The Easter Resurrection Story

Easter Day Sermon – April 17, 2022

Isaiah 65:17-25; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; John 20:1-18

Call to Worship for Easter Sunday ~ written by Joanna Harader

The stone has been rolled away. The grave clothes are lying in a heap.

The body is gone.

Mary’s weeping is halted by the man’s questions:

Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?

Let us proclaim with Mary:

We have seen the risen Lord!

Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

Yes…today, we celebrate the Easter Resurrection story with much joy – the good news that Christ is risen indeed…Alleluia!

Yet there is so much more to the story…that brings us to this moment…this transformative moment that turned the world and its people upside down, yet lifted them up into the loving embrace of a God, who is always doing a new thing, always eager to show us…that in all our endings, there will always be new beginnings, a new creation, yet to become fully alive in us, and with all whom we share this earthly life with…and with all the company of saints in the life yet to come…

So, I would like to back us up a bit, beginning on Palm Sunday…with a review of what has happened in the life of Jesus, and his followers, and the other witnesses who walked among him, on his final journey to the cross on Good Friday…to the silence of Holy Saturday…and to the discovery of the empty tomb on Easter morning…

1st egg/dark blue: Palm Sunday – Jesus makes his triumphant entry into Jerusalem for the Passover celebrations, riding on a donkey…The shouts of Hosanna – Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the lord...quickly and abruptly die down…some powerful people did not like Jesus, and what he was doing…and wanted to find a way to stop him…to get rid of him…

2nd egg/lt pink: Judas – Judas was one of Jesus early followers, but he ended up betraying Jesus when he accepted 30 silver coins from those who wanted to get rid of Jesus – the ones who didn’t want to believe what Jesus was telling them…that they had to repent of their wrong-doings, and return to God…to return to the creator of all that is love…

3rd egg/lt purple: Cup – on Maundy Thursday, Jesus is gathered with his disciples, talking about his death that is imminent… Jesus breaks bread, and shares the cup of wine with his disciples to help them remember all that he said and did…It’s something that we continue to celebrate, with “Thanksgiving” in what we call Holy Communion/Holy Eucharist…And on that night, After supper, he washes their feet, and gives them a new commandment: I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

4th egg/orange: Praying hands…on the night before Jesus died…he asked his disciples to go along with him to the garden of Gethsemane to pray…and to stay awake with him… it was in that place, later on where he was betrayed by Judas who arrived with a multitude of soldiers, high priests, Pharisees and servants who came to arrest him, and take him away…

5th egg:/lt yellow: crown of thorns & nails – On Good Friday – Jesus is nailed to a cross, they put a crown of thorns on his head to mock him, and make fun of him, calling him a king – Jesus dies on the cross this day…and the world fell into a hushed silence…

6th egg:/pink – cloth & stone – After Jesus’ death – Joseph of Arimathea goes to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus to give him a proper burial. The body was wrapped in a linen cloth, and placed in a tomb…with a large stone blocking the entrance…On Holy Saturday…we recall the story about the guards and the roman soldiers who kept watch at the tomb, for fear that some of Jesus’ disciples would come and steal Jesus’ body, to prove Jesus’ words were true, and to proclaim he had risen from the dead…because Jesus had said to them before, “After three days, I will rise again”

7th egg/lt blue – empty – Yes…that is right – the tomb is empty! That’s the good news we hear in today’s gospel reading… Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb.

 He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.  Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

Yes. The tomb was empty.  The stone has been rolled away.

The grave clothes are lying in a heap. The body is gone.

Yet, the story continues with the Good News of Jesus being risen from the dead….

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?

For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

With Mary, I, too proclaim today: That I have seen the Lord. I have seen signs of Jesus’ resurrection, all around me, in the lives of people everywhere…creating and encouraging new life for others by the outpouring of love and forgiveness and compassion for those who believed that death, illness, addictions, suffering, estrangement from one another, was the end of their story.

I believe that Jesus’ resurrection story teaches us and reminds us that death, and what we often believe are endings, will never have the last word…

This is the Hope to which we can hold onto….In the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and by our baptisms, we are united to one another by the love of God who is always doing a new thing, always eager to show us…that in all our endings, there will always be new beginnings, a new creation, yet to become fully alive in us, and with all whom we share this earthly life with…and with all the company of saints in the life yet to come…

Today, in the seeing and the hearing of this Easter Resurrection story once again…what might we, as witnesses to this good news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, take with us into the world once we leave this place today…In what ways can each of us, uniquely proclaim this good news to others, through our words and actions, so that they might come to believe, too? So that they, too might come to know the love of God, proclaimed for us, given for us, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We can put all of our trust and hope in this good news:

 Christ has died. Christ IS Risen. Christ will come again!

Let me close now, with a couple verses of an Easter hymn…reminding us of the Good News story proclaimed on Easter day…That, indeed -  Christ is Alive!

Rev Julie Platson

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

Hymn after sermon: H 182 (VS 1 & 5)

1        Christ is alive! Let Christians sing.

          His cross stands empty to the sky.

          Let streets and homes with praises ring.

          His love in death shall never die.

5        Christ is alive! His Spirit burns

          through this and every future age,

          till all creation lives and learns

          his joy, his justice, love, and praise.

On Palm Sunday..the movement begins... April 10, 2022

Palm Sunday/Year C/April 10, 2022

Opening prayer: God of the story, You are in and out of the stories we read calling us into them and calling us out of them. Give us courage to listen to our own curiosities as we read old stories. Dare us to ask the questions hidden in the heart of the text. Lead us to mine—with heart and mind and desire and desperation—the many meanings in the one story. Because this is where we find you and where you find us. Amen. (Padraig O Tuama, Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community)

We’ve just listened to some old stories today. The opening scriptures and prayers from the Liturgy of the Palms mark the beginning of Holy Week, Palm Sunday - when we recall the story about the day Jesus entered the holy city of Jerusalem in triumph, and was proclaimed as King of kings by those who spread their garments and branches of palm along his way. It was a festive and celebratory movement, that quickly changes, as we move on to listen to the Passion story as recorded in the gospel of Luke today.

The Passion story, the events leading up to and on Good Friday, are usually included in today’s service, because many people don’t always attend the services between today, Palm Sunday, and next Sunday – Easter Day.  It’s an important story to be told…We can’t just skip from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday…there is so much that is set in motion, beginning on Palm Sunday…and so much that happens in those days leading up to Jesus’s death on the cross on Good Friday.

There would be no Easter Resurrection story to proclaim, without Jesus’ difficult, and heart-wrenching journey to the cross….And… the fullness of God’s love, and the HOPE proclaimed in the resurrection of Jesus, on Easter Day, can only come alive in us, and transform us, when we choose to join the movement, that begins today on Palm Sunday, and following Jesus all the way through Holy Week…all the way, on this journey of sacrificial love…

You see…some witnesses chose to turn back, turn around, some felt threatened by Jesus’ power and healing miracles, some felt let down as Jesus is ultimately arrested, taken away, mocked, scorned, and crucified on the cross like others in his day…Yet, other witnesses chose to follow him all the way to the cross…and were there on the day of his crucifixion…In our Lenten book study using the book “Witness at the Cross”, by Amy-Jill Levine…we explored some new teachings for many of us, about who those witnesses were at the cross that day…We talked about Simon of Cyrene, the bystanders and the scoffers, the other victims, the ones being crucified on both sides of Jesus, the soldiers, Jesus’ beloved disciple, who we will hear more about in the Good Friday passion reading according to John. We heard a lot about the women who followed Jesus, and who were at the foot of the cross that day…and this coming week, we will learn more about Joseph of Arimathia and Nicodemus as followers of Jesus and witnesses at the cross…

Fast forward to today, the year 2022, as hearers of this Passion story, who have been through so much, apart and together, these past few years…

Where have we seen ourselves and our neighbors in this old, old, story of God’s love poured out for all of us, in these past few years of the pandemic, and social unrest? What kind of witness will we choose to be now? Will we turn back and turn away from the hard, and difficult things that are enfolding among us today and before us in the weeks and months ahead?

Or will we join in and get caught up in the movement of God’s love for us and all creation, being set in motion, once again, today, as we enter into Holy Week…

Will we choose to begin again today, as witness to Christ’s sacrificial love, by following Jesus, all the way to the cross?  

…Will we choose to follow Jesus all the way to the cross, by walking with him in the way of love…a way of love that proclaims healing, hope, peace, love, joy, justice and freedom for all God’s people…for every one of God’s beloved creations?

As we begin Holy Week…Let us continue to ask the hard questions, hidden in the heart of the scriptures today. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, and help us see the many meanings in the stories we bear witness to today in the scriptures and in our lives…and pray for the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and equip us to follow Jesus…all the way to the cross, to the empty tomb…… so that we may be transformed by the fullness of God’s love, and the HOPE proclaimed in the resurrection of Jesus, on Easter Day…

On Palm Sunday…the movement begins…the spirit is stirring things up…we begin our journey through Holy Week…with palm branches and proclaiming Jesus as King of kings…

I close with these few verses of an old African-american spiritual….

Hymn after the sermon: Ride on, King Jesus – (LEVS) 97

Refrain:

Ride on, King Jesus,

No man can a-hinder me,

Ride on, King Jesus, ride on,

No man can a-hinder me.

1 King Jesus rides on a milk-white horse,

No man can a-hinder me;

The river of Jordan he did cross,

No man can a-hinder me. [Refrain]

2 I know that my redeemer lives,

No man can a-hinder me;

And of his blessing freely gives,

No man can a-hinder me. [Refrain]

3 If you want to find your way to God,

No man can a-hinder me;

The gospel highway must be trod,

No man can a-hinder me. [Refrain]

 Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Reflection for the 5th Sunday in Lent

The Full Devotional booklet can be found HERE

Reflection for the 4th Sunday in Lent

4 Lent/Year C/March 27, 2022

Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

The gospel story we just listened to, includes a very well-known story, most commonly referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son…It’s an easily relatable story for any of us to find ourselves in…no matter who we are…

But the interesting thing, about listening to the living word of God each week…is the ability for us to hear something new every time we open ourselves up to hear what the spirit is saying to God’s people…

So, today…you might be identifying with someone else, or something else in the familiar story…Not only because the spirit is always at work in us, but because we have all been changed and transformed by God and by so many life experiences since we last listened to this gospel story in the Lenten season/Year C, in 2019…A lot has happened in all of our lives, since then…a lot of losses, yet a lot of things to celebrate and rejoice in!

And through it all…the most important details of this familiar story have not changed…The love of God, the forgiveness of God, the mercy of God, and the compassion of God, as shown to us through Jesus…is meant for all people, for all circumstances, and for all times… That is the Good News we can celebrate and rejoice in, as we consider, once again, what this parable has to say to us today!

So, in keeping with my practice of sharing other voices and commentaries with you on the gospel readings each week, in Lent...I turn now to today’s reflection…about saying I’m sorry, and turning towards home again...

(Rev Julie Platson, St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church)

A reflection for the 4th Sunday in Lent…

(written by “Preacher Kate”- an Episcopal pastor serving as Rector of Christ Church, La Plata and Christ Church, Wayside, in Southern Maryland,  posted on her blogspot, called Water Daily, where she posts a daily reflection about the upcoming gospel reading for each Sunday)

http://preachergirlkate.blogspot.com/2022/03/3-24-22-home-comes-to-us.html)

Today’s reflection is called…. “Home Comes to Us”

You can listen to this reflection here (read by Preacher Kate)

As a teenager, I was enthralled with the movie Love Story, with its famous tagline, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” That kind of statement can pretty much only be made after someone’s just said, “I’m sorry…” A more accurate statement would be, “Love means always having to say you’re sorry.” We need always be aware of the ways in which we hurt or fail to notice our loved ones’ feelings. Learning to say you’re sorry quickly and naturally is one of the building blocks of a healthy relationship.

Yet working up to “I’m sorry” is often a struggle. Once we’ve wrestled through our self-justifications and acknowledged the need, we often find ourselves rehearsing, trying to find the right words. That’s exactly what the young man in Jesus’ story does: writes his speech ahead of time. “I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’” So he set off and went to his father.

When we head off to ask forgiveness of another person, we can never be sure of the reception we’ll get. This young man, who’d in effect disowned his father, probably caused him to liquidate assets at a loss, may have assumed his father had disowned him. When we offer repentance, we have to simply offer it, and be willing to lay it down and walk away. We can’t compel forgiveness or even a hearing.

Ah, but Jesus tells us that it’s different with God. If this story is a picture of what the realm of God is like, we should take notice of what happens next: forgiveness doesn’t wait for this young man to express his sorrow. Forgiveness is out in the road, waiting for him: But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.

The son tries to make his speech, but his father is way ahead of him: But the father said to his servants, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!”

Was the father peering down that road every day, hoping against hope to see his son return? Did he even care if the boy was sorry, or did he only want to be reunited with his beloved? Does God really love us that much?

Jesus said “yes.” Jesus showed us “yes,” just how much God loves us. Jesus left Home and came into our road to wait for us. We don’t even have to get home – Home comes to us, with royal robes and sandals for our tired feet. This is one “I’m sorry” for which we don’t have to doubt the reception. We only need to turn ourselves toward home.

_________________________________________________________________

Let us pray….

HYMN after sermon: (LEVS)101  - Softly and tenderly (Vs 1,2, 4)

1        Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,

          Calling for you and for me;

          See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,

          Watching for you and for me.

          Come home, come home,

          Ye who are weary, come home!

          Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

          Calling, O sinner, come home!

2        Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,

          Pleading for you and for me?

          Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,

          Mercies for you and for me?

          Refrain

4        Oh! For the wonderful love He has promised,

          Promised for you and for me;

          Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,

          Pardon for you and for me.

          Refrain

The sweetness of belonging to God and one another

3 Lent/Year C

March 20, 2022

Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 63:1-8; Luke 13:1-9

Today we begin the 3rd week in Lent…a little over half-way through this season of Lent… a season in the church year that calls us to be intentional and mindful of what's going on in our lives, and in the lives of others... A season of reflection, looking at changes we might need to be making in our own lives; A season that calls us into letting go of unhealthy practices that separate us from the love of God, and those things that get in the way of us loving others; A season that invites us to take on new spiritual practices, to grow in our love for God, and for all of our neighbors...near and far...and as we explored the past couple of weeks….it’s a season that invites us to go deeper…into the roots of a new thing…

Following up on that thread of thought, I’ve been using this Lenten season, as an opportunity to intentionally share other voices, perspectives and stories with all of you to assist us in going a little deeper, to help re-orient our lives once again to find our way back home again, to God…a God of love, a God of forgiveness, mercy, grace and peace…A God who invites us to envision a world, where healing and hope are not only possible…but to envision a healing and hope that is already within us, being readied to rise up out of the ashes of death, out of the darkness of a cold, harsh winter season, strengthening us and equipping us, to bring forth signs of the promises and fruits of a new creation, a new season, a new day, a new opportunity, a new invitation to reach out in love to one another and all of creation, in all the ways, times, seasons, and places we can…

On this 3rd Sunday in Lent, we also we also mark today, as the Spring Solstice…marking the end of the winter season, and the beginning of spring…It provides another opportunity to mark this day, as a new beginning, a re-orienting ourselves to return to God…to put our trust, once again, in this God who is love: The One who hears and responds to our cries, who wipes the tears from our eyes, who is forgiving, compassionate, and merciful…The One who calls us beloved…

So, I turn now, to the story I want to share with you today…

In our gospel reading today, we heard the story about the fig tree. And, as any good story should do, it’s left us asking questions and wonderings about the meaning of the story for us today…where do we see ourselves in the re-telling of this ancient story? In the story I’m about to share, “The Legend of How the Maple Tree Found its Medicine” we will hear about some other kinds of trees, and birds…and as any good story should do, I hope it helps us to consider some more questions and wonderings…and helps us go a little deeper with a desire to understand the meaning of this story, and the connection to today’s gospel reading about the fig tree… and to ask ourselves once again.. where do we see ourselves in the re-telling of this ancient story?

The story arrived in my email this past week, sent out by Kaitlin Curtice, an indigenous author who was writing about some ways to mark the Spring Solstice this weekend…

In that email, she lifted up another indigenous author named Asha Frost, an Indigenous Medicine Woman and a member of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation. (On the author’s website, it is further noted that, “Asha lives on Anishinaabe, Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee Territory, with her husband and two beautiful children, with whom she co-creates a better world for the seven generations to come.”)

Kaitlin shared the following excerpt from Asha’s new book (You are the Medicine) that just came out this week…In one of the chapters in the book, Asha reflects on her growing up, thinking back to the time of celebration for her ancestors around the spring solstice every year, what they called the Sugar Moon, Maple Season….

START OF STORY_______________________________________

This is the Legend of How the Maple Tree Found Its Medicine.

In the beginning, the Trees started as tiny seeds. In their seed state, they began to dream of what they could be one day. Pine shared that they wanted to offer a beautiful fragrance to the forest so that all who walked there would remember them. Birch spoke about traveling on the Water and dreamed of being transformed into material for a canoe. Oak was a hopeful being, believing that anything was possible, and they wanted to share that with all who found their acorns. When it came time for Maple to share, they found that they didn’t have a vision of their future.

The other Trees taunted Maple. “Without a dream for who you are becoming, you are worthless and insignificant.” Maple felt their heart sink; they felt lost and directionless. They wondered what was wrong with them. Why were they devoid of dream and vision? Were they even good enough to be a Tree? They felt like a fraud.

Of course, the cycles of nature continued, as they do, and Maple was watered by the rain and fed by the Sun. As they grew into a sapling and then a young tree, the birds watched Maple with curiosity. They could see the beauty that Maple carried and the potential they held. Every day they would come and try to uplift Maple. They surrounded the tree with love, friendship, and support. The birds tried to come up with some ideas for the vision of Maple’s becoming:

“Maybe you could bear fruit for the Animals,” said Cardinal. “Or perhaps you could provide shade for all our Kin,” offered Blue Jay. Maple wasn’t convinced. They had taken the criticism of their fellow trees deeply into their heart, and they simply couldn’t see beyond that. They thanked their bird friends for trying so hard to uplift them, but alas, their inner critic took over, and they felt stuck as an imposter.

The birds would continue to visit Maple daily, offering encouragement and support. One day, it was stormy, and a great wind swept into the Forest. It was so strong it carried the birds in its vortex, swirling them all around, lifting them, and then dropping them to the ground. Maple gasped as all of their beautiful bird friends fell to the Earth unconscious. Immediately, they scooped all the birds up with their loving branches and comforting leaves. Wrapping deep compassion around the birds, Maple began to weep. Maple cried tears of pain that had been stuck in their heart since they were a seedling. They shook with grief about all of the times the birds tried to tell them how beautiful they were, and they didn’t listen. Maple cried and cried and cried, their tears washing over the bodies of the birds.

Just when they thought they couldn’t cry any longer, something magical started to happen, the birds, soaked with the tears of the Maple Tree, started to come back to life.

They opened their eyes and began to sing the most beautiful songs. “You healed us with your tears, dear Maple!” They cried. “The Water that flows through your veins is magical! It’s sweet and nourishing nectar that can heal bodies and hearts. You are a Healer!”

Maple couldn’t believe it! The vision and dream of who they were meant to be finally manifested. Through the release of their pain and grief, they could finally see their gifts and worth. The fellow Trees, witnessing what had happened, gathered around Maple in awe. “We are deeply sorry that we harmed you with our words, dear sibling, we see you, we honor you.” From that day forward, the sap that flowed through Maple’s body would be Medicine for all that tasted it, and the Maple Tree stood in complete confidence, seeing that it was sweetness, not harshness, that would heal.

END OF STORY…

Lent is a time, that invites us to repent, to return to God, to ask for forgiveness, to let go of the pain and the grief, the feelings of helplessness, the harshness, the hatred, the frustrations attributed to uncertainty, the selfishness, the anger, and all the fears that keep us from believing and tasting the sweetness of belonging to God, and one another…. It’s a time to let go of the fears and doubts that keep us from taking the next step to co-creating a world with God, where healing and hope are not only possible…but to believe in the healing and hope that is already within us, is being readied, in this moment right now, to rise up out of the ashes of death, out of the darkness of a cold, harsh winter season, strengthening us and equipping us, to bring forth signs of the promises and fruits of a new creation, a new season, a new day, a new opportunity, a new invitation to reach out in love to one another and all of creation, in all the ways, times, seasons, and places we can…

And now to mark a new beginning, let us repent and return to God in prayer with this hymn:

HYMN after sermon: (H)152  - Kind Maker of the world, O hear

1        Kind Maker of the world, O hear

          the fervent prayer, with many a tear

          poured forth by all the penitent

          who keep this holy fast of Lent!

2        Each heart is manifest to thee;

          thou knowest our infirmity;

          now we repent, and seek thy face;

          grant unto us thy pardoning grace.

3        Spare us, O Lord, who now confess

          our sins and all our wickedness,

          and, for the glory of thy Name,

          our weakened souls to health reclaim.

4        Give us the discipline that springs

          from abstinence in outward things

          with inward fasting, so that we

          in heart and soul may dwell with thee.

5        Grant, O thou blessèd Trinity;

           grant, O unchanging Unity;

           that this our fast of forty days

            may work our profit and thy praise!

2nd Sunday in Lent - What is God Like?

Lent/Year C

March 13, 2022

Genesis 15:1-12,17-18; Psalm 27; Luke 13:31-35

Last Sunday, I shared a reflection with you written by Tricia Gates Brown – a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon…She invited us to consider doing something different this Lent…She encouraged us to think of Lent as a time to go deep into the roots of a thing.  To ask ourselves, what do I want to experience more deeply? What might I use this Lenten time to know on a deeper level, so I can be nourished and changed by it? Not only changed…but transformed…

This past week, and as we begin a new week in the season of Lent…my mind is focused on a few new & different “things” that I want to take a deeper look at…and to offer up for your consideration also…

Last week, we started our new Books and Conversations gathering…discussing a book called: Witness at the Cross (by Amy-Jill Levine)….Each chapter of this book invites us to look through the eyes of the various witnesses that were at the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion…The author, a well-known and sought-after scholar/college professor of New testament and Jewish studies, unpacks a lot of historical insights into the passion story that we listen to every year on Good Friday. …You are welcome to join us (on zoom) on Mondays at noon, even if you don’t have the book…We view a short video summary of the chapter each week, featuring the author, that helps us kick off our discussion time….

This past week, I attended (on zoom) the 1st of a 5-part series called “The Lenten Virtual Borderlands Experience”… This is being offered by the Office of Latino/Hispanic Ministries in partnership with EMM [Episcopal Migration Ministries]. It is designed to expose (us) to the border crossing experiences of immigrants, including their experiences with detention centers, and the work of churches and other organizations to support them. The presenters are individuals involved in immigration ministry and advocacy, as well as the immigrants themselves who personally experienced the impact of our national immigration policies…The 1st session was very powerful…and even if you can’t attend the live presentation each week, they send out the recordings and other associated materials after each session…

These 2 offerings, certainly provide an excellent framework for one to go much deeper to the root of a thing: to experience more deeply the Good Friday Passion story, as viewed through the lenses of witnesses at the cross at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion; and the Virtual borderlands experience, certainly helps us to listen more deeply to the stories and experiences of immigrants, and what kind of resources are available, and what is still needed to provide even the most basic forms of humanitarian support to our neighbors.

On a somewhat lighter note, as we begin the 2nd week of Lent…the opening words of a reflection on today’s gospel reading, written by Debi Thomas, prompted me to consider another opportunity to “go deeper to the root of a thing” this Lent….and consider “What is God like?”

In her opening words she writes: If I asked you to draw a picture of Jesus, what would you draw?  A blue-eyed shepherd holding a staff?  A lion? (As in, Aslan of Narnia, or the Lion of the Tribe of Judah?)  A loaf of bread and a cup of wine?  A door, a gate, a light, a bridegroom?  What about a chicken?  Would it occur to you to draw a chicken? 

 The writer goes on to say: To answer my own question: if I had to draw a picture of Jesus, no, I would definitely not draw a chicken.  So I come to the lectionary reading from Luke’s gospel this week, and stumble at Jesus’s self-description: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!  How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing.”

Can you picture it?  Jesus, the mother hen? (END of Debra’s words)

Today’s gospel gives us just one glimpse into the essence of what God is like as revealed to us, through this particular image of Jesus as “mother hen” as Debra notes…one who loves us beyond our imagining, one who is vulnerable, one who is persistent in walking the way of love, one who is merciful, one who grieves with us and for us, one who longs for us to come home, to come home unto the arms of a wide-embracing wonderous love…the love of God, for all people, for all times, and in all places…

So, let me close today with a children’s story, an invitation to go deeper this Lent in exploring and wondering more about what God is like…

What is God Like (written by Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner; illustrated by Ying Hui Tan)    

 What is God like (read by Rev Julie)

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

Hymn after sermon: (H) 455

1 O Love of God, how strong and true,

eternal and yet ever new;

uncomprehended and unbought,

beyond all knowledge and all thought.

2 O wide-embracing, wondrous Love,

we read thee in the sky above;

we read thee in the earth below,

in seas that swell and streams that flow.

3 We read thee best in him who came

to bear for us the cross of shame,

sent by the Father from on high,

our life to live, our death to die.

4 We read thy power to bless and save

e’en in the darkness of the grave;

still more in resurrection light

we read the fullness of thy might.

1st sunday in Lent - Reflection for today...

1 Lent Year C/March 6, 2022

Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Luke 4:1-13

Last week I sent out an email to all of you about the start of a new season in the church year…that begins on Ash Wednesday every year…In our Ash Wednesday Service, we are invited to observe a holy lent by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word. We are marked with ashes on our forehead and with these words: Remember that You are dust, and to dust you shall return…

In the email, I also wrote: As with all seasons of the church year, and in all seasons of our earthly life....there are always changes happening, some large...some subtle....but there is no denying that changes, and signs of new creation, are all around us....all the time...

Lent is a season in the church year that calls us to be intentional and mindful of what's going on in our lives, and in the lives of others...It's a season of reflection, looking at changes we might need to be making in our own lives; it's a season that calls us into letting go of unhealthy practices that separate us from the love of God, and those things that get in the way of us loving others; It's a season that invites us to take on new spiritual practices, to grow in our love for God, and for all of our neighbors...near and far...

On the 1st Sunday in Lent, I want to offer another way for you to consider how you might observe a holy lent this year….by exploring ways to allow yourself to go a little deeper…to allow the season and practices of Lent to change you and transform you…

This reflection that I am sharing with you this morning is written by Tricia Gates Brown, a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon…

Start of her reflection:

Going into the roots: Letting an alternative practice of Lent change you

(By Tricia Gates Brown – Deacon, The Episcopal Diocese of Oregon)

A few years ago, I created a practice that brought Lent to life for me—a new way to commemorate or practice the season. You see, for me, Lenten imagery is strikingly about the darkness and dormancy preceding Easter, like the darkness and dormancy of winter that precedes Spring. A plant goes dormant in wintertime, but it does not die. In fact, the nourishment of winter is essential to its growth. Winter is when roots are strengthened, made ready for the coming vitality. The imagery and symbolism of Lent also points to the tomb, to the time between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, when something mysterious happens. We don’t know quite what that mystery was, but the lacuna of the tomb prepared the way—the way for Easter, for the Jesus Movement.

So too, in Lent, we go deep into the roots, into a time of mystery and tomb, into nourishment and dormancy. For me, thinking of Lent as a time to focus on ‘sinfulness’ and giving things up as a kind of penance, didn’t resonate like thinking of Lent as a time to delve deep into the roots of a thing. Anticipating Lent, I started to ask: How do I want to go deeper this year? What calls me into a practice of deeper reflection?

The first year, I landed on quantum physics. I wanted to understand it a bit more. I wanted to delve deeper than I previously had into understanding the fundamental workings of the universe. So instead of ‘giving something up’ for Lent, I added something. Every few days I’d listen to an interview, audiobook, or lecture by a quantum physicist. It was a plunge, and it was fascinating. However cursorily, I nourished the roots of my understanding about this area of science; and some of what I learned permanently changed my view of myself, this world, and how the Divine works within it.

Last year for my Lenten practice I landed on music. I wanted to dive more deeply into relating to music, appreciating music in a way that impacted me profoundly. For Lent, I created new playlists and spent time music-listening in a new way—letting music wash over me and work its way in me. From that time on, my relationship to music has changed. I’m more likely to take time to hear music, to let it impact me in a way that’s therapeutic or emotional or spiritual—instead of simply playing music in the background of my life.

This year for Lent I’ll dive more deeply into being with nature. Not being in nature because I’m doing something else, such as taking a walk or praying or soaking in my hot tub. But for Lent, taking a little time—at least a few times a week—to sit in nature and simply be. To let nature work in me deeply, in a new way, to listen to what it might say.

The liturgical world has a long tradition of ‘giving something up’ for Lent in a penitential sort of way—and this can be helpful. If it resonates for you, I recommend it. But this year I encourage you to consider an alternate way of thinking about Lent, especially if this way impacts you more: thinking of Lent as a time to go deep into the roots of a thing. Ask, What do I want to experience more deeply? What might I use this Lenten time to know on a deeper level, so I can be nourished and changed by it?

And then, let it change you. (and transform you)

End of her reflection:

On St Peter’s website, we have a lot of resources for you to choose from to “go deep into the “roots of a thing”, to experience something more deeply this Lenten season…and we have some hard copies of a few resources also (and many of them can be printed off for your use)….topics range from Letting Go, to giving thanks with the United Thank Offering Gratitude journal, to learning more about the Episcopal Migration ministries, or Episcopal Relief & Development, to learning about Vincent Van Gogh and the Beauty of Lent…these are just to name a few….

I hope and pray that you will find something to help you go deeper into the roots of your heart and your lives in this 40 day season of Lent…I pray that you will nourished and transformed in this season in a way that will help you to grow in your love for God, and for all of our neighbors...near and far...

Hymn after the sermon: (H) 150 – Forty days and forty nights

Forty days and forty nights

thou wast fasting in the wild;

forty days and forty nights

tempted, and yet undefiled.

Should not we thy sorrow share

and from worldly joys abstain,

fasting with unceasing prayer,

strong with thee to suffer pain?

Then if Satan on us press,

Jesus, Savior, hear our call!

Victor in the wilderness,

grant we may not faint nor fall!

So shall we have peace divine:

holier gladness ours shall be;

round us, too, shall angels shine,

such as ministered to thee.

Keep, O keep us, Savior dear,

ever constant by thy side;

that with thee we may appear

at the eternal Eastertide.

All were astounded at the greatness of God…. - Sermon/Feb 27

Last Epiphany/Year C/Feb 27, 2022

Psalm 99; Exodus 34:29-35; Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a]

All were astounded at the greatness of God….

When was the last time, you experienced something…that left you astounded at the greatness of God?

When was the last time, you were brought to your knees in humble gratitude for the greatness of God?

All were astounded at the greatness of God….

These were the words from the conclusion of our gospel reading today…

Words that seemed to sum up the events of the day…from Peter, James, and John’s experience on the mountaintop with Jesus, where they were clearly astounded by the greatness of God and what had happened there…so much so…that they were left in silent awe at what they had been witness to…and then we listened to the account of what happened after they transitioned down the mountain, to be witness to Jesus responding to the cries of a man, on his knees, begging Jesus to heal his son and lamenting that the disciples had not been able to help him…We catch a glimpse of Jesus’ frustration in this story with the disciples lack of faith or understanding perhaps, after all of his time trying to teach and equip the disciples with all that they needed to go out into the world, to  be healers, hope-bringers, peace-builders, joy givers, extravagant love-bearers…All…possible…because of the greatness of God…as made known to us, in Jesus…in times such as these…on the mountaintops of life in prayer, setting aside time to listen to the voice of God,  and as we descend the mountains to dwell in the valleys with the gift of prayer, and the voice of God still speaking to us, to comfort us, and guide us, in every step we take…

Prayer changes us and transforms us from within… it has the power to change and transform all we say and do, with our outward facing every day words and actions…

Jesus regularly took time away to pray…and 1st and foremost…that is the place we are called to go to, also…to set aside time to go up the mountain,  or a place set aside from the everyday grind and turmoil of what swirls around us and troubles us…to just pray, to open ourselves up to have an encounter and experience with the love and light of God, and an encounter with the reasoning and aligning of our wills and our lives with God, when we listen for the voice of God…a voice and a guiding light that will stay with us and within us as we descend the mountain…as we go back into the everyday trials and tribulations that we most assuredly will face…

Prayer 1st, to transform us within, each and every day, we are called to go out and be healers, hope-bringers, peace-builders, joy givers, extravagant love-bearers…to a weary and hurting world…

Repeat this rhythm, practice it often throughout the day, every day…make it a lifetime practice…to follow Jesus in this way…a life of prayer, that informs our love and actions towards all God’s children and all of creation….

Let’s begin again right now, to pause for a moment of silent prayer... to pray for the children, of all ages, and everywhere growing up in a time of war and conflicts…Pray for peace in all our hearts, and in all our lands… And offer a prayer of thanks for the times we have been astounded at the greatness of God, for the times we have been brought to our knees in humble gratitude for the greatness of God’s love for every one of us…

Silence…..

Let us pray: Thank you, God, for this time of prayer with you on the mountaintop, and in the everyday difficult places we find ourselves in.  May we find our hope, and our joy, and our peace always in you. Thank you for opening our eyes and hearts to be astounded by the greatness of you and your love, for every beloved child we share this wide and wonderful world with. This we pray, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and in the One, whose light and love is always changing us and transforming us, Jesus, your Son. Amen.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

After sermon: (H) 137 – O wondrous type! O vision fair

Recording: Organist, Kathi Jones & St Peter’s choir

O wondrous type! O vision fair

of glory that the Church may share,

which Christ upon the mountain shows,

where brighter than the sun he glows!

With Moses and Elijah nigh

the incarnate Lord holds converse high;

and from the cloud, the Holy One

bears record to the only Son.

With shining face and bright array,

Christ deigns to manifest today

what glory shall be theirs above

who joy in God with perfect love.

And faithful hearts are raised on high

by this great vision’s mystery;

for which in joyful strains we raise

the voice of prayer, the hymn of praise.

O Father, with the eternal Son,

and Holy Spirit, ever One,

vouchsafe to bring us by thy grace

to see thy glory face to face.

Love and compassion in the hard things...

7 Epiphany/Year C Sermon

February 20, 2022

Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42; Luke 6:27-38

Opening Prayer: Holy and gracious God, I give you thanks for this day, and for the opportunity to gather with others to praise you, to pray, to sing, to hear the word of God. I pray that all of our ears and eyes and hearts and minds may be opened to hear what the Spirit is saying to us this morning and to help us understand what is being asked of us. This we pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, the One who strengthens us with love and compassion to go out into the world to love one another in all the ways and places we are called to go.  Amen.

Today’s gospel is a continuation of Jesus’ sermon on the plain that we heard last week…Jesus is on a roll with his difficult teachings. And as I mentioned last week…Sometimes Jesus’ teachings sound poetic and lovely, and we have no trouble connecting with the message he is trying to get across to His listeners. But other times, his teachings are quite simple and direct…and not so lovely sounding…and they don’t always leave much wiggle room for interpretation. But, we as human beings, have some pretty strong minds and wills…so we are quite adept at filtering out what we think He is saying, and finding creative ways, to dismiss some of his more difficult teachings, as only pertaining to certain people, in certain times, and in certain places.

Our brain’s default, is often to “hear” and “see” what we already know…and feel comfortable with…So, I do think our challenge…in learning new things, considering and accepting new teachings…does call for us to pray to God, to open wide our eyes and our ears…and especially our hearts and our minds…to consider these uncomfortable teachings...these basic and direct teachings that Jesus is longing for us to understand.

Let’s take a look first, at the reading from Genesis this morning… We may be shaking our heads in disbelief, wondering, how in the world could Joseph ever return to his family, to his brothers who did the unthinkable, first plotting to kill him, but then decided instead to sell him into slavery… and the brothers also caused years of deep heartache and suffering for their father, lying to him and telling him that his son Joseph was likely killed by a wild animal. And how unthinkable, or impossible, that Joseph not only returned to his family, his brothers…but he forgave them…he chose to love them again…having been sent by God to return to them to save them from starvation and poverty…Imagine having to forgive and love and bless the very people who abandoned you and cut you off from your livelihood? Difficult, very difficult to imagine…yet with the love of God poured into Joseph’s heart…we saw how that was possible…Joseph had mercy upon his brothers, forgave them, making room for love to reconcile and heal their family.

Jesus’ sermon on the plain in today’s gospel is equally hard to digest. As if the Blessings and the Woes that Jesus spoke about last week were not confusing enough. Today, he is tackling the very uncomfortable topics about loving your enemies, and forgiveness …

These are some pretty basic, no-frills, direct words from Jesus today. Difficult to digest. Hard to make sense of. Easier said, than done.

Difficult, hard, uncomfortable…yes…but they need not keep us from striving to understand and striving to live into the live-giving ways of God, made known to us, through the love and compassion, and the difficult teachings and witness of Jesus Christ. For this love is the greatest gift given to us and for us…a gift given to strengthen us to be a people filled with love and compassion for those difficult and uncomfortable moments we are often faced with, when struggling to love and forgive one’s enemies…and when we struggle to see where we ourselves are in need of that same forgiveness and love too…

…..This gift of love, this way of love, this difficult teaching of Jesus, has been offered up for us, as a way to help us transform this world, as Presiding Bishop Michael Curry often says, from the nightmare it sometimes looks like, into the dream of God, a family of God, where we love one another, forgive one another, share all of our resources and gifts with one another: with all that we have, and all that we are…so that this dream of God, the peace and the love and the joy and the mercy and the justice of God…would someday come to be in all its fullness …here on earth, as in heaven…

Our 1st step in approaching something difficult can begin in such a simple way: with stillness and trust…

The psalmist tells us today: put your trust in the Lord, take delight in the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, be still before the Lord…and wait patiently for him…If nothing makes sense today…don’t give up…

Begin again tomorrow morning, or as you get ready to close your eyes at the end of the day… put your trust in the Lord, take delight in the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, be still before the Lord…and wait patiently for him…for God’s mercies are new every day… begin again and again with asking God to open your ears, eyes, hearts and minds to hear what the Spirit is trying to teach you about the healing power of God’s love and compassion…and then go…knowing that you are strengthened by this love and compassion to transform the world around you!

Lift Every Voice and Sing II - #176 An Evening Prayer

Recording of An Evening Prayer can be found HERE

1       If I have wounded any soul today,

          If I have caused one foot to go astray,

          If I have walked in my own willful way,

          Dear Lord, forgive!

2       If I have uttered idle words or vain,

          If I have turned aside from want or pain,

          Lest I offend some other through the strain,

          Dear Lord, forgive!

3       If I have been perverse, or hard, or cold,

          If I have longed for shelter in the fold,

          When thou hast given me some fort to hold,

          Dear Lord, forgive!

4       Forgive the sins I have confessed to thee;

          Forgive the secret sins I do not see;

          O guide me, love me, and my keeper be.

          Dear Lord, forgive!

          Amen.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, Alaska

Envisioning the dream of God...

6 Epiphany Year C – Feb 13, 2022

Psalm 1; Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 6:17-26

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.

This is one of those Sundays, that I wish I were one of those artists that could stand up in front of you, and paint a beautiful picture as the scriptures are being read…A couple of years back we did have an artist, a Lutheran Pastor, Paul Oman, at the diocesan convention who did just that…and a couple of years ago, I shared a lent series with you of his short sermons being narrated by him, and as we watched him paint a beautiful picture that brought the scriptures alive for us in a new way…and at the conclusion of the readings and the short message, he presented a finished piece of artwork that captured the scriptures and the story of the day in a such a beautiful way…Added to this story behind his beautiful work each time, was the fact that he painted the whole picture upside down as he was doing it…and when the story was ended, he turned it right-side up to reveal the masterpiece…And even though we were hearing some of the more difficult lessons associated with Lent, leading up to the cross of Good Friday…the paintings captured the good news being proclaimed right in the midst of the difficult teachings.

If we stop and think about it for a minute…we might see how it’s not only in Lent we are hearers of some difficult teachings…but it’s really almost every time Jesus opens his mouth to teach his disciples and all who were being drawn to him to hear what he had to say, and to be healed by him.

Today’s gospel reading is clearly a mix of beautiful and lovely images, all mixed up with some of Jesus’ difficult teachings. But, if we can step back from zeroing in just one or the other, we might be able to envision the finished painting that Jesus was trying to present…we might be able to get a wide-view, panoramic glimpse of what God’s dream for his people and for all of creation was really meant to look like…here on earth…here and now…as will be in heaven…

In the few verses leading up to the setting of today’s gospel reading, Jesus and his disciples had been accused by the Pharisees of doing unlawful things on the Sabbath…Jesus was walking through the grainfields, the disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands and then ate them…On another sabbath, Jesus was in the synagogue, teaching, when a man with a withered hand was healed by Jesus on the sabbath.

 The pharisees and the scribes were furious with Jesus and discussed what they might do to Jesus…that’s when Jesus went up to the mountain to pray all night…And when morning came, he called for his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he named as his apostles…

Now it was time to go back down the mountain…now it was time for Jesus to continue with some more teaching for his newly appointed apostles, for the great crowd of disciples and for the great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon that were now gathered where Jesus stood among them on a level place….

All of them, we are told, had come to hear Jesus, and to be healed of their diseases; those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

But, what comes next, in Jesus’ teaching about the blessings and the woes…most likely, as Jesus’ teachings always did…cause a few people to feel hopeful and warm and loved inside, and yet at the same time, there were others scratching their heads, pacing back and forth, maybe even a little angry…and wondering…what on earth are you talking about Jesus?

Jesus never minced words about what this dream of God was supposed to look like and be like and what it would take from each of us to bring about this beloved community that God so desired for all of creation…. From the beginning…Jesus was turning things upside down and inside out…in order to help us get a glimpse of the “right-side up” kingdom of God, the dream of God, the family of God…here and now…

He lays out the vision of blessings and woes living side by side in the dream of God…he lays out the places of challenge and opportunities for each one of us to envision how we really could build a world, together…that looks more like the dream of God, than of the nightmarish picture it sometimes looks like…

He lays out a vision of how the kingdom of God, the family of God includes everyone, where no-one need ever be hungry for food or for love; where all will experience the joy and laughter that comes after a night of weeping….

He lays out the vision that takes every one of us… to strive to love another, forgive one another, share our resources and gifts with one another: with all that we have, and all that we are…so that this dream of God, would someday come to fruition …here on earth, as in heaven…

It can be so difficult at times…to really envision this dream of God for our time…it can seem so unrealistic and “other-worldly”…. I imagine those who heard Jesus teach over 2000 years ago, had similar thoughts…as we do…

Yet…even in the midst of such uncertainty and not fully understanding what Jesus is striving to teach us…even when we can’t see the whole finished masterpiece yet, we can always begin again and again and again, in each moment of prayer, in each moment of stillness, in each moment of praise and song… wherever we find ourselves…we can begin again with trusting Jesus…trusting Jesus with all our heart, soul, strength and mind…

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.

And now, let us pray, with a paraphrase of one of the most beautiful and well-known psalms that speaks about this trust…and creates a beautiful image of trusting in the Lord…our God…

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Hymn/prayer after sermon (H) 663

The Lord my God my shepherd is

Sung by Ali Hosford

The Lord my God my shepherd is;

how could I want or need?

In pastures green, by streams serene,

he safely doth me lead.

To wholeness he restores my soul

and doth in mercy bless,

and helps me take for his Name’s sake

the paths of righteousness.

Yea, even when I must pass through

the valley of death’s shade,

I will not fear, for thou art here,

to comfort and to aid.

Thou hast in grace my table spread

secure in all alarms,

and filled my cup, and borne me up

in everlasting arms.

Then surely I can trust thy love

for all the days to come,

that I may tell thy praise, and dwell

for ever in thy home.