onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of the 4^th Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 75 and 76; Evening, Psalms 23 and 27;  

Genesis 24:28 to 38 and 49 to 51; Hebrews 12:12 to 29; John 7:14 to 36:

“Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

Sometimes seeking peace is hard to do.  Some people act as if they don’t want peace.  As hard as it might be, listening is probably the one (although painful) thing we can do to soften ourselves in order that we might begin the process to establishing some sort of peace.

When we listen, we learn.  We might learn that we were right all along about the stubbornness and ignorance of the other person.  But, listening might also bring about learning the fears and misunderstandings that the other person labors under. If we are true to ourselves, we might also learn that we were ignorant and stubborn. When we listen, we learn.

Learning brings about some degree of understanding. Learning casts light on the darkness of misunderstanding. It’s hard to remain harsh to a person when we fully understand what the problems are, when we see the issue from their perspective.  When we understand, we become more tolerant.  When we become more tolerant we shift into feeling the concern of the other and a little compassion seeps in, and love for the other develops . Loving others is God’s hope for us.

Listening, learning and loving takes place in pursuit of peace.  The grace of God follows the peace of God. And it is the peace of God that our Lord Jesus graciously shares with us if we will but accept it. This truly makes us a holy people. And how do we seek holiness?  Holiness has to be freely given by God as grace.  As you read this, may the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always so that with grace you may see the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

The Presentation Readings:

Psalm 84 or 24:7-10; 
Malachi 3:1 to 4; Hebrews 2:14 to 18; Luke 2:22 to 40:

“There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day.”  (Luke 2:36 and 37)

The prophet Anna is an interesting story.  Like the Judge Debra in Judges of the Hebrew Testament, they both had husbands of no importance. It seems in order to be spoken well of as a woman they had to be married according to the male writers of the day. However, she was only married for seven years. I wonder how old Anna was when she married.  She lived to reach 84!

It says she never left the temple.  Perhaps if she did, as a woman, she could never get back in. In some way she got food and relief within the Temple walls. But she was there for a purpose. “She came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child.” (Luke 2: 38)

Every person born has a purpose. God assigns each of us some prophetic responsibility for the benefit of those around us. Such assignments may cause us to undergo hardships but it is the Lord’s work.  It doesn’t matter how we got where we are, or who we are, God knows what a community needs and you may just be the person chosen by God to bring them the Good News!

 “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done” (Genesis 2:1 and 2). So, for this evening and tomorrow day my friends, Shabbat Shalom. 

What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the 4^th Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 71; Evening, Psalm 74;

Genesis 23:1 to 20; Hebrews 11:32 to 12:2; John 6:60 to 71:

“It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63)

We have the Spirit of God in us. And our Lord Jesus says it is this God-given spirit that gives us life.  We are more than blood-pumping hearts and lungs that exchange air.  As the saying goes, we are so much more than the sum of our parts. I know and have had experience with medical doctors who place their faith well ahead of their practice. Flesh is useless when it comes to maintaining itself. it is the spirit in us that gives real life to the flesh.

The Spirit speaks to us. The spirit in us serves as a communicator that connects us with the will of God. To realize what God is saying all we have to do is be still and quiet.  Sure, our minds will wonder.  But as we regularly practice contemplative exercises by keeping times of sitting quietly we will get better at receiving God’s guidance. As we learn from the lost son in Chapter 15 verse 7 of Luke’s account of the Gospel, we will get better at coming to our senses, or to ourselves (depending on which translation you read). Times of meditation will reorient us into being who God intends for us to be.

From Blaise Pascal we learn that “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  Down time, specifically quiet time, is the medicine of the soul.  It is during such quiet times that God visits us.  This lesson runs throughout the Bible: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, Hagar, Elijah, Mary, Joseph and our Lord Jesus who was setting the example for us to follow. 

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 72; Evening, Psalm 119:73-96:
Genesis 22:1 to 18; Hebrews 11:23 to 31; John 6:52  to 59:

“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;” (John 6:54)

I joined the Episcopal Church with the introduction of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Holy Communion became the liturgy for every Sunday as the weekly Feast Day of our Lord. I have heard that before the 1979 Prayer Book, Holy Communion was celebrated once or perhaps twice a month on specific Sundays. It was decided (using the same scriptures we had always used), that every Sunday was the Feast Day of our Lord. For me, Holy Communion  (Liturgy of the Table) is the most important part of the service.

While the verse from John 6:54 above sounds cannibalistic on the surface, its true meaning makes much more spiritual sense. In the Anglican view of Consubstantiation, the bread and wine are not “changed” into the body and blood of Christ, but rather, embedded with the body and blood of Christ. The material never changes, but the spiritual presence of our Lord is added to it.  The celebrant and people asks God to be in the bread and wine so that life, true life, eternal life will also dwell in us as we dwell in Him.

Maybe God knew that one day we would have streaming Church services and fixed it more than 2000 years ago with our Lord Jesus saying “ Take and eat, do this in remembrance of me.”  We can’t stream a piece of bread or a sip of wine to parishioners, nor should we want to.

Our regular attendance in Church and the receiving of Holy Communion, the taking inside us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus is life changing for all who partake of it.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Tuesday of the 4^th Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 61 and 62; Evening, Psalm 68;

Genesis 21:1 to 21; Hebrews 11:13 to 22; John 6:41 to 51:

 “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day.” (John 6: 44)

Maybe not everybody is called to follow our Lord Jesus Christ or even to be a Christian.  Jesus says that “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me.”  God sends certain people to our Lord Jesus.  This was evident with the star that led the (non Christian) wise men to the child Jesus in Mathew’s Gospel; it was true for Simeon who was called to the Temple when Jesus was taken there at his Presentation; it was true when people like Andrew and Philip and others brought their relatives or friends to Jesus.  In my own life, a Marine friend brought me to Jesus at St Anne’s Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee more than forty years ago.

Now having said all that, I don’t believe only Christians are saved.  I think God uses us Christians to assist in the saving action of God.  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Ruth, and David and Elijah and Elisha and others were saved and none of them were Christians. This saving includes some non-Christian, New Testament folk as well because the term Christian was not put into use until the teachings about our Lord Jesus was taught in Antioch. We read, “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” (Acts 11:25 – 26)

We Christians are like volunteer flight attendants making passengers comfortable and safe during the flight. While flight attendants assist passengers in their travel, they do not recruit passengers to come and work for the airlines. And neither should we Christians try to force people into being Christians.  Another thing I have noticed about flight crews is that as passengers prepare to board the plane, flight attendants get a pass to go right on board.  So too, we have a pass to be raised up on the last day. God loves all people and we Christians are here to help even nonbelievers on their journey. God’s kingdom is not about us or them; it is about all of us together.  Thank You Lord Jesus.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Monday of the 4^th Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 56 and 57; Evening, Psalms 64 and 65;

Genesis 19:1 to 29; Hebrews 11:1 to 12; John 6:27 to 40:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  (Hebrews 11:6)

I don’t care much for the idea of reward seeking, but rather, just participating with God.

When we believe that there is a God, a loving God who has created, and is still creating, all life, we then have choices to make.  We can just sit back and enjoy the good works that God is doing, or through some antisocial twist of mind, work against the works of God.  Or, we can be a part of what God is doing by participating in the beauty and health and love of God’s works.

God wants to co-create and maintain creation with us.  And God will meet us if we take steps toward God. From our Hebrew reading we learn that there is a “response,” (rather than reward), to us as we seek God.  That response is more than we can ever ask or imagine.  Because we believe that God exists and that God is good, the sweat-equity we apply in our belief simultaneously invigorates us.  I think we should just do good for goodness sake. This then is not looking forward to some specific award, or rewards, that once accomplished, tends to encourage us to stop and bask in our accomplishments.  No, I believe that as we approach the will of God, we are pleased more and more by each step that we take. 

I saw a cartoon in the paper once where the child in the Charlie Brown Peanuts series who plays the piano, was asked by the little girl, who I believe has a crush on him that,  “What if he practiced for twenty years and never became rich or famous?”  To which he replied “The joy is in the playing.” And she responded, somewhat upset, “Really?”  This really captures how I feel about our approach to God.  The joy is in the approach. The joy is in the journey, really.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

The Gospel Reading for the 4^th Sunday after the Epiphany: Year B

Mark 1:21-28

“Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”  (Mark 1: 23 and 24)

In today’s Gospel reading according to Mark, Jesus has gone and settled in Capernaum on the coast of Lake Galilee where he as already gathered a few followers. As he meets in their Synagogue on the Sabbath he has this encounter with a local who shows signs of being possessed by an unclean spirit.

I ask myself about his choice of words as he asks, “What have you to do with us?”  Is he talking about the community of Capernaum, those in the Synagogue, or perhaps those who are possessing him?  In any case Jesus orders the unclean spirit, or spirits, out and his order is quickly obeyed. 

The people around Jesus hear his teaching with authority. And then see an example of his power in healing a man with an unclean spirit. So now they are convinced that Jesus is not like their normal teachers, he is one with authority. So both the citizens of Capernaum and the unclean spirit are aware of the authority of Jesus.  As this lesson has been handed down to us, we too should recognize the authority of Jesus and bring our ills to him.

The Spirit of Jesus of Capernaum is still with us today. We too must recognize the authority in him to do that which is good and right so to do.  Jesus gives us new teachings that will amaze and astound us. We need to trust in the power of Jesus and spread the word about him to those who are less informed about who Jesus really is and what the Holy Spirit of Jesus is still doing today.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Saturday of the 3^rd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 55; Evening, Psalms 138 and 139:1-17;

Genesis 18:1 to 16; Hebrews 10:26 to 39; John 6:16 to 27:

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain to it. Where can I go then from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”  (Psalm 139)

While I don’t agree with all of Psalm 139, at least not the “hate” parts, the all-knowing acceptance about who God is, I totally do agree with.   From my previous ponderings I have come to understand that God is “being”, is “existence”, is “thinking”, and therefore, is living “pondering,” This is the AM of the “I AM” of God.  It is not God was, or God will be.  No. this is God Is.  So there are two points to note here.  First, God is fulfilled in God is Love.  All creation, including you and me, are made manifest in love, God’s love.

Second, from the Psalmist, God is everywhere. Wow!  There is no place we can go that God is not there and this includes to the rest room (location), or in a coma (your state of being). And, no matter where you go or what your state of being is, God has always been there and will always be there.  God is in our history, in our present, and in our future.  God’s will is an option in our decisions and our emotions.  God does not always like our decisions or the outcomes of what we decide to do, but God, the God of love, is still very present.

We cannot attain to the level of God’s intellect.  We can try, and I think we should try, even though we cannot attain to it.  Being made aware of our limitations does not mean we shouldn’t try.  I am a life-long learner and life-long lover. So I have modified the Sci-Fi  Vulcan greeting of “Live long and prosper.”  My version is: “Live long, learn and love.” You Star Trek fans out there will understand this. So, for all of us, let’s live long, learn, and love always to the last of our mortal days that living and learning might continue on in our immortal days as well. There is no escaping God. We can’t hide from God nor can we deny the good of God that is made manifest in our lives. And for that, Thank You Lord Jesus.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Daily Office Readings for Friday of the 3^rd Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 40 and 54; Evening, Psalm 51;
Genesis 17:15 to 27; Hebrews 10:11 to 25; John 6:1 to 15:

“When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’” (John: 6:14)

I find John’s language to be puzzling. The part about “Who is to come into the world,” is clearly a prophetical prophecy about an event that is yet to come. Jesus has just “taken” food, “blessed” it in giving thanks to God for it, and “divided” it up among the people whom he had seated.  This is the four fold mark of take, bless, brake, and give, that is replicated  in our Holy Eucharist liturgy. It is God’s Way of being with us and leading us.

While Philip, in our John reading for today, argues that they do not have enough to feed all the people even a little taste, Jesus commands him, (and us), to just be patient, and have them to sit down.  I have noticed that in some Church communion services, the sacrament is indeed brought to “seated” parishioners who then partake of the food and drink. Maybe there is a lesson here for us who are stuck in our way of having people come to the rail. Maybe this is our form of “Altar Call.”

I don’t know the answer to all this but I do know that our Lord Jesus is still making His mark on us as He is the One who is still coming into our world. We would do well to be still, sit down and be patient, and remember, whatever we have, ever how little we might think it is, it will be enough and with some left over. We just need to develop the desire to be servants of Christ. Thank You Lord Jesus.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done” (Genesis 2:1 and 2). So, for this evening and tomorrow day my friends, Shabbat Shalom. 

What is Shabbat? Intro to the Jewish Sabbath – YouTube

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John

Eucharistic Readings for the Conversion of Saint Paul.  

Galatians 1:11 to 24;  Psalm 67;  Acts 26:9 to 21;; Matthew 10:16 to 22

“And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.”  (Acts 26:10)

Today we remember the Conversion of St. Paul. In this Acts reading Paul laments his past hatred against people who followed in the Way. I have noticed that when we take our eyes off the Lord and look at each other we tend to be judgmental and condescending. Paul followed the teachings of his elders, even to the point of bullying those who believed differently.  If this is true of us today, then I think we must seek change, and the sooner, the better.

Saul to Paul was a conversion.  Conversion is not a condemnation to hell.  It is a period of growth.  We don’t need chief priests or even our clergy of today to demand how we should live and how we must view the world. We only need our prayers and conscience awareness. We need to put ourselves in a place where we will be able to explain to our children and our grandchildren exactly what we believe and why, and be proud of it. We need to hear what the Spirit of our loving God in Christ Jesus is saying to us.

Paul’s conversion was not completed on the road to Damascus, it only began there.  It took him three years before he went back to Jerusalem to be with Peter; (Galatians 1:18), to really come around to God’s Dream.  But he did, and we can too.  Conversion, that is, changing what we believe and how we feel about God’s relationship with us could take considerable time. But it’s worth it. In my own life I was brought up being taught that homosexuality was a perverted evil. During seminary I underwent a conversion process whereby I learned about the all embracing love of God and that while we are sexual creatures, we are also creatures who need one another for more than just sexual gratification. We need to bond with someone who loves us, and that we also love, and to be with one whom we can trust with our very lives if necessary. God does not make trash. Consensual sexual orientation should not be discriminated against. While I never participated in the bullying of gays or lesbians, I certainly did not advocate for them or befriend them as I should have, and now do. I have changed, I have gone through a conversion process with regard to this topic of human relationships. Praise Jesus!

Are there other areas of human relationships that we need to work on and hold in prayer?  Where are you with regard to homosexuality, with capital punishment, with abortion, with ____; (you fill in the blank).  If the subject causes you to be defensive, welcome to Saul’s world before he became Paul.  Who will you be converted to be even if your name doesn’t change?

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.

As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John