Notice what the love of Jesus can do, through us, in the interest of others...

Last Pentecost/Christ the King Sunday/Year A/Nov 22, 2020

Ephesians 1:15-23; Psalm 100; Matthew 25: 31-46

The thoughts  I would like to share with you this morning are a continuation of the message I shared with you last week…and they will include words of invitation to carry with you in the days ahead as we come to the end of a season according to our church calendar, the long season after the day of Pentecost, and the end and last day of our liturgical year, Christ the King Sunday….As with any endings, there will be a new beginning…. And next week, we will turn our hearts towards a new season, and a new year, full of hope and possibilities that we can envision together….and work together to bring to fruition, when we choose to invest in the way of love, with God and one another …and as we strive to be united in Christ, in the interest of others…

This was the theme of the diocesan convention this past fall, I’ve mentioned it and shared it often, since then…United in Christ in the Interest of others…inspired by a scripture verse from Philippians 2:4…“Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”

Today, that scripture, comes together in my mind and heart, illuminating the good news proclaimed by Jesus in the hearing of today’s gospel reading…. Throughout this past week, what kept rising to the surface for me, being held right in front of my eyes, and in my face, where I could not possibly miss it – was the invitation to Notice… to simply begin again today,  by noticing the other…look at their faces, look into their eyes…look more deeply, into their hearts, through the eyes and love of Jesus….strive to see Jesus, in them…and in doing so, get a glimpse of this kingdom that Jesus is inviting us to envision and be a part of…a kingdom whose foundation is built upon loving God and one another, a kingdom where we are united in Christ, in the interest of others…for the purpose of healing and being reconciled to God and one another, for the joy of all God’s beloved children, and to free us from the hatred and division that is tearing us all down in the process, and has been shattering the relationships between God’s beloved people, more and more with each passing day.

Jesus wants us to notice what love can do… Notice what the love of Jesus can do, through us, in the interest of others.

Jesus said, Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Jesus is inviting us to NOTICE….

Notice what the love of Jesus can do, through us, in the interest of others.

Notice the hungry and the thirsty in our communities…notice the strangers, the ones who are often overlooked…notice those who are sick and suffering and imprisoned by the effects of isolation and loneliness….notice those whom we disagree with,  notice the ones who are angry and fearful right now, notice the ones whose voices have been silenced for too long…..notice the children of God…in the diverse faces of God’s children, everywhere…

Notice them…and learn to love them, and reach out to them, with kindness, and compassion, and mercy; Notice them, and learn from them, by listening to them, and walking with them; look for the face of Jesus in them, and serve Jesus, love Jesus,  by serving them, loving them, with the same dignity and respect and love that has been shown to us, through Jesus and others, throughout our privileged lives.

That is where our hearts and our love for one another, begins to merge together, uniting us in  Christ, when we notice Jesus and God’s everlasting love, in one another….and it is this love that compels us and invites us to respond with our whole selves, by investing in the way of love, in the interest and well-being of others….for all of God’s beloved children.

Jesus wants us to notice what love can do… Notice what the love of Jesus can do, through us, in the interest of others.

Children, of all ages…but especially young children and older children, are growing up in such an unsteady world right now…they are paying attention…they are paying close attention to the adults in this world, especially now, when everyone’s lives have been disrupted in this time of the pandemic…They are noticing what we are saying, and not saying; what we are doing, and not doing; and they are always noticing how we are treating one another and loving one another …They are looking to us, and depending on us, the adults…to show them what the love of Jesus can do, through us, in the interest of others…

At the end of this day, at the end of this season, at the end of this liturgical year….let us ask ourselves, what we want for our children, our grand-children, our nieces, our nephews, for all children…what do we want them to notice in us, and carry forward with them, in the coming days, and in the coming years….

I, for one….want my grandchildren, and all children to notice what the love of Jesus can do, through the love and actions of all of us working together, united in Christ, in the interest of others…

I want them to know that I am praying for them….praying that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God of all glory, may give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation as they come to know Jesus, so that, with the eyes of their hearts enlightened, they may know what is the hope to which God has called them….(Ephesians 1:15-23)

I want them to be able to raise their outstretched arms and hands high to the heavens, rejoicing and give thanks at the end of a day, knowing and believing that indeed, there is a God who notices them, and call them, Beloved…

I want them to know and believe what the love of Jesus can do, working through them, in the interest of others….

I want them to be able to look around at us, and in their communities now, and see how it is that together, with God, and one another, we can build a more just and loving world….when we invest in the way of love, united in Christ, in the interest of others….

Today….and throughout the coming days….notice what the love of Jesus can do, through us, in the interest of others……and accept the invitation to invest your whole selves in the way of love.

At conclusion of sermon: Piano/How Great Thou Art

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, Alaska

photo by Kim Riech, Nov 17, 2020

World Children's Day -Nov 20

“As we save children, we save ourselves; we save the world.”
– The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church

Check out the full story about World Children’s Day!

https://www.episcopalrelief.org/stories/save-children-save-the-world/

Do one thing: Invest in the way of love

24 Pentecost/Year A

Nov 15, 2020

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Psalm 123; Matthew 25: 14-30

I’ve been thinking a lot about the Diocesan Convention this fall, just held this past month, and the theme: United in Christ in the Interest of Others. I keep going back to the list/the visual that was put together, to capture the essence of the Bishop’s address this year. I keep it in front of me, as a reminder of the little things I can do, we can do, in a time when it feels like there is so much that we cannot do…In a time, when it feels like so much is being taken away from us …In a time, when we are lamenting the daily losses all around us, and keep wondering when this worldwide pandemic will ever come to an end…

Let me share it with you again…This was a list put together by the Bishop’s Address Committee, of 20 ways to be United in Christ, in the interest of others….things we can do to encourage and build each other up…in the midst of this long season of the pandemic…(shared poster online)

1.  make a phone call to someone

2. contribute to local food banks

3. pray for one another

4. Take a walk with a friend

5. write a prayer note to a church or fellow church member

6. March for equality

7. Vote!

8. Drop off a meal for a friend

9. connect with church members

10. Visit outside with an elder

11. Wear a mask

12. wash your hands

13. Write a thank you note to the medical community

14. sharing our harvest

15. Be patient and kind with one another

16. Sing with a friend

17. clean up trash

18. invite a friend to church

19.Reject cruelty and divisiveness

20. Embrace empathy and diversity

For some people….this list may include too many options to think about….it may feel a bit overwhelming…

So, I was also thankful, for the shorter list of three simple ideas, that Episcopal Relief and Development offered to us, this past Friday, in their invitation to us to observe A Day of Love on World Kindness Day… Nov 13…..a day devoted to the positive potential of both large and small acts of love.

Three simple acts of love to help us reach out to encourage one another and build up each other, to remind one another that we are not alone…in this time of the worldwide pandemic…

     1.Check-in with someone you haven’t seen recently.

     2.Thank someone special in your life.

     3.Do something for children.

And, if this simple list of 3 acts of love, seemed like too much to act upon …. then let’s narrow it down to just one thing today.

Use 1 of your many gifts given to you by God….and invest it, today, in the way of love.  Be faithful in just one thing today, and see how God is indeed using you to bring healing, reconciliation and joy to this world… Use 1 of your many gifts today, to be a beacon of light and hope in a world that desperately needs to know that we will get through this together…with God, and with one another…

Begin again, every morning…whether it’s with the list of 20, the list of 3, or the list of one. But do something with the gifts God has entrusted to you. Do not hide them. Invest them in the way of love….Put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, put on the hope of salvation…Encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing…proclaim the gospel of God’s love to the ends of the earth…so that all may know the joy of being united in Christ’s love…in this life, and in the world to come…

 Do one thing today. Invest in the way of love.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, Alaska

HYMN after the sermon: Lift Every Voice and Sing II - #161 Go Preach My Gospel

1          “Go preach my gospel,” saith the Lord,

            “Bid the whole earth my grace receive,

            Explain to them my sacred word,

            Bid them believe, obey, and live.”

2          “I’ll make my great commission known,

            And ye shall prove my gospel true

            By all the works that I have done,

            And all the wonders ye shall do.”

3          “Go heal the sick, go raise the dead,

            Go cast out devils in my name.

            Nor let my prophets be afraid,

            Though man reproach, and will blaspheme.”

4          “While thus ye follow my commands,

            I’m with you till the world shall end.

            All pow’r in trusted in my hands;

            I can destroy, and can defend.”

5          He spake and light shone round His head,

            On a bright cloud to heav’n He rode.

            They to the farthest nation spread

            The grace of their ascended God.

Invitation to a Day of Love

23 Pentecost/Year A

Nov 8, 2020

Psalm 78:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13

I would like to begin this morning by asking for a moment of silence…

In the midst of so much chaos and unrest for so many months, I’m inviting us this morning, to stop for a moment and stand still…

Moment of silence…

"Lost" [by David Wagoner] 1999

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you

Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,

You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows

Where you are. You must let it find you.

Dr Catherine Meeks…(from the Absalom Jones Episcopal center for Racial healing) shared the poem I just read to you, Lost, by David Wagoner, in a webinar I attended this past week…In her webinar, she spoke to the common thread of people feeling fatigued, and  overwhelmed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and all the other social unrest and divisions being played out in our daily lives.

With so much going on…people are feeling lost…and unable to make any decisions, or to see any way forward in the midst of so much happening all around us…. And wondering, what you and I could possibly do to contribute to the healing of such a divided nation right now…

When she shared this poem…it was a reminder to us…to stop from time to time…to get our bearings….and stand still…

Stand still. Where you are. Let love find you again. Trim your lamps, replenish them with the oil of hope and gladness, and let God’s love and light shine in you once again.

She offered some simple things we could do, right now…

1.     stand still, in this present moment, that is right before you…take notice of all that is around you, all that is in you…take notice of the love of God all around you, and in you …

2.     Pay more attention to Jesus…what does Jesus’ life, death and resurrection have to teach us and show us in this moment of history….

3.     Take one small step at a time, talk to one person at a time, reach out to one person at a time…

When the chaos of the world is making our minds run around aimlessly and in never-ending circles or worry and doubt…..stop for  moment…get your bearings…

Stand still. Where you are. Let love find you again. Trim your lamps, replenish them with the oil of hope and gladness, and let God’s love and light shine in you once again.

Episcopal Relief and Development, and the  presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry….also have some simple words of hope to help us reach out in love to find a way forward together, to heal our hurting and grieving nation….

ERD shares in the invitation:

World Kindness Day is an international holiday that was created in 1998, to promote kindness throughout the world and is observed annually on November 13. It is celebrated in many countries and presents us with the opportunity to reflect upon some of the most important and unifying human principles: love and kindness.

They also…give us three simple tasks, or acts of love to help us move forward together, for the healing of our nation…

     Check-in with someone you haven’t seen recently.

     Thank someone special in your life.

     Do something for children.

FROM ERD: 1000 days of love..

https://www.episcopalrelief.org/1000daysoflove/day-of-love/?fbclid=IwAR3jFrnLVhEh_z_bbaOXIglfThRPpekds7Izz4chtXlj7jbNPzr3HIN401E

View Bishop Michael Curry Message:

https://youtu.be/ToX4hKsBa5M

When the chaos of the world is causing you to despair…. stop for a moment...to ground yourself and connect with the love and the hope that unifies us all…

Stand still. Where you are. Let love find you again. Trim your lamps, replenish them with the oil of hope and gladness, and let God’s love and light shine in you once again.

And Rejoice - Rejoice! rejoice, believers, and let your lights appear!

The Hymnal 1982 - #68 Rejoice! rejoice, believers

1          Rejoice! rejoice, believers,

            and let your lights appear!

            The evening is advancing,

            and darker night is near.

            The Bridegroom is arising,

            and soon he will draw nigh;

            up, watch in expectation!

            at midnight comes the cry.

2          See that your lamps are burning,

            replenish them with oil;

            look now for your salvation,

            the end of sin and toil.

            The marriage-feast is waiting,

            the gates wide open stand;

            rise up, ye heirs of glory,

            the Bridegroom is at hand!

3          Our hope and expectation,

            O Jesus, now appear;

            arise, thou Sun so longed for,

            above this darkened sphere!

            With hearts and hands uplifted,

            we plead, O Lord, to see

            the day of earth’s redemption,

            and ever be with thee!

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

ALL Saints Sunday - BLESSED ARE YOU!

All Saints Sunday/Year A/Nov 1, 2020

1 John 3:1-3; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; Matthew 5:1-12

BLESSED ARE YOU!

All Saints Sunday is a perfect day to be reminded…that yes…

Blessed are you!

Yes, you…all who gather here today…and all who are at home, near and afar… Blessed are you!

Yes, you…those whose names are known to God alone…

Blessed are you!

Yes, you…"Blessed are you, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are humble, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…

Blessed are you, the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemakers…for you will be called children of God.”

Blessed are you!

Yes, you, the children of God…and the saints of God…those who have gone on before us, and those living by our side today…

All Saints Sunday is my favorite, special day on the church calendar…

Why? Because who among us, doesn’t need that reminder from time to time…Blessed are you! Especially in times such as this…

Another reason: Because it’s a day to remember people….people of all walks of life, all ages, races and cultures, family, friends, and the famous saints on the church calendar…a day to remember people whose imperfect lives give us hope, and bless us still, in the hearing, and remembrance of their stories…stories of striving to love God and their neighbors, stories of courage and perseverance, in the midst of similar struggles that you and I are going through today…stories of encouragement and inspiration that have the power to help those struggling today to get through this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, those who are striving daily to keep on, keeping on, when there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight to all the suffering, the heartaches, and the injustices, touching the lives of God’s beloved children all around the world…

All Saints Sunday is a perfect day to remember that we do not walk this journey alone…Jesus reminds us, that God loves us, and blesses us, and walks with us always, in the saints who have gone on before us and in those living by our side today…

It’s a perfect day to reflect on the occasion of our baptisms, that reminds us of that good news… that festive day when we and our parents, and godparents or sponsors were surrounded and supported by a community of people gathered in the church, who welcomed us into the household of God…the family of God, not just for that day, and in that church…but for all the days to come after that…and with all those who have gone on before us…and are most surely alive among us today…still giving us their love, and their guidance and their blessing…

Blessed are you! Yes, you… the children of God…and the saints of God…We are never alone…We are reminded of that, in our baptisms... God loves us, and blesses us, and is with us always, in the saints who have gone on before us and in those living by our side today…

I invite you to set aside some extra time today, on All Saints Day…to reflect on your baptism….or perhaps the baptism of another family member or friend… and set aside some time today, and in the coming days, to remember the saints who have gone on before us...and listen for the voice of love and blessing calling out to you, encouraging you, in these coming days, to walk in love with God and one another and to walk in hope with one another…striving and working for the day that all may come to those ineffable joys that God has prepared for those who truly love him… Blessed are you!

Let me close with a reflection about our ancestors and blessings… written by the Rt Rev Steven Charleston, a retired bishop in the Episcopal Church…

"Last night I thought I heard the drum, sounding far away like distant thunder, but steady as a heartbeat, the heartbeat we have danced to for generations. Hearing that drumbeat made me feel better. I knew that it must mean my ancestors are dancing in heaven, dancing the old dances that have bound my people together since time began. They are trying to help us just when our need is greatest. And if they are dancing, then the grace they are sending us has begun falling, falling all around us, falling like starlight, drifting down to give us strength, wisdom and hope. And although I do not know the tradition of the people who have gone before you in your culture, I am sure they are dancing for us too, in their own way, but with the same intention, the intention of all of our ancestors in these hard days: to give us their blessing."  (Bishop Steven Charleston) 

Blessed are you!

Check out the video presentation below…

The faces of St Peter's Saints - Nov 1 2020

*Prayer read after the video presentation…

*A Prayer for All Saints/All Souls Day (Order of Saint Helena) 

Gracious God, You stand us among the saints so that we can hear the Word of truth and love in a variety of voices, so that we can live with hope and courage as others lift us up and cheer us on.  You surround us with saints so that we can know wisdom and revelation in the sharing of word and experience; so that we can sing in glory and stand in the fullness of the body of Christ.  We’re grateful for those saints who have gone before us and for those living at our sides today.  Raise us up with the faith of the saints, for the glory of your holy name.  Amen.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Love God First

21 Pentecost/Year A

Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18; Psalm 1; Matthew 22: 34-46

Let us pray: Almighty God, you teach us in your word that love is the fulfilment of the law: grant that we may love you with all our heart and our neighbour as ourselves; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(A New Zealand Prayer Book)

I think it’s a safe guess,  for me to assume that all of us gathered here today, have heard the words spoken by Jesus, in the first few verses of our Gospel reading today….in some form or another, throughout our lives….whether in church, or Sunday school,  or in a general conversation with someone outside of the church…or perhaps even noted, in a favorite book you might have read…

You know the words I’m talking about: The scripture Jesus uses to answer the lawyer’s question as to which commandment in the law is the greatest. Jesus answers, for all those gathered to listen: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Sounds like Jesus summed it up quite simply and clearly for the lawyer, the Pharisees, and all those gathered….

2 simple teachings for them and us to remember, too…

1.love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.

2.love your neighbor as yourself

Sounds simple enough….But, oh, how complicated we, human beings, make it all, because we try to make it fit into what we’ve always known…we try to make sense of it, on our terms…according to our own needs…we try to measure and judge, who should be first, or who we should love…or who is our neighbor…

We complicate the simple invitation to love God first…and by doing so…we struggle to see the world and all its’ people the way God sees and loves all people…we fail to imagine that a world without hatred and division, is possible, when we begin with loving God first…

The Pharisee’s, with their wealth of knowledge on all the religious rules and laws of the time, were having an especially difficult time wrapping their minds and understanding around who this Jesus was. They kept thinking for sure, there was a loop-hole, somewhere, to discount and discredit the things that they had heard that Jesus was teaching and doing.

They were putting their own understanding of the laws and the rules - first and foremost – instead of God, first and foremost…. From the very beginning, they were closing off their minds and their hearts to consider or even hear any possible explanation, or any good news of God’s love in action in the world, in any new ways which they had yet to imagine…

The Pharisees only wanted to hear what was familiar…what they already knew…They wanted Jesus to affirm what they already believed.

Sometimes we are like that, too. We know too much, we’ve experienced so much, we’ve been there, we’ve done that, tried it a hundred times – doesn’t work, never will. 

And we continue to play out the events of our lives over and over in our minds. We’ve been witness to too much hatred and division and suffering in our lives, to imagine anything different…

We convince ourselves that things will never change...and that focus of doubt and disbelief, becomes the lens through which we view the world, and respond to the day to day things that happen in our lives.  We put our own knowledge of the way things are or have been – FIRST.

We put our thoughts, first…and forget to turn to God first…to dream with God…and for God’s world…what wondrous things are possible…when we dare to put God first, in our lives…for the well-being of our own lives and the well-being of each other’s lives…

Jesus invites us and challenges us to look at the world in another way – and follow in a way of life that is marked by walking the way of love…A walk and a worldview that begins with us, putting God FIRST.  

A way of love that says yes…it is possible to envision a world where division and hatred are no longer the norm…Yes…It is possible to imagine a world and its’ people coming together at the table, to love another, as we have been loved…to love our neighbors, as ourselves…to dream of a world, where all are loved and valued and fed and sheltered and cared for…and to work and walk in hope with one another…so that we can learn to live in peace with one another…

Jesus calls us to look through the lens of Love – God’s love – First…

When you wake up in the morning – Go to God first. Pray, sit quiet, look outside at the beauty of God’s creation. Be reminded of God’s presence as you begin your day.

When you have a tough decision to make – remember God FIRST. Ask for God’s strength and God’s guidance.

When you are feeling overwhelmed and not sure which way to go – stop, get your bearings, go to God FIRST – and trust that God will show you the way.

When you are worried, afraid, concerned for yourself, or your family or friends – go to God FIRST.

Trust in God. Have Faith in God. Put your Hope in God.

Go to God first…with all that you are, with all that you have, and in all that you do.

It really isn’t as complicated as we are often led to believe…

Go to God first.

1.love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.

2.love your neighbor as yourself

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, sums it up best with these closing words from his new book… “Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubled Times”…

This is what he says…

“When God, who is love, becomes our spiritual center of gravity, and love our moral compass, we live differently, regardless of what the world around us does. The world changes for the better, one life at a time.

So don’t give up on love.

Listen to it.

Trust it.

Give into it.

Obey it.

Love can help and heal when nothing else can.

Love can lift up and liberate when nothing else will.”

Go to God, first…with thanksgiving and gratitude… for the gifts of God and the people of God….

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Hymn to play after the sermon:

For the Beauty of the Earth

https://youtu.be/UFz3uQbImnw

ST. JOSEPH'S PRIVATE SCHOOL KUCHING

FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH (John Rutter) by SJPS Chamber Choir & Christmas Concert Choir

Sing to God a new song….sing to God, all the whole earth!

20 Pentecost/Year A

Oct 18, 2020

Isaiah 45:1-7; Psalm 96:1-9; Matthew 22:15-22

“Sing to God a new song….sing to God, all the whole earth”

Today’s psalm, makes my heart sing, and it lifts up my spirits, every time I begin reading the first few verses, or hear them spoken or sung by someone else…

Psalm 96:1-3/St Helena Psalter

1 Sing to God a new song; *sing to God, all the whole earth.

2 Sing and bless God’s holy Name; *proclaim the good news of salvation from day to day.

3 Declare God’s glory among the nations * God’s wonders among all peoples.

I can’t help, but feel my spirits being lifted with these words….I can’t help but hear a song of joy in my heart….a song of gratitude, a song of thankfulness, a song of hope….the moment my heart and my mind turn towards praising and thanking God for the gift of this new day…the moment I’m reminded, in the words of Julian of Norwich…that “the fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.”

The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything!

Imagine, if we began there each day…with a psalm and song of joy…

*singing to God a new song…offering ourselves to God, at the start of a new day…..

Imagine, if we began there each day…

*singing and blessing God’s holy name….by giving thanks and praise to God for God’s presence in everything, in everyone, and everywhere…

Imagine, if we began there each day, with the intention of:

* singing and declaring God’s glory among all people, in all the ways we can, in whatever ways we can, for however long we can?

Imagine, if we began our day, with a prayer of gratitude, and with the soul/sole purpose to go out into the world, to seek and find God, and behold God in everything, and in everyone….seeking the fullness of joy…for everyone…

What a gift to our weary souls that would be, if we committed to a daily practice, such as this…

What a gift to our weary souls that would be, and to the weary souls of others,  if we began our day, praying with a psalm such as this…to help us tune our hearts and minds to God, so that we would recognize the image of God…in our own lives, and in the people and places we encounter throughout our day…

In a time when our days and months are feeling heavy and uncertain, and with no relief, seemingly in sight, for an end to the pandemic, or an end to the suffering, the divisions, the violence, and the widespread acts of oppression and injustice against some of God’s people, that is prevalent in our communities, near and far…being reminded that we are called to be instruments of God’s love and blessing in the world, is an important place to begin each day….

Bishop Mark reminded us in this week’s diocesan newsletter, that even in this time of needing to practice physical distancing from one another, we are not called to be socially distant from each other…we are called and invited anew every day, to seek and find new ways to love God, to love one another, and all of creation…

To find ways to serve as Christ served, to love as Christ loved, to participate and strive for justice and peace in the lives of all Christ's beloved children while maintaining physical distance.(but not social distance) Be instruments of God's peace in these divisive times, (Bishop Mark tells us). Sow love, pardon, union, faith, hope, light, and joy; courageously stand with those who suffer injustice; seek understanding; listen; vote.

Use your voice, and your lives, in gratitude for all God’s blessings…give to God the things that are Gods, be instruments of God’s peace and love and blessing in this world, in these difficult times… actively seek and look for the image of God in one another, and behold God in everything, and in everyone….seek the fullness of joy…for everyone…Lift up your voice, and sing…

(Psalm 96:1-3/St Helena Psalter)

1 Sing to God a new song; *sing to God, all the whole earth.

2 Sing and bless God’s holy Name; * proclaim the good news of salvation from day to day.

3 Declare God’s glory among the nations * God’s wonders among all peoples.

Lift up your hearts and sing, and give thanks for the gifts of God…and the people of God….

Prayer?Hymn at the conclusion of the sermon

The Hymnal 1982 - #362 – Holy, Holy, Holy

Rev Julie Platson, Rector

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, AK

An Invitation to Joy!

19 Pentecost Year A/October 11, 2020

Isaiah 25:1-9, Psalm 23, Matthew 22:1-14

An invitation to Joy!

It is a joy to be back together with all of you for this week’s service…

I don’t know about you, but my experience of days, and weeks, and months passing by, has morphed into its own new way of keeping track of time…Yes...I have a calendar, to keep track of the passing of days and weeks, and a cell phone and others means of knowing what time it is…to make sure I show up for my appointments, meetings, church, etc… and to make sure I remember to acknowledge and celebrate people’s birthdays and anniversaries and other special occasions…but even with all of those at my disposal…my lived experience of how the passing of time is being measured in these past several months…is not usually in sync with my calendars and time-keeping devices…

Even though, it’s been only one Sunday since I last worshipped with you…it feels like sooo long ago…and it feels like so much has happened in such a short amount of time…

I know I’ve mentioned this time observation before…but, as we continue to live in this time of the pandemic, and in a season of our lives, when there is so much division, and so many uncertainties and questions and  calamities that arise every day….time and what we are doing with the gift of each day…has been on my mind and my heart, a lot this week…

Since I last gathered for the Sunday service with you, I’ve been attending the diocesan convention online…we gathered on zoom, last Saturday…and had committee meetings during the week, and we gathered again this past Saturday for our second and final day of this year’s convention…

And during that short span of time, everything in between, from the emails I received and sent, to the phone conversations, to the news, to the webinars I attended, to my walks around town….all raised some questions for me about who and what we are paying attention to these days…

Are we getting dragged into only the terrible news, are we joining voices to repeat and spread news that divides us even more, are we giving in to despair, are we just going through the motions of every day…just hoping to get through one more day…just hoping that all this bad stuff would somehow magically, all come to an end…no more violence, no more pandemic, no more political unrest…no more hatred and fear… and forgetting…forgetting that there is a whole other lot of things happening in our lives, in the passing of days, that are worth paying attention to, and celebrating, and honoring, and praising….There are a whole lot of invitations to joy…that we keep passing up…

In today’s gospel reading…we are reminded of that… There was an invitation extended several times to come to the wedding banquet…come celebrate this feast, come celebrate all that I have prepared for you…and for your enjoyment…come celebrate with me and with others…come and celebrate our time together…Come…this is where you will find joy!

Jesus spent his lifetime…extending invitations to follow him, in a way of life…that would lead to a discovery of what it truly means to live into the fullness, of God’s dream for his beloved children, a life where all would be free to experience the fullness of God’s love, God’s peace,  and God’s joy through us and in us…in this life and in the life to come…

But, as we saw in today’s parable, and in many of the other gospels, the people have other wants and desires,  other individual priorities, other better ideas about what to do with their time…they want to follow Jesus…but on their own terms…they want to follow Jesus…but don’t necessarily want to make all the sacrifices of their own desires and interests for the well-being and joy of the other…they become tired and overwhelmed by worry and thinking things are just too hard…

They pass up a lot of invitations to joy...because they fail to notice the other…and their needs…because they fail to go to the people and the places that are asked of them, that Jesus keeps pointing out to them…to look here…pay attention to this…this is where you will find joy…this is where you will find hope and healing and reconciliation with one another…

We too, pass up a lot of invitations to joy….because we get caught up in thinking about our own needs and don’t always have the energy and time to think about others and their needs…Especially now, in this time of the pandemic and social unrest, we are needing to focus on our own well-being and mental health…Jesus doesn’t tell us to stop doing that…He invites us to think about another way, that supports us with our own needs, while at the same time, we are also focusing on the well-being and care of one another…

One of Jesus’ most important teachings reminds us that it is in that time of giving and caring about others, that we receive what we most need…that we receive signs of hope and joy through someone else…it is in that time of looking not to our own interest, but to the interest of others…that we find and experience the joy that Jesus is always inviting us to come and see…and experience….the joy that comes into our own lives, when we focus on caring about the lives of one another…

The convention theme this year was United in Christ, in the Interest of others, and was based on a passage from Paul’s letter to the Philippians…vs 4…. “Let each of you look not to your own interest, but to the interest of others…”

I was on the Bishop’s address committee….and in our report to the convention…we put together a list of 20 ways to be United in Christ, in the Interest of others…a list of some simple things that we can all do, to invite others to pay attention to the joy that is present in our lives today…by paying attention to the people in our lives…the people in our communities… it’s a list of some small things that all of us can do…in extending an invitation to joy… and receiving joy, at the same time… a win, win…for all of us…and it’s a perfect way to mark the passage of time together, in a loving way, and in a caring way, in a way that makes sure that none of us, passes up another invitation to a moment of joy…

***Share the visual of 20 ways***

(Illustrations drawn by Pastor Kaitlin Pao-Eulberg, words by the Bishops Address Committee)

IN closing today, I’ll add another one to this list - #21 – Hold the Blessing of the Pets on the front lawn of the Sitka Pioneers’ Home….

*Share photos of Pet blessing service, and play the hymn:

“The Creatures We Love”

Text and music © 2020 Amanda Udis-Kessler. All rights reserved.

Permission is given for free use of this hymn.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Dance for Recovery

17 Pentecost/Year A/Sept 27, 2020

September is National Recovery Month

2020 Theme: Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Connections

Psalm 25:1-8; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32

**Just a little context for my sermon this morning before I begin…

September is National Recovery month…a month set aside to highlight the needs, and the support available for those experiencing mental health and substance use disorders….The numbers of persons, being affected by mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, is rising during this current global pandemic…and is affecting people of all walks of life…I want you to know that there is help and support available…and that no-one need go through any of the struggles alone…please let me know, if you or anyone you know is in need of support, and I will provide some resources to you.**

As always, it is the highlight of my week, to be able to pause and gather in community with all of you for our Sunday service…I look forward to this weekly time together, because it always serves as a reminder to me, that it is our relationship with God, and our relationships with one another, that helps us experience the fullness of God’s love… and the implications of this love, in our own lives, and in the lives of all who walk this earthly life with us.

When we gather together, to worship together, to celebrate this time together… we pray together and for the encouragement of one another;  we confess our sins and our brokenness together, with the hope of being forgiven, and to find ways to be reconciled to one another; we sing and make music together, to share joy with one another; we give thanks to God, for the gift of another day, for the blessing of being united to one another, in this time of fellowship; we listen to the Word of God together, to help us see one another, and love one another, as God sees us and loves us.

It is in this time of intentional gathering in community, that we are strengthened, and encouraged, to go out into our daily lives…and share the gifts given, the lessons learned, which teach us about the importance of relationships and community connections… which encourages us to celebrate our connections to one another, and to honor and celebrate the diverse and complex needs of the human family, that are present in our communities, and in the wider world.

We experience the love of God, most fully, when we celebrate our connections to one another…. 

When… “we look not to (y)our own interests, but to the interests of others.” …As we heard in Paul’s letter to the Philippians today (Philippians 2:1-13)

Somewhere along the way…it seems that many people have stopped and neglected to being concerned about the interests of others… We’ve been in the midst of a global pandemic for many months now; and racial violence, and political divisions, economic hardships for many families and businesses, have added more fear and uncertainties, to an already, unstable scenario for people of all walks of life, but especially for those, who were already on the margins, those who already felt alone, voiceless, and forgotten…

People are understandably tired, hurting, angry, and grieving…but taking it out on each other, is widening the gaps and the divisions among the human family, which have always been present….

What if we could simply agree to begin again, on this new day, and turn to each other, instead of away from each other, and consider the well-being, and the interests of the other…what if we could simply turn to each other, to listen for the ways we can support and encourage each other in this time of great need…for everyone…

What if we could simply agree to begin again, on this new day, and turn to each other, look and listen for new ways to grow and build relationships with one another… and celebrate our connections to one another, by humbling ourselves, and respecting the dignity of every human being…

One day at a time….

One day at a time…

Well-known words for anyone engaged in the work of recovery….

Helpful words, for any of us…we are all on a journey of recovery in some ways…

And one of the most important lessons we learn in the work of recovery, is it is never meant to be a solo journey. The work of recovery is a community journey, which calls us to work together, and to celebrate the importance of our community connections in helping us to never give up hope, in believing that recovery is possible…to never give up hope that forgiveness is possible…to never give up hope that healing  is possible… to never give up hope…for the day when all God’s people will experience the love and joy of God’s love, most fully…in the ways we can all come together to the table, to celebrate our wonderful and diverse gifts given, to be shared for the common good of all people….

We experience the love of God, most fully, when we celebrate our connections to one another…. 

In the coming weeks, I invite you to take a moment, every day…to celebrate this good news – that God not only walks with us now, one day at a time…but also shows us how to experience the fullness of God’s love and joy, when we turn to one another, celebrate our community connections with one another, rejoice and sing with one another, and learn to dance with one another!

Hymn/piano after sermon: The Hymnal 1982 - #554

’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free

Words: Shaker song, 18th cent.

Music: Simple Gifts, Joseph Brackett (1797-1822); acc. Margaret W. Mealy (b. 1922)

’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,

’tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

and when we find ourselves in the place just right,

’twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained

to bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,

to turn, turn, will be our delight

till by turning, turning we come round right.

Rev. Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

God's generous love...there's always more to the story...

16 Pentecost/Year A

September 20, 2020

Philippians 1:21-30;  Psalm 145:1-8; Matthew 20:1-16

Another Sunday, another parable…

Parables seem to be Jesus’ favorite way of sharing the good news of God’s generosity…whether it be about God’s love, God’s compassion, God’s grace, God’s justice, or God’s mercy….

No matter how many ways Jesus strives to help his listeners understand God’s generous ways, though… as human beings, our ability to grasp this, often falls miserably short, and is so limited by the confines of our human understanding, and our constant desire, to force it to make logical sense in our minds…before we could believe such a thing…

We get so easily entangled and anxious about earthly things, while Jesus is striving to teach us about heavenly things…striving to encourage us to hold fast to those things that endure: the generosity of God’s Holy love…that keeps coming to us…moment by moment…day after day….

There is so much more for us to learn and grasp about the power of God’s generous love to transform and heal our divisions and our broken lives…

Whether we were alive 2,000 years ago to hear Jesus’ parables or if Jesus was sitting in front of you and I right now…Jesus’ words are meant to invite us to envision something more…. more to the story of our own lives, and those around us, and more to the story about God’s love and God’s love for his people, than what the human eye, and mind, and experience tells us, about what love really is and what love does….what is true and just…what is right, and what is wrong, what is fair, what is not fair….

Jesus’ parables invite us to open our eyes and ears…to listen for the ways we are being called to align our hearts and minds with this generous love of God, to envision a whole new world that is possible…when God’s people work together, as a people who love and honor and respect the dignity of every human being…

In an introduction to today’s gospel reading from Lesson Plans that Work, the writer has this to say, about today’s parable:

Today’s parable appears in the section of Matthew where those around Jesus are questioning him about everything. As Jesus continues his ministry and the disciples are witnessing his great works, they keep coming to him with questions about taxes, who is the greatest in Heaven, forgiveness, divorce, and how to inherit eternal life. The disciples are trying to figure out this new world that they are experiencing through Jesus’ miracles, parables, and teachings. 

Just prior to our gospel lesson today, the disciples have heard Jesus tell the rich young man that he must sell everything and give the money to the poor.  They begin to wonder, “We have left everything and followed you.  What then will we have?”  Meaning, we have left our homes and our families, we have left behind what we know and love to follow you…what will we get in return?

________________________________________________________________

What will we get in return, if we follow Jesus?

Something tells me, that Jesus’ answer won’t only be about what we will get in return for following him….but better yet…it will be more about what we will give to others, as a result of following him….

Therein, lies an invitation for each one of us to consider…

What would happen if we dared to leave everything behind like the disciples did…to follow Jesus…to learn and discover anew, how it could be that the last will be first, and the first will be last…what it would mean to walk and live our lives in the Way of Love, that Jesus has been teaching us and pointing us to in the parables….

What would happen, if we set aside time for a daily walk with Jesus, through spending time in prayer, with the scriptures, in silence, and reaching out to others who are hungry, afraid, or alone, or advocating for justice and equity for those whose voices are not being heard…

Would it lead us to new understandings about the impact of God’s love and presence in our lives, and in the lives of people among us, and in all of creation, entrusted to our care?

Would it inspire us to continue to learn more about each other, our neighbors and our enemies, so we could discover ways together, to envision a world, where loving one another, begins with respecting the dignity of every human being?

The only way to find out…is to take that first step, one day at a time, to be drenched in the generosity of God’s love, that keeps coming to us, moment by moment and day after day…

Let’s take a moment to listen to a few words from Stephanie Spellers, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Stewardship of Creation, who speaks about the generosity of God’s Holy love…

*Show the video of Transforming Through Love: More to the Story

(Stephanie Spellers) From The Work of the People

https://www.theworkofthepeople.com/more-to-the-story (free to view this one)

What does God say?

I think God says..

There’s more to the story, than the earthly narrative which often fills us with fear, anxiety, sorrow, and hopelessness… there’s more for us, yet to discover about God’s Holy love, and generous ways, that never cease…and how it is, that when we believe in and trust in this good news, it can help keep us grounded in hope, and in the love of God, and more focused on the heavenly things that endure, even as we ae placed among things that are passing  away…

Let us pray, that we may walk in the light of this Love, and learn to love others, and serve others, in a way that reveals the generosity of God’s love, God’s compassion, God’s grace, God’s vision of justice and God’s mercy…and let us pray, that it will show up, in every interaction we have with one another…whether its early in the morning, at 9am in the morning, at noon, at 3 in the afternoon, or at 5pm, when the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then, in God’s mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. (BCP 833)

Rest in peace, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg….Thank you for living your life in a way that gave us glimpses of how the generosity of God’s love and God’s vision of justice can make an impact, and make a difference in the lives of so many people.  May she rest now, in the arms of the God who is love and the author of true justice. Shalom  (The Presiding Bishop Michael B Curry)

“May her memory be for blessing”

After sermon hymn: O Master, let me walk with thee – Hymn 660

O Master, let me walk with thee

in lowly paths of service free;

tell me thy secret; help me bear

the strain of toil, the fret of care.

Help me the slow of heart to move

by some clear, winning word of love;

teach me the wayward feet to stay,

and guide them in the homeward way.

Teach me thy patience; still with thee

in closer, dearer company,

in work that keeps faith sweet and strong,

in trust that triumphs over wrong,

in hope that sends a shining ray

far down the future’s broadening way,

in peace that only thou canst give,

with thee, O Master, let me live.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska