Spiritual Autobiography Reflection: Sunday Sermon

Sept 14, 2025

Today’s sermon reflection was written by Nancy Jo Bleier.

Today I told the congregation about myself through a Spiritual Autobiography. What is that and why? This from participating in Education for Ministry (EfM) via Zoom with 8 other people.  This is my third year.

Some of you may have written a Spiritual Autobiography in EfM years ago.

EfM defines the spiritual autobiography as the narrative of significant events, people and places that have shaped our relationship with God.  It recounts how we have become the person we are and how we have developed our beliefs. Most of the work is private and “for my eyes only.”

So today I talked and showed a mosaic I did my first year for my spiritual autobiography. 

For you who did not attend the church service today I am giving you the process EfM gives each participant on how to write a spiritual autobiography but not the details of my journey.

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM EFM:

In this step, we offer a method for you to explore and write your own spiritual autobiography. This year’s spiritual autobiography method offers you an opportunity to reflect theologically on your personal faith by looking at significant moments or stepping stones in your life that have contributed to its development.

The term “steppingstones” was coined by Ira Progoff to describe events of a life to gain a perspective on that life. He writes, “In steppingstones, we draw out of the jumbled mass of our life experiences, the thin and elusive threads that carry our potentials towards a fuller unfolding” (Progoff 1992).

Preparing Stepping Stones

Below is an outline to guide you through developing your stepping stones:

1.       Begin forming your stepping stones by sitting quietly for a few moments and allowing the events of your life to come to mind.

2.       As you become aware of each event, write down a word or brief phrase that describes it. Continue this process until you have covered your entire life.

3.       Once you complete your list of stepping stones, arrange them in chronological order. By limiting your stepping stones to twelve, you can more easily navigate the flow of your life.

4.       After you finish listing your stepping stones, read them to yourself a couple of times. Sense the flow of your life, its ups and downs, as well as the quieter periods alongside the more active times. Then, write a brief paragraph that encapsulates your life, providing an overarching picture of your journey. This offers a 360-degree view of your life's perspective.

5.       Next, begin to explore your life more deeply by reflecting on your Stepping Stones individually in chronological order.

6.       For each one, write a few sentences that describe the tone and atmosphere of that period in your life: “It was a time when….”

7.       You may wish to consider the people, activities, social attitudes, physical experiences, and sources of inspiration involved in this period of your life. Reflect on the people along your journey and how you grew emotionally, spiritually, or intellectually.

8.       As you finish writing your spiritual autobiography, revisit each Stepping Stone to describe your journey with God.

9.       Where were you?

10.   Where was God?

11.   What did that mean for you?

12.   What emotions or awareness arise in you?

 

My hope is each of you reading this will put together your spiritual autobiography whether in words, a piece of art or in music.

 

Nancy Jo Bleier

Sept 7 2025 sermon

13 Pentecost/Year C – Sept 7, 2025

Track 2 Scriptures: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33

Rev Julie Platson

 

Opening Prayer: (Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion)

God of wisdom, by your Spirit speak this day a word of life, and plant in us the power of righteous love; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The next several weeks, through Oct 4, you will hear some reflections, prayers, questions to consider, tied into our worship services for this special season of creation set aside each year from Sept 1-Oct 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

*From the Season of Creation: A Celebration Guide for Episcopal Parishes:

We begin by asking this question:

Why is it important to mark the Season of Creation?

2 simple answers were noted to summarize that loaded question in the intro in the guide:

(1) Because of our Gospel call to grow in faith as we affirm that God in Christ loves, redeems, and sustains the whole of Creation, not only human beings.

(2) Because of the urgency of climate and ecological crisis and the need for a bold, prophetic response.

So, we don’t mark this season to just check off a box that we talked about creation for a few weeks…

It goes much deeper than that…it’s a time for us, personally and collectively, to discern, in this time and place of our lives…how we are being called to spiritually grow and respond to the current needs of the whole creation…

And we set aside this time to celebrate and proclaim that the good news of God in Christ, is indeed, for all creatures and the whole Earth.

Today’s readings give us a place to begin by setting our intentions.  

We have an opportunity to begin anew to choose life for all of creation...not just for today, but for future generations to come: to choose life so that you and your descendants may live…to choose life as we center our lives around loving God, and walking in his ways, that lead us to love our neighbors as ourselves…

In today’s gospel reading…Jesus seems to be speaking to the importance and the urgency of the need to set our intentions, by choosing life, by making choices that enable the *liberation and healing of all God’s people, God’s whole creation.

And as we choose life, a way of life and walking in the way of love as Jesus is striving to teach us and show us…that means we, as followers of Him, need to give up some things, some possessions, habits, privileges, comforts and wealth, that are barriers to the *liberation and healing of all God’s people, God’s whole creation…

I recently watched a Netflix series that shared the personal stories of those who had lived (and died) in the climate disaster, Hurricane Katrina…which happened 20 years ago. I confess, I don’t recall a lot of details about the impacts of the hurricane on the people there, and on the natural environment there. I watched the news for a time, participated in prayer vigils, and donated to Episcopal Relief and Development. And as often happens….big news stories like that are often are forgotten (by those of us not close to the crisis) after just a couple of years.

But it wasn’t until I heard some of the personal stories, and viewed some of the news footage of the hurricane and the floods, that I was able to understand a little more fully, this many years later, the long-lasting impact of such a climate disaster on the most vulnerable people among us, and how our personal and collective choices as a society, and our stubbornness to acknowledge the harm and destruction we often cause to the land, its creatures, human beings, and our refusal to change the things we can for the well-being of all people, all of creation…keep us from living into the dream of God’s beloved community, that he intended for all of creation…from the very beginning….when he called it good…very good.

That’s a place for us to begin again, to confess the ways we are contributing to the current climate crisis, and the ways our choices are impacting our neighbors, not only our human neighbors, but all of creation. And to ask ourselves: am I, are we, living in such a way, that enables the liberation and healing of all God’s people, God’s whole creation?

As a body of Christ that gathers together here in the church and in the community, the Gospel calls us to grow in faith as we affirm that God in Christ loves, redeems, and sustains the whole of Creation, not only human beings.

And to grow means there will be changes, there will be things we let go of, new understandings that inspire us, there will be times of struggle, times of uncertainty, times of despair and grief for the sacrifices we will make on behalf of the well-being of all creation.

But, in all of that, in death and in life…we have hope. We have hope that enables us to choose life…

In the forward section of the Green Bible, these words speak to our hope as we grow in our faith and our call to act on behalf of all creation:

Christian hope is in the renewal (Mat. 19:28) and restoration (Act. 3:21) of all things. Our participation with God in creating a more just and habitable world and living more gently on Earth is how we share in what Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls the “supreme work” of Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to God, one another, and God’s whole Creation. The good news of God in Christ is for all creatures and the whole Earth.

 Let us pray: The Creation Collect of the Day

Grant us, O God, the courage to choose Jesus’ way even at great cost, bearing our cross and releasing our possessions, for the liberation and healing of your world; through Jesus Christ the Wisdom of Creation, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

hymn at conclusion of sermon/all sing: (LEVS II) 144 – Where he leads me

1                I can hear my Savior calling, I can hear my Savior calling,

I can hear my  Savior calling, “Take thy cross and follow, follow me.”

                              Where He leads me I will follow, (x3)

                              I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

 

     2  I’ll go with Him through the garden, I’ll go with Him through the garden,

          I’ll go with Him through the garden, I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

          Refrain

 

3      I’ll go with Him through the judgement, I’ll go with Him through the judgement,

   I’ll go with Him through the judgement, I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

          Refrain

 

    4    He will give me grace and glory, He will give me grace and glory,

          He will give me grace and glory, And go with me, with me all the way.

          Refrain

12 Pentecost/Year C Sermon

12 Pentecost/Year C – August 31, 2025

Track 2 Scriptures: Sirach 10:12-18; Psalm 112; Luke 14:1, 7-14

Rev Julie Platson

 

Opening Prayer: (Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion)

Holy God, you alone are worthy of honor and praise. Open our eyes to see the world as you see it. Give us the wisdom to witness your presence in all people. Transform us in love, grow us in our faith, call us to love with a full heart and to share your promises with all people. Amen.

It is interesting to note that our gospel reading begins today with what Jesus was doing on the Sabbath. Just last week, our first verse began in this way…Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

Listen again to the opening verses from the gospel reading today:

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely.

Jesus was being watched again, just as he was last week, when he was teaching in the synagogue. Last week the leaders were criticizing him for curing someone on the Sabbath… 

Today’s Sabbath story takes us to the house of a leader of the Pharisees, where Jesus goes to eat a meal. Jesus is also doing some watching in today’s gospel reading, just as he was watching and noticing what was going on around him in last week’s gospel and noticing the crippled woman among them and healing her.

Today, Jesus takes notice of how the other guests in attendance are choosing their places of honor. And once again Jesus uses the opportunity to offer a teaching story…another parable…

A parable about a wedding banquet… and the value and importance of humility as a way of engaging with others in the world, through the eyes of God’s heart…

The guests at the wedding were probably busying themselves with thoughts of who is the most important, perhaps rallying with each other and striving to capture the most coveted place at the table. Perhaps they were concerning themselves with what everyone else would think about them, if they weren’t in those most important places at the table that were traditionally set aside for certain persons and honorable guests.

Perhaps they were being meticulous about all the proper hand-washing rituals…the proper table blessings…the proper attire…

Often, as I listen to Jesus’ parables, children’s stories come to mind… When I think of the scene that Jesus is observing in today’s gospel…I recall a beloved children’s story for all ages called Cinderella, which involved the stepsisters fighting among themselves to be noticed, to be seen as the best and the prettiest…

I remember the shocking looks of the guests in attendance at the ball…as they watched the prince dance with Cinderella, the girl in the beautiful gown and wearing glass slippers…trying to figure out who this mysterious woman was…and even more shocking and angry were the wicked stepsisters and stepmother in discovering that Cinderella, the one who was usually dressed in rags and did all the household chores, was the person that the prince had fallen in love with that night!

How could that be? she did not look or act like someone who should become royalty…she wasn’t anyone worth paying attention to…she was just a lowly and humble servant… 

It’s not long before we find out that it is the humblest person among them, who catches the prince’s attention…she was not necessarily the prettiest, the one who was the most powerful, she was not the one people expected, she was not the one that hung out with royalty and snubbed others….no…she was a humble servant…with a heart full of love…while others were concerned with outer appearances and the proper way to go about life and seeking to acquire power and status for oneself, neglecting the needs of the others around them…she was concerned only with one thing…the matters of the heart…her heart was good, kind, humble, open and loving…all values that matter, when engaging in the world with others, through the eyes of God’s heart…

Bishop Mark shared a teachable lesson on humility this week, too, referencing this verse from today’s gospel: "For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Luke 14: 11.

He writes:

“Being humble is often misunderstood. It is common these days to confuse being humble with being humiliated: a pushover; weak; or of little importance, dignity or esteem. But these are a pretty limited understanding of what it means to be humble. To the contrary, there is great strength and dignity in being humble.

My favorite lesson on the strength and dignity of being humble comes from E.B. White's wonderful book: "Charlotte's Web." For those not familiar, it is a great read. Described as a children's book, it is every bit worthy of any age group. It is a story of a pig named Wilbur who is confronted with the terrible reality that he is destined for the farmer's table. His friend, Charlotte, a spider, trying to save Wilbur from this fate, attempts to convince the farmer that Wilbur is worth saving, by writing messages in her web to describe Wilbur in the most positive light (sort of like an eight-legged PR Officer). Charlotte offers 4 different words in her web: "Some Pig," "Terrific," "Radiant," and, finally, "Humble."

When questioned about the use of the word humble to describe Wilbur, Charlotte reflects that the word not only means 'not proud,' but, in its truest form, humble means 'close to the ground.' To be humble is to live close to the ground--to be grounded. Which isn't at all like being humiliated, weak, a pushover, or of little esteem.

To be humble is to know we are of the earth--dust. To be humble also means to know that our life and the life of the entire earth are a gift of the loving God who created everything. To be humble is to know that you and all things belong to God and are held in God's hands.

And THAT is exalted humility. God exalts us when we are humble, humble enough to recognize that we, like all things, are of the earth, God's creation. To be humble is to understand that we are because of God's love. God's love alone exalts humble dust.”

As you keep informed of the national and local news, and as we celebrate Labor Day, and the start of the season of creation tomorrow, I invite you to take some time this week to reflect more on the value and importance of humility as a way of engaging with others and all of creation, through the eyes of God’s heart… How might this renewed understanding of humility inspire and influence your focus and actions this week to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

 

Let us pray: (Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion)

Faithful God, in Jesus you show us the way of humility and hospitality with power to transform our world. Give us the vision and the grace to love those things that please you and the courage to live them to your glory. Amen.

 

HYMN: Be thou my vision (H) #488

 

 

10 Pentecost/Proper 15 sermon

10 Pentecost/Year C – August 17, 2025

Track 2 Scriptures: Jeremiah 23:23-29; Psalm 82; Luke 12:49-56

Rev Julie Platson

 

Opening Prayer: (Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion)

God of Wisdom, we eagerly seek your presence in our lives and in the world. By your Spirit, speak your word to us, and give us your grace to recognize abundant signs of your care for us, so that we might be freed to act in the world with courage and abandon. Amen.

 

It's that time of year, when we are on the cusp of a new season…a time of year marked by the ending of summer, the beginning of school, the days have started to grow shorter, and hints of changes in the weather can be noticed all around us. We are on the cusp of moving from the flow of summer activities, in the community and in the church…that signal the season of Autumn (or fall) is just around the corner…

I talk about seasons quite often during my sermons throughout the year…the liturgical seasons we mark on the church calendar; the seasons of the year we mark as fall, winter, spring, and summer; the season of creation which we will observe in September; the seasons we all go through, throughout the various stages of our lives – seasons of joy and sorrow, seasons of uncertainty and seasons of times in our lives when we feel confident and assured of all that seems to be going according to our plans…

If there is one word I would use to capture the theme associated with all of these different seasons I’ve mentioned today…(which really doesn’t capture all of the them)…I would choose the word “CHANGE”.

And that word “change” can stir up a lot for us…it makes us squirm in our seats, it makes us uncomfortable, it makes us angry, it makes us fearful, it makes us long for what we’ve always known, and makes us worry about what’s to come.

But change can also makes us hopeful…in knowing that no matter all the changes we face throughout the different seasons of our lives, we are perpetually and eternally grounded in one season throughout the ages…and that is the “God-season”… as noted in the Message paraphrase…or in our insert version today…that calls it simply, the “present time”.

That’s part of the ending verses in today’s gospel when Jesus is pointing out to the disciples that they are really good at interpreting the signs of the weather changes, some of the obvious signs of things happening around them which aren’t hard to miss…. but they seem to have such difficulty paying attention to the present time, in which God is there, in the midst of all the changes, equipping them with all that they need to help each other to see and hear and sense God’s presence and care and guidance right now, in this place, in this uncertain season…

Why all this attention to changing seasons from me in today’s sermon?

Because most of you know, we are on the cusp of some pretty big changes later this fall, with the news that Loyd and I will be leaving St Peter’s and Sitka.

There will be changes for all of us…changes that will have to be made, that we would rather not make…There’s the potential for disagreements about what to change, and not to change…There will be worries about how or if certain things will continue…worries that distract us from the present time and the present gifts of the people among you…There will be differences of opinions and suggestions for the timeline in which you will be embarking on the unknown journey ahead.

Any changes that we are faced with, ones we know that are coming or those which inevitably come unexpectedly, have the potential to stir up our spirits and tongues in healthy and unhealthy ways…leading us to not always treat our neighbor with love and patience.

My hope and prayer, is that we recognize these moments right away, and turn to our neighbors quickly to forgive one another, and commit once again to supporting one another through all the changes.

Here's another thing: there is nothing we can do to speed up all the emotions that will come up for us when we are having to endure in the slow, slow work of discerning what all these changes in this “God-Season” are asking of us, at this time, and in this place.

But, what we can do is hold fast to the good news of God’s love and care for all of us, as made known to us in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, that proclaims this truth for us:  no matter all the changes we face throughout the different seasons of our lives, we are perpetually and eternally grounded in one season throughout the ages…and that is the “God-season”…

God is with us…God has always been with us…God will be with us throughout the ages to come…

And know this: We at St Peter's are not alone in having to do the important and slow work of re-imagining and re-visioning what it means to be the church, here and now. Changes have been happening across the church wide body for generations…

We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…

(Hebrews 12:2)

 

Let us pray: (LEVS II) 71 – vs 3

In times like these we have a Savior,

In times like these we have an anchor;

I'm very sure, I'm very sure

Our anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

 

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One,

This Rock is Jesus, the only One;

Be very sure, be very sure,

Our anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

 

8 Pentecost/Proper 13 Sermon

8 Pentecost/Year C – August 3, 2025

Track 2 Scriptures: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23; Psalm 49:1-11; Luke 12:13-21

Rev Julie Platson

 

Opening Prayer: (Feasting on the Word: Worship Companion)

Holy God, allow us your wisdom. By the power of the Holy Spirit, open the Scriptures to us today that in the Word read and proclaimed we might know your truth. Amen.

I admit I chuckled to myself a bit, as I first read the gospel reading that was assigned for today. My mind immediately returned to the gospel reading several weeks back, when Martha wanted Jesus to intervene, as she was calling out Mary, for sitting at his feet, while she was busy doing all the physical tasks to prepare for the dinner and visit from him and his disciples.

Only today’s lament and wanting Jesus to intervene was about a different topic; and Jesus responds as he does in the Mary and Martha gospel, with a teaching and reminder, that it’s about putting God first, it’s about centering our lives, our work, our hearts and minds on Jesus and his love…and by doing so…we come to understand what truly matters in this world…loving one another, caring for one another, serving one another, sharing the abundance of our riches with one another for the well-being of all God’s people…

Today’s readings help us think more about that…focusing on what we are working for…

Do you ever stop to think about your views on work? What you always liked about it? What you didn’t like about it? What kind of work you would still be doing, if you had the opportunity?

Perhaps, you’ve been retired for a long time now, or just recently retired…and now these questions fall fresh on your mind…did you give yourself to work so fully, that it was difficult to find that balance of work and rest that Jesus was trying to teach us, as commanded by God…Or perhaps now that your “usual day job” is done…you don’t really know who you are any more…or what it is you are supposed to do with this new rhythm of a different kind of work and rest…

Work often consumes our life and takes over every ounce of our being…either because we have a strong passion for what we are doing or sometimes because we have an obligation to work to make sure we can pay all the bills that we never seem to be able to catch up on…and to take care of our families….sometimes, we work ourselves to the bone so we can pay for all the extra “stuff” we want…and then the day comes and we look around at all this “stuff” we accumulated over the years and ask ourselves this question: “And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

Most of us could probably identify with having a job that we didn’t particularly like…or at least know someone personally who held a job who for years grudgingly went to work every day, and came home and collapsed from shear exhaustion…and vented for a time every evening, about how much they despised their job…only to have to get up the next day and start all over again…

In our first reading this morning, from Ecclesiastes…we hear these words of grumbling about work…

I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me -- and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish?

The writer, Solomon, in his old age, who became so immersed in the everyday world, forgetting his connection to God, seemed to be focusing on “I, me” and thinking that whatever work he did should be for the benefit of himself only…why should any of this work “I do”…benefit anyone else? Perhaps the frustration comes with the thinking that it is he alone who is responsible for doing all the work….or perhaps the frustration comes because of his focus and attention to his own needs and his own wants…and not seeing the connection between his work in relation to his neighbors or for the needs of his neighbors?

Then Solomon gives us a glimpse of a change of focus and attitude about all the toil and work when he says this: So, I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it.”

The shift in focus and attention…appears to show us that Solomon turned his heart once again back to God’s abundant gifts and acknowledges “the others” in God’s family...understanding…that we are part of a community…and that all the work we do today for our family, and church, and communities… we may never see the fruits of our labors in our lifetime…

By our baptisms…we are a New Creation…our work in this world is about building up God’s Kingdom rooted in love and abundance of plenty for everyone…working from the center of our hearts by loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves…

By our baptisms, we are called to put God, Jesus and his love, first, and at the center of our lives…being obedient to the work they are calling us to do, for the well-being of all God’s people…today, and for future generations…

In the book, St Benedict’s Toolbox:  The Nuts and Bolts of Everyday Benedictine Living…one of the chapters talks about listening and obedience…and its’ influence of putting God at the center of our lives, of all that we are working for…and it has nothing to do with storing up an abundance of possessions and treasures for ourselves…

Giving our Life to God…pg 72

St Benedict gathered ordinary people around him, giving them a new way of looking at the world that put God at the center of their lives. This is key, for once this starts to happen we see and experience life differently.

The work which was boring and tedious takes on a new resonance and significance. Deeds which are performed, not out of love of self, but out of love for God, have an infinite depth of meaning and value of the deeds themselves, which may be quite small.

But, be careful. It is much easier to talk about obedience than to live it. So, to do more than talk, we need to place our lives in the hands of God. When we choose to give away our lives to God, we begin to realize that we’re co-collaborators with God and are not responsible for everything. We use what’s been given to us creatively, attentive to our lives and to God’s presence. Through obedience we grow. Listening and responding in love, we take our part in furthering Christ’s kingdom in the world. (end of book excerpt)

“This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, (for yourself),whose will they be?”

What are you working for?

Who are you working for?

Who are you working with?

Who will benefit from your toil under the sun? or the rain…which is more relatable to us here in Sitka…

Will your persistent prayers and whatever work you are led to do, illuminate what truly matters to God in this world…loving one another, caring for one another, the hungry, the poor, the unhoused, the suffering, the lonely, the oppressed, the refugees…

Will your persistent prayers and whatever work you are led to do, enliven what truly matters to God in this world, by leading you to serve one another, and share the abundance of our riches with one another for the well-being of all God’s people…in this time, and in this place…and for future generations…

This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, (for yourself), whose will they be?”

Let us pray: For the Right Use of God's Gifts (BCP 827)

Almighty God, whose loving hand has given us all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may honor you with our substance, and, remembering the account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today’s a new day…morning has broken….let us begin again…and turn to the one who gives purpose and meaning to the work we are called to do throughout the ages…

Closing Prayer/Hymn: Morning is broken (H) 8

 

7 Pentecost/Proper 12 Sermon

7 Pentecost/Year C – July 27, 2025

Scriptures: Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Luke 11:1-13

Rev Julie Platson

 

Opening Prayer: (d365.org, The Rev. Jennie Barber, adapted)

Eternal God, Open our eyes, our hearts, and our minds so we can be led by the prayer Jesus taught us. Let his words spark faithful action in every one of us, as we live and work together for the coming of God’s kingdom here on earth, as in heaven. Amen.

 

Lord, teach us to pray…as John taught his disciples…

When reading and reflecting on this week’s gospel…another familiar scripture this week for many of us sitting here this morning…I kept reading and re-reading it throughout the week…looking for the words and phrases that were jumping out at me this time around…

I kept going back to some of the opening verses, when one of the disciples asks Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

We don’t really have any scripture references or details that speak about exactly how John taught his disciples to pray…we only know that it seemed to be something important to note…that John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray.

And from what we know about John the Baptist…we know he was preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins…he was preparing others for the coming of the Messiah…the One who would bring the very presence of God among the people…who would bring God’s kingdom here on earth…

One other important thing that stands out for me about John the Baptist…is that he was persistent…he was persistent in calling people to repent and turn their hearts and their lives towards the One who was to come.

When I think about John and his persistence today…I can see how he ends up in today’s gospel reading…I see where his ministry of proclaiming the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and preparing others for the coming of the Messiah…is an important part of Jesus’ teaching about prayer, when the disciples ask him to teach them to pray…as John taught his disciples….

I think of John’s life and ministry as a way of praying in the world…and I think about how his life of prayer was rooted in eternal life…focused on the One who would lead us and guide us through the temporal things of life…so that we lose not the things eternal…

Jesus begins his teaching about praying… acknowledging the Holy one to whom we are praying…to whom we are putting our trust in, for this life and the next, Father, hallowed be your name.

John taught his disciples to do the same…to repent and return to the Holy One, God...and to the one who grounds us, and roots us in the eternal presence of God…

Jesus continues with the prayer….Your kingdom come…praying that God’s kingdom would come…here on earth...

John taught his disciples this, too…preparing them, for the coming of this new kingdom…

Give us each day our daily bread…Jesus prays…a part of the prayer that reminds us of the daily bread we ask for and are given, the promise of our daily needs being taken care of…

John is persistent in calling people back to this truth…that by turning and returning to God…we will be given what we need...

Jesus continues….And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

John, as we heard…preached a baptism of the repentance of sins…Preparing our hearts and minds for a clear path ahead…John baptized the people with water in the Jordan river…being clear, that repentance and forgiveness was just the beginning…that turning our hearts and minds towards the Holy One to come was just the beginning…And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.  I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

And the last line of the Jesus’ teaching about how to pray….

And do not bring us to the time of trial.

Isn’t that always our hope and prayer…a universal hope and prayer…to not be overcome by times of trial and suffering?

Isn’t that the part of the prayer that often takes the most persistence in believing as we are praying?

That’s where I’m encouraged by John’s example of persistence…and Jesus’ story about the friend who comes to ask for bread in the middle of the night, after everyone was sleeping…which teaches us about the need to be persistent in our prayers…our prayers of lament, of longing, of hoping for some kind of grace and mercy and relief in the midst of all that is troubling us and our neighbors…

They remind us… to never give up…to keep praying with our lips and in our lives….to:

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

We are called to be persistent…with our prayers…persistent in asking, searching, and knocking on doors…that will be opened for us, and for our neighbors in need…

Who are those people throughout your lives…who have taught you to pray? Who have taught you to pray with persistence…Who are the ones who continue to inspire you and encourage you to keep hoping and praying to not be overcome by the trials and sufferings of this day…Who are the ones who have gone before you, and live among you today…that say, not only with their lips, but with their lives… that there is one among us, to whom we can pray and be grounded in for eternal life…the one who will lead us and guide us through the temporal things of life…so that we lose not the things eternal…

I am thankful for the forerunners of the faith, and the saints before us who have taught us about persistence in prayer…and for Jesus’ teachings about prayer, and the promise of life eternal to those who believe in Him….

Who will be looking to us now…to pass on those teachings about prayer…about persistence with our prayers…through our words, and in our lives…

Who will we pass on this gift of being persistent in prayer…teaching others…as we ourselves have been taught?

Our need to pray with persistence never ends…

In Bishop Mark’s e-news reflection this week…he invites us to consider the Lord’s Prayer as an invitation to a life of persistent prayer as ministry…

He writes:  I think it is safe to say that most people who identify as Christian know the Lord’s Prayer in one form or another. Whether one uses trespasses, debts, or sins the overall structure is the same and ends the same: Amen.

Just as Jesus taught it.

Except that Jesus didn’t include an ‘amen’ as if the prayer he was teaching was over. Instead, in Luke, he talked about seeking, and knocking on doors, and asking persistently. He talked about being constant in prayer and, as I hear his words, he taught the Disciples to be active in prayer.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus teaches about prayer as part of the Sermon on the Mount. In (today’s) setting, the Lord’s Prayer is part of Jesus’ broader message about praying and seeking the Kingdom, serving as he served, loving as he loved—-including our enemies.

What if the Lord’s Prayer included seeking and serving the Kingdom? What if the prayer didn’t end with ‘amen’, but instead was an invitation to a life of persistent prayer as ministry?

Persistent prayer as ministry is an invitation to all of us to enact prayer not only with our lips, but in our daily lives, for us, and for our neighbors…so that the love of God, God’s kingdom will indeed come to light here on earth, for all of God’s people…

 

 

Closing Prayer/Hymn: (H) 711

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And His righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you
Allelu Alleluia

Ask and it shall be given unto you
Seek and ye shall find
Knock and it shall be opened unto you
Allelu Alleluia

 

6 Pentecost/Proper 11 sermon

6 Pentecost/Year C – July 20, 2025

Scriptures: Genesis 18:1-10a, ; Psalm 15; Luke 10:10:38-42

Rev Julie Platson

 

Opening Prayer: (Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals))

Lord, grant us the ability to think with your mind, to hear with your ears, to see with your eyes, to speak with your mouth, to walk with your feet, to love with your hearts. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In today’s gospel, Jesus and his disciples are still on the move and traveling from place to place…

Today, they arrive in the village of Bethany and are welcomed into the home of Martha and Mary.

And it is in these few, short familiar verses, that we might instinctively turn our thoughts to identify closely with either Martha or Mary…and could probably easily come up with some remembrances of when you were in the same position, and places of preparing for a group of visitors…and once they arrived, you and others of your household, would have had different “tasks” in welcoming your guests.

We often default to that type of reaction when we listen to Jesus’ teachings in the gospel…we are quick to align ourselves with the various parts and people of the story…often unintentionally, perhaps…falling into that “us vs them” narrative that I spoke about a couple of weeks back.

While I believe it can be a helpful practice, to consider where we find ourselves in the stories and teachings we hear in the gospels…I’m not sure the intention is to set us up into separate categories that can lead us to judge one another...but rather to help us see where God is, where Jesus is, in the midst of our interactions with one another, in the midst of our tasks that distract us from one another, and in all the variety of ways we will be called to welcome one another, and walk in love with one another, throughout our days here on earth.

So, this week, what’s jumping out at me…is a reminder that we need not focus our attention on who is doing what or not doing what…but to ask ourselves a few questions…

Is Jesus and the love he has proclaimed to us, in our midst…what we are focusing on, when we welcome others into our homes, our churches, our communities?

Is it Jesus and his love that we allow to guide us, move us, and strengthen us to do the things we do to stand up and advocate for the oppressed, and the vulnerable in our communities?

Is it Jesus and his love that we believe with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind, is the “better part”, the one thing we believe can help us to love and serve one another, as we have been so loved?

Jesus is always calling us forward in ways that encourage us to be mindful of others, to hold fast to the hope for co-creating a world when it’s no longer about us vs them…but us…all of us…

He is always encouraging us to go…to go and walk in the way of love…yet he teaches us time and time again, about setting time aside for prayer, for stillness, to be loved by God and inspired by the Holy Spirit, to be nourished by his presence and a relationship with him, to be enabled, and equipped to go in love and peace to serve one another.

I leave you with this today.

There is need of only one thing to focus on in all of our worries, anxieties, fears, and in all of our endings and new beginnings…Jesus and his love. Whether we are sitting at his feet, or whether we are prepping the meal for him and all the guests we will welcome to the table:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. Amen.

 

Closing Prayer/Hymn: (Praise Chorus Book #97) - Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace. Amen

 

2 Pentecost - June 22 sermon

2 Pentecost/Year C – June 22, 2025

Scriptures: Isaiah 65:1-9; Psalm 22:18-27; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39

(written by Rev Julie Platson)

 

Opening Prayer: (Feasting on the Word: Worship Companian)

 Almighty God, creator of all things seen and unseen, through your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, you show your power and mercy. You cast out evil, tear down walls of division, comfort and challenge your people, and show signs of your kingdom coming into the world. Grant that we may lift up the discouraged, strengthen the doubting, and join with all who seek to thank you for your goodness. Amen.

 

What struck me, initially, in this morning’s gospel, was the depth of someone’s despair and suffering…I couldn’t turn away…I just kept going back and back again to the man in today’s gospel reading who we heard was filled and tormented with many demons…

It made me wonder…what was it throughout his life that kept him captive to such despair and suffering? What were the demons in his head and those around him constantly telling him? What was the tipping point…for him, and for others who find themselves in such despair, when it felt like they were dying a slow death, when they saw no chance of ever escaping the depths of their deep-seeded fears, and persecution…when they saw no chance of ever being loved and accepted by God or others…

We don’t really know much about the man with demons, before his interaction with Jesus…other than, for a long time he wore no clothes, and lived in the tombs…and that from time to time, even in shackles and being chained up…he would break the bonds and be driven out by the demons to the wild…

But, we do get a glimpse in today’s gospel, what happens after he meets Jesus…

We see what happens when Jesus notices him, responds to him, and asks him, “What is your name”?

We see what happens when the demons tormenting the man beg Jesus, to set them free….

We see what happens to the man, when his demons are set free…

We see what happens to the man, when Jesus heals him…

We see a new man, a man transformed by the love and mercy and grace of God, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed, in his right mind again… with stillness in his body and mind, for the first time in years, with no demons tormenting him…only a new hope…eager to follow the one who finally healed him and set his spirit free…

But Jesus tells the man…this is how you can follow me: “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you."

Go out and proclaim the good news to someone else…go tell it…. everywhere!

So, he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

That’s how we can follow Jesus, too…. by giving thanks for the mercy and grace and love of God in our own lives and those close by us that we have been witness to, and then we go… we go out into the world, our neighborhoods, proclaiming the good news to someone else…wherever our hearts, and hands, and feet may take us…

Why? Because we have seen for ourselves, how this love and mercy and grace of God has the power to uplift, to heal and to transform one’s life.

And we all know someone, somewhere, right now…whose spirits need a boost, and some encouragement, and hope…that all will be well…that we will get through these troubling and despairing times, together…

We need not stretch our imaginations at all to bring to mind, in these unsettling times, how many people, worldwide are anxious, afraid, deeply troubled, suffering needlessly, and on the brink of giving up perhaps, because they see no chance of ever escaping the depths of their deep-seeded fears and persecution they are faced with every day…and they are struggling to see any signs around them that affirm they are worthy to be loved and accepted and respected, and will not be forgotten or cast aside by God or their community.

Now, more than ever…we must not look away…or give up on the idea that anything will ever change…With God, and one another working together…walking together in the way of love, we will pave a way forward together…that will restore God’s dream of the beloved community, it was created to be…

We need not re-invent the wheel for walking the way of love that has the power to uplift people out of their despair, and promote healing and transformation of people’s lives…because Jesus has already shown us the way…

It’s up to us now, to go…to go out into the world, proclaiming hope, with the healing power of God’s love and mercy and grace, made known to us in Jesus, and through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us now…

Us, as in it will take every one of us…to do something…just one thing…one day at a time…

Retired Bishop, Steven Charleston sums this thought up quite simply…

A single person can alter the course of history.

A single word can heal a broken heart.

A single act of kindness can restore a community to hope and health.

We may be ordinary people, but every single one of us can be an agent of transformation…

Yes, every single one of us can do something. But, we aren’t meant to only do things alone.  That is the gift of gathering together each week for worship services. It’s a time to come together as a community for our spirits to be lifted, nourished, replenished, encouraged through the scriptures, story-sharing, music, prayer, communion, fellowship…and to strengthen us to go out into the world to be agents of transformation, to be bearers of God’s love and mercy and grace…bringing hope, and healing, and peace, and love, and joy into to the lives of all God’s people.

Let us pray with the words of WLP hymn #772… to be grounded once again in the mercy and grace and love of God, made known to us in Jesus, and through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us now…

Closing Prayer/Hymn: (WLP) 772

 1       O Christ, the healer, we have come

          to pray for health, to plead for friends.

          How can we fail to be restored,

          when reached by love that never ends?

 

2        From every ailment flesh endures

          our bodies clamor to be freed;

          yet in our hearts we would confess

          that wholeness is our deepest need.

 

3        How strong, O Lord, are our desires,

          how weak our knowledge of ourselves!

          Release in us those healing truths

          unconscious pride resists ourselves.

 

4        In conflicts that destroy our health

          we recognize the world’s disease;

          our common life declares our ills:

          is there no cure, O Christ, for these?

 

5        Grant that we all, made in one faith,

          in your community may find

          the wholeness that, enriching us,

          shall reach the whole of humankind.