“Everyone who wants to see God’s dream come true must see with the eyes of a child.”

Back to School Sunday/Blessing of the Backpacks Sunday

August 18, 2019

10am service

Proverbs 3:1, 5-6; Psalm 25: 4-5; Philippians 4:6-7

Mark 10: 13-16 (from the Children of God Storybook Bible)

The kids are getting ready to head back to school this week…

Lots of excitement in the air for some…maybe a tinge of worry for some…but for most kids…they are probably dreaming of a wonderful year ahead…

Next week will mark the beginning of a whole year of new adventures, experiencing new things, learning new things, meeting new friends…doing things that they haven’t even imagined or dreamed of yet…

It can be a wonderful time of life, for children…to be free to wonder and dream and play and laugh and sometimes cry…but mostly to love and live freely, trusting in the world around them…trusting in the adults who love and care and watch out for them...in their homes, and in the arms of their extended family members, in their schools, in other places in the community, and here in the church…

Do you and I remember what it was like to get ready to head back to school? Can you go back in time, and look through the lens of your five year old self…and remember what life was like back then and how you viewed the world around you?

It is difficult to do…we’ve learned and lived through so many things throughout our lives, good things and bad things, joyful times, and times of suffering and heartache…we have so many responsibilities now, that we are adults…

Something else can happen along the journey to adulthood… we forget to live and love and laugh and play and dream…we give up on a dream of a world where all will know and believe that God loves all of us…and of a world where we can show each other the same care and love we have received…and that really…there is enough love to go around, for all of us…really…there is…

IN God’s family…there is enough love to be shared…with God, one another, and all of creation…It’s a dream that can come true…with faith and hope…and through the eyes of a child…

In our gospel reading today…we are reminded of this, through the words of Jesus to his disciples,

 “Everyone who wants to see God’s dream come true must see with the eyes of a child.”

So, as we turn to the start of a new school year, let us dare to dream again with the young people, and look to life again with faith and hope, through the eyes of a child…because everything we really need to know about life and loving God and one another, we learned in Kindergarten…

― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

1. Share everything.

2. Play fair.

3. Don't hit people.

4. Put things back where you found them.

5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.

6. Don't take things that aren't yours.

7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.

8. Wash your hands before you eat.

9. Flush.

10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.

12. Take a nap every afternoon.

13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.

16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.”

Look…look for signs of God’s love wherever you go…Look and remember that God loves us all…           

Voices Found - #68 We bring our children

We bring our children, Lord, today

as once they did in Galilee,

embrace them with your love, we pray,

and bless each home and family.

On their behalf and in their name

our own commitment we renew

with them we die to sin and shame,

with them we live again in you.

Help us in all our ways to show

these growing souls your truth and grace,

till they shall come themselves to know the beauty of our Father’s face.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peters by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

 The Gospel Reading (from the Children of God Storybook Bible) Mark 10: 13-16

Jesus spent many hours teaching people about God and how he loves us all. One day, when Jesus was tired and resting, some parents arrived with their children. The children were giggling and laughing and running around making noise while their parents asked the disciples if they could speak with Jesus.

“What do you want with the Master?” asked the disciples.

“We want him to bless our children.”

“The Master is resting,” the disciples said. “You can’t bother him now. Go home.”

But Jesus heard them. “Do not chase away the children!” He called. “Let them come to me. God loves children, and when they smile, he smiles; when they laugh, he laughs; when they cry, he cries.”

Jesus went to the children, and they laughed and played together for awhile.  He took them in his arms and hugged them. He placed his hands on their heads and blessed them. Then he told the disciples, “Everyone who wants to see God’s dream come true must see with the eyes of a child.”

Children are always watching us and are eager to learn and know what is right and true.

August 18 2019

8am service 

Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:1-2, 8-18; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12: 49-56

We just listened to some pretty harsh sounding and difficult scripture readings this morning.

I can tell you, upon my first reading of the scriptures on this Sunday’s lectionary, my immediate thought was, “there is no way I am going to include those readings at the 10am, special family service”. I was thankful that I had already been working on a special back to school/blessing of the backpacks service for several weeks now, so I was already exploring alternative readings, as I was putting the service together. Kids were already lined up to do the readings, all the music was picked with the kids in mind – songs they could sing and use the shakers and tambourines with – songs that speak of Jesus’ love for them, and for all of God’s children…and for all of creation.  If you were to attend the 10am service today, there would be no way of missing the good news of God’s love and presence, proclaimed joyfully through the lives of the children.

But, here in this service, and in the readings we just heard…it may take a little more of digging deeper, or opening our minds and hearts a whole lot wider…to hear the good news of God’s love, in this present time together.

Perhaps, that’s precisely, one of the gifts of hearing these difficult passages…they have the power to wake us up from our complacency, and to face the truth, the difficult truth, of what is happening right here, and now… in our own lives, in our communities…and in the wider world…

Perhaps, that is the good news…that God won’t let us rest until the good news of his love, reconciles us all together, all of us, in this life…and the life yet to come…God won’t let us be satisfied, with the ways things are…which is so far removed from the vision of God’s dream for his beloved children… His love will persevere in finding a way into our hearts, inviting us to turn our hearts back to him… in this moment, right now…in this moment, of considering some very difficult teachings…

What caused me, and perhaps you, to shake our heads, and cringe upon hearing these scriptures this morning?

More importantly, in our gospel reading today, why was Jesus reacting with such passion and perhaps exasperation and do I dare say anger? All those exclamation points in the Luke gospel today… seems to me, that Jesus was not speaking calmly, at the time…

Do you remember a little bit about our gospel reading last week…about being ready, by faith…to receive God’s love and blessing, because God is always standing ready to love and bless us…all of us…all of God’s beloved children…Do you remember the last verse of our gospel reading last week: You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour…

I have a feeling that this lesson picks up where Jesus speaks of his unexpected return, and finds the people are still not ready...they are still living in fear of one another, and of their own lives…fearing that they don’t have enough… There are still people who are stealing from one another…hating one another…there is still division, and actions taking place that are separating people from one another, placing people in categories of worthy, and unworthy; trustworthy, and untrustworthy; rich and poor, loved and unloved…

Jesus is surely angry…Some of God’s beloved children are still being exploited…some of God’s beloved children…are still not being loved and cared for….some of God’s people are going hungry… some of God’s children, still have not known the power of God’s love, to transform their lives, and to be welcomed into the family of God…where all are loved, where all lives are worthy, where all, by faith…can continue to hope and dream with God, for a day when this beloved community, this dream of God, for all his people….will come true.

If Jesus, were to return to earth this morning, he would still be angry about some things. Too many of God’s children, are still suffering. Too many of God’s children are being separated from those they love, and those who love them.

The good news, though, is there are lots and lots of people doing all in their power to care for the children among us, children of all ages…and there have been many examples of people, throughout history, and in our own lives, who have persevered in their faith, giving us an example to follow…by looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith…to show us the way, to love and care for one another…and inspiring us…to act and love and work together…for the well-being of all God’s family…

But, the kingdom building work is not done….we are not yet there…the beloved community is still on the horizon….and we are all still called to bring the Good news of God’s love to this moment now…to this moment and present time in history.

We, the adults, have been entrusted to care for the most vulnerable people among us – the children. They are growing up in an unsteady and confusing world…They are looking to us, to ensure them that they are loved; they are looking to us, to see what it means to love others; they are looking to us, to assure them, that this world in which we live in now, is their world, too…and that each of us, young and old, has a part in caring for this world and each other.

Most of all, they are looking to you and I to see how we will deal with the most difficult questions and uncertainties in life. How do we react when someone dies? How do react when we feel like we have been wronged by someone? Do we forgive freely? How do we treat those who are not like us? How do we speak about others who do not believe the same things that we do?

Children are always watching us and are eager to learn and know what is right and true.

What are we doing in our lives, that shows the children…that their lives and the lives of other people matter, too…whoever they are?

What are we teaching them about trusting in the love of God, made known to us, through his Son, Jesus Christ?

What are we teaching them, about being ready, by faith…to receive the love and blessings that God so wants to lavish on them?

Prayer/Hymn after sermon: Children of the Heavenly Father (L213)

Children of the heav’nly Father Safely in His bosom gather;

Nestling bird nor star in heaven, Such a refuge e’er was given.

God His own doth tend and nourish, In His holy courts they flourish;

From all evil things He spares them, In His mighty arms He bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever From the Lord His children sever;

Unto them His grace He showeth, And their sorrows all He knoweth.

Praise the Lord in joyful numbers, Your protector never slumbers;

At the will of your defender Every person must surrender.

Though He giveth or He taketh, God His children ne’er forsaketh;

His the loving purpose solely To preserve them pure and holy.

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Let the little children come

Let the little children come to me…let all of God’s children come to me…all are hungry…all worthy to be fed…all are thirsty...all worthy to be offered the living water…all are hungry for love and acceptance….

IN my arms, all are welcomed and blessed…

Receive the kingdom of God like a little child….whose hearts are soft, and open to God’s teachings and molding into a new creation, in Christ…into a new creation through the blessings of God’s love…

Receive the kingdom of God like a little child, be loved and be blessed in His presence…

 Rev Julie Platson

8/13/2019

Mark 10:1-16 nrsv

He left that place and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan. And crowds again gathered around him; and, as was his custom, he again taught them. Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her." But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

9 Pentecost/Year C - August 11, 2019

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40

We spend a whole lot of time getting ready for things don’t we?

We put a lot of hours, days, weeks, months sometimes, to be sure everything is just right… maybe it’s a special family gathering, an event for work, a community celebration, or a special church gathering for a wedding, a baptism, a funeral…

Those are the big things we spend a lot of time getting ready for…and even though we may prepare and plan, and think we have covered all the bases, there seems to be unexpected things that arise…more often than not.

Then there’s the everyday things that we think we are ready for…we’ve done it every day…we could do the work with our eyes closed…things seem to be going along smoothly…no stress…no worry…we got this, we tell ourselves…I’ve been a parent for several years now, I know how to handle this teenager…I’ve been at this job for twenty years…I know what I’m doing…I eat healthy, and exercise everyday…my health is good…

Then…out of the blue…we are stopped in our tracks…the unexpected happens, and throws us for a loop…we lose our job, someone we love is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, a family member or friend is slipping away into a world of drug and alcohol addiction, a loved one dies…

These things aren’t supposed to happen, we tell ourselves… we find ourselves unprepared to accept these unexpected intrusions in our perfectly planned out life…we become acutely aware of the uncertainties of life….we were sure we were ready for anything that came our way…we pray, we meditate, we exercise, we take care of ourselves… yet, still…we become anxious, stressed, worried, disappointed, sad, and sometimes angry….at others, and ourselves.

And we become tired…very tired…weary…very weary…ready to give up hope, losing our faith, one day at a time…wondering how many more unexpected things will come up in our daily lives that will cause such sorrow, how many more tragedies can one family possibly endure…how many more senseless acts of violence, will end a person’s life too soon….how many more times, will we close the door, on the people that God so loves…the people God is so ready to love and bless…all of us…all of God’s beloved people…

God is always ready to love and bless us…do you and I believe that? In times of unknowing and uncertainty, are we standing ready to open the door of our hearts to receive his love and blessing? Do we rest, assured that there is One, a holy and mysterious One…who is always ready to love and bless us?

I wonder if we believed that, if it would change the way we react and respond to the unexpected things that interrupt our day…and the uncertainties that lay ahead of us, in our future….I wonder if we believed that, it would help us through those days when we are wearied and worried about all the changes and chances of this life…I wonder how our lives would be transformed by the love and blessing of God, if we were found ready to welcome Jesus into our homes and into our hearts?

All I can think of at the moment, is the beautiful passage, in our gospel reading today, "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.

This sounds like another call to be ready…be dressed for action and have your lamps lit…Haven’t we are already been working extra hard on being ready…to show up and face the ups and downs of our daily lives? What else could we possibly do?

Maybe there’s nothing else we can “do”…maybe it’s considering that there’s another way of being ready that grounds us, even in the uncertainties and unexpected things that come our way… Maybe, it’s about being ready, dressed for action, with faith…Maybe it’s about being ready, by keeping our lamps lit with God’s inextinguishable light of love and blessing for us, burning in our hearts…

By Faith. Be Ready. For God’s love and blessing.

How might we do that: I would say that we begin with a decision to say yes, to God’s love and blessing…believing that God is always standing ready to love and bless us… I would say that we also begin, by acknowledging, that this isn’t something we can do all on our own…we are born into a world, filled with other people, we are born into a world, that we are called to share with one another, we are born into a world, in which God calls upon each one of us to love and care for each other, and all of creation. We are meant to live in relationship and community with one another.

And…It has always been God’s good pleasure, from the time we were born, to give us the kingdom…all of us…It has always been God’s good pleasure, to entrust it all, into our care…It has always been about the love of God in our hearts affirming in us….the treasures that cannot be stolen, or destroyed…. when we put our faith and trust in God’s love and blessing… For even if it seems as though, the things of this world are passing away and being taken from us, it is our faith and trust in God’s promises that we can continue to hope in…

I believe faith…is the game changer…in what it means to be ready…ready for anything that comes our way…sorrow and joys….expected or unexpected…for faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…I believe faith is the game changer, that makes us ready to believe and to receive the love and blessings that God is always ready to lavish upon us…And I believe that faith is what enables us to take the next step…trusting that God is with us, every step of the way…

BY FAITH. BE READY. For God's love and blessing.

We already have an idea what this looks like…We’ve seen it before… We can look to the examples of those in the scriptures who have taught us about the long, long journey of hope and faith, rooted in the love and blessings of God. In our reading from Hebrews today, we heard about Abraham’s faith…. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to received as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.

We can also draw inspiration from the long line of saints and loved ones who have gone on before us, in our families, in our churches, and in our communities…who have taught us, through their words, and actions, how to remain in hope…and how to live a life rooted in faith and trust in the One who loves and blesses us today, and holds us all together, in His love…for the life yet to come…

We may not know how we will get through this day of troubles, we may not understand why bad things happen to good people, we may not be able to see a solution to the end of violence and suffering in our lifetimes…But, there is One who does hold this vision for us…there is One whose faithfulness is great and who has provided us, all we have ever needed…whose mercies are new every morning…There is One whom we can put our trust, and faith and hope in…Jesus Christ…the One who has died, who is risen, and through the Holy Spirit, lives among us now, and who will come again…

Until then, and while we wait…we are to be ready…

By Faith. Be Ready. For God’s love and blessing.

Prayer/instrumental hymn after sermon: Great is thy faithfulness (H 189)

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with thee;

Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not,

As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed thy hand hath provided,

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

EPPN Creation Care Series: Just Transitions

EPPN Creation Care Series: Just Transitions

The United States is undeniably reliant on coal and other fossil fuels for energy. This dependence has led to objective changes in the Earth’s climate and the degradation of God’s creation. As Christians, we are responsible for balancing the call to care for creation and to love and respect our neighbors around the world. Climate change is real and must be addressed with prompt and sound policy. The substantive change to our reliance on fossil fuels can help address worsening extreme weather, rising seas, and other manifestations of a changing climate we see today. However, plans to swiftly transition from fossil fuels cannot be comprehensive if those regions, communities, and families that depend on fossil fuels for roofs over their heads and food on their tables are not included and supported as part of that transition.

Addressing the climate crisis means far more than just emission reduction or mitigating environmental impacts of our energy system and economy. We are also called to love our neighbors. The only way for renewable energy to truly work is to ensure that communities reliant on the fossil fuel industries have their own transition plan and are enabled to find a good and equal economic future.

Many of these communities are already feeling the impacts of change as the coal mining industry sees major reductions in their workforce due to automation and the increased usage of natural gas for energy production. We have a moral obligation to concretely and collaboratively assist communities impacted by this transition. We understand that for some, energy transition is an abstract idea - it will take place somewhere else and most people will never personally feel or see the change. For many others, however, these conversations are not abstract. For many Americans, it is an existential debate about the future of jobs, the source of pensions, and the future of communities.

Currently, legislation sits in Congress that would assist in facilitating the transition of communities reliant on the fossil fuel industry, particularly in coal.The RECLAIM Act of 2019would release $1 billion from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to be used by the states for communities impacted by abandoned mine lands. The Act would require states to carry out reclamation projects that create favorable conditions for economic development.The American Miners Act of 2019would offer support to miners and their families by protecting the pensions of the 87,000 current beneficiaries and 20,000 more who have not begun drawing from their miner’s pension. This would also extend the Black Lung Disability Fund to ensure that healthcare and benefits are provided to the more than 20% of veteran miners affected.

The Episcopal Churchrecognizesthe need to simultaneously implement policy to support communities reliant on the fossil fuel industry from Alaska to Appalachia and implement policy that shifts our energy system towards one more focused on renewable energy. The Church has authorized the Office of Government Relations to advocate for policy that would help minimize the disruption energy transition would have on communities in fossil fuel-dependent areas by considering the availability of quality jobs, access to vocational training, college and other educational opportunities, availability to early childhood education, access to adequate and stable housing, and other appropriate community services. The Church furtherurgespreparation and investment in people in order to make underserved communities more resilient to the economic and social shift.

In addressing an issue as large and significant as climate change, it is easy to focus on the end result without detailed consideration of how a goal is achieved. Our faithful call to care for the Earth to sustain generations to come, the New Commandment call to love one another now, and the United States' call to be one out of many require that we not leave any community to suffer. While change is necessary, it does not necessitate that we abandon our values to love our neighbors and ensure every individual has access to meaningful and sustaining employment.




Prayer and Reflection

May God give us the grace to heed the warnings of Jeremiah and to accept the gracious invitation of the incarnate Word to live, in, with, and through him, a life of grace for the whole world, that thereby all the earth may be restored and humanity filled with hope. Rejoicing in your works, O Lord, send us forth with your Spirit to renew the face of the earth, that the world may once again be filled with your good things: the trees watered abundantly, springs rushing between the hills in verdant valleys, all the earth made fruitful, your manifold creatures, birds, beasts, and humans, all quenching their thirst and receiving their nourishment from you once again in due season. Amen.
-From “A Life of Grace for the Whole World”



At times it is hard to decide if care for creation or care for each other is most important. How can we “quench the thirst” of creation while keeping our siblings in Christ fed and hopeful? How do we weigh the benefits to humanity resulting from more environmentally conscious policies with the costs to humanity of implementing those policies?

The New Commandment says to love our neighbor. Think about a time when this was hard to do, and consider how we might be able to fight for climate action while loving each and every one of our neighbors.


In Case you Missed It:
EPPN Care for Creation Series: Introduction
EPPN Care for Creation Series: Carbon Tax

One brief moment

Mark 2:1-12 (GNT

A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum, and the news spread that he was at home. So many people came together that there was no room left, not even out in front of the door. Jesus was preaching the message to them when four men arrived, carrying a paralyzed man to Jesus. Because of the crowd, however, they could not get the man to him. So they made a hole in the roof right above the place where Jesus was. When they had made an opening, they let the man down, lying on his mat. Seeing how much faith they had, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”

Some teachers of the Law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “How does he dare talk like this? This is blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!”

At once Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said to them, “Why do you think such things? Is it easier to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

While they all watched, the man got up, picked up his mat, and hurried away. They were all completely amazed and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Reflection

I wonder if our faith would lead us to such great efforts on behalf of another fellow human being?

Was the paralyzed man a friend, a family member? Who was he, that those who brought him to Jesus, were so persistent in their efforts to bring him to Jesus? What did they already know and believe about Jesus?

There was such a contrast of persons present in the room that day.

Many were gathered to listen to what Jesus had to say. And were eager to believe in his words. But, the moment Jesus, offered a “hands-on” example of what he was speaking in word… the teachers of the law who were gathered in the room began to cry “blasphemy!” They were appalled at what Jesus had done: he forgave the sins of the paralytic…and healed him…telling him to take up his mat and go home…

The scriptures say that ALL were amazed and praised God, when they saw with their own eyes…the healing of the paralyzed man…who indeed did get up, take up his mat…and left, hurriedly…for home…

Were the teachers of the law, momentarily amazed at what Jesus did, too?

Was there a brief moment of belief in their hearts?

Sometimes…that’s all it takes, doesn’t it? One brief moment, in the midst of our doubt… to be witness to God’s forgiveness and healing in the world among us…and to see a life transformed…a community is transformed…by the love of God, made known to us…in Jesus…

It takes one brief moment to believe, to dare to have hope and faith in the One who reconciles us to God, and each other…

I’m ready to begin the day now…eyes wide open…ready to be amazed by God, wherever I go throughout the day…

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

July 16, 2019

A Beloved Story

5 Pentecost/Year C

July 14, 2019

Amos: 7:7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37

A beloved story…

Today’s gospel reading includes one of the most well-known parables in the bible to many of us sitting here this morning…It’s also a pretty well-known story to those who perhaps claim no church affiliation, or had no association with a faith community when they were growing up. It is one of many familiar teaching stories that Jesus shares to help others see for themselves…what Loving God and your neighbors looks like: Loving God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.

I imagine many of us, sitting here today would have no trouble retelling this story with ease to others.

So, who needs another sermon on this passage...we all know the message and meaning of the story: The Samaritan, the compassionate one who stops to help the man who was robbed and beaten, the Samaritan, the one who shows mercy, and cares for the man who was left for dead, is the one who illustrates what it means to love your neighbor…and we discover…that  “our neighbor” is really everyone we pass by…and of course, as the story ends…Jesus tells us to “Go, and do likewise.” We get it.

So, why? Why another sermon on a familiar gospel story? Why read or listen to the scriptures that you’ve probably heard well over 100 times in your lifetime?

Why? Because…the scriptures still have something to teach us…every time we encounter them…

The familiar stories still have so much to teach us, every time we encounter them…there is always something new we can take away from the story…from the scriptures…every time we pause to open up our hearts and minds to listen anew…and allow ourselves to look again, listen again, look a little closer, listen a little closer, look at them from a different angle or perspective, listen again to the words being spoken today…Because today is a new day…we are not the same person…who heard that familiar story last time…the context in which we are hearing the story today is different…the people, the community, the world,  the blessings and challenges that are present in one’s lives today…have all changed…

I’m thinking of the children’s stories that I am currently reading and re-reading with my grandchildren and the children here in church. When I was a child, I noticed different things in the stories, than what I notice now. Even though the “story” is familiar…I am noticing new things in the details that I hadn’t noticed before…

In our first reading from Amos today, the Lord asks Amos, “What do you see?” In the beginning of our gospel reading today, Jesus asks the lawyer a question, “What do you read there?”

I wonder, if we could ask ourselves those same questions, every time we sat down to read or listen to the scriptures or a familiar story in the bible?

What do you see? What do you read there?

I wonder, if being intentional about looking for and listening for signs of what God is doing in our lives today…would help us pay attention to new details that reveal themselves to us…and discover something new that would inspire us to see our neighbors anew…and we would pray that we may know what things we ought to do, and be given the grace and power faithfully to accomplish them…

Let me give this a try…

When I read and re-read the familiar gospel story throughout the week…I kept those 2 questions in front of me….What do you see? What do you read there?

Those two questions…prompted me to wonder and ask more questions…

What is it about listening to familiar stories, that we are so quick to judge and zero in on the characters, who are portrayed as the ones Not doing the “right thing”…

What is it about listening to familiar stories which cause us to jump ahead to the ending that we already know, without paying closer attention to the details of the whole story…as we hear it today…

What is about listening to familiar stories, that draw our attention to the surface of the page – forgetting – that in this story – there was someone, a fellow human being, a neighbor, who was robbed, beaten, forgotten, passed by, and left for dead…why do we glance over that…

What is it about listening to familiar stories and thinking how wonderful “that Samaritan” did the right thing….he really was so kind, compassionate and caring…he really is a good example of what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves…

It is only fitting, that Jesus ends the story by telling the lawyer…Go, and do likewise…telling him to follow the example of the Samaritan…

But, what is it about listening to familiar stories and scriptures in the bible that we forget that Jesus is speaking to us today, too…when he says…Go, and do likewise…

Let me stop for a moment…and think about those 2 questions again, that I began with:

What do you see? What do you read there?

Right there on the page, I see…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.

And who is my neighbor?

The neighbors I am thinking of today, are those like the man who was robbed and beaten in today’s story, the ones who are easily overlooked, the ones lying in the ditch, the ones we pass by every day, because they make us nervous, afraid, uncomfortable, and are an inconvenience…

The neighbors I am thinking of today, are the ones we judge and pass by, those struggling with addiction, or mental health issues…

The neighbors I am thinking of today are the ones who are afraid of their futures – their jobs, their healthcare, their education…

The neighbors I am thinking of today, are those who are fearful and being displaced because of fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes…

The neighbors I am thinking about today, are the mothers and fathers, the brothers and sisters, the grandparents, the aunts and the uncles…that are being separated from one another, from their children, the ones who are suffering, and being cast aside, passed by… hidden in plain sight…

If I could sum up, what’s rising to the surface for me today, in this familiar story, it would be the realization of so many forgotten neighbors, who are being passed by daily…we watch the daily news and are overwhelmed at the complexities of the issues and challenges before us…we don’t know what we can do or where to begin….

But, something else I see, once again, with new eyes today…in the example of the Samaritan who responded with love and compassion, is that it took one person, moved with pity, to stop and bring hope and healing to the life of another fellow human being…a person who matters to God….it took one person….to remind us…of our call to love our neighbor…a person who matters to God…and should matter to us, too…

Yes…one person…but imagine, how that one person, and another person, and another would add up…every time, each one of us answered the call to go and do likewise…Imagine if we payed attention to that detail too, of the familiar story and we were inspired to do the same…

In the re-reading and listening of this familiar story today, when we take a closer look at the world around us, indeed, we would see that there are already many people following the example of the Samaritan….reaching out in a variety of ways to love and help their neighbors…

But, as we heard in last week’s gospel reading…the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…God can always use more helpers…

Fred Rogers, the one we know best from a long-running children’s show, Mr Roger’s Neighborhood…spent a lifetime teaching children and adults about being a good neighbor…

One of my favorite quotes attributed to him, has to do with focusing on the helpers that are out there…

He said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

So, yes…pay attention to the details of the people who are often passed over, discarded, and forgotten…but don’t stop there…look for the helpers…look to the ways you have seen God at work in the world around you,  through the neighbors you meet and are called to serve…. go, and do likewise…

There’s always more to the story, no matter how many ways we look at it…no matter how many times we hear it… we are all called to be a part of it…the greatest story ever told… the old, old story…of Jesus and his love…

We all love a good story…don’t we?

Then let’s leave this place today….inspired by the hearing of this beloved old story, once again, and go…go out into the world, to share this beloved story with others…the story of Jesus and his love.

Closing Prayer/Hymn: Lift Every Voice and Sing II - #64 I Love To Tell the Story – JAZZ RENDITION

I love to tell the story

Of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and His glory,

Of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story,

Because I know it's true;

It satisfies my longings

As nothing else would do.

I love to tell the story;

Twill be my theme in glory.

To tell the old, old story

Of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story,

For those who know it best

Seem hungering and thirsting

To hear it, like the rest.

And when, in scenes of glory,

I sing the new, new song,

'Twill be the old, old story

That I have loved so long.

I love to tell the story;

Twill be my theme in glory.

To tell the old, old story

Of Jesus and His love.

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Why do you look for the living among the dead?

Luke 23:56-24:11 Common English Bible (CEB)

56 then they went away and prepared fragrant spices and perfumed oils. They rested on the Sabbath, in keeping with the commandment.

24 Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb, bringing the fragrant spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 They didn’t know what to make of this. Suddenly, two men were standing beside them in gleaming bright clothing. 5 The women were frightened and bowed their faces toward the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He isn’t here, but has been raised. Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Human One[a] must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then they remembered his words. 9 When they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 11 Their words struck the apostles as nonsense, and they didn’t believe the women.

Reflection

Why do you look for the living among the dead?

We do that all the time don’t we?

Instead of looking at what is right before us, the gift of a new day, new beginnings, new life…we too often, look back…at what is no longer there…we forget…that with the gift of a new day, comes new opportunities, new hopes, new dreams to be explored….

The women in the story were reminded of that…they were reminded of Jesus’ words…that he would die, but on the third day, he would rise again… they were reminded and blessed in believing this…and they went back to share the good news with the others…and to invite them to remember too, the hope-filled promises that were fulfilled in this day of discovery…

But their words were received as nonsense…the women were not believed…

We find ourselves doing that too often, also…don’t we?

Discounting what others tell us, that seem to be unbelievable…not possible…

Discounting what others tell us, without really stopping to consider it….

Discounting what others tell us, because of who it is that told us…

Discounting what others tell us, because we didn’t see it for ourselves yet…

Today, in this reading…the women’s words were heard as nonsense…they were not believed…

But they know the words to be true…

So, even though they were not believed today…they know that in believing that Jesus is now among the living…the hope and promise of a new day, a new beginning is always just a moment away…

Today’s nonsense…may very well be the good news someone hears tomorrow…

Remember this…and share the good news of God’s love revealed to us today…and everyday!

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

2019 Sitka International Cello Seminar

Welcome the 2019 Seminar students! Here’s their schedule of public performances:

Tues July 9, 6:30 pm – Mean Queen (lower level)

Thurs July 11, 5:30 pm – Ludvig’s Wine Bar

Fri July 12, Noon – Sitka Public Library

Tues July 16, 6:30 pm – Mean Queen (lower level)

Wed July 17, Noon – Sitka Public Library

Thurs July 18, 5:30 pm – Ludvig’s Wine Bar

Saturday, July 20, 7:00 pm – Cellobration! Click here for tickets.

For more info: Meet the 2019 Cello Seminar Students

https://sitkamusicfestival.org/meet-the-2019-cello-seminar-students/

4 Pentecost/Year C

2 Kings 5:1-11; Psalm 30; Galatians 6: (1-6), 7-16; Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20)

Let us pray: our collect for today

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