1st Sunday after Christmas sermon- The gift of grace upon grace...

1st Sunday after Christmas

Dec 27, 2020

Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 147:13-21;  John 1:1-18

  

We gather together on this Sunday morning…just three short days into the season of Christmas…For many people, Christmas has come and gone already…..and everything has gone back to “normal”…the tree is down, the Christmas music put away for another year…the cookies have been eaten, and the presents unwrapped and in the toybox now, or on the shelf with the other new books, or hanging in the closet with other warm winter clothing, to wear in the cold days ahead….

So, it is with much gratitude in my heart this morning, that in the church, the celebration of Christmas is just beginning…the good news proclaimed to the world on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day…Joy to the world…the Lord is come…is still with us….the light of Christmas, and the afterglow of the candles and the light and the life that came into the world,  is still lingering among us…

Emmanuel…God is with us…

Not just in our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations… but in the hope and abiding faith, that this love, this light, this joy, this peace of God is poured out for us, day after day, night after night….and for all our days to come…

In the three short days, into the Christmas season, we’ve all probably experienced a roller coaster of emotions…tears of sorrow and joy in the quiet of Christmas Eve…tears of sorrow and joy in the Christmas Day celebrations, and tears of sorrow and joy, in the tiredness of the day after Christmas…

For me, that brings us gently back to the beginning again, on this first Sunday after Christmas… reminding us to pause once again, at the start of this new day…to take a deep breath…to breath in the gift of the fullness of God’s grace upon grace, as we gather to remember the God of love who has come so very near to us, shining light into the darkness from the very beginning, as we are reminded in our gospel reading from John today…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

In a time when nothing seems to fit the description of “normal” anymore, and perhaps as our emotions continue to fluctuate between sorrow and joy, in reflecting on our Christmas celebrations this year…and as we begin to imagine what’s next in the unfolding days of our current pandemic…and what is to come in 2021….

Take heart…the good news of Christmas is that God is with us from the very beginning, and the life and the light,  that has come into the world for us, in the birth of Jesus, will be the light that can guide us and comfort us in the midst of our darkest moments, in the midst of our roller coaster of emotions that are very “normal” part of what it means to be a living and breathing human being…striving to navigate a world that can be scary and full of uncertainties at times, striving to love one another in times when we just don’t know how we can, striving to remain hopeful when we feel like we just can’t breathe anymore, we just can’t see the light ahead anymore….

Take heart….good care of your heart….Emmanuel…God is with us… God has been with us from the beginning, God is with us now…God will be with us for all our days to come…

The good news proclaimed to the world in this Christmas season…and especially on this day…. reminds us of one of God’s gift to us… the gift of grace upon grace…..God’s gift of grace that is given to us, again and again on every new day, in every new beginning, with every new breath we take…and breathe in the love and the light and the hope and the joy and the peace of God….

…. the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. …From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

It is in the hope and abiding faith, that this grace, this grace upon grace, this love, this light, this joy, this peace of God is poured out for us, day after day, night after night….and for all our days to come…

Joy to the World! The Lord is come….

Let’s celebrate this good news this morning, on the third day of Christmas, with the song of the angels….Hark! the herald angels sing glory to the newborn King!

 

1          Hark! the herald angels sing

            glory to the newborn King!

            Peace on earth and mercy mild,

            God and sinners reconciled!

            Joyful, all ye nations, rise,

            join the triumph of the skies;

            with the angelic host proclaim

            Christ is born in Bethlehem!

           

            Hark! the herald angels sing

            glory to the newborn King!

           

2          Christ, by highest heaven adored;

            Christ, the everlasting Lord;

            late in time behold him come,

            offspring of the Virgin’s womb.

            Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;

            hail the incarnate Deity.

            Pleased as man with man to dwell;

            Jesus, our Emmanuel!

 

           Hark! the herald angels sing

            glory to the newborn King!

 

 

 

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church         

Christmas Day Sermon - Dec 25

Christmas Day 2020

Dec 25, 2020

Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalm 97; Luke 2: 8-20

 

Prayer:

God of unimaginable love, God of all humanity, God of the shepherds and the angels, God of the manger, God of deliverance, God of birth, God of Christmas: We give you thanks on this Christmas morning for the gifts of love, light, hope, peace and joy, you have given us in the yearly remembrance of Christ’s birth, and as we once again celebrate Your coming into Your creation.  Open our hearts and our hands to share these indescribable gifts, with all who have been entrusted to our care, with our neighbors and with all of creation. This with pray with thanksgiving and gratitude from our hearts to the One who is come among us…. Joy to the Word…the Lord is come… Amen. (Adapted from a prayer written by Brad Offutt)

  

Now what?

What do we do with all these gifts given for us today?

After a silent, holy night, the joy is much more palpable today…but maybe some of us are still a little hesitant to let the joy bubble up and out into our daily lives…it’s been a difficult year…

We caught our breath last night…we paused to collectively take a deep breath… apart, but together.

We listened to the familiar stories, the scriptures, the songs, the music; we embraced moments of silence, and listening, and candle-lighting…perhaps there were tears of sorrow that turned to tears of joy last night….all beautiful things to help us return to the true reason for our Christmas celebrations…Joy to the World…the Lord is come…. 

Now what?

Will you allow the good news proclaimed on Christmas Day, move you to believe in joy again? To live with joy again? To trust in the joy of the Lord, in all circumstances and in all matters under heaven and on earth?

Will you dare to be filled with wonder and awe again, like the shepherds were, at the sight of all they had seen and heard?

Will you go, and tell others about this wonderous God and the Joy that was restored in your heart this day?

Will you allow yourself to be amazed every time you hear the Good News proclaimed on Christmas Day….Joy to the World…the Lord is come….

Will you dare to say, Yes, like Mary… and allow your spirit to rejoice in God our Savior?

Will you treasure all these words and ponder them in your heart…as Mary did?

Will you return again and again to God, glorifying and praising God for the gifts given to all of humanity and all of creation….the gifts of love, light, hope, peace and joy…

Now what?

These gifts are meant to be shared…so go now…share your love, your light, your hopes, your peace, and especially your joy…share all of this…from your heart to the heart of God, and all of God’s beloved….

In this bleak midwinter, the whole world needs to hear the good news proclaimed on Christmas Day…. Joy to the World…the Lord is come…

 

Rev Julie Platson

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

Hymn after the sermon: In the bleak midwinter

Sung by Ali Hosford

Christmas Eve Sermon - Dec 24 2020

Christmas Eve 2020

Dec 24, 2020

Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96;  Luke 2:1-14(15-20)

 

I’d like to begin by asking you to join me in taking a moment of silence…a moment to breathe….and a moment to offer up a quiet word of thanksgiving….Joy to the world…the Lord is come…

Join me….breathing in, as you say these words to yourself…

Joy to the world….

And breathing out….the Lord is come….

 

Again…

Breathing in, as you ponder these words with your whole body…

Joy to the world….

And breathing out….the Lord is come….

 

Again…

Breathing in, as you pray these words from the depths of your heart and your soul…Joy to the world….

And breathing out….the Lord is come….

 

On this quiet, holy night…we pause to take a collective breath, we gather together to remember the God of love who has come so very  near to us,  who has been born for us, not just on this night we remember the birth, but in the hope and abiding faith, that this love is poured out for us, day after day, night after night….and for all our days to come…

We gather tonight to celebrate this good news proclaimed for all God’s beloved: Joy to the World, the Lord is come… Good news proclaimed, and fully welcomed, in the midst of some dark days and dark nights which we have all been journeying on for many months now… apart, but together…

Like many of you, I have been overwhelmed at times with all that has been happening in these past nine/ten months….there has been so much information we have had to take in, and sort through since the beginning of the pandemic…there has been so many changes to adapt to, so many new things to learn, so many frustrating challenges to figure out, so many twists and turns along the way…so many unknowns, losses, and heartaches, that have weighed so heavily upon all of us…yet for some people and their families, the losses and the effects of these pandemic times, has been much more personal and devasting to their lives, in ways that are known to us, and in many ways, unknown to us… 

As I’ve reflected back over these past four weeks, in our season of advent…a time of waiting and preparing our hearts for this yearly remembrance of Christ’s birth… and waiting and preparing our hearts for his coming again… And I thought back over all that has happened since we last worshipped in our church building together…I was reminded of the word Breathe….

I realized that I don’t think I have stopped since March 15th, to take a full, deep, whole body, mind, heart and spirit breath as we are doing tonight….this night on which we pause to remember, the breath of God, the love of God, being born anew for every one of us …with the promises of giving us true life, and pure light to comfort us and guide us, and to fill our hearts, once again, with hope and peace and joy….

And I have a feeling that I am not alone in this….it often feels as if the whole world has been holding our breath for some time now….yet, somehow, finding a way to keep on, keeping on…and I truly believe that God surely has something to do with this….and I give thanks for the good news proclaimed tonight: Joy to the World….The Lord is come…

Not just once…2,000 years ago… but in the hope and abiding faith, that this love is poured out for us, day after day, night after night….and for all our days to come…

So, what a gift it is tonight, to hear once again, the beloved Christmas story, according to the gospel of Luke…

It was as if the whole world had been holding their breath...watching and waiting for a Savior to come…for the Messiah to come… for God to give them a sign that God loved them, cared for them, and had not forgotten them….had not turned his back on them or stopped listening to their hopes and their dreams and their prayers and their longings to be delivered from suffering and heartache….

God was listening, and transformed their tears of sorrow, into tears of joy…on this silent, holy night…on which the Savior they had been longing for…was born….A child wrapped in bands of cloth, lying in a manger was a sign from God, of hope fulfilled, in the one they had been watching for and waiting for….

On this holy night, perhaps it was as if time stood still for a moment, and all took a deep, collective breath…as Light pierced the darkness of their despair….as love filled the air all around them…as hope was re-ignited in their hearts…peace had come….joy had come….The shepherds and the angels and all who gathered with Mary and Joseph that night rejoiced…in awe of the glory of God’s holy light, who came among them…. Joy to the World…. the Lord is come….

Emmanuel…God is with us…not just tonight, on the yearly remembrance of Christ’s birth… but in the hope and abiding faith, that this love is poured out for us, day after day, night after night….and for all our days to come…

On this holy night for us, the music, the scriptures, the candles, the stories, the faces of the people on the zoom screens, the sounds of the people’s voices on the phone, and in the silence and in the listening…

All of this…has been a sign for us, that the very breath of God –has come so very near to us to tonight… reminding us to pause for a moment to receive the gift… and to breathe…

Breathe in the hope of God, breathe in the light, and the love, and the peace that surpasses all of our understanding…

And breathe in some joy for your celebrations this Christmas….

Breathe in….Joy to the World…

Breathe out…the Lord is come…

 

Hymn: Joy to the World…Virginia and Martha Pearson

 

Rev Julie Platson

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

Support for the People of Haines, Alaska

Dec 3, 2020

Most of you have heard about the devastation in the Haines community, due to some heavy rain/wind storms this week...

Please continue to keep everyone there in your prayers...

Below are 2 options to offer financial support to the community, at this time...

Two options for relief efforts in Haines: Tlingit & Haida has an emergency fund, and The Salvation Army Haines (http://haines.salvationarmy.org/) is also accepting donations.

Feeling Change: November

Nov 27

This was in today’s Sitka Sentinel….

Climate Connection: 

Feeling Change: November 

By John Lewis

Last column we looked at recovering our capacity to be moved. This month, let us take one step further and look at one way in which we can be moved: caring.

Caring seems to carry a heaviness these days. Sometimes it can provoke guilt or shame as in “you should care more.” Like something is wrong with us for how we feel. Or it is used as some kind of magical invocation. That if only we cared more we would not have the problems that we do.

But caring may be more simple and more difficult. To care is to attend to with head and heart. It is paying attention with our thoughts and our feelings. We are investing our awareness. And like any investment, it takes time. 

Though difficult, caring is a basic way of being. We come into this world vulnerable and helpless. Being cared for is how we survive. It is how we have our needs met and learn to relate. This relating allows us to step outside of our own narrow focus and gain a bigger perspective. Our focus gets us out of our own head. And we let something other than us enter our awareness. 

The paradox is that, by reaching out to the other, we better know ourselves. In fact we can only get to know ourselves by getting out of our own heads, not by being stuck inside of them. We can direct that compassionate, tender and understanding attention towards our own self. This is the heart of self-care. Not a critical voice in our head beating us up for not doing enough. Or one that stays quiet while we go through motions that may be harming us.

Taking care of ourselves does not mean satisfying our own needs at the expense of others. It means respecting our needs and recognizing that they are often connected to the other. And this may result in some kind of change. But caring is not trying to change or save what we care about so we can feel better. Instead, it is a respect for otherness. A paying attention to the voice and choice of the other.

And that can be one of the most difficult things right now. There is so much trying to capture our attention. And we face many challenges which seem far from our control. But one thing we can control is what we chose to attend to. Whether it’s a straggly spruce on our walk or a lonely friend. Or allowing ourselves to consciously feel a need we have ignored for too long.  

When we care, the object of our concern becomes more alive, more real. That which we don’t care about is lifeless, flat and one-dimensional. It does not matter, nor does it have to matter for us. 

To care is not so much about what we should or should not do. But rather what kind of world we want to inhabit. One that is flat and lifeless, where we only see things from our own narrow views. Or one that is full of life and wonder. Where what we care for is alive and can surprise us. And maybe there is something magical about that after all.

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John Lewis is a behavioral health professional and a member of the Sitka Citizens Climate Lobby.