August 8, 2021
Gospel reading: John 6:35, 41-51
Today’s sermon is offered by Kit Allgood-Mellema
“Touch, taste, share the connection.”
Bread of life...
10th Sunday after Pentecost/Year B
August 1, 2021
Ephesians 4:1-16; Psalm 51:1-13; John 6:24-35
Opening prayer:
(inspired by John 6) The Abingdon Worship Annual 2009,
O Bread of heaven, come down.
Come down and fill us with your Spirit—
for your Spirit satisfies like no other.
We hunger and thirst for you this morning
and long to be nurtured in your love and forgiveness.
So we come to this sacred time and place,
where our hungers are finally and fully satisfied as only your bread can do. We will wait and listen for your leading in this time together. Amen.
A few years back, I facilitated a Summer Sabbath Quiet day…a silent retreat…here at St Peter’s…The various readings and scriptures and music that were chosen, were all selections that were meant to help us to return once again to the source of all creation, to the source that feeds us, and nourishes, and strengthens us with the food that endures for eternal life…
There were selections chosen to help us return to a more balanced rhythm of work and rest…work and Sabbath rest…
There were selections chosen that invited us to recall the connection between our bodies and our spirits… and the need to take care of both….reminding us, specifically...that our bodies are God’s temple…
A place where the Holy Spirit of God lives and dwells in us, breathes in us and rests in us…a Holy dwelling where the spirit of God’s love has the power to inspire us and unite us to love one another as we have been loved, forgive one another as we have been forgiven, and help us to grow and build up his beloved community…a community centered around a table of God’s love…where the true bread of heaven, the bread of God which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…is made known to us through the One whom God has set his seal – Jesus…
Jesus…the One whose words invite us back to the center of our hearts, where He lives and dwells, with the Holy Spirit….
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
It may be easy for us to truly hear these words and believe in them, when we are gathered together on a Sunday morning…here as we gather together on zoom, or in our beautiful church building, among the people we care for, young and old, and in the midst of a community in which we feel loved, and feel as if we belong…we spend time with scriptures, praying, singing songs of praise and worship…and partake in Holy Communion…the Eucharistic Feast…the highlight of our time together…which brings Jesus’ words to life for us…. “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
But then Monday morning comes along…and we get swept up in the complexities and challenges of everyday living…we spend too much time watching the news, and get drawn into the web of negativity and words that ignite conversations built around division, anger, and hopelessness…we get caught up in worries over health, and family and community issues, especially in this time of the covid-19 pandemic; we fall into the trap of thinking that more money, more control to do the thing we want to do, will finally satisfy our longings, our desires…we continue to chase after things that we think we need to be happy…we search and search and search...meanwhile…all of these distractions, these worries, these negative and hurtful words and actions that we focus on day after day, night after night…leave us neglecting the health of our bodies, our minds, our hearts and our spirits…it leaves us with a lot of stuff to sort through…a lot of layers of needless stress, and worries that separate us from experiencing the love of God…and leaves us feeling tired, hungry, empty and thirsty…
This is where repentance comes in… which calls us to take an honest look at ourselves, and what’s in our hearts…how are we caring for the dwelling place of God’s Holy Spirit of love? Is this Holy Spirit of Love, and Christ’s presence in this Holy Temple of our bodies, buried in layers of fear and worry?
Is my heart troubled or filled with anger? Is my heart overwhelmed with uncertainty or unbelief? Is it causing me to hurt others with my words and actions, or perhaps myself? Am I using my words and actions to build up or tear down?
This is where repentance comes in...as part of a regular spiritual discipline of meditating on God’s holy Word, spending time in prayer, silence, or listening to sacred music….all ways which help us to return and focus once again, on the One…who is the bread of life…the one who satisfies our hungers, our longings, and our thirst…the One who brings life to this world, the One who brings new life into our hearts….Jesus…
Repentance can mean praying something as simple and beautiful as the verses from our psalm today which can help us to be mindful of the need to clean out the unhealthy thoughts and fears that have been slowly building up in our hearts… to make room for Jesus, and the Holy Spirit of God’s love….to renew in us…a right spirit within us...and to fill us once again with the saving help of God’s love and joy…and sustain us with his bountiful Spirit..
Our bodies are God’s temple…
A place where the Holy Spirit of God lives and dwells in us, breathes in us and rests in us…a Holy dwelling where the spirit of God’s love is revealed to us through Jesus, and is sustained in us by the Holy One’s bountiful Spirit…
Let us strive to care for our bodies, our minds, our hearts and our spirits…..not only on Sundays…but throughout the week…so that all of our words and our actions come from a deeply-centered place of immense love, unconditional love, that proclaims the life-giving way of love that is made known to us through Jesus…helping us to build up the Body of Christ, the beloved community, by speaking the truth in love…
Today, as we celebrate Holy Communion, the Eucharistic Feast…let us remember the life-giving, and nourishing words of Jesus: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Rev Julie Platson, Rector
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, AK
Hymn after the sermon: Bread of Life
Bread of life, hope of the world, Jesus Christ, our brother:
feed us now, give us life, lead us to one another.
As we proclaim your death, as we recall your life,
we remember your promise to return again. Refrain
Hold us in unity, in love for all to see;
that the world may believe in you, God of all who live. Refrain
You are the bread of peace, you are the wine of joy,
broken now for your people, poured in endless love. Refrain
An invitation: To taste and see that God is good
9th Sunday after Pentecost/Year B
July 25, 2021
Ephesians 3: 14-21; Psalm 14; John 6:1-21
Opening prayer: Creator, we give you thanks for all you are and all you bring to us for our visit within your creation. In Jesus, you place the Gospel in the centre of this Sacred Circle through which all of creation is related. You show us the way to live a generous and compassionate life. Give us your strength to live together with respect and commitment as we grow in your Spirit, for you are God, now and forever. Amen.
(gathering prayer from a disciple’s prayer book)
In the next several weeks, we will be hearing a lot about bread, the living bread, the bread of life, that we come to know as Jesus, as revealed to us, in the gospel of John, chapter 6. We will have the opportunity to re-focus ourselves and our lives on the true bread of life, that feeds us and nourishes us and strengthens us, when we once again are reminded to place Jesus, the gospel, in the center of all our gatherings here in the church, either in-person or on zoom, and in all that we do, as the church, as the body and living bread of Jesus, outside our buildings…in the community at large.
In today’s gospel reading, we have a wonderful story about the amazing things that are possible, and can happen, when the focus is on Jesus, on what God can do through him, and us. It extends an invitation to us to enter into this story, to taste and see that God is good…That’s what jumped out at me when I listened to the story the first time.
As I re-tell this story for the 2nd time, I invite you to put yourself into the story…and ponder what God, what Jesus, is saying to you…
Let me begin by saying,
We have some pretty spectacular summer weather in Sitka…especially when the sun is shining for days on end. On these days, I make sure I get in some extra time to walk…and also some time to just sit. I often sit outside on a bench across the street from the church, facing Crescent harbor and beyond…There is always so much to see from there….
As I was recalling one of these spectacular sunny days, my thoughts turned to today’s gospel reading…imagining myself being present with Jesus, his disciples and the crowds…
I began with imagining that I was sitting on the bench with Jesus, who had just crossed over from the other side of the ocean…hoping to get away from the crowds to rest a bit…But a large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs, the healing, he was doing for the sick.
Then Jesus decided it was time to move on again, in hopes of finding a place to rest and talk with his disciples. So, we headed up a mountain to sit down. But, just as Jesus looked up, the crowds were coming again.
This time, Jesus must have noticed that the approaching crowds were hungry and he asked Philip – “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”
Philip seemed to be a bit bewildered by his question, and started talking about dollars and cents and clearly doubtful of how they would ever feed the crowd that was now gathered with them on the mountain.
Andrew hesitantly brings up an idea that seemed a little far-fetched – and one could only imagine the look on Phillip’s face when he says this: “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?”
I suppose the rest of us had a puzzled look on our faces too…all those people – and five loaves of bread and two fish?
We all turned and looked at Jesus again, to hear what he now had to say…
Jesus simply said, “Make the people sit down.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in this place, so they sat down…about five thousand in all.
Five thousand people – double/triple the amount of extra people we see in Sitka on cruise ship days….A lot of people…only five barley loaves, and two fish…and Jesus simply begins by saying… “Make the people sit down.”
All eyes and ears were fixed on Jesus now…what is he going to do with those five barley loaves and two fish?
This is what we saw him do:
Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated and he did the same with the two fish – and gave the people as much as they wanted.
Everyone was satisfied, everyone’s hunger was satisfied. All who came, were filled…All who had been wandering, all who had been roaming, all who had been restless, lonely, longing for something, perhaps to belong…all who were yearning for days of fullness…all who came and shared in this circle of love and fellowship, and the sharing of a meal…were filled, they were satisfied…with Jesus…and in community with one another…there was more than enough for everyone..
When it appeared as though all were done eating, Jesus told the disciples to gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost…
So they went around, amongst the crowd and gathered up, from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, and they filled twelve baskets. Twelve baskets of the fragments left behind…
When the disciples placed the baskets in front of Jesus...and for all to see…there was a stunned silence…there was a sense of profound awe…How could this be? There was an overflowing sense of deep gratitude that filled the air around us…pure and complete joy… as we realized… surely, we were standing on Holy ground here, surely, we were witness to the presence and the power of God’s love, and grace and mercy…revealed to us…in the One who was with us…Jesus…
The one who simply asked us….to sit down…..to sit down for a moment and just be with him…listen to him, learn from him, be fed by him, be filled with the fullness of God’s love through him….and be nourished and fed for the work of going out into the world to share this love and this bread of life with all we meet…
When the people gathered saw the sign that Jesus had done, they began to say, “Indeed, this is the prophet who has come into the world.”
Indeed, in today’s gospel reading, we can see that amazing things are possible, and can happen in our own lives, and the lives of all God’s people, when the focus is on Jesus, on what God can do through Jesus, and us.
We gather today to celebrate the Eucharist…to give thanks...to remember the One who has indeed, come into the world to reconcile us to God, to one another, and all of creation…
Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we are given a glimpse, a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, the beloved community – where all are invited and welcomed at God’s table, all are fed, and satisfied…we gather together to taste and see that God is good…
Then we are sent out, strengthened and nourished by the bread of life, to go back out into our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our communities, our families, to proclaim the Good News of God’s abundant love and goodness, revealed to us, in the breaking of bread, in Christ Jesus…
There’s a lot of hungry people in the world right now…hungry for love, hungry for kindness, hungry for compassion, hungry for fellowship and belonging…hungry for the good news of God’s love for all people, at all times, and in all places…
I invite you to read this gospel a third time this afternoon….if you can…
And think about… “What is Jesus, the Gospel, calling you to do?
And then go… go and invite others to come and to taste and see that God is good.
Rev Julie Platson, Rector
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, Sitka, AK
Hymn after sermon - WLP - #761 All who hunger gather gladly
All who hunger gather gladly;
holy manna is our bread.
Come from wilderness and wand’ ring.
Here in truth we will be fed.
You that yearn for days of fullness,
all around us is our food.
Taste and see the grace eternal.
Taste and see that God is good.
All who hunger, never strangers,
seeker, be a welcome guest.
Come from restlessness and roaming.
Here, in joy we keep the feast.
We that once were lost and scattered
in communion’s love have stood.
Taste and see the grace eternal.
Taste and see that God is good.
All who hunger, sing together,
Jesus Christ is living bread.
Come from loneliness and longing.
Here, in peace, we have been fed.
Blest are those who from this table
live their days in gratitude.
Taste and see the grace eternal.
Taste and see that God is good.
Come away and rest awhile...
Today’s scriptures - July 18, 2021
Jesus said, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.”
Choose the way of love...
Pentecost/Year B
July 11, 2021
Ephesians 1:3-14; Psalm 24; Mark 6:14-29
Let me begin by telling you, that today’s gospel reading from Mark is a really hard one to listen to…and I always wonder why…it has to be included in the Sunday lectionary…and I really struggled all week, to discern what “good news” the Holy Spirit could possibly reveal to me to share with you today…
But the more I read the gospel, (which translates as “good news”), and read the other scriptures appointed for today, and listened to the music for this week, and prayed the collect for this Sunday, in the context of all that was going on around me this week…the “good news” message that I wanted to share with you today…finally trickled down my cheeks with tears of sorrow and with songs of mercy and grace washing over me…
Tears of sorrow at how cruel human beings can be to one another at times, because of fear, and insecurities and the inability to forgive… and songs of mercy and grace…at seeing how others, facing similar circumstances, can learn to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit, to help them choose the loving way, the way of love that Jesus has taught us…
In today’s gospel reading, we get a glimpse into a moment of decision…by several different persons… and how they chose to act in the story leading up to the beheading of John the Baptist…and the aftermath…
The decisions made by King Herod, Herodias, even the guests and bystanders at the birthday banquet…were all centered around themselves… and were based on the fear and insecurities they were experiencing, and they responded by using their power and control to ease their own anxieties in whatever way they desired…I don’t want to go through the whole story again to point out the ways that such cruelty and hate was evidenced in the story…you don’t need me to explain any of that…
But, what I do want to call your attention to … what prompted the sense of songs of mercy and grace washing over me … was the loving action of the disciples as told to us in the last verse of the gospel reading for today:
When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
While the others in the story feared Jesus, and one another perhaps, the fear escalated and spun out of control until the head of John the Baptist ended up on a platter...
The disciples, on the other hand…responded in their moment of fear…with love, and mercy and grace…
When his disciples heard about it, (the beheading of John), they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
The disciples responded in their moment of fear…with love, and mercy and grace.
They could have easily got caught up in the unfolding drama and violence that led up to the beheading of John the Baptist…they could have chosen to renounce Jesus; they could have easily stayed away, and let someone else take care of John, fearing for their own lives…now that they were being called to go out and invite others to turn their lives around, by turning their hearts and lives back to God, by focusing on Jesus, just as John the Baptist had done…
I like to think that the disciples caught on to last week’s teaching from Jesus that taught them not to fear, but to have faith in knowing that they weren’t being sent out alone…that they were being sent out in two’s…and with the power of the Holy Spirit to lead them and guide them…
We are faced with fears and insecurities and times of great conflict, every day. We are faced with hard decisions throughout our lifetime. But, we need not act upon our fears, with violence and hatred for one another. We need not act upon our fears by giving up hope, that people or our own circumstances will ever change.
We can call upon God, in times of prayer, we can learn to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit, to help us know and understand what things we ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them…to choose the loving way, the way of love that Jesus has taught us…and the way of love that the disciples showed us in today’s gospel…
A well-known Frederick Buechner quote tells us this:
“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid.”
I would add to that today by saying: But if you are afraid, because as human beings there are many, many times, that we are afraid……don’t let fear keep you from choosing the way of love…trust that your fears will be transformed by the love and the mercy and the grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives in you.
Remember: (that) You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK
Hymn after sermon: Loving Spirit (WLP) 742
Vs 1: Loving Spirit, loving Spirit, you have chosen me to be;
you have drawn me to your wonder, you have set your sign on me.
Travel companions along the way
6th Sunday after Pentecost/Year B
July 4, 2021
Psalm 48; Mark 6:1-13
It’s summertime…and this summer, a lot of people are beginning to travel again….
There’s excitement in the air for some…as they get to travel off the island of Sitka to visit families and friends in other places….and there’s excitement in the air, for those who get to travel here to Sitka! Lots of summer activities are filling up the calendar these days…ranging from summer camps to music festivals to fishing trips…to fourth of July weekend festivities…
There’s a lot to think about when we prepare to travel…especially in a time such as this, as we are moving into a new season of the COVID-19 pandemic that is still with us, and still effecting the lives of so many vulnerable people, near and far…
So, when we travel now, whether for fun, or for medical reasons, we have to research the covid-19 protocols at the airports we will fly in and out of and the protocols in place once we arrive at our destination…Are we vaccinated yet? if not…where can I get the vaccine before I travel, or where can I get the covid test before/after I travel??
As we prepare to travel these days…it’s a clear reminder that it’s not only about us who is traveling…but about those around us too…
And, yes, as always, we will have to decide what kind of clothing we will pack, where we will stay, how much money we will need, for meals, for transportation, for activities……
Yes…a lot to think about when traveling for vacations and family visits or medical visits…
In today’s gospel…we learn about a different purpose for travel… travel for the sake of proclaiming the love of God, as made known to us, in Jesus…travel with the hope of bringing a message of light and love and healing to those who will listen and hear…..and with the hope that they will be filled with the love and joy and peace of knowing that with God we always have a traveling companion with us, leading us and guiding us, to be a companion for others too, as we journey through the twists and turns, and the joys and sorrows of this earthly life, together…
So, for this type of travel…Jesus gives instructions to pack light…
Preacher Kate (an Episcopal priest and blogger at water daily spiritual reflections -http://preachergirlkate.blogspot.com/) has this to say about Jesus’ instructions to pack light…
I would have flunked Jesus' Packing 101. As he headed out on another teaching tour, he sent his disciples out too: He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.
I guess he didn’t mean sandals in seven colors, did he? They were to carry nothing, no luggage, no change of clothes, no money. As we will see when we look at his instructions about where they were to stay, he insisted they rely completely on the resources they could find in the villages to which they went. They had to live by faith and the Spirit's guidance.
Could we do this for even one day? Some do; others have tried it. I know of a bishop who lived homeless in New York City for a month, and there is Barbara Ehrenreich’s experience detailed in her book “Nickel and Dimed,” in which she attempted to live in America on minimum wage jobs, which would be even more challenging today. I don’t think many of us would get very far.
Why would Jesus insist on such stringent conditions for his disciples on their first trip out? To go with nothing, no money, no safety net?
Perhaps it’s because he didn’t send them out with nothing. For one thing, he sent them in twos; nobody went alone. And He sent them with the Spirit’s power and authority over unclean spirits. They had ammunition against the strongest danger they faced, spiritual temptation and interference from the minions of the Evil One. Physical challenges they could handle, if they could learn to trust.
Absolute faith would be required for those who were to carry forward the mission of God revealed in Christ. Absolute faith is still required.)
So, you see…Jesus’ instructions to pack light…are meant to help us turn and focus once again…on what is truly needed to travel through this earthly life…putting our faith and trust in the love of God, as made known to us, in Jesus…Putting all of our faith and trust in Jesus’ message that calls us to go…to be bringers of light and love and healing to those who will listen and hear…with the hope that they too will be filled with the love and the joy and the peace of knowing that with God we always have a traveling companion with us, leading us and guiding us, to be a companion for others too, as we journey through the twists and turns, and the joys and sorrows of this earthly life, together…
We will pray, later in our service this morning, for travelers…as we do every week at St Peter’s…
But, here I close with another short prayer, based on the hymn (Lead me, Guide me) to help us prepare for the kind of travel Jesus is sending us out to do….
Let us pray:
God of grace and traveling mercies: Lead us and guide us, along the way…Lord, let us walk each day with you…Give us your strength and power to help us in our weakest hour, putting all our trust in you…Lead us and guide us, and let us walk each day with you…Amen.
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, Alaska
let us pray that the work of our hands will be used for love and healing
5th Sunday after Pentecost/Year B
June 27, 2021
2 Corinthians 8:7-15; Psalm 130; Mark 5:21-43
In today’s gospel reading, we hear two stories about healing…the healing of a women who had been suffering from hemorrhages for 12 years….and a story about a young girl being raised to life again, who we are told is 12 years old.
I’m always curious when the scriptures mention numbers or how old someone is.
You may recall another familiar story in the scriptures that notes Jesus, as a 12 year old young boy. In Luke, chapter 2:41-52, we hear the story about Jesus, as a twelve-year old boy, going with his parents to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover, like they did every year. When the festival ended, Jesus stayed behind, without his parents knowing… and after three days, his parents finally found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. The scriptures go on to tell us in this story that: All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And as the years went on, according to this verse in Luke…Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.
This story was just one of two narratives about Jesus’ childhood in the gospel of Luke…the other one being about his dedication in the temple, as was the custom of the time… that “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”.
It really strikes me, that we have these two foundational stories about Jesus and his early years… Jesus… presented to God in the temple…and then the story of Jesus as a young 12-year old boy….asking questions and learning from the elders about who God is, and discovering for himself perhaps, who He is, and is destined to become... in the family of God…
I can’t help but think of baptism in our church…specifically thinking about our practice of baptizing children…young children are presented in baptism by the parents and Godparents…lifting them up as a beloved child of God, in the presence of the community gathered, who celebrate with them and welcome them into the household of God…the family of God…A family who strives to love one another, as Christ has loved us and taught us, in the stories we’ve heard about of his life, his death and his resurrection…
And then my thoughts turn to one of the closing prayers of the baptism service…right after baptizing them with the water…
The rubrics right before the prayer says this: when this action has been completed for all candidates, the Bishop or Priest, at a place in full sight of the congregation, prays over them, saying
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen.
Just like the two narratives about Jesus’ childhood beginnings…we too lift up our children, in the faith community, as a beloved child of God…and we pray, that as they are growing up…they may have a safe space, in the presence of the elders and adults in the church community….to explore all their questions about God, about Jesus, about themselves, about the big questions of life….and we pray for them to be filled with courage to persevere, when life is full of more questions than answers, and we pray and we hope that they will see and experience the gift of joy and the wonder of life, when lived out in a loving relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation.
When the church is at its best, we not only pray and love and care for the children in our own churches, but we pray and advocate for the love and protection of all children…beloved children of God, of all ages, all races, all cultures and all walks of life…
This past month, and most recently this past week, we’ve been reminded that there have been far too many times throughout history, that we have failed to love and protect the young children, the 12 year olds, the vulnerable children of all ages, entrusted to our care, to the care of the worldwide church community.
This week, we heard the news of yet another discovery of unmarked graves of hundreds of children, near a former residential school for indigenous children, in Canada.
While these news reports have been about findings in Canada…they are not unique to Canada only. Here in Alaska, and in other states in the U.S., generations of indigenous mothers and fathers and grandparents and aunties and uncles have been crying out to God, for their children who never came home from their boarding schools…for their missing and murdered indigenous daughters and sisters who have never been found…they have been crying out for help for their children, for themselves, for their families, year after year after year after year…their voices falling upon deaf ears…people turning their backs on them…and passing them by…
Yet, in today’s gospel reading, in the 2 healing stories...we have been given a word of hope...that this long-suffering will come to an end…and that death does not have the final say…
We see and hear in this gospel reading today, that this word of hope, is proclaimed through the love and healing hands of Jesus… Jesus hears the desperate cries of the people among him…those asking for their own healing, and those asking on behalf of others…and he responds with love and healing, in his words and actions…
For the children, for the children’s families, let us pray that the work of our hands will be used for love and healing…and for the lifting up of all God’s beloved children for the anointing of God’s blessing….all children, of all ages, all races, all cultures and all walks of life… so that all will experience the gift of joy and the wonder of life, when lived out in a loving relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation.
Rev. Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, Alaska
Hymn after sermon: Wonder Love and Praise - #773 Heal me, hands of Jesus
Heal me, hands of Jesus, and search out all my pain:
restore my hope, remove my fear and bring me peace again.
Cleanse me, blood of Jesus, take bitterness away;
let me forgive as one forgiven and bring me peace today.
Know me, mind of Jesus, and show me all my sin;
dispel the memories of guilt, and bring me peace within.
Fill me, joy of Jesus: anxiety shall cease
and heaven’s serenity be mine, for Jesus brings me peace!
Who is this Jesus?
Pentecost/Year B
June 20, 2021
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41
I’ve noticed that in my sermons the past few weeks, I’ve focused quite a bit on asking questions…and wondering aloud…about who God is, where God is in the midst of all that has been going on in our lives this past year of the pandemic…I’ve been wondering aloud with all the questions the disciples and Jesus have been bringing up in our gospel readings every week…and I think I’m finally beginning to catch on this week…that if we are serious about getting to know who God is, who Jesus is, and what the Holy Spirit has to do with all of this…and why it even matters in our lives…we need to spend time asking questions, and wondering aloud, together….we need to allow our hearts and our minds to be stretched and opened wide to receive the Good News of God’s love present among us, in Jesus, who came to proclaim boldly and persistently…that God is love…and that even as all the windstorms of life rise up all around us, and the waves of problems and unknowns continue to come and go…Jesus reminds us, that the peace of God, the stillness of God…is always there, in the midst of any storm that may come our way…Yet, not everyone knows this…who this Jesus is….
The other thing I’m noticing today…is that every time we ask questions or wonder aloud with others, about the scriptures we’ve just read, or in the times we are offering up prayers with others, asking for help with something we have no clear answer for….Jesus rarely gives us a simple yes or no answer to any question…but he just shows up, every time we call out to him, every time we get to that point when we fear there is no possible answer that makes sense, when we feel like there is no way forward…or no way that we will survive the next storm that comes along…we can trust that Jesus is there…to offer a word of peace…and a moment of calm and stillness…. Yet, not everyone knows this…who this Jesus is….
All shall be well…all shall be well…all manner of thing shall be well…These words from Julian of Norwich help me remember that…that Jesus is there in the boat with us…always ready to offer a word of peace…and a moment of calm and stillness… Yet, not everyone knows this…who this Jesus is….
Yes, we can trust that Jesus is always there…ready to listen and respond to our next question…
Our gospel reading today, ends with a question…
“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Minister/writer Bruce Prewer reflects on this last question in a poem he wrote:
Who is this Jesus? (Bruce Prewer; bruceprewer.com)
To leave the safe sheltered quay;
to rest while strong men fear;
to doze through a storm at sea:
who is this Jesus?
To display the might of the meek;
to sleep while threats are near;
to dream while fierce gales peak:
who is this Jesus?
To know what keeps you afloat;
to let another hand steer;
to be safe in a foundering boat:
who is this Jesus?
To be seen when there’s no light;
to trust when nothing’s clear;
to confront the powers of night:
who is this Jesus?
To speak the word that saves;
to know God is even here;
to command the wind and the waves:
who is this Jesus?
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Who is this Jesus? “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” That’s one of the questions we explore week after week, as we gather as a church community. Who is this Jesus?
We seek to make sense of the world we live in, which often makes it difficult to believe that there is a loving God who is even here among us, that we have a savior, whom we know as Jesus, who speaks a word of peace to our wearied and worried hearts, a word of peace that stills our troubled spirit, and whose presence among us, captures the extraordinary love and power of God to bring healing and hope to a hurting world.
Our call as Christians…is to look outside our own boats, our own personal lives, our weekly gatherings here in the church, to see that there are others out there, in different boats, who experience different life experiences who have no idea who this loving Jesus is…whose presence among us captures the extraordinary love and power of God to bring healing and hope to a hurting world…..And then to go...to go out into the community and the wider world among us…to reach out to others, to listen and learn from one another…to wrestle with the hard questions that come up in the difficult conversations with each other… And to reach out in all that we do, with love…God’s love, made known to us in Jesus…and in Jesus’ saving words: Peace! Be still!
There will always be questions about life’s difficulties and sufferings all around us… Yet, we need not fear that we will be left to face the storms of life, alone…
God is here among us, we can trust that Jesus is present with us, ready to offer a word of peace and a moment of calm and stillness….and a word of healing and hope…
Prayer: Mighty God, who speaks a word of peace to calm our troubled sea; Caring God, who nudges us away from fear and toward faith; Ever-present God, who fills us with awe but also raises many questions without easy answers; Open our eyes to see you in our boat, and in others’ boats—today, Strengthen our hearts for the challenges that lie ahead, Open our ears this hour to hear the word you speak. This we pray, In Jesus’ name. Amen.
— posted on the Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren website. http://rockhay.tripod.com/
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK
SUNDAY SERVICE UPDATES
JUNE 16, 2021 UPDATE
THE CHURCH BUILDING IS OPEN DAILY FOR YOU TO STOP IN FOR A TIME OF REST, QUIET AND PRAYER.
OUR WEEKLY SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES CONTINUE TO BE HELD ON ZOOM.
***UPCOMING CHANGES FOR SUNDAY SERVICES***
*JUNE 27: NEXT IN-PERSON SERVICE @ 8:30AM
10AM SERVICE ON ZOOM
DRIVE-BY COMMUNION (11:30AM-12:30PM)
*JULY: IN-PERSON SERVICE EVERY SUNDAY @ 8:30AM
10AM SERVICE ON ZOOM
DRIVE-BY COMMUNION (11:30AM-12:30PM -JULY 11 & JULY 25)
*AUGUST: IN-PERSON SERVICES WILL BE HELD
EVERY SUNDAY AT 8AM AND 10AM
(10AM SERVICE WILL ALSO BE ON ZOOM)
FACE MASKS RECOMMENDED,
ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE NOT FULLY VACCINATED
The See House remains closed, except for scheduled groups and meetings.
For information on all services and current offerings, or if you need to talk with someone from the church, please call us at (907) 747-3977,
and leave a message with your contact info.
OR email us at stpetersbytheseak@gmail.com
We will get back to you as soon as possible.
stpeters-sitka.org
Every moment is indeed alive with God....
3 Pentecost/Year B
June 13, 2021
2 Corinthians 5:6-10; 14-17; Psalm 20 ; Mark 4:26-34
Prayer: The Season after Pentecost
(ordinary time) – From Liturgy for the Whole Church
God of seasons and Sabbath, God of our days and our hearts: You bless us with greening time, that we might be renewed. Teach us to live slowly, and taste the goodness of your love. Show us how every moment is alive with you, far from ordinary, trembling with hope, shining with glory. Through Christ, who found you in corners of quiet, and in whose arms we find rest. Amen
Show us how every moment is alive with you, O God, far from ordinary, trembling with hope, shining with glory.
Jesus seeks to do just that with today’s parables.
In today’s gospel reading, we hear two different parables, The Parable of the Growing Seed, and the Parable of the Mustard Seed. Jesus often used parables, a simple story-telling style, when speaking to those who were eager to sit at his feet and learn from him. He used stories to try and help them see where God was at work in their own lives, in the lives of others, and in all of creation. He used parables to open their eyes, and their ears, and their hearts and their minds to help them come to believe that every moment is indeed alive with God, far from ordinary, trembling with hope, shining with God’s glory throughout the world.
The first parable today, the Parable of the Growing Seed as it is titled in some bible translations….is the one catching my attention this week.
Let me share those few passages again, according to the Good News Translation: Jesus went on to say, “The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field. He sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing. Yet he does not know how it happens. The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain. When the grain is ripe, the man starts cutting it with his sickle, because harvest time has come.
There are so many different thoughts and questions and wonderings that came up when I read this scripture this week., (this year!)
I wonder about the man who scattered the seed in his field….
Who is this man? What kind of seed did he scatter? How much seed did he scatter? Does he scatter the same seed year after year, expecting the same, or hoping for more growth and a more abundant harvest this year than last year? I wonder what his faith in God was like?
The scripture tells us that “He sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing. Yet he does not know how it happens.”
Does he ever wonder if God has something to do with the sprouting and the growing?
When the harvest time has come, does the man ever pause to say thank you to God for the abundant gifts brought forth from the earth…
Then my thoughts backed up to the Kingdom of God is like this….
And I had a lot of questions and wonderings…
When was the last time, I really wondered what the Kingdom of God was like? And I wonder what stories Jesus would be sharing with me, to help me understand what the kingdom of God was like? I wonder how I might tell someone else what I believe the Kingdom of God is like? When was the last time, I paid attention to the extraordinary that is unfolding right in front of me every day in my seemingly ordinary moments…
How often have I neglected to live out my beliefs that every moment is alive with God, far from ordinary, trembling with hope, shining with God’s glory…because I’m too busy, too worried, too concerned about so many things…to remember that God is present…at all times and in all places…
I could add a few more pages to this sermon, with a whole lot of wonderings and questions…because that’s what the parables of Jesus are meant to do…to help us seek and see God…through the eyes and the heart of Jesus, to help us come to believe, that indeed every moment is alive with God, far from ordinary, trembling with hope, shining with God’s glory throughout the world.
They also help us turn our focus back to God, and to give thanks and praise to God for the abundance of love poured out for us and for providing all that we need.
So, the more time I spent with this parable this week, the more gratitude swelled up in my heart…
Gratitude, as I marvel in thinking about God’s hand in the beauty of all creation, and especially now in Sitka, in the flowers, and in the abundance of the vegetable gardens growing everywhere!
Gratitude, as I reflected back on this past year of the pandemic, to see how in our relationships with God and one another, we were strengthened and encouraged to reach out and care for one another in so many new and unexpected ways, extraordinary ways, during these most difficult times….
Gratitude, as I think about our days ahead…knowing that as we rest, God is there, as we work together day by day, God is there…In all times and in all places, we can believe that God is there…helping us to grow in love for God, and one another...with the seeds of love that have been planted in our hearts and scattered far and wide…
I invite you to begin again, every new day, with a wondering about God….perhaps one from the parable today…The kingdom of God is like this…. And then go out into the world, to be amazed and grateful by the extraordinary signs of God’s presence surrounding us on every side, and showing us that indeed every moment is alive with God, far from ordinary, trembling with hope, shining with God’s glory.
Let us pray: God, our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer: we thank you who has planted your holy name, and your holy love within our hearts. Amen.
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK
Hymn after sermon: Father, we thank thee who has planted
1 Father, we thank thee who hast planted
thy holy Name within our hearts.
Knowledge and faith and life immortal
Jesus thy Son to us imparts.
2 Thou, Lord, didst make all for thy pleasure,
didst give us food for all our days,
giving in Christ the Bread eternal;
thine is the power, be thine the praise.
3 Watch o’er thy Church, O Lord, in mercy,
save it from evil, guard it still,
perfect it in thy love, unite it,
cleansed and conformed unto thy will.
4 As grain, once scattered on the hillsides,
was in this broken bread made one,
so from all lands thy Church be gathered
into thy kingdom by thy Son.