25 Pentecost/Year B – Nov 10, 2024
1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 146; Mark 12:38-44
Opening Prayer:
Holy and gracious God, we give you thanks for gathering us together this morning. I pray that, in the hearing of today’s scriptures as your people gather in community with one another, that you would once again, open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds to hear what the spirit is saying to us, and then send us out into our communities, to do the holy work of walking in love with You, and one another. This we pray, in the name of the One, who is always with us, who loves us, who sees us, and watches over us for all the days of our lives. Amen.
We continue this week, with our Walk in Love stewardship season series. This week’s reflection on Receiving Love, is a wonderful follow up to last week’s celebration of All Saints Day…A day set aside to remember the community of saints that we are baptized into. A day set aside to recall the famous saints from long ago, the ones with a special day on the church calendar…A day set aside to recall the saints who were movers and shakers in their day, making an impact in their communities, but don’t have a designated day on our church liturgical calendars…and most importantly, we also set aside time throughout our All Saints weekend celebrations, to remember and give thanks for those saints in our lives—family members, mentors and friends—who are gifts of God to us, but no longer walk among us in this earthly life. Yet through the love of God revealed to us in Jesus, and by their examples of living a life in love and service to the people around them, we are reminded that we are united to one another in life and in death, by this love that binds us together, heart to heart, spirit to spirit, for always.
The reminder of being part of a community of saints helped me ponder more this week on the importance of what it means to be on the receiving end of love, and how it can transform us, and inspire us, to go out and do the same for others.
I think about this week’s reflection on receiving love, and the stories the writer shared with examples of how impactful it was for him to be on the receiving end of love, and prayers, and support, in those times of his life that were so troubling and worrisome. I think about how assuring it must have been for him, to just know that others noticed him, saw his need, and then worked together to move beyond just seeing him, by putting their love into action in big and small tangible ways that that helped him to recover and heal. By being the recipient of such abundant love and hospitality, he was inspired to be mindful of the needs of others around him, and to help others, as he had been so abundantly blessed.
I thought about vestry member Sara Bergendahl’s answer to this week’s reflection question: How has your walk in love been changed by the love you've been shown?
She wrote:
“My spouse and I have had nothing shy of ‘life support’ in the prayers and outreach we have felt in the last year. We have witnessed the support of those praying for us in the form of improved health and the Holy Spirit making inroads in our lives and the lives of our children. This outpouring of love has moved me to pray for others' wellbeing.”
I think most of us sitting here in these pews this morning, can add our own similar stories of being on the receiving end of being loved and supported and sustained by the prayers and kindnesses of others. And I can look out at all of you sitting here today and remembering those who have joined the saints in heaven…who have been inspired to do the same for others throughout the years…here at St Peter’s and in the wider community.
This is the core mission of the church, why we exist, why we gather, why we pray together and for one another, why we praise God together with our words and in our songs…why we gather together, at times throughout the service, to be still and know that our hope is grounded in the love of God who is present with us always, who sees us, who loves us, who watches over us…and this truth has been made known to us, in the life and teachings, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us that inspires us and has the power to transform us now to go out into our communities to do the holy work of Seeking and Striving to walk the way of love with God, one another, and all of creation…
Why?
Why Seek and Strive to walk the way of love with God, one another, and all of creation…
· Because seeking and striving to love one another can lift others up, when they are feeling down, which would be all of us, at times throughout our lives… and because, as we are reminded in our baptismal promises, we affirm that we will proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.
Why Seek and Strive to walk the way of love with God, one another, and all of creation…
· Because seeking and striving to love one another reminds us that we will be faced with temptations and forces that threaten to divide us throughout our lives; and in this election season, we have seen the ways in which this has impacted all of us, yet with God’s help, according to one of our baptismal promises, we are called to persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever (we) fall into sin, to repent and return to the Lord.
Why Seek and Strive to walk the way of love with God, one another, and all of creation…
· Because seeking and striving to love one another can bring about healing in body, mind, and spirit - our own and those whose lives we encounter along the way. With God’s help, as we are reminded in one of our baptismal promises, we are called to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving (our) neighbor as (ourselves).
Why Seek and Strive to walk the way of love with God, one another, and all of creation…
· Because seeking and striving to love one another reminds those who have been systematically excluded and oppressed, such as the widow in today’s gospel reading, that they are loved and valued and respected…and reminds us of our baptismal promise to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.
Why Seek and Strive to walk the way of love with God, one another, and all of creation…
· Because seeking and striving to love one another welcomes and values the gifts of all God’s people, especially the seemingly small gifts that reveal the abundance of one’s love and intentions of the heart, of one who has come to trust and believe that, even in times of uncertainty, our hope is grounded in the love of God who is present with us always, who sees us, who loves us, who watches over us.
Jesus reminds us of that in the gospel reading today. As he sat back and watched the people putting money in the treasury that day, the rich people were putting in large sums of money out of their “abundance”, yet a poor widow that Jesus notices and pays attention to, puts in two small copper coins and he says to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
I wonder what the impact of this teaching and encounter with Jesus on this day had on the disciples, the others there that day, and most especially upon the woman, who was seen and noticed, perhaps for the first time…
So, once again….I pose the question: Why Seek and Strive to walk the way of love with God, one another, and all of creation? – as revealed to us in the stories and scriptures that Jesus brings to life for us each week…
Because this is the core mission of the church. To be a force of love in the world that transforms our lives, the lives of our neighbors, and the communities in which we live and work and worship together. A force of love and generosity of giving, in the varieties of ways that each one of us can contribute, for the healing and health and well-being of all God’s people in our communities.
Yes, this is the time of year, that we ask for your financial pledges for the coming year to help support the operating budget of the church, providing a salary and health insurance for your Rector, and all the expenses that come with the responsibility of owning properties, keeping the lights and the heat on, keeping them maintained and safe for use, not only for church services and programs, but as a gathering place for the many neighbors and small groups doing wonderful outreach and programs in our community.
Yet, the core mission of the church encompasses so much more than the buildings only…
We gather in our church every week to pray together and for one another, we gather to praise God together with our words and in our songs, we gather together to be still and know that our hope is grounded in the love of God who is present with us always, who sees us, who loves us, who watches over us…and this truth is made known to us, in the life and teachings, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us that inspires us and has the power to transform us even now….Then…we are sent out from this time of gathering here in this church … to be the church, the body of Christ, as we go out into our communities to do the holy work of Seeking and Striving to walk the way of love with God, one another, and all of creation…so that God’s will may be done…here on earth as in heaven…
Closing Prayer/Hymn: #705 As those of old their first fruits brought
2 A world in need now summons us to labor, love, and give;
to make our life an offering to God that all may live;
the Church of Christ is calling us to make the dream come true:
a world redeemed by Christ-like love; all life in Christ made new.
3 With gratitude and humble trust we bring our best to thee
to serve thy cause and share thy love with all humanity.
O thou who gavest us thyself in Jesus Christ thy Son,
help us to give ourselves each day until life's work is done.
Rev Julie Platson, Rector
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK