothing to feed them.  He went to his neighbor’s door at midnight and knocked and asked for something to feed his guests. At first the neighbor refused and said that he and his children had gone to bed.  But Jesus says that because the man in need is persistent he will get up and give him whatever he needs.  (Luke 11: 5 – 8)  We humans are hard wired to give in to requests. It is perhaps in this way that we are created in God’s Image.

I think prayer is a state of being.  Inwardly we all ask ourselves what is my life all about.  What does God want of me?  We have fancy words for this kind of seeking.  We call it discernment.  We ask what our “call” is. But we also ask for our needs to be filled.  All of us stand in the need of prayer.

We may not want to admit it but we are born to beg.  God wants to hear our requests. If we are begging God for something, it means that we at least believe in God.

So when the Son of Man comes will he come as a result of prayer,  prayer brought on by faith?  Because you see, the genesis of prayer is faith.  Therefore, where there is prayer there already has to be faith.

We can have faith and yet not pray.  But if we pray it is evident that we believe, and therefore have faith.  And it is through that very faith that we pray.  Jesus wants to know if we will have faith when he comes- when he comes to answer our prayers. You are people of faith.  Therefore, pray, and pray always.

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

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of Proper 23 Year 1

AM Psalm 20, 21:1-7(8-14); PM Psalm 110:1-5(6-7), 116, 117 2 Kings 25:8-12,22-26; 1 Cor. 15:12-29; Matt. 11:7-15

“As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someonedressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.” (Matthew 11: 7 – 9)

Jesus explains to the people that they have to be open to how God is working with people without any preconceived notion about what to expect.  God uses those who will let God use them.

All through scripture we see a God who surprises us. We see a God who blesses us through one man (Abraham) who dares to put to death his own son in obedience to God in Genesis.  We see a God who finds a way through the sea when the Israelites thought they were doomed by the onrush of the Egyptians in Exodus. We see a God who comes to us for our salvation as a human baby born of Mary in the Gospel.  Yes, God works with us to save us. And yet, the only thing we can be sure of is that we don’t know how God will act next.

We need not go anywhere to look for anything.  God will use you or me wherever we are as God sees fit if you or I will surrender to God like Abraham, Moses, and Mary for the sake of others as God did with John the Baptist in the wilderness.

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

Daily Office Readings for Saint Luke

AM: Psalm 103; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Luke 1:1-4 PM: Psalm 67, 96; Isaiah 52:7-10; Acts 1:1-8

Today we remember St Luke.  I share with you the opening of his Gospel and the Opening of the Acts of the Apostles.

“Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.” (Luke 1: 1 – 4)

“In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying^* with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father.”  (Acts 1: 1 – 4)

There is no doubt among scholars that the same hand wrote both books of the Bible. He gave us a lot in terms of the Nativity and special parables and stories and an Easter experience.  That’s a lot considering he was not an Apostle only a student of Paul who took good notes..

From James Kiefer:  “Almost all that we know about Luke comes from the New Testament. He was a physician (Col 4:14), a companion of Paul on some of his missionary journeys (Acts 16:10ff; 20:5ff; 27-28). Material found in his Gospel and not elsewhere includes much of the account of Our Lord’s birth and infancy and boyhood, some of the most moving parables, such as that of the Good Samaritan and that of the Prodigal Son, and three of the sayings of Christ on the Cross: “Father, forgive them,” “Thou shalt be with me in Paradise,” and “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.””

Thank you Dr. Luke

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

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of Proper 23 Year 1

AM Psalm 18:1-20; PM Psalm 18:21-50 Jer. 38:1-13; 1 Cor. 14:26-33a,37-40; Matt. 10:34-42

“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” (Matthew 10:40)

We Christians too often forget that we carry Jesus within us. Whether we greet old friends as Jesus did upon his return to Nazareth where they rejected him, or, as he met new people on his traveling ministry, he was loving and kind.   If we truly profess Jesus as Savior and yes, Master, then we should try as best we can to be like him.

But just as we have Jesus in us through the swallowing of his body and blood, so too Jesus comes as a spiritual Trojan Horse with God, the Creator inside him.  So that means that as Christians we have Jesus in each of us and also God who is of the same substance as Jesus himself.  It’s complicated but the long and short of it is that we are all more than we seem to be.  Each Christian contains Jesus and within that Jesus is the I AM of Creation!  Yes, in you, you who are reading this blog.

Jesus says that “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”  We have an awesome privilege and responsibility.  We are the perfect little trinity. We are who we are but in addition to who we are we also have the Lord Jesus inside us to guide us into all love and perfection.  And within the Holy Presence of Jesus inside us is The ONE who started and maintains all that is.  What does this make you think about yourself?  The spark of creation resides in you somewhere. All the mysteries of the universe are already contained in you.  Perhaps this is why Jesus says every time there is a healing done for someone, (he never says that he did it) he says to them, and to us, “Your faith has made you well.”

Through our Christian faith, Jesus manipulates the God piece in us to give us the healing we need. We then must go out into the world and be present to others so that the Jesus in us at least gets the opportunity to meet the Jesus in the other.  Thank You Jesus.

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

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 23 Year 1

AM Psalm 119:1-24; PM Psalm 12, 13, 14 Jer. 37:3-21; 1 Cor. 14:13-25; Matt. 10:24-33

“Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret.” (1 Corinthians 14:13)

One of my greatest experiences was to be in Greek class at Virginia Theological Seminary 14 years ago and begin learning and understanding Biblical Greek.  Written on the outside of our workbook was the Greek inscription, “Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. (In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and God was the Word.” (John 1:1)  I could feel the Holy Spirit overshadow me as I unwrapped the meaning of these ancient words. 

Even as I am typing out this post I am preparing to participate in our Wednesday afternoon Spanish Bible Study.  It is always informative to hear scripture in a different tongue. New meanings are made manifest and “adjusted” direction is often given to me.

When I was in Israel last year I got to mingle with people from all over Europe. Many of them spoke to one another in their, or the other’s, language.  I was amazed. While having fun with me a person from France told me (in English) that a person who speaks three languages is called Tri-lingual; likewise a person who speaks two languages is called Bilingual. However he said, a person who speaks only one language is called American.  Ha, ha I replied. Sadly, there is truth in it.

The more ways we can speak, or at least read, about God the more ways we can interpret the Word of God. Paul says “Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret.” In the beginning was the Word, whether in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish or English or any human language, The Word of God is God from before the beginning of time. Perhaps it would do us (Americans) good to see how others speak of God and of the wonders of Jesus. When I do it I gain new insight.

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

Readings for Teresa of Avila

Psalm 42:1-7 Romans 8:22-27 Matthew 5:13-16

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Today we remember Teresa of Avila. “Teresa was one of two women declared a “Doctor of the Church” in 1970 by the Roman Catholic Church, primarily because of her two mystical contemplative works, The Way of Perfection and Interior Castle. She was a close spiritual and personal friend of St. John of the Cross.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for October 15)

Like all great mystics there is a connection to other mystics of their day. For Teresa it was St. John of the Cross whose work was not discovered until after his death.  All of us who seek God need to partner with someone as mentor and protégé to better hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.

“Teresa was born near Avila. Even in her childhood, she took much pleasure in the study of saints’ lives, and she used to delight in spending times of contemplation, repeating over and over, “For ever, for ever, for ever, for ever, they shall see God.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for October 15)

Teresa did join a Carmelite order but was not happy with their structure. “The easygoing life of the “mitigated” Carmelite rule distracted her from her customary prayer life, to which she returned. Taking recourse in two great penitents, Augustine of Hippo and Mary Magdalene, she became increasingly meditative. She began to receive visions—whether from God or the Devil she could not know—and struggled to reject them.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for October 15)

Her personal piety was much more structured than the cloister with which she belonged.  I often feel that way. I live a pious life with daily attention to the Daily Office of the Episcopal Church. I don’t think many clergy or laity devotes this same amount of dedication to our readings and journaling.  I am particularly pleased that Teresa patterned her pious life from a dedicated acetic like Augustine of Hippo and a Biblical personality like Mary Magdalene.  These are two people who lived totally for Christ even though several hundred years apart.  We all should find such mentors to emulate (one Biblical and one from Church history).  Christ now lives in each Christian as Teresa points out in one of her poems:

“Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks
compassion on this world
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”  (Great Cloud of Witnesses for October 15)

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

Daily Office Readings for Monday of Proper 23 Year 1

AM Psalm 1, 2, 3; PM Psalm 4, 7  Jer. 36:11-26;  1 Cor. 13:(1-3)4-13;   Matt. 10:5-15

“And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

This verse is perhaps among the most famous words of Paul.  It is used at weddings and other occasions to bring joy to the event.  These words are the summation of the definition of the word love.

Just to show the relativity of love to the other important spiritual guides in our lives, faith and hope, Paul compares love.  Faith speaks of what we believe and in what or who we trust. It is now and where we are in this moment.  Faith is adjustable, can be taught, can be reshaped to fit new understanding.

Hope is what we are looking forward to. It is futuristic, not yet, but longed for. Hope works beyond faith as it tries to make sense of what should be.  Hope wants to love but can’t see completely, only in part.  Hope longs for improvement.

Love is complete and does not concern itself with what will be because love is now. It is unconditionally compassionate now and always looking forward only to deeper relationship. Love is not earned but freely given to all whether asked for or not. And most important, love is that quality about us that is eternal, it cannot be destroyed.  Love then, is energy!

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