onewhoponders

The Hebrew and Gospel Readings for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany: Year B

First Samuel 3:1 to 20; and, John 1:43 to 51

“Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:48 and 49)

What happened under that fig tree before Philip came to Nathanael?  What was Nathanael going through? What was he caught up in? Was he planning some kind of sin? Was he planning to take his life?  Unlike our First Samuel reading for today where we got to hear what went on between God and the child Samuel, and then Samuel told Eli; We don’t know what Nathanael was going through under the fig tree. The secret and sacred times with God still happen today. It has been said that these are the thin spaces. Let me share two more recent ones with you; one in which we do not know what happened and one in which we do.

C. S. Lewis is remembered as a Christian writer and spiritualist. However he was not always this way.  He was a non believer of God, an agnostic. He later believed in God but had reservations regarding Jesus. And then he writes; “In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” Two years later, his conversion was completed: “I know very well when, but hardly how, the final step was taken. I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out, I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo, I did.” (Great Cloud of Witnesses for November 22)  What happen in that vehicle? We don’t know.

This weekend we remember Dr Martin Luther King Jr. King lived in constant danger: his home was dynamited, he was almost fatally stabbed, and he was harassed by death threats. He was even jailed 30 times; but through it all he was sustained by his deep faith. In 1957, he received, late at night, a vicious telephone threat. Alone in his kitchen he wept and prayed. He relates that he heard the Lord speaking to him and saying, “Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness, stand up for justice,” and promising never to leave him alone—“No, never alone.” King refers to his vision as his “Mountain-top Experience.” After preaching at Washington Cathedral on March 31, 1968, King went to Memphis in support of sanitation workers in their struggle for better wages. There, he proclaimed that he had been “to the mountain-top” and had seen “the Promised Land,” and that he knew that one day he and his people would be “free at last.” On the following day, April 4, he was cut down by an assassin’s bullet. (Great Cloud of Witnesses for April 4) We know of his experience because he spoke and wrote of it.

What has happened in your life that sealed you to God in Christ Jesus?  Tell somebody about it. Write about it. We need to hear it.

As we continue in this time of service in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. let us understand that our Lord Jesus, still to this very day, visits us in our thin places. When this happens we are changed forever.

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 1^st Week of Epiphany: year 2

Morning,  Psalms 20 and 21:1-7; Evening, Psalms 110:1-5, 116 and 117;
Genesis 6:9 to 22; Hebrews 4:1 to 13; John 2:13 to 22;

“So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God;’ (Hebrews 4:9).

Today, Saturday, is our God-assigned, Sabbath Rest Day, a gift from God. We should attend to it in a contemplative manner.

When I served in the Marines in Saudi Arabia, during the liberation of Kuwait, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, those of us who were regular, Church-going Christians counted the weeks there by our Sundays. Two Sunday traditions took place where we were. First, the Navy chaplain came to our maintenance compound to conduct a Church Service (work).  I remember that I led the Lord’s Prayer when invited to do so, and helping those who wanted to participate but didn’t know the words (work). Second, our mess hall (dining facility), prepared pancakes for breakfast!  This was a big deal, and also work.  During this non-liturgical breaking of the “pancake” bread, we got to see others with whom we came over with but do not work with on a daily basis. We celebrated each week as time passed until we boarded planes for home.  For us Christians, worship is work regardless of how it is expressed.  The Sabbath, however, as God intended it, is Rest.

I have matured theologically since that time, or at least I think I have. Now, after careful study of scripture, I believe the God-given day for all of us is Saturday, the seventh day of the week.  I still worship on Sundays but I think there is a difference between worship and rest. In my maturation I realize that there is always a need for emergency personnel to be ready to act. The military, the police, hospital staff and all first responders must be ready to respond to serious needs. And perhaps every other Sabbath should be given them. Jesus never removed God’s gift of the Sabbath.  This Rest we enter is not ours alone. It is God’s Rest. And we are invited to be at rest with God as often as we can. That day is Today!

I will close this blog page for today with the closing words of our Hebrews writer for today for you to ponder: “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later about another day. So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.   ”(Hebrews 4: 8 to11). We should celebrate each Sabbath until we are taken to our eternal Sabbath home.

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 Sunday Week 1 of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 16, and 17; Evening,  Psalm 22;

Genesis 6:1 to 8; Hebrews 3:12 to 19; John 2:1 to 12:

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.”  (Genesis 6:5)

Full disclosure, I am not a Bible literalist. But I do believe that within most of our Bible stories, and within some of the fake facts, are real truths. One such truth is that left unschooled by good parents, preachers and school teachers of love, our moral compasses will point south; that is, to immorality. We must be vigilant about being good and teaching what is good, Nephilim notwithstanding.

This is a repeated Biblical lesson for us today. From our Hebrews reading for today we get the same instruction: “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12 and 13)

While the preacher to the Hebrews reminds us of Moses and our Genesis reading shows signs of hope with the coming of Noah, the Mother of our Lord Jesus preaches the perfect, albeit brief, sermon. She tells us, the servants of the Lord, to “do whatever he tells you,” (John 2:5). Our Lord Jesus is God’s final act of salvation, even beyond Noah and Moses. I believe God still loves creation and wants to save it, and us with it.

“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 1^st Week after the Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 18:1 to 20; Evening, Psalm 18:21 to 50;

Genesis 4:17 to 26; Hebrews 3:1 to 11; John 1:43 to 51:

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today,  if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test,  though they had seen my works”  (Hebrews 3:7 – 9)

Today if you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.  I think it takes a minute to discern where the inside voice is coming from.  We can call it conscience, or in my case, pondering, or whatever.  The point from the Hebrews reading is that we need to at least acknowledge the voice and heed it.

I have found that listening deeply requires me to check my emotions.  I have to ask myself, how am I feeling?  Am I disturbed about something?  Am I nervous about something?  I must also ask myself if I am overjoyed about anything.  All of these moods or emotions could alter what the Spirit is saying to me.  Such clearing of the mind requires contemplation, meditation and often just sitting quietly alone.  I recall the words of Blaise Pascal: who said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”  I modified his words to read, “All of humanity’s problems stem from each person’s refusal to sit quietly in a room alone.

Aside from the gender references I want to acknowledge that it is not so much the inability to sit alone, but our flat out refusal to do so.  I think this is the hardness of heart that the Hebrew writer warns against.  Sometimes we can be so stubborn as to not allow ourselves to be open to pondering about what is right and loving to do. You should try it.  Sometimes we just need to shut everything off and be still. And yes, know that God is God.(Psalm 46:10)  A hardened heart is a blockage to the voice of the Holy Spirit. We all, from time to time, need to step away from the fear of change and the conviction that we are right, and be open to what the Spirit is saying to us.

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 1^st Sunday Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:1 to 24; Evening,  Psalms 12, 13 and 14;
Genesis 4:1 to 16; Hebrews 2:11 to 18; John 1: 35-42:

“Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” (Hebrews 2: 17 and 18)

This explanation from the letter to the Hebrews reinforces my belief that God gets to understand the human condition through His Incarnate self in the life and death of our Lord Jesus.

When God walks among us and suffers with us, God develops mercy for us. It is through, and because of, our Lord Jesus that we are redeemed of our sins and saved in eternal life.

Jesus says, “Here am I and the children whom God has given me,” (Hebrews 2:13). We are given to our Lord Jesus through our faith, that is, in believing in the Presence of Christ in our everyday lives.  Our belief in our Lord Jesus makes us, through Holy Communion, be of the same flesh and blood, and therefore, brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus. “Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things,” (Hebrews 2:14).

Thanks to our Lord Jesus all we have to do is believe in order to belong to the family of God.  Other faith traditions have different kinds of faith connections with God. For us, we have Christ crucified. This is why “he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” 

Every day we should live our lives in thanksgiving for God being one of us in order to experience what we are going through. 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 Tuesday of the 1^st Sunday Week after the Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 5 and 6; Evening, Psalms 10 and 11;

Genesis 3:1 to 24; Hebrews 2:1 to 10; John 1:19 to 28:

“John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know.”  (John 1: 26)

We don’t always know who is in our midst.  I wonder if John made eye contact with Jesus as he said the words “Among you stands one whom you do not know.”  John knew Jesus, it is said that they were cousins.  I ponder if Mary and Elizabeth were sisters?

Knowing someone is more than just knowing who their relatives are, their parents, siblings and so forth. Knowing a person implies, at some level you know what they like and dislike, what they value and their preferences of foods, music, habits and hobbies.  In the case of our Lord Jesus, it also means you know He is God Incarnate.  No one around John knew that about our Lord Jesus except for Cousin John.

I have been around some of my friends for a very long time only to find out that when a certain topic came up, they surprised me with how they acted.  Then I realized that I didn’t really know them at all.  So when John says “Among you stands one whom you do not know,” he’s right. But let’s not confuse knowing a person with knowing “of” a person. 

Sometimes it’s good to know something about a person in order to know how close you want to be with them.  The more similar attitudes you both have about various subjects the closer you become.  But even with this, I like to be close with people who differ with me in some areas.  I always want to hear an opposing view point. It keeps me honest. It may even cause me to shift in my pondering as I hear what the Spirit is saying to me through someone with a different perspective.  We don’t mature if we stay stagnated with people of the same mind. We must listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us, through us. The Late Colon Powell, former Secretary of State said, if two of you are of the same mind, one of you is redundant.

We also might get out from John’s words for us today that when we are in a large group, there may be a person or two in our midst who are directly from the court of heaven! Those we don’t know could be from anywhere. We never know who or when God might have angels among us whom we can actually see if we take the time. Interaction with the Presence of God baptizes us in the Holy Spirit.

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 1^st Week of Epiphany: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 1, 2 and 3; Evening, Psalms 4 and 7;

Genesis 2:4 to 25; Hebrews 1:1 to 14; John 1:1 to 18

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

It is perhaps difficult if not impossible for us to wrap our minds around all matter and all life being created through the Being of God we now call our Lord Jesus.  This message is also reflected in John’s Gospel account which we have assigned for today as he writes, “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” (John 1:3).

So God creates and maintains the universe through our Lord Jesus who walked among us to model for us how we should live in creation with God and one another. I believe we humans have three missions in life. First, we are to ever strive to develop and maintain our faithful connection with the Creator, “Our Father in Heaven.” Second, we are assigned as caretakers of this earth our island home.  And lastly, we must recognize that we live in covenant relationship with one another for the purpose of being co-maintainers of the earth, God’s prized jewel in the universe.

The more I ponder about these things the more focused I am about our call to exist and do the work God has put before us. God has made this earth like a Grandfather clock and has put us here to rewind it ever so often. Yes, we may use it to mark the time, but we also must keep it running. This clock is not just for us humans.  The rhythms of its musical chimes are the living pulse of all on, and in, this blue round home we call earth.   If we don’t stop polluting it, it will shut down.  If we don’t stop polluting relationships, they too will continue to shut down. Let us practice the teachings of the heir of all things.

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 First Sunday after the Epiphany: Year B

Mark 1:4-11:

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”” (Mark 1:9 to 11)

The Gospel according to Mark really skips a lot. First of all, Jesus did go to the Eastern shore of Israel by the Jordan and came to John the Baptist for his baptism. It was hardly a quick or hurried baptism.  Then, after a wilderness hiatus, he went to Capernaum, to the shore of Lake Galilee. It is the first place he went and settled of his own free will and accord. 

At his Baptism however, the “coming up out to the water” can be interpreted in a couple of ways. One way is that he was fully immersed under the water; and second, he simply lowered himself enough in order to have John to raise water in his hands and over the head and face of Jesus. Either way, coming up out of the water fits both wordings. John raising water over the face of Jesus works better with me being it was more of a washing than a dunking.

In whichever way it happened, upon walking back upon the shore, Jesus, and Jesus alone, heard the voice which came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased,”  according to Mark and Luke.  It is first person language. Matthew’s  translations says “this is my Son…” (Mathew 3:16), which suggests the voice was also heard by those around the scene at the time.

Regardless, of the water issue, Jesus can come up out of the water and back on land in either one. What is most important is his understanding of who he really is and his journey into the wilderness and his leadership at Capernaum. 

As Christians, we too have been baptized, and we too have come up out of the water. We must now traverse the wilderness and show Christian leadership as we struggle to emulate our Lord Jesus.  We also await the heavens to be torn apart hear the voice of God say to us personally, “You are my child, the beloved, with you, I am well pleased.”

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

Eucharistic Readings for the Epiphany

Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-7,10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12:

“Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?  For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” (Matthew 2:2)

These travelers from some point East, have been called Wise Men or Magi (Magicians) and even kings. But further study by scholars have shown them to be Astrologers. They studied the heavens. Through assumption, we may have also wrongly supposed their number based on the gifts they brought, gold, frankincense and myrrh. The plural was used to say that there were more than one, but it actually could have been two or two hundred. Maybe some of the gifts were duplicated or one brought more than one kind. I only say this to show how we readers can jump to conclusions without supporting text.

So in these words we hear the Astrologers say that they are looking for a child born king of the Jews (not king of Israel).  I find it interesting that this will also be the words placarded over his head on the cross, “Jesus king of the Jews.”  So Jesus is king not of a specific land mass but of a One God faith –  a faith that he invites all people to share – to be grafted into his very own body and blood.  There is a specialness about this child.

The Astrologers say, “We observed his star.”  Wait, What? He has a star? If a child or any person has a dedicated star, that child or person is recognized by the heavenly bodies as an entity unique in all creation.  No one before, or since, has ever had a celestial body as an indicator of their being.  From outside the child’s community, the specialness of this child is made known to those, even in far off lands, who study the heavens.

It takes a certain amount of acceptance to acknowledge not being the chosen people of God, and that a person from another culture has been chosen.  But here is the deal, we have this blessed assurance, that whomever God picks, it is not just for that person, or group, or nation, or clan, or family only. Moses was blessed not for himself but for the liberation of Israelites.  And in this particular case the Son of God is born for the salvation of all humanity.

If  a celestial body bends down to identify its creator, who are we to ignore that same author of our own creation, we who live within that same creation?

The Astrologers put their own ethnicity, culture and race aside and looked at what the heavens were doing, and so should we. God’s plan is so much larger than any group of us.  We too need to see the light.

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

Today is the Twelfth (and final) Day of Christmas

Readings for Morning Prayer, December 5^th: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 2 and 110:1to5; Eve of the Epiphany, Psalms 29 and 98:
Joshua 2:2 to 9; Ephesians 6:10 to 20; John 11:17 to 27 and 38 to 44:

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6: 14 to 17)

St Paul has placed many gifts under our Christmas Tree right before it’s taken down; the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes for walking the Gospel, shield of faith, helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.  Wow, he has given us many last day Christmas gifts.

Given that all these gifts are items that we wear, this is what it truly means to dress for success; spiritual success.  And unlike our Christmas tree, this spiritual suit is ongoing. It says to the world who we are.  Just as we might judge others by what they choose to wear, we too are judged by what we choose to wear. In a more literal sense, I prefer the western or cowboy look for its comfort and freedom to work hard if necessary.  I am often seen in clergy collar or suits for special occasions. All can identify who I am.  Our material clothing says something about who we are, or what we choose to look like to others, Our spiritual clothing speaks to God and informs God of the path we are taking to heaven. This earthly covering is temporary; our spiritual garb is forever.

Above all, let us take the Word of God as our guiding light forever. Merry Christmas: Day 12

“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