O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Our gospel reading today begins with Jesus sending 70 others out ahead of him, to the places that He also intended to go. He is sending them out to proclaim the good news of God’s love, His peace, and the nearness of God’s kingdom…He’s sending them out on a mission...a mission that invites a response with their words and actions that says: “yes, God”…by the grace of your Holy Spirit, I will be devoted to you with my whole heart, and I will strive to love my neighbor, as Jesus is always teaching us.

In today’s story, Jesus tells the ones being sent out…that it will not be easy…some will be ready to pounce on you, to try and discount anything you have to say. Some will make personal attacks on you perhaps, arguing with you about everything you have to share with them. Some will make you angry. But don’t retaliate with hatred. Don’t try to tell them, that they are wrong, and you are right. Just wipe the dust off your feet, remembering the kingdom of God has come very near to them. You brought the good news of God’s love to them, as you were called to do, on that day.

The ones being sent out, may also go out hesitantly, and with fear about those they will encounter, or whether or not, they will have anything worthy to offer them…because Jesus tells them, Don’t take anything: Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals…

Just go… Jesus says…trusting in me, that you will have everything you need for this mission trip: Just focus on the purpose of your mission in front of you…Loving God, and sharing that love that you have experienced and known…with your neighbors. Love God, through proclaiming to your neighbors, in word and action…that God’s love, His peace, and His kingdom has come very near to them…

Indeed… it has always been very near…to all of us…

Believe this, and rejoice in this Good news!

Open your eyes and ears again, dare enough to get out of the way…and let God’s voice do the talking once again…let God’s glory, as made known to us in the people, and the created world all around us…be what inspires us, and brings us home again, as a people united to one another, in pure affection.

Will we be laborers of God’s love, in helping to restore his creation to its original purpose: A world that God has created out of love…for His people, and for their abundant joy….a creation of a beloved community of diverse people, sharing their varied gifts with one another, in ways that reveal God’s love for one another, as God has always loved us?

God’s dream for his beloved community, has always been about His Love for all of us and all of creation. And it has always been about calling our attention to this love that is revealed to us, night and day… that reminds us of His love, and presence that is always among us...

But somewhere along the way, people have grown weary. We’ve stopped believing that there is a God who loves us. We’ve seen too much division in the world, too much hurt, too much anger, too much us vs them. We’ve given up on trying to get along with our neighbor, and instead of going to the places and people who perhaps we don’t agree with, it has become easier to not go…to just turn around…and go to someone that already believes what I do…already looks like me, thinks like me….It has been easier to just argue and keep disagreeing….and leave it at that…and believe that’s how it will always be..

It is tiring work, very tiring at times…and we may never see a solution or an end to this work of loving our neighbors, this difficult work of reconciliation…

But it is worthy work, sharing the Love of God, for all of His people….sharing this love, the only love, that has the power to transform people’s hearts and lives and our communities…

Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”. And He tells them to pray…that more laborers will be sent forth…

Will we be one of those new laborers sent forth…will we go out into the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to help others discover or rediscover how God is still at work in the world among us, and how he still reveals himself to us, every time, we have the courage to come to the table…and sit down with others, listen to one another, and do the difficult work together, of seeking ways to love one another, even in the midst of not understanding each other yet, even in the midst of our frustration and anger of those who seem to make decisions on behalf of those, who have no voice…those who are oppressed, those who are held hostage by fear and abandonment…

Will we be one of the new laborers sent forth to bring love and hope to those who are lost and lonely?

Will we be one of the new laborers sent forth to stand up for children and families?

Will we be one of the new laborers sent forth to work for the well-being of our communities, and other communities across the state?

Will we be one of the new laborers sent forth:

To bring good news to the poor,
To heal the broken-hearted,
To announce release to captives
And freedom to those in prison.

Will we be one of the laborers sent forth to proclaim the Good News of God’s love for them, bringing the blessing of God’s peace to them, and affirming for them…that indeed ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

Let us pray that we will all answer the call to be laborers in fulfilling the Mission of Christ: The Mission of all the baptized….Inspiring in each one of us, to go out into the world: loving God and our neighbor….

The Hymnal 1982 - #541 Come, labor on

Come, labor on.

Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain,

while all around us waves the golden grain?

And to each servant does the Master say,

"Go work today."

Come, labor on.

Claim the high calling angels cannot share-

to young and old the Gospel gladness bear:

redeem the time; its hours too swiftly fly.

The night draws nigh.

Come, labor on.

No time for rest, till glows the western sky,

till the long shadows o'er our pathway lie,

and a glad sound comes with the setting sun,

"Servants, well done."

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Julie Platson

July 5, 2019

Stopped in our tracks…

Julie Platson

July 5, 2019

Acts 9:1-9 (GNT)

Reflection

We hear things, see things, smell things, touch things, taste things everyday…we just kind of “go about our daily tasks” without giving much thought to them, these various senses, that connect us to the world around us…

Every once in awhile, something or someone stops us from our mindless wandering….and leaves us speechless…

In today’s reading from Acts, Saul is stopped in his tracks…He has been so busy looking for ways to persecute followers of Jesus…he has been so intent on depending on his own voice of reason and judgment…his heart has been so hardened against other fellow human beings that don’t think like him, or believe like him… that any sense of connection or relationship to them, is clearly not there..

Saul, is stopped in his tracks…by an unmistakable light and voice…

A light so bright, that it is blinding for a moment…a light that overpowers him and us with a sense of love and compassion…a light that calls us to stop…stop talking…stop judging and persecuting others….and listen…listen and hear what the voice of the Lord has to say to us…listen to what Jesus wants to say to us…listen, look, and pay attention with all of your senses…and you will notice…that following Jesus…is worth it…following Jesus means following a way of life that boldly proclaims love…love of God, love of neighbor, love of all of creation…

A love that is meant for all people…

Prayer for today… God of light and love….help us today, to stop…and use all of our senses to get to know you and our neighbors, to love you and our neighbors - transforming all of our lives, by uniting us as one family, strengthened by the power of your light and love. Amen.

Rev Julie Platson

t

Julie Platson

July 3, 2019

Episcopal Church Response to Crisis on the Border

Julie Platson

July 3, 2019

Released by the Episcopal Church yesterday:

July 2, 2019

Over the past several weeks, The Episcopal Church has responded to the reports of inhumane conditions for children and other asylum seekers in government custody in a number of ways. This response includes calls for donations and goods from Episcopal dioceses on the border, prayers for those seeking safety, efforts to engage in advocacy, and pastoral messages from bishops around the Church.

“We are children of the one God who is the Creator of us all,” said Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. “It is our sisters, our brothers, our siblings who are seeking protection and asylum, fleeing violence and danger to children, searching for a better life for themselves and their children. The crisis at the border is not simply a challenge of partisan politics but a test of our personal and public morality and human decency.”

To Remember

Julie Platson

June 26, 2019

Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Luke 22:19-20

A mother shared with me recently, the words that her child said to her during a church service…

He leaned over to me, out of the blue, “These people know God is in here, right?”

“These people know God is in here, right?”

We need this reminder, at times…don’t we?

That’s why we gather each week in church. To remember.

To remember God’s love is in here.

To remember God love is in here (place your hand over your heart).

To remember Jesus’ words.

To break bread together.

To share the cup.

To give thanks.

To be joined together as one body, one Spirit, in Christ.

And to be sent back out into the world, by the grace of God: as a people forgiven, reconciled to one another, fed, nourished, strengthened and renewed for the work we are all called to: To go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Luke 22:14-23 (NRSV)

Julie Platson

June 25, 2019

In Jesus, we will always find life

Julie Platson

June 25, 2019

(The Disciples) They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal. Luke 22:13

I wonder if the disciples were surprised or amazed that they found everything Jesus had told them?

Or I wonder if they were a bit hesitant or worried that they wouldn’t find everything Jesus had told them?

Why would they doubt or worry about that? Hadn’t Jesus already numerous times, showed his trustworthiness to them? Hadn’t he always followed through with an action that affirmed what He was teaching them, or telling them?

Yes…but let’s think about that for a moment…We are human…we have doubts…we have moments of weakness…We hesitate often in making decisions about the unknown…

If the disciples were feeling any sense of doubt..they didn’t let that influence their decision…

They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal. Luke 22:13

But, Judas, in today’s gospel…that’s a different story…

I think about how many times, it takes just one solitary moment of doubt, and insecurity, to set us down a road of denial and betrayal that consumes our lives…just as we heard in today’s reading… when Judas, one of the disciples, in a moment of human weakness…was seized by Satan, and chooses to betray the trust of not only Jesus, but his fellow disciples…

One moment of weakness…could have been any one of us…

Will we choose this day…to build a solid foundation of trust in the Lord, so that in moments of weakness, we will rely on the love and guidance of Jesus…trusting, that in Him…trusting in His Words…trusting when and where he sends each one of us…that everything we need…will be there?

This day, I pray, that we will choose trust in the One, who gives us life.

They went off and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal. Luke 22:13

Luke 21:37-22:13

Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple. Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it." They asked him, "Where do you want us to make preparations for it?" "Listen," he said to them, "when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters and say to the owner of the house, 'The teacher asks you, "Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there."

So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Julie Platson

June 23, 2019

God Has the Whole World in His Hands -June 23, 2019 - 10am service

Julie Platson

June 23, 2019

Special Family Service today

Genesis 1 (from Desmond Tutu Childrens Storybook Bible); Matthew 6:25-34

We listened to the beautiful and beloved Creation story, as told to us in Desmond Tutu’s Children’s storybook bible. We listened to the beautiful and beloved scripture from Matthew, that is often read on Thanksgiving Day, and is often a go to – when one needs to be reminded to not let worry consume you…and to take one day at a time…

To take one day at a time…to stop, pause, notice…and remember…that it is God who gives us life…and in the gifts given in creation…we can’t help but be reminded of this Good News for all of Gods people…

God loves to delight us and surprise us, and give us reasons to be joyful!

And God sends us signs and reminders of this every day. Especially, when we can stop worrying for a moment…stop, pause, and take a look at the beautiful world that is right outside our doorstep.

A good friend I knew, back in Nevada, had a wonderful gift for reminding us to do just that. In a conversation that I had with a mutual friend, the day after her death, I was reminded of this special gift of hers. She shared a story about when she was leaving the facility where our friend spent her final days. She noticed the flowers and the shrubs, and how beautiful they were, and she remembered that our friend loved to share her love and knowledge about flowers, and shrubs, and birds…and knew them all by name….

….and that she would always pause and make sure to point them out, wherever they were, and call their attention to them…perhaps reminding them and all of us…to stop worrying for a moment…look at what God has created and how he cares for them…the birds of the air…the lilies of the field…the grass of the field…look at this beauty in the world that He has created for us to enjoy…look at the beauty of His created world…that has been entrusted to our care…look, pay attention to their cycles of life and death, and resurrection….

Day after day, year after year…they have so much to teach us about the love of God, for all of creation…the birds, the trees, the oceans, the rivers, the stars, the animals (the elephant and giraffes, cats and mice, and bees and bugs)…and yes…we…his beloved children…who He has created all of this for….

We just need to pause, notice, and remember this…

We need not worry…

For it is God who gives us life… and in the gifts given in creation…and in Jesus, we can’t help but be reminded that it is abundant life, we have been given…

On the Seventh Day, God laughed and rested, and enjoyed his glorious creation. (from Desmond Tutu Childrens Storybook Bible)

May we pause today, rest in God, laugh with God and rejoice with God, by honoring God with our care of creation and celebrating with God, this glorious creation that reminds us of the abundant gift of life given to us, in Christ Jesus.

Let us pray: All things bright and beautiful – H405

All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small,

all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all. Amen

Rev Julie Platson, Rector

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Julie Platson

June 18, 2019

Gods love is amazing

Julie Platson

June 18, 2019

June 18, 2019

Luke 20:19-26 (GNT)

https://www.biblestudytools.com/gnt/luke/passage/?q=luke+20:19-26

Reflection:

God’s love is amazing…

As often as human beings may try to find a loophole in Jesus’ proclamation of the Good News of God’s love….there’s no way the truth and power of God’s love can be tricked into being something other than God’s radical love for all of humanity…even the so-called enemies… and those who spy on Him seeking to corrupt his message of love in the world…

Spying on Jesus?

Really?

What was he doing that was so awful?

Loving those on the margins…

Loving and caring and feeding the poor…

Loving and caring for the lonely…

Loving and caring and healing the sick…

Loving and caring for the outcasts…

Loving and caring for all God’s people…

Did they hear him telling people not to pay their taxes or pay their bills?

Of course not…And he saw right through the spies intention to trap him and trick him…

These spies said to Jesus, “Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is right. We know that you pay no attention to anyone's status, but teach the truth about God's will for people. Tell us, is it against our Law for us to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor, or not?”

But Jesus saw through their trick and said to them, “Show me a silver coin. Whose face and name are these on it?”

“The Emperor's,” they answered.

So Jesus said, “Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God.”

The message is clear…God is love…and His love is amazing…nothing can keep that truth from being proclaimed…

Go ahead and be a spy today…but be on the lookout for all the ways you see God’s love at work in the people around you…

Julie Platson

June 16, 2019

Trinity Sunday/Year C

Julie Platson

June 16, 2019

Trinity Sunday/Year C

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16: 12-15

Opening Prayer: Come and seek the ways of Wisdom, she who danced when earth was new. Follow closely what she teaches, for her words are right and true. Wisdom clears the path of justice, showing us what love must do. Amen. (vs 1 from Come and seek the ways of Wisdom)

On the church calendar, today is the 1st Sunday after Pentecost…Pentecost was the Feast Day we observed last Sunday…on which we celebrated the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, another advocate, being sent to God’s people, after Jesus’ departure from this world… The gift of the Holy Spirit to teach us everything…and remind us of all that Jesus has revealed to us about God’s love…through his words and actions….

Today is also referred to as Trinity Sunday…a day set aside to acknowledge the glory of God’s love revealed to us in “three persons”…Father, Son and the gift to the people of God: The Holy Spirit…

There is so much information out there on this Doctrine (this teaching) of the Church: theological discussions are happening across the board, new teachings emerging, old teachings being questioned, new and old ideas taking place in conversation among the religious scholars…a lot of discussions, but we are still left wondering and with no one clear answer or no one clear understanding of what the Trinity really means…for all of us…

But, there is one thing that many can agree on lately...and that is the acknowledgement…that the Trinity…might be best explored through the lens of mystery…an open-ended journey of discovering where and when and how we see God’s love at work in us, and in the world about us…an open-ended journey of discovering where God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

And as I stop for a moment, to imagine what that journey of discovery might look like…I imagine that I would need to make time to sit with God, getting to know Him through the stories found in the scriptures…and just sitting quiet, surrounded by His presence...

I imagine, that every day, I would have lots of questions…and days that I don’t understand anything that I am reading…days that I have no clue what I’m supposed to do with these words I am hearing…I imagine, the smile, and the joy, and the hope that arises in my heart at times…as I connect with some past words that I recall from an earlier time in conversation with God...words that I didn’t understand then…but on this day…some new meaning is revealed to me…and His love is revealed to me, in the stillness, in the scriptures, in my prayers..

I imagine some moments of doubt…or really, I should be saying…many moments of doubt…as I spend time with the Gospels, considering Jesus’ teachings…and how seemingly impossible it feels like at times, to entertain the thought of following in his footsteps and The Way of Love he proclaimed to others…through his radical love, compassion, mercy and grace that he shared so abundantly with everyone… And in other moments, when I consider these seemingly impossible teachings of Jesus, I catch myself wiping tears from my eyes, as I remember those times, when I have been on the receiving end of this radical love and compassion, through others, who perhaps doubted as I did…but instead...through their words and actions, did reveal, that with God’s love at the root and heart of all that we do…He lives and moves in each one of us today…

I imagine other moments, in the quiet of the morning by myself…or in the noisy activities and interactions with others throughout the day…

I find myself wondering…where is God in all this?

When I think about the violence happening all over the world, the divisions between people that seem to widen with each passing day...I find myself wondering…where is God in all of this?

When I think about the overwhelming grief that afflicts people throughout their lives, when a loved one is suffering or dies…I find myself wondering…where is God in all of this?

And at those times…when I feel anxious…I want to know...I need to know now…I need to know when all this violence is going to stop…I need to know how all these divisions will be healed…I need to know when all these tears will be dried up…

And then, right then, in the midst of my exasperated cries to the Lord…God’s love comes around full-circle to give me that moment of peace and trust in Him again….I am reminded, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, that He is right here, right now…in all the messiness of the world…He has been there from the beginning…and will be there to the end of the ages…

Where is God in all of this? He’s right here…and will always be…

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus said to his disciples: "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.

We still have so many things to learn…there is so much more to this life than what we have yet to imagine…

As I consider the mystery of the Trinity today…I am especially drawn to the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, and its role in bringing us around full-circle, ever-turning our hearts towards God and his love…and ever-turning our hearts towards others, and encouraging each one of us, to reach out to love one another, as Christ has loved us…thereby reminding one another…of the hope we all share in the glory of God: as Father, Son and Holy Spirit….

The hope that does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Keep wondering, keep asking questions, keep listening, keep seeking God in all the ways you can…keep praying for Wisdom to teach you and guide you..

Closing Prayer: Voices Found - #60 Come and seek the ways of Wisdom

Come and seek the ways of Wisdom,

she who danced when earth was new.

Follow closely what she teaches,

for her words are right and true.

Wisdom clears the path of justice,

showing us what love must do.

Listen to the voice of Wisdom,

crying in the marketplace.

Hear the Word made flesh among us,

full of glory, truth, and grace.

When the word takes root and ripens,

peace and righteousness embrace.

Sister Wisdom, come, assist us;

nurture all who seek rebirth.

Spirit-guide and close companion,

bring to light our sacred worth.

Free us to become your people, holy friends of God and earth.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Julie Platson

June 14, 2019

Gracious Visit

Julie Platson

June 14, 2019

Reflection

“If only you knew on this of all days the things that lead to peace.” Luke 19:42 (CEB)

If only: I had slowed down, and spent more time in silence

If only: I had stayed there longer to listen more deeply

If only: I didn’t turn the other way, when the Spirit was leading me into a new place

If only: I had laid down my burdens and worries, trusting in God’s guidance

If only: I could open my eyes, my ears, my mind and my heart to acknowledge the peace of Christ, right there in the midst of my life…

“You didn’t recognize the time of your gracious visit from God.” Luke 19:44 (CEB)

No more “if only’s” for me today…

Today, I begin anew….I will open up the doors and windows in the temple of my heart…to be a place of prayer, a place of welcome, a place of hope….a place where I will recognize the love and peace of God, when she makes her gracious visit.