onewhoponders

Daily Office Readings for Wednesday of Proper 21: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 101 and 109; Evening,  Psalm 119:121 to 144;
2^nd Kings 18:9 to 25; 1^st Corinthians 8:1 to 13; Matthew 7:13 to 21:

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it;” (Matthew 7:13 and 14).

As a child I used to go on trips with my dad during the summer. He worked for United Van Lines, the moving company.  I was blessed to see all of the continental United States while still a teenager.  Riding in the truck, and occasionally driving, was fun. The packing and moving of furniture was not, it was hard work.

I can remember my dad, on several occasions, finding a truck stop somewhere and tearing down and repacking household goods tighter.  This was a twofold benefit. First, being packed tighter prevented breakage. And second, packing it tighter created more space and we were able to maybe pick up another small shipment going in the same direction.  I will tell you that the last thing I wanted to do was take some supposed downtime, and use it to unpack and repack household goods. It was a hard reality, but in the end, very rewarding; something I didn’t understand until later.

According to our Lord Jesus, our God is asking us to unpack and repack ourselves.  It is probably the last thing any of us want to do. It is hard work. Because it is a hard road to travel, it is the road less traveled because of its difficulty, and therefore it leads to a very narrow gate.

But if we stay on our path of the hard work, of repacking ourselves tighter and tighter, we will see amazing things and as we journey, God will give us more as we are creating more space and as we are traveling in the same direction, towards God. Not all will willingly put in the self work of repacking themselves. The easier way is to just let whatever environment you are in, shape you according to the political, racial, religious, or cultural persuasions you find yourself in.

Our Lord Jesus is inviting us to do the hard work of resisting that which does not get us through the narrow door. It is not easy. We tend to be satisfied with whatever others tell us or is easy. Such is the wide gate and the easy road that leads to destruction. We are equipped to do the hard work and like me, we may not understand it until later. Now, however, we just walk by faith.

Today our Church remembers Saint Francis of Assisi (4 October 1226) a friar who embraced poverty as a way to be closer to our Lord Jesus.  While many remember him, few strive to emulate him.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 21: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 97 and 99; Evening, Psalm 94;
2^nd  Chronicles 29:1 to 3 and chapter 30; 1^st Corinthians 7:32 to 40; Matthew 7:1 to 12:

‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets:” (Matthew 7:12).

This instruction from our Lord Jesus is the other side of a Jewish teaching which instructs us, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, the rest is commentary. Now, go study.” (Shabbat 31a, 6)  This the teaching of Rabbi Hillel when he was asked to explain the whole Torah while standing on one foot.

In both cases the language calls for us to empathize with others.  Both lessons call for us to identify with the ones whom we are talking to, or conducting business with. Jesus says to treat others like you want to be treated. This is known to us as the Golden Rule.  Hillel says, that in your own experience, if something is unpleasant to you, do not cause it to happen to anyone else. In both cases it is “other” related.

I often remember the word “Joy” as a guiding reminder of my day-to-day relationship with people. In this case J-O-Y stands for Jesus, Others, and Yourself.  In this way I am reminded to put Jesus first, then the other (whoever that might be), and then myself.  I try, but I will confess that I don’t always remember the joy of J-O-Y.

There is a caution about not letting the concern for the other be something that will be harmful or hurtful to them, to others, or to ourselves.  Every rule of life has to have certain exceptions or cautions that must be applied so that real joy will prevail.  Our Lord Jesus explains that the Golden Rule was the intent of the law and the teaching of the prophets for as long as we have had a relationship with God.

We must be careful in not assuming that because we lean a certain way in life, like perhaps enjoying social events and humor, we shouldn’t assume others do as well. So we can’t take this rule which says, “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you,” as a license to force what we like on others. I think we need to first understand the other and appreciate what he or she likes and then, if possible, help them with that.  Again, empathy, the learning of the other is so important. Understanding someone is learning to love them more deeply. Love is the real intent of the Golden Rule.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 21: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 89:1-18; Evening, Psalm 89:19-52;
2^nd Kings 17:24 to 41; 1^st Corinthians 7:25 to 31; Matthew 6:25 to 34:

“For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well;” (Matthew 6:32 and 33)

We have a hymn in one of our Hymnals that sings, “Seek Yee First the Kingdom of God” (1982 Hymnal, # 711).  It uses Matthew 6:33 as its focus.  These words are sung with a lot of feeling.  But do they ever last in our hearts?

I recall that our Lord gave Solomon the wisdom he asked for and then added to his gift of wisdom, riches, and long life, which he did not ask for.  Our God is generous and loving.  All we have to do is put God and our community first, that is, ahead of ourselves.

Jesus says that our Father knows that we need, “all these things,” the provisions necessary for us to be sustained and more than that, to be communal with one another, and God is pleased to provide them..  Today we really need food, shelter, clothing, and we also need transportation and communication ability.  We are a needy lot. I think that’s why the words “all these things,” were spoken by our Lord.  We would fill in what “all these things” are, later.

Let us not forget the most important point here.  We must make God first.  Once we make God number one, all else will fall into place. We must start thinking eternally now in this temporal, biological, life. Only then will the little temporal things like food, shelter, clothing, transportation and communication fall into their secondary little places. The eternal thing, that is, love in the Presence of God, will never end. Let this last forever in your hearts.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 New Testament Readings for Sunday of Proper 21: Year A

Philippians 2:1-13 and Matthew 21:23-32

“Which of the two did the will of the father? (Matthew 21:31).

As we open and unpack the first part of our Gospel reading we see the difference between the first sons of the prophets of God proclaiming God’s love for God’s people. And, we see this new-comer John the Baptist proclaiming a Baptism of repentance. The question quickly becomes the Baptism itself: Was it from God or John himself?  If John is actually doing the work of God then what were the chief priests and the elders of the people doing? Thus, we have the parable of the two sons.

As I ponder about these two sons I try to be as objective as I can, even in spite of the heavy influence by the evangelist.  Matthew says the first son, changed his mind and did the work he said he would not do.  For the second son the evangelist implies that he just lied about his intentions and never intended to do the work in the first place.

As baptism is about repentance, which is change, perhaps we should look more closely at the son who changed his mind and did the work the Father requested.  Hidden in this parable of Jesus is a lesson for the chief priests and the elders of the people to change their minds and begin doing the work they were called to do instead of fearing their own governing body by not listening to, and following John the Baptist. By their own admission they knew that the people saw John as a prophet of God.

The bottom line here, no matter which way we look at it, is, “Which of the two actually did the will of the father?”   I have a quote from Mark Twain where he says “Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.”  I really do believe we speak more accurately with our actions. 

So which son did the will of the Father? The one who changed his mind. Let us not be so determined in our own way that we refuse to see the Way and Will of God, and our own misdirection right in front of us.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 20: Year 1

Morning, Psalms 87 and 90; Evening, Psalm 136;
2^nd Kings 11:1 to 20a; 1st Corinthians 7:10 to 24; Matthew 6:19 to 24:

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matthew 6:21)

While I really liked the adherence to the keeping of the Sabbath by at least a third of the military in our 2^nd Kings reading, the reading was filled with greed on the part of the mother queen who had all her family rivals killed. She was more concerned about her own privilege and power.  The last verse of our Matthew Gospel reading speaks to this, it says, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth:” (Matthew 6:24).

I have for a long time now took issue with verse 21 which suggests our hearts follows our treasure, that is, our hearts follows our money. This statement automatically puts money first.  I think rather, our treasure, (whatever disposable income we might have), follows our hearts, that is, what we are truly interested in. So for me, our treasure follows our hearts.

Our hearts might be our Church, it might be our car, it might be our education, it might even be our money and the associated power that comes with it.  That is what drove the queen in the 2^nd Kings reading to murder, and eventually to her own death.  We must be better than that.

I am interested in many things. However, I don’t have the money to truly follow all of them.  My ministry is most important to me. I devote much of my day to the study of scripture and writing what I believe will be an encouraging word for others. I also enjoy learning and playing music. But even my music is spiritual. I pay for piano lessons and practice daily. I let selected hymns be my motivation for righteous living.

I strongly encourage you who read this message to first discern your heart’s desire. Ask yourself if your heart’s desire is hurtful or helpful to humanity.  If it is helpful, continue on. Then, only as you are able, look at your money beyond your basic necessities and your charitable giving (which includes your Church) and let your treasure follow your heart. I truly believe that where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 20: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 88; Evening, Psalms 91 and 92;
2^nd Kings 9:17 to 37; 1^st  Corinthians 7:1 to 9; Matthew 6:7 to 15:

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14 and 15)

In this chapter of Matthew our Lord Jesus has taught us to pray in the words of what we now call, “The Lord’s Prayer.”  Jesus concludes with the reminder about forgiveness. It seems God applies to us the very same criterion we use to judge others.

Every human being makes mistakes.  Sometimes the mistakes we make are because we didn’t know any better.  Sometimes we make terrible mistakes because we are wrongheaded. Be it a mistake or immaturity, we must learn to see it in our selves, and then we must learn to see it in others. Some people offend us accidently.  Sometimes people offend us on purpose.

We are flawed but not because of any oversight on God’s part except for maybe giving us intellect and reason. We are primarily flawed because we haven’t tempered our intellect and reason with love, which is also a gift from God. We should not use one without the other. Intellect and reason used in loving ways towards one another encourages us to forgive one another. God sees our loving compassion and so is compassionate with us as well.

Let us relax then and ponder about those who have hurt us in one way or another.  Did they not know any better?  Was the hurt caused on purpose? Were they just trying to help themselves at your expense? Was the hurt or sin something that they could possibly grow out of over time?  I invite you to ask these same questions about the hurt or sin you have caused regarding someone else. Be especially focused on whether or not your hurtful or sinful behavior is something you can, and should, grow out of over time. Forgive with love, and be forgiven with God’s love.

Today our Church remembers Saint Michaels and all Angels;  On the Feast of Michael and all Angels, popularly called Michaelmas, we give thanks for the many ways in which God’s loving care watches over us, both directly and indirectly, and we are reminded that the richness and variety of God’s creation far exceeds our knowledge of it; taken from;  St. Michael and All Angels (satucket.com).  We sometimes hurt but we forgive as we are forgiven. Let us listen to the Angels.

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

 “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

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 20: Year 1

 Morning, Psalm 34; Evening, Psalms, 85 and 86;
2^nd Kings 9:1 to16; 1^st Corinthians 6:12 to 20; Matthew 6:1 to 6 and16 to 18:

“Truly I tell you, they have received their reward” (Matthew 6:2).

Our Lord Jesus has a huge task.  He is warning the people, and us, to not be like the Pharisees in their hypocrisy. He further explains that such hypocrisy seeks the reward of people, not God.

Jesus uses examples of piety, alms giving, public prayer, and fasting, as ways that the “want-to-be” holy people draw human glory to themselves. Human glory is not of God, and it is not eternal.

Our Lord Jesus teaches us to keep a low profile. He says for us to work in secret. He asks us to not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. For me this means that we should not make public the kindness we show even to those who are rude. And we should keep quiet about the giving of our money to the more needy in the world. Too many of us act as if we are running for public office and want the approval of the masses in order that we might get elected. It is narcissism, self glorification and the opposite of who God is calling us to be.

God wants us to glorify, and give thanks back to God for all that God is doing for us, the miracles that we know about, as well as the goodness that God is doing for us that we don’t  know about (until later).  Our Creator is continuously at work in human life providing us with what we need to sustain ourselves. God even answers unspoken prayers because God knows better than we do, what we really need.  This is something to ponder.

None of us are God or even close. The best way to be more like God is not to seek glory or admiration from others, but rather to just love others, and more especially, those who seem to be un-loveable. If we seek the glory and admiration of people, and then actually get it, then we have already traded our future reward of eternal life for the cheap payment of human admiration. This means we have already been paid. Let us rather hold out for the greater gift of eternity with God in Christ Jesus. While we sometimes can’t stop people from showing us respect for being good people, we should not use this respect as some kind of public credit for personal advancement. We are called to love and serve others because God is working through us for the benefit of those around us. Therefore, we must redirect all glory to God.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 20: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 119:97-120; Evening,  Psalms 81 and 82;
2^nd Kings 6:1 to 23; 1^st Corinthians 5:9 to 6:8; Matthew 5:38 to 48:

Psalm 81: 1 to 3:

1.  Sing with joy to God our strength
   and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.
2.  Raise a song and sound the timbrel,
   the merry harp, and the lyre.
3.  Blow the ram’s-horn at the new moon,
   and at the full moon, the day of our feast.

One of the questions we asked ourselves when I attended seminary is, “Will our children have faith?”  I have learned that the melodies of songs, especially Christian hymns or songs, go a long way to establishing and maintaining faith. 

I conducted an informal survey asking people “what is the first song or hymn they remember learning?”  Many were lost trying to remember.  I made suggestions like the alphabet song, Happy Birthday, Mary had a little Lamb and so forth.  They all agreed but they could not come up with it without my suggestions. 

Also I would suggest some of the early Christian hymns learned by young children like “Silent Night”, “Jesus loves the little Children”, and “Jesus loves me this I know.”  Then after the prompt, they also agreed that these were indeed some of their earliest learned melodies. Will our children have faith?  Will our children have a melody in their hearts?  I think one begets the other. Let’s sing to the Lord an “Old” song.

The Psalmist (perhaps David, given that he was one who played instruments), knows that we need songs of joy in our hearts, and we need them beginning at a very young age. At my “senior” age, I am taking piano lessons.  I love learning to play songs and hymns that I have sung for years.

I am aware that there are some Christian Churches that do not allow instrumental music to be played in their services. However, even most of these still give voice to their faith in song and hymns. I think that with no “sounds of music,” parishioners, particularly young parishioners, miss the opportunity to articulate their love of God and Christ Jesus more fully. Our children will have faith if we sing to, and with them, about how much our Lord Jesus loves them. Maybe later in their lives they too will learn to play their faith with timbrel, harp, lyre, guitar, piano or saxophone.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 20: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 78:1 to 39; Evening, Psalm 78:40 to 72;
2^nd Kings 5:19 to 27; 1 Corinthians 5:1 to 8; Matthew 5:27 to 37:

“Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, ‘My master has let that Aramean Naaman off too lightly by not accepting from him what he offered. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something out of him.” (2^nd Kings 5:20)

Instead of leaving the decision of Elisha as it was regarding payment by Naaman, Gehazi goes after more. He is greedy and he wants to see Naaman pay more dearly. This is sad.  And, he doesn’t get away with it.  Elisha informs him upon his return, “Did I not go with you in spirit when someone left his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to accept money and to accept clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves? (2^nd Kings 5:26).  And therefore Elisha put the leprosy on Gehazi. What a shame

Gehazi followed a short line of Prophets beginning with Elijah.  The spirit was passed on to Elisha.  Perhaps with prayer, God would have endowed Gehazi in the same way. But Gehazi was selfish, revengeful and not given to the real care of community.

When we follow worthy mentors, we must examine their conduct very carefully. We should not second guess them if found to be good people.  If we don’t agree with their way of life, then perhaps it would be better to move to another mentor. The power of the prophet is not destroyed, it is passed on. But the recipient must be worthy; that is, loving, understanding, selfless and obedient, given to prayer and real concern for the care of his or her community.  These traits are what will enable the protégé to become a mentor one day.  That is, they will discipline themselves to listen, love, learn, live and finally, to lead as others have who have gone on before have done.

Today our Church remembers Lancelot Andrewes; Bishop and Scholar (September 26, 1626). He reminds us of the importance of Thursdays in our Church history. Two of his commemorations are the Thursday of the Lord’s Supper after which Jesus was arrested; and, forty days after the Sunday of His Resurrection from the dead is of course His ascent back to heaven; Ascension Day, Thursday. I would add, post biblically, that our early settlers established Thanksgiving Day on a Thursday. I wonder if they were influenced by Lancelot Andrews. Ponder, Ponder.

Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine, Russia, 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 20: Year 1

Morning, Psalm 80; Evening, Psalm 77;
2^nd Kings 5:1 to 19; 1st Corinthians 4:8 to 21; Matthew 5:21 to 26:

“But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy:” (2^nd Kings 5:11).

I will deal with Naaman in a moment. But for now let us go back and see the unnamed girl who informed Naaman’s wife and therefore Naaman about the existence of Elisha the Prophet of God. She is another unnamed prophet of the Bible. There are many such women who get no recognition.

Now for Naaman. How often do we also ask God to “fix” something only in the way we want it done?  Naaman already had in his mind what to expect from Elisha, even though he didn’t even know Elisha existed until he was told by his slave girl.  So too we also often pray for specific outcomes from God. We want God to cure ourselves, or a relative rather than just say “God’s will be done,”  and ask for divine intervention in whatever way God sees fit.  I can recall our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, (who, at this writing, is recovering from surgery)  saying, the best we can pray to God for,  is to just say to God, “Help.”  And then let God take it from there. 

There is often a requirement for us to participate in the response from God just as Naaman was told to go and wash seven times. Sometimes we are asked to spend time with the response we are seeking while not knowing what that response will look like.  It also serves us well to see that God will use those among us to inform us about how we should interpret what is happening to us. In our story today, one in the company of Naaman makes him realize that had it been something difficult he would not have hesitated to do it, yet he questioned washing seven times in unknown waters. We ask because we don’t know. If we don’t know then we should be prepared to accept the divine response when, and how, and from whom, it comes.

God loves us and the Holy Spirit of God will often speak through sometimes unnamed, or even very close persons, to help us. All we have to do is listen, not second guess, and respond as told to do. God will take it from there.

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