onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of the First Sunday of Advent: Year 2

Morning, Psalm 119:1-24; Evening,  Psalms 12, 13 and 14:
Amos 3:12-4:5; 2 Peter 3:1-10; Matthew 21:23-32

“For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.” (Matthew 21:32)

Perhaps the biggest hindrance to human spiritual growth is our refusal to change our minds. Like the chief priests and the elders of the Temple, we too, even after we see some less thought of people learning and living into righteousness, we stubbornly hold on to what we falsely believed to be true.  We hold on to false teachings because we see changing our minds as weakness. But I submit that it takes real strength to grab false teachings and push them aside.

We need to live a life of life-long-learning.  And, when we learn something new, follow the new path in our behavior and actions.

Today our Church remembers St. Nicholas of Myra; Santa Claus.  “Nicholas was a native of the western part of what is now Asiatic Turkey. He became Bishop of Myra in the fourth century, and there are many stories of his love for God and for his neighbor:” taken from St. Nicholas of Myra (satucket.com).  As Christians who believe in eternal life, Santa Claus still lives! Thank You Lord Jesus. This means we can be honest with our children and adults when we say “I believe in Santa Claus.” Santa Lives!

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 First Sunday of Advent: Year 2

Morning, Psalms 5 and  6; Evening,  Psalms 10 and 11;
Amos 3:1 to 11; 2^nd Peter 1:12-21; Matthew 21:12-22

“Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation.” (Psalm 5:1)

The words of this Psalm caught my attention because of the word “meditation.”  I have often considered meditation to be prayer. And, as I write these words early each morning I ponder even deeper about the Holy Presence of God in our human lives.

Before this Psalm drifts off into correcting bad people, it mentions other thoughts of mine. “Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I make my prayer to you;” (Psalm 5:2).  God’s ears hears tears. When we cry to God for help, God hears us. And the Psalmist uses the word prayer this time instead of meditation. This is my life early in the morning. “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you;” (Psalm 5:3).  None of us knows what the night will bring, I invite you to start the practice of some kind of morning thankfulness to God.

In Second Peter for today it is written; “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God;” (2^nd Peter 1:20 and 21). For me, this means our meditations or prayers are comingled with the Holy Spirit of God. Let us glean from God’s Blessings and pass them on to others.

Finally, we have from the Gospel according to Matthew a word on the power of faith,  “Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive; (Matthew 21:22). So, let our meditation be always faith-based.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 first Sunday of Advent; Year 2

Morning, Psalms 1, 2 and 3; Evening,  Psalms 4 and 7;
Amos 2:6-16; 2^nd Peter 1:1-11; Matthew 21:1-11

“You have put gladness in my heart, more than when grain and wine and oil increase.
I lie down in peace; at once I fall asleep; for only you, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:7 and 8)

Grain and wine and oil was, at one time, a method of payment for work done in the quarries. It was hard work cutting and shaping stone. I am sure such men had no problem falling to sleep after such a hard day at work. But they slept with what was more important, they had gladness in their hearts.

As a priest I have seen, and continue to see, too many sad hearts in my community. Such people probably have a hard time sleeping. And lack of sleep just adds to frustration and anxiety.

Most sleepless and anxious people are this way due to various forms of corruption in the world.  Perhaps they should borrow a page from 2^nd Peter’s writing for today;  “For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love;” (2^nd Peter 5 to 7). And maybe even some hard work thrown in might help one to sleep a little better.

For me, God’s gladness in my heart means more than anything. With God’s gladness, even in the worst of situations, we can endure many of the things that go wrong. Let us ask God for divine gladness, it will make us happy and will enable us to fall asleep at once.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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

Gospel reading for the First Sunday in Advent: Year B

Mark 13:24-37

“And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.” (Mark 13: 37)

Initially Jesus was only talking to his disciples. But this statement opens up Jesus’ words to all people on this planet.

Even Jesus says that not even He knows the time and day of the coming of the Lord will happen. We have had many theologians to wrongfully calculate the day of the end of the world.  What’s wrong with us? If Jesus says not even He knows, we then, should just leave it alone.

What we can take away from this lesson is the stay focused part.  While the biblical words say keep awake, we can conclude that God knows we need sleep and rest. The real meaning here is to stay attentive.

Inattention to small matters can cause great suffering. A parent who does not normally take the baby to the sitter could forget the baby is in the back seat while on the way to work, which is the normal habit. The new duty of the baby-drop-off to the newly assigned parent, must stay focused on the baby, not the job.

We can only stay attentive to the coming of Christ if we establish and maintain a strict prayer life. As Episcopalians we are blessed with our Book of Common Prayer which contains many and various prayers and short prayer services for all types of occasions. Create some time this Advent to check the back seat of your soul and stay focused on what is most important.

As we approach Christmas, we must keep in mind the back seat of our souls. We must stay attentive to the Christ child who is coming. We can only receive this knowledge and wisdom through God the Creator. So, we sing:

O come, thou wisdom from on high, who orderest all things mightily; to us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go; Rejoice, Rejoice, Emanuel shall come to thee O Israel (1982 Hymnal # 56).

 Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 Proper 29: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 137:1- to 6, and Psalm 144; Evening,  Psalm 104:
Micah 7:11 to 20; 1^st Peter 4:7 to 19; Matthew 20:29 to 34:

“Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (1^st Peter 4: 8)

Saint Peter makes me very happy with these words.  I am a sinner. But, I am also a lover of people.  It is good to know that love covers a multitude of sins: Thank You Jesus.

I believe our hearts are what lead us to do most of the things we do in life, whether it’s a passion for one of the art forms, or for particular people we want in our lives. I know that there are people who only act on logic and what makes sense as they see it. Perhaps they are the hardest to defend when sin occurs. 

I do also believe that most just laws seek to understand where the lawbreaker’s heart was when a tragic event happens. I know someone who hit a person with her car. The person ran out in front of traffic at night before the driver had time to stop. The hit person died.  While it was sad, it was not intentional. The driver had to have therapy before she was able to drive again.

If this event had been intentional, it would be sin, because the heart was not acting out of love. The courts also would hold the perpetrator accountable.  Acting outside the realm of love for reason of revenge or whatever caused the crime or sin does not hold with “covers a multitude of sins.” It takes doing everything we do to be from love that will see us through.

 Inevitably we will sin. We are not perfect. But when we reflect back over our sinful event, we don’t want to have to look too hard to see where our heart was. Love must be our foundational catalyst. It covers a multitude of sins.

In our Church this is the last day of Pentecost. Tomorrow begins our Church new year, Advent, Year 2 of the Daily Office and Year B for our Eucharistic Lectionary.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 Proper 29: Year 1

 Morning, Psalms 140 and 142; Evening,  Psalms 141 and 143:1-11;
 Isaiah,  24:14 to 23; 1^st Peter 3:13 to 4:6; Matthew 20:17 to 28:

“It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave:” (Matthew 20: 26 and 27).

I believe what our Lord Jesus is driving at is being comfortable with being the one who keeps everything going without being noticed. More to the point is, to not seek greatness at all.

A long time ago I worked on an assembly line with a machine that made thermoses. Whenever the machine broke down we called a tech to get it going again.  These techs were not seen until something went wrong.  Most were men and women who worked with the machine as I was then doing. They did not create the machine or design it.  They gained an understanding of how it worked and with a little mechanical training they were able to wait in a quiet place until a machine failed. They didn’t want to be president of the company; they just wanted to keep things moving, making thermoses. They stood by with their tool boxes and oil cans ready when needed.

I believe the deeper point that Jesus is really making is for us not to want to be Jesus, but rather, just keep good works happening to the best of our abilities.  We serve those who are doing the hard work of loving and helping neighbors without boasting about it.  We must learn to live lives of not being great but being ready when called upon.  And when called, we come with our Christian experience which is our tool box of Christian Education, and our oil cans of compassion, with which we help bring others back on line. It is in this way that we are co-sustainers with the Great Creator.

“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 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 Proper 29: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 131, 132; Evening, Psalm 134 and 135:
Zephaniah 3:1to13; 1 Peter 2:11 to 25; Matthew 20:1 to16

“I do not occupy myself with great matters, or with things that are too hard for me.” (Psalm 131)

The Psalmist really captures my attitude here regarding many worldly interests. Many Americans are now concerned about the sexual identity of others. Not me. I just see everybody as a child of God, and that is enough for me.

We are about to enter a new political season. Too many of us are told what to think about the candidates running for the various offices at every level. These are things too hard for me.  I just pray and vote my gut feeling regardless of party.

Over the years I have learned to simplify great matters into easy-to-process units that I can handle. In faith I have only two Commandments, to love God with all that I am, and to love you, all of you. I no longer occupy myself with great matters.

In finance, I keep my needs low, save a little, and give to charities, the Church and those in need. I no longer occupy myself with great matters.

The world occupies itself with great matters. But I focus on giving thanks to God, trying to love everybody, keeping my word, living plain and providing an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Yes, I have gone back to work.  It’s not that I am in need, it is that I am needed.

I still conduct theological studies, participate in health strategies, practice music, and study Freemasonry. These, I seem to be able to handle. “I do not occupy myself with great matters, or with things that are too hard for me.”  How about you?

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 Proper 29: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 119:145 to 176; Evening, Psalm 128, 129 and 130;
Obadiah 15 to 21; 1^st Peter 2:1 to 10; Matthew 19:23 to 30:

“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1^st Peter 2:4 and 5)

I don’t agree with all of Peter’s thinking but the words from this passage I really like.  We are living spiritual stones. Peter shows a difference between those of us who believe in God and God’s love as made manifest through our Lord Jesus, and those who don’t. The latter tend to lose sight of the sacredness of human life.  As believers we are chosen and precious in God’s sight. It seems the more we reflect and ponder about the mystery and majesty of God, and being thankful for it, the more we are rejected by the ever diminishing norms of our worldly society.

Time spent in prayer and giving Thanks to God for the fact that we exist, and the lives of those we love, will go up as a spiritual sacrifice to God, and make us acceptable through our Savior Jesus Christ. Those of us who believe in the love of God and live a life of love, have so much to be thankful for. So do those who don’t believe, but they don’t know it.

 I am so sorry for the untimely deaths and lives taken through evil acts.  My heart and prayers go out to the families and loved ones who are grieved by sinful acts. All of us have a responsibility to watch each other.  There is no one out there who is not our business. The path to a holy priesthood is paved through accountability. This accountability is true for us and for our neighbors. We are, in fact, our brothers and sisters keeper. We must hold ourselves in prayer asking God for hints at how we can improve the way we live together, and then value life, all life. 

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 Proper 29: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 121, 122, and 123; Evening,  Psalm 124, 125, and 126;
Nahum 1:1 to 13; 1 Peter 1:13 to 25; Matthew 19:13 to 22:

“If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile.” (1^st Peter 1:17)

There are two meaningful words in the above words from Saint Peter; “deeds” and “exile”. 

It seems there is a certain amount of judgment for us in the next life based on our deeds in this life. I note the absence of what we believe religiously.  The charitable deeds we do in life remind me of the feeding, clothing, and visiting of the sheep in Matthew 25 as they are separated from the goats. Regardless of what we believe or don’t believe, we need to be good for goodness sake.

I am also reminded that here on earth we are in exile. We have a Father in that heavenly realm who watches how we are living while we are here. We are not meant to live here for all eternity. We are citizens of heaven. So we should live here as visitors, because we are.

We have been taught by our Savior to love and worship God Almighty and no one else, or nothing else.  Peter says of Jesus, “Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God:” (1^st Peter 1:21). With our faith and hope set on God we learn to love one another and to do good deeds whenever, and wherever we can, while still here in our exile.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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 Proper 29: Year 1

Psalm 106:1to 18; Evening, Psalm 106:19 to 48:
Joel 3:1-2 and 9-17; 1^st Peter 1:1to12; Matthew 19:1to 12

“His disciples said to him, ‘If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.’ But he said to them, ‘Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given” (Matthew 19:10 and 11).

There are many people who perhaps should not marry, both men and women. Jesus himself did not marry. There are a lot of societal pressures exerted on us to get married but once we do, that same pressure is not there to help us maintain our marital relationships. 

Too many young men and women are not aware of the option of monastic or, personal religious life – a life dedicated to the service of the Lord. It would be wonderful if brothers and sisters from monasteries and convents could have their turn in high schools and universities explaining the monastic way of life.  How many young people would accept a call to this vocation rather than the military, or college, or secular employment and marriage, or, on the negative side,  gang involvement and incarceration with  perhaps too early a death?

As our Lord Jesus says, only those to whom it is given can accept such a vocation. I believe that we should make available to our young folk every possible way of honorable life, including and also beyond marriage, as they may have been given such a call. Life is not one size fits all. And our communities need the variety of all sorts of dedicated discernments.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, Israel 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