23 Pentecost/Year B – Oct 27, 2024
Jeremiah 31:7-9; Psalm 126; Mark 46-52
“Accompaniment”
Opening Prayer: Collect of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I love the opening sentences from our collect today: Almighty and Everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity…I think it would be safe to assume, that most of us sitting here, at one time or another, throughout our lives, have prayed for at least one of these gifts, if not all of them….
The Gift of Faith: are there any among us, who have cried out to God, either silently or aloud…asking God to give us more faith? There has probably been more than one occasion when perhaps our faith seemed almost non-existent…or perhaps we were encouraged by another “to keep the faith”….whatever that is supposed to mean, in the face of loss after loss after loss…or perhaps there have been other moments that that we’ve told ourselves... “if only I had more faith, none of this would be happening”...
The Gift of Hope: Are there any among us, who have cried out to God, either silently or aloud…asking God to give us more hope? Perhaps we’ve been in need of “more hope” when a loved one was struggling with health issues? Perhaps we have cried out in desperation and in need of “more hope” when painful circumstances don’t seem to let up? Perhaps we cried out, with a deep sigh…asking for more hope…to believe that “all will be well”…
The Gift of Charity: Are there any among us, who have cried out to God, either silently or aloud…asking God to give us more charity? We probably didn’t use the word “charity”…but perhaps some of the other more relatable words for charity such as compassion, kindness, gentleness, mercifulness, goodness, empathy, sympathy, love, and generosity…..Have you ever cried out to ask God to help you have more compassion and understanding of the family member or neighbor who tests your patience? Or perhaps you have asked God to be more empathetic to your hurt and pain? Or perhaps you have asked God to reveal to you how to love your neighbor, especially the one you disagree with?
In our gospel reading today, we are given an example of someone, named Bartimaeus, who cries out to the Holy One, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” not only once…but a second time…believing with all of his being, that Jesus would hear his prayer plea to be seen and heard and be made well again. And, as we heard in the reading…Jesus did see him and hear him, and asked him what he wanted him to do for him.
The blind man said to him, "My teacher, let me see again." Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
This was a big deal. Jesus acknowledged him when no one else would. The disciples were trying to silence the blind beggar, the outcast, the one on the margins. But Jesus chooses to respond to him, to listen to him, to strive to understand his needs, to acknowledge him and to help him see his belovedness in himself, too. Bartimaeus, renewed in his faith and well-being, then chooses to follow Jesus on the way…excited to join Jesus in a new way of traveling and exploring the new landscape of living that Jesus was surely about to show him…a way of travel that embodies Jesus’ invitation to all of us, to walk in love with one another, as Jesus has taught us and shown us…
What about us today…
Will we cry out to Jesus, as Bartimaeus did, with a sense of urgency to Jesus…to open our eyes and ears to what is all around us…to open our eyes and ears to the people who are suffering among us…to open our eyes and ears to those around us who struggle with addiction and substance misuse issues, those who are victims of violence and abuse, those who are lonely and afraid, those whose voices are often silenced, or those whose belovedness is routinely questioned and judged because their life journeys look so much different than ours, their day to day life situation is different than ours.
Many among us are searching for some form of accompaniment, acceptance, and belonging…
I’m going to step aside now, so that Loyd can share his own thoughts on this week’s Walk in Love reflection on the theme of Accompaniment.
(LOYD PLATSON –Reflections on Accompaniment
At a recent Vestry meeting we began discussing the annual “in-gathering” set for October/ November. As we were discussing how to go about it, we talked about the “Walk In Love” approach with its 5 sequential components and how each of the Vestry members could take one of the components to talk or write a brief thought about for each week leading up to the actual in-gathering. I sat there waiting, hoping someone would take the first week’s topic. Fingers crossed, eyes closed, saying silent prayers, just hoping, and as God would have it (since he works in such mysterious ways), I ended up with the first topic, Accompaniment.
I had my own ideas as to what this meant. To accompany or go with someone, but I wanted to see what the dictionary had to say about it.
It seems that accompaniment is often associated with music.
Meriam-Webster defines it as an instrumental or vocal part designed to support or complement a melody such as “She sang the song with a piano accompaniment” another dictionary had this definition: “a musical part that supports or partners a solo instrument, voice, or group.”
I also found that Accompaniment can be associated with food: such as food items served along with another food to enhance palatability OR “something that is supplementary to or complements another food. Such as "sugar snap peas make a delicious accompaniment for salmon.”
Accompaniment can also be associated with clothes. The definition here is “an addition intended to give completeness or symmetry to something such as “that tie is a nice accompaniment to your new suit”
I thought all of these helped me see accompaniment a bit more clearly, but I wanted to understand more about what accompaniment has to do in human relationships and the church.
Recently, Julie and I watched a documentary called “Will and Harper” which, of all things, documents a road trip that Will Farrell of Saturday Night Live and Harper Steele (formerly known as Andrew Steele, a head writer for SNL) take after Harper notifies Will of her transition into becoming female (after 20 plus years of friendship). Not only did we get to see their travels together across the country, but we got a glimpse of their interactions and struggles as they grapple with their “new” relationship.
I was reminded of some of the definitions from the dictionary such as to “support or compliment” or to give “completeness” to something (or someone).
I was struck by this documentary in the way Will not only decided to go with Harper, but to be with Harper, to experience Harper and their new relationship, and therein lies the significant difference I was looking for in my understanding of accompaniment.
It got me thinking about going to church versus being the church, not only within these walls, but out in the larger community. How do we, on a daily basis “support and compliment” or give “completeness” to those we are traveling with, those whose life journeys look so much different than ours, those whose day to day life situation is different than ours, those who may cause us to feel uncomfortable, out of our comfort zone, and those searching for some form of accompaniment.)
I encourage you to ponder those questions around the theme of accompaniment in these next few days….and prayerfully discern how God might be calling you anew to be the church, the body of Christ, not only here inside the church walls, but also in the larger community this coming year.
Let us cry out to God to increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity, to guide us and empower us to choose to walk in love with God and our neighbors who are searching for accompaniment, acceptance, and belonging…
It is just one more step along the way that can help all of us to be healed and reconciled to one another, so that our communities, all of God’s children, can thrive and flourish in ways that we never thought were possible.
“From the old to the new, O God, keep us traveling along with you.”
Closing Prayer/Hymn: One more step along the world I go
(My Heart Sings Out #127)
1 One more step along the world I go, one more step along the world I go;
from the old things to the new keep me traveling along with you:
and it’s from the old I travel to the new;
keep me traveling along with you.
2 Round the corner of the world I turn, more and more about the world I learn;
all the new things that I see you’ll be looking at along with me:
Refrain
3 As I travel through the bad and good, keep me traveling the way I should;
where I see no way to go you’ll be telling me the way, I know:
Refrain
4 Give me courage when the world is rough,
keep me loving though the world is tough;
leap and sing in all I do, keep me traveling a long with you:
Refrain
Rev. Julie Platson, Rector
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK