onewhoponders

Eucharistic Readings for Sunday, July 14, 2019 Year C Track I

Amos 7:7-17 Psalm 82 Colossians 1:1-14 Luke 10:25-37

“Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”  (Amos 7:14-15)

Amaziah thought he knew who Amos was.  He thought Amos was one who made his living as a Prophet, but he was wrong. I am a lot like Amaziah, a cynic. I always look for the “what’s in it for the person proposing the deal.”  Mechanics want to do diagnostics on your car that cost you but brings in money for them.  The same is true for the medical field. They want to run “procedures” for which they will be paid to do.  Financial advisors charge you to do your budget; personal trainers workout all day anyway and want you to pay for it.  Why don’t they all get jobs like everybody else? Yes, I’m a cynical mess.  Why can’t people have regular jobs and do their personal helping on the side.

Amos tells him that he was of the working class with no intention of being a preacher.  But God intervened into his life with a mission.  God has to find those of us who are not trying to be special to do the special work of salvation.

From the Gospel reading for today Jesus tells of the Samaritan who finds a wounded man left for dead on the side of the road.  The Samaritan is not necessarily a doctor but cared about human life. He tended to the man and made provisions for his continued care. (Luke 10)  The very people entrusted with the care of the people (the Priest and the Levite) pondered the negative consequences to themselves and avoided contact with the wounded man. They pondered the “what’s in it for me?” question.  See what’s wrong with being a cynic?

You know, the reality is that it doesn’t matter what your vocation is. Some of the most loving and caring people in the world are doctors, mechanics, and financial advisors.  I know all of mine by name and truly believe they have my best interest at heart.  I don’t have a personal trainer; I do that myself, “on the side.”   If your mind is set on being a productive citizen who cares about others, you are someone who can be used by God to influence those who have not seen the light that you are already walking in. And like Amos, you too may be called from your own work to do the saving work of God.  This also happened to Paul who was tent maker, but he never stopped being a tent maker. Peter, even after the Resurrection, said, “I’m going fishing.” (John 21:3)  This was his vocation from the beginning. So one could argue his teaching and preaching was in addition to his fishing, not instead of.  This is truly something to ponder.

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do.  John+

Daily Office Readings for Saturday Proper 9 of Year 1

AM Psalm 20, 21:1-7(8-14); PM Psalm 110:1-5(6-7), 116, 117 1 Samuel 17:31-49; Acts 11:1-18; Mark 1:14-28

“So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”  (Acts 11:2 – 3)

Both the reading in 1 Samuel and the Acts reading contain attitudes about circumcision.  In 1 Samuel David refers to Goliath as the uncircumcised. And in Acts the Jewish believers are trying to hold Peter accountable for eating with the uncircumcised Gentiles.

As a Christian I believe the only act that we can do that makes us different in the eyes of God is Baptism, and the operative word is different, not better.  Baptism, unlike circumcision, is performed on both males and females alike. But Baptism should not make us anti-social.  We are still obligated to treat others as brothers and sisters no matter what they believe or even whether or not they believe anything at all. All are children of God. But baptism has a special purpose.

The Baptized are called out from among the population to serve others and preach the Gospel in deed and word, in that order.  St Francis of Assisi is understood to have said, “Go forth and preach the Gospel and when necessary use words.” This implies that we are first to be doers of good deeds.  And as an explanation of such deeds, speak of the Gospel of Christ. 

   “William  Temple (One Time Arch Bishop of Canterbury) is widely regarded as the most brilliant Archbishop of Canterbury since St. Anselm of Canterbury and, alongside Frederick Denison Maurice, as one of its most eminent theological thinkers. Winston Churchill paid him tribute as “a sixpenny article in a penny bazaar.” One of his [Temple] more famous sayings is that: “The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.” (https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/William_Temple) So not only do we eat with those who have not been baptized, we serve them. Thank you Bishop Temple. We therefore, are baptized into the service of all humanity through Jesus Christ.

Since we, the Baptized, make up the community of the Church, we not only do not ask “why” we are mixing with others, but we give God thanks for it happening. Those who have not been baptized, or taken it seriously, need us more than they know.  So if we are asked why we are mingling with non church people let us respond with the words of St. Peter, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)  As the baptized we are not called to shun people but to show people; not to sever people, but to serve people.

Therefore, let us hear what the Spirit is saying through (and to) God’s people.  John+

Daily Office Readings for Friday Proper 9 of Year 1

AM Psalm 16, 17; PM Psalm 22 1 Samuel 17:17-30; Acts 10:34-48; Mark 1:1-13

“I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me, night after night.” (Psalm 16:7)

I am one who ponders.  I meditate.  Like the Psalmist, much of my meditation is done at night before bed or in bed.  As I go over my day I ponder what was good and what was not so good.  I ask myself, what have I learned today.  Sometimes I learn a lot, sometimes, not so much.  I have come to the conclusion that if what I learn does not change my life, modify my behaviors or habits in some small way it was a waste of time and meditation.

This is how my heart teaches me night after night.  I think about the repeating messages that come to me from different people.  Most recently a friend visited me at the church to practice guitar.  I am blessed by his friendship and his love of guitar. My greatest take-away was his telling me to just practice a few minutes a day.  He said that’s enough for muscle memory to kick in and make it feel more natural.  This is more or less my paraphrasing of his words.  I find his words a God-sent message because one of our pianist told me the same thing about the piano.  This is not just about music, although I do believe there is a musical quality about God.

God often uses different people to bring us the same message. When the message is generic, that is, could be applied across a variety of topics, I ponder about how I can make use of such information. For example: could fifteen minutes a day be a good way to approach not only music, but reading, prayer, exercise, maintenance repairs, and yes, pondering itself.  The regularity of a few minutes a day is more about making a life change, about modifying your behavior and becoming a part of who you are. 

My guitar friend also said that if my plan for improving my guitar skills (or anything) is for more than just a few minutes a day I am more likely to tell myself that I don’t have the time necessary to do it at all and it results in not doing anything at all.  Again, this is good information. It is through incremental small steps that babies learn to walk. I find that as I exercise in the mornings I am able to increase the number repetitions I am able to do. Also,  I have a person that sits with me in spiritual companionship who says she is now able to sit for longer periods. I think that’s great but not the goal; nor is my increasing repetitions.  Just keeping the few minutes a day is good enough.

So this is how my pondering mind works.  This is why I like the words of the Psalmist where he says, “I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me, night after night.”  Very often the words you hear, especially the “repeated” words are tools that can be applied across different walks in your life. I am one who ponders.  I invite you to ponder about what God is saying to you through what you hear, and what you read, and what you see. Please know, God is at work in you.

And ponder anew what the Almighty is doing. John+

Daily Office Readings for Thursday Proper 9 of Year 1

AM Psalm 18:1-20; PM Psalm 18:21-50 1 Samuel 16:14-17:11; Acts 10:17-33; Luke 24:36-53

“And he said to them, ‘You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.” (Acts 10:28)

This passage follows up on yesterday’s message regarding no one is profane.  While the inclusiveness of food was used to illustrate this point, God’s message is clear.  All people are loved by God.  Peter recalls his message from God and how important all people are.

The important message here is to take the time to discern what God is saying about our human relationships.  We have plenty of human laws and customs and habits that attempt to control not only how we relate to others but also (and this is Peter’s situation) who we relate with.  We have laws and rules that monitor and limits who we can relate with.  God makes it clear that all people are the beloved of God and are not profane or even any less human than we are.  This is true no matter what language they speak, their nationality, their dress, their sexual orientation, or even what religion (or non religion) they profess or not.  We are not to judge, we are to love.  That’s all, just love others.  That is how we relate to others, all others.

Benedict of Nursia: July 11

Today we remember Benedict of Nursia.  He is considered the father of Western Monasticism.  I think what I like most about what he taught was the way he structured the day for his monks.  His example can be followed by us ordinary people as well. “Its average day provides for a little over four hours to be spent in liturgical prayer, a little over five hours in spiritual reading, about six hours of work, one hour for eating, and about eight hours of sleep. The entire Psalter is to be recited in the Divine Office once every week.  At profession, the new monk takes vows of “stability, amendment of life, and obedience.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for July 11)

More and more religious and non religious organizations are realizing the spiritual benefit of having a rule of life.  One could argue that the Ten Commandments are a rule of life. While some of the Ten Commandments are what to do, “Love God, Keep the Sabbath, Honor parents” etc.  Most of the Commandments are about what not to do, “Do not use the Lord’s Name in vain, do not steal, do not murder” etc.  Benedict’s Rule focused on the former, what one should do.  These rules, or vows as they were called, framed their words in such a way as to instruct the monk to remain within the community (Stability); to devote one’s self to prayer and study (Amendment of Life); and obeying the leadership (Obedience).  I think our own Baptismal Covenant provides a rule of life as it requires us to “respect the dignity of every human being.” (BCP 305) among other relational rules of life.  This is the same inclusiveness of God that Simon Peter learned and then proclaimed as he stood before Cornelius, someone his legal system had prevented him from having a relationship with. Relationship restrictions are not God’s Way.

Therefore, let us hear what the Spirit is saying through (and to) God’s people. John+

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday Proper 9 of Year 1

AM Psalm 119:1-24; PM Psalm 12, 13, 14 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Acts 10:1-16; Luke 24:12-35

“He stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ He answered, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.”  (Acts 10:4)

Those of us who pray believe our prayers ascend up into the heavens.  And we believe God hears them.  But what about the alms we give?  What about the money we give to the needy?

It is obvious that money does not go up to heaven. However, the generosity, concern, commitment and care for the less fortunate is made manifest in a divine goodness that does go up the God.

Cornelius was a Roman army officer, theoretically in charge of a hundred men. “In New Testament times, an estimated ten per cent of the population of the Roman Empire consisted of God-fearers, Gentiles who recognized that the pagan belief in many gods and goddesses, who according to the myths about them were given to adultery, treachery, intrigue, and the like, was not a religion for a thoughtful and moral worshipper, and who had accordingly embraced an ethical monotheism — belief in One God, who had created the world, and who was the upholder of the Moral Law.” (James Kiefer)

When I first inquired about the Episcopal Church some forty plus years ago I read a brochure that said the Episcopal Church was a “thinking man’s church.”  Today it would probably say a “thinking person’s church.”  But the point is the same, a wise and thoughtful person who has realized that our existence is not just a random act and that all walks of human life are both needed and precious in God’s eyes will seek out a community of worshipers that fully inculcates the principles of loving God and neighbor with the full understanding that all people are our neighbors.

This neighborly inclusivity is brought to fruition in the food example shown to Simon Peter while he was in his trance.  The voice said to him to kill and eat various kinds of animals.  Peter initially refused because he was taught that some animals were unclean or profane.  Then, the voice said to him again, a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’”  (Acts 10:15)

Perhaps it’s a jump with this metaphor but the writer of Acts sees this inclusiveness of food the same as the inclusiveness of people. No one is profane or unclean or not worthy of love and compassion. We are all God-made and God-loved. We are sent like Simon Peter to model that inclusive image.

Therefore, let us hear what the Spirit is saying through (and to) God’s people.

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday Proper 9 of Year 1

AM Psalm 5, 6; PM Psalm 10, 11 1 Samuel 15:24-35; Acts 9:32-43; Luke 23:56b-24:11

“Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.” (Acts 9:40)

This is truly remarkable.  Simon Peter, a former fisherman, now theologian, healer, and miracle worker. Through Jesus, Peter was able to raise Tabitha (or Dorcas) from the dead.  Of special note is the fact that Peter didn’t seem to be impressed by what her friends wanted to show him as proof that she was a good person.  From the minute he was summoned his mind was set to bring her back. 

Before Peter performed this miracle he healed a man paralyzed for eight years.  Then he answered the call to Joppa.  He remained in Joppa for some time staying with yet another Simon who was a tanner.

It seems that Peter never forgot his own roots.  He preferred the company of the working class as opposed to royalty or persons of high degree.  This is happening even as he himself is becoming a person of high degree.  He is sought after from all over when believers are in trouble.

When we examine Peter’s formative years we see a man who denied Christ three times and was ashamed of himself for it.  Now he is dedicating the remaining years of his life to the service of Christ, not to pay-back good for his misdoings, but rather in total submission to his love for the same Jesus he once denied that he even knew.  As I type these words, the words of the middle verse of “Come thou fount of every blessing” come to mind.  Permit me please:

“Here I find my greatest treasure; hither by thy help, I’ve come; and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.  Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God; he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.” Words by Robert Robinson as found in our 1982 Hymnal number 686.

For me, these words not only sum up Peter’s experience but my own as well.  I was an un-churched Marine who discovered Jesus during a personal crisis.  I didn’t know I had a home beyond this earth to arrive at.  So through a friend whose name was Jeff  H.  I was led to the Episcopal Church and from there I was rescued from the dangers of this world.  This doesn’t mean I can’t get hurt, but I now know that I have the blessed assurance of eternal salvation.

Like Peter, I too was more of a blue-collar worker; I was a Mover (of household goods) like my Dad, and then a Marine and now a priest.  And like Peter I find myself comfortable with most anybody but still identify with the blue collar working class.  I too go to where I am called and pray for God in Christ to help me. I pray you who read this message do the same.

Let us praise God from whom all blessings flow.  John+

Daily Office Readings for Monday Proper 9 of Year 1

AM Psalm 1, 2, 3; PM Psalm 4, 7 1 Samuel 15:1-3,7-23; Acts 9:19b-31; Luke 23:44-56a

“When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.  But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.” (Acts 9:26 – 27)

Barnabas seems to be someone who looks deeper into how God changes people. The below article is from James Kiefer, an amateur (but well respected) Church biographer:

“Joseph, a Levite, born in Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (son of encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and turned it over to the apostles.” (Acts 4:36f). This is the first mention we have of Barnabas.

His new name fits what we know of his actions. When Saul (or Paul) came to Jerusalem after his conversion, most of the Christians there wanted nothing to do with him. They had known him as a persecutor and an enemy of the Church. But Barnabas was willing to give him a second chance. He looked him up, spoke with him, and brought him to see the other Christians, vouching for him. Later, Paul and Barnabas went on a missionary journey together, taking Mark with them. Part way, Mark turned back and went home. When Paul and Barnabas were about to set out on another such journey, Barnabas proposed to take Mark along, and Paul was against it, saying that Mark had shown himself undependable. Barnabas wanted to give Mark a second chance, and so he and Mark went off on one journey, while Paul took Silas and went on another. Apparently Mark responded well to the trust given him by the “son of encouragement,” since we find that Paul later speaks of him as a valuable assistant (2 Tim 4:11; see also Col 4:10 and Phil 24).” By James Kiefer

From James Kiefer’s article we learn that Barnabas is a giver of second chances. Not only that, he goes out and advocates for Paul before the apostles.  In this we get to see the difference between disciples (students) and apostles (those sent).  Barnabas gives Paul a second chance but interestingly Paul does not want to give Mark a second chance, at least initially. 

We all make mistakes.  We all need that very important second chance.  As Saul experienced, it is a hard thing to come by.  We need more people like Barnabas in the world.  We need more people willing to be with people who have erred and help them explain their change of position in life and then to walk with them as a partner in the new creation they are becoming. 

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through (and to) God’s people. John+

Eucharistic Readings for Sunday Proper 9 of Year C

2 Kings 5:1-14 Psalm 30 Galatians 6:(1-6)7-16 Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

“Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10: 20)

Before we get to the above quote, Jesus says twice for them to eat whatever they are served and to not go from house to house and whether they are welcomed or not, to let them know that the kingdom of heaven has come near.  Jesus wants us to be fully with the people that receive us. Jesus wants us to be one with them in their homes and at their tables. And if this can’t be, let them know that it does not stop the oncoming kingdom of heaven.

This kingdom of heaven is the new place of our citizenship and where we belong if we love the Lord and follow in God’s Ways. This is where our Christened names are filed. We should rejoice that our names are on the rolls of heaven.

This is the Independence Day Weekend.  We celebrate our temporal citizenship as Americans who are free to govern ourselves by majority rule as made manifest by the vote.  Scripture informs me however that the majority does not always get it right.  The majority wanted Aaron to make an idol calf to worship for the people in the wilderness (Exodus 32:1 – 6).  Likewise, it was the majority of the people in Jerusalem who insisted that Jesus be condemned to death (John 18:35).  So we the majority need to be checked every now and then.

But we have much to be thankful for as Americans. Our Independence freed us from the tyranny of a monarch so that we could start our own governance of he people, by the people and for the people.  However, even in that governance not all were treated as equals.  We are getting better. We are evolving.  Over time we are truly becoming more Christ-like even given that we were not founded as A Christen nation but rather an independent nation.

 America, I believe, is the city shinning on a hill.  We are a light to the nations. When we lift our voice to God in prayer, we can’t know how God will respond.  We only know that God will respond.  Like Naaman of 2^nd Kings 5, we must listen and obey God’s leadership and let go of our own preconceived ideas about how God should respond to us.   We must live into what it means to be the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”

When doing all the good that we can do following the commands of Jesus, we will see amazing things, amazing transformations taking place in people. We will see Jesus at work in the people we take Jesus to and see them transformed.  And we will notice that evil begins to diminish like Satan falling from the heavens – the heavens where we will reside forever.  It’s all part of God’s plan and it is truly marvelous in our eyes.

Thank you Jesus. John+

Daily Office Readings for Saturday Proper 8 of Year 1

AM Psalm 137:1-6(7-9), 144; PM Psalm 104 1 Samuel 14:16-30; Acts 9:10-19a; Luke 23:32-43

“But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:13 – 15)

Ananias is in a hard place.  He feared Saul and what he has come to do in Damascus.  Yet, he is in counsel with the Risen Lord who instructs him to go to Saul anyway.  God has given to Saul a great gift of preaching.  Saul however, has wasted his gift and his time following the ways of the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.  Now Jesus is calling in what is owed to God from Saul who is unaware of his own potential.

In the “Pauling” of Saul God opened his eyes to see a different way.  Saul/Paul never met Jesus in the flesh, he only met those who followed in his Way.  This “Jesus” Movement was something that was troubling to the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.  They had their henchman Saul to go out and do their dirty work. But he was taken away from them by Jesus himself and now the table has turned. Paul is preaching Jesus as the Savior of the world!

How many (or who) of us today possess Holy Gifts from God that we are either not using at all or (and even worse) using in the wrong way?  Far too many of us do not sit down quietly and meditate on what Jesus is asking of us.  Perhaps we think that Jesus doesn’t do that kind of thing anymore. Maybe some of us have already written ourselves off as unworthy to be used by God.

Let me address both of these.  First of all, God in Christ Jesus has always been, is now, and always will be acting in creation. There is no “used to do” with God. God is The Unchanging change agent.

Second, to say that God can’t or won’t use you is really not about you. Such a statement is about the limitation of God – God who has no limits.  I myself am living proof that God can and will use anybody to do good in the world.  I failed grades in elementary school; I dropped out of high school altogether and was set on my own destructive path to my dreaded Damascus.  But through various people in my life, my own experiences, with my own versions of Ananias, I was made to see the path that Jesus wanted me to follow.  I am still meeting Ananias in different persons today. They come in all walks of human life, black, white, old, young, male, female, American and foreign born, heterosexual and homosexual. And I am sure that some of my Ananias’ were afraid to approach me but they followed Jesus’ instruction and here I am. I earned a bachelorette degree and two Master’s degrees and am an ordained Episcopal Priest.  I am no Paul but I am trying hard to make use of my God given gifts.

Have you met any of your Ananias’ yet?  I’ll bet you have.  Now you just need to let the scales fall from your eyes and see what the Lord wants you to do.

And ponder anew what the Almighty is doing. John+

Daily Office Readings for Friday Proper 8 of Year 1

AM Psalm 140, 142; PM Psalm 141, 143:1-11(12) 1 Samuel 13:19-14:15; Acts 9:1-9; Luke 23:26-31

“For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’ (Luke 23: 31)

Jesus is observing the character of people in what they perceive as good times, “while the wood is green.”  So how will people act in hard times? Or as Fred B. Craddock writes in “Luke” (Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Knox Press 1990), “Jesus recites a proverb (Luke 23:31) to the effect that if such a tragedy as his death can occur in a time of relatively non-inflammatory, imagine the holocaust when Jerusalem is a tinderbox.”  (p. 271)

Today we have tragedies happening all the time. We have school shootings, work place shootings, and all kinds of man-made horror taking place during our relative “Good times.”  We should be very careful that we don’t get desensitized to these horrors.  It makes us callous and non caring about the slaughter of the innocent.  Every life matters. White lives mater, black lives matter, Asian lives matter, and Hispanic lives matter. Any person or persons killed or unfairly treated is a matter of “stop what we are doing and figure it out.” 

Our wood is green now in America.  There are no wars going on within our borders. We are not occupied by a foreign country.  There are many countries that can’t say that. Citizens of such places feel as though their lives are worthless.  Unfortunately, they also think we, here in America, feel the same way about their lives given that we do little to help them.  We indeed are our brothers and sisters keeper.  The wood is dry in other places, a virtual tinder box or powder keg. 

I can imagine a new kind of “Green Peace” wherein we go to places in an effort to bring the wood back to life – making it “green” again, all based on Jesus’ words, “For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’  If times were better in our neighbor countries they would be more inclined to be satisfied raising their families and becoming world partners in a global way from where they live. Moreover, there is more to this than just the wood being green.  Jesus spoke of the wood being green while Israel and Judah were occupied by Roman forces.  So, while the wood was green it was not flourishing, not budding.  We can do better.  

I believe the time will eventually come when we will need an Earth Police in order to establish and maintain peace on our planet.  We can’t continue to turn a blind eye to our neighbor’s problems and feel like it’s not our problem.  What effects them, affects us to the point there is no “us –them.”  We are all one under God. 

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying through (and to) God’s people.  John+