3 Easter Sermon - joy in the midst of wonderings and disbelief

3rd Sunday of Easter/Year B

April 18, 2021

1 John 3:1-7; Psalm 4; Luke 24:36b-48

It's been a long year, as we continue to measure our days, in covid-19 times… And most recently…it’s felt like a really long winter…But just when we were lamenting about how many more snowy, rainy, cold days we would have to endure…spring made her surprising entrance into the world, and the sun has finally burst forth once again, as she always does...throughout all of the seasons of the year…

Sure, we always know spring will come, we know the flowers will bloom, we know the warmer days will return…we know that there will be sunny days again…..but somewhere along the way…we forget for a time…and we fall into a rut that spirals into all areas of our lives, that only sees clouds, darkness, barriers, no way forward, no signs of hope for an ending to such difficult times…as we’ve been experiencing this past year…

Then, right smack dab, in the midst of our wonderings and disbelief, we get a glimpse of joy… there is something or someone who shows up to open our hearts and our minds again to the new life that is slowly unfolding all around us…Right smack dab in the midst of our wonderings and disbelief, hope awakens in us, in the most surprising and unexpected ways…

On this 3rd Sunday of Easter, that someone I am thinking about is Jesus.

In today’s gospel, a similar story to what we heard last Sunday, Jesus startled the disciples who were gathered together on the day of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. They weren’t expecting to see him. He had died. They had been to the tomb. The stone had been rolled away. He was not there.

They were starting to hear stories from others who said they had seen Jesus, and that he was risen from the dead, just like he said he would. The others were not sure what to make of all these stories. Yet, right there, in the midst of one of the stories being shared, Jesus appears to his disciples.

There he was, standing among them, in the flesh and blood, telling them to look at his hands and his feet, he shows them his hands and his feet, and assures them that it is He, and not a ghost.

While in their joy, they were disbelieving and still wondering, Jesus said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Jesus showed up in “real time”…in a very personal way…in the midst of fear and grief and uncertainty…in the midst of a time when he probably knew how much his friends were needing to see a sign of hope, to hear a reminder of all that he told them before about God’s love for them, and the whole creation…to be reminded of all the compassionate love and healing that they had been witness to when Jesus was with them…

It only took a few words, Jesus’ presence, Jesus’ love poured out for them…a moment of joy in believing that it really was him, that gave them a glimmer of hope, that indeed God was about to show them a new thing…a new way forward…as proclaimed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus….

Jesus appears to all of us in real time, too….in the midst of a long and worrisome pandemic, in the midst of a long year of grief and sorrow, death and violence, and in the midst of so many changes happening all at once….Jesus appears to us in “real time” through the hearts and hands and feet of all of us who show up in each other’s lives, right in the midst of our wonderings and disbelief, our doubts and our darkest moments…

Right smack dab, in the midst of our wonderings and disbelief, we get a glimpse of joy… when someone shows up, with a heart full of God’s love, to open our hearts and our minds again to the new life that is slowly unfolding all around us…

Right smack dab in the midst of our wonderings and disbelief, the love and actions of a beloved sibling in Christ, has the power to awaken hope in us, and one another, in the most surprising and unexpected ways…

You know what else can awaken joy and hope in the most surprising and unexpected ways?

Springtime and sunny days in Sitka…

Just last weekend, and the entire week before, we had snow and rain and sleet and hail…we were in those days of wondering and lamenting about how many more snowy, rainy, cold days we would have to endure before spring would finally come….

I’ve been watching the crocuses in the see house garden the past few weeks, as they started to push their shoots up out the dirt, and eventually start to flower…the new flowers were persistently keeping their heads above the snow that kept falling here…no matter how much snow was falling on them the past couple weeks, the flowers kept growing, they kept their blooms above the snow….that gives me joy and hope….

Now, when I take my daily walks, I see all kinds of flowers blooming, I see birds scattered around on the ground, looking for worms, I hear them singing in the trees, I see the skunk cabbage growing, I’ve seen a few slugs already, I hear the stories of the bears coming out of their deep winter sleep, I see the fisherfolk gearing up for a busy spring and summer, I see and hear the laughter of children and families spending a lot more time outdoors, I see the whales, and hear the eagles overhead…

I see signs of Jesus’ resurrection all around me, in creation, and in the people, all around me….that gives me joy and hope in the most assuring, and surprising and unexpected ways….

On this 3rd Sunday of Easter and throughout the week… I invite you to think about all the surprising and unexpected ways, joy and hope have been awakened in your hearts in the midst of this past year….Where and when have you been witness to it, in your own life, and in someone else’s life or in creation?

And today, on this 3rd Sunday of Easter, this sunny, springtime day in Sitka (or wherever you are today), let us take time to celebrate with great joy and abiding hope, that Christ has arisen, Alleluia!

Hymn after sermon: Christ Has Arisen – (LEVS) 41

Christ has arisen, Alleluia.

Rejoice and praise Him, Alleluia.

For our Redeemer burst from the tomb,

Even from death dispelling its gloom.

Let us sing praise to Him with endless joy.

Death’s fearful sting He has come to destroy,

Our sin forgiving, Alleluia.

Jesus is living, Alleluia.

Rev Julie Platson

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

2 Easter Sermon - step forward in faith and with hope

2 Easter/Year B

April 11, 2021

Psalm 133; 1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31 (GNT) 

Invite listeners to close their eyes…I invite you to “see” what the gospel is saying to you today, as you listen to it through your ears, in your heart, and in your body and in your spirit…

John 20:19-31: Good News Translation

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive people's sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus and Thomas

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (called the Twin), was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later the disciples were together again indoors, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop your doubting, and believe!”

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who believe without seeing me!”

The Purpose of This Book

In his disciples' presence Jesus performed many other miracles which are not written down in this book.  But these have been written in order that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you may have life. (end of the gospel reading)

________________________________________________________________________________________

Can you think of any times in your life when you didn't believe something at first? Something that others had told you about, but you didn’t see it for yourself? Can you remember what it felt like to finally "see" something or experience something with your own eyes?

When I say “see something”…I also mean, those times when you finally “saw something” when you heard it with your own ears; when you “saw something” that you knew was true in your heart; when you “saw something” as you felt it in your body; when you “saw something” and you felt the spirit nudge you…to take a step forward in faith, and with hope…

The disciples into today's story, weren't expecting to see Jesus, even though they were told many times that He would have to suffer and die, and that three days later, be resurrected, and that they would see him again. Jesus knew they were scared when they first saw him, so he greeted them..."Peace be with you". And he showed them his hands and his side, and they believed him. They were filled with joy when they realized it was Jesus.

There was one disciple, named Thomas, who wasn’t with them when Jesus first appeared to them. The disciples were so excited to tell Thomas that they had seen Jesus. But Thomas didn’t believe them, because he hadn't seen Jesus himself. But later on in the week, Jesus appeared to Thomas, and he was fearful at first too...but Jesus greeted him with these words, too: "Peace be with you"...and then Thomas had his eyes opened to believe that Jesus was really there among them. And he was filled with joy too!

This past year, I'll bet we have all had some moments and some days like the disciples and Thomas in today's story.....days when we came face to face with some scary things or some things we didn’t quite understand yet...circumstances that we never could have imagined…and surely some times of weariness and doubt that things would ever get better…or would ever change….

But then right there in the midst of our unbelief, Jesus showed up…through the words or actions of another person…speaking words of peace to our anxious hearts…. “Peace be with you”….Just enough to help us see for ourselves…that indeed God is with us…God has always been with us. God will be with us…for all our days to come…Just enough to help us take a step forward in faith, and with hope…to help us come to believe, that indeed, Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through our faith in him we may have life….we may have joy again!

Think back for a moment on how far we have come since the beginning of the pandemic…think about all of the new things we have come to learn and to understand and to believe in, and act upon… with hope and faith in this past year of the pandemic….

Right now, we are at a turning point of the pandemic…and some people among us are still feeling fearful and struggling in the midst of so much unrest and uncertainty…struggling to see how the actions of all of us, working together…will be for the benefit and well-being of all God’s people…and some are struggling to “see” how getting the vaccine is going to help all of us, finally see an end to this pandemic…

This is our moment now…to act once again, upon our faith and hope made known to us, in the Risen Christ…to reach out to others, our family and friends…to encourage one another to get the vaccine…this is one sign of living Hope, Easter Hope that is standing right here in front of us…speaking words of hope and peace and joy….and inviting us to take another step forward in faith and with hope….with the promise and fulfillment of joy, that we come to believe is possible, when we believe, indeed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through our faith in him we may have life….we may have joy again!

In closing this morning…I would like to share with you Bishop Mark’s reflection  that went out in the diocesan newsletter this Friday…

From The Bishop: (Mark Lattime,. Episcopal Diocese of Alaska)

Get Vaccinated:

It is an Easter thing to do.

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia.

Hope is one of Easter's themes. To paraphrase 1 Peter: through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead we are given a new birth into a living hope (1 Peter 1:3). A living hope strengthens us to endure while all things are being transformed.

This time of the year hints of transformation are all around. The sun is warm on my face despite a stubborn thermometer slow to creep out of single digits. A swelling choir of avian voices sings to the dawn. Icicles grow, water drips, spruce boughs sway free from their snowy restraints, things are moving. Even the snow in all it's depth hints at defeat as it yields under foot without the defiant crunch of midwinter. Hope. Spring. Easter.

I am hopeful that soon I will be able to visit communities in person. I miss that. Throughout the winter, I have made countless trips to the East side of the airport here in Fairbanks to shovel snow clear from the Episcopal Wings' parking place. I knew I wasn't going to be able to fly, but I did the work, I made the effort in hope, wanting to be ready as soon as it was possible to go. I was investing in the hope of the dawn of the post COVID-19 day. That day is coming.

We can all invest in the hope of the dawn of the post COVID-19 day by getting vaccinated. Getting the vaccine is an Easter thing to do. I received my second vaccine during Holy Week. It was part of my spiritual and physical preparation for Easter.

I was overjoyed when the eligibility restrictions to receive the vaccine were lowered here in Fairbanks. My age and my health status put me low on the initial priority list for the vaccine. It looked like I was going to have to wait until the end of May. We are very fortunate in Alaska to have sufficient quantities of the vaccine that now nearly everyone can get vaccinated.

I strongly urge everyone to get vaccinated.

Suzanne, Lynnette, Melissa, all of us at the Diocesan Office have been vaccinated. While we still follow our COVID-19 mitigation protocols for public space, we are ready, we are hopeful that it won't be long now. What has been true throughout this pandemic remains true now, we are in this together. Won't you please join me and invest in this Easter hope? Get vaccinated.

Hymn after the sermon: We walk by faith

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april 10, 2021 - created by Greta on yet another snowy spring day

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Easter Sunday sermon

The Sunday of the Resurrection: Easter Day

Baptisms: Andres and Amira

April 4, 2021

Isaiah 25:6-9; Mark 16:1-8

It’s Easter Day! The Sunday of the Resurrection! And what a joyful time it always is, whenever we can gather together, and see the faces of one another, to hear the voices of one another, and to set aside this time to be with one another, to be reminded of the radical message of hope that is proclaimed on this day…Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Yes, we gather again this year on zoom…and this year, it feels a little more “normal” than last year…

Last year, we were only a couple of weeks into the pandemic, and the closing of our church buildings for worship…and just beginning to explore this new way of joining together for worship and book studies and conversations with one another…on zoom…

And what a year it has been, since last Easter…

This past year has been full of a mix of emotions…sorrows, joys, fears, weariness, doubt, excitement, despair, longing, amazement…and daring to hope against hope, time and time again…

This past year has been a mix of death and resurrection moments…death and radical Easter hope moments…

What does this even mean? Here’s a few things that come to mind for me…

This past year, when it often felt like we were closing ourselves off from the rest of the world, it actually ended up being a year full of awakenings and new understandings…opening our eyes and our ears to see those all around us, and listening to the variety of voices calling out to be heard and acknowledged and reminded of their belovedness…

This past year, when we found ourselves having to be physically distanced from others, has actually provided new opportunities to move closer towards one another…through an abundance of new opportunities to connect with others, learn from others, and to be gathered across the worldwide web, in ways that often led to some hard and difficult conversations, and yet for many of us, have created some new relationships with those we barely knew, before pandemic times began…

This past year has highlighted a lot of divisions and inequities among God’s people…yet there have been so many opportunities in our communities for us to re-new and live out all of our baptismal promises, especially the one which call us to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves; and the one that call us to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being…

These are just a few ways we have witnessed resurrection, and Easter hope moments in the midst of so many losses this past year…

We could be here all day with examples and stories about resurrection and Easter hope in the midst of these difficult days, as we witnessed in the lives of teachers, parents, front-line workers, first-responders, health-care workers, essential service workers, mask-makers, the nursing home staff, the artists and musicians…the list could go on and on and on…

People could have just given up, and let despair and death have the final say…but it has been people like I just named…who have showed up…and showed us what resurrection and Easter hope looks like…

In our gospel story today, we also are given an example of what Easter hope looks like…

What I really love about today’s story, is the part about the young man sitting in the tomb, perhaps igniting a spark of hope in the women’s hearts, when he shares the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection…I always wonder how this story would be different if that young man had not been in the empty tomb when the women arrived…I wonder what would have happened next, if that young man had not reminded them of the love of God, revealed to us, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ…

In a few moments, we are going to baptize two little ones, Andres and Amira, who were born in March and May last year, in 2020…we were just a few weeks into the pandemic…and unable to baptize them last year, as we had hoped…

But here we are today, getting ready to baptize them, and welcome them into the household of God…

And we, as the adults, have an important role to play in the lives of these children, and their families…Not only these children, being baptized at St Peter’s today…but the children in our communities, and the children in other areas of the country and in our world, who are looking to us, the adults, for examples of what it means to love one another, what it means to share this planet with one another, and how we can help each other and encourage one another, and remain hopeful and grateful, in the difficult days, and sorrowful days, that are always a part of life…

It is us, the adults…who need to show up to love and to teach and to share the Easter hope stories with one another, with them, not only with our words, but in our lives…stories and a way of life that proclaims the love of God, as revealed to us, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ…stories of God’s love for them, for our neighbors, and for all of creation…stories about people who have lived out the radical message of hope, in their everyday lives, the message of hope that we proclaim today on Easter day – Alleluia! Christ is risen….The Lord is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Palm Sunday reflection...

Palm Sunday and Holy Week Reflection (Year B)

March 28, 2021

Liturgy of the Palms: Mark 11:1-11

Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11;

Mark 14:1-15:47

Music: Ah, Holy Jesus – Vocalist: Ali Hosford

Every year, when the church gathers together for worship on the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week…it always invokes a myriad of emotions as we listen to the story of Jesus’ triumphal and celebratory entry into Jerusalem which changes quickly to a more somber service, as we listen to the reading of the Passion Gospel…the scriptures that heartbreakingly remind us of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross on Good Friday. Yet, we know, and have come to believe on this side of history, that death did not have the final say…because, as we will be reminded in the scriptures next Sunday –just three days later, the tone changes quickly, once again, with the joyous news of Jesus’ resurrection that we proclaim on Easter day….Alleluia! Christ is Risen…the Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!

The account of Holy Week is hard stuff…nobody wants to dwell on suffering and death…we want to jump ahead to Easter…and the joy-filled days…

Yet…Jesus’ Passion story has something important to teach us every year if we will allow ourselves to enter fully into the Holy Week scriptures and stories that are speaking to us…in this time and in this place….

This year, for me…I’m thinking about voices…the loud ones and the quiet ones…

More specifically…I’m thinking about the voices that nailed Jesus to the cross…The loud ones…the voices which hold so much power over others, and dominate others…I’m thinking about the voices that sow division and hatred…I’m thinking about the voices that fail to respect the dignity and worth of every human being…

I’m thinking about the voices that nailed Jesus to the cross…the quiet ones…

The ones Jesus spoke up for, when they were being silenced…

The ones Jesus advocated for with love and compassion and mercy…

The ones Jesus affirmed their belovedness in God…

I’m thinking about the ways Jesus sought to reconcile all these voices (the loud, the quiet, the in between ones) to God and one another as he went about his life’s work and mission of loving, teaching and healing, and as he made his final journey to the cross when he was lifted up to reveal the power of God’s love to transform death into life, as promised and fulfilled in the Resurrection of Jesus…

I’m thinking about the ways that Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection opened up the possibility of a new way forward for God’s people to work together, to join their voices together, in a delicate balance of listening and speaking truth, to bring forth healing out of hatred and divisions, to bring forth a vision of God’s reign of love destined to be established here on earth, as in heaven… A love that promotes justice and peace, and respects the dignity of every human being….

And today, I’m also thinking about all the voices we listened to through the stories of the saints we studied in our Lent Madness book group these past several weeks…some followed Jesus in quiet ways…some followed Jesus with loud voices in the streets….But they all had one thing in mind, and on their hearts…and that was to follow in the way of love that Jesus had revealed to them…in their time and in their place…

So, I end today, with an invitation for you to allow yourself to be fully present this week to Jesus’ Passion story as it unfolds throughout Holy Week and on Good Friday…Think about whose voices are standing out for you… Whose voices are you noticing for the first time this year? Whose voices do you wish you could hear more from?  And then pray…spend time in silence to listen for the voice of God. And then…GO…use your voice, in this time and in this place…to follow Jesus in the Way of Love…a way of life that reveals a vision of God’s reign of love here on earth, as in heaven… A love that promotes justice and peace, and respects the dignity of every human being….

Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.   Ephesians 5:2

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Hymn before prayers of the people: HYMN 488 - Be thou my vision

What the world needs now is love, sweet love - 5 Lent

5 Lent/Year B

March 21, 2021

Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 119:9-16; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33

Today is the 5th and final Sunday in Lent…next Sunday, when we gather, it will be to celebrate the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday…the beginning of Holy Week...a week when the scriptures invite us to walk with Jesus in his final days of his journey to the cross…where he is lifted up from the earth, in the glory of God’s love, for all to see and to believe…that truly…this is God’s beloved Son…

In our gospel reading today…we get a sneak peak into the story that will unfold during holy week…another part of the greatest love story ever told… the story of God’s love for all of us, for all of creation…

It is always my intention and my hope, and maybe some of you as well, is that as I embark on this yearly journey through the season of Lent, a season of fasting, repentance, prayer, meditating on God’s Holy Word…that I would emerge from this time, as captured so perfectly in the words of today’s collect, with my unruly will and affections as a sinner brought into order, and that by God’s grace, I would love what God commands and desire the same things God desires for all of us, and that somehow, among all the swift and varied changes of the world, my heart, our hearts, would surely be fixed where true joys are to be found…In Jesus…in serving Jesus, by following Jesus in the way of love, that God has written on his heart…

In our reading from Jeremiah today…we were reminded that this love of God, as revealed to us in Jesus…is indeed written on our hearts, also…

But here we are again, near to the conclusion of the season of Lent…and I confess, that I have fallen short, every day…in turning my eyes and heart to be focused on Jesus…where true joys are to be found…

I confess that in this past year of the pandemic, and in the current days of the pandemic that we still find ourselves striving to navigate…that I am sometimes very wearied by the swift and varied changes taking place in our world, and have felt helpless, at times, as to how to make a dent in the magnitude of all the social issues plaguing our society…the hatred and the violence this past week inflicted upon our Asian American siblings in Atlanta, the divisions between God’s people that prevent us from working towards an end to these pandemic times…the children who have fled from homes overtaken by violence…the families whose lives have been uprooted and in disarray this past year…

In my weariness, I have sometimes neglected to put my hope in God, my trust in God…sometimes forgetting that by God’s grace and mercy, the love of God, the dream of God, and all that I need is already within me, written on my heart…And in accordance with our scriptures, we believe that Jesus is the One who was sent to remind us of that, to invite us back to the center of our hearts, time and time again, to tap into that love of God, to realign our “unruly wills” with God’s will…and to follow Jesus…to go out into the world, seeking and serving Jesus, in the people we meet, where true joys are to be found…

As often is the case, while I was looking for something to share with our children at St Peter’s this week, I came across a little spiritual exercise that stimulated my brain and heart to think more about the love of God written on our hearts, and our invitation to seek, serve and follow Jesus, in proclaiming this love to the world, with the people we meet…

Take a look at this blank coloring page…It’s a heart shape….and nestled in it, are lots of big hearts and little hearts….That’s what we initially see…we see the big picture…we see the outlines…we see what’s on the surface…

Now, let’s look again…After several times going back to this heart coloring page, I discovered something else that I didn’t notice on my first couple of glances…I discovered the word LOVE nestled in the centermost part of the heart…

It made me wonder…it seemed so counter-intuitive…to think about focusing on something, when our brains are so scattered and worried about all that is going on in our world…How can we focus when we are wearied by all the swift and varied changes in the world?

Yet, the more I went back to this picture, and focused on it, from different angles, that’s when I discovered the hidden message that had been there along…Love was there…all along…even when I didn’t see it…or didn’t know that it was there…

That’s the power of Love, God’s love, as it is revealed in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection…It is this Love that helps us focus …It is what helps us to see God’s love in all the hard places and in all the joyful moments…

As upside down as Jesus’ teachings and invitations to follow him in the way of love appear to be at times, such as this one: Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life… He invites us to return again and again to the center of our hearts with Him, to tap into the love of God that is written on our hearts, to realign our “unruly wills” with God’s will…and to follow Him…to go out into the world, especially in a time such as this when life is so very difficult for so many people; and to seek and serve Jesus, in all the people we meet: friends, family, neighbors, those we diagree with.. It is in centering our hearts in Jesus, where true joys are to be found and where God’s love and light becomes a beacon of hope and healing for all people, and in all places…

So, where do we begin…when the needs all around us appear to be so great?

We begin with Love…God’s love…what the world needs now is love…sweet love…

Music after the sermon: What the World Needs Now is Love..                              (Lyrics by Hal David, Music bt Burt Bacharach)

Refrain

What the world needs now is love, sweet love

It's the only thing that there's just too little of

What the world needs now is love, sweet love

No not just for some, but for everyone…

Kathi Jones/Pianist

Rev Julie Platson,

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

The greatest love story ever told...

4 Lent/Year B

March 14, 2021

Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21 

Today is the 4th Sunday in Lent….  We are mid-way through the season of Lent… and it seems like a good opportunity to pause…to rest…and to remember…our place, and our belonging, in the greatest love story ever told…the story of God’s love for all people, and for all of creation….

Today, I would like to invite us to pause and rest for a few moments, in the knowledge and in the assurance of this love for us…and to remember…to remember just how far we have come, together, since March 2020, through our faith, through our persistent hope, and by the gift of God’s grace and mercy…

Moment of Silence

Just a couple of days ago, on March 12th, we marked the one-year anniversary date of the first COVID-19 case recorded in Alaska…

On March 15, 2020, on the 3rd Sunday in Lent, we held our last in-person service in the church, until just a couple of weeks ago…

On Monday morning, March 16, 2020…I signed up for a zoom account to begin our planning for online services.

On March 22, 2020, the 4th Sunday in Lent, our worship and all of our programs held at St Peter’s…moved to an online format called zoom…a format that many of us had never even heard of before…

I was reminded this past week just how fast the initial planning took place, for that 1st service to be held on zoom, on the 4th Sunday in Lent…when I received notification in my email inbox, to renew my zoom account…

This was only a beginning…ALL of us have learned so many new things along the way this past year…to help each other stay connected…and to remain hopeful…in the midst of so many losses, uncertainties, and never-ending changes that unfolded, in this past year of the pandemic…

I am sure that there are many other anniversary dates that all of you can remember this past year…they seem to help us, and steady us a bit, as we look back to see where we’ve been, and how far we have come…

But, it’s not just the dates, we find ourselves remembering in times like this…Those dates and the many other milestones marked this past year are associated with the remembrances, most importantly, of people, those who have died, the loved ones we have been separated from, and those who have given so much of themselves for the well-being of others…God’s beloved children of all cultures and races, all walks of life, mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, frontline workers, grocery store workers, restaurant staff, teachers…all beloved children, known and unknown to us….all surely a part of the greatest love story ever told…the story of God’s love for all of us, and for all of creation….

I looked back to my sermon on March 15, 2020 to see what I had written in the 1st few days after Alaska reported the first case of covid-19 in our state…

This was my new prayer mantra, that I shared on that day…and the one I would keep before me every day since then…

God is in the midst of all of this…God has always been with us. God will be with us for the long journey ahead….

God will be with us for the long journey ahead….

This is the promise, anew, every morning…

This next year will still be filled with continued uncertainties and learning many new, hopeful, and life-giving things…and through God’s continued grace and mercy, and through our faith, and our persistent hope, 2021 can be a year of healing for all of us….

One of the best things we can do to encourage and support healing, in these coming days and months….is to listen and share our stories with one another…take time to rest and remember… share the stories of what has helped you in this past year, share the stories about the people who have inspired you and have helped you in this past year…listen to the stories of those who are grieving…listen with the ear of your heart….and share the greatest love story ever told…the story of God’s love for all of us, for all of creation…

A Story of Love

~ written by Roddy Hamilton, and posted on Listening to the Stones. http://newkilpatrickblog.typepad.com/nk-blogging/mucky-paws/ 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son….” John 3:16

gather round

I have a story to tell

of one who reached inside himself

and took a handful of love

like a pile of stardust

and said: this is for you

it is all you need

it is all you will ever need

there is enough here

to change the whole world

take it

many laughed at him

mocked him

and ignored the invitation

but some dared to take it

and those who did

noticed something about this love

they found they could do what the gift-giver could do

they could stand with the lost

welcome the traveler

eat with the hungry

they found themselves doing what the man first did to them

give something of themselves to others

they became like the man

offering themselves

and as they offered themselves

others took the invitation

and many still do

and many still trust

it is enough to change the whole world.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Hymn after sermon: Come, thou fount of every blessing

John Lewis: guitar/vocals

https://youtu.be/5UQQAfHz8ys

"Re-seeing" our relationship with God and one another

3 Lent/Year B

March 7, 2021

Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22

This past week, I received a zoom invitation to attend the Wednesday evening Lenten study, being led by Pastor Sandra at Sitka Lutheran Church….

The title of the weekly series caught my attention….

“RE-SEEING the RESURRECTION”…an exploration of portrayals of the resurrection in the visual arts.

It was wonderful to view some of the pieces of art this past week, which highlighted women present at the tomb and at the resurrection….she included stories about the artists…and allowed time to just be present with the art…and to give us time to adjust our focus a bit, our thinking, our wondering, our questions…assisting us, in this time of prayer…to re-see, re-imagine, and re-envision a part of the resurrection story that we hear every year on Easter, and throughout the Easter season…

In this season of Lent…I wonder if we can approach today’s gospel reading, in the same way….perhaps re-naming it for the context of today’s gospel reading… “Re-seeing the Cleansing of the Temple by Jesus”…

This is another pretty familiar scripture reading to folks who have attended church on a regular basis, throughout the years…we often hear this or other versions of this story, every year, during Holy week…in the days leading up to Jesus’ death on the cross on Good Friday…It’s also a pretty startling scripture reading…as we get a different view of what we would normally expect of Jesus…

The image I shared with you during the gospel reading, a painting by Bernardino Mei, of Christ Cleansing the Temple, was first brought to my attention during our book group study this past Jan/Feb….

Painting by Bernardino Mei…website link Christ Cleanses the Temple

It was so startling to me….it made me feel so uncomfortable…it was so jarring…that I really didn’t want to keep looking at it…

And as I thought about whether to share it today…my first thoughts were… “what if someone is hearing this particular scripture for the first time today, what if someone is looking at this image, for the first time today, which appears to portray Jesus as being an angry, violent person…one who appears to be frightening others…”

And then, I reminded myself…just as I did when I was engaged in Pastor Sandra’s re-seeing the resurrection offering this past week…that I was only viewing a small part, of a much bigger story, a part of a much broader and expansive story about the Love of God for all people, for all of creation…for all times, and in all places…

And I was reminded that we, by our baptisms…are entrusted to share the whole story of God’s love from the beginning, all the way to the Good News that is proclaimed and revealed to us, in Jesus’ life, Jesus’ death, Jesus’ resurrection and ascension…

As we pause today, to listen to this one part of a much larger story, it is good for us to know, that from the beginning…God created us…God created it all: the land, the water, the plants, the animals, every living thing… The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork…. He called it all… good. And on the 7th day…he rested and called us to do the same…a day set aside to rest in God…

God has loved us…all of us…all of creation…and from the beginning, God’s people struggled with believing this and living out their daily lives, as a beloved child of God…and they often fell short in seeing the belovedness of others….and they did all that they could do to make themselves feel important and feel worthy, in God’s eyes…often at the expense of other peoples’ lives…Lording themselves over other people, oppressing and excluding others, and neglecting to care for the created world….

The people wanted to be faithful to God, they wanted to do all the right things, offer up all the appropriate sacrifices according to the religious laws of the time…but they often fell short…and struggled to understand how to be faithful to God in their daily lives: to love justice, to do mercy, and to walk humbly with their God.  

In an effort to help people understand their “duty” to God and their neighbors, to help them be in a right relationship with God and one another, God’s people were given a set of “rules” that we know as the 10 commandments…In the Catechism section from our Book of Common Prayer (pg 847), it is noted that the purpose of the 10 commandments were given to define our relationship with God and our neighbors…they spoke of our relationship with God, and our relationship with our neighbors…Jesus later summed up the understanding of the commandments, simply…Love God and Love your neighbor…

Sin, fear, power and greed distorted the people’s understanding of what our relationship with a Loving God, and what our relationship with loving our neighbors was all about.

We see the results of that when we come to today’s gospel reading. The temple, the sanctuary, the church…was being used for purposes, which distorted the vision of a right relationship with God and our neighbors. The activities happening in the temple, were not “love of God” inspired, for God, or their neighbors. The actions were the result of human weakness, fear, sin and greed, that, over time, had taken over their lives.

Jesus often confronted others to help them “re-see” a right relationship with God, and their neighbors…Sometimes he did this through parables, through teaching in the temple, through miracles, through healings, through calling others to follow him…and today… we saw him in action in the cleansing of the temple.

Jesus is the one who lived among us, to help restore us to a right relationship with God and one another….and that begins with re-seeing our relationships with God and one another.

The season of Lent is a perfect time to engage in a prayer practice or spiritual discipline that assists us in re-seeing our relationship with God and one another. And one key practice to help us do that, is the invitation for us to cleanse our hearts…to cleanse our own temples…our minds and our bodies…acknowledge our faults, our sin of distorting the use of God’s holy name, by acting in ways that are far from the vision of God’s beloved community… It’s an opportunity for us to take time in daily prayer, to acknowledge our neglect and exclusion and oppression of others, for our own comfort, for our own needs…It’s a time for us to pause and acknowledge that we have been allowing fear to govern our lives, and to acknowledge that we have been too busy trying to control everything through our own might and power…This practicing of emptying ourselves, of cleansing our hearts…can leave us feeling refreshed and open to receive the grace of God’s forgiveness and healing balm…

Another practice, you might engage in…would be to pray with the scriptures using a practice called Visio Lectio…look at some religious art, such as today’s…and sit with it…gaze at it for some time…ask the hard questions…and then look for a current photo in the news today…sit with it…gaze at it for some time…sit with the photos that are jarring to your spirit…and ask the hard questions…

Are there places and circumstances where you envision Jesus would be entering today, that would make him angry, cause God’s heart to break…Would Jesus stumble upon places where he would need to chase people out, over-turn the tables? Would he find places and circumstances where God’s people have distorted the vision of God’s dream of a beloved community? Then pray…pray for guidance on how you might be used as an instrument of God’s restoration and healing in the world…

Another simple practice to help you “re-see” the world around you?

Stand on your head and look around???? Things look a little different, don’t you think????

There’s one last thing I would suggest as an option to practice this week…

Look back over this past year, since the pandemic hit close to home in March 2020….There have been so many experiences along the way…that have helped us to “re-see” our relationship to God and our neighbors, and all of creation….Sit with the remembrances, in the presence of God: rest in them, pray with them,…all of them…

And then, pray some more…Pray for the Holy Spirit to rise up in you…to lead you and guide your steps in following Jesus, in a way of love, that restores us into a right relationship with God and one another... a way of love that builds up God’s dream of a beloved community…here on earth…a way of love, that reveals that everyone is part of a much greater story…a story of God’s love for his people…and all of creation…

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

Hymn after sermon: Voices Found - #57 No longer settled

No longer settled or sure of our ways we leave ourselves open, in moments of grace, to fresh ways of seeing—scales fall from our eyes and in our new visions, the Spirit shall rise.

Rise on our wings, awake to new birth, breathe in our bodies, and free all the earth.

Claiming our passion, embracing our rage strengthens our love to refashion this age, unleashes the power to challenge our lies and in righteous anger, the Spirit shall rise.   Refrain

Voices long silenced and mem’ries denied call out for healing, for justice and pride. Our hearts hear the anguish of each sacred cry and in our compassion, the Spirit shall rise.      Refrain

A Pastoral Letter/Covid Update from Bishop Mark Lattime - Alaska - March 2 2021

March 2, 2021

Please take a look at Bishop Mark’s latest Pastoral Letter to the Church, which includes an updated Diocese of Alaska Public Worship and Congregation COVID-19 Mitigation Plans…..

Feb 28 2021 - Sermon - Following Jesus/Hoping against hope...

2 Lent/Year B

Feb 28, 2021

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22:22-30; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38

Hoping against Hope: If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Our gospel reading today begins with some startling words spoken by Jesus: Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly.

And from what we saw by Peter’s response, I think it is fair to assume that he was caught totally off-guard – as we saw in the way he reacts so quickly to Jesus’ shocking words…He even goes as far as taking Jesus aside to rebuke him…to criticize him for what he’s saying…to tell Jesus to stop talking like that….

And Jesus responds just as quickly as Peter reacted…He turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

And just as quickly as this whole exchange just unfolded…Jesus urges them to listen again to what he was saying….He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

I don’t know about you….but I’m still trying to catch up with all this back and forth between Jesus and Peter and the disciples and the crowds….and wondering what? What are you saying Jesus?

Peter and the disciples have got to be thinking out loud here, too….All this time we’ve been following you Jesus…and you’ve been doing some pretty amazing things…healing people, teaching us about trusting God, to have faith in God, teaching us to love God and our neighbors, and all of creation, and you’ve been performing some pretty amazing miracles…what’s all this talk about Satan, and telling me I’m focusing on human things and not divine things…what do you mean , if we want to become your followers that we have to deny ourselves, and have to take up our cross to follow you… what do you mean when you say to us…

For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Here’s where I am going with all of these questions this week…

We have just started the season of Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday, with an invitation to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word…..some of us take these words to heart, and give up some things, some take on some new things…some do a combination of both….as we set out with our intentions to walk with Jesus, to follow him more closely….all the way to the cross on Good Friday of Holy week, and all the way to the glorious resurrection on Easter Day…

We don’t enter this season of Lent with already having the answers to all these questions…or any questions the scriptures bring up in our human minds, and in our human hearts…In fact, the scriptures should always lead us to more questions, more wonderings…and always asking…How can this be? The Word of God, does have a way of helping us to wrestle with our default of setting our minds on human things, and not on divine things….they help us wrestle with our faith…who and what we put our hope and our faith in? Do we have the faith of Abraham, hoping against hope…Do we really understand what it really looks like to be a follower of Jesus?

This season of Lent is meant to be a season of asking hard questions…it’s meant to make us uncomfortable….maybe to feel a little more disoriented at first….but as we let our minds and hearts be transformed by the love of God, in this holy season of Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word…we will emerge from this time of wrestling in the wilderness of Lent…knowing that all along, we have never been left to navigate this ever-changing world, these days of such uncertainty, without the one who is always there to lead us and guide us, and walk with us always…

Jesus is always ready to lead us….if we would yet trust, that he knows the way…and to turn once again to set our eyes, our hearts, and our whole selves towards following him….

And one of the best things I saw this past week to remind me of what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus….is the image of a walking route a little boy and his dad took on the streets of Sitka recently…

When we decide to follow Jesus…it’s not a clear cut line from point A to point B to point C, etc…. it’s not a clear path from start to finish…from beginning to ending…but it will usually end up looking much more like these images…with twists and turns everywhere…..starts and stops here and there…***see attachments

But hoping against hope…even when our human minds say none of this makes sense… with faith, we say yes, anyway….and say yes, Jesus…we will follow you ….wherever you lead us…

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Hymn after sermon: LEVSII – 144 – Where He Leads Me

1        I can hear my Savior calling, (x3)

          “Take thy cross and follow, follow me.”

          Where He leads me I will follow, (x3)

          I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

2        I’ll go with Him through the garden, (x3)

          I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

          Refrain

3        I’ll go with Him through the judgement, (x3)

          I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

          Refrain

4        He will give me grace and glory, (x3)

          And go with me, with me all the way.

          Refrain

Words of Comfort, And Prayers of the People

Words of Comfort, And Prayers of the People (Feb 24, 2021)

(National Council of Churches)

As we grieve the milestone of over 500,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States, NCC invites you to join us for “Words of Comfort, Prayers for the People.” We hope these prayers from our member communions will sustain and encourage everyone during this time of mourning and continued struggle due to the pandemic.

https://youtu.be/LqDxc15uOQU